Remote work increased with the organisation adopting flexible work arrangements. Even though it has a lot of benefits, many challenges arise when it comes to employee wellbeing. we'll explore the importance of supporting employee wellbeing in a remote work environment and discuss strategies for promoting mental and physical health among remote workers, drawing insights from recent online sources and research.
Prioritising Employee Wellbeing in Remote Work
This modern transformation of the way we work blurs the boundaries between professional and personal life. While remote work offers the flexibility to work from anywhere, it also brings about challenges related to work-life balance, isolation, and mental health. To ensure the health, happiness and productivity of the remote workers organizations need to give closer attention to employee wellbeing.
Challenges of Remote Work on Employee Wellbeing
Work-from-home jobs have special difficulties that may affect workers' well-being. Lack of distinction between work and family life can result in burnout, higher levels of stress, and longer workdays. Additionally, because they don't get to engage with coworkers face-to-face, remote workers could feel isolated and alone. Furthermore, depending too much on digital means for communication might worsen feelings of isolation and impede productive teamwork.
Strategies for Supporting Employee Wellbeing
Promoting Work-Life Balance: Encourage remote employees to establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. Encourage them to set specific work hours, take regular breaks, and disconnect from work during non-working hours to prevent burnout and promote mental well-being (Harvard Business Review, 2021).
Encouraging Physical Activity: Encourage remote workers to engage in regular physical activity by offering them the tools and encouragement they need to do so. To boost physical health and prevent sedentary behaviour, encourage employees to take brief breaks for stretching or walking, sign up for online exercise programmes, or go outside and do outdoor activities.
Facilitating Social Connections: Foster a sense of community and belonging among remote workers by facilitating opportunities for social interaction and connection. Organise virtual team-building activities, coffee chats, or informal catch-ups to help remote employees build relationships and combat feelings of isolation (Forbes, 2020).
Providing Mental Health Support: Offer resources and support for maintaining mental health and well-being. Provide access to counselling services, mental health webinars, or mindfulness sessions to support remote workers in managing stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges (World Health Organization, 2020).
Flexible Work Arrangements: Give deadlines and work schedules some leeway to satisfy the various needs of remote workers. Employees can better combine work and personal life if they are given the freedom to customise their work schedules to fit their unique needs and preferences.
Nurturing Employee Wellbeing in a Remote Setting
In conclusion, promoting a healthy, content, and productive workforce in a remote work environment requires addressing employee wellness. Through prioritising work-life balance, encouraging physical activity, fostering social connections, giving flexible work arrangements, and providing mental health care, organisations can foster an atmosphere that fosters a sense of value, empowerment, and support for remote workers. In the end, spending on employee welfare benefits the profitability and longevity of the company as a whole in addition to the individuals involved.
References
Harvard Business Review. (2021). Maintaining work-life balance in a remote environment. Available at: https://hbr.org/2021/05/maintaining-work-life-balance-in-a-remote-environment [Accessed 28 Mar. 2024]
Forbes. (2020). How to foster a sense of community among remote employees. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbeshumanresourcescouncil/2020/11/06/how-to-foster-a-sense-of-community-among-remote-employees/?sh=7d4b5a2a1659 [Accessed 28 Mar. 2024]
World Health Organization. (2020). Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak. Available at: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations.pdf [Accessed 28 Mar. 2024]
Nice & Colorful Article , Supporting employee well-being is an ongoing process. By prioritizing open communication, flexibility, and a culture of care, organizations can cultivate a thriving remote work environment where employees feel valued and empowered to succeed.
ReplyDelete"Definitely! It's critical to provide a caring and encouraging work atmosphere where staff members feel appreciated, listened, and respected. It's true that encouraging employee welfare requires open communication and flexibility, particularly in remote work environments. Organisations that give priority to these factors not only increase worker happiness but also foster engagement and productivity. In order for employees to feel empowered and supported in their responsibilities, a culture of care is essential. It's encouraging to see businesses realise how crucial employee welfare is to their overall success."
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ReplyDeleteI am happy to see the focus being drawn to prioritizing employee wellbeing in remote work, Chamara. Not many have explored this topic, and it is a very important one to address as remote work can lead to a burn out and a high degree of emotional stress. I've personally gone through this when the boundaries between home life and work began to blur. To counter that, I had to maintain discipline and organize my time with set office hours (no responding to work emails or calls after work hours) so that family time is included. I love the way you have broken down the areas people work from home too, now that's being very thorough with your research! Some great recommendations that all employers need to consider when they go for the remote work model. Thanks a lot for sharing, Chamara.
DeleteOne of the unique comments with real-life experience. Thanks for sharing your ideas Anjalika I would like to share my experience related to remote work too. We have been an IT company since 2020 March we do work remotely. Most of the time it's difficult to manage the office work with personal life as well. My approach is somehow to try to go off at least by 6 pm and spend time with family. Most of our team members also facing this problem. For my team members, I always encourage them to work 8hrs efficiently and then go off. It's difficult when it comes to the IT industry.
DeleteYes, tell me about it. My husband works in the IT industry too and does Australian hours, while I work for UK hours, so it's a headache when it comes to managing time between us too. Though at times it is beneficial becomes he clocks off work earlier than me. I can very well understand the struggle. Thanks for sharing your experience here, Chamara. Hopefully the IT industry becomes less stressful though.
DeleteA beautiful Blog .. Chamara The employee wellbeing yes ! Something to focus on!
ReplyDeleteYes if the organisation cannot focus on it, that will be the end of it. HRM strategy should address it. Remote working environments can make so many mental and physical health issues
DeleteYour article was refreshingly original and offered a fresh perspective on a familiar topic. Supporting employee well-being in the remote work is a challenge we all have in our work places.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your input. That the post was pleasantly unique and that you valued the new viewpoint it offered on promoting worker well-being in remote work environments makes me happy. It's true that a lot of businesses are dealing with this issue, and in order to properly manage it, we need to keep looking for creative solutions.
DeleteEmployee well-being in remote work - informative article, by implementing strategies to combat social isolation, such as virtual team-building activities and regular check-ins, can help cultivate a sense of community and camaraderie among remote employees.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your feedback. I'm happy the article was helpful to you. In fact, putting tactics like frequent check-ins and virtual team-building exercises into practice can be very helpful in preventing social isolation and promoting a feeling of community among remote workers. Prioritising employee well-being is crucial, particularly when it comes to remote work.
DeleteMoreover, facilitating opportunities for social interaction and team building is vital for remote employees. Virtual team meetings, coffee chats, or online team-building activities can help foster a sense of belonging and camaraderie among remote teams.
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DeleteAbsolutely! Facilitating social interaction and team building is crucial for remote employees (Waber et al., 2014)..Coffee chats, online team-building exercises, and virtual team meetings can foster a sense of community and belonging among remote workers, improving their job happiness and output.
A lot of work for HR department. The SHRM is making its way to the next level and HR practitioners would require to update their competencies to keep up with the significant changes in order to maintain well being and the traditional methods will not work. Very useful article
ReplyDeleteYes Sharfaz, as you mentioned its really difficult for HR people with traditional mindset. One thing which I need to point out is they fear of ignorance and loosing their control
DeleteClear content. Employee well-being is important to any industry. By following the strategies you have mentioned in this article an organization can support the employees. And also by regularly assessing the effectiveness of well-being initiatives, gather feedback from employees, and make adjustments as needed to continuously improve well-being support in a remote work setting.
ReplyDeleteThank you Nimani . It is true that employee welfare is important in all industries. Employees working remotely can benefit immensely from putting the article's suggested tactics into practice.Additionally, regularly assessing the effectiveness of well-being initiatives, gathering feedback, and making adjustments accordingly are essential for continuously improving well-being support (Raghuram, Wiesenfeld, & Garud, 2003).
DeleteA lot of insight into the well-being of employees when it comes to remote work. Need to look at this from a different angle also providing infrastructure to handle remote work environments. is the organization can invest in that also. While there is extensive discussion on employee well-being in remote work settings, it's crucial to examine the infrastructure investment necessary to support such environments. This aspect warrants attention to ensure organizations can adequately invest in the technology and resources needed for remote work (Felstead et al., 2020)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sudesh for discussing something important. Making employee well-being is difficult without proper remote work environments. Imagine employee work from home without proper office chair or table. To overcome this problem some of the companies try afford the cost. I have found some Netherland companies provide one time payment/ installment payment for building home offices. When it comes to my experience, our company also try to so but current tax system blocked it.
DeleteThank you Chamara for your reply. Grate to have comments continuing with real life scenarios. When it comes to your scenario is it not effecting your employee well being look after by your organization.
DeleteAn insightful article, Chamara. Yes, giving priority to work-life balance, encouraging physical activity, fostering social connections, giving flexible work arrangements, and providing mental health care, organizations can help to create an atmosphere that enhances and empowers them and makes them feel like they are valued and supported.
ReplyDeleteThanks for comment Judith. But most of the Sri Lankan companies not practice employee wellbeing in remote teams. The leaders thing it like a grant where they can use the employee for long working hours and looting their personal time.
DeleteThe blog emphasizes how essential it is to promote workers' well-being in remote work settings. It recognizes problems like isolation and work-life balance and offers solutions including encouraging physical exercise, fostering social connections, promoting work-life balance, enabling flexible work schedules, and offering mental health care. In summary, it highlights the mutually beneficial relationship between employees and the organization.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Ruwan. I have a victim of work life balance issue. Most of the time in remote environments make this problem. Leadership can approach beyond the limits.
DeleteThis article does a great job of emphasising how important it is to put employee wellbeing first when working remotely! Maintaining the physical and emotional well-being of remote workers is essential for continued engagement and productivity in this age of digital revolution. The information given offers helpful tactics and ideas for creating a positive work atmosphere, which will eventually result in happier, more contented workers. An intelligent and timely article that acts as a guide for appropriate remote work procedures.
ReplyDeleteThank you for highlighting the importance of prioritising employee wellbeing in remote work settings. Indeed, maintaining the physical and emotional health of remote workers is vital for sustained engagement and productivity, particularly in today's digital age (Allen et al., 2020)
Delete"This blog offers priceless insights on the difficulties that remote work poses for workers' well-being. Organizations can promote a better work environment by proactively addressing these obstacles once they are acknowledged. The author provides helpful strategies for reducing stress and enhancing general welfare, demonstrating her outstanding understanding of the complex effects of distant work on mental health. A relevant and stimulating book that will help you navigate the difficulties of today's workplace culture."
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you bringing attention to the difficulties that working remotely poses for workers' wellbeing. It is imperative to recognise and tackle these challenges in order to foster a positive work environment. The author's ideas demonstrate a thorough awareness of how distant work affects mental health and provide insightful advice on how to reduce stress and improve overall welfare. This intelligent blog is a great tool for figuring out how to deal with the intricacies of the modern workplace culture.
DeleteImportant article. People's life can benefit greatly from remote employment in numerous ways. Employees who work remotely avoid the tiresome and stressful daily commute, save money by working from home, and benefit from more scheduling flexibility. However, there may be drawbacks to working remotely. Remote workers may struggle to maintain a work-life balance and feel isolated since they are removed from the office setting. These issues can have a major negative impact on their wellbeing.
ReplyDeleteAs per my own experience, work life balance is difficult to maintain if the leadership and management try to get maximum out of the team. Team members and management should agree with proper working hours per day. Employees need to do the work deliveries on time and if they see any risk should raise in advance.
DeleteWorking from home can be tough. Sometimes, you might feel lonely or work too much. But there are ways to make it better. Take breaks, move around, and join virtual hangouts. Also, get support if you're feeling stressed. And it's good if your job lets you work flexibly. Taking care of yourself is important for you and your company.
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