How to Keep Your Employees Productive While Working From Home

Times are tough. Covid has made it difficult for everyone, including business owners and managers. You’re faced with unexpected challenges, such as new regulations, decreasing sales, and a volatile political climate. Among these challenges, perhaps the biggest one is dealing with employees being less productive when working from home.

Most employees enjoy working at home (at least they think they do initially). They like the freedom, lack of driving commute, and privacy. They also enjoy the distance from their managers, giving them more flexibility to work as they want. If it were up to them, they’d prefer to keep working remotely. Although they have this preference, business owners and managers have a different perspective.

While employees only worry about their assignments, you worry about everything else. You’re aware of monthly payroll, decreasing revenue, and all the expenses that need to be paid. You feel the pressure of keeping the business alive. Many people, including your family and your employees, depend on your business for their livelihood.  Because of this responsibility, you notice your employees have become less productive since working from home. While you don’t mind giving them freedom, you’re beginning to worry. If nothing changes, you feel the business may fail.

To avoid that fate, you have two choices. You can either let the struggling employees go and hire new ones, hoping the replacements will be more productive. Or, you can help your current employees adapt to the new situation. The latter is preferred. Letting go and replacing employees is painful and costly and won’t even ensure success. It would be better if you could help your current employees increase their productivity by making a few changes.

You can achieve this through a variety of solutions. Some require a financial investment (outsourced), while others only require your time and effort (In-house). I will describe a few select options for you below. By reading and thinking about them, I hope you may be inspired to make changes that will help your employees become more productive as they work from home. With this, you can rest easy knowing your business is in safe hands.

Inhouse Solutions

These solutions are done internally within your organization. They require no investment, other than your time & effort (or one of your employees). While they are technically free, they require creativity and commitment. You’ll need to think carefully about your unique situation, decide which solutions might work best for you, and exert effort to implement them.

I recommend these solutions based on my professional experience here at Zemi Wellness and also from my time as Vice President of Corporate Wellness for Gold’s Gym and VASA Fitness. I have been blessed to learn from dozens of wellness professionals and work with hundreds of corporate clients, studying their organizational issues and how to address them. From this experience I feel confident that these solutions are proven and effective. All they require is your effort to apply them specifically to your business.

Establish Daily Check Ins

The first solution is a simple one. It may be difficult at first, but will get easier as it becomes a habit. It only takes a few minutes each time, but will produce significant results over the long term. You (and your managers) can help your employees be more productive by checking in regularly with them.

This means that you commit to talking with them for a few minutes every day. It doesn’t need to be a long or deep conversation. Just check to see how they’re doing, and then discuss their work. It is important to connect with your employees on a personal level.  Get to know their family, hobbies, passions and stresses. Understanding and commenting on this important information will help build a relationship of loyalty and trust.

 Below are some questions you can use:

How are you doing today?

How is (spouse, child or pet)?

Please share with me one of your highlights from yesterday?

What are your updates on the project?

What do you hope to accomplish by the end of the day and what do you need to be successful?

By maintaining this daily check in, your employees will feel connected to you, the company, and their work, rather than isolated. They will also feel more buy in. By telling you their goals for the day, as well as updating you on their current project, they will feel more accountable for their work. With this clear benchmark, both of you will know if their performance is meeting expectations, and allows you to address any course corrections that may be needed. 

This is the benefit of daily check ins. It keeps everyone on the same page. It also clarifies goals that will either be met or not. If you don’t establish clear expectations with your employees, human nature is to default to least effort, leading to a decrease in productivity. Check in with your employees everyday to help them and your business thrive. 

Create a Culture of Trust & Accountability

Checking in is crucial, but avoid getting too extreme. Productivity diminishes if you try to micromanage your employees. They’ll feel annoyed and unmotivated by your overbearing presence, leading them to get less quality work done. In order for your employees to produce at optimal levels while working at home, they need to feel the ideal balance of support, freedom and direction.

Understanding this, the second solution is not so much a task, but rather, an approach. To cultivate that ideal balance for productivity, I recommend you create a culture of trust & accountability.

As for how you do this, I have a few suggestions. They include some tips that have worked well in my own experience, as well as things I’ve learned from working with clients. They will help your organization’s culture regardless if your employees are working from home or in the office.

Trust

Trust is essential for every business. You need to trust your employees, and they need to trust you. If one of the parties doesn’t trust the other, work doesn’t get done and the relationship begins to deteriorate. This is especially true when employees are working from home. Since you can’t walk to their desk and see how they’re doing, you need to trust that they are doing their work on their own.  As business owners we know that hiring and training employees is an expensive process.  You have hired your people based on their skill set and experience.  Trust them to utilize these skills and talents to accomplish their work.

One way to show that you trust employees is to let them work according to their own schedule. Of course this depends on their job duties, as some roles require a strict schedule, like customer service. However, if they have a position that allows flexibility, then I recommend you allow it. 

Now, more than ever, there are new obstacles that employees must navigate as they work from home. Some of these challenges can be daunting and overwhelming. This includes taking care of children and adjusting to being home all day and night. They may also find that they’re actually more productive late at night or early in the morning, rather than standard business hours. By giving them this flexibility, they can figure out how to best accomplish their jobs..

In addition to letting employees choose their working hours, you can also trust them by prioritizing the quality of their work instead of the quantity of hours they logged

It’s easy to determine the value of an employee by the number of hours they worked. It doesn’t take any effort. You can clearly see if they either worked 40 hours or not. This is a trap that many managers fall into. Even if an employee “worked” 40 hours, does it mean they created useful value with that time? 

Rather than focusing on hours, focus on the work your employees produce. This not only gives them more freedom, it makes you less stressed. It is also more beneficial for the business since the employee is actually producing value, rather than just filling hours.

Of course freedom isn’t one sided. There needs to be accountability for this approach to work, which I’ll discuss in the next section. 

Accountability

With trust must also come accountability. These two go hand in hand. While I recommend that you trust your employees, you also need to hold them accountable for the work you’re paying them to do.

You create accountability by first establishing clear work objectives. Your employees need to know exactly what’s expected of them in their job. If they don’t know these expectations, then you can’t hold them accountable. It is important to understand that it is our responsibility to create these objectives and effectively communicate it to them. 

In regards to objectives, create them based on projects, rather than day-to-day tasks. If your employee is working on a long-term project, make major goals with benchmarks along the way that ensure progress of the project. Be sure to clarify the quality of work expected and the deadline for it to be completed. With these clear requirements, the employee knows exactly what’s expected of them. Trust them to  figure out the rest.

Also, instead of forcing objectives on your employees, try to let your employees create them for themselves. During your planning session for the upcoming project paint the vision to them of the end result, and get their input and feedback on the processes and timelines to make it a reality. When you empower and allow them to do this, they are taking ownership of it. It is now their objective, not yours. We know that there is a pride that comes with ownership and that is a great motivator to help your employees complete quality work within the allotted time frame. 

With trust and accountability, your employees will have the freedom to act in a way that works best for them. With this, they will be more motivated to produce. And the more they produce, the more fulfilled they will feel. Cultivating this culture will benefit both you and your employees, especially when working at home. 

Promote Employee Wellness 

In addition to creating an environment of trust & accountability, one inhouse solution to increase productivity is to create a culture of wellness/wellbeing within your company and among your employees. This means encouraging and supporting the mental & physical, social and financial health of your team. When your employees are healthy, they are more motivated and focused, increasing their effectiveness at their job. You can promote wellness in a variety of ways.

Work-life balance

A lack of work-life balance is a major cause of stress, reduced motivation, and burnout. Work-life balance is crucial for employee productivity, especially during this pandemic where work and home/personal life are intertwined. With so much of the current situation disrupting normal routines, employees are anxious to find ways to regain some control.  As an employer, what can you do to help your employees create this balance?

One of the key tools to achieve this is to offer flexible hours and work arrangements.  This allows employees to manage their own work schedules and gives them ownership on how they accomplish their responsibilities.  It also permits them to take care of other essentials according to their own schedule, such as personal and family tasks, recreational events, and self improvement pursuits.

In order to make this concept a success, you, as the business owner, need to embrace this and practice it in your own life. As you prioritize work-life balance, see how your own mental health improves and your stress is easier to manage.  Notice that you’re able to accomplish more as you prioritize the things most important to you. With recognizing these effects, you will be okay with and even encourage your employees to better utilize this tool, improving their morale and productivity.  

Stress management

Stress related issues can be one of the biggest productivity drains and expenses for your company. These issues are amplified by the current situation. With the COVID-19 pandemic under way, employees are forced to deal with lockdowns, economic difficulties, political unrest, family issues, and job insecurity. All of these only generate more anxiety and stress for your employees, inhibiting their productivity. You can alleviate this with a few inhouse solutions.

One solution is to cultivate a safe and open working environment. When employees are comfortable talking about issues like stress and depression, you, as their employer, can better help them. As they communicate these concerns to you, you can understand what they’re going through yourself, rather than just noticing the quality of their work decreasing. By removing the stigmatism of these issues, employees will be more honest with their own struggles, allowing you to address and help them accordingly.

This includes giving them the option of taking time off. You can let them focus on their own mental health needs and empower them to better manage the stresses in their life, whether at work or home. The benefit of this is that when your employee returns to the workplace, their productivity will improve substantially. They will be better able to cope with stress and complete their work duties effectively.

Another solution is to offer meditation exercises and apps.  By providing your employees with these resources and encouraging them to use them, they will have additional tools to deal with stress. In addition, you can even set aside some time during each workday to pause, stretch and relax. These short breaks will help to clear the mind, reduce stress, and facilitate returning to their tasks with renewed energy and clarity.

Employees with poor mental health need more support and consume more resources.  Investing in the mental health of your employees is both the right thing to do and a good business practice which will pay dividends.

Outsourced Solutions 

Improving employee productivity with inhouse solutions can be effective, but limited. Without dedicated staff to run and monitor the program, you may find results to be minimal. If this is the case, you may want to explore outsourced solutions. 

Outsourced solutions are solutions acquired through third party vendors. This means you partner another company to provide a product or service you want. This approach can achieve what you might not be able to do on your own. If your employees are less productive while working from home, and you’re out of options, outsourced solutions are worth considering. 

Provide perks

Improving employee productivity begins with good nutrition and regular exercise. Unfortunately many employees working at home neglect these basics of good health.  They are more sedentary as they work from their bed or living room couch.  Fast food and home delivery become the norm.  This lack of activity and poor nutrition disrupts their productivity at work.

You can address this health issue by purchasing and offering perks to your employees. These include benefits such as gym memberships, access to yoga or barre classes, and reimbursement for fitness equipment. You can offer incentives for them to regularly work out, such as extra time off or gift cards. With this perk you encourage your employees to be more active and healthy.

Another perk that will help with employee productivity is to provide nutritious meals. You can offer healthy food to your employees, whether it be snacks or full meals. You can also provide company sponsored classes, subscriptions to healthy food delivery services, and demonstrations on healthy shopping and healthy cooking. By encouraging your employees to eat healthier, they will feel more energetic and focused, which in turn, will make them more productive at their work.

In addition to the physical health, it’s important to consider the mental health of your employees, especially as they work at home. Because employees are often isolated from others, they may feel lonely and detached from the company community. You might consider department or company wide Zoom type meetings where employees can see and interact with each other via technology.  Another thought to alleviate this isolationism is by organizing and hosting offsite social events that allows employees to gather together and connect while following current and appropriate COVID safety guidelines. Other ideas along this line may include monthly company outings, lunches or dinners and company meetings that include recognition and inspiring presentations. These events will not only improve morale, they will help reduce the stress created by feelings of loneliness and being disconnected from their work teams.

By attending to the physical and mental needs, you can help your employee working at home become more productive. This will improve your business over the long term. But sometimes organizing all the wellness initiatives in your company can be too much for you. If this is the case, you can outsource these needs to another company. 

Invest in an employee wellness program

With so much going on, it can be difficult to implement solutions that help your employees become more productive at home. You have fires to put out and other issues that demand your immediate attention. Providing the time and effort to design, launch, and manage these wellness related solutions isn’t an option. You just can’t. One alternative is to invest in an external employee wellness program.

An employee wellness program focuses on improving the health and well-being of employees. This program is available through third party vendors who specialize in wellness. They use a variety of services that cater to the physical and mental health of your employees, such as personal coaching, nutrition plans, and team building challenges. They handle almost all aspects of this initiative, allowing you to focus more on pressing responsibilities. 

Wellness programs have a variety of benefits compared to inhouse solutions. First, when you outsource your company’s wellness, you don’t need to do additional work. You can allow the vendor to run and manage the wellness initiatives you have. Second, having a wellness program can be an effective incentive for both current and future employees. You can include this in their compensation package, giving them additional reason to stay. Third and lastly, these companies are experts in wellness. Because of their experience and training, they know how to effectively help your employees embrace wellness and change lives..

There are various types of wellness companies. Some offer personal coaching, while others do not. Some emphasize high-end services like massages and therapy, while others focus on personal health programs, such as stress reduction and smoking cessation. Choosing a wellness program depends on you, your vision and what your employees need. You can also take into account the pricing for each program. Some companies charge per employee, while others may have a flat fee. Most all provide an affordable option when compared to the time and effort to manage it internally.   

While employee wellness programs do require an investment, they have the potential to improve your business in drastic ways. They help employees become more healthy, motivated and focused, allowing them to be more productive at their job. These programs can also reduce employee turnover, saving your money in the long term. While these programs may seem unnecessary, especially now during these uncertain times, they certainly will pay off in the long run. A wellness program may be just what you need to get you and your employees through this difficult period.

My company, Zemi Wellness, is an employee wellness program. We specialize in improving the overall well-being (mental, physical, social and financial health) of employees, helping them to become more productive, whether they are working from home or the office. I’d love to talk with you if you have any questions. You can reach me at this contact form, or my email (garr@zemiwell.com). I hope to hear from you soon!

Conclusion

Employees are becoming less productive as they work at home. This is a growing frustration for many businesses, probably including yours. You can do a variety of things to solve this issue. These include both inhouse and outsource solutions.

Some inhouse solutions are establishing daily check ins, creating a culture of trust and accountability, and promoting employee wellness. These all can help your employees become more productive, but they may be difficult to implement because you simply don’t have the time. 

If that is the case, then outsourced solutions may be preferential for you. This includes providing perks or investing in an employee wellness program. While these require an investment, they have various advantages you can’t get on your own. If you’re struggling and don’t know what to do about your employees’ productivity, this may be the right option for you.