The pandemics affected all spheres of life, including work. Many companies were forced to move to work from home, and this transition was not easy for many people. However, everyone needed to adapt as soon as possible and learn how to work in a new environment. One of the biggest challenges was how to stay connected with colleagues while working from home. Teamwork is vital, especially in large companies, so it is crucial to find a way to stay in touch with your team members even when you’re not sharing the same workspace. So here are some ways to stay connected with your colleagues while working remotely.
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Take advantage of travel time to work
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One of the great things about quarantine is that you don’t need to spare time on the commute. You can wake up, get ready, make some coffee, and go straight to work in your living room. Although this is very practical, and you can start working right away, we suggest you broaden your horizons. You can schedule a video call with your teammates and drink your morning coffee together while you discuss some of the current topics. Bonding over a shared love of coffee is a great way to build a sense of team – things such as coffee subscriptions allow everyone to try, taste, and enjoy the same coffee that can create a sense of team for this morning ritual.
You can start the call informally and chat about private matters at the beginning if that is okay for you.
Then you can continue discussing some business-related topics and check if there is something you missed, or you can update your colleagues with the newest information. You can ask them about their plans, and you can agree on how to proceed with your tasks. Good team communication, even when it’s virtual, means a lot, and it can ensure the business continues to improve, even when everyone is out of office. That is why you should use your usual commute time to talk to your colleagues and connect in all possible ways. You don’t need to do it every single day. Once or twice a week can be just enough to discuss all essential topics and then continue with good work.
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Share creative content with them
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If you have some close colleagues with whom you usually talk while you are at work, it would be great to find a way to still keep in touch while working remotely. Sharing creative content with them can be an excellent way to achieve that goal. If you’re very close, you can send them photos of how you started your workday, what your home office looks like, or some funny situations that happened while you were working.
All of this can help you bond and share some funny moments, even though you are not in the same room. In case you are not that extremely close to your teammates, sending them this type of content wouldn’t be appropriate. However, you can come up with something you can share with them. Maybe a funny, work-related video or article could work. And hilarious memes are always a way to go. Sharing creative content of any kind you deem appropriate with your team members can bring you closer, even if you only talk virtually.
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Be available as much as you can
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When working remotely, people tend to organize their work the way they prefer. It means that not all employees will work at the same time. No matter how you organize your workday, try to be available to your colleagues as much as you can. Of course, you should have your time off work when you need it, and people need to respect your boundaries.
However, if you want to be connected with your colleagues and ensure that everything works without problems, make sure you are responsive and get back to them as soon as you can. If you’re not a typing person, but you don’t want to call your co-workers every time you want to reply to something, you should check this. Echo offers voice messages for teams. This can be a great way to respond to your colleagues’ questions when you need to provide more details, as well as to quickly update your colleagues about something before the meeting.
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Work together while on a video call
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Another practical idea to improve teamwork during pandemics is to try to work together while on a video call. It may sound unusual to you but if it works, that is the only thing that matters. If you find it hard to motivate yourself to work at home, especially if you live alone, this can be a great way to stimulate yourself and your colleagues at the same time.
You can schedule a video call and then work in silence altogether. You would be surprised how much that kind of atmosphere can make you feel motivated and be more productive. Just knowing that your colleagues are on the other side of the call and work will make you forget about watching a movie or delaying the work. It will feel like you’re at the office, and you need to get things done before going home. Test it out and see how it works for you and your co-workers.
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Engage in virtual activities together
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The fact that you and your colleagues are not going to the office every day should not stand in a way of your team-building time. Since you’re all staying at home, it would be nice if you could find some online activities that you can engage in all together.
For example, you and your co-workers can attend a webinar that will be a great way to get informed about the work-related novelties. After the webinar, you can arrange a meeting to discuss some interesting topics you listened about, and see what everyone has to say about them. Having shared activities, even virtual ones, can improve you as a team and contribute to overall results.
Conclusion
Working remotely isn’t easy for everyone. It differs so much from working in an office, and one of the biggest challenges is to stay connected with your colleagues. We recommend you test some of the ideas above and check if your team is getting closer again. Nurturing good team relations can significantly contribute to team results and improve business, even in such specific conditions.
