14/05/2020

Top 5 attributes of a caring remote culture

Author: Manon Dubreuil

How to show you care for your people in times of social distancing? Our Strategy Director Joy shares the top 5 attributes we have amplified since the COVID-19 outbreak. In times of crisis opportunities open up to demonstrate how much you care for your colleagues and the teams you lead.

1. Facilitating a healthy and effective workspace at home
Laptops are great for on the go but not the best option when working full days at home. Support your team by recreating the safety of the office at home by gathering a list of what things from the office people want and need in their home office e.g. ergonomic chairs, monitors, plants, keyboards, anything they need to be productive and prevent injuries.

2. Community vibe
Use virtual tools and initiatives to bring people together and support each other. People are free to give to the company community remotely in ways that are rewarding for everyone. Yoga teacher in the house? Personal trainer? Meditation guru? Such virtual activities can brighten days and promote a mental and physical healthy attitude while having lots of fun together (virtually)! Connection is what make us thrive as humans and has a deep connection with survival. Connecting is caring.

3. Offering personal support
We are individuals belonging to a community. That means we also need personal touch points to find solutions to the new challenges we are facing. Quarantine buddies help breaking the isolation feeling, specially for the ones living alone. Enabling a virtual place where fears, thoughts and the difficult situations we are going through can be discussed freely creates relief and helps finding solutions to the challenge we are facing.

4. Acknowledging the different personal situations
Every person has different situations at home: kids studying from home, being sick or having to care for sick loved ones and the natural anxieties of the situation we are all living in. A caring culture acknowledges these differences and is open to find flexible solutions that can work for the specific needs.

5. Showing your own vulnerability
We are in this together and the uncertainty applies for everyone. We need more courage than ever, keeping the calm and building collaboration with peers and clients. This brings a great chance to be open about ourselves, how we feel and what challenges and successes we are facing. A caring culture is a human culture, it shares a bit more than just work and is curious about each other as human beings. At Emakina we put this into practice with frequent honest updates, answering all team questions transparently while transmitting a hopeful and positive energy.

Curious to hear more? Make sure to download our ‘Remote leading and collaboration playbook’ here.

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