by Tracy Wieder, ALMA Board Member; Senior Manager of Research Support/Manager of Facilities Operations and Lab Support, Miller School of Medicine, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic more and more employees find that their employers have determined that their jobs can be done permanently from home. Here are a few tips lab managers can use to ensure their team’s productivity and connection, despite some staff being at home while others are at work.
1. Take Care of Staff Morale
Pay special attention to staff working from home who live alone. Lab mates can check on these teammates frequently, even planning virtual social activities after work. Use video conferencing to maintain team cohesion and consider organizing remote, team-building activities.
2. Continue to Challenge Staff
Find projects for your staff that you know will challenge them. Working from home becomes a lot less tedious when instead of doing what you already know how to do, you are working on new projects that require you to stretch, grow and learn.
3. Address Technology Challenges
Don’t expect that your entire team is comfortable using online resources – provide extra time to train anyone who needs the extra support to get familiar with the online resources your company is making available to them.
4. Manage Overworking
It’s important that managers avoid behaviors that will add to the pressure employees feel to overwork when working from home and the line between work and family time is blurred. Most importantly, do not email your staff after hours, on weekends, on holidays and during vacations, if it can be avoided. Managers will need to encourage their staff to stop working at a reasonable hour to avoid burnout from overworking. In a study conducted by Abbey Research, it was found that if employees work 11 or more hours a day, they are 2.5 times more likely to develop depression and 60% more likely to develop heart disease.
5. Prevent Disjointed Team Communication
It’s important to make use of every possible communication channel available to you from phone calls and texts to messaging platforms and video conferencing to ensure you and your staff have open lines of communication.
A new column from members of the Association of Laboratory Managers will provide personal tips on how to navigate leadership in today’s demanding laboratory environment. Stay tuned for more next month. For additional tips on managing a laboratory organization, visit the ALMA website: www.labmanagers.org
About the Author: Tracy Wieder, MBA, is a member of the Association of Laboratory Managers (ALMA) and currently serves as a senior lab manager overseeing all research laboratories at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. Wieder has worked in the field of biomedical research for 30 years.