If your CX employees are stressed and burned out from working through COVID-19, can you imagine the kind of customer experience they provide some days?
It might be a scary scene: a stressed, frustrating interaction that feels like it’s going nowhere.
More than 75% of employees say they have struggled with anxiety. They say they’re anxious about the coronavirus, world events and working from home, according to new research from TELUS International.
What’s worse, many employees – nearly 60% – don’t feel they can let someone at their company know they aren’t feeling physically or mentally well.
Who knows when the day isn’t going well
So if CX professionals working from home are having a bad day, the only one who may know it is the customer on the other end of the interaction. And that may not be going well!
“It’s imperative in today’s climate that employers are aware of and consider the difficult truth that many individuals are experiencing mental and physical health issues since they began working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Marilyn Tyfting, chief corporate officer of TELUS International.
Promote remote CX employee well-being
On the bright side, more than 90% of remote employees are happier working when their employer cares about and promotes their physical and mental well-being.
At TELUS International, “We have not lost sight of continuing to provide the same high level of empathy and concern that are foundational aspects of our caring culture,” Tyfting said. “Our approach has been, ‘out of sight, top of mind,’ meaning our people leaders have come up with fun and inclusive ways to virtually recognize and reward team members, and have increased the cadence of team and individual touch points to help address the unique challenges they may be facing, both personally and professionally during these times.”
Here are five more tips to help remote employees reduce stress and stay well:
- Draw the line. Nearly 80% of employees say they find it challenging to “shut off” from work at the end of their day. Help them achieve a better work-life balance by giving them “permission” to leave it behind: Don’t send or expect email or other electronic messages. Ask if they have the resources to complete their work in a normal day – and if they don’t give them access.
- Encourage time off. Nearly half of employees said they haven’t taken a day off work since the start of the pandemic. Encourage everyone to take time off to disconnect and recharge – even if it’s just a few days of relaxing at home.
- Lead by example. TELUS International encourages managers to be the example to front-line customer experience employees. “We recognize that our responsibility as employers extends to modeling the healthy behaviors we want to inspire in our team members, such as taking days off to recharge and sharing our own feelings and the challenges we may be facing,” Tyfting said.
- Check in. Managers at TELUS International also do regular one-on-one check-ins with remote employees through video so they can discuss issues and resources they might need.
- Make wellness a priority. TELUS International researchers also found employees appreciate these initiatives to bolster their physical and mental health: benefits and coverage that include therapy and/or counselling, virtual workshops about health and wellness, and yoga and meditation classes.
