Years after the COVID-19 pandemic required many companies to allow their teams to work from home, it’s clear that this remote arrangement is here to stay. While there are many perks associated with remote work, if your team isn’t managed correctly, they may become overworked and experience burnout.
To create a successful remote work culture, companies need to streamline their processes and ensure that their employees have what they need to succeed. Having the right tools and systems in place can reduce work related stress and improve efficiency.
Below are ways your company can create a more productive workforce.
The Connection Between Remote Work and Burnout
While remote work offers plenty of freedom and flexibility, the downside is that many employers fail to provide structure. In an office setting there is a work location, often with set hours, and constant communication. Without these, problems can arise.
Without streamlined processes providing clarity and order, employees may unnecessarily duplicate work, perform the same tasks differently, or apply inefficient strategies that prolong projects. Because of this, it may take a remote worker more time to complete an assignment.
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Studies show that remote workers already tend to work longer hours. Without a train to catch or traffic to beat, many remote workers extend their day beyond the scheduled endpoint. The temptation to respond to emails or finish projects is too great when their work computer is sitting in their home office or living room.
Streamlined processes and tools built to improve efficiency reduce the need employees feel to work longer hours and enables them to complete tasks during their planned schedule.
In addition to wasting your company’s resources, employees who work an unnecessary amount of time on arduous tasks can become overwhelmed and stressed, which can contribute to more significant mental health issues.
Over 44 million American adults deal with conditions like depression and anxiety. And stress is a significant contributing factor to both conditions. A poor work-life balance is often listed as one of the greatest causes of stress. Without intervention, stress, depression, and anxiety often get worse.
Poor mental health not only affects employees directly, it also impacts businesses through depreciated job performance and employee turnover. Therefore, it is in a company’s best interest to ensure that their entire workforce is productive and happy.
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Ensure Your Teams Are Secure
The first aspect of your company that should be streamlined is your company’s cybersecurity. When employees are working at the office, they know that they can summon the IT team when they see a suspicious email or fear a data breach.
Remote workers are not oblivious to the fact that working from home creates a higher risk of cybercrime than those in the office. However, many remote employees are lost when it comes to cybersecurity because they don’t have the same resources they would have in an office environment.
As a company, you need to talk to your remote employees about cybersecurity and train them on common threats and the tactics they can use to protect their home setup.
Start by streamlining how your employees report cybersecurity issues when they see them. Give your team a direct phone number, email, or an online portal where they can make a report. Knowing that they can take action and that their concern will be addressed provides them with peace of mind while protecting your organization from cybercrime.
Remote workers know the importance of having strong passwords for the programs that they use every day. However, using strong unique passwords for every account can be burdensome without the right tool and can quickly become overwhelming. Any company that hires remote employees would be wise to streamline this issue by implementing a password manager that can store all of their passwords for them, while also allowing employees to share records across the team. By providing secure and easy access to online accounts they need to perform their job, password managers can help reduce remote worker anxiety.
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Tech Can Help With Productivity
If your teams need to be on top of numerous projects at once, then consider the use of project management software. This tech provides an easy way for your employees to keep track of individual progress on any given task. Project managers also help employees understand where their efforts fall into the overall project.
Remote workers can feel like they are on their own island and that it’s difficult to reach out to management when they need them the most. Project management software can help. Business messaging apps like Slack and Microsoft Teams allow your team to reach out to anyone in the organization with a few clicks. Most of these programs also enable employees to share files and screenshots, and even start a virtual meeting. When your team can get quick answers, they can accomplish their work faster and avoid working longer hours.
Consider pairing all of this technology with 5G connectivity. This reliable, high-speed connection is essential, especially when your team is not in the same office. A reliable network will give your employees the confidence that their computer programs will continue to work efficiently and that they won’t lose connection when they need it most. Sometimes, a strong internet connection is all you need to improve your team’s morale.
Ultimately, your company needs to streamline its processes to reduce burnout and improve efficiency. Follow these tips and have a happier, healthier, and more productive workforce.
