The unprecedented shift in our lives due to the pandemic is something that is going to have a lot of after-effects. With multiple businesses shutting shop and a huge number of employees losing jobs overnight, the outbreak of COVID19 has been highly unfavorable to the world economy.
To ensure they stay afloat in these times, almost all businesses shifted to the remote work culture. It led to a lot of confusion but eventually, employers and employees learned how to deal with this situation and make it work.
To ensure employees keep learning despite the changes, a lot of businesses invest in tech tools to provide online learning solutions. Learning platforms like Fuse Universal have proven to be extremely helpful in making knowledge easily accessible to employees regardless of where they are.
This gives employees the freedom to learn whenever they want on any kind of device they own. Additionally, working from home has saved them from the need to get out of bed, dress up and travel to work in these times when it’s unsafe to go outside.
But, there are other ways to provide employees freedom and in today’s situation employers must offer a higher level of freedom to their employees. Here’s why :
- It increases employee satisfaction
This is the biggest benefit of giving your employees more freedom in this global crisis. Today, employee well-being is of paramount importance because they are driving your business ahead. If they are not happy or not physically well, their performance will drop and your business suffers.
When employees have the freedom to decide when they want to do what, it allows them to balance work and personal life in a better way. This enhances their happiness and makes them feel good about their job. Happier employees will perform more diligently and will be able to achieve business goals more easily.
- It breeds loyalty
Hiring new employees and training them is a big expense. Especially in the pandemic, it can be disheartening for businesses to lose a high-potential employee. When managers try to control everything that an employee does and do not let them do things their way, it can lead to frustration.
On the contrary, showing faith in an employee’s ability to do their job well and taking the right decisions to provide desired results can do wonders for the employee’s self-esteem. It makes them feel trusted and increases their commitment to the company. When employees become more loyal, it increases employee retention rates.
- It prevents burnout
Burnout is very common in remote employees because of the excessive number of virtual meetings that get added to their everyday schedules. Moreover, forcing employees to start working at a certain time every day can increase their stress levels.
Not everyone is a morning person. Not every employee will be super-productive in the early hours of the day. Allowing employees to structure their day as per their own choices can make them work in a stress-free way and lead to better work outputs.
- It fosters innovation
In a time where employees feel lonely due to isolation, it can get tough to get the creative juices flowing. Giving employees freedom can offer them the space to try something out-of-the-box and provide innovative solutions.
When managers give employees the authority to try new things and make their own decisions, employees often surprise them with unexpected solutions. By declining them this freedom, you curb their creativity and block new ideas from coming in.
Conclusion
Remote work in the pandemic is challenging as it is, but adding extra restrictions to it can make employees feel suffocated. By providing them ownership of how to spend their time, you can not only retain them for longer but also boost their performance.
