Has WFH Left Your Team With More Time or Less Time?

Working from home has changed our work lifestyles significantly. Polls show that WFH has resulted in an average 3-hour longer workday in the US. While you're holding the same meetings and still answering emails, as the leader, you're also able to schedule meetings when it's convenient for you, and they last as long as you need. Additionally, there's no walk-by or hallway interruptions, no elongated coffee breaks, no commute, and no travel. All of those were typical and appropriate uses of time throughout the workday and now they're simply gone. What are you choosing to do with the extra time?

As a person who is used to always being busy, do you find yourself wondering what your team members are doing? Are you getting into their business, micromanaging, wondering why things are not moving along as fast as you can think about them? Are you starting to introduce that backlog of projects that previously there wasn't enough time to get introduced?

Now, think about your team. As a leader, are you aware of how working from home has affected their time? Have they all gained the same time that you have? Did they previously travel as regularly as you? Have as many interruptions to their in-office workflow as you? Has their workload increased or decreased as they manage their work and teams? Are your extra projects and micromanagement increasing the length of their workdays?

Most leaders are aware and responding appropriately to differences in each team member's emotional responses: the ability to complete their kind of work from home, or additional day-time responsibilities. As a leader, you may have one less visible difference in this environment: more time. Be conscious of that difference when you introduce new projects, get frustrated with the pace of the work, or are tempted to micromanage tasks.