The development of new technologies and our acceptance has led to a condition where distributed work has become easier for us. During the pandemic, many organizations have decentralized their work. They have introduced virtual teams that work together, staying in different geographical locations.
Virtual teams now exist using some form of technology to work together. The use of this technology has helped organizations to create teams instead of just virtual teams.
As the world is facing severe pandemic effects, companies are trying to conduct business while keeping their employees safe. They have been attempting to create different ways of communication, keeping the culture alive while working from home.
To keep their culture alive, companies organize team lunches online by delivering food to their doorstep and much more. Many companies have created their music bands who perform once a week live. Technology has helped in keeping lives connected even while working from home.
Though it sounds easy while narrating here, organizations faced several challenges while prioritizing work from home.
Challenges of working from home
- There are teams with shorter team sizes. Hence, there is a lack of entertainment.
- To share home spaces with other family members.
- There is a lack of in-person conversations.
- Drinking a coffee, having lunch together, and so on. Because who does not enjoy meeting people with the energy juice at the office?
- To create a work-life balance working from home.
- Keeping focused and motivated, as working from home is more relaxing with significant distractions.
Creating a routine that keeps employees motivated, productive, and managing their work-life balance was necessary in such challenging times. Hence, companies follow a strategy that encompasses all the challenges and delivers the best-in-class results to their clients.
Some of the strategies that were implemented during the pandemic, working from home
- Team members were asked to keep their morning routine set-up as if they had to rush to their office. Team meetings were organized regularly in the morning to allow team members to have their plans ready for the day.
- Companies ensured that team members were setting up their workspace at home, keeping them away from distractions.
- Regular breaks from the routine work during the day were made compulsory by several organizations.
- Teams were asked to stay connected with each other using mediums like WhatsApp groups, emails, etc.
- Teams, especially marketing teams, were kept updated with the latest communication (brand message) using various cloud storage solutions.
- Monthly huddles with the team discussing non-work priorities like listening to music, watching movies & series, and much more that helped team members to stay focused.
These are some of the strategies that companies implemented to create a better work environment, even while operating remotely. Additionally, companies took the help of various tools & applications to ensure better productivity and profitability. It included tools like slack (commonly used to keep team members connected), zoom or google meets (for video conferencing), DigiBoxx (widely known as an Indian file sharing app for securely sharing critical files), etc.
Stay Apart, Work Together!
Although we were working from home and staying apart, teams were more connected with better policies and tools. While chatting from our own offices at home, we were more reliable, and technology helped us know each other’s perspectives.
Of course, a lot of us are still looking for ways to return to offices. We do miss our coffee machines, talks during lunch, and chat during evening tea. But, no matter how long it takes, till we have this source of motivation & the required tools in place, we will make it work!
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