SFB Audio #01: Beat the Loneliness Epidemic for Your Remote Workers

Note: this was originally a paid subscriber-only post that has now been made available to paying and free subscribers in order to provide as much useful information to all in light ov=f COVID-19. 👍

In this audio episode (or do we call it a podcast? I’m not so sure… 😁) I talk about the opportunities for startups and business owners to help ensure great outcomes for the wellbeing of remote employees. Not by building a “remote culture” but by focusing on a “relationship culture”.

Key Action Points

1. Make strengthening social relationships a priority. There are many opportunities to weave this through the way you do things at your startup. From assigning social “buddies” during onboarding (even if they’re not physically together) to ensuring face to face opportunities through company or team offsite meetings. I wrote this post recently about how you can even use randomness to stimulate social connections.

2. Deploy your Storytellers. I call them storytellers — you might hear them referred to more formally as authentic informal leaders. Basically, these are people in your startup that are natural leaders. Maybe they’re not actually in a leadership position nor are they necessarily people managers. They are simply authentic and inspirational. They’re the people we follow in to the unknown or often consult with a tricky question. They’re the folks who tell the company battle stories around a campfire, with everyone listening on the edge of their seat. Your storytellers bring people together and instill a sense of belonging. Identify them and roll them out as often as you can — on your monthly all-hands call, at your company offsites, have them post videos on your internal comms tools, have them write internal blog posts. Clone them if you have the technology.

Companies/People Mentioned

Gitlab - https://about.gitlab.com/

Buffer - https://buffer.com/

Tom Hanks

References / Relevant Links mentioned:

Article: Help Your Remote Employees Build Stronger Personal Connections Through Randomness

Buffer State of Remote Work 2018 Report

Owl Labs State of Remote Work 2017

Cigna US Loneliness Survey

Swinburne University Study

“Loneliness and the Digital Workplace.” - Vivek Murthy

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‘till next time -

Clayton 👋

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