LIGHTNING ROUND: The Positives and Pressures of Women Working from Home
This event took place on November 18
AWESOME and Deloitte presented this program that gave participants the opportunity to talk about how the past months of disruption and remote working have impacted the women’s careers and leadership. AWESOME leaders talked about ways to keep their teams motivated and connected, to continue to find creative strategies that help people keep their edge and drive toward innovation, and to maintain some sense of balance in their own lives.
A recent study by Deloitte finds that the pandemic is taking a heavy toll on the daily lives of working women.
In this highly participative AWESOME event, AWESOME leaders talked about ways to keep their teams motivated and connected, to continue to find creative strategies that help people keep their edge and drive toward innovation, and to maintain some sense of balance in their own lives.
Some insights from the conversation:
- One leader said her company holds regular informal gatherings, called “Sip & Chats,” for employees.
- Another stressed she watches for signs, including learning to read body language by Zoom, that a team member might benefit from some one-on-one conversation.
- One leader says she sometimes starts meeting with music – or even a virtual dance party – to give employees a lift and prevent “Zoom fatigue.”
- Another idea is to occasionally give a team member an uninterrupted time to talk to the group about their job or their interests.
- As for maintaining their own energy, participants agreed a “burned-out leader can’t lead,” so selfcare is important. They suggested using resources such as happier.com or taking time to practice gratitude, yoga, or stretching at the end of the day.