Under the Work–From–Home (WFH), I managed to continue holding a small staff meeting of Malaysia weekly. It seems the meeting has begun to take effect. I have come to imagine how the colleagues are working over the internet and wait until they finish their tasks that I requested.
In May last year, when the first lockdown in Malaysia finished and office work started gradually, I started the weekly meeting with a couple of staff. We had no idea on our work in the year at that time. We were inexperienced in online meetings. As a result, the meeting was very clumsy in the beginning.
Afterwards, office work resumed wholly for a short time though, Covid-19 cases increased again, and office work has dwindled. Finally, the second lockdown started from January this year. Looking back the situation from last year, we mostly worked from home.
Although we had a hard time in the first lockdown, this time is different. The second one did not imposed lesser restrictions and people learned to cope with it. Moreover, I found myself wondering that I can sense adequate psychological distance with each of my colleagues and a relationship in which I can entrust tasks to them.
What are the factors of accomplishment?
The weekly online meeting that we continued seems to take effect.
In the beginning, the meeting was to make up for unofficial communication. Therefore, the meeting was more or less a chatting. As time goes by, the meeting has sifted to a style that I listen to their talks. At present, the meeting is in two phases: a chatting in which I listen to more; a work schedule sharing in which I speak more.
It is interesting that I began to feel a sense of psychological distance as if I were in an office. One is because we grew accustomed to online tools. However, I deem that is not the only cause. I feel our relationship was reestablished for online engagements. Moreover, that sense is more appropriate sense of distance than that I felt in office work before. Consequently, I think our performance as a team improved.
If the level of communication were the size of catch ball, the ball was small and trivial at the start. As the meeting continues, our thought was inspired, and our relationship has transformed gradually.
Though the office work resumes once the lockdown ends, I would like to maintain the current relationship as it is. I have begun to have confidence about the relationship building online. I would like to handle bigger balls of communication next time. ■