Balancing Work and Life When You Work From Home

Why Does Remote Work-Life Balance Matter for Productivity?

Unlike when working in a shared office space, managers can’t monitor, motivate, and reinforce the work-life balance as easily when the team is dispersed and disconnected in their homes. Productivity itself can also be more difficult to track and analyze, but it’s critical wherever you
are that a happy team is a functional one.

Happiness and purpose reign supreme as essential variables for the measurement of function – something that is achieved through communication, recognition, and, of course, the support of work-life harmony. Consistency is also a huge player when it comes to preserving a work-life balance among remote employees – something that’s a little harder to maintain remotely but highly rewarding when polished out.

In fact, the enforcement of many Americans to work from home over the past several months has opened up a few doors to many employees who feel that their work-life balance was lacking. Two thirds of the country’s employees considered switching jobs to one that offered more flexibility. Now that the country has had that flexible work ideal thrust upon us, we might as well take the opportunity to find out if this new productivity could be something we can stick to effectively.

There are several methods and mindsets to promote productivity while still providing your team
with a functional work-life balance.

Re-connect to the Purpose

There can be a disconnect from an employer’s purpose when the team is at home instead of in a setting where those goals are consistently reinforced. Integrating employee rewards or recognition applications to be used across your organization not only motivates your employees to succeed, but it also brings that community and pride of purpose back to the surface.

Read More: The Power of ‘Proud’

Paired with a scheduling and communication platform, your team will have that structure and connection they crave, especially if it has taken them long to adapt to working from home.

Stay Connected

Don’t forget to check-in with each team member as you would if you shared office space. Find out where they’re in need of mentorship or guidance and whether they require less or more challenging tasks to complete. Even if you’re just calling up to “chat” with a team member, it gives them a connection to their role, reminds them that you’re still there doing the “managing” they depend on, and that care about their mental health as well as their work.

Keep Up the Recognition Regardless of Where Your Team Works

At the end of each workday, recognize your team for a productive day, provide individual achievements where needed. Then, tell them to enjoy the rest of the evening. Oftentimes, employees can feel compelled to keep working because they don’t think that they did enough, or they want to get a head start on tomorrow. By vocalizing their need to relax, you can help rid some of that guilt and allow your team members – and yourself – to switch off the workday and focus on your personal lives when appropriate.