Top five things bosses can do to manage Work from Home employees

Employers have many things to worry about during this pandemic and lockdown, apart from sustaining the business and keeping clients and customers happy. Add to this is the work from home arrangement being encouraged by many sectors so as to arrest the spread of the virus in public transport and in places of business. Some employers are actually finding this hard to do and implement, saying that working in the home isn’t as productive as employees tend to dilly dally or slacken off.

That said, here’s the top five ways employers can do so they don’t feel too stressed about not seeing their staff in person and in action.

1. Ask them to clock in

They should be able to make their presence felt the minute they step in work. It doesn’t mean for them to show their face (because that would require data). Just a simple text message will be enough so they can tell their employers ‘I’m here and ready to serve”.

2. Be compliant of breaks

Like in a normal office, breaks are a normal thing. But they shouldn’t expect to get lunch at exactly 12 if they’re late clocking in. Employees should also be allowed a few minutes for coffee and bathroom breaks but not for an online game or naps.

3. Give them responsibilities and make sure that they submit quality work on time

Hovering over employees to make sure they submit on time isn’t productive, as many of them break under pressure. Just set a date and time for them to submit. With a fair warning that if they fail to do so, they will lose your faith on them on the next task/s.

4. Trust them to deliver on their tasks

This is tricky, especially when dealing with employees who really can’t care less. But at the end of the day, you just simply have to pinch yourself hard and believe in them so they feel confident and valued. The great thing about this is that once they break the trust you have given, you can simply tell them how disappointed you are- and that it will take time before you will ever trust them again.

5. Reiterate the Need for them to communicate

They simply need to make their presence felt throughout the day, particularly when they are not required to turn on the cameras of their PCs and laptops to prove that they are “present” for work stuff. All they need to do is to respond to messages in real time and not make their bosses wait.