Work Life Impact in action
This team member walks through his selections for the three Work Life impact areas using MURAL and video chat.
Meeting over Zoom, this team uses Confluence to share and document how the Work Life impact areas affect them personally.
This team member chose the sections of the Work Life impact areas that fit her best using the PDF provided and discussed with her team.
What you'll need
Tools
Video conferencing with screen sharing
Digital collaboration tool (see templates)
Work Life impact area details
Optional templates
Atlassian Templates
Other Templates
Instructions for running this Play
1. Prep 30 MIN
Before setting up a meeting, share a link to this page with your team. Make sure everyone feels secure sharing their personal experiences working remotely.
After confirming the team is comfortable having this discussion, prepare a new collaboration document. Create a space for each team member - add their name and photo so everything is ready to go!
For each team member’s space in the document, add in the three Work Life impact area boxes (see here). Label these:
Home office
Role requirements
Support networks
Add in the descriptions and text above each box and divide each box into four quadrants.
Example: Safety Check
Here’s what an anonymous Slack poll with your team might look like. If the average response is 3 or below, do not run this Play.
TIP: ALTERNATIVE
If your team does not feel comfortable discussing their remote work challenges as a group, consider running a Team Health Monitor Play instead.
2. Set the stage 5 MIN
At the beginning of the workshop, emphasize that
- Everyone’s experience is unique
- They should share only as much or as little as they want
- There are no “right” or “wrong” answers
- The team will always assume positive intent
Tip: THIRD PARTY
If possible, ask a neutral third party to help facilitate the meeting. This will encourage greater participation and uncover more insights.
3. Identify Work Life impact areas 10 MIN
Review the three Work Life impact areas one at a time.
As you review, ask each participant to choose one of the four sections that best reflects their experience over the last month.
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Example: Choices
See how someone maps herself to one of four options on the Work Life impact area boxes.
4.Reflect and discuss 30 MIN
Encourage the team to take a step back and review each other's selections. Have them reflect on:
- Why did you select this section of the box and why?
- What are you finding difficult or challenging?
- What do you need to succeed while working remotely?
TIP: BE SENSITIVE
Everyone will process this exercise differently. Give the team the option of sharing their reflections, rather than forcing everyone to contribute.
5. Actions 15 MIN
Brainstorm actions as a team by prompting the team to answer these questions:
- What is something that you are going to change or do differently moving forward?
- What is something you can do to better support someone else?
- What can we try as a team to support one another?
- What can the organization help you with?
Discuss actions as a team, assign owners and due dates to the actions as necessary.
EXAMPLE: Actions
Here’s a sample list of action items.
Follow-up
One-on-one meeting
For managers or team leads, use this Play as a starting point for further discussion in private meetings with your team members to see how you can support their unique situation and help them thrive.
Available support
Take some of the themes covered in the workshop and discuss them with your own leader or HR team to see what options or resources might be available.
Variations
At the office
If your team works in the same location some of the time, you can also run this Play in person. In this case, consider printing the PDF for everyone to fill out by hand during the meeting.
Explore other Plays
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