Motivating the employees post Covid 19 pandemic

 

Covid 19 pandemic situation turned things upside down. Due to the pandemic, the entire world has come to a standstill. The working environment which we used to work in, had to undergo a full change. As a simple example prior to the pandemic, concept of working from home was minimal but suddenly it become the only option for most companies. (Diab-Bahman and Al-Enzi, 2020)

Many large firms continued with planning to bring back only part of their employees to the offices and while the others work remotely. This concept is known as a hybrid workplace. But in present new normal situation, hybrid workplace poses some real challenges to companies. Main challenge is to enhance and maintain employee motivation. (Jurist, 2021)

According to Singal (n.d) following factors were identified as reason which required employee motivation as a vital part in post pandemic situation 

      I.          Long duration of work from home
 Many companies asked their employees to work from home at the beginning of the pandemic. This situation affected employee’s both physical and mental wellbeing. Hence it was very much important to motivate employees in this new normal situation. 

    II.          Boost Morale
Covid 19 pandemic affected employee’s mental health condition. Hence boosting their morale was important when employees resumed work in office post pandemic period.

  III.          To show support

Covid 19 affected everyone. Employees had to work away from their workplace, colleagues and it altered their day-to-day activities. Hence showing support to them was very important. 

Prior to pandemic, concept of hybrid workplace was discussed in minimum level and organisations were very rarely seen using it in practice. In post pandemic period it was the most popular concept. Many organisations moved to hybrid workplace concept since it reduced both fixed and variable costs and it was a flexible option to their employees.

Whether the employee worked from home or work from office most important thing was maintaining employee motivation. If employee lost his motivation, it would have resulted in negative results to the organisation.

Next question which arised was how organisations should motivate employees who resume work in office after a long time of working remotely. Recent survey done at Microsoft revealed that most employees felt burnt out after remote work. Among young workers and new hires, 6 in 10 reported that they were struggling.

Following are several methods used by organisations to motivate employees who move to physical workplace from remote work.

 

      I.          Teamwork
Face to face interaction is the base of building relationship. In post pandemic, working together will help employees develop their metal health and this will motivate the employees.

    II.          Organizing team building activities
Team building actives are basically based on lot of fun-based activities. In post pandemic situation team building activities can play a enormous role in employee motivation. Hence even with limitations, organizing team building activities will refresh employees and give new approach to work.

  III.          Conducting interactive gaming sessions
Organizing interactive gaming sessions also bring interactive and refreshing environment

(Singal, n.d).

In hybrid workplace concept some employees work from home, or they are working remotely. Organisation can use following methods to motivate their employees who work remotely.

      I.          Equip employees with basic office infrastructure
One of the main problems which arised in working remotely was that employees did not have secure space to do their work. Some time they worked in the kitchen or living area in their homes. Therefore, providing basic office infrastructure to employees resulted in motivating them.

Global firms like Twitter, Shopify and local firms like Fortude provided such infrastructure to their employees.

    II.          Open ended meetings
According to Tsedal Neeley “There’s ample research showing that virtual teams can be completely equal to co-located ones in terms of trust and collaboration,”. Encourage employees to response in meetings and follow-up their ideas. It will give more connection with the organisation to employees.

  III.          Recognition and appreciation
Even in remote working environment recognition and appreciation play a vital role in employee motivation. Managers can allocate time in virtual staff meetings to appreciate accomplishments. Conduct employee recognition programmes and celebrate in companywide events. Small recognition can make a big difference in employee satisfaction. And it will lead to motivate the employee.

 

(Jurist, 2021)

 

A sudden change in environment will often lead to change how people think about lives. Covid 19 pandemic was no difference. Organisations must find new ways in uncertain times to achieve targets while keeping their employees engaged and motivated.

 

References

Hitka, M., Štarchoň, P., Caha, Z., Lorincová, S. and Sedliačiková, M., 2021. The global health pandemic and its impact on the motivation of employees in micro and small enterprises: A case study in the Slovak Republic. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, pp.1-21.

Jurist, S., 2021. Employee Motivation in a Post-COVID World. [online] Linkedin.com. Available at: <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/employee-motivation-post-covid-world-suzy-jurist?trk=read_related_article-card_title> [Accessed 3 May 2022].

PossibleWorks. n.d. 9 Ways To Keep Employees Motivated While Working From Home – PossibleWorks. [online] Available at: <https://possibleworks.com/blog/9-ways-to-keep-employees-motivated-while-working-from-home/> [Accessed 1 May 2022].

Singal, N., n.d. How to Keep Your Employees Motivated and Engaged Post Pandemic - Engage for Success. [online] Engage for Success. Available at: <https://engageforsuccess.org/crisis-and-change/how-to-keep-your-employees-motivated-and-engaged-after-the-pandemic/> [Accessed 2 May 2022].

Wolor, C.W., Susita, D. and Martono, S., 2020. How to Maintain Employee Motivation Amid The Covid-19 Virus Pandemic. International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), 8(4), pp.78-86.