There are lots of new challenges as a result of COVID driven needs and work adjustments. One struggle working parents have is how to take care of business and school for kids that are doing or will be doing school at home. This struggle can spill into the the trailer or office when a construction pro with kids needs to adjust their schedule, sometimes at the last second. Working around at home school is a challenge and business risk but it can be leveraged by taking care of employees through revised work schedules and accommodations. When possible, things like this keep productivity high while also reducing the work/life balance strain caused by alterations to our daily lives in nearly every facet of our lives.
A recent Harvard Business Review article found that predictability and flexibility are key. Though they seem a bit contradictory, they are a good combination in this situation. Construction leaders should do what they can to make things predictable while still being flexible enough to adapt to the frequently changing requirements of our nation's COVID response. While unnecessary face time and illogical deadline requirements should be avoided during good times, they should exist even less now that stress is high and time is tight. Adding stress and time constraints to an already stressful situation and busy situation doesn't help anyone involved.
"...while nearly 100% of managers rate themselves as supportive of employees with families, only half of their subordinates agree with this assessment."
To get onto the same page, construction leaders can get closer to seeing eye to eye with construction workers by:
Providing emotional support through questions about how people are feeling AND by showing empathy while doing it.
Asking employees for suggestions about how address current issues and trends like work schedules.
Leading by example.
Getting creative to maintain adjusted work/life needs and balance.
In general, construction leaders can identify "core (work) hours," essential meetings and crucial deliverables. The rest can get caught up later on or should be evaluated for removal from a company or project plan and employee requirements. Construction leaders should do their best to be predictable and predictably flexible with workers and changing family and work requirements.
Comentarios