Creative Ways to Stay Connected in a Remote Work Environment

How to Stay in Touch With Your Team When Working Remotely

The Covid-19 pandemic has definitely brought a lot of new challenges into our work lives. When face-to-face meetings and being in the office are not an option, working from home is the answer. That said, every remote worker has their own individual work-from-home challenges: While parents need to find a way to balance work and family-related tasks, some people may fear the disconnection from their co-workers. They might even feel socially isolated when working from home.

We understand that a lot of people currently juggle with these worries. The good news: There is a solution for everything. We have collected some valuable tips for you on how to stay connected with your co-workers, so you don’t end up feeling left out.

Establish a Productive Meeting Culture

Meetings take up a large part of our time at work, especially in certain areas such as Marketing, Sales or Human Resources. It is important to make them as productive as possible in the traditional office but also in a digital office setting.

Here are some tips that may help you to establish a solid meeting culture in your company.

How to Plan a Virtual Business Meeting

• Define a meeting agenda beforehand.
• Define goals and action items for the meeting.
• Incorporate visualization into the meeting, for example with a Whiteboard.
• Try to make the meeting as interactive as possible.
• Keep it as short as possible. Always remember that your colleagues have a busy schedule as well, just like you.
• Don’t wait for people that are late. Also keep an eye on the time schedule.
• Take notes that are visible to everyone, so all attendees can track content and progress in real time.

When You Are Invited to a Meeting

• Before accepting a meeting invite, check if you need to be part of the meeting.
• Accept or decline – and when you accept it, make sure you are present, and not only a silent listener.
• Leave the meeting when you realize it is not essential for you.

Hybrid Work: Finding a Balance Between Social Time and Focus Time

New work models require a new way of thinking. Oftentimes, they also require people to be more flexible than ever. We now hear a lot about Hybrid Work concepts – a mix between work-from-home days and in-office days. This idea allows for a balance between focus work and social time.

Employees that are rarely in the office often find themselves in a “flex-desk” situation where they share desks with other co-workers that come to the office on other days. While this comes with less desk personalization options, it does offer more flexibility to teams when it comes to Hybrid Work. 

Wondering how to organize your Hybrid Work week? When planning your week, be sure to establish goals for your in-office days and your work-from-home days.

Tips for Hybrid Work Success

• Balance your tasks: Decide which tasks are better done at home while being isolated and away from office noise, and which tasks may even require input from co-workers and are therefore more suitable for in-office days.
• Plan face-to-face meetings in the office: Whenever possible, try to meet your co-workers face-to-face. Especially for brainstorming sessions you will realize how much more productive meetings in the office are. There, you have access to support materials, such as whiteboards. Make sure you also plan enough time for little chats with snacks and coffee between all the serious talk.
• Have lunch with your colleagues: Try to schedule lunch meetings when you are in the office so you can socialize with your co-workers and get to know your team-mates in a more informal environment. It is also important not talk about work all the time and have a good time together!

The Mind Needs to Play to be Able to Work

We all want to be productive and get our work done. What we sometimes forget is that we need to take breaks to allow our brain to work.

No matter how much you work, you need to include breaks throughout your day. It is up to you whether you spend the breaks alone, with friends and family, or with your co-workers, but rest assured that your mind needs to relax every now and then.

How about staying in touch with your co-workers during breaks? That way, you do not limit the communication with them to business meetings.

Different Ways to Include Fun in Your Workdays

• Make some time for daily check-ins with the team.
• Set virtual coffee breaks or lunch meetings during the day.
• Online games during breaks, for example cooperative browser games, are a great way to create a strong bond between your team members.
• Virtual after work hours and get-togethers with drinks add to a great work-life balance.
• Working remotely (silently!) on individual projects that do not require heavy focus while being connected through webcam.
• Try to incorporate movement into your meetings: Walk around with your headset, stand up and stretch during long meetings, or change the scenery every now and then by going to a different room.

Conclusion

The important takeaway is: No matter if you choose to work from home or in the office, take good care of your mind, body, and soul. Only then will you be able to work in a healthy and focused manner. Surely, every human being is different. When it comes to remote jobs or hybrid work models, virtual coffee breaks might work for some, while others don’t get anything out of these concepts.

Ultimately, you must give things a try to find out which ideas will eventually enrich your work-life balance. A productive meeting culture, Hybrid Work concepts, and enough time to network with your team can help you find the right balance between social time and focus time, especially if you are working a full-time job from home.