Summer is a great time to encourage a recalibration of work-life balance. The sunny weather and long days inspire your teams to use flexible schedules and time off to rest, reenergize, and think about their work in new ways.  

Remote teams also need help managing work-life balance, even if they’re not in the office. Here’s how leadership can help remote workers strike that balance. 

How Can You Manage Your Remote Team to Have a Better Summer?

Model the work-life balance you want to see in your team. 

As every parent knows, “do as I say, not as I do” rarely works – kids model actions, not instructions. The same is true for a team of adult professionals.  

Modeling work-life balance provides several benefits: 

• Your team is more likely to follow you if you lead by example rather than instruction. 
• You gain a better perspective and a more sustainable schedule.  
• You discover new ways to support work-life balance by living them yourself.  

To encourage your teams to address their work-life balance, talk less and demonstrate more. Take your own vacation time. Set your own “office hours” when your team can reach you, and remind them that off-hours emergency contact info is for true emergencies only.  

Stick to regular “office hours” and encourage your team to do the same.  

Remote work is often touted as a benefit because it allows workers to work anywhere at any time. Yet many workers are tempted to interpret “I can work anywhere at any time” to mean “I must work everywhere at all times.” 

You may not be able to order your staff to take needed breaks. Yet you can create the structure and culture that make it easier to do so. Setting regular work hours in which team members can expect one another to be available helps create needed boundaries between work and life.  

Work with a recruiter to fill skills gaps and find the talent your team needs.  

Even a team dedicated to creating a sustainable work-life balance won’t succeed if there is more work than the team can sustainably do. Staff will always be scrambling, compromising needed rest time to meet pressing deadlines – and courting burnout in the process. 

If your team is wearing thin, a recruiter can help you find candidates with the skills and outlook to support your team. The right new hire can improve work-life balance, engagement, and productivity for everyone.  

How Are You Managing Your Remote Team?

Remote, hybrid, or in-person, your company thrives when your teams have what they need to do their best work. If you’re looking for new talent and skills to add to your team, talk to the recruiters at SMR Group Ltd. today. We specialize in connecting our clients in the biotech, medical device, and pharmaceutical industries to some of the best sales and marketing talent available.