How are your employees doing (at home)?

We wrote a blog recently about the things that can cause your employees stress in the workplace and what measures you could possibly put in place to make your working environment less stressful.

Since then, things have turned on their head a little bit and we have found ourselves working at home. We know it is the same for a lot of our clients at the moment, so firstly we are hoping that you, like us, can ride the storm and look forward to things returning to ‘normal’ as soon as possible.

Secondly, we thought that it might be an ideal opportunity - now that your staff are well into a routine of working at home or furloughed - to ask the same question that you would normally be asking them if you were face to face in the workplace: are they ok? 

The recent situation that we find ourselves in is new, strange, “unprecedented” as a lot of people like to call it, so with all this uncertainty, it is only natural that we are all feeling a little overwhelmed, anxious and unsettled about the future. But there may be things you can do to help ease some of this anxiety for your employees. Difficult, we know, when you are navigating a number of challenges at the moment, but if you don’t keep an eye on your workforce then they might not be quite the workforce you remember when everything returns to normal.

So, where to start?

There are a number of ‘pulse surveys’ currently being offered by Research companies all over the UK, some for a nominal fee and some free of charge. The survey is structured in such a way that it asks your employees how they are feeling mentally and physically, as well as the impact their current situation is having on their financial status, family and home life. 

By running a survey such as this, or even conducting a version of your own, you will get an insight into any stress triggers or hurdles that they are currently facing, that you might be able to chat through and allay. 

It is an unsettling time, and anxiety about ‘what’s going to happen’ is not necessarily something that your employees can open up about on your daily Zoom call. Would today be a good day to conduct a virtual one to one? If you take the time now to find out exactly how your employees are doing in the short term, they will thank you in the long term.