Minimising employees stress when working from home

"Many employees enjoy working from home!"

Many employees enjoy working from home, but increased stress levels are inevitable amongst some homeworkers, especially those unexpectedly having to work from home.

To minimise the risk of stress claims for remote workers the following things are key:

Supporting managers and ensuring they have time to prioritise maintaining contact with employees during remote supervision.

Training managers in regular contact and early recognition of mental health issues so they can identify and address concerns, for example, looking at unexplained changes in attendance and performance.

Ensuring there is support for managing remote workers’ working hours, including proper lunch and rest breaks especially in busy periods.

Training on a wide range of issues from mental health awareness, mindfulness, time management, wellbeing, and even eating away from your work area or getting outside for fresh air and exercise.

Possibly having allocated people who staff can reach out to during lockdown in addition to line managers.

Training for managers in giving employees special attention where there are any signs of difficulty, including those dealing with loss and grief, or with parenting or other caring responsibilities.

Live-streamed weekly wellbeing sessions which could involve exercise, mindfulness, meditation etc.

Some form of non-work based social engagement, perhaps on the intranet or messenger tool. This could include carefully managed spaces where people can talk without focusing on the virus, for example, periodic lunchtime or Friday afternoon catch-ups, virtual socialising, quizzes and so on.

Are you ready to respond to changes in legislation and guidance at short notice?