Employee engagement is proven to contribute to positive business outcomes (increased profitability, reduced turnover, improved customer service ratings). With as much as 43 percent of the U.S. work force reportedly spending at least part of their week working remotely, do companies need to rethink how they recognize their remote workers?
Paul White, a licensed psychologist and the co-author of “Rising Above a Toxic Workplace” and “The 5 Languages of Appreciation,” says his research of more than 89,000 workers shows that employees in long-distance work relationships are similar to those who work in face-to-face work settings in how they prefer to be shown appreciation. Both groups prefer words of affirmation the most (receiving verbal praise or a note of encouragement) and quality time (focused attention with their supervisor or “hanging out” with colleagues) second most.
But White found that remote employees working in long-distance work relationships chose quality time significantly more often (35 percent) than on-site workers (25 percent).
And words of affirmation declined proportionately (48 percent in general work settings to 38 percent for long-distance employees).
How do you spend quality time over a long distance?
- Keep connected through video conferencing
- Include remote workers in team meetings virtually
- Set up times to talk about non-work related topics
White says managers must be more proactive in showing appreciation to remote colleagues than in face-to-face relationships because of the lack of opportunity for the chance encounters that occur when colleagues work in the same location.
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