Mind the employee engagement gap in hybrid work
WITH the recent relaxation of safe-management rules and a higher threshold for employees to work in the office, organisations continue to adapt to the new reality of hybrid and flexible ways of working. This trend is likely to stay for the long term, given how the pandemic has normalised remote working from a "need" to a "want".
According to the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey, employee expectations have shifted. Only 15 per cent of employees surveyed in South-east Asia, including Singapore, would prefer to work from office full-time when pandemic restrictions ease locally. The majority prefer to work anywhere, or remotely full-time, or in a hybrid work arrangement.
Government impetus to drive workplace flexibility is also growing - and a key component of flexibility is the ability to work anywhere. A White Paper tabled in March in Singapore outlined that a set of tripartite guidelines on flexible work arrangements (FWAs) will be ready by 2024, and employers will then have to consider such requests from employees fairly and properly.
For now, the government aims to increase the adoption of a voluntary tripartite standard on FWAs to reach 40 per cent of all employees by end-2022.
Research has consistently found that FWAs improve business results while helping employees enhance their work performance and quality of life. Clearly, FWA has its advantages - but only if executed well.
Taking remote working as a case in point, the lack of human interactions and blurring of personal and work boundaries could impact employees' well-being negatively. During the pandemic when employees were mostly working remotely, many had reported burnout and disengagement, increasing risks of reduced productivity and attrition.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
To successfully implement FWAs, employers will need to learn to engage a hybrid or remote workforce effectively. This changed context of employee engagement is arguably a new challenge for many. It will demand a reset and review of how organisations deliver positive employee experiences. Organisations can consider the following four key areas.
Connect and support
When working remotely, employees often feel "removed" - not just being physically but also emotionally disconnected from their teams and leadership. Virtual teams often do not interact with emotional resonance due to the lack of opportunities to socialise in person. For example, communal lunches that are common in Asia are great opportunities for building relationships and engagement - an impact hardly achievable with remote working.
This means that managers will have to intentionally pivot to other means for team bonding, such as virtual team lunches and small-group coaching, and navigate a spectrum of team activities that integrates and caters to those in and outside of the office.
Beyond strengthening peer-to-peer relationships for a strong support network, leaders should proactively reach out to employees whose well-being is perceived or detected to be at risk. This requires a leadership style that is empathetic and authentic. Institutionalising employee support schemes is crucial, in particular well-being programmes. These could be in the form of anonymous counselling service, as well as policies that recognise the importance of mental health and allow time off for such health issues.
While some organisations have begun to take mental well-being seriously, others are still struggling to obtain leadership buy-in. Perhaps an understanding of wellness being more than an ethical or societal responsibility is lacking. An emotionally and mentally healthy workforce is the foundation of an engaged workforce - a key value-driver for organisational success.
Listen actively
People feel connected when their views are heard and valued. Organisations should seek to strengthen their listening and analytics capabilities so as to draw actionable insights from the feedback received. One way is to deploy quick pulse surveys to monitor sentiments regularly, and spot emerging or longstanding cultural issues for mitigation.
Poor virtual meeting behaviours also compromise engagement. Rather than being present virtually, some participants could merely be "virtually present". They may be joining the meeting online, but are not engaged, preoccupied with other tasks, or just generally suffering from call fatigue. Employees may also find it more difficult to raise questions and objections in a virtual setting. Managers need to lead by example to demonstrate behaviours of being fully present, open-minded and active listening.
Manage differently
As the employees' working relationship with the manager directly affects their work experience, managers will need to be mindful of their management styles. This may require training - after all, virtual working may not have been prevalent in most parts of their careers for many leaders.
For a start, they must reframe their mindsets, discard traditional notions of presenteeism and focus on building trust, empowerment and support. Particularly, they must be mindful of virtual micromanagement. This could be in the form of overly onerous administrative reporting, which may drive up sentiments of distrust and non-productive use of time. The emphasis should be on quality completion of work within deadline and working hours that take into account the employee's most productive hours and other personal commitments.
It is important to show support by scheduling regular, short, one-on-one check-in meetings to ensure that everyone is progressing well and encourage employees to provide feedback and recognition.
Leaders should also be open and transparent in performance assessment and career conversations to reduce employees' fear that working remotely could mean missing out on career opportunities.
Leverage technology
For managers to be effective in listening and engaging, technology can help. For example, there are HR platforms and tools that can automate daily morning e-mail reminders to managers to check in on the well-being of their employees, send birthday greetings, or recognise achievements. Technology can also help to reduce the administrative burden on employees and enable more timely visibility of appraisals and feedback, thereby promoting a better employee experience.
As organisations seek to reposition for growth, their talent will be their most important asset. Employers will need to constantly review their employee engagement strategies, the impact of employee sentiments, and the technological investments that are needed to optimise a future of work that will no doubt be vastly different but no less exciting and promising.
The writer is partner, People Advisory Services - Workforce Advisory, at Ernst & Young Advisory Pte Ltd.
The views here are the writer's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organisation or its member firms.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
