The last two years have seen a seismic shift in the way people work. Quite unexpectedly, the morning rush hour commute, busy streets, and bustling offices became a thing of the past as people the world over set up their desks at home. Although offices and workplaces are reopening the world has not seen all workers flocking back to the office in pre-pandemic numbers.
Rather, working from home, at least in some capacity, seems set to stay for the long haul. While there are many benefits to working from home one commonly voiced complaint is the feeling of isolation that workers experience. To help overcome this and to enable you to stay connected to your colleagues and your employment in general, here are some ways to help you stay connected when working from home.
Start an online chat group
Chat groups are a great way to dip in and out of conversations with coworkers and they can serve many purposes. It could be a chat group to discuss work-related activities, projects, deadlines, or day-to-day tasks. Alternatively, it could be a purely social room where you can all catch up on each other’s lives and indulge in office chit-chat as you would in person. There are a number of purpose-built chat platforms available, which offer up an alternative to Facebook Groups and lend themselves perfectly for these more professional purposes.
Phone Chat and Voice Mail
If written communication does not suffice or you are worried that you may not accurately convey the desired tone or point then don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. Talk to somebody as opposed to text and have a verbal conversation. Text is a wonderful resource but sometimes you cannot beat the benefits of a verbal conversation.
Video and live chat
If you are fed up with your own company and looking at the same screen every day then video chat can provide a little light relief. Video chats can also be perfect for team meetings and recreating the atmosphere as if it were taking place in person.
Video chat enables you to interact and feed off of one another’s expressions and body language and gives you that much-needed human interaction. Just don’t forget to get dressed first unless you’re using Slack’s huddle. The you’re good to go whenever you’re ready.
Have a virtual lunch date or work night in
Technology is not just there to help make your working life better. You can use technology to ensure you maintain your social life also. Why not schedule a virtual lunch date with a colleague or even a friend or relative? Instead of sitting home alone with your sandwich, make the effort to reach out and reconnect with others. Others, who are most likely in the same position as you.
Better yet, why not organize a virtual work night in. Make the most of virtual quizzing platforms or virtual games to add a bit of fun to your night in. Virtual work socials are a great way to connect teams who work remotely and ensure everyone feels part of the team, wherever they are based.
