With the pandemic came a change in our working lives. For most, it was business as usual but from home offices, dining tables or spare bedrooms. The move was a positive one for many with more time in the day, greater flexibility and an improved work-life balance. However, others have found the experience isolating and difficult, with the boundary between work and home life well and truly blurred. There has been much talk by businesses about improving the employee experience in this new world of work, yet many are still to put plans into action.

The challenges of a hybrid working world
While flexibility must now be an option to retain employees, there’s no denying that remote working has limited our social interaction and disconnected employees from their teams and colleagues. Although video and phone calls are well used, the physical interactions that employees get from being in a central location with their co-workers is still required and wanted by many. The ‘water cooler’ conversation played an important role, especially for those who enjoyed the human interaction of a communal office.

In some instances, productivity has become affected over time, with health and mental wellbeing problems surfacing too. Studies suggest that a risk of burnout is increasing among home-working employees, where there is little separation between work and home life. Hybrid working has also brought with it an increase in the length of the working day with more meetings, fewer breaks and more screen fatigue.

According to a report by the Human Resource Executive (2020), 38 per cent of employees say they’ve experienced video call fatigue since the start of the pandemic and 58 per cent of women feel isolated as a result of working from home (RSPH 2021). Yet, with all of this experience and research available, a Harvard Business School study in September 2020 suggested that only one in three employees had been offered support with their mental health by employers. A worrying stat given that remote working is here to stay.

How can businesses improve the employee experience?
It could be said that the pandemic and remote working has made it more difficult for employers to live up to expectations. Employees have now seen how life can be without a commute, and the benefits of working from home and having time to focus on areas outside of work have become more desirable. Many will not want to go back now.

Given that we’ve galloped towards this world of hybrid working, here are five steps that organisations can put into place to ensure there’s no employee experience disconnect, or at least that it doesn’t widen.

1. Set a remote/hybrid working policy and procedures
Demonstrating that you trust your team is very powerful, but there must be clear procedures in place. Offer options for hybrid working but define the working practices. Set expectations around policy, procedures, working patterns and the communication culture, so it is clear for all.

2. Make it simple for people to engage and collaborate
We all know how vital the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams have been for hybrid working, so it’s important to support employees with the right equipment and technology for effective collaboration. In addition, using a time management system to help monitor progress on tasks will enable all members of the team to stay updated.

3. Maintain the personal connection
Effective communication with your team members on an individual basis is essential. Check in with each of them regularly to help combat isolation and to notice if there are any changes in behaviour. Schedule frequent meetings and ensure your team meets up in person at least once a month.

4. Provide support
Communicate regularly with your team and ask them how they feel about their working conditions. It’s essential to act on any feedback received, so you must be able to provide support where required.

5. Look after your people’s health and mental wellbeing
It is essential to recognise any signs of burnout or mental health issues. There are tools out there to help, including apps for employees that provide information and support. Also look to schedule regular meetings with the HR team, if applicable, who are fully trained in this area.

Ultimately, I believe organisations need to put people at the heart of their remote and hybrid working strategy. Homeworkers must not become second class citizens and should be treated equally. Communicating effectively and understanding employees’ changing needs will improve the experience for all. And it will be the organisations who understand their team’s dynamics and adapt to offer new solutions, that will succeed in this new world of work.