It’s little wonder that organizations are still struggling to perfect their own back-to-office plans more than two years after the epidemic pushed remote and hybrid modes of working. While this move has been broadly welcomed, it also brings its own set of issues, such as an increase in the number of meetings and new technological tools to learn, and staff is getting overburdened.
Singapore’s government has introduced new standards requiring enterprises to fairly and adequately examine employee requests for flexible work arrangements by 2024. Organizations must ensure that their personnel remains focused and efficient in order for these projects to be effective.
HR’s job has become even more crucial in developing solutions to assist employees in finding that sweet spot of increasing productivity while protecting their well-being, regardless of where they work.
Asynchronous communication is the preferred method.
Interminable meetings are now typical corporate practice, and they are an important part of modern office culture. However, many executives are unaware that such procedures consume a significant amount of employees’ time, lowering the amount of time available for actual work and frequently leading staff to work overtime to make up for lost hours.
Companies might create defined meeting hours to minimize meeting overscheduling by allocating a restricted and precise period for meetings. Some businesses have made ‘Core Collaboration Hours’ a component of their workday, requiring that all meetings take place inside a four-hour timeframe across multiple time zones. This is a simple and easy technique for firms to prevent meeting fatigue and burnout when workers work from home and enable distributed teams to protect themselves from the rigors of the ‘always-on attitude.’
Finally, shifting to a more asynchronous communication style – defined as any communication that is not made in real-time, such as task management systems and document collaboration – may help reduce ineffective meetings and encourage employees to actively manage their own time. For example, rather than scheduling a call, putting corrections and comments immediately on a document might help save up time and enhance workflows.
Asynchronous communication allows employees to absorb information and formulate the best comments and recommendations without feeling pressed to respond quickly, all while preserving seamless collaboration.
