1. Start Strong
When people work at the office, they develop routines to get ready: a morning shower, a coffee, sometimes a morning workout, and then a drive to work. Those routines become harder with a less defined starting point. Find a way to kick off a remote work day for your team, whether it is a beginning Zoom meeting, a check-in call, or an energizing task to begin the day. It will help people delineate the beginning of the work day more clearly, and get the morning started more effectively.
2. Provide Fitness Devices
If you give people a way to monitor their own fitness, more will do so than not. A Fitbit or other fitness tracker can be a great tool for people who want to get or stay in shape. If you do so, your team will both take better care of themselves and recognize that you care about their health. From a physical and mental health perspective, this will serve them well.
3. Offer Fitness Rewards
One way to make fitness tracking feel more like a benefit is to offer rewards for achieving fitness goals. You should offer suggestions, but let team members set their own goals in this regard. It keeps them engaged in their own development, and gives them additional motivation to reach the fitness levels they want to achieve.
4. Check In Regularly
When you don't see your co-workers, it can become easy to feel cut off from them. As a supervisor, an owner, or even a peer, you should reach out to the team and see how they are doing. This need not be a call about work; in fact, a few minutes to talk about how someone is feeling, to let them vent or share stories, can be the lifeline someone needs. Take the time to be there for them.
5. Nurture Connections
Team meetings on calls or Zoom are important for people to be able to see and hear each other. Open up, and let people talk back and forth. Connecting to your team is important but helping them connect to each other matters too.
6. Laugh
Your work, and the world in which we live, can be all too serious at times. Find reasons to laugh with people, and foster the moments of levity along the way. You will help avoid burnout and improve your organization's quality of life.
Remote work as a long-term model can take its toll. Make sure you are giving your team the tools to stay connected and lift themselves personally.
