The time has come where most of us are in lockdown mode for the foreseeable future, are spending time only with people in our immediate household and are looking at the grocery store as an outing. Working from home may seem like fun, but after a few days you start to miss your work family.

First off, it’s important to understand there is a huge difference between social distancing and social isolation. When individuals are working in their home without any human contact, that’s social isolation. With limited social interaction, it’s easy for employees to have increased feelings of depression or anxiety. The good news is there are a lot of steps we can take to continue to bring our teams together to make the transition smoother on everyone.

Video chats. It’s easy to jump on a call, but when given the opportunity use the video function. It will allow you to connect with your team and, although we love them, it’s great to see someone other than your family members. Need tips to stay connected to your co-workers? Ryan Stainbrook shares some great resources here.

Check in with your team. Remind yourself that some team members might have increased levels of stress and anxiety due to workload or not understanding who is handling what. Check in with your team on a regular basis to outline expectations, understand what projects are in motion and determine where people can offer additional support. Try scheduling a morning check-in for five minutes over video chat to talk through these scenarios.

Connect in meetings. Working virtually can reduce the personal connection between employees and limit personal conversations that build strong relationships. Continue these conversations in your meetings, see how everyone is adjusting and, better yet, include children or pets in your video calls to add an additional layer of connection. 

Overall, try to stay connected with your co-workers not only from a professional perspective, but personal as well. Try to emphasize the culture where you can and continue to build relationships. How is akhia communications implementing some of these areas? We’ve done virtual happy hours, shared recipes and binge-worthy shows, and this month we’ll be keeping our wellness in check with a walking competition.

What is your team doing to stay connected?