When people think of remote work, the most obvious benefits tend to be immediate, such as not having to get up early to commute and prepare lunch. Consequently, remote workers often report lower levels of stress and anxiety than their in-office counterparts. Nevertheless, it's essential that organisations put effort into their remote culture. When remote employees feel isolated and lonely, they, too, are at risk of burnout and anxiety.
Working remotely has many obvious financial benefits for both the organisation and the employee. For starters, the organisation saves money on overheads, such as rental space, equipment, and utility bills. Meanwhile, the employee doesn't have to spend money and time on their commute. But there are also non-financial benefits, such as increased employee wellbeing.
Now, we do realise that remote working has its limits. If an organisation struggles to deliver a thriving online culture, its employees may feel isolated and siloed. When this happens, engagement starts to decrease, and productivity drops. Moreover, because employees are not working with their colleagues in person, it's much harder to understand when this shift has occurred.
For all of these reasons, it's worth creating a separate remote employee wellbeing strategy that caters to the needs of your remote staff. Of course, there will be some overlap between in-office and remote wellbeing objectives, but the two should fundamentally differ as these two groups of employees have unique needs.
Remote working can increase stress in two main ways:
When your employees are based in an office, it’s much easier to be aware of any habits or behaviours affecting wellbeing. If your staff are remote – you need to keep a close eye on how they’re feeling and work to maintain a structure that supports their wellbeing.
Working remotely makes it difficult to separate work and personal time. This is why a healthy in-office routine, such as starting and switching off at the same time each day is really important for wellbeing.
By communicating how important a work-life balance is, employees should feel comfortable switching off at the end of each working day to recharge. If someone is working or sending emails out of hours — check in with them, they could be overwhelmed.
If you don’t already have one-to-ones with your remote employees, scheduling these over a video call at least weekly or bi-weekly is a good idea. If you already have one-to-ones, check if they are frequent enough to cover everything.
Within these chats, really listen, and by that, we mean actively listen — both to what’s being said and, more importantly, what’s behind the pauses in the conversation. Key things to listen out for are:
Organisations can offer employees access to free online fitness classes and discounted gym memberships. Some even go so far in offering online physio and desk assessments.
Movement is associated with better mental health outcomes, so helping your teams stay more active throughout the day will likely significantly reduce any stress or anxiety they feel at home and work.
When there isn't a lunchtime buzz or a quick mid-afternoon chat around the kettle, it's not surprising some people can sit and work for 8 hours straight.
This isn't healthy, nor is it productive. Working for long periods continuously increases stress and can quickly affect physical health.
To prevent this from becoming the norm of your remote working culture, encourage employees to take time for themselves throughout the day. How about introducing a system so colleagues know when this happens?
When someone is taking a break, they could mark it in their calendar or change their instant messenger status. Regular breaks should be a vital part of the working day to support everyone's mental and physical wellbeing.
Keeping track of a remote team's workload is more complex than if they were in the office. When you're physically in the same room, you can get a sense of how they are feeling and if they are becoming overwhelmed.
Try to avoid employee overwhelm and stress by basing goals on past performance. This boosts motivation while removing unrealistic pressures of unattainable targets and expectations.
It's also important to adjust goals over time. For example, if they become irrelevant or employees are not moving forward at the expected rate, be it faster or slower than estimated.
Working remotely away from colleagues could increase feelings of isolation and loneliness. However, by offering an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), employees have a confidential service they can use to talk to someone.
An EAP helps them navigate personal or workplace issues impacting their wellbeing, mental and physical health, or performance. EAPs aren’t limited in what they can assist employees with and cover a broad range of issues, including child care, financial troubles, or legal problems.
Offering this kind of service lends a much-needed ear to remote employees, who may feel alone. Moreover, an EAP may be able to reduce absence rates as employees can seek help before their symptoms force them to take time off.
Your employees might be working from home — but they still need a break occasionally. They could be under the weather or not mentally up for a full day of work. Offering employees a certain number of duvet days a year gives them permission to take a guilt-free break from work. So, instead of struggling through the day and not achieving much, they can use the time to recharge and return to work more energetic and motivated. Understanding that everyone can have off days is an important part of developing an inclusive culture where employees aren't shamed for admitting they're low on energy or need a mental health day.
Confidential pulse surveys offer great insights into what's going well and bring to your attention areas that need improvement. For example, they can help you quickly identify any problems impacting employee wellbeing. Let's say employees feel isolated after a company-wide restructure, you could begin to recognise their small wins more, so that they feel valued.
It's easy to pick up unhealthy working habits, especially if everyone else is burning the midnight oil.
Managers of remote employees should set a good example and make their own wellbeing a priority — so their teams follow. These actions demonstrate strong leadership and that senior management prioritises employee wellbeing. All of which promote a positive company culture.
Avoid checking non-urgent emails during the evening and weekend, and take a full lunch break. This gives your employees permission to also enjoy uninterrupted personal time. As a result, everyone will be re-energised and more productive during the working day.
Remote work has an obvious impact on the mental health of your employees, for better or worse. But more often than not, the difference between happy and healthy remote workers and those who are stressed and anxious depends on how well they are managed and if they feel part of a team.
Overall, remote work benefits productivity as most people save time on their commute and can better manage their energy levels throughout the day. Moreover, for people who live with disabilities, the opportunity to work remotely is a necessity for both their mental and physical health.
However, the benefits of working remotely don't apply to everyone. Some people prefer to be in an office and enjoy working with others in person. If they also live alone, they could be more vulnerable to feeling lonely and isolated. This is why having a remote and in-office culture is essential.
Perkbox is an all-in-one employee experience solution that prioritises employee wellbeing. After all, when employees are happy and healthy, they are more productive and engaged.
Choosing a comprehensive benefits and rewards platform that also focuses on employee health can help you better manage your remote teams' employee experiences.
With the Perkbox app, employees can recognise each other on the go while saving money on thousands of discounts, deals, perks, and freebies. The wellbeing feature includes a range of workouts, including strength and HIIT, plus soothing yoga flows.
HR and people teams can even track how employees use the app with advanced reporting, which means you can monitor your ROI more effectively.
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