Trickle Offers Free Employee Wellbeing Support in Response to COVID-19

Due to the spread of Covid-19 several of the world’s largest companies such as Microsoft, Twitter, Apple and Amazon, and Salesforce have made working remotely mandatory in an effort to slow the spread.

Since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that Covid-19, also known as the Coronavirus, has officially reached pandemic status, more and more companies are following suit in an effort to protect their employees’ health, slow the spread of the virus and ensure business continuity. Covid-19 has made many businesses re-evaluate how they work and make changes rapidly to adapt to the situation as it unfolds.

As the government increasingly urges people to stay at home and self-isolate, remote working is now the only real viable option for most organisations to ensure they can continue operating.

Thanks to technology many people are able to work collaboratively around the globe and keep the lines of communication flowing all from their home office. Given these unprecedented circumstances, working remotely can stop everything from grinding to a halt and help keep things “business as usual”.

Time has described the move as “the World’s Largest Work-From-Home Experiment”, although many companies have not had the luxury of having time to prepare for managing remote workers. Like self-isolating, remote working can be a daunting prospect for many, who right now are already burdened with other worries related to the outbreak such as “will I get sick?”, “will I lose my job if the company can’t function?” and “will I be able to pay my bills?”.

Although working from home is not a new concept, it isn’t yet the norm for most people, which is why it can provoke such mixed feelings. But, providing teams the opportunity to work from home during this period can greatly ease the stress they are facing.

Working from home will reduce the likelihood they will get infected as it helps minimise their interaction with people in person and offers them reassurances that the company will continue to function.

While working from home suits some people, for a traditional on-site worker it can be a major shock to the system that can throw off their daily routine. Big and unanticipated changes in work dynamic, such as suddenly becoming a remote worker, can have a major effect on people’s Wellbeing, Mental Health and Work Performance.

Being suddenly left bereft of regular daily interactions with teammates can lead to feelings of uncertainty, anxiety, isolation and increased loneliness. Without regular communication with leadership and guidance on work related issues staff members could be left feeling adrift. Interaction and guidance is vital for some employees who need a lot of interaction to keep their energy and spirits up, and companies must take this into account.

Many of us are already feeling heightened stressful emotions due to the current situation because of its uncertain nature, which can be compounded by the change in work. Fear of uncertainty and risk of a possible negative outcome can fuel these feelings, but these can be alleviated if an organisation equips its workers with the right digital tools to help them achieve their work goals, to feel connected, and to have a sense of continuity in their lives.

According to research from the University of California Irvine, the most successful remote work setups are those in which staff are able to maintain similar work styles, are friendly with their coworkers, have the technology they need to collaborate, and have the digital skills to use that technology.

Trickle understands this and knows that Employee Wellbeing and Engagement is key to successful remote working. Our platform gives your people a voice to raise suggestions, concerns and queries in these uncertain times, and we are therefore offering organisations completely free access to its platform until the 3rd of July. 

Our Employee Engagement and Wellbeing platform keeps people connected, prioritises team suggestions and concerns, and enables private, one-to-one support for wellbeing or other personal issues. Trickle allows teams to safely communicate information with each other and upwards to management. Fostering these types of interactions via the platform helps encourage a sense of inclusion, which in turn helps tackle feelings of disconnectedness.

Changing a work environment so quickly and significantly can create a number of challenges, but Trickle can help to manage this by enabling an organisation to better prioritise and resolve problems before they escalate and to demonstrate they are actively listening to their people. Now more than ever, leadership must be sensitively attuned to remote workers’ well being both mentally and physically.

PwC says that leaders set the tone in communicating information about contingency planning and operations during a viral outbreak and recommends they regularly communicate with their workers in a clear and authentic way in order to cut through business uncertainties.

Due to the speed at which companies are having to respond to the situation, organisations are at present time poor; this can leave little time to ensure their people have the digital skills they need to cope with working remotely. Choosing to use an Employee Engagement and Wellbeing platform is therefore critical when supporting remote workers.

Trickle’s platform uses a familiar interface similar to social media networks such as Facebook and is intuitive to use, making it easier for workers to start using it right away.Compatible with connected devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones, Trickle has been designed with a simple user experience at heart.

Even if your organisation has thousands of employees, our platform can be up and running within a matter of hours – and being cloud-hosted, there is practically no impact on your IT resources to make it operational.

To start using Trickle contact us and our team will have you setup and running within 48 hours. This free-use offer is open until the 3rd of July and we urge businesses to use our support.

People are what make a company and we want to help you support your people through the disruptions caused by Covid-19.