Are you in a love/hate relationship with your remote accounting job?
Sometimes becoming disengaged from your role can change your entire outlook on your career. Don’t make the wrong move.
Here are six tips to help you stay connected to your team when you’re fully remote.
6 Tips to Stay Connected
1. Leave your house sometimes.
Why? According to a Pew Research study, 74.4% of people feel isolated when they’re working from home alone while 57.6% feel isolated even when someone is at home with them.
If your company allows it and you have a secure hotspot, take your laptop to a coffee shop or co-op work space to engage with other people. It will boost your mood and refresh you for tackling heavy intellectual or sensitive work at home.
Breaks are also important. Take a walk. Make a nutritious lunch. Check in with a colleague for a virtual chat. They might need a break, too!
Source: HRO Today
2. Ask, “How’s it going?”
“How was your son’s hockey game?” “Did you do anything else fun last weekend?”
Why? Getting to know your colleagues helps you feel connected to them. You’re putting feeling and personality behind the initials you see on the screen in a virtual meeting.
Plus, you create a habit of checking in with people and sharing how your week is going. If it’s not going so great, you can receive support from your colleagues and brainstorm possible solutions.
A note to direct supervisors: create a culture of check-ins that helps in-person and remote workers feel like a team. They will appreciate you asking.
3. Turn your camera on and offer ideas in meetings.
Why? You want to be seen. This helps you get that raise or promotion you’ve been waiting for by standing out and contributing.
If you aren’t prepared to share your thoughts during a meeting, send ideas by email later that support client service or help your team work more efficiently. Those efforts will support the firm and your career advancement.
4. Recognize the achievements of others.
“I really appreciated that solution on the ABC account.” “I want to give a shout-out to you on your work anniversary. It’s impressive how you’ve advanced.”
Why? This helps your teammates feel seen. It gives them a boost of serotonin; shows them you’re listening and that you care about them.
5. Uncover similar hobbies you may share.
Get to know the movies or television shows or books your team likes – just knowing about their favorite hobby or pet helps!
Why? Engaging with your team helps you stay at a company longer. Employee experience platform Haiilo reports that highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their jobs. This is great for your career and your resume. Highly engaged teams are also 17% more productive, which leads to focus and innovation.
6. Find a best friend at work.
Why? This is the person you can feel closest to, the person you can connect with on Slack or Teams when you’re upset over a software crash. You need someone to turn to when times get rough. Otherwise, you internalize if you don’t have another outlet like exercise, art, music – you get the picture.
Can’t find a best friend? Ask for a mentor. Having someone guide you through skill building and career development can reduce your sense of isolation from the firm. They can give you context about future opportunities and firm culture.
Remember:
It’s ok to have feelings! Sometimes we can do something about it; sometimes we can’t.
If you don’t want to get involved at work or just think of it as a job, that’s perfectly OK. However! When you’re looking at your career, where you’ve been and where you want to be, take a moment to ask, “Am I connected to my team? What can I do to make work more enjoyable?”
You may be a future manager or partner. If things need to change, share your ideas. Follow these steps and keep shooting for the moon. You will soon be on your way.
ICYMI: Hybrid vs Fully Remote
If you are close to San Francisco, or fully remote but have the ability to meet up – we’re available. Ask us questions about what it’s like to work at LvHJ.
Already work here? LvHJ has regular outings, where we get together for lunch or dinner. We have mentor and mentee opportunities as well. Let us know what you need to succeed!
