You're working remotely and your team's mental health is suffering. What can you do to help?

Create an environment of trust with your remote employees so that they are able to share anything with you laughs, tears , updates and even emotional breakdowns. Show them you are available by having regular coffee catchups. One thing that works like magic with my remote team is the fun group that we have created in which they only post memes , jokes and have banter with each other.

You can only encourage work-life balance if you also demonstrate it. I worked at a place where paper said a 35 hour week. The culture was weekend work and working on your booked days on leave. You can't encourage your team to look after themselves and then burn the midnight oil yourself.

Create a fun group that encourages people to share holiday photos and fun things they get up to so that it creates friendship between the group. Along with pushing them to have a healthy life balance when they make time to do fun things that they can share with their work friends.

From my experience it's crucial to prioritise regular and transparent communication to maintain a sense of connection, holding virtual meetings that go beyond work-related discussions to address team members' well-being. Additionally, establish virtual spaces for informal interactions, such as casual chats or micro learning sessions, to recreate the social bonds often formed in a traditional office setting and alleviate feelings of isolation.

Have townhalls where you bring everyone together share the business news and updates. Once a month fun remote activity which could be like a games night virtual bingo, drawsaurus or virtual murder mystery whatever your team enjoys. Also arrange just random sessions and get team to share fun facts

We live in an age where the impetus of mental wellness has been recognised and resources are bountiful. All efforts can be made to connect team members to these resources that may include but not limit to virtual meditation sessions, company sponsored wellness camps and wellness apps, counselling helplines and stress management techniques. Awareness about these resources should be driven to that maximum use can be made as and when need be. A healthy management will help foster open communication thereby also encouraging mental health.

Organise virtual meditation sessions that work like a charm, offer a wellness budget that people can use to join gym or any wellness activity. Drop them links of the things to learn or read to grow professionally as that can be often something people might get stressed about.

It takes a minute to recognise team hard work on Slack, teams or watsapp so make sure you do that often. Give Kudos to them on the public platform for achievements and success of launches. Motivate them when they are facing a challenge and be there for them by providing support even if it means staying online with them while they are launching a feature. So they know you are there for them and you got their back.

To support my remote team's mental health, I'll prioritize regular check-ins to provide emotional support and maintain connection. Implementing flexible work hours, encouraging breaks, and promoting self-care activities like mindfulness or exercise will also be key. Additionally, organizing virtual team-building activities and fostering open communication channels for sharing concerns will help create a supportive environment.