0 Comment

Empathy among Remote Co-workers is the Need of the Hour



Organizations are still struggling with the challenges of collaboration among remote workers and motivating them to work as a team. In this scenario, empathy among remote co-workers is the need of the hour!

What is the Impact of Remote Working on Teamwork and Collaboration?

Work from Home

COVID-19 has upended traditional office culture and has ushered in an era where remote working has become the norm.

However, even as organizations struggle with this new routine, they are also facing the challenge of collaboration among co-workers.

This is because, unlike traditional workspaces, co-workers used to sit together, have casual conversations during breaks, or share ideas and information in person.

Work from Home

Work from Home has forced employees to operate in near isolation, connected only through digital means.

In such a situation, they can develop a sense of mistrust and form incorrect opinions about their remote working colleagues.

This often results in overcommitments and misjudgments, affecting the overall effectiveness and morale of the team.

How to Overcome the Challenges of ‘Work from Home’?

Collaborating remotely with their co-workers is challenging, especially in the current crisis.

However, it is possible to overcome this challenge by ensuring higher empathy among remote co-workers.

In this context, the following ideas might help them enhance collaboration and improve their overall efficiency while working remotely:

Empathy among Remote Co-workers is the Need of the Hour

1. Understanding that every co-worker’s situation is different

Work from Home Employees

Employees need to understand that the home situation of each of their co-workers is different. 

Some might try to continue their children’s education or care for their elderly parents.

Most employees must handle additional household responsibilities with schools and colleges closing and household help unavailable.

Some employees might be living in complete isolation, cut off from their families, which might increase their stress levels.

Hence, employees should understand what their colleagues are going through and support them in any way possible.

2. Increase the frequency of communication

5 Best Tips to Enhance Productivity of Virtual Meetings

To understand what their co-workers are going through, employees need to communicate with each other more frequently.

Hence, co-workers need to interact with each other using any mode they feel comfortable with and even seek advice and support from each other.

3. Adopt a more patient and forgiving attitude

Mentoring

Most employees working from home are known to be highly anxious and stressed, mainly due to the prevailing circumstances.

They may miss deadlines or make silly mistakes, which would typically not be expected of them.

Rather than making them feel guilty and embarrassed, they must adopt a more forgiving and patient attitude.

Discussing with them or rectifying the mistakes are ways to improve team spirit in these difficult times.

4. Express gratitude more and complain less

A Guide to Organizing a Virtual Employee Awards Ceremony

Also, employees should develop an attitude of gratitude for even the most minor contributions made by their co-workers.

Hence, they need to acknowledge that their combined efforts are what is helping them to fulfill their commitments to their clients.

So rather than complaining about their peers, employees should thank them for their contribution and hard work.

Bottom-line

The COVID-19 pandemic is a time to restore human values in professional relationships and enable co-workers to strengthen their sense of mutual trust and understanding. Empathy among remote co-workers is the need of the hour!

Sagar Chaudhuri

Lead author: Sagar Chaudhuri, the Co-Founder and CEO of HiFives. He is an HR Tech Evangelist with over 25 years of corporate and entrepreneurship experience. In the past, Sagar has worked in leadership roles with companies such as Genpact, Infosys, and ICICI Bank. He has an engineering degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Lucknow. Connect on LinkedIn

To stay updated on the latest HiFives blogs, follow us on Twitter (@MyHiFives)

HiFives is a global employee rewards, recognition and engagement SaaS platform that enables organizations to digitize, automate and transform their employee experience. It is used by 100+ large enterprises, small businesses and startups in manufacturing, retail, technology, financial services and media, across 25+ countries.