Interpersonal Effectiveness and the Challenges Brought by COVID-19

“When you have individuals coming from all different backgrounds and beliefs merging together in the workplace, conflict is inevitable.” says Andy Teach.

Now that quarantine has already been lifted in some areas, many businesses and organisations are resuming their operations from their respective offices. People are returning to their normal workplaces after working from home for several months. To some, this transition may seem as smooth as Michael Jackson’s moonwalk, but in reality, it’s not. Challenges are likely to occur and create conflict.

Some of these challenges may be:

A decrease in productivity.

Adjusting to another environment is a difficult thing to do. This kind of change, can have a big impact on your employees’ performances. This is because their senses have already conformed to where they were working and the sudden change of environment means having to adjust their senses again. Employee productivity seems to be influenced, for the most part, by our own natural senses. Satisfying each individual sense therefore makes for happier and more productive employees.

Less communication and less teamwork.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, people have become more vigilant and careful as to how they interact and who they interact with for the fear of contracting the virus. For this reason, people may think that doing the work themselves would be a better and safer option, rather than asking help from others. As a result, their productivity can be greatly affected.

Lazy days may come.

When employees started working from home, their body clocks have changed. This is because they now have the privilege to wake up and prepare much later than the usual. They don’t have to take their usual hurried baths nor do they need to worry about transportation and travel time.

With this in mind, some employees may exhibit tardiness and laxness as their body and mind are still adjusting to the change.

As a leader, you have to anticipate the problems that may occur as you deal with a crisis. You have to be ready for the worst that could happen. So, how can you deal with these challenges? You have to become more Emotionally Intelligent and develop Interpersonal Effectiveness as a competency. If you’ve developed this competency, you should be able to:

Communicate Effectively with Your Team.

Communication, when used properly, can solve lots of problems. When you have Interpersonal Effectiveness, you as a leader can use communication as a tool to know what your team may be struggling with and help them come up with the right solution to their problem.

LEAD your people.

Interpersonal Effectiveness can help you develop a contagious positive and enthusiastic attitude that will quickly put your people at ease, making it easier for people to follow you. This will help your people become the best they can be even in the worst situations.

So, become a leader that they need!

At People Builders we have a team of expert trainers and coaches who can help you and your team develop Interpersonal Effectiveness. Contact us today for a quick chat to see how we can partner with you to train and coach you and your team.