Encouraging Employee Connection and Well-Being in a Virtual Workspace

Background: When the University of Florida Health Science Center Libraries (UF HSCL) closed our physical space to address the global pandemic in March 2020, library employees struggled to connect while physically isolated and interacting strictly virtually. While the virtual workspace quickly became very robust and efficient under these unusual circumstances, employees experienced difficulties and disconnect, as noted in meetings and through anonymous surveys. Administration and the Wellness Team at UF HSCL found innovative ways to encourage communication and build camaraderie among library employees. Consistent messaging, games, and collaborative efforts helped employees feel less alone while working in their socially-distant environments.

Description: In order to address employee concerns about their lack of connection, library administration and the Wellness Team created a variety of communication strategies and team-building activities. Library administration gathered feedback through weekly anonymous surveys to get an updated understanding of how employees were coping with remote work and address suggestions and concerns quickly. A member of library administration sent daily emails to employees, including both work-related information and wellness-related links (covering physical, mental, and intellectual health topics). Employees contributed photos based on various fun prompts (e.g. pets, childhood photos) and library-wide meetings began with games of matching employees to their submitted photos. The Wellness Team solicited suggestions for work-appropriate songs for a communal Library playlist and created a Library cookbook based on recipes submitted by employees.

Conclusion: While email and video-conferencing communication among employees working from home was near constant, library administration considered it important that some of this communication consistently address employee wellness. Anecdotally, some employees expressed appreciation for this kind of messaging or for particular links shared. Encouraging fun discussion and laughter at the beginning of team meetings and sharing favorites in collaborative efforts helped employees connect in new ways in a primarily virtual workspace that they may not have been connecting before while in a physical space. These innovative efforts used the shift in workspace as an opportunity to bring employees closer at a time when they were intentionally distant.