Let’s grow together! Be a respectful and empathetic remote coworker during Corona crisis

Sitting on day 20 of the official lockdown, the country is facing an economic and emotional turmoil. The horror of the pandemic has coerced everybody to remain indoors and practise social distancing. What initially were mere 3 weeks, now feel like eons of stagnancy. The current global crisis has redefined the usually preferred “Work From Home” to a more sincere and sombre act. What is new in the mix of things is Work from home internships. Some interns have prior work experience and are aware of the nuances of office culture, while the others are more used to the hour-long lectures and a time table. The work from home culture can be very intimate. 

How does a social animal like us react to this virtual intimacy from colleagues that we haven’t actually met or built a rapport with? How do we learn to work in cohesion with a voice and a form on zoom call? 

Here a few ways that can help you be a respectful coworker in these difficult times.

1. Understand every person’s underlying situation at home

Your colleagues and you are barricaded inside your homes. The scenario seems similar but can be gravely different. With schools shut and daycare facilities closed until further notice, parents are forced to take care of their kids and manage their work, simultaneously. Apart from this, there are others who are restricted to hostels and isolated living arrangements. Reach out to your coworkers and try understanding what each of them is dealing with at their respective places, and figure out ways to make things easier for them. 

You can start by talking about the availability of basic necessities like food, water and internet. Ask them about how they’re feeling and if they have the necessary resources to stay safe and support themselves in isolation. You can never comprehend what a person is going through unless you make the first move and ask them about it. Also, keep in mind that just because a particular coworker was feeling well yesterday, does not mean they’d be okay today too. 

You can also try and be of their living arrangements and their daily routine. Colleagues living in families might have designated time for household work and the ones living by themselves might be living off of maggi because they can’t seem to find time to cook.

2. Ensure that you stay in touch on a daily basis

A major concern that seems to creep its way into the current scenario is when people working remotely fall into the category of “out of sight, out of mind”. In such cases, managers and colleagues often connect with their teammates only in times of need or when a problem needs to be dealt with. But these are times of distress and this is when we need to connect with our peers the most. 

As a respectful coworker, it is your responsibility to develop a habit of staying connected with your colleagues. A simple text saying, “Hi, how are you doing? Is everybody safe and okay?” might do the trick. You can also set up a call where you can catch up with them and get to know their circumstances better. The basic idea is to let them know that you stand with them in solidarity.

3. Make it easy for them to ask for help 

Another way of making yourself available is by offering help as and when you can. But for them to accept your offer, you must be approachable. One way of showing your colleagues that asking for help is okay is by doing that yourself. You can do that by letting a coworker know that you are struggling to stay focused and might want to check in a few times. Once they are convinced that asking for help is okay, they will feel safe to talk to you about their issues.

4. Get patient and forgiving

If a coworker makes a mistake or fails to meet deadlines, remember to stay calm and patient so that you can handle the situation well. To top it all, try being forgiving. Because of the ongoing crisis, we are all dealing with over-the-top workload and at times, it gets difficult to manage everything. So, instead of chastising them for letting the ball drop, try being the respectful coworker who takes some time out to check in with them. 

For instance, you can call them up and say, “Hi, I’ve noticed that you haven’t submitted the report. Is everything okay? Can I do anything to help?” A small act of care will leave a major impact on your coworkers. Let them know that it is okay to not be perfect and we all make mistakes sometimes.

5. Share self-care ideas and resources

In this time of mayhem, when the world is struggling to fight a pandemic, it is essential to share a few self-care resources with your colleagues. If you come across an indoor activity or develop a self-care routine, share it with your peers on email, chat or during your virtual meet. Uplift each other and help your coworkers find the support they need in these tough times.

6. Start by nurturing the culture of gratitude

It gets easy to get distracted and succumb to the worry of what will happen next, especially when a pandemic is hovering above our heads. To overcome this and do your bit as a respectful coworker, fill a bit of positivity in the lives of your colleagues by nurturing the culture of gratitude. You can start by appreciating them for a task they accomplished. You can also ask them one of these questions by the end of the day: What are you grateful for, today? Or, what is that one thing that made you smile today?

7. Relax and have a little fun

Although you are not sitting together at work every day, you still can infuse your texts, emails and chats with a little laughter and fun activities. Share memes or quotes on personal reflection. You can even host a virtual happy-hour one day, after work. Have fun and fill your lives with a little joy and laughter whenever you can. This will help everybody relax and take some time out for themselves, post work. 

If you really want to be an empathetic and respectful coworker during this global crisis, you will have to step up and show your colleagues that you care. Stay in touch with them, develop a bond where everybody feels safe to discuss their concerns, take measures to understand their world. If we all abide by this, we may come out of this situation as stronger human beings, finding ourselves a lot more connected to our colleagues. Stay safe, stay humble.