Due to the current pandemic, many of our employees are being exposed to remote working for the first time.

Despite remote working having many benefits, the State Of Remote Work report by Buffer found that 19% felt lonely or isolated when working from home. 

Whether you have started working from home for the first time or you have been doing it for many years, we have put together a list of 5 useful ways to reduce the feeling of isolation and loneliness whilst working remotely.  

1) Have daily video calls

If working virtually has become your new reality then it’s very important to maintain frequent contact with members of your team. 

Using features like Microsoft Teams allows you to schedule daily calls so that you can keep communication and idea generation flowing outside of the office. 

With 49% of remote workers stating that their mental-well being is most affected, video calling can be a positive way to combat social loneliness and isolation whilst working at home. 

2) Encourage communication

One way to overcome the issues from working remotely is to talk. 

Utilise your intranets social features and encourage your employees to make two-way conversations. Create a hashtag like #ideasoftheday so employees can share their latest ideas with colleagues and gain constructive feedback. 

Using these features will make your employees feel more included and less isolated whilst working from home. 

3) Learn a new skill

For those employees who have been furloughed, learning a new skill can be a great way to stay productive and aid their professional development. 

If your organisation uses an intranet document management system, maybe like our docCentrum product, now is the time to assign your employees tasks and quizzes so that they can feel connected to the company whilst working remotely.  

4) Take regular breaks

If you’re working from home then it’s really important to schedule regular breaks into your daily routine. Not only will it boost productivity levels, but it will help employees feel less isolated in the house. 

Studies have found that those with lower levels of vitamin D were at greater risk of depression and suffered more with mental health. 

Sitting in the garden or taking a quick walk around the block will help increase your employees levels of vitamin D and serotonin which will boost their mood.

5) Practice mindfulness

Working from home can become quite difficult at times especially when feeling lonely and isolated. 

That’s why it’s important to practice mindfulness techniques so that we can maintain a positive perspective and focus on the good around us. 

Why not create a health and wellness space on your intranet homepage so that your employees can access useful resources and information around remote working and mental health. Providing employees support during these times will help them to feel more included and part of a team. 

Everything is going to be alright

We hope you enjoyed our blog post! By using a few of these simple techniques, you can help reduce your employees feelings of loneliness and isolation whilst working remotely. Extra support is always available from mental health charities such as Mind, who can provide you with great resources and information for those employees that need a little extra support. 

Want to know how your intranet can help you during a crisis?

Tony Pounder

Meet Tony. Tony swims like a fish! Meet Tony. Tony swims like a fish! Meet Tony. Tony swims like a fish!Meet Tony. Tony swims like a fish!Meet Tony. Tony swims like a fish!Meet Tony.