“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
―made famous by Maya Angelou
What change, caused by everyone working remotely, is not getting adequate attention?
Given the multitude of digital communications tools at our disposal — messaging and video — the amount of human “business interaction” during COVID appears to have largely stayed the same.
Yet, I believe that the quality of “connections” have suffered.
It is now the 9th week of working remotely. The initial corporate concern, even in knowledge-based roles, was that productivity would suffer. The fears were that hours worked might go down and that collaboration on group projects would be much harder.
It is too early to have detailed studies on the impact of remote work on corporate productivity. Anecdotal feedback suggests that the lower productivity concern was misplaced. In most knowledge-centric businesses productivity remains high. And total hours worked by the average employee might have actually gone up (at least, tracking shows more people are logging onto corporate networks earlier in the morning and later at night).
Talking recently with a friend and former colleague, he mentioned something about the change in work that really stuck with me.
Working from home, though efficient, made most interactions seem highly “transactional”.
That word — transactional — captures a hidden, “second order” change resulting from everyone working remotely. Our contact today with others is primarily digital (voice or video) and often asynchronous (email, Slack, IM etc.). Without face to face physical interactions our words can lose their emotional context and come across as impersonal.
The sudden closure of all offices and other venues that host in-person meetings means there is much much less opportunity for small talk and casual conversation. We no longer have conversations in hallways, on the way to the bathroom, before and after meetings, in the kitchen or break room, or while waiting for the elevator. While these small talk moments might create some “wasted time”, they help people build relationships with each other that allow us to know the other beyond merely their work role.
Humans are intensely social creatures, and social distancing coupled with mandatory remote work has further increased feelings of loneliness. All of us receive and send a lot of information about our feelings and thoughts through micro facial expressions. We make fairly good judgments about the emotional state of others we meet for the first time or just see in a photo (one reason I suspect for the global popularity of memes). Charles Darwin recognized how micro-expressions were similar around the world and suggested they were an evolutionary adaptation so that people would quickly, better understand each other.
Video calling is not well suited to recognizing micro-expressions. Particularly, in a large group meeting where everyone is in a thumbnail (sometimes hidden) that is hard to scroll between.
Without meaning to, digital interactions can make our co-workers (especially those on other teams with whom we have a lower depth of relationship) feel like “cogs in the business machine.” The strengths of a positive corporate culture — alignment, engagement, teamwork, and sharing a common business vision — diminish. Interactions become more like those with vendors or paid consultants on a short-term project. The focus increases on providing inputs to and seeking outputs from other people.
I expect physical distancing rules to apply for an extended period of time in many states and cities. And work from home will remain common for large elements of the knowledge workforce.
So here are some suggestions to business and team leaders on actions to offset the inherently transactional nature of the remote, digital interaction.
Foster additional ties between people. Connect on casual, personal topics whether family or hobbies or favorite TV shows, musicians etc. As leaders model that behavior. People are craving additional connection.
Top Down Efforts — In the last few days I have heard a few different business leaders talk about using a new HR tool called Donut for virtual meetings to connect with and get to know colleagues outside your immediate group. While I don’t love forced connections, I am glad to hear People leaders wanting to try new ways to connect employees.
Bottoms Up Efforts — Super critical. I recommend all of us proactively reach out to people we have “loose social ties” with in our circle of acquaintances or business colleagues (current and former). Use text, slack, IM, email or LinkedIn to initiate contact. Follow up by phone where appropriate — people welcome the personal touch of a phone call. In group Zoom meetings, use the private chat feature to connect with others on casual topics just so they know you are thinking of them.
Schedule company-wide mental health days. Traditional vacations are almost impossible to take ( (travel is not allowed or at least severely discouraged and many attractions we might want to visit are closed). So if everyone takes a day off, it can help reduce digital communication and the associated stress.
Encourage digital downtime. As Anne Lamott has said, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”
As I reflect on the times we are in today, I think of the saying from Jim Barksdale which Ben Horowitz quotes in his book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
“We take care of the people, the products and the profits…in that order.”
Now is the time to double down on taking care of the people in your businesses. Make them your first concern, especially those you intend to keep and build your business around. Ensure your team members and colleagues feel valued and cared for. They will remember those positive feelings forever. And their gratitude, productivity and loyalty will be well worth your effort.