Being part of a team is a great feeling in any situation if the team is real one… And this definition says a lot: the team is always larger than the sum of its parts. It’s a little harder to keep feeling part of the team during the remote work period.
So how do we maintain team spirit in the business world, where remote working is considered the “new normal”?
We have six suggestions!
Shall we explore?
- Not forgetting to chat. Team chats are activities where we develop a sense of belonging. Send this article to your manager who started the meeting saying “we have little time, let’s get on the agenda right away”! We need to greet each other, ask how we are, explain or explore problems, offer support and even make time to chat over your morning coffee. It’ll help your remote team feel a little less remote.
- Remember what unites us: we are all different. The only way to be close enough to embrace differences is to get to know each other. And in order to get to know each other, we need to keep the conversation going.
- Get used to the fact that the conversations of those who work at home are suddenly interrupted by the helper asking questions or the child who is at home. Offer both empathy and sympathy to your teammate who feels bad for this.
- Be flexible with meeting hours, offer options. Keep in mind that being at home or on the road don’t always mean being available. Yes, even during office hours!
- Talk about work during business hours and don’t move on to the time when work hours end and private life begins! Especially if you are the team leader. Get away from the illusion that those who work at home are “already comfortable enough” and focus on the business results. If you don’t like the business results, let that be a separate conversation topic.
- One of the major mistakes made in hybrid work environments is to hold snap meetings that remote employees do not attend. Don’t do this! Online meeting environments are now very common and practical. The sentence “You were at home, we had a quick meeting” is an extremely discriminatory sentence.