10 Red Flags That Your Hybrid Workplace Could Be Considered Psychologically Unsafe - American Society of Employers - Mary E. Corrado

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10 Red Flags That Your Hybrid Workplace Could Be Considered Psychologically Unsafe

With a majority of organizations creating a permanently hybrid workplace, it’s important to be sure that it is done right.  The initial move to hybrid or remote work was done in a rush for companies that did not already have a remote work plan in place when the pandemic hit.  If implementing a permanent remote work structure, now is a good time to review your plans and policies.

FlexJobs reports that nine out of ten companies plan to shift to a hybrid work plan. However, 68% of companies surveyed don’t have a detailed plan in place for building a hybrid workplace. Organizations must have a plan and tools in place to create a psychologically safe culture and employee experience.

FlexJobs has identified a list of 10 warning signs that your hybrid workplace is not psychologically safe:

1.       There is no real plan for creating a functioning hybrid workforce within the company

2.       There are no senior leaders who work remotely

3.       Digital communication tools have not been prioritized

4.       Celebration, praise, and rewards only happen in the office

5.       Your manager doesn't have a solid communication plan for remote team members

6.       Team or company-wide meetings are scheduled at odd hours

7.       Information isn’t accessible

8.       Lack of career path for remote employees

9.       Employees are told they need to use PTO or take a pay cut to work remotely

10.   Remote workers aren’t given the appropriate equipment

Without addressing the above warning signs, you risk creating a psychologically unsafe work environment.  As we recently wrote about in EPTW, psychological safety is created when a workplace is comprised of respect, inclusion, and trust.

Some helpful tips to build psychological safety include:

  • Recognize employee effort – say thank you
  • Encourage managers to have frequent check-ins with their team – both as a team and individually
  • Ensure employees have the technology they need to work efficiently and collaborate
  • Encourage employee feedback
  • Promote a growth mindset - encourage and foster employee development
  • Encourage innovation – make it OK to fail
  • Show empathy
  • Trust your employees

ASE has had a hybrid work plan in place for both employees and leadership since 2019. In fact, one of our top leaders splits his time between Michigan and Illinois. This made the quick transition to full remote in March of 2020 fairly easy for us. As we move out of the pandemic, ASE’s Troy office will become a collaboration hub for our 18 employees, who will come together when they need to meet on specific projects or when they need a change of scenery from their home office.

As a reminder, ASE has a web page dedicated to resources for building an effective remote work plan - https://www.aseonline.org/Data-Research/Remote-Work-Resources. ASE also offers training on how to implement an effective remote place.

Have you discovered any tips that have helped your organization make the transition to an effective, psychologically safe hybrid or remote work plan?  Share them with me at [email protected].

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