Working from home is a different experience for every employee. Some live alone, some have spouses or children, while others are caregivers to aging parents or other family members. Managers need to know how to support all kinds of remote workers to help them be the most productive they can be. Here is some advice to help you best support remote employee caregivers:
Communicate
Your employees may be nervous to ask for help or explain their situation. They may be unsure of what options they have available to them, or what is appropriate to expect. Start the conversation yourself. Ask employees about their situations and what they need to succeed. Make it clear what options they have. Being clear in your communication will help more employees to be open about their needs and feel cared for.
Encourage Employee Health
When working from home, it can be easy for the line between home-life and work-life to be blurred. Because of this, employees might tend to overwork or not take care of themselves properly, hurting their health. Additionally, caregiving employees might become overwhelmed with all the responsibilities they’re trying to manage. Encourage your employees to take breaks, preferably outside when possible. You can also share uplifting messages or calming techniques with your employees to encourage them to be more positive.
Institute Structure
A difficulty of remote work can be a lack of structure. Having a schedule can help remote workers to have more stability in their lives. Work with your remote employees to establish a schedule that works for them. Being willing to make changes for remote workers will make you more likable and will increase the quality of work among your remote workers.
Managing remote caregivers can be difficult but is ultimately worth the effort. Use this advice to create the best work environment for your remote employee caregivers.