#HRTrending - 5 “Surefire” Ways To Motivate Work-From-Home Employees!

Ms. Tieu Yen Trinh – CEO of Talentnet shared that in this time of uncertainty, when the pandemic is distancing employees from employers, HR specialists are having to face all the hardship “between wind and water”. The COVID-19 has not only caused harm to business growth, but also sowed the seed of confusion, insecurity and infuriation into the mind of workers, which could further result in the HR crisis in the future.

According to the Exclusive report: 3rd HR Policy Survey during the COVID-19 conducted by Talentnet, up to 66% of businesses did not have any policy to support employees during work from home. Before trying to find the right strategy for the long-run, HR departments can consider these 5 tips to “re-motivate” employees during work from home:

1. Healthy body, healthy mind

A survey in England pointed out that 64% of employees experienced health problems and 75% were having stress working from home. As a result, aside from usual healthcare, managers should consider periodically check up on their employees, and introduce mental health counseling applications to assist employees express their thoughts and regain motivation.

2. Introducing exceptional “happy hour”

HR managers can be considerate toward their employees by introducing a certain timeframe per day or per week when employees can catch up, chat and “chill” together. This “tea break” can become much more genuine by ordering food together, or this “happy hour” can be taken advantage of by organizing various bonding activities such as the usual “The Werewolves of Millers Hollow” or lucky draw.

3. Opening an online hobby club

Art Therapy magazine pointed out that stress hormone (Cortisol) lowers significantly after 45 minutes of art creation. Thereby, businesses can encourage employees to freely pursue other passions beside work expertise. There are various platforms providing numerous free or discounted online courses on art, cooking, beauty and makeup, language… that HR department can choose from.

4. Work-life balance “detox” at the weekend

In a survey conducted by Microsoft and YouGov showed that nearly 30% of workers reported an increase in working longer hours and 53% feel they have to be available all times when working from home. Therefore, businesses need to “return” time off for employees to ensure their staff happiness.

5. Conducting employee happiness survey

Microsoft, Huawei, Milton Keyes, CNBC… and various businesses have conducted internal survey on employee happiness using discrete form or gamified version in order to acquire as honest as possible answers.

HR staff can utilize these 5 tips in short-term, but for the purpose of maintain sustainable happiness for employees, long-term strategies are must needed. Nonetheless, no matter what strategies businesses may use, it is crucial to keep in mind that employee happiness is the fundament for sustainable growth. Employees happiness, it’s not “nice to have” but “must have”!