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If your business generally operates from an office, then it is quite likely that at least some of your employees have spent the past few months away from the office and working from home.
As an employer, how can you keep tabs on employees’ mental health when they’re away from the office? And should you even care? We say yes.
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Here are the main reasons why you should care about your employees’ lives outside of their daily work duties.
Employees’ Health and Productivity
Unfortunately, studies have shown that work tends to cause the most stress in a person’s life. That’s why it is essential for them to have time for themselves. Everyone needs to have hobbies and a social life away from the office.
If they feel satisfied in their personal lives, they will be more productive when they come to work. However, there could be a problem going on at home. If so, there is a high chance an employee could bring their dissatisfaction into the work environment. For instance, if they are having personal problems away from the office, they may be confrontational, distracted, or difficult to talk to at work.
It’s important to give your employees the space they need to breathe. They are not going to be on top of their game every time they are at work. Be understanding and flexible. Try to empathize with whatever they might be going through. Give them time to get themselves back into a working frame of mind.
Employees’ Fatigue from Personal Commitments Away from the Office
It is also important to consider what your employees enjoy doing in their free time. If you know they have fun with a certain hobby, this might be something you can bond over. Additionally, knowing a little something about their personal lives can give you an understanding as to why they react the way they do.
And when times are tough, an employee assistance program from LifeWorks can help employees get their lives back on track.
For instance, if you know someone who works for you spends a lot of their personal time looking after vulnerable family members, you could offer them staggered shifts. This can help them keep up with their daily duties away from the office and stay on top of their work tasks, too.
Figure out what your employees do in their lives, then inspire loyalty by treating them as human beings, not just as cogs in a machine.
Photo by Levi Guzman on Unsplash
Life and Connections at the Office and Away from It
It’s important to take a step back from work if you are the owner or a manager of a business. After all, you and each of your employees will spend 90,000 hours in work over a lifetime.
However, not all of this time will be spent working. In fact, if you are going to create a more productive work force, you need to get to know the people you are working with. This includes finding out about their daily lives and what they do away from the office. The more you know and care about your employees, the more likely they will function happily as a team.