Creating remote work rituals that stick

This article was originally published as a guest contribution for TechCrunch +

Remote work lends people a certain amount of freedom in how they go about doing their jobs, so it’s not surprising that an asynchronous style of working would be one of the side effects of not working from a centralized location.

But it’s not always good for employees. In this arrangement, people often end up working more, and meeting culture takes over because people can no longer see their colleagues in an office setting, which is a natural habitat for collaboration and communication.

And when you’re talking to people online, understanding each other is usually more difficult because you’re less in tune with what’s happening in their lives at that moment. Jumping on a call with someone also doesn’t come naturally to everyone.

Ultimately, to reduce the number of meetings so people can focus on other tasks, employees need to find new ways to foster a culture of open communication and collaboration, and individuals and teams need to introduce boundaries and rituals into their workday.

The routines people create are negotiated over time, but it’s something we’ve come to take for granted. Any organization hoping to scale can create rituals that engage people in their work and inspire them to be their best selves.

Structure work routines around people

Ultimately, asynchronous work only serves you when you compartmentalize phases of work with your team.

With remote work comes hours of video conferencing calls and employees who’ll show up and not contribute a single word. People will often refrain from unmuting their mics and many won’t turn their cameras on, leaving the speaker with only a dark screen to talk to.

Making matters worse, on a call with a lot of attendees, important information can be left undiscussed. Even setting up a quick five-minute clarifying call can be tough to negotiate sometimes.

To trigger active listening and get people invested in a meeting, try a Socratic dialogue structure. In this approach, a moderator will ask participants to summarize what the previous speaker said and encourage them to build on top of the full conversation.

Conversations like this involve examples, definitions, sub questions and assumptions, and help people look for arguments that prove a point instead of validating their opinions. It’s a proven way to kick-start constructive dialogue and get multiple perspectives on a topic so that you can arrive at a shared viewpoint. It also shows employees that every perspective is valuable, which fosters an environment of trust.

If there is an elephant in the room, bring it to people’s attention and put their minds at ease before it becomes a larger issue. It’s key to remain open and proceed with sensitivity and accept that others may not agree with your opinions. Leaders should be the role models here and should ask questions and encourage team members to speak up and take initiative.

Finally, embrace the power of off-topic chit-chat. At the end of the day, you’re not just developing an amazing product or service; you’re building an amazing team. A large part of that culture is built on interpersonal relationships that have to do with more than just work.

Add shape to the day

To reduce stress, remote workers need to agree on when to collaborate and communicate. Some people may want to block out their lunch break while others will set up their calendars to be available during those hours so they can focus on work in the morning and evenings.

Setting these boundaries isn’t easy when your team has a mix of early birds and night owls or is spread across time zones. It’s vital to use tools that let people vote and reach consensus on mutually agreeable times for meetings or creative brainstorming sessions that require group input.

Ultimately, asynchronous work only serves you when you compartmentalize phases of work with your team, plan your time synchronously on a weekly and monthly basis and have retrospectives at those intervals to glean the team’s feedback and solve any problems together.

Keep in mind that it won’t be perfect the first time around and will need constant improvement and renegotiation.

Find what works and foster curiosity in your team

Whether you’re having one-on-one check-ins, anonymous employee feedback sessions or milestone celebrations, strengthen workplace bonds by ritualizing them. Company values need a tangible aspect and rituals foster connection. These don’t exist without intentionality, especially when the social anchor of the office is removed.

Leadership should look for hotspots to incorporate rituals in onboarding processes as well as in how they celebrate employees, make decisions and resolve conflict. But it only truly works when everyone, not only the management, participates.

Depending on the project, it may be worth tapping into daily virtual whiteboards to gather, validate and discuss the whole team’s ideas, then review them in a quick stand-up meeting at the beginning or end of each day. Supplementing tasks with a visual-cognitive element helps people visualize multilayered projects and triggers new thought processes.

Taking breaks is no exception. Employees can quickly fall victim to eating mindlessly at their desks — or skipping lunch entirely — and not stretching their legs when they have no designated break times. The onus is on leaders to create a sense of safety around taking time for lunch as well as taking sick leave and time off. It’s these kinds of tiny habits that make for big change, especially when trying to divorce overwork from productivity.

Dial up engagement with rituals

Rituals are there to dial up engagement, but they should not be forced if they don’t stick. Some rituals belong at work but some may get too personal. The point is to build a track record with your team based on honesty and feedback so when turbulent times arise and you require sudden change, your team is just as invested in the organization’s success as you have been in them.