Guide to Helping Your Employees Stay Healthy while Working from Home

The lives of workers seem to have been changing every day for quite some time now. With the recent emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, one more massive change occurred. It presents us with new challenges and uncertainties to overcome. So, whether you're an owner of a business, a team leader, or just an employee, this article can be very useful to you. It's a guide to helping your employees stay healthy while working from home.

Now, we know that the idea of home working sounds like a luxury. However, the reality is often very different. People that do this are presented with a set of challenges that are completely different from the ones that they're used to facing. Although businesses can work from home during COVID-19, separating work and personal life is difficult in these conditions.

Follow official advice and share reputable sources

There are a few sources of information that you should follow and put to work. They are:

• United States Department of Labor
• World Health Organization
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention

One of the best ways of helping your employees stay healthy while working from home is encouraging them not to share too much information about the virus. Only reputable sources articles should circulate as there are lots of speculations out there. 

In times like these, it's easy to get lost in the sea of news that is laid in front of us. So, it doesn't take long until someone follows the wrong trail and brings panic into your calm team. Stay on top of the game and don't let this happen.

One of the crucial things when it comes to helping your employees stay healthy while working from home is to follow the relevant advice from reputable sources.

Alttag: Corona update written on the typewriter.

Talk to your employees

It's highly advisable to keep regular – daily, if possible – contact with your employees. Be as honest as possible and acknowledge all of the uncertainties and the stress they can cause. Try to understand your employees and don't be afraid to tell them that you don't know something if that's the case. Of course, be prepared to come back with the answers to all the questions.

Give advice

You can also give them advice about the things you know are important. For instance, staying fit and on the move is generally one of the crucial parts of staying healthy, both physically and mentally. Lots of people either forget that. So, you can encourage your workers to exercise with their phones. They can even do it all together. Just one hour of physical activity during the day can bring massive relief. 

Consider the impact this can have across the board

One thing that's very important to understand is that everything that's happening will have an impact on all of us. Now, it can change the way we think about the world, or about ourselves. Make it clear that doing good work is indeed beneficial for our mental health, and it's crucial that we preserve the opportunity to enjoy it.

Naturally, some people are at a greater risk than others when it comes to mental health. So, think twice when communicating with your employees. Consider how backgrounds of the people can influence them and adjust your style accordingly. Stop thinking about the ways and strategies to take your business to the next level and think about your staff. Be protective when it comes to them and start with the ones whose needs are the greatest.

Different people can react differently to these new circumstances, so make sure to choose the right way to approach every single one of them.

Alttag: Man in a depression sitting at the table. 

Vulnerability has many faces

One thing that became particularly evident during the pandemic is that having vulnerable mental health doesn't always show in the same way. Senior managers can also be vulnerable when demonstrating leadership in such unusual circumstances, but they're much more unlikely to show it. Helping your employees stay healthy while working from home means helping them to stay composed by acknowledging and reminding them how they’re doing good work.

People with pre-existing or past mental health conditions are also at risk. Staying at home and spending all your time within the same four walls can bring back bad memories to people that experienced depression or trauma. Make sure to get to know your employees and pay a little bit extra attention to the ones that are more vulnerable.

Finally, people tend to push away mental health problems. Therefore, you may hear about a few new ones from the people that never previously discussed them. Treat all of them with compassion, empathy, and respect. Learn about the amazing benefits of long weekends for your employees. Perhaps your company can benefit from those in these trying times.

Use of technology

If some members of your team haven't worked remotely before, offer them advice and provide all the equipment they're going to need. This doesn’t just include the equipment needed for work, but for support and contact among the staff. 

Encourage them to stay in touch and maintain informative and casual conversations. At the end of the day, going to the office every day and talking to your colleagues certainly is a form of social life. Think text messages, calls, Slack, or MS Teams groups. Everything works.

People love to socialize at work, and that's one of the things that they miss the most when working from home.

Alttag: People talking in the office.

Encourage personal planning and self-care

The last segment of our guide to helping your employees stay healthy while working from home is all about planning. It's a good idea to encourage your people to plan how they will manage while they're in isolation. Check government advice regularly and stimulate people to discuss their plans with their respective managers. 

Meta: Here’s all you need to know about helping your employees stay healthy while working from home. Includes what to be careful about and how to approach them.