How to support the well-being of your team members during a pandemic

Find out how to tackle the impact of the hybrid working model on the well-being and creativity of your team.

Even 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.

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.