by Deborah Hartung, founder of Pivot PeopleTech
As if it wasn’t already challenging enough to manage a business and lead a team of people every day, we suddenly all find ourselves facing the global Covid-19 pandemic. Along with eerily quiet city streets and deserted tourist attractions, we have collectively found ourselves at home, trying desperately to maintain a semblance of normalcy while our living rooms have been turned into offices, gyms, classrooms, playgrounds and movie theaters.
Over the past two months, I have been doing free coaching calls with teams from various industries and organizations that vary in size from 30 employees, to 30 thousand. I’ve had the opportunity to survey approximately 300 individuals during these calls and they are all facing the exact same challenges right now.
When asked to list their top 3 emotions, people are collectively reporting that they feel anxiety, overwhelm and stress. Some say they are feeling isolated, lonely, depressed or lost. Many who are parents add that they’re feeling guilty because they feel like they’re neglecting their partners and children and spending too much time on work.
Working with so many teams and trying to help as many people as possible, here is what I’ve learned about how you can help yourself and your team to curb the feelings of anxiety and overwhelm and stay connected during this pandemic:
Create Balance between ‘work’ and ‘life’
As an HR practitioner, I’ve embraced the term ‘work-life integration’ as it speaks to the fact that work is pretty much anywhere our smartphones are. If you and your team members are working from home due to social distancing orders, it may feel like work is seeping into every aspect of your life. It’s up to you to recognize this and to change it:
Make sure you have a routine that includes breakfast and a shower in the morning and get into a mindset for work;
Keep to some kind of ordinary working hours and don’t make your workday unnecessarily long just because you’re not commuting. You can use the time you used to commute, for exercise, personal development (like listening to a podcast or audiobook, reading, completing online learning etc) or relaxation;
Pack away your laptop and anything that looks like ‘work’ at the end of your work day and focus on leisure and family activities; and
Agree with your team that unless it’s an absolute emergency, nobody will be sending mails or work-related texts before or after a certain time (some companies have this time set as 7AM and 7PM).
Fewer Meetings to Reduce Digital Fatigue
Global research released at the end of April, found that the average work day duration has increased by 31%. The simple explanation for this, is that people are spending more time having meetings on Zoom or Teams, this reducing the time they ordinarily had to actually ‘focus’ and complete their ordinary work tasks. Being in lockdown, we are staring at computer screens for work – and more often than not – for entertainment as we watch videos online and stream content, and to connect with friends and family.
As a leader, you can help reduce the feelings of overwhelm and anxiety at work, by actively reducing the number of meetings and the duration of those meetings.
Two practical tips:
Have one morning team huddle (like a standup in Agile teams). In this meeting, every team member answers three questions – and those 3 questions only:
What did they complete yesterday
What are they working on today
What obstacles or challenges are they encountering that they need help with
In the meeting, you don’t actually set out to solve those obstacles or challenges and you don’t allow anyone to get sidetracked and off topic. A morning huddle shouldn’t last more than 30 minutes and it’s a great way to keep on top of what is happening and gain insights into potential challenges. To save even more time and make these meetings even more effective, you can even get team members to submit their responses to the three questions, using some of the awesome apps and plug ins that are available for Teams.
Have one weekly planning meeting where the team does an overview of their deliverables and has an opportunity to plan their activities and allocate tasks.
Then step away and let your people work. Trust that you have hired competent, passionate people and give them the space and the tools to deliver their work, their way.
Keep the Human Connection
Yes, I know you spend your day on Zoom or on Teams, but when last did you have an ordinary conversation with a colleague, that wasn’t work related?
When we are at work, we talk about all kinds of things and connect on a very human level over coffee and lunches, talking about our families and tv shows we are watching or books we are reading.
We need that human connection now, more than ever. Please set aside 10 minutes a day to check in with at least one team member or colleague and just have a chat. Schedule virtual lunch or coffee dates and video call each other, just to chat and laugh and talk about the latest episode of Greenleaf or Sweet Magnolias.
Better yet, schedule a Netflix Party (in a Chrome browser, go to netflixparty.com to set it up) and watch a movie together and catch up over coffee afterwards.
I know that we all feel overwhelmed right now. Speaking from the heart, with first/hand experience, I know how easy it is to get stuck in a loop of anxiety, stress and negative thoughts and to withdraw emotionally and socially.
But now is not the time for us to hide, ladies. We are lionesses and we always find a way to survive!
In these uncertain times, we need to start by controlling the things we can actually control and reduce the overwhelm a little for ourselves and our teams, while we maintain our human connection and lean on each other for support.
Deborah Hartung is a consultant, coach, author and speaker, and the founder of Pivot PeopleTech. She loves helping entrepreneurs find their unique voice and leadership style in order to empower them to create amazing places where people truly want to work. She has spent the majority of her career in HR and labour relations management and consulting, gaining experience in all fields related to the human experience in the workplace. While her main focus remains on consulting, coaching and training in the HR and labour relations space, Deborah is passionate about people and technology and the opportunities for the advancement of humanity in the digital age. Professionally, Deborah is known as an HR turnaround specialist with a proven track record in improving workplace culture, employee engagement and organisational effectiveness. www.pivotebpeopletech.co.za
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