COVID-19 has created additional stress in the workplace, resulting in a decrease in morale and disrupted group chemistry, which can all lead to lower performance. Because of this, it’s important to actively support your employees.
According to data from a recent Harvard University study, many leaders effectively managed their employees through a few effective strategies. The following actions were shown to support your employees through the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. A few of these suggestions may come naturally to you and others won’t. As with most things, the best approach is to focus on areas where you feel strong and make time to develop areas that feel more challenging.
Show Appreciation
Survey respondents said even the most basic praise or show of gratitude from a supervisor was greatly appreciated. Recognizing hard work and perseverance, as well as accomplishments, made respondents feel validated at a time when there’s so much uncertainty.
Show Individual Attention
When leaders committed to understanding employees’ needs, priorities, and situations regarding their work situation, respondents said it gave them the help they needed to stay focused on their responsibilities.
It helps to remember that every employee has a different situation. The more effective leaders in the Harvard survey checked in regularly with staff members on how they were doing, including their personal lives.
Effective leaders also showed an understanding of specific challenges and provided assistance accordingly. One-on-one meetings allowed leaders to offer more direction and adjust work tasks to accommodate various, shifting employee needs.
Collective Decision Making
In the midst of significant anxiety and uncertainty, many respondents stated that they valued leaders who looked for and acted on the insight they provided. These survey respondents said their work situation got better when their supervisor encouraged them to raise issues right away, asked for input on group direction, and organized forums for employees to ask questions and share concerns. These moves led to staff members feeling respected, needed, and valued in their organizations.
Give New Responsibilities
This might seem counterintuitive, but many workers feel empowered when receiving new job responsibilities, even during the pandemic, as companies scrambled to meet various challenges.
Handling responsibilities delegated from a supervisor or mentoring coworkers gave respondents more confidence and the chance to get to know other people better, making them feel crucial to the company’s success.
Make Time for Team Bonding
Survey respondents also noted critical benefits when their leaders set aside time to connect with their coworkers, including activities like virtual coffee breaks and Zoom happy hours.
These sessions helped bring people together in an informal setting, relieve stress, and inspire respondents to do their jobs to the best of their ability.
We Can Help Your Transition Out of the COVID Pandemic
At NSC, we’ve been supporting our clients through the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re happy to support them as the pandemic started to fade into the rearview mirror. If your company is currently looking for support, please contact us today to see how we can help.