Skip to main content
  • How to Apply
    • How to Apply
    • Open Events
    • Applicants Hub
  • Courses
    • School Leavers
    • Higher Education
    • Access to Higher Education
    • Professional Qualifications
    • Adult and Leisure
    • Distance Learning
    • Browse all Programmes
  • Academy of Sport
    • Rugby Academy
    • Football Academy
    • Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme
  • College Life
    • College Life
    • Facilities
    • Support
    • Careers Service
    • Parents and Carers
    • Open Events
    • College Events
    • College News
    • Schools Liaison
    • Contact us
  • Employers
    • Pre-Employment Training
    • Industry Placements
    • Work-Related Training
    • Employers Business Network
  • Latest Updates
  • About us
  • Work with us
Coventry College
    • How to Apply
      • How to Apply
      • Open Events
      • Applicants Hub
    • Courses
      • School Leavers
      • Higher Education
      • Access to Higher Education
      • Professional Qualifications
      • Adult and Leisure
      • Distance Learning
      • Browse all Programmes
    • Academy of Sport
      • Rugby Academy
      • Football Academy
      • Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme
    • College Life
      • College Life
      • Facilities
      • Support
      • Careers Service
      • Parents and Carers
      • Open Events
      • College Events
      • College News
      • Schools Liaison
      • Contact us
    • Employers
      • Pre-Employment Training
      • Industry Placements
      • Work-Related Training
      • Employers Business Network
    • Latest Updates
    Employers Blog / How to keep employees working from home long-term engaged
    How to keep employees working from home long-term engaged
    How to keep employees working from home long-term engaged
    • Apprenticeships: Why they are key to post Covid-19 business recovery
    • Returning To The Office: What can businesses and employees expect?
    Posted on June 18, 2021 in
    • Employers Blog
    • Latest Articles

    Blog / Latest Articles /

    Make it work
    Please note: This article was published on June 18, 2021 and may contain information that is no longer current or up to date.
    Posted on: June 18, 2021

    How to keep employees working from home long-term engaged

    Woman asleep at desk with laptop

    If you’re planning to keep your employees working remotely long-term, how do you keep them focused and engaged?

    As many businesses consider a return to the office, others are likely to continue with remote working for some or part of the working week on a permanent basis.

    While certain employees will welcome staying put, there are others that may now have been working from home for over 15 months since the pandemic started.

    And because they aren’t in the office with their team, remote workers can often feel less engaged and distanced from their company which can make them unhappy and have a big impact on productivity and performance.

    The impact on mental health can also be quite significant for people who aren’t interacting with colleagues or who see nothing but the same four walls every day.

    So if you are considering keeping your workforce at home long-term for all or part of the working week, keeping them engaged remains a huge challenge.

    What can you do to bridge the gap between home and the workplace?

    Here are some ways to make your virtual staff feel like they are involved and are truly part of the team.

    Host Virtual Hangouts

    Meetings on Zoom and Teams are now common-place for many businesses to conduct work meetings, but have you thought about hosting regular social video calls?

    Non work-related chats at different times of the week can help to connect staff, ease tension, boost team spirit and enable employees to take a break from their work.

    Google hangouts, Slack and Trello are just some of the platforms you could use.

    Encourage Health & Wellbeing

    When you’re not with your immediate team every day or those employees that you may manage, it’s difficult to understand how they may be feeling or what they are going through.

    Your worker’s health should be your priority – if your employees get sick they won’t be able to perform at their highest level or may end up needing time off over a longer period.

    Try and be aware of any mental health struggles or stressful periods at home they may be going through.

    You could start a wellbeing programme for your staff or host online wellbeing drop-in sessions giving employees the chance to open up about their mental health and wellbeing.

    You could also encourage your team to take short exercise breaks during the day or create healthy habits.

    Make Sure Employees Are Heard and Valued

    Appreciating your workforce and colleagues, even from a distance, is important.

    So although they might not be in the office with you every day you should find ways to show your appreciation for them, thank them when you can and celebrate achievements.

    You could send them thank-you e-cards or agree to meet up for a celebration lunch when the time is right.

    Make sure you remember birthdays, especially those colleagues you work closely with in your team. A birthday card or gift sent to their home address can make all the difference.

    As an employer, make sure you’re available for one-to-one online meetings so your staff can still ask questions and discuss work matters with you even though you aren’t in the office with them.

    Show Your Human Side

    It’s important to be professional with your team or fellow workers but the last 15 months have been a struggle for everyone.

    It’s important that you recognise that everyone is human and we all face significant challenges inside and outside the workplace.

    Recognise strengths, weaknesses and interests wherever you can with your remote workers to connect with them better on a personal as well as professional level.

    If staff know you care about them and their role, especially while they are working from home, they are likely to feel more engaged and committed to the company which will be beneficial in the future.

    Communication Is Key

    Remote working relies mainly on digital communication, particularly when staff work different shift patterns and may feel their team isn’t around when they are.

    It’s important that colleagues know they can reach out to each other and even though they might not get an answer straight away, support and advice is available at the touch of a button.

    It’s impossible to expect everyone to be available 24/7 but making sure that a manager or team member is contactable where possible will go a long way to creating trust and camaraderie in your business even though you’re physically apart.

    With all of the above, it’s important to remember that every business and employee is different and although for many of us working from home is now more familiar than ever before, it’s still a learning curve at the same time.

    Working from home permanently may not be the ideal scenario but staying connected to your colleagues in different ways and feeling involved as much as possible can make all the difference.

    Stay up to date with our latest news from inspiring business leaders and local experts.

    Sign up for updates

    Sign up for updates

    Thank you for your interest in Coventry College Employers Business Network.

    To stay up to date on the latest news, to get involved in networking opportunities and to share your own expertise, please fill in the below information.

    • *
      View our privacy policy here You can update your communication preferences at anytime.
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Recommended reading

    Apprentices could be a perfect fit for your business. Invest In Your Business With An Apprentice
    Man wearing a suit, walking down steps. Industry Placements Team Strengthens Link With Employers
    Abdul miah is tapping into his cyber security knowledge to help apprentices unlock their potential. Abdul Taps Into Digital Security Knowledge To Unlock Apprenticeship Potential
    Staff inside office environment Returning To The Office: What can businesses and employees expect?
    Share this article:

    Next Open Event

    March 22, 2023 17:00 - 19:00

    All our Open Events have finished for 2022. You can still apply by searching for the programme you'd like to apply for on our website. Or if you'd like to chat to someone please call 02476 791100, email [email protected] or use our Live Chat.

    We want you to experience what life at Coventry College is really like and hope you’ll get a feel for our campus, programmes and what to expect.

    Search for a programme

    Register now

    Current Staff
    • Staff Intranet
    • Office 365 / Email
    • Staff Resources
    European Social Fund
    Coventry and Warwickshire Adult Learning
    Matrix. Quality standard for information advice and guidance services
    Learners
    • Learners Hub
    • Moodle
    • ProPortal
    • Office 365 / Email
    • Learners Facebook Group
    • Term Dates
    Useful links
    • Contact us
    • Salon Fifty
    • Downloads
    • About Coventry College
    • Corporate
    • Job vacancies
    • Report safeguarding concern
    • Key policies & procedures
    • Colleges West Midlands Pledge
    • Terms & conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Accessibility
    • Service status
    • Website Site Map
    Get in touch
    Report an absence
    Course information
    • 02476 791100
    • [email protected]
    Employers
    • 02476 791700
    • [email protected]
    General enquiries
    • 02476 932932
    • [email protected]
    Visit Coventry College

    ©2023 Coventry College · Built by ellodave

    The Coventry College website is using cookies to give you the best experience.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using and switch them off in settings.

    Coventry College
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.