Although, the pandemic has highly impacted our lifestyle and constrained the whole world to stand still, many of us have accepted the new normal and figured out new ways to live alongside it. Staying indoors with families on weekends and making your favorite dishes at home rather than visiting a neighborhood restaurant are becoming the new ways of living. Offices too have adapted and evolved accordingly. Working from home culture has benefited the offices with many financial aspects as well. COVID-19 has greatly impacted our mental well-being, as a considerable degree of fear and concern have become common among all of us. Being quarantined in the same room for several months and not meeting your colleagues is seriously affecting us. Many organizational leaders started connecting with their employees empathetically to cheer them up and create a sense of belonging during these testing times.

A simple yet impactful approach to healthy and consistent communication is the key aspect for running the firm in difficult times. Leaders need to be focused on these facets for keeping a team together:

Adopting a positive mindset

Many organizations have witnessed a change in the way leaders interact with their teams and have started to form emotional connections with their employees. Steering professional conversations towards a positive outcome, considering employees’ feedbacks on each subject, and bringing positivity to group discussions & team meetings are some of the new ways of working. All these initiatives are providing dividends and helping in strengthening the organization.

Emotional empathy towards colleagues

Emotional empathy has played a vital role during these time for keeping us motivated and focused on things. With a message, ‘This too shall pass, we are in this together and will emerge out of this stronger’ many leaders stood determined in this critical situation. Listening to their employees, figuring out possible outcomes and working with them as a colleague was feasible and highly appreciated moves of the leaders.

Promoting Work-life balance in the organization

The pandemic had greatly impacted our work-life balance in the initial days. Managing both the home and the work front without any clear boundaries made it all the more challenging for everyone. In addition, the negative news and gloomy environment and events further deteriorated our willingness to work. Leaders identified the situation and came up with innovative ideas for promoting and prioritizing mental well-being. Providing regular psychologists sessions, routine checkups, Fridays offs for detoxing the negativity, 1-hour complete screen-off break daily, are some of the major initiatives taken by the organizational leaders for better well-being & maintaining positivity among their teams.

Financial aids

Several organizations have come forward with many policies providing financial aids to their employees during tough times. From vaccinating their employees to contributing to their medical expenses, corporate leaders are making every possible decision to support their employees in these testing times. 

After all, a leader is one who knows the way, shows the way, and goes the way. Good leadership can show wonders even in critical situations.