What Do You Expect Of Me?

What’s going on with your employees at home?

One thing that I have noticed a lot online are the many discussions and requests for advice on balancing working from home and having children at home when all the adults are working. While there used to be an assumption – sometimes justifiable but often not – that those working from home were doing anything but ‘work’ or the bare minimum that they could get away with.

In this current situation where COVID-19 has forced much of the country’s workforce in to being ‘homeworkers’, what I am noticing is that most people are trying to work and struggling with figuring how to – especially when they are in a caring capacity for others who are also at home with them.

Unless workers are considered ‘essential key workers’, there is no childcare available – not even those wonderful grandparents can help now if they don't live in the same place! Therefore, many parents or carers are parenting whilst working. Something which is even more of a challenge for those who are new to working from home or had previously made use of their child’s time in nursery or school to get their work done. So, this situation is new and 'untrod'. Many are desperate to be seen to be conscientious – or genuinely valuing the supply of work – due to the uncertainty of whether this workload or employment will continue.

So what are doing to ensure the new system of ‘home working’ really does work effectively for your business and your employees?

Now, clearly this is also a time when many businesses are also dealing with the pressure of having less resources, people, finances and certainty potentially too. So, it would maybe seem unreasonable to expect employers to also carry the burden of an employee’s home life - which to a certain extent, I agree with. However, in my experience facilitating workplace mediations, conflict at home and conflict at work do not stay in their separate 'boxes', rather any conflict or stress will impact every area of life. So … if you have the opportunity to prevent difficulties from negatively affecting your employee, it will likely benefit your business by default.

Here are some of the potential conflicts I see happening if this situation is not managed effectively:

·Mistakes being made due to stress, tiredness or distraction – which leads to further stress and impact on business.

·Conflict and tension occurring between partners regarding: who is responsible for childcare; who is responsible for household duties; whether one partner has the ‘right’ to work more than the other, etc.

·Stress of working amongst the chaos of a worldwide pandemic and the natural worries that come with coping with that situation.

·Stress and anxiety due to the uncertainty of their job security – does the person with the most ‘secure’ job get priority for working over childcare responsibility?

·Tiredness from managing job, household and childcare (with the potential additional responsibility of overseeing home learning) all at the same time.

·Stress and worry if one of their household’s earning has reduced or stopped.

…to name a few!

All of the above, if not managed, will impact both the employee’s home life, and their work productivity and effectiveness.

There is no one-size fits all solution for the above situations, however, there are some things that can be done to get ahead of issues and prevent unnecessary difficulty or conflict:

1. Provide as much ‘certainty’ as possible.

When individuals don’t feel ‘safe’ in their jobs it may push them to excel but it is also highly likely to cause inner panic, which will infiltrate their thoughts; thus becoming a distraction and added pressure whilst working. If there is anything you can communicate to your employees that they can 'hold onto' during this time where so much has changed and may continue to change, may alleviate some of the panic. Which, in turn, will help your employees feel settled and able to be more productive.

2. Speak to each employee or get a ‘general consensus’ on what changes may be helpful.

It’s likely that though each employee’s household will be different in some ways, many of the same concerns will be occurring in each household. Finding out from them what might be hindering their productivity, or what would help support them in this new way of working, will hopefully provide appropriate options for supporting both your business and your employees. Often it is difficult to know how to support, even if you want to. Your employees may have already thought of the perfect solution!

3. Recognise that this is not ‘carrying on as normal’ situation – even if the transition to home-working seemed relatively simple and undisruptive. This is not a ‘normal’ situation. Therefore, the way we think about and manage our expectations of ourselves and others has to take this into account if the objective is to be mindful of BOTH the business and the employee’s needs.

4. Communicate your expectations.

There WILL be discussions (possibly heated ones) in many households right now regarding which person should have the responsibility of childcare whilst the other one works. Discussions, also, about whose job should take ‘priority’ - especially so if they are used to working hours set by their employer. Many in the latter situation may be under the assumption/understanding that they should carry on as normal. If your expectations are NOT that they are to do this, saying so expressly could make a huge difference to households across the country - whether it be changing expected working hours, limiting work hours, adjusting expectations of complete focus during working hours, etc.

You may not be able to see any alternative options to what you are currently doing if your business is to survive. And, it is for everyone’s benefit that your business survives this situation. However, I would encourage you to go through the above four suggestions so that you have the knowledge that equips you to both: be realistic about your expectations of your employees and be aware of any considerations that could be taken into account when setting expectations. 'Out of the ordinary' times call for 'out of the ordinary' expectations.

It may be that you are having difficulties knowing how to communicate with your employees and this situation has aggravated the problem. If so, Mosaic Mediation offers online mediation services for small and large organisations to resolve all types of disputes. We can also provide DISC assessments for your employees so they can understand themselves better and become more effective communicators with other individuals. Get in touch to find out more about our services. Email: emma.jenkings@mosaicmediation.co.uk or go to the 'Contact' page on the website.