Remote Employees - Avoiding a Dystopian Workplace
Avoiding a Dystopian Workplace
By Matt Finkelstein, Consultant
Stephanie H. Nelson, Managing Consultant
FutureSense, LLC
As we start to see a return to the workplace, many employees are feeling uneasy about what work-life now means. Whether you sit at a desk or wait on customers, one common theme that we hear is – it is just bizarre. We now wear masks, socially distance, and in some cases, work behind plexiglass dividers. This environment can truly have a dystopian feel. How do you avoid a dystopian workplace while keeping employees engaged but not weirded out by the whole thing? FutureSense is here to help!
Most workplaces put new safety measures in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Before Covid-19, company leaders would focus on creating unique cultures, ensuring that employees are positive, concentrating on the mission, and generally, feeling supported. Now, how do we continue knowing that the times at hand demand so much more from them mentally?
Over the last few weeks, we have written about getting back to work, advised on meeting legal and safety measures, and attempted to encourage, inspire, and help each of you to keep things going. The “dystopian work environment” is the next challenge to tackle. Here are a few examples of what we can do to help alleviate these changes.
Mask usage. Some companies provide one-time-use masks for their employees. Help employees by taking the time to advise them on details such as how often they should replace them, supply employees with reusable N95 masks, or look for opportunities for them to get a break from usage.
Check your building’s air filters and recirculation. Rightfully, there are concerns about recirculated air pumping throughout the building. Help by acknowledging their concerns through communication. Let employees know when filters are replaced. This level of transparency will go far to ease fears.
Plexiglass dividers in break rooms may stress your employees during a time they need to relax. Encourage employees to go outside and give them a little extra space and time to do so. Consider using unused space to make additional break rooms or move the area outside for the summer.
Empower sanitization efforts. Hiring a sanitization specialist to constantly be cleaning and disinfecting can be alarming and a constant reminder of the current environment. If it is not necessary, train and encourage employees to take charge of sanitizing their environment or sanitize the environment during off-hours.
Consider shared spaces and door handles as a concern. Main entrances & exits along with bathrooms are used by every employee. Place hand sanitizers here and other key and often used locations. Also, don’t keep bathroom doors open to reduce the need to sanitize handles, keep them closed to protect privacy, and offer sanitizer anyway.
Examine areas of common use. For example, if your company uses a time clock, this is a place of frequent use and raises concerns of transmission. Consider adapting to personal cell phone logins. Partner with GPS to curb potential abuse with onsite logins.
Overly abundant safety signage can become an unhealthy reminder. Place signage at key locations only, train employees, and supplement with other forms of messaging. This may come in the form of friendly texts, emails, or other digital communication.
We need to protect our employees but doing so can potentially alienate them. Let’s challenge ourselves to find ways to celebrate and spotlight areas, not COVID related. Here are some additional thoughts in countering the dystopian narrative:
Positive reinforcement – Manage employee focus by emphasizing positive things. Whether a child’s milestone, the end of school, or a small work accomplishment, we need to look for the positive in everything.
Exercise – Support daily exercise for your teams. Some groups provide streaming workouts by other team members or purchase them for the full team.
Outdoors – Promote daily walks and just a moment to breathe fresh air and soak up vitamin-D.
Meditation – encourage meditation and consider purchasing streaming services for your teams.
Daily Affirmations – Adapt to what our work lives and consider putting out motivating communications. We all can use some inspiration these days!
Changes to workplaces and work processes are an inevitable result of the Covid-19 crisis. Handling them in a calm, proactive manner will reduce stress and help employees fall back into a more regular cycle of work effort and socialization.
We are all up for this challenge and ready to forge ahead, no matter how the economy looks. FutureSense is here to support the expansion of these ideas. If you want to discuss these topics, need assistance with your workforce strategy, strategic planning, an HR consultant, or simply need an executive coach to talk to, please contact us at 773-793-1362 or matt@futuresense.com.