Admin
The past year has been challenging to say the least – with much of the working world having to operate remotely, isolating employees and preventing them from properly connecting with their teams, and that’s even before considering people’s concerns over their health and wellbeing during a global, once-in-a-century health crisis.
With so many still working from home where possible, and some restrictions (although easing) remaining for now, how are managers keeping up staff morale in lockdown? Here are some of the top ways managers have been motivating remote staff throughout the past year’s restrictions:
Create a Social Atmosphere
While many have discovered the fantastic benefits that can come from remote working, alongside these can also come some challenges.
Working from home can be isolating. Some great ways to support workers through this include creating virtual hangout spaces for employees to drop in and socialise with other employees.
Another is to start or end meetings with a brief catch up, asking employees how they are, whether they have any plans outside of work for the week, and generally checking up on how they’re doing from a personal sense.
Book a Team Building Event
Another great way managers have been motivating staff throughout the lockdown measures is by booking in virtual team building events for their remote workers. This can motivate team members by helping them feel more connected to both their colleagues and to the company.
Such services are offered by the likes of Steamed Egg, a London-based startup who has created the fun virtual 70s-themed gameshow “Yolking From Home!”
Within this service, Steamed Egg offers 6 games to choose from, many typically opting for around 2-3 per event. All of these events are centred around helping players to connect and work together throughout the fun activities. For example, their game “This Time It’s Personal” tests players on how well they know each other.
Founder Jason Leigh comments:
“Steamed Egg believes that laughter is the best medicine for your team’s isolation blues. It’s proven to strengthen relationships and reinforces your team’s sense of unity.”
“We use highly conversational games to get your team working together and laughing so that they leave with a renewed sense of camaraderie and lifted spirits. There is no looking at apps on your phone or writing answers on pieces of paper – the entire process is virtual or online through video conferencing tools.”
Steamed Egg can hold up to 180 players per event, the cost for events varying based off of the number of players and games opted for.
Subscription Boxes
While in lockdown and restricted on the activities they can do with their free time, staff may be feeling slightly bored and lethargic. One great way managers have been helping staff through this time is through sending them subscription boxes.
These can include meal kits enabling staff to make delicious, high-quality meals from their very own home, or (if they’re gin lovers) a gin subscription box, with new and exciting taster bottles of staffs’ favourite tipple delivered monthly to their door.
Giving staff a subscription box can help ignite new, lockdown-appropriate interests to keep them entertained while waiting the pandemic out. This can subsequently help staff to feel less sluggish, and more motivated throughout what is sure to be one of the more stagnant periods of some of their lives.
