Understanding how to keep employees feeling engaged along with how to support staff has always been a topic of conversation. But in this new age of post-pandemic workplace environments, it’s more important than ever to start the discussion. Creating an environment for hybrid and remote workers to be successful is key to the longevity of companies across a variety of industries. Here are some tips to help understand how to keep your hybrid employees engaged wherever they work in the world.

1. Make health + wellness a priority

Acknowledging what employees need in and out of the office and how you can help, is influential to ensure the overall wellbeing of your team. Providing resources for your employees to prioritize their own health and wellness will illustrate to them that you understand their top priority should be themselves. Introducing an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will allow employees to seek advice and assistance for a variety of issues they may encounter. Addressing mental health concerns with a counselor, seeking financial advice, or even retaining counsel for legal matters are just a few ways employees can utilize EAP.

You may also consider providing the opportunity of having a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for employees. Both of these account types provide employees with the opportunity to take money out of their pre-tax paychecks and deposit it into said account to spend on health-related expenses. As an employer, you also have the option to deposit into these accounts as a benefit to your staff. These accounts can cover everyday health purchases like first aid supplies or more annual expenses like copays for doctor’s visits.

HSAs and FSAs are valuable to remote workers as it is more important than ever to maintain health and wellness during these unprecedented times. Remote employees can utilize these accounts for a variety of matters to ensure their remote-work life is healthy and balanced. From purchasing prescription computer glasses to ensure the health of their eyes to paying for TeleMed copays, remote workers can find solace in the financial assistance of either of these account opportunities.

2. Foster social interaction

As remote work takes hold of many industries, it’s important to keep your own company culture in mind. As your staff that was once in office and is now remote interweaves with completely remote new hires, finding a way to bridge any gaps between the two is important to the overall culture of your team. Instituting time during the week where you get into a room with our Meeting Owl Pro to discuss matters and spend time face-to-virtual-face allows for teammates to get better acquainted with each other.

If your company is entering a hybrid work environment, monitoring any signs of proximity bias is vital to the success of your hybrid team. While some of your staff may be able to come into the office, your remote staff does not have the same opportunity for bonding. Integrating team activities that don’t have to do with any work deliverables can help foster comradery amongst your team, near and far.

To incentivize employees to stay engaged in their day-to-day work while being remote, bringing in an aspect of gamification can generate excitement. We see gamification in everything we do, both in work and in our personal lives. Rewarding yourself when completing a task or making yourself excited for a mundane activity by making it a game are some ways we gamify on our own. As a team, creating a reward system, or the opportunity to end the week with a fun activity based on how well the work-week went, are just a couple of ways to bring gamification into the workplace.

3. Maintain strong communication

Remote and hybrid work requires more fine-tuned communication skills from all members of the company. Before the pandemic, it was much easier to grab time on someone's schedule just by walking to their office and asking if they were free. Now, checking calendars to set up a meeting seems much more formal and therefore people feel like asking for time is an imposition.

As employers, executives, and managers, communication with your team is vital to making sure they feel the support and understanding needed to be productive. This can come from weekly team meetings to dive into pertinent business, creating open hours for meetings with staff, or even setting up weekly one-on-one check-ins.

Finding ways to frequently and consistently interact with your employees can allow for open and honest communication about any struggles or pain points in the workplace. As burnout is a common concern for both employers and employees, it’s important to check in on your team and how they’re doing. These conversations can shed light on issues that live below the surface of a chat window and can help illuminate where they need support.

Successful companies spend time creating environments where their employees can thrive. Making sure that they can flourish in and out of the confines of an office environment is important to the durability of your long-term business model. Adapt and engage with your employees, and you will create lasting relationships that benefit all.