Remote work is here to stay and has completely changed how we do our jobs. While offering the flexibility and convenience that many employees love, it also brings its challenges. One of the biggest could be employee disengagement.
Since this is a hot topic online, we thought we’d dive into it.
Gallup’s 2024 research report states that fully remote workers are more lonely than those fully on-site (25% versus 16%, respectively), but as far as I could tell, the report doesn’t necessarily address the question of whether that translates to employee disengagement.
On the other hand, this HBR article from 2022 is entitled, “No, Remote Employees Aren’t Becoming Less Engaged”, while this 2023 article cites research indicating remote workers say their well-being and happiness has improved since working from home, along with their focus and productivity due to being in a better work environment with fewer interruptions.
I wonder if part of the issue is a lack of clarity on the definitions of engagement and disengagement. While Gallup defines engagement as, essentially, enthusiasm for the workplace, we’ve concluded that engagement is made up of three components (based on our 15 years of client surveys):
- Inspiration, which refers to being inspired by the organization’s mission, the team, the leaders, and the job responsibilities
- Efficacy, or being appropriately challenged and set up to achieve success
- Fit, or whether or not one believes they belong (e.g., included, heard, valued)
No matter the definition you use, another challenge to pinning disengagement on remote work is that no one factor creates disengagement. It could be a combination of a not-so-great manager, that the organization makes efficiency challenging due to outdated technology, an annoying teammate, and a host of other factors.
No matter what, we can all agree that remote work presents communication and relationship-building challenges, even if it’s not the main reason for disengagement.
Recognizing Signs of Disengagement in Remote Workers
- Employees who used to actively participate are now quiet. Lack of participation can signal that they no longer feel involved or valued.
- A noticeable delay in responding to emails or messages.
- A drop in the quality of work or missing deadlines.
- Team members are no longer suggesting ideas or volunteering for projects.
- Frequent, unplanned absences or late logins to meetings.
- Fading out of projects or meetings without communication or explanation.
- Climate assessment survey scores highlight that people are not inspired to do their best at work, or are not connected to their team.
Strategies to Engage & Retain Your Remote Employees
Cultivate Rituals and Traditions
Just as physical workplaces have their rituals (think morning coffee chats or Friday team lunches), remote teams benefit from establishing their own traditions. Here at Civility Partners, where all of us work remotely, we have “impact lunches” at the end of each month. During these lunches, we share where we’ve seen our own impacts on the company internally or on our clients’ workforces, or how our teammates have impacted us. Of course, we’re also sharing impacts our co-workers have had on us personally, whether due to solving a client or organizational issue or something more personal. These moments help us stay connected and reinforce our shared values.
Be Transparent and Inclusive
In a virtual environment, transparency is foundational to trust and inclusivity. Sharing openly about your own decisions, challenges, and successes creates a culture of honesty and mutual respect. Plus, inclusive practices make sure every team member feels valued and heard, no matter where they are.
My LinkedIn Learning course on Fairness for Managers highlights that one way to be transparent in making decisions, for example, is to be very clear about the goal. If a manager is seeking feedback but will make the ultimate decision, they should say so. This is in contrast to the times a manager may be seeking to make a collaborative decision with the team. Either way, communicating the goal is key so that when ideas are shared but not acted upon, the team already knows why.
Ensure Work-Life Balance
Remote work can blur the lines between personal and professional life. To avoid this, encourage your team to set boundaries, take regular breaks, and prioritize their well-being. On the same token, talk with them about their needs for scheduling and flexibility, and honor them. For example, I am not able to take meetings until 9 am on certain mornings because I am a single mom. My team knows not to put meetings on my calendar before then, and I feel supported and understood by my team.
A healthy work-life balance can prevent burnout and keep employees engaged. To see where your organization stands, take this 10-minute work-life balance survey and share the results with your leaders to take action.
Gather Feedback and Act on It
Regularly solicit feedback from your remote employees about their experiences and challenges. This ties into the tip above, where being transparent yourself will lead to transparency from your team. If you want honest feedback, you have to be honest and trustworthy. If you want to be seen as trustworthy, you have to listen, be empathetic, sometimes vulnerable, and open-minded.
Of course, you also have to act on the feedback or let people know why you cannot act on it. This shows that you value their input and are open to making positive changes whenever you can.
Be Intentional in Communication
Recognizing that we’re not accidentally running into each other in the kitchen or popping into each other’s offices unannounced, we have to be intentional about how and when we communicate. The spontaneous interactions that happen in a physical workspace are hard to replicate, but not impossible. This means making use of various communication tools that fit the purpose, such as video calls for face-to-face interaction, chat apps for quick questions, and emails for detailed information.
Employee disengagement in a remote work environment is a challenge, but it’s not impossible to overcome. Navigating organizational culture remotely takes intentionality, creativity, and a strong commitment to fostering connections.
And that’s where we come in. We help organizations bridge these gaps by understanding your culture and employee sentiments through a climate assessment. Then, we work with you to implement action plans that create a thriving remote culture, keeping your team connected and engaged.
Remember, out of sight should never mean out of mind. Keeping your remote employees engaged is an ongoing process that requires attention, effort, and genuine care.
PS: Mark your calendar for our next FREE webinar, “Getting Leadership to Listen to HR” on August 28th, 10am PST. We’ll be sharing tips and tricks to help you get leadership support and make real changes in your organization. Hope to see you there!
Wriiten by: Catherine Mattice & Jennifer Areola
