Dive Brief:

• When asked about workplace rapport, 69% of respondents to an Enboarder survey said they "don’t feel a very strong sense of connection" to their co-workers.
• Additionally, 73% of respondents said that collaboration requires much more effort now than it did prior to March 2020, according to the Nov. 1 results.
• In a similar vein, the work FOMO is real: 66% of hybrid workers surveyed said they feel like they’re missing out on collaborative opportunities when they’re not working in the office.

Dive Insight:

One troubling insight is that, according to many Enboarder respondents, HR’s problem-solving may be to no avail. Sixty-five percent of respondents said they have not changed their behavior or opinions because of an HR initiative in the past 12 months. 

Many employees are feeling battered by the demands of digital work. Generally speaking, 54% of workers surveyed said they feel more overwhelmed by the number of work-related notifications since March 2020. The rate is higher for managers surveyed, with 63% of respondents saying they’re overwhelmed. 

Likewise, 46% of respondents told Enboarder that they’re using nights and weekends to think strategically about work because they’re overwhelmed. Again, managers surveyed indicated great distress here, with 55% of team leaders saying they use post-work time for workflow strategy-building. Similarly, 60% of managers surveyed said information overload keeps them from doing their jobs efficiently.

So, how do HR professionals step in and step up, in a genuinely helpful way? Optimize tasks with the "four elements of people activation," Enboarder’s research suggests. For an employee to take action, the task must be easy, be engaging, provide opportunities for connection and have a reminder or "nudge" that comes "in the right format at the right time." 

For example, on the tenet of "ease," Enboarder’s report pointed to hybrid workers’ transition back and forth between the office and home. There could be an avenue for HR to make that transition less challenging. "Making sure experiences are as frictionless as possible can make it easier for hybrid workers to take action on the HR initiatives you care about," the report said.

Similarly, Enboarder recommended streamlining and personalizing onboarding or learning materials to boost engagement. The report pointed out, "Tedious, time-consuming busy work like filling out forms or watching long video trainings can worsen employees’ feelings of overwhelm."

In turn, insights suggest employees are primed to do their best work when connection is prioritized: 82% of respondents said they’re more motivated to work on projects or programs when they feel close to their team and 84% said they find it easier to do their best work when they feel close to their team.

Building camaraderie and seamless workflows remotely is a tough task. While there are no easy answers, HR professionals will have to prioritize communication and experimentation, experts say.