Striking the right work-life balance while working from home.
Tags: Work From Home, Work Life Balance, Employee Engagement, Employee Experience

Transitioning from office-oriented work to completely remote has blurred the lines between work and home life. This has made it more important than ever for businesses to establish and grow supportive company culture. The foundation of which is a focus on transparent communication with their team.

At DefinedLogic, we’ve always treasured our company culture and we’ve maintained our approach to this philosophy since our founding. To create a plan like ours, company founders and managers have to prioritize a culture of care and trust. They have to lead by example with clear team communication strategies and hard work. The earliest place an employee could benefit from this approach is through a company’s hiring process.

Individuals are the means and the end of establishing a vibrant culture. Managers should be asking” How can I consider this individual’s work and home life to optimize their productivity? Communication with employees and expectation management must begin in the hiring process and continue for an individual’s employment term.

Open lines of communication between every member of the team establish trust throughout the company.

There are many ways to open lines of communication with team members: Employee surveys, team building events, and built-in time for physical and mental health have been most successful for the DefinedLogic team.

Surveys from management to team members allow companies to understand any existing pain points or challenges for employees. For example, a survey might reveal a common issue that team members are facing when working remotely (lacking the software or training for a specific project ). In this case, managers might respond with a new marketing automation software or training/webinar for employees.

Businesses can establish and maintain a unique, supportive company culture through fun events or team traditions. Charitable fundraising, holiday parties, or something creative, like a “beer advent calendar” make for events that unify a company’s employees. These events or traditions should never be mandatory but instead, be open to those who want to contribute and participate in something as a group.

A company’s ability to check up on employees’ physical and mental health is also paramount. For example, a company survey might expose a team member’s favorite hobby is cycling. In response to this, a manager could allow that employee to take an extended break for a bike ride on a nice, sunny day. There needs to be a give and take between hard work and time for self-care.

Making a plan to establish this type of team philosophy has results that drive business success. When employees are happy, a business is more likely to have happy clients. When employees are trusted to get their work done and feel part of a family, they’re more likely to take ownership and get invested in what they deliver.

When employees feel supported and trusted by their company, they will not only do their job to the best of their ability, but they will also work to further that culture of success. It all starts with transparent communication, hard work, and always a deserved reward when everything goes according to plan.