It may seem like a strange question for organizations, but it’s an important one – do you support your workers? The answer is much more complicated than you think.
From a traditional perspective, the answer is almost certainly yes. As organization leaders, we strive to make sure that we hire the right people and give them the tools and help needed to get the job done efficiently. The contract between our organizations and our employees – implied or in writing – promises them the support they need to operate in an office or remote setting. Computers, network access, IT support, supervision, sometimes even onboarding are there for the new or existing employee.
But your workers are so much more than just workers. They’re husbands, wives, partners, sons, daughters, parents, caregivers, and more. They’re the couple who’s struggling with infertility; they’re the single parent trying to patch together a better financial future; they’re the veteran worker with aging parents and health issues of their own.
All of that affects how they perform. Yet none of it is supported adequately by the majority of organizations.
Let’s ask the question again. Are you supporting your workers by:
- Providing access to financial wellness resources?
- Supporting their need for remote work to better deal with personal situations?
- Augmenting their healthcare benefits package with value-added services and resources for better mental and physical health?
- Working with your worker to help them achieve their work benchmarks and alleviate some of their personal situations?
- Hiring remote help to lighten the load and help them achieve a better work-life balance?
A good work-life balance leads to better worker productivity, improved morale, and higher employee retention and job satisfaction. A Pew Research study shows that 71% of remote workers said remote work helps balance their work and personal life.[1]
With the pandemic shift to remote work in 2020, we have plenty of evidence to show that remote work is not a death knell for productivity – just the opposite. Statistics from Zippia show that 68% of enterprises say there’s been an improvement in employee productivity since the move to remote work[2].
It costs nothing to show compassion and empathy to your workers, and y our organization can reap the benefits of happier employees. Foster those connections with your employees. Here are a few ways to do that:
- Adopt more flexibility in when they work and from where they work.
- Stop looking at the clock – an eight-hour day isn’t a great measurement of employee success. The better indicator of how well your employees are doing is by the benchmarks and deadlines they meet.
- Let your employees work when they are most productive. That’s not always 9-to-5, either. Maybe it’s 6 am to noon or 3 pm until 11 pm. Harness their best hours, not the ones you think are mandatory.
- Build a strong, communicative hybrid work model, which includes: daily contact with your employees; mindful, intentional communication to set benchmarks and discuss any work or personal issues; a fully remote or hybrid workweek to accommodate their personal needs (this allows them to focus more fully on their work tasks); a trust system that treats employees like the adults they are.
That last point is an important one. Your remote/hybrid workers are adults. They can accomplish a great deal for your organization without micromanagement.
Supporting your workers has come a long way from providing them with a desk and a computer. Today’s workers have intense personal and professional pressures that impact everything in their lives. Ignoring that can be detrimental to your workers and to your organization.
It takes just a few changes to your work model and communication process to adopt a more flexible approach to doing business. You’ve trusted your workers to handle your most critical business functions. Trust them to be able to operate remotely with your management team offering support. The result could well be better productivity and more satisfied workers.
[1] Remote Work Statistics & Trends In (2024) – Forbes Advisor
[2] 25 Trending Remote Work Statistics [2023]: Facts, Trends, And Projections – Zippia