Along with its impact on our personal lives, COVID has brought what will likely be the greatest shift in working arrangements of many of our lifetimes, as we shift from working in an office to working at least partially from home.

However, as pointed out by Amanda Xuereb, Head of Business Development at Toly Group, remote working does come with its challenges, which mean that “as a manager of a remote team, [she has] to ensure no one feels disconnected.”

When leading her team, she explains that she needs to continue providing a sense of engagement as otherwise members could feel detached from herself and their co-workers.

Taking to social media, she reveals the four tips she gave to her team at the start of the pandemic to help them remain productive and happy.

Firstly, she emphasises the importance of fostering relationships, encouraging her team to “make time for non-work chats,” in much the same way as they would in the workplace, while using video calling to maintain face-to-face contact.

Next, she says she encouraged her team to make remote working work for them by changing where they sit, putting on music, or doing whatever helps them work.

Another piece of advice she provides is that staff should write a daily to-do list, with a list of realistic, achievable tasks to keep them focused.

Finally, she emphasises that remote workers should dress the part, meaning they should change into work clothes at the start of their shift to help them distinguish between ‘homeworking’ and ‘home life’.

“Having the opportunity to work remotely is an amazing opportunity, and slowly becoming the norm for those jobs which allow this,” Ms Xuereb says.