How SMEs are dealing with remote working stresses

Embracing the ‘new normal’ and getting comfortable with remote working isn’t something that comes naturally to many of us. Considering we spend half our waking hours in the professional company of others, lockdown takes some getting used to.

There are many positives amid what’s happening presently. Many SMEs are taking care of their most valuable assets – their staff, assisting them in dealing with physical and mental stresses via a vast array of services.

| Physical and mental health is workforce health

Rightly, there is a huge emphasis on mental health at this time. Auckland-based Mentemia, co-founded by Sir John Kirwan, has developed a wellbeing app for working age people, providing useful information and tools to help users build healthy habits that enhance their mental wellbeing and resilience. 

The app is also workforce-friendly and can be rolled out across a business, so all the team benefits. Employees even get their own digital wellbeing coach to use in a safe and secure environment.

It’s a great example of how more and more businesses understand that looking after the mental and physical health of employees creates a more energised, productive workforce, better-placed to cope with the rigours of our current situation and beyond.

Also in Auckland, Icehouse alumni Mark Quinn runs Auckland Physiotherapy. As well as online physical training and pilates sessions, it’s currently offering corporate wellness information and packages online, including online physiotherapy consultations and workstation assessments, movement sessions for individuals and groups via Zoom. The service also includes sessions from mindfulness coaches and nutritional advice. There’s even an online workstation health check available.

| SME = Super motivated employees

Further afield, there are tales from the US of SMEs implementing pre-work virtual group workouts when their teams would normally be battling the daily commute – hooking up online to try YouTube yoga, Tai Chi, and small-space cardio workouts for the fitter employees.

Physical exercise has proven to reduce anxiety and stress, sharpen the memory and enable better decision-making in the workplace, or, for many of us at the moment, the sofa, which is good news for SME owners, managers and their teams.

There is plenty of advice available if you’re an SME keen to engage in some fun physical activities with your teams during lockdown.

If physical fitness is your thing, be sensible. ‘Try to develop a sensible, safe exercise regime you can follow in your home. There are hundreds of five-minute workout sessions available online to keep you fit during work breaks,’ (ThriveGlobal). And if your team is feeling really brave, you can always direct them to the Les Mills YouTube channel.

SMEs understand better than most the need to feel connected and valued. The same goes for SME employees. Creating a buddy system (where employees are paired up and check on each other’s wellbeing daily), having a virtual lunch or a quick Friday afternoon drink online will go a long way to showing how much you value your team.

If you’re struggling and looking for assistance, The Icehouse would like to help.

Check out our dedicated resource for businesses impacted by COVID-19. It’s full of useful information and resources, support and offerings, funding opportunities and partnership and coaching details.

 For more business ownership and leadership advice,  check out more of our blogs.