In the covid era, a new set of relationships evolved, the virtual dost, the virtual colleague, the virtual supervisor…
The discussions were virtual, the connects were virtual, even arguments were settled virtually. Our work schedules had email, telecons, and zoom/ teams meetings for the whole day.
The work-life balance equation was redefined. It was skewed as people would reach you at odd hours but flexible too as you could take a break at whatever time was convenient as per everyone.
Work mattered; quality mattered but time did not. So competent people had a field day as they would finish off early and relax with their families but not so efficient struggled. In the absence of a physical supervisor handholding them, their quality of work deteriorated.
There were frustrations, the mental stress of being confined to home, doing household chores…which took a toll on their mental and physical health and had an additional effect on their professional life.
Though flexibility is important but an occasional interaction with the larger team, a get-together makes a lot of difference. Global teams especially in the IT sector tend to lack team camaraderie as physical interaction and the resultant human emotions are missing.
Co-location may not be a possibility for them but a meet-up once a quarter can be most rewarding. One, it breaks the monotony of work and secondly, a face to a name increases trust and respect thereby influencing coordination.
A two-day workshop can establish what months of virtual connect cannot.
I am not advocating a discussion on work-from-home or a work-from-office dichotomy. The moot point is to build camaraderie, let the feeling of belongingness percolate down thereby instilling a sense of team spirit, a sense of pride, a cocoon of warmth and a safety mesh of reliability.
Now though the worst of COVID is over and life is more or less back on track. The boundaries of virtual and physical worlds have not been streamlined. A lot of the personnel still have remote working or multi-geography collaboration making the dichotomy a real threat.
I personally had an experience of attending an in-person workshop. The camaraderie cultivated was phenomenal. People of different nationalities, geographies, and work areas all became one big cohesive group. We learned from each other, built friendships, spent time with each other, and built-up trust in each other.
I agree that such exercises at a cross-functional, cross geography are rare and far between, but what stops us from setting up a bi-monthly lunch meeting with the team, setting aside one hour to have a virtual video connect which does not talk about work but is a gupchup meeting.
The concept of being busy is relative, we have all the time in the world yet we have no time even for a chitchat. It’s ironical, right? One hour a week will not kill us. A blocked calendar would force us to let our hair down and talk to each other as a team and discuss life, build camaraderie, and get back our sense of belongingness. What say guys and gals, any thoughts?
Pic courtesy: freepik.com
