opinion
We’ve all read about a thousand articles touting tips for productivity while working from home, or activities to keep your kids entertained while you seamlessly balance Zoom calls, homeschooling, meal time, housekeeping, and more. Better yet, we’ve watched celebrities talk about being stuck in a 10K square foot “prison,” Cue the eye roll.
On the flip side, we’ve seen the memes extolling that a pandemic isn’t a productivity contest and that “Tiger King” prevails. Somewhere in the middle is what most of us are going through - some productivity, lots of anxiety, and a strong lack of clarity over our future. Few are equipped for this unique scenario.
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As politicians begin to quote lower infection rates and our statewide stay at home order expires, companies are reckoning with their own timelines for opening their doors and either encouraging or requiring employees to return to their desks.
Questions left to answer
This leaves many wondering, what is our threshold for office interpersonal interaction? What does this mean for the average small to medium sized business owner? Are we sitting at our desks wearing masks and clicking away while wearing gloves? How do we regroup and reconnect as a team? For furloughed employees, have trust and loyalty disappeared completely?
Moreover, they must consider the unique set of circumstances that faces their teams. With childcare still a question mark for many, employers need to remain flexible and tactical in their in-office policies. Finally, companies must consider their own risk tolerance for inviting folks back into what are often relatively close quarters.
The challenge on the horizon for companies is going to be acing the return of their workforce to a new normal, back in the workplace, together. Regular Zoom chats, with participants secretly donning sweatpants out of frame, throughout this time aren’t enough to keep team members engaged and ready for what comes next.
Events, or rather some form of them, are the answer.
Convening people over a shared purpose or goal will allow companies to be intentional in navigating the upcoming transition and inspiring their workforce. Whether it’s a virtual executive address to reestablish leadership and “face-to-face” recognition, or a facilitated discussion group on the emotional and physical effects of quarantine on the team, an intentional decision needs to be made by companies to encourage reconnection.
Through hybrid events that combine virtual resources and smaller in-person convening, companies can maintain relative social distance while gradually recouping team time.
Moreover, by providing a litany of workplace resources such as tips for redefining normalcy or tips for healthy workplace interaction, employers can establish themselves as partners in defining our next chapter.
Finally, team building and other fun activities will be critical to program an environment that deepens bonds between employees and reframes the workplace as a place they want to be.
Companies are laying groundwork now. When the time for re-entry comes, leaders must be ready to get their workforce operational as an attempt to reclaim control over the remaining majority of 2020.
Amanda Stone and Micaela Reed are the co-founders of Nashville-based corporate events company, A&M Agency
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May 05, 2020 at 03:18AM
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