We are living in very interesting times; there is so much going on in everybody’s lives at the moment and it can be quite challenging to focus without distraction. Right now there’s the stress of trying to work from home and balance family demands, technology not working as it should, too much sleep or too little sleep, the uncertainty of when work will start again, or if it will at all, or once it does is it safe to go back…… I could go on. The upshot however is that whatever is affecting people can disrupt both personal and professional lives.
To help you and your employees navigate through all this, I thought it would be useful to share six strategies that you can follow:
Communicate
This sounds easy but meaningful communication is also easy to overlook. Fear is heightened when there is a lack of communication so it’s really important to keep up regular communication through a variety of means, not just emails. Let people know on a regular basis about any changes they should expect but, more importantly, communicate with them even when there is no change.
Empathise & Be Understanding
Whatever someone is going through, let them know you hear them and offer to help, even if it’s only to listen. Make health resources available, ideally before people say they need them. Encourage everyone to practice self-care; which can be as simple as taking time to talk to someone about how they are feeling or what has happened during the week and even allow people to take an extra day off work to take care of themselves.
Everyone is being affected differently and their needs are all going to vary.
Share your Plan
Let your team know your plan if you have one and if you don’t, let them know that too but tell them when you will have a plan. There will be a lot of common questions that people want the answers to so pull together an FAQ document that can go out with the plan, or in advance of it.
People feel more engaged if they feel involved.
Suggest limiting time reading/watching the News
Too much exposure to news sources can lead to heightened anxiety. It can be helpful if you have someone to share a news summary once a day. If you don’t have someone with the time to do it, perhaps ask if anyone wants to do it. You might be pleasantly surprised by the response! As minimum encourage everyone to check the news no more than twice a day.
This will also help people to be less distracted.
Provide activities to help lower stress/anxiety
Programs like virtual yoga, virtual desk yoga and meditation can help to lower stress, calm anxiety, boost morale and give people a sense of connection with others, despite being physical disconnected. Another option could be to provide private ‘live’ programmes for small groups, which will have a positive effect on people’s well-being.
Encourage getting out in Nature
It can be too easy to sit inside and work so encourage everyone to take breaks throughout the day to get out for a walk, a run or even just to play with their children or dogs in the garden. When it’s raining and they can’t get out, just taking time to get away from the computer and look at the sky, or the trees can be equally as restorative.
If you’d like to discuss any of the well-being programmes I offer please get in contact, I’d love to hear from you.
