Use these specific questions to find out how your remote worker is doing

Teleworking makes it more difficult for front-line managers to monitor the performance of their staff. Teleworking will continue in many organisations, at least in a hybrid form. Where it is not possible to be face-to-face with an employee on a daily or even weekly basis, it is also worthwhile discussing work progress and job satisfaction in virtual meetings.

It is important to avoid overburdening employees, so that they do not become so stressed or tired that they are unable to perform and cope at work - or worse, become exhausted or depressed.

The discussion should not start by asking directly about the employee's well-being, but by touching on other work-related issues. For example, a natural way of looking at how well the employee is doing at work and how he or she is coping might be as follows:

 1. What are you working on at the moment?

It is natural to open the discussion by asking what the employee is currently working on. At the same time, the prioritisation of tasks can be considered and, if necessary, work goals can be clarified. In order to be able to cope with the tasks at hand, it is necessary to discuss the goals together - then it will be easier for the employee to prioritise his or her work independently.

 2. How much time do you have to work on current tasks?

Once the overall work situation has been outlined, it is a good idea to ask whether the employee feels that the normal working time is sufficient to complete the tasks. At the same time, it is also possible to assess the timetable.

3. Do you need help at work?

At this point it's natural to ask if the employee needs support or help from a supervisor or someone else to get the job done. "Is there anything I can help with?" or "Do you want me to ask Erja to look into Isovuore's case too?"

4. Can you take a break from work?

Ask if your employee is able to take a break and a lunch break every day. You can then ask if he or she feels that the working hours are reasonable, i.e. if they can be kept within the agreed working hours. Of course, it is a good idea for the frontline manager to look at the employee's actual working hours in advance.

 5. What else is going on and are there any concerns?

For an employee who works alone at home, a question about how you are doing and whether there are any concerns that it would be good for me, as a frontline worker, to know about can be very welcome. The question can be answered at whatever level the person prefers. One can talk about their work-related issues and concerns and the other about their personal life, depending on how much they want to open up about their own life and how they feel about their relationship with their sponsor.

6. Credit extra: How do you share? Do you recover in your spare time?

 Sometimes the relationship between the sponsor and the trustee is such that there is a very open discussion about health and private life. In such cases, it is useful to discuss issues such as recovery during time off: whether the employee is able to take the time and space away from work to ensure recovery.

Challenges to coping at work are primarily addressed at work

If a frontline worker shows an interest in the employee's ability to cope at work, this lowers the threshold for talking about coping. The first thing to do when an employee talks about his or her problems is to discuss how the work and working conditions can be changed to suit the employee's abilities. Often structuring and clarifying the work is the most effective way to help with work-related problems. Of course, it is then worth considering whether other forms of work capacity support are also needed. In this case, it is a good idea to consult the occupational health service.