Since the global cases of COVID-19 overshoot the 300 million mark, it seems a lot safer to work from home in the next few months. The pandemic already led to the rise in employees in a remote work setup, and it seems as though it will continue to increase. Therefore, there needs to be an ongoing shift toward a telecommunications-friendly workplace if companies want to maintain productivity and keep their workers safe from the virus.
The methods adopted by the management in these challenging moments will define their character. After all, they took on the responsibility of providing a livelihood for their employees during a difficult time in history. The company must adopt an adequate strategy to handle the worker’s salaries, emotions, and privacy.
Adjustment for Remote Salaries
Even before the economic threat created by the pandemic, people were already heavily reliant on their income. As made evident by the Great Resignation, professionals could leave work if they could afford to. One of the reasons why they are still working amidst a crisis is to provide for their family and have enough in case they fall ill and land in the hospital. It would be best to look for outsourced payroll services to make sure that this important part of online work goes smoothly. When an employer fails to provide the payment that was promised, or in instances where the salaries are not processed seamlessly, it can cause a reluctance on behalf of the worker to continue fulfilling their roles for that company.
The additional challenge with remote work is that you are unlikely to have met your employer in person. This means you cannot guarantee that you will be paid at all. When the payout for a particular job is handled well, this allows the employee to trust their co-workers or supervisors because it legitimizes their position. Moreover, when the person who manages the salaries of the workers is an outsider from the company, it can ensure impartiality during distribution. The release of the payments could be performed at random, and no one will receive any special treatment, accommodating a sense of fairness when handling a very sensitive and crucial part of the employer-employee relationship.
Express Sympathy Online
When an employee expresses the need for a mental health break or a sick leave to recover from COVID-19, they should be sympathized with. Although it may affect productivity, the reaction of the employer to this challenging situation determines their personality and care toward their workers. An absence of pity or compassion could lead to the development of a hostile work environment. Since every hired individual contributes to the performance of their assigned roles in the company, they have to be valued. By ignoring the workers or by replying with disappointment rather than sympathy, supervisors or co-workers will create a toxic virtual workplace.
A lot can be lost when communication is performed online. People may seem apathetic or too fake because of the filters created by the screen and the process of translating your thoughts to your keyboard, and then from your monitor onto theirs. This causes intentions to be lost in translation. Plus, there is etiquette to be observed online. When someone ignores you, it will be taken as an affront. So, anyone in the remote work setup has to be conscious of how they come across to whomever they are communicating with.
No to Time Trackers
Time trackers violate the privacy of workers, regardless of position in the company. It does not provide the freedom expected by employees when they work from home. Though it may seem like a reasonable way to micromanage workers from a distance, it is exactly the dystopian nightmare that candidates want to avoid. Conversely, if supervisors exercise trust toward their subordinates, it can make them more self-motivated to perform the tasks assigned to them rather than worrying about an Orwellian presence hidden in their device.
Asynchronous trackers such as using google suite can be a better way to make sure that workers get the job done. This improves the data gathered by workers from the end and start-of-day reports and timestamps to a more comprehensive summary of what was done when. Both employers and employees will be able to relax with this kinder management method.
Even though employers and employees struggle with the ongoing reconstruction of a workplace—be it virtual, physical, or hybrid—the most important thing to consider is ensuring that they are paid well, sympathized with, and provided with the privacy they deserve.
