The coronavirus hasn’t been good for employee engagement. Gallup statistics from midsummer 2020 indicate that roughly 31% of employees say they’re engaged. That leaves 69% of workers somewhere along the spectrum of disengagement, which is a higher percentage than figures from only six months prior.

This level of satisfaction isn’t surprising given that so many people were suddenly forced to work from home. While working from home has its benefits, it has plenty of downsides, too. Many virtual team members feel isolated and disconnected from coworkers. Some are too distracted when they’re working from a tiny ranch house or apartment. Others simply thrive on impromptu water cooler discussions that stir creativity.

If your workforce had to move to virtual quarters when the pandemic hit, you might still be dealing with a work-from-home team. However, you don’t have to let staff morale sink. Instead, implement a few measures to make sure everyone’s needs are met as you navigate through whatever the next normal will look like.

1. Treat telecommuting as permanent rather than temporary.

Telecommuting isn’t a fleeting phenomenon — it has secured its place as a de facto way of doing business unlikely to disappear in the coming years. Far too many businesses are treating their virtual office like a temporary one, declining to spend money on improvements that would be non-negotiable in a traditional office. “If you haven’t already invested in the right tools for your employees to do their work, you need to make it a top priority” says Jeff Bettinger, SVP, Global Chief Human Resources Officer of Nu Skin, a company with remote workers in 30 countries around the world. 

As the pandemic rages on and your business grows, you’re going to need secure and reliable telecommunications infrastructure. Spare no expense when it comes to speed, efficiency, and quality-of-life for your telecommuting employees. Treat your digital office as carefully as you would a physical office, and watch satisfaction balloon as a result.

2. Over-communicate rather than under communicate.

Yes, people may be tired of getting pinged on Slack or receiving tons of emails about little things that they used to discuss in person on the job. Don’t let this stop you from continuing to keep everyone apprised of what’s happening in their departments, as well as in the business. True, not everything should be shared or posted. Nevertheless, you’ll want to think carefully about bringing in everyone who needs to know about a topic.

As a leader, the way you communicate will trickle down to how and when your employees communicate. For instance, if you send out regular video messages to your team, you can bet your best managers will start to do likewise. Similarly, if you jump on a lot of staff Zoom meetings to listen and learn, your colleagues will follow suit. The stronger your communication with personnel, the less likely you’ll hear that they’re leaving to go elsewhere.

3. Allow people to express their emotions and meet their needs.

COVID has emphasized the importance of empathy in the workplace. In practical terms, that means you’ll have to turn up your emotional intelligence and accept that your people aren’t machines. They’re dealing with a host of issues, from a grandparent who’s living in a nursing home but can’t have visitors, to kids trying to make online learning work.

Hearing what your employees are saying is just the first step of the process. “Listening alone is not enough,” according to Guido Heezen, founder of feedback solutions firm Effectory, “You also need to learn from this feedback and take action.” Be ready to make your empathy productive, churning out real improvements and accommodations for your workers. 

4. Give each employee money to improve their work-from-home space.

At the beginning stages of coronavirus shutdowns, Shopify made huge headlines by giving employees a one-time $1,000 allowance to spruce up their home offices. Why? According to Brittany Forsyth, the giant ecommerce site’s chief talent officer, the move was meant to lessen the impact of what they felt was an impending shift in working habits. 

Forsyth and her company’s commitment toward “trying new ways of working” inspired other businesses to follow suit. While you may not be able to dig as deep into your coffers, you can probably come up with some kind of stipend for your workers. Let them pick what they want to enhance their digs, whether it’s a stellar printer, ring light for all those close-up Zoom client meetings, or an ergonomically correct chair. You won’t just be showing your support; you’ll also remove their barriers to productivity.

People everywhere have turned dining rooms into conference rooms and extra bedrooms into executive working spaces. Yet not everyone enjoys commuting in feet rather than miles. Help your team experience less friction and more satisfaction by making their working lives a little easier and more rewarding. In the process, you’ll build a strong culture that transcends the need for walls.