New research  reveals that 64 per cent of professionals feel connected to their colleagues, despite working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although stringent social-distancing rules have prohibited staff from working alongside one another in the office since 23rd March, TopCV’s data revealed that just 13 per cent of those surveyed have reported feeling ‘disconnected’ from colleagues. Instead, a surprising 64 per cent reported feeling either ‘connected’ or ‘very connected’ to their co-workers since the shift to homeworking.

Regardless of industry, employees reported similar levels of workplace satisfaction. Professionals working in sales and business development or project and programme management are most comfortable working from home, with 69 per cent saying they feel connected to their colleagues, followed closely by accounting and finance (68 per cent), technology (67 per cent) and engineering and construction (65 per cent).

Amanda Augustine, careers expert at TopCV, commented: ‘Whilst many organisations have offered telecommuting to portions of its staff in the past, this new workplace “norm” – the fully virtual workforce – has incentivised employers to get creative in helping their teams feel connected during self-isolation. Our data shows that these efforts are paying off’.

Augustine suggests giving these ideas a go if you’d like your co-workers to feel more connected whilst working from home:

• Check in regularly: Messaging your colleagues at the start of the working day or taking a moment out at the beginning of a meeting to ask how those in attendance are carrying on can have a bigger impact than you might imagine on people’s wellbeing.
• Share moments from your life: Encouraging teams to share real-life photos and videos of their home life or allowing someone’s pet or child to make an occasional cameo during a video call is a great way to help your team feel more connected to one another during this unusual situation.
• Have a little fun: Taking a little mental break and having fun with one another will boost your connection and help reduce stress during lockdown. Consider hosting a virtual happy hour or using one of the numerous apps available for playing games to socialise with your colleagues after you’ve ‘left’ your home office for the day.

Jeff Berger, CEO of Talent Inc., parent company of TopCV, added: ‘The forced switch to telecommuting has accelerated the technology-fueled trend towards a more flexible workplace that had been steadily growing. These findings reinforce that remote working is a viable long-term option for companies, which has a positive impact on productivity, employee wellbeing and morale. Employers who deny their staff workplace flexibility may find them choosing to work elsewhere’.