8 Simple Ways To Keep Remote Employees Happy and Productive

The pandemic is reclassifying how a team divided responsibility, communicates among themselves, and works accordingly.

Before the arrival of covid-19, only a few companies used to offer remote work to get their employees a smoother lifestyle.

“The future we envision for work allows for infinite virtual workspaces that will unlock social and economic opportunities for people regardless of barriers like physical location. It will take time to get there, and we continue to build toward this.”

– Andrew Bosworth, VP Facebook Reality Labs

The scenario has been changed right after WHO (World Health Organization) declared the corona disease as pandemic and requested the organizations to provide their employees work from home to slow down the spreading. So, working from home is not a privilege or option anymore. It is now the new norm for most companies.

This time is challenging and hectic. Covid-19 has made everything complicated for all of us. Besides, the new way of working has brought drastic change to the way employees used to communicate with their managers and the rest of the team.

A recent study conducted by Oxford University underscores this point, revealing that contented employees are 13% more productive. This enhanced productivity allows the business to reach its goals more swiftly, resulting in a positive influence on the company’s financial performance.

As remote work means more distractions and fewer ways to interact with colleagues, here we have gathered 8 amazing Activities to keep remote employees happy and engaged while they are working from home. Dive into it right now!

How to keep your employees happy and productive?

• Clarify each employee’s job responsibility
• Stay in touch
• Define their tasks Accurately
• Equip your virtual team with tech and productivity tools
• Create a daily check-in routine
• A dedicated workspace is essential
• Encourage your team to dress up while working
• Non-work interactions are also important

Let’s explore these 8 simple ways to keep remote employees happy and productive

Clarify each employee’s job responsibility

The team members could allocate job responsibilities and deliverables among themselves by discussing them in person in earlier days. There is no doubt that offline team meetings are always more engaging.

So, you might face challenges to clarify their job roles to your remote workers. Here you can execute one of the smartest Virtual employee engagement ideas that will keep remote employees happy.

• Ask your team to clarify job responsibilities regularly.
• Select a note-taker for project calls
• Create a routine to monitor your employees’ performance, responsibilities, and deliverables.

Stay connected

Covid-19 has brought us to a battlefield where we all have to fight together to save human civilization. You don’t know what your employees are going through. Maybe they are facing some terrible personal challenges like losing someone close to their heart or depression due to isolation.

You can virtually support your remote team by strengthening your bonding with them. It will motivate the team to stay engaged and passionate about their job. Make them feel free to reach you anytime to ask you a question or raise concerns regarding anything from their personal lives to the organizational goal.

Read More – Important Things About Remote Workers You Should Know

Define their tasks accurately

One of the best benefits of doing an in-office job is, you can discuss any work-related issue with your fellow teammates or ask for help from seniors. Remote work creates an obstacle to solve any doubt while working because now you don’t have the option of side-conversation, fast check-ins, and various in-person interactions.

Instruct your managers to dedicate more time than before to make the employees understand their work. Create a friendly ambiance so that the team members never hesitate to ask the seniors about their doubts regarding the project.

If possible, hire a supervisor who can assist the staff to clear their confusion. Here you can read a complete guide on how to hire and manage remote workers.

Equip your virtual team with tech and productivity tools

You may use a few smart Activities to engage remote employees here to resolve the setback. Some outstanding technologies help virtual teams stay connected.

Equipping your fellow workers with those useful tools lets the managers and staff stay together on the same page. Cast your eyes over the following tools that can be the most effective ways to support you and your virtual team.

Create a daily check-in routine

As the managers are not getting the regular face-time with staff and the staff can’t chat around the proverbial micro-oven, establishing check-ins regularly can do wonders in fostering connections and setting priorities.

A compulsory morning check-in via instant message, phone call, or video chat establishes the feeling of normalcy. The technological products mentioned above are highly functional for revamping daily check-ins.

A dedicated workspace is essential

Numerous employees, who used to have in-office work, have never considered getting a dedicated workspace in their homes. So, you must encourage them to arrange a home office that is separate from the communal space.

Some offices have already included an extended stipend for their remote workers to Virtual employee engagement ideas. The stipend will help the employees to create a productive and perfect space for working from home.

A dedicated workspace helps the employee stay out of the chaotic communal distractions and keep their efficiency intact.

Encourage your team to dress up while working

It may sound inappropriate but psychology says that dressing up for the office while doing remote work, helps the employees to be more productive than wearing casual sweatpants. Moreover, dressing up boosts our confidence and motivates us to give our best.

Including dressing up for work to your Activities to engage remote employees may come up with unthinkable outcomes.

Your employees will feel better by wearing a pair of catchy clothes and they will feel enthusiastic to attend a suddenly-arranged video conference with colleagues and clients.

Non-work interactions are also important

One last thing that you should never forget is facilitating non-work interactions among the members of your virtual team. Invedus always prioritizes creating time and space for the employees to chat about hobbies, sports, current events, and other topics.

It helps the workers relieve stress, refresh the mood, get motivation for work, and most importantly, stay better connected.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to leave a few free minutes before and after team meetings open for the teammates to catch up. Or else, you can host a weekly virtual happy hour (without alcohol, definitely) to build bridges among the virtual team members.

FAQs related to helping remote employees be productive

1. How do you keep employees productive?

Prioritize Work-Life Balance, allow flexible working schedules, listen to your employees, Create Career Mobility, build a positive work environment, recognize employees for their hard work are some ways to keep your employees productive at work.

2. How do you increase employee happiness at work?

Happy workers contribute to better productivity, motivation, and company culture. Significant Ways To Improve Employee Happiness Acknowledge Efforts, Respect, Fair Promotions, Organizing Social Activities, etc.

3. What makes staff happy at work?

Strike a healthy balance between work and home life, encourage interoffice communication, find the purpose behind the work, be transparent about company wins and losses, give employees special projects, provide learning and career opportunities; these are some proven ways to ensure your employees walk in and out of work with a smile.

4. How can employers ensure that their employees are happy and motivated?

Happy employees are more creative and productive. They’re also less likely to quit. Be transparent and honest, Offer more vacation time, Create a career pathway, praise their work; these are some ways to keep your team happy and motivated.

Wrapping up

The concept that says remote work is completely beneficial for the employees is absurd. Remote workers deal with a lot of difficulties such as distraction by the family members, insufficiency of motivation, unstable internet connection, lack of communication with rest of team, and many more.

Even there are numerous companies where working from home is not something the workers signed up for. Still, all of them do their best to make it work. And, it goes without saying that, every employee desires to be appreciated in their workplace.

Showing appreciation for their effort with a genuine compliment or a heartfelt thank you goes a long way, I tell you. Always let them know that their hard work has never gone unnoticed and you are happy to have them. You can also explore ways to motivate disengaged employees.

These apparently effortless gestures create a huge impact on employee engagement and will keep your employees happy and productive.