For many companies today, the “9-5” is looking a lot more virtual. As coronavirus has swept in and altered lives across the globe, companies everywhere are quickly adjusting their operations and implementing work-from-home policies in order to put the safety of their employees first.
In today’s digitally savvy world, working from home is more common than ever, and at global companies such as Criteo, employees are accustomed to using video-conferencing technology to help them stay connected with their peers in offices around the world.
However, for many employees, this may be their first time working from home in long stretches, and even those remote-work veterans are facing an unprecedented moment in time where 24 hours of social distancing is the norm. Despite this new normal, there are plenty of ways to keep morale up and ensure that employees don’t feel isolated during these difficult times.
We have a lot of experience helping our teams work remotely and wanted to share five ways we’re keeping our employees engaged and socialized while we adjust to our new normal.
1. Kicking off the day with a mindful morning
Each morning, our training team is leading a virtual relaxation and meditation practice geared towards topics like setting positive intentions, focus and attention, gratitude and clearing your mind.
2. Hosting immunity-boosting workshops
Through a dynamic workshop led by a registered dietitian, we’re helping Criteos break through the noise of common nutritional myths and learn which foods will keep them their healthiest right now.
3. Staying social, virtually
Thanks to tools such as Slack and Zoom, we’re able to create channels and dedicated spaces for employees to share tips for working from home, pictures of pets, recipe ideas and workout tips throughout the day. Virtual happy hours, teatime and coffee breaks are other ways Criteos are checking in with each other.
4. Getting active on Zoom
In London, we’re “getting our zen on” with online yoga sessions hosted by a professional yoga instructor who’s tailored classes to working out from home. Our Istanbul team is staying connected and staying fit with virtual Pilates class.
5. Keeping mental health a top priority
We understand the stress that these difficult times may cause and sometimes yoga and meditation are not enough. That’s why we’ve partnered with Eutelmed to offer psychological counseling support by phone and video for Criteos all over the world.
Even though there is still uncertainty on what comes next, we’re committed to making this transition as easy as possible for our employees. The decision to work from home began with the physical well-being of our employees in mind, but mental health is just as important, and we will do our very best to ensure that spirits remain high. In the meantime, I’ll “see” you on Zoom for a coffee break!
