Even after the corona pandemic, working from home is likely to remain the norm. Working from home full-time poses risks to employees’ mental health. The separation between work and home can blur and daily structure is less obvious.
The average absenteeism rate rose to 4.6% in October 2021 (up from 4.2% in September). This is the largest increase since the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020.
Especially now that you no longer see and talk to each other as often at work, it is very important to stay in good contact with each other. As a manager, you now have less visibility into situations where an employee becomes unbalanced. There is a risk of the employee dropping out and, in some cases, even having to reintegrate from home. We have seen an increase in absenteeism in recent months due to stress/work pressure that in many situations was not noticed (in a timely manner) by the supervisor. Of course, there is also a responsibility on the employee to identify complaints in a timely manner so that action can be taken. Working from home does seem to increase the barrier to doing so.
We see and speak to plenty of managers who find it very difficult to determine what they can and cannot ask an employee.
As a manager, you must now make more room for personal conversations and preferably one where you can see each other live – with appropriate distance, of course – and where you can also pick up on non-verbal cues. As a manager, if you know someone is more likely to withdraw, seek an active rapprochement. Take a more explicit approach to motivation as well. Appreciation now does not pass spontaneously in a workday. Find the contact. Even/just when the employee retires. But as an executive, you are not a doctor, a social worker or a psychologist. We indicate: identify changing behavior in the employee. You can signal this by having regular, brief and informal contact
Outsourcing is also an option – Panthion Care
We created a program: Panthion Care. Precisely to (informal) contact from care and with attention to the vitality of your employees during the home work situation. This includes giving employees the opportunity to contact our vitality coaches without obligation. This can include exercise and nutrition, as well as mental resilience and stress reduction. The frequency and duration can be specified by the client. Based on the desired situation, we will make a customized proposal and your employees will get the care and attention they need. We also report trends, risks and opportunities to the client.
The cost of Panthion Care per employee is equal to the cost of one day of absence.
I am interested!
Please feel free to contact us for a customized proposal, we will be happy to help you: Hoekanikjehelpen@Panthion.nl or 085-4018200
