When you have remote workers who are no longer commuting to work every day, we can surely add more projects and tasks? After all, they are at home. They have an extra 1-2 hours per day which we are giving them by letting them work there. Sorry, but it does not quite work that way. It only adds more pressure causing exhaustion, a more stressed workforce, which ultimately leads to burnout.
Adding more meetings to their day really does not make anyone more productive. Meetings have a purpose or at least they should. Filling in someone’s day with more meetings is actually counter-productive. Remember that every meeting has a “before” and an “after”.
The “before” may include preparation for the leader, key players, or participants. The “after” is time for reflection, finetuning one’s notetaking from the meeting while fresh in their minds, and/or a time to organize what action they may need to take as a result of that meeting.
In school, a bell rings indicating a shift from one class to another, one subject to another. This allows students and teachers to have some space between one period and the next. Some organizations are scheduling 50-minute hourly meetings and 25-minute half-hour meetings, allowing for that very type of break. It is a valuable tool but only if it’s used properly.
As a people leader, you can also ensure the culture sustains expectations that emails even though they may be sent after hours will not be read or addressed until the following day. Refrain from texts and/or calls past the usual CoB so that they are not conflicting with their personal lives. When a leader does not set this expectation, employees may feel compelled to keep working when they should be de-stressing and re-charging their batteries for the next day.
“First and foremost, I believe in flexible working. It is important that employers appreciate their employees’ work-life balance and give them the flexibility to work around their personal lives.” - Sir Richard Branson