Many of us have spent the last few months working from home. We’ve been living through a challenging time, doing our bit to stick to lockdown restrictions and slow the outbreak of a deadly pandemic.

Fortunately, remote working is significantly easier than it might have been in previous years, as we have the technology and connectivity to make it more manageable. 

Some people love working remotely, they are more productive, it gives them greater flexibility, and they enjoy this new chance to work without having to leave their families. But, that doesn’t mean that it’s always straightforward. 

As lockdown stretches on, and some people start to return to work, those that are still working from home might be starting to find things tough. They might miss daily contact with colleagues, and motivation might be starting to slide.

Now that the novelty has worn off, your remote workforce might be feeling down. So, what can you do to inject some positivity? Certain sectors might be working remotely for a long time yet, so here are some of the things that you can do to pick your team up if they have lockdown fatigue. 

Ask What They Need

You’ll have some idea of how things are going by the quality and quantity of work. But, this might not give you a clear idea of how your team is feeling or what they are struggling with. So, ask them. Ask them if there is anything that you can do to make their remote work easier.

For example, they might have performed an internet speed test and seen that their home internet is not very fast, so they might request that fewer video meetings or heavy files be downloaded/uploaded on their end.

Set Specific Goals

What would you like to achieve during lockdown? What can you do, while perhaps your physical office or store is closed down, to advance your business? It could be a great opportunity to target the online elements of your business and even attract new clients or customers.

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Show your team how this time in lockdown could be beneficial to the business, ask for their ideas, and set some goals, for things that you would like to achieve by the end. 

Give Them Some FaceTime

Working remotely can be hard. It can feel very lonely, and it’s easy to lose sight of company values. Give your staff some face to face time via video chat. Face to face contact can be much better at emails, especially if there’s something wrong. 

Keep Them Updated

You might not know what is going to happen in the future, but your team might be worried about their job security, or how things might change when they do return to work. Keep in touch, and tell them as much as you can. 

Consider More Flexible Working Options

Working from home will be easy for some, and much harder than others, depending on their home situation. Bear this in mind, ask how things are going, and try to offer more flexible working opportunities where possible. 

Change Things Up

Working from home can be boring, especially if you are used to working as part of a larger team. Keep things interesting by adjusting job roles, switching tasks between staff, and issuing new goals and challenges. You could also try to offer new learning opportunities and training sessions to refresh things.