When many companies sent their employees home in March 2020, few predicted that so many workers would choose never to return to the office again, at least not at the frequency and rhythm before the pandemic.
Many employers are adopting remote or hybrid work models, even if many are beginning to bring back their employees into the offices. As far as the employees are concerned, this is good news. In recent research by Gallup, about 59% of employees favor the hybrid work structure, which combines office attendance and flexibility in working from home.
Companies frequently give in to these requests since they know that employee satisfaction and productivity are positive aspects achieved through hybrid work arrangements. Researchers emphasised that productivity among hybrid workers continues to grow as the years progress. The conducted poll has shown that hybrid employees are 9% more productive when working remotely—a 4% increase compared to before the pandemic.
The current productivity indicators are good. However, there are valid concerns about the long-term consequences of hybrid work concerning company culture and employee interaction. For instance, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center in February, 60% felt like they belonged to the team less than when they were in the office and not working off-site.
Still, many managers feel uncomfortable leading their employees in the hybrid scenario. Therefore, it becomes more critical to adopt the tools that build trust and empathy when working remotely.
For hybrid teams, communication can be through simplified apps such as Slack, email, Zoom, or phone calls.
Actors and Writer Keith Johnstone, who once advised players to `be affected by what is said,' has some encouraging wisdom for leaders in this case. The following should be done to transform leaders:
What is being said? List the phrases and propositions or suggestions that differ from your thinking.
How something is said? Notice the timbre of their voice and any other emphatic or pre-emptive hand gestures when they speak out their opinions.
Who is saying the words? What knowledge, views, aspects, and ideas can be obtained from the one delivering the proposed model?
The context in which the person is speaking. What else is going on right then? Are there any world or intra-organisational department or team events or activities that would alter the expressed ideas or opinions?
Being in a leadership position creates an expectation for some of us to consistently articulate our views mainly because these are the most, if not essential, aspects of a discourse. They matter to some extent, but not all of it, and more emphasis on listening keenly can help foster environments that are very collaborative with empathy and trust irrespective of space or geographical boundaries.
Seeking people's trust entails going to people and welcoming them with no hidden agendas. One may create a cozy situation for people to open up by being prepared to let some of their ambivalence out in the open, too. It may help nurture new ideas concerning how numerous members would consider best joining the team, considering different ideas about leaders' roles. The leaders' discretion regarding the degree of exposure they wish to allow in their context is within the leaders' discretion.
These concepts are the end product of proper virtual listening skills, which can lead to productive conversations that enhance relationships and serve as the basis for constructive leadership. Several methods can support these efforts, such as:
Yes…and… This is an understanding-building technique through which a listener embraces and validates an idea from a different person before they put across an idea.
Mirroring. This entails restating the words that have been said to a speaker to acknowledge them in communication.
Paraphrasing. From a psychologist's perspective, reword and rephrase the speaker's ideas to reaffirm your comprehension of the speaker's message.
Ask open-ended questions. This is to further solicit more information, instead of expecting a simple answer, ask an open-ended question beyond one or two words.
By showing some of their doubts and encouraging and actively soliciting the views of their teams, leaders can cement practical, sincere, and constructive partnerships. These efforts, however, are improved upon when leaders marry the above with conscious efforts to embrace other people's viewpoints and appreciate all angles that need to be looked at.
To help leaders and their teams achieve their goals, relearning techniques and dispositions that made managers successful before the hybrid way of working became a standard operational mode. Meeting formats, approaches to engaging staff, and tensions and expectations for employees are some of the things that should shift in the hands of the leaders.
Change is hard, but it is not rocket science. It takes willingness from the leaders to bring about behavior change; there is the choice of tactics and strategies that are preferable for the particular context, bearing in mind that structural socialisation by building trust and rapport will not happen automatically.
We should disseminate engagement and communication practices associated with the best results. With your proposals, you can start with 'being inside'; that said, begin with ourselves to recognise and tackle our tendency to tumble into rumor-mongering to inertia. Most of the leaders' proposals should be cascaded to all others. However, leaders must encourage all others to share their views, fostering a 'we, us and our' system over a 'me' one that dangerously erodes trust.