Why It Is Important To Build Virtual Relationships To Avoid Isolation
Remote working gives you lots of freedom. Not having to come to the office on time, not having to wear formal clothes, and not being bound by the rules of work hours all sound like the ultimate heaven.
We can think of a million benefits of working remotely. In essence, one of my favorite things about remote working is the ability to structure the day in a way that makes more sense for your body. Everyone’s circadian rhythms and productive times are very different, and remote work gives you a chance to discover when you are most productive. But did you know that it also comes with challenges? One of the significant problems that online workers face is a sense of loneliness, disconnection, and isolation that can lead to depression.
In the UK, companies lose £100m every year due to depression, anxiety, and work-related stress. This problem may be more crucial among remote workers because they feel separated from the communication channels and support mechanisms provided to on-site workers. One of the harmful effects is the loss of motivation, which undoubtedly affects one’s work performance.
There are many things you can do to overcome loneliness while working remotely. One of the most effective ways is building virtual relationships that can help you feel that you are not alone, most importantly in times like these where millions of people are hunkering down and shifting to remote work because of the global pandemic we are currently experiencing. This fast-changing situation where we are all worried about the world makes being productive uneasy.
Our teams at Livit are fully capable of working remotely with maximum productivity, and the connection among our team members is very important to us. We have this nice habit of starting any meeting with a quick catchup chat, where people share what they have been up to. Those 3-5 minutes make us feel connected even though some of us are thousands of miles away. We also have biweekly 1-on-1s where we cover a mix of work and outside of work-related topics which are fun and motivating. They help a lot in keeping the personal relationship going, building mutual trust, and keeping everyone motivated which is needed when you’re working remotely.
via EMIRMEMEDOVSKI/ GETTY IMAGES
We, humans, are social beings. We connect to each other via our emotions. It is important to share our feelings with each other, especially in a situation where we need to be calm and help each other out. We may not be able to see and connect with each other in person, but thanks to technology, we now have a lot of tools and platforms that allow us to maintain our relationships, such as Slack, Zoom, and Google Hangouts.
So if you’re sitting in front of your computer right now, call your colleague who lives on the other side of the world. Ask them if they are okay, and let the conversation strengthen your relationship with them.
Sometimes all we need is a simple “How are you?”.
