Moving to hybrid working has many benefits, and
employees are finally seeing the reality of having a good work-life balance.
Employees feel more positive towards their organisations, have more
flexibility, and feel more productive.
While
this move is seen as a positive, it is important not to gloss over the areas
that might not be doing so well or the areas that need a little more focus and
care, finding the correct balance.
The impact of isolation
One of the drawbacks to Hybrid working and employee wellbeing overall is the impact of isolation. For many, work gives a lot of social interaction, which can be hard to replicate in a hybrid setting. Building connections is important, and prolonged periods of isolation can lead to loneliness, which over time have been proven to impact an individual’s physical and mental health significantly.
Some view loneliness as a personal failing – a lack of drive in an individual, but this is simply not the case. It is an outcome of a situation and can stem from many factors in a person’s environment, including the workplace. To help, people may say ‘why don’t you just get out more’ or ‘ just find a hobby it will make you feel better’. Considering the amount of time we all spend at work, and the types of people we interact with, it can be hard to find that level of interaction elsewhere.
Attention in this area is also growing. The charity Mind has made loneliness its theme for mental health awareness week in May 2022 and the Government released a loneliness strategy to mitigate the impact on the workplace.
How does loneliness affect us?
Prolonged periods of loneliness can have severe implications for an individual and have been shown to affect cognitive functioning, impacting creativity and productivity. Loneliness can also be linked to health problems and has been found to increase the stress hormone cortisol, which has been associated with increased rates of burnout, another significant organisational issue.
Employees don’t advertise they are lonely and may not even recognise that this is happening to them. They may even deflect and say everything is fine even when it is not. Organisations have a duty of responsibility to reach out and support their staff to reduce loneliness and foster employee wellbeing.
So how do organisations help their employees?
Firstly, recognising that some of your employees may be experiencing loneliness is the first step. Figuring out how you can help them is next. Remote working has blurred the lines between our work and home lives and employees are looking to their workplaces for support.
From our experiences and extensive research at Open Door Performance, we have narrowed down the most important first steps that will help you take action now!
Leaders can help mitigate loneliness
Leadership has been proven to have an important
role in supporting their employees’ wellbeing, being one of the most significant factors impacting wellbeing at work. They are there to influence and guide the way respectfully and therefore are in a fantastic position to pick up on areas of concern, but only if they give the employee the energy they deserve.
Leaders have a significant impact on employee wellbeing
How Leaders can support their workforce
Have meaningful check-ins
Finding time to
check-in has become increasingly important, but it needs to be more than just
ticking a box by having regular 1 to 1 meetings. Leaders at all levels should
be making an effort to engage in discussions about how their employees are
doing. By checking in and sharing some personal anecdotes, they are able to develop
a good connection and let the employee know they are not alone.
Mix it up
It is important to try and get away from Teams or Zoom and have an in-person chat if possible or just pick up the phone and have a chat. It will be important to focus on areas other than work and have a real two-way conversation to help build that connection as don’t forget, humans are biologically wired for connection.
Double down on purpose
Employees who gain meaning from their work are more engaged and feel more connected to their organisation. Creating a shared goal with other team members will reduce loneliness as there is a goal to work towards. Employees can come together for brainstorming sessions and learn about their colleagues along the way. It can be incredibly difficult for employees, especially new employees to feel a sense of purpose when they don’t feel like they can reach out for help.
Taking employees' wellbeing seriously
As an organisation, it is important to set the standard on employee wellbeing by modelling appropriate behaviours. In addition to the increase in loneliness, organisations are seeing an increase in burnout and a growing rate of mental health issues. It is important that organisations encourage their employees to establish healthy routines. This will include things like making sure employees take their breaks, which can improve productivity and focus by 30% if taken every 90 minutes, reducing the number of out of office emails, and introducing focus time to allow employees to get on with their work. Leaders, in particular, need to model this behaviour and prioritise work-life balance s6 their teams follow. All the initiatives in the world will not help if it is not modelled by the people in charge.
The challenge that we all face is still ongoing as
we navigate life after a pandemic. We are seeing a renewed push for more
compassionate workplaces to help support the workforce and bring the human
connection to hybrid working. There is not one solution for all but bringing
the human touch to what has been a very complex and challenging few years will
be a good place to start.
