Lonely and unappreciated? Facing up to the fall-out from WFH

Lonely and unappreciated? Facing up to the fall-out from WFH

WFH: A new survey of more than 1,000 UK employees (by Ezra) has found that 20% believed they were working harder remotely but were also less appreciated.

The shift to remote working arrangements has been necessary but led to a range of unintended consequences, particularly over time. The realities of spending so much time away from colleagues have sunk in. There have been more regular reports of staff feeling disconnected from their peers and their employer overall, whether furloughed or WFH, or even as a result of the shift to hybrid working.

The need for togetherness

Workplace commentators have pointed to how the pandemic year has exposed the value of face-to-face interactions, both at a social level and for management. More people are having to work harder, take on more responsibilities and deal with uncertainty and change. In normal times all of those challenges would have been accompanied by more support and interaction with HR and managers.

“Mixing at coffee docks and on the office floor gives an opportunity for personal thanks and praise and encouragement,” says Dr John Moriarty, lecturer at the Queen’s University Belfast, School of Social Science, Education and Social Work. “Even when management does remember to thank their staff, I imagine this could feel impersonal to someone receiving this thanks on a video call with hundreds of colleagues.”

Instead, there are warnings of a rise in presenteeism – more recognition and rewards for employees who are simply spending more time at their keyboard, being visible digitally, rather than those who are genuinely being productive. And as a result, HR and managers need to make sure there isn’t a return to a culture where long hours are all that matter, and look to find new ways of appreciating commitment and contribution.

Who will be the best employers for remote and hybrid workers?

“Many of us have enjoyed the flexibility of remote working, and many want those benefits to continue. But that was only the first stage of change, the sense of novelty, of new opportunities for exercise and hobbies and more time with family and friends,” said EAPA UK chair Eugene Farrell.

“This next phase is going to be far more difficult. Even those people who most benefited the changes involved will be questioning the longer term impact, what’s happened to their relationships with colleagues, what it means for their career. Are they getting the same level of attention, do people really see the extra effort involved?

“Employers need to make sure they have a good remote work culture as much as a good workplace culture. That means awareness of the new challenges and the support to match, including professional mental wellbeing and EAP services. Because increasingly that’s what new recruits are going to be looking for and demanding as the new normal.”