Developing a winning culture in a distributed workforce
As hybrid workplaces become more common—and remote work gains momentum, here’s how you can ensure your organization still builds a close community.
The data gathered in the past year is irrefutable: the workforce has been forever changed. Going forward, the distributed work model, a blend of in-office and remote work, will be adopted by many organizations.
The pressing questions that the hybrid work model poses for leaders everywhere are:
“Future fitness” is the phrase used to describe companies that meet the criteria necessary for adapting to the new work model. The three most significant “fitness” areas for leaders to have in place are trust, healthy conflict, and “meeting mindfulness.”
Trust
The pandemic year challenged trust within organizations due to sustained uncertainty and disruption of routines. In a recent Emplify survey of 1,000 employees, more than half reported feelings of anxiety, stress and fear related to their jobs. Trust has been hindered by geographic isolation and the lack of regular face-to-face communication. Leaders must be proactive in creating a community at work. The most vital communities build trust by making space for consistent sharing of meaningful highs and lows, adopting safety cues by making people aware of changes and adjustments, and creating hope with a future vision plan.
Healthy conflict
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