Answer to Question #261525 in Management for Mad

Question

Is perception management applicable in current times when we are working from home virtually and not interacting personally with our coworkers and managers? Rationalize your opinion with steps and measures that help you manage the process.

Answer 1

Perception management is no longer relevant in today's world, since we work virtually from home and don't connect with our coworkers and supervisors in person. Although the number of people working from home is steadily increasing, the present perception of working from home is negative. Because they work from home, employees can have a feeling of personal and professional obstacles. Personal disadvantages may include less opportunities for information sharing with coworkers, a loss of work-life balance, and a lack of peer-to-peer contacts.

To control the perception of working from home and to keep the business culture intact, the firm and its employees must examine whether they are ready for individuals to work from home. Current processes and rules, particularly those relating to performance evaluation, should be reviewed to ensure that they are equitable for all categories of employees. To ensure that employees can be productive when working from home, technology like as servers, laptops, and VPNs must be used. Employees must, however, be ready to work from home by establishing work routines, defining limits with management, and making an effort to be socially involved.

It is critical to continue to create trust and collaboration among teams by using communication technologies such as Teams or Webex to retain the current culture. Employees can prevent feeling alone and make themselves available to their coworkers by employing the methods mentioned. Trial runs should always be done to get managers on board. Employees should not switch from working five days a week in the office to working five days a week from home; instead, they should transition and consult with their manager on how to strengthen current communication. In this instance, trust is crucial. If a management has faith in their employee and the individual is performing well, the possibility of working from home should be considered. To maintain a sense of community at work, firms should continue to provide shared workspaces for employees to use for crucial meetings or collaborations as needed. As a result, when the employee and their coworkers meet in person, they don't lose the human interaction they already enjoy and instead establish a sense of community.