Building a Culture of Mindfulness and Connection: Tips for Managing Remote Teams
Managing a team is a task not for the weak. Even a strong leader sometimes needs to thread on eggshells to get around a group that struggles to get in sync. As managers and company owners, you will get to face a lot of different personalities that will clash anytime. Imagine doing this with a remote team.
Building a Strong Remote Team
Hiring a remote employee can have more pros, like lesser overhead costs and more freedom for your staff. Still, it has its cons, like a lack of accountability and a lack of teamwork.
If you suddenly feel tensed with realizing that managing and building a solid remote team is impossible, keep reading. This blog aims to inspire you and give tips to make a team work and be on the same page despite physical distance.
We’ll talk about mindfulness and connection. These two are crucial elements that can significantly enhance the remote work experience.
What Is Mindfulness And Connection in Remote Work?
The term “mindfulness” refers to a set of practices emphasizing paying close attention to one’s inner experience.
This includes thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations—at the moment. Remote workers can benefit from mindfulness training by feeling less stressed, more focused, and more relaxed overall.
When we discuss connection, we mean how remote employees can feel like a part of the team and something greater than themselves. People who connect to others may feel less isolated and more like a part of the global community.
What Are The Challenges in Building a Culture of Mindfulness and Connection?
Building a culture of mindfulness and connection can have negative results if you’re unaware and unprepared for possible drawbacks.
Distractions
Distractions such as social media and household chores can be prevalent in remote work.
Lack of Motivation
Remote workers may experience a lack of motivation due to isolation and a lack of interaction with their team and colleagues.
Time Zone Differences
Remote workers may be spread across different time zones, making coordinating virtual check-ins and team events difficult.
Balancing Connection and Privacy
Remote workers may value both connection and privacy.
How Can You Build A Culture Of Mindfulness In Remote Teams?
Here are five ways to encourage mindfulness among remote workers:
Encourage Health Breaks
Of course, the first one is to do something you can implement quickly. You can encourage health breaks by:
- Leading by example.
- Schedule and announce it throughout the workday.
- Give Autonomy.
- Be open if someone needs to take a break.
- Reward and recognize people doing a great job or for trying.
This simple thing can help remote employees stay healthy with their minds and body. For instance, they can use health breaks to stretch around, drink water, nap, and eat excellent meals.
Provide Informational PubMats And Tools For Mindfulness Practices
You can also encourage activities during health breaks by using informational publication materials and giving your remote team management tools to practice mindfulness. You can use any of the following as pub mats:
- Share success stories from you, other employees, or others with impactful stories.
- Share facts or scientifically proven information.
- Share tips on how to get started and stay consistent.
Your remote employees can read all your pub mats but only apply them if they have the needed tools. You can give them any of the following:
- Provide premium subscriptions to mindfulness apps and websites for managing remote teams training.
- Give them a mindfulness music collection.
- Give customized fidget toys to employees who need them.
- Give exercise equipment.
Have Psychologists And Therapists On The House
As the boss of a business, it’s up to you to decide what tools to give your workers. Having psychologists and therapists on staff can make employees happier and more productive, but it also costs a lot. Here’s what you need to make the most out of the benefits:
- Hire or outsource psychologists and therapists.
- Work with a company that offers an Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Provide counseling as part of insurance plans.
- Give people ways to find and get mental health help.
Open Virtual Spaces
You can set up a virtual space where anyone can anonymously post their concerns. But remember, it can have drawbacks by being a potential breeding ground for harmful behavior. To manage this and avoid negative impact, here’s what you should do:
- Establish clear guidelines, including what can be appropriate or not.
- Tell employees to tell the management if the concern is harsh.
- They can write something for themselves and be open to people without having the guilt and shame of letting them know their identity.
- Tell your employees they can use the space to do more than a complaint. They can also use it to recognize someone for a job well done or a good thing they did.
Mindfulness Games
Encourage your remote team to have enough leisure time. If they love digital games, you can encourage them to play any of the following gaming genres:
- Puzzle games
- Simulation games
- Adventure games
- Strategy games
- Casual games
Now, they can play it alone or, better yet, with other team members. This is where “connectedness” comes in.
How Can You Build A Culture Of Connectedness In Remote Teams?
Here is another set of five to foster connection among remote workers:
Weekly Virtual One-On-Ones
It's essential to ask for daily updates from team leaders and project managers to their team members. It can be mostly about work or a few personal struggles, and this can help team members feel they are on track with their work.
Weekly Virtual Group Calls
Group calls are also essential for an enormous scope of simultaneous development and reconditioning. It can be about updates for work, including:
1. Concerns
2. Announcements
3. Recognition
4. Team achievements
Support Inclusiveness
For genuine connection in your company, strive to be the most inclusive and diverse. It implies that there is no judgment, whatever race, gender, status, or appearance they have. Here's what you need to do:
1. Encouragement always starts with you as a leader and leading by example.
2. Educate and reprimand employees as necessary to avoid bullying in the workplace.
3. Post or publish celebrations about all diverse identities in your company.
Encourage Open And Fun Communication
Fun communication, even outside work, can help foster kinship. Here's how you can encourage your remote staff to have fun and non-stiff contact:
1. Even professionals can use memes and comics, so let them.
2. Group chat channels where you can use and customize fun stickers.
3. Always smile, laugh, and hit a joke around them so they can feel comfortable with their bosses. And eventually, they will learn to have fun with you and others without getting too personal or disrespectful.
A Mindful Decision For Connection
Encouraging remote workers to be mindful is essential to healthily connecting the workplace and vice versa.
Organizations can help employees develop their mindfulness skills and improve their overall well-being by giving them virtual spaces, informational posters, and tools for mindfulness practices. Companies can ensure their remote workers feel supported and engaged by creating a safe space for those given tools.