Building Better Relationships with Colleagues from Afar

Have you noticed things are different being at work? Of course you have, you are living it and seeing how remote work is affecting us all. For the extrovert, we miss the naturally peppered interactions at the office. For the introvert, maybe it’s been more comfortable doing business online instead of face-to-face. And for those who are also parents – well, maybe your child is sitting on your lap during far too many meetings and your colleagues are really getting to know many sides of you. But enough about me….

We’re nearing the end of summer and most of us are continuing to work from home. Those who have gone back to work in offices must maintain social distancing, which greatly cuts down on people’s opportunity to socialize like the old times a half-year ago. So people have to be more creative to find new and purposeful ways to connect and maintain meaningful relationships with their colleagues.

Why Are Good Workplace Relationships so Vital?

Fostering positive relationships with colleagues can have an enormous impact on both one’s mental and physical health. And perhaps surprisingly, it’s also the #1 contributor to employee engagement.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management’s Employee Job Satisfaction and Employee Report, relationships with colleagues was deemed the number one contributor to employee engagement, with 77% of respondents listing workplace connections as a priority. Morale, job satisfaction, retention rates, and output all improve when employees feel connected to one another.

So as both a people leader and as an employee, we should care about good workplace relationships! But how can we create and maintain them when we’re physically distancing from our colleagues?

Here are a Few Tips to Help:

1. Be Thoughtful

• If you choose just one of these tips, choose this one. Being thoughtful of others should always be your top priority. You will never forget empathetic and thoughtful colleagues.
• Everyone’s experience with the coronavirus pandemic is unique, and you might not be aware of your teammates’ individual struggles. Be mindful that people have lost loved ones, are caring for sick relatives, or might be especially vulnerable to the virus. If you think someone could be struggling, reach out and offer to help. This also means being more flexible and patient with your colleagues. It also means you may need to reschedule meetings because of unforeseen changes in schedules. Be patient.

2. Video Meetings Do Help

• While video conferencing technology isn’t perfect, it can help to build strong relationships with other remote employees when used in the proper scenarios.

• Video has the advantage of giving you those visual cues you often miss with written and even verbal communications. It also offers you more insight to your colleagues’ set ups and perhaps a new way to personally connect.

3. Plan Collaborative Events

• Dedicating time to promote positive social interactions in the workplace can be a powerful way to make sure the relationship-centric approach doesn’t fall by the wayside amidst organizational pressure to achieve goals.

• Think about the types of social activities you would normally do in the workplace to connect and think about how you can translate them into a virtual environment. My team recently did a guided painting activity together via Zoom and it was a hit!

4. Connect Intentionally

• One of the biggest challenges remote workers face is remembering to keep in touch. When it’s just you  in your home office (and perhaps a full household working and schooling), it can be easy to forget that you’ve got a team who would love to chat with you about work or even life outside of work.

• Set aside time weekly to check in with your boss and coworkers to talk — whether it’s about business or not. One thing you can do to keep the communication flowing is scheduling a virtual coffee break or lunch with coworkers.

Take the time to be creative and think how you can best connect with your co-workers. Your engagement at work – and theirs – may depend on it.

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