VIRTUALL:

BUILDING  CONNECTIONS

Building strong relationships at work is never easy and working remotely can make it that much harder. But remote work doesn’t need to come at the cost of your and your teammates' happiness.

With some effort, you can start building solid relationships with your colleagues and improve workplace happiness, inclusivity, and culture! Consider the following tips:

No matter if you're at home, at the grocery store, or at work, word choice matters. Thoughtfully chosen words can be powerful relationship builders. Harmful or non-inclusive language creates a toxic company culture, a damaged reputation, and increased turnover. That said, be intentional with what you are saying, and consider using video chats to deliver your message more accurately. Be mindful, however, that with multiple generations in the workplace, not all your employees use certain words or emoji’s the same way.

Encourage teammates to use their webcams during virtual meetings instead of only using audio. Video chatting can provide the visual cues missing from written and verbal communications, not to mention nobody likes looking at black screens!

Sitting in back-to-back virtual meetings can be exhausting. When scheduling meetings, consider limiting the meeting time to 25 or 55 minutes instead of 30 minutes or an hour - this will give your team a small break to stretch or grab a beverage after the meeting. Sticking to the scheduled time and ending on schedule will also help fatigue.

During the workday, ask your co-workers open-ended questions and give them a chance to talk. Personal and casual conversations can help create bonds with your co-workers. These "water cooler" talks are often less common in a remote workplace, so try to emulate these casual chats virtually.

Plan or ask for team-building activities or events to help break up the workday and learn more about your co-workers. Consider alternating the "host" of the activity each week, so everyone is involved. If you would prefer a dedicated time to hold these team-building activities, try Monday mornings to ease people back into the work week, or Friday afternoons so you end the week on a "fun" note.