Can working from home be as productive as working face to face? Can leaders actually make a true connection with their employees online? Today many leaders are finding it necessary to ask themselves these questions because working from home opens a whole new batch of challenges. Leaders must be able to connect with their employees while having limited face to face contact with them. Additionally, they must be mindful of how their employees perceive them and understand that everyone will handle the situation in a different way. A good leader always should strive to encourage trust and create a strong sense of belonging both in-person and online.

The trust that one puts in a manager or leader is tested when working remotely. In a study of 402 participants in a web-based survey, it was found that there is a 5% greater variance in opinion about manager trust in a remote setting compared to a proximal one (Kelley & Kelloway, 2017). Participants thought it was more important to have trust in their managers when working in a remote setting. It is much harder to make a personal connection and really create an employee to manager relationship if there is little to no contact. In a study of 1,100 employees, 46% found that managers working remotely appeared to be more successful if they checked in regularly and frequently with their employees (Grenny & Maxfield, 2012). Creating more personal relationships like learning about employees’ personal lives, families and hobbies can create personal connections in order to strengthen relationships. The study concluded that a leader’s close contact with people creates trust, connection, and mutual purpose (Grenny & Maxfield, 2012).

However, while working remotely companies lose a level of close contact with people. The lack of face-to-face social interaction can cause employees to feel lonely or isolated. The Leader-Member Exchange Theory is a construct that “measures quality of the exchange relationship between a supervisor and subordinate” (Hunter & Chekwa, 2019, p.26). These exchanges are categorized into four categories: expressions of public support (loyalty), perceived contribution, mutual affection, and professional respect. They are seen in many forms such as advice, company information, effort, social support, and friendship. They create an environment with an increased feeling of gratitude, obligation, and trust. The decrease of these exchanges adds to employees feeling isolated and lonely working remotely. Instead of being face to face, most businesses will communicate via video call, email, texting, etc. However, the heavy use of technology leads to lower job satisfaction, identification with the organization, and commitment (Hunter & Chekwa, 2019).  It is important for the managers to address the change of interactions from working in the office to working online. In order to maintain company morale while working remotely, it is also beneficial to keep some aspects of organizational, social, and networking opportunities. Managers should increase the level of peer-to-peer support, in efforts to decrease loneliness and promote a nurturing team atmosphere.

Another problem that comes with remote working oftentimes is the loss of effective communication. This could be anything from not receiving materials on time, to miscommunication of conference calls. An effective way to minimize miscommunication is to plan more meetings than usual. In a traditional office, it is easy to make quick exchanges while passing another employee, however, while working remotely it is important to put in those extra steps to schedule a meeting or send a clarifying email to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Remote leadership will be an important factor in establishing effective forms of communication.

During online conferences and other online work functions employees can be hesitant to share confidential information on online platforms. Managers could implement a set of rules within the organization to ensure the safety and security of their employees (Saks, 2006). A code of conduct can create a sense of safety within employees by creating a space where employees feel free to take “interpersonal risks” (Kaloudis, 2019) while online simultaneously increasing employee engagement. A study was conducted by Kozminski University through a survey taken by leaders, directors, and managers working in fortune 500 companies in the U.S about employee engagement based on the amount of time they spent on the platforms used. Employee engagement was measured based on three elements: engagement, enablement, and energy. Engagement is defined as the employee’s commitment to the company and their willingness to go above what is expected, enablement is described as an environment that encourages engagement, and energy is one’s social and emotional well-being at work. Employees were asked to rate each element on a scale ranging from “very low” to “very high”. For comparison, leaders were asked to specify on average how many hours per week they spend on both internal and external social networking platforms. The results showed that employee engagement was positively associated with the amount of time spent on the online networking platform. When employees put more time into improving the quality of the employees’ experience online, leaders witness better employee engagement both online and in the workplace. One area that received a positive response was providing training for the use of the platforms. If a company implements an effort to train employees on using the platform, they would be more willing to use an online platform if they are not familiar with it.

Along with focusing on online engagement, the managers and diversity heads at companies are working together to help employees from diverse backgrounds feel appreciated along with providing numerous benefits. In order to help their employees and show that they care for their personal wellbeing, businesses are providing benefits such as catastrophe pay, up to 30 days paid time off, free childcare, etc. Managers/leaders are also being very flexible with their employees during this time, whether it be flexible work hours or leave arrangements.

Aside from basic workplace benefits, it is important for managers to help combat against the loneliness and isolation of remote work that is causing negative mental health problems. To do this, managers are focusing on inclusion and appreciation to employees’ online calls to highlight diversity days and achievements. An example of employee and diversity appreciation is shown by TD bank who recently held a virtual event in March for Transgender Visibility Day. By doing these things managers are helping build spirits and work ethic during this time by showing that everyone is in this together and here to help at all times.

Working remotely is becoming more and more common, so it is important for managers to still be effective leaders even away from the office. Focusing on maintaining personal connections and communication with employees will increase trust in managers and job satisfaction. Taking employees’ psychological needs and mental health into consideration while making decisions is also crucial while working remotely. In many cases, employee engagement depends just as much on managers as it does on employees’ efforts. Although it can be difficult to transition to working remotely, leaders can be just as productive if they are willing to make the necessary adjustments to accommodate employees’ needs both professionally and emotionally.

By: June Jeng, Ian Fay, Jaden Daer, Jenna Zeng, Indigo Bruno-Hopps

References

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Grenny, Joseph, et al. “A Study of 1,100 Employees Found That Remote Workers Feel Shunned and Left Out.” Harvard Business Review, 14 May 2018, hbr.org/2017/11/a-study-of-1100-employees-found-that-remote-workers-feel-shunned-and-left-out.

Hunter, D., & Chekwa, C. (2019). Workplace Isolation among Ethnic Employees in Remote Work Environments. AIMS International Journal of Management, 13(1), 23–36.

Kaloudis, H. (2019, March 18). Psychological Safety At Work:what do psychologically safe work teams look like? Retrieved from https://medium.com/@Harri_Kaloudis/psychological-safety-at-work-what-do-psychologically-safe-work-teams-look-like-5585ab0f2df4

Kelley, Elizabeth, and E. Kevin Kelloway. “Context Matters: Testing a Model of Remote Leadership – Elizabeth Kelley, E. Kevin Kelloway, 2012.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1548051812454173?casa_token=4LyR3507LIkAAAAA%3ACNGFs99lWai7qnbe-nj2Q6ushz_kEJ9vFbg1aVidrou60f-lIPilER8gsX3nYwakDBfAZ6uAw09-bA.

Korzynski, P. (2015). Online Networking and Employee Engagement: What Current Leaders Do? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(5), 582–596. https://www-emerald-com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JMP-10-2013-0344/full/html

Umoh, R. (2020, April 16). How Diversity Heads Are Steering Their Companies Through The COVID-19 Crisis. Forbes.com, Retrieved April 23, 2020, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.library.wwu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=18&sid=4dd99077-6e8b-489c-a772-edc6da8eb69a%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=142777317&db=bt