How to support your team at work and after hours (Video)

The first week of May is National Small Business Week. This is a time to honor and celebrate America’s entrepreneurs and innovative startups.

In the video above, our coach expert Sabrina Cadini shared some tips to support your team at work and after hours if you are a manager or a business owner. By following certain practices, you can motivate and help your employees become passionate and stay loyal to your brand. And if you are an employee, you may find some ideas to discuss with your manager for better relationships and outcomes.

1-Communicate clearly

Communication is one of the hallmarks of a great company culture. Make sure you always provide clear direction and details on what you value as a leader, on what your vision is, and on what their responsibilities should be, so that your team can be clear on the goals. Be specific on what you expect from their roles so that you can empower them.

Ask them questions, find out what their expectations from their roles are, what they want to keep doing or stop doing or do less, and how they can improve. Also, knowing what their skills and strengths are, is always a plus so that they can bring more value to the team and to the success of your company.

Also, check in with each employee with regular meetings to find out if they are experiencing challenges, to review the quality of their work, and to offer support or assist them with anything that they might need to meet their deadlines. Listen consciously, sometimes it’s not only the words they say, but also their body language that can tell you something. If necessary, provide constructive feedback, and do your best to address issues as soon as possible.

2-Be respectful of your team after hours

Having clear and constant communication is paramount for any organization, but when it interferes with the employees’ personal lives, it can become too much.

A recent survey that focused on how managers contact employees after hours, the results indicated that 49% contact them but would not expect a response until the following workday; 29% would expect a response within a few hours; 16% would wait until the following workday; and 6% would contact employees at all hours.

The preferred methods to contact employees were mostly emails and text messages, followed by a phone call, internal chat, or even a direct message on social media.

Where do you position yourself? Are you constantly communicating, and do you expect a response, or do you wait until the next workday? And if you are an employee, do you usually respond immediately, do you want until the next day, or do you decide depending on the importance or urgency of the message?

If possible, establish some rules and expectations between you and your team, so that everyone knows what to expect when working at your company.

Research is clearly showing that after-hours emails hurt job performance; you should promote a healthier work-life balance for your team so that you can help them reduce stress, prevent burnout, and increase their job satisfaction and performance.

There may also be legal ramifications if you’re paying employees for, let’s say, only 40 hours, but you expect them to respond to incoming emails after work hours.

Keep watching the video for more useful tips!

Enjoyed this video? Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get fresh tips and tricks delivered every two weeks!

Want to know more about Mana? Download the app today and schedule a call with one of our coaches to learn how to spend your time better!