Search Close search 25 Aug 2019 Diversity and inclusiveness Open Navigation Menu Welcome to EY Belgium (EN) How to support the well-being of your team members during a pandemic Authors Anne Moreau EY Belgium Consulting Executive Director Celine Rossavik EY Belgium Consulting Manager 4 minute read 25 Nov 2021 Related topics Technology Consulting Digital COVID-19 Diversity and inclusiveness Upvote Find out how to tackle the impact of the hybrid working model on the well-being and creativity of your team. In brief A hybrid working model better preserves the work-life balance of employees, but there are still some disadvantages for creativity and well-being. As a manager, ensure creativity is still fostered at work and find ways to motivate people to come to the office and meet in person. The strength of a Transformation Management Office is that the people aspect is one of the key pillars to monitor and support throughout the project lifecycle. E ven before COVID-19, well-being at the workplace had become a hot topic. When the pandemic struck, offices closed down, and we were forced to work from home. At that point, mental health and well-being became a very present concern globally. Now, it’s no longer taboo to talk about your mental health and your work-life balance. Even in the press and amongst celebrities, mental health issues are finally being discussed openly. Most people also highly value an employer who prioritizes the mental health of their employees. Especially millennials and Gen Zers, who represent the largest demographic in the workforce, want their employers to address mental health and embed it in the company culture, according to research done by Harvard Business Review. A company cannot simply say they value diversity and inclusion without listing mental health at the top of their agenda. Well-being in a hybrid working model Many companies have renewed their way of working and hybrid working is now included in most workplaces, allowing people to both work from home and the office. A great model to boost well-being and foster a healthy work-life balance, you would think. There are two sides to this story. Although it’s true that by working from home, the work-life balance of employees is better preserved, there are still some disadvantages for creativity and well-being as well. In what’s next, we list up the most common challenges for companies and their employees. Creating time for interaction and conversation When working at home, you will have of course less interaction with co-workers. Because you might not all go to the office on the same day, you might not see some colleagues for weeks. This has a negative impact on the relationships and the trust between co-workers. If you’re purely focused on work and not on getting to know the person you’re working with, it’s easy to feel less happy and less appreciated at work. Humans are social creatures, we need interaction and conversations with fellow colleagues to enjoy our work. If you start to notice you don’t really know your team, plan fixed days where you all come to the office. People will be motivated more to come to the office when they know their team and colleagues will be there. When working remotely, you can always plan weekly (coffee) calls where you don’t talk about work. If this feels somewhat awkward, include an icebreaker, quiz or just a simple game, to have fun within your team. How EY can help Technology transformation Organizations must consider foundational transformation rather than quick fixes and ad hoc investments to give them the agility to adapt. Read more Monitoring the well-being of your employees When you’re managing a team, you carry the responsibility of looking after your employees. When you see your team members less in real life, it’s easy to lose the informal and emotional connection. A lack of physical presence and little face-to-face time can result in the fact that you as a manager don’t know how your team is really doing and feeling. While monitoring the well-being of your employees has never been so important, it has at the same time never been so hard. It’s important to be aware of this contradiction and to act consciously. We conducted a survey with 100+ EY Belgium senior executives. Many of the respondents indicated that in the past they monitored their team and got to know the team dynamics in a rather passive way. They were able to get to know their team and have a feeling of how they’re doing, by having informal coffee chats and by meeting each other over lunch, in real life. In a hybrid working model, this will have to be actively monitored. Plan in one-to-one calls to help everyone feel included and heard, especially new joiners. Emphasize the fact that having a life after work is important, and that people can indicate when they’re no longer satisfied. When working at home, some people have difficulties logging off in time and feel like they can keep working all evening. Monitor this and encourage them to log off early now and then. Stimulating the creativity of the team members In a lot of industries, creativity is key to stay ahead of the competition. However, only 25% of the respondents to our survey believe that remote work will stimulate the creativity of team members. Here, managers will need to ensure that creativity is still fostered at work and find ways to motivate people to come to the office and meet in person. Research shows that teams are most creative when collaborating and brainstorming in real life. Companies need to respect the hybrid way of working, but in a way that doesn’t harm the creativity of teams. Fixed office days can help overcome this, as well as a great company culture and office venue. Newsletters EY Belgium Subscribe to one of our newsletters and stay up to date of our latest news, insights, events or more. Subscribe Summary Now that mental health and employee well-being is gaining relevance globally, it’s time to reflect on what this means practically. While monitoring the mental health of your employees has become more important because of the pandemic, it has also become harder. Companies need to make trade-offs when developing their new policies. The strength of a Transformation Management Office for a project, is that the people aspect is one of the key pillars to monitor and support throughout the project lifecycle. People are the main actors delivering a project, so they should be treated with the utmost care. About this article Authors Anne Moreau EY Belgium Consulting Executive Director Celine Rossavik EY Belgium Consulting Manager Related topics Technology Consulting Digital COVID-19 Diversity and inclusiveness Upvote Connect with us Our locations Transparency report My EY Site map Legal and privacy EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. 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