Are you fed up with working online? Are you just ‘done’ with endless zoom / webex / Microsoft teams / google hangouts or whatever platform you use to conduct your team meetings? Has the novelty and adrenalin completely worn off and you dread the daily grind of meeting in cyberspace? Despite the great opportunity they present to connect teams remotely from all corners of the world, these tools have paradoxically created more division, greater silos and depleted levels of trust and energy, rather than increased them within your team.

As much as these tools have been integral to keeping the wheels of commerce going through the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond, people are reporting varying levels of exhaustion and boredom with the experience. One client expressed it to me as ‘zoom apnoea’. The adrenalin that got us through the early, fire fighting days of rewiring how we work in our teams from fully or partially face-to-face to a fully virtual experience has worn off. We are now in a trough where the novelty period is over and all we can see ahead are more months of having to do the same thing.

Imagine your team has a bank account but instead of money, it contains energy. You know, the kind of great stuff that gets created in teams. The relationships, laughter, empathy, appreciation, gratitude, support, doing things for others – all this feeds positive energy into your team’s account. You can draw upon this to do the work you need to do, and remain a happy and healthy team.

For many, the COVID-19 experience of working virtually has depleted this energy account to record lows. We have been less able to do the things that make deposits into the account, that are quite often an incidental rather than a deliberate part of life together. The quick catch up with a colleague over the boiling kettle in the pantry; a sandwich at lunchtime; the small talk before a meeting starts or as it ends. Those vital but unscheduled ‘have you got a minute?’ conversations that oil the wheels of the team and keep us connected beyond the work we do.

Part of the problem is that we are only talking about work in virtual meetings; we meet for pre-arranged, more formal interactions and don’t have time for the vital relationship and positivity building that normally goes on as part of everyday team life. And many are battling with the added pressure of sharing our spaces with our family members, reduced salaries, and fear for the future.

We know that as human beings, we are social animals and we will never fully replace the energy and excitement of being in the same room as other people. Yes, I think that elements of the virtual experience are definitely here to stay. But it’s just a case of finding the right balance when we are able to meet again. Being together with others can be very energizing and top up the bank account so we are more willing to do some of our work virtually and accept the withdrawal that this will make from the team’s energy account.

But for now, what can we do to deal with the apnoea and the trough many teams are in? How can we re-energize the team to cope with the virtual world? Here are some ideas that might help you out.

Talk About It

Schedule one to one and group discussions where the topic is not the work but the team and the virtual experience. How is everyone feeling? What’s going on? Venting is very powerful. Allow it to happen, so you can have that cathartic cleansing opportunity and start to think about solutions instead of being stuck in the rut.

Agree on Virtual Behaviour

Most teams have not consciously agreed on how they should behave and interact when working virtually. Most teams hadn’t even done this before COVID-19 came along! Have a discussion to agree what’s allowed/not allowed with how you behave and act working virtually. You might find there’s a lot of confusion and misalignment. Get people to weigh in and commit to a behaviour protocol for online meetings that everyone is happy with so that there’s no doubt and confusion about what’s expected.

Schedule Non-Work Time

Replace the passive, incidental opportunities to build relationships, trust and positivity with conscious, scheduled time to do so. This can be 1:1, small groups, and the whole team. Have no work on the agenda – just catch ups. Ask questions of each other like ‘what’s troubling you?’ ‘What do you need help with’? ‘How are things at home?’ Listen. Empathise. Offer support. Create time to make deposits into your energy team’s account.

Socialise & Have Fun

Create opportunities online to have fun together. Play games, do quizzes, whatever works for your team. Don’t overdo it – make it novel rather than routine, but having fun together is important.

Appreciate Each Other

Don’t underestimate the power of appreciation and gratitude. Take a moment to offer your appreciation to each other on things – anything really. It is good to give and to receive. We don’t spend enough time offering appreciation and thanks in teams. It’s especially important now when energy and morale has taken a dip.

Shorten Your Meetings & Take Breaks

Don’t have lengthy virtual meetings. Keep them short – 30 minutes maximum. Studies are showing a drop off in concentration and energy begins at the 30 to 40 minute mark. Make sure you take regular breaks between meetings too. Walk around, get some fresh air and break up your virtual day.

Accept the Virtual Future

We are going to be working virtually for quite a while yet. Don’t live in denial, and accept that this as a truth for your team. This is why it’s really important to make a conscious effort to take control of your team’s future by doing some of the things I have mentioned above. We will come through it. But you are going to have a far better chance of success if you take the lead.