How to help your remote team with mental health | Paulina Tenner | Author & Speaker

Remote working for extended periods of time (particularly in a lockdown) can prove quite challenging for one’s mental health. The normal rhythm of the day gets disrupted and so do the normal routines around going to work and coming back that help to keep life organised. Also, spending (much) more time with family often surfaces buried down issues and conflicts which are an additional strain on mental wellness. How can you help your people maintain good mental health condition (and therefore productivity and effectiveness) in times such as this?

Let’s look at four areas you, as an employer, have an impact on. These are

Social life in your remote office

Particularly in the time of social distancing, maintaining a social life both at work and outside of it is crucial. Here all sorts of digital tools can be helpful. What’s important is to schedule time for unstructured chats loosely related or completely unrelated to work. At GrantTree we have half an hour of Zoom “office natter” every morning and afternoon, optional to join (of course). We also have a 121 system in place where people are encouraged to have 121 meetings with mentors or buddies from within or outside of the company on a weekly basis.

Flexible working

While working from home one is typically faced with life admin frequently getting in the way. There are two ways you can deal with this as an employer. One, tighten up control to make sure everyone is really putting in the eight hours in a specified timeframe. Or, you can get rid of the timeframe all together and encourage your people to weave in life admin into work time as and when required. After all they are adults and are more than capable of making sure their accountabilities are met. At the end what matters is what they deliver, when they clock in and out matters way less. Needless to say the latter approach is more constructive and helpful in creating a good company culture.

Spotting early signs of a mental health crisis

It’s never easy to spot signs of someone going through a mental health crisis, particularly when working remotely. But it’s possible. First, watch out (or assign someone to) for unusual behaviours. Perhaps somebody who is normally quite present on social channels suddenly got quiet? Or the opposite, seems to be present absolutely everywhere and working much harder than usual (which could suggest a manic behaviour). Both of these could be signs that something is out of order. Secondly, buddy up your people for the time of lockdown (or for as long as they work with you!) so they can frequently check in and look out for each other. Lastly, if you don’t have time to think about your people one by one in terms of mental wellness on a regular basis, assign someone whose responsibility it will be to do so.

Fostering a culture of openness

Arguably, the most important thing you can do to protect your people’s mental health and wellness is to create a culture where mental health is being openly discussed to begin with. If that’s the case, it will be easier (though probably still challenging) for someone to admit they’re in a crisis. Lead by example by talking about your own mental health and how you look after it openly. Also, don’t expect everyone to be just as open, it’s normal that some people will be more outspoken about their mental health issues - and their private life in general - than others.

To sum up, there are quite a few things you can do as an employer to look after your people’s mental health and wellbeing, even under lockdown. You are in a position of power to energise the remote office social life, encourage remote working, spot early signs of a mental health crisis and to foster a culture of openness so people embrace the subject of mental health and wellbeing as part of working life. It’s up to you whether you will use that power to the benefit of your people and to build a stronger company culture where mental health isn’t a taboo but part of an ongoing conversation.

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