Communication
Luis is currently a team member in the Department of Administration, where Carlos (from the first interview) is his direct supervisor. Luis expressed that his job, which he has been doing for the past two years, is well defined and straightforward and that he has no problems working remotely. While most of his tasks remained the same since the pandemic, the communication with the rest of the team has changed.
Luis uses the internal chat programme to reach out to his colleagues and his boss in order to ask a question or to share important information. In addition, his area uses email to document internal approvals and confirmations. Luis noticed that communication is not working in an optimal way, but as he sees it everybody has to adapt and continue to work this way.
At first his boss programmed meetings with the objective to be in touch with everybody twice a week, now it is once a week. Those meetings could take more than an hour, since not everyone had the best internet connection, or they were presented with some distractions, like their dogs barking, noise from outside the window, etc. In this context, Luis mentioned that he has two kids, who sometimes show up in his workspace and interrupt his work (although usually not for long).
On a different note, when Luis has to reach people from other areas, shareholders or clients in order to solve an administrative request or ask any question, he contacts them via phone call. According to Luis, phone calls have the advantage of usually being short and straight to the point.
Comic Strip: "Loss of Social Contact"
Motivation
Luis recognises that the remote work situation is new for almost anybody. For example, Luis stated that his boss is still figuring out how to motivate his team and that he tries to directly communicate with everybody and be as present as he was in the office.
Luis likes that his boss encourages the team during the meetings to express gratitude for someone who helped them during that week. Each member has to share a specific situation in which someone has helped them to accomplish something. This is a verbal recognition tactic to embrace teamwork. In addition, Luis mentioned that his boss tries to be available and reachable at all times.
As a downside for motivation, Luis states that he gets bored spending most of the time at his house. Despite the fact that remote work is the opportunity to eat at home and spend more time with his family by saving time on traffic, he dislikes the lack of personal encounters with other people, including the interaction with his fellow colleagues from his office. In addition, Luis also is missing his own working station from the office.
Emotional intelligence
Luis noticed that his boss is doing everything he can in order to be in touch with everyone and that he tries to be “as normal” as possible. He still has his one-on-one sessions for feedback and during those, his boss tries to get involved, be supportive and comprehensive. He takes time to listen to any complaints and request and embraces a candid environment.
As a matter of fact, Luis considers his boss as a highly emotionally intelligent person. Despite working under a lot of pressure, his boss never shows up stressed to a meeting, never showing “a bad mood”. He patiently communicates any new strategies and plans and listens to everyone closely.
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