A 2015 survey of Fortune 1000 companies found that nearly two-thirds of employees were dissatisfied with performance reviews, didn’t think they were relevant to their jobs – or both. In a separate survey conducted in 2016, a quarter of men and nearly a fifth of women reported crying as a result of a bad review. The figures were even higher for younger workers.
And that was during the much simpler pre-pandemic times, when pretty much all professional workers were in the office daily and could be assessed similarly. Things are trickier today, as some employees work entirely from home, others come to the office and still others split their time between the two. Almost 75% of U.S. companies are adopting a hybrid model, with 55% of employees saying they want to work remotely at least three days a week.
I am a professor of industrial-organizational psychology, a field that conducts scientific studies to better understand the workplace. Here are three challenges that I believe employers and their employees will face and ways to overcome them.
1. Familiarity gap
One of the biggest challenges involves the difficulty of creating a connection with your boss.
Employees who share the same physical space as their managers will have more opportunities to interact with them on a regular basis than those working remotely. This gives officegoers a leg up over peers who work remotely most or all the time.
For example, Matt comes to the office five days a week. Jake, who does the same job, makes it in only on Wednesdays. Over time, their mutual supervisor, Jill, will naturally become more familiar with Matt than she is with Jake, as Matt is available to join her for lunch, engage in a quick chat in her office or say “hi” as they pass in the hall.
The best way to even the playing field is by making it easier for workers to interact with their bosses when they’re working remotely. Employers can do this by scheduling short but frequent check-ins with remote workers throughout the day or providing virtual office hours when managers are available.
Another strategy is creating always-on chatrooms that all workers can use to communicate with supervisors in a similar way. To encourage more social interactions, companies can bring back the Zoom happy hours that became popular during the pandemic – though ideally in a way that make them more fulfilling.
2. Fewer observations
I teach my students that the most accurate performance ratings are obtained when reviews are based on observable behaviors rather than subjective evaluations of traits.
This is because while it is possible to define and standardize behaviors and to train raters on how to observe and rate them, traits are inherently subjective.
Take the trait “creativity.” How do you define creativity? How would you rate it, for example on a scale from “below expectations” to “exceeds expectations?”
Now imagine converting that into a behavior, such as “generates practical ideas in novel situations.” That’s something that could be reasonably and objectively assessed on a scale of never to frequently.
The problem is that observing behaviors is difficult if not impossible when employees are working remotely. One way to address this is for employers to adopt a results-based system, in which employees are evaluated based on productivity metrics such as client satisfaction, sales volume or number of units produced – criteria designed to fit the position.
Shifting the focus of performance appraisal from behaviors to results for all employees ensures that managers do not have to worry about being unable to observe their direct reports on the job. And employees get the flexibility to decide how they will complete their assigned tasks by being held accountable only for the end result. Thus, all workers are held to the same standards.
One other option that can help rate workers evenly is by applying tracking technology – though this can be controversial and problematic, for example by eroding employee privacy and creating more stress. In general, these systems track how remote workers are spending their time on their computers and phones.
But it’s vital to implement these systems right – for example, by being extremely transparent regarding what is being tracked and what data is being collected. When done right, tracking can be a useful way to more fairly evaluate certain types of employees, such as customer service reps or administrative assistants.
3. One review to rule them all
Alas, performance reviews based on results may not work for every job.
For example, evaluating a teacher based solely on student test scores may be problematic, since scores are also influenced by environmental factors such as poverty or a lack of family support. Similarly, an employee responsible for long-term strategic planning cannot immediately be evaluated based on results since it is impossible to know whether the plan will succeed before it is implemented.
The key thing here is to use only one type of review system for all employees. Evaluating employees by different standards may create fairness and even legal concerns if doing so might lead to different outcomes for groups explicitly protected from discrimination by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It is illegal to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.
Since the evaluation helps determine who gets a raise or promotion and who might be fired, it is a particularly sensitive document. For example, imagine that a group of employees using one type of review gets more promotions than another batch that follows a different system – and that also happens to include a higher proportion of racial minorities. The organization may then face a discrimination lawsuit in which it may be required to prove that the two evaluations are equivalent.
At the end of the day, an employer should use a type of evaluation that can effectively measure any employee’s performance. If judging on results doesn’t work, an organization could try a behavior-based system but revise it so that it doesn’t favor employees working in the office. Another system is competencies reviews, the most popular type, which assess employees on competencies such as attention to detail, timeliness and quality of work.
Performance reviews will always be a drag for many workers – however vital they are to an organization’s success. By their nature, they can be excruciating, and not everyone can get a raise or promotion. But at least the reviews should be fair and not put anyone – such as those working primarily from home – at a disadvantage.
Yalcin Acikgoz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
Remote work is here to stay—whether bosses like it or not. Forty-five percent of full-time U.S. employees work from home, with 25% always working from home and 20% working from home at least part of the time, according to Gallup polling data from September 2021.
Kazoo compiled information about how companies are working to strengthen office culture and interpersonal connections in virtual workplaces since the rise of remote work during the pandemic. The information comes from a diverse range of sources including experts, surveys, and news reports.
While some employees prefer working in the office, others—including the majority of parents and Black workers—prefer working from the comfort of their own homes. A 2021 Remote Work Report found that if remote work was suddenly no longer an option, a third of respondents would leave their job—either by finding a new role or retiring.
While many remote workers tout the benefits of no commute, more flexibility for family and personal time, and the convenience of doing a load of laundry during the day, building meaningful connections with colleagues is far more difficult when you don’t share the same physical space. There are digital alternatives that leaders across industries are experimenting with to inspire culture-building and collaboration, from coffee breaks to happy hours. Some virtual experiments have worked well, and some just can’t hold a candle to in-person interactions.
Andrey_Popov // Shutterstock
Remote work is here to stay—whether bosses like it or not. Forty-five percent of full-time U.S. employees work from home, with 25% always working from home and 20% working from home at least part of the time, according to Gallup polling data from September 2021.
Kazoo compiled information about how companies are working to strengthen office culture and interpersonal connections in virtual workplaces since the rise of remote work during the pandemic. The information comes from a diverse range of sources including experts, surveys, and news reports.
While some employees prefer working in the office, others—including the majority of parents and Black workers—prefer working from the comfort of their own homes. A 2021 Remote Work Report found that if remote work was suddenly no longer an option, a third of respondents would leave their job—either by finding a new role or retiring.
While many remote workers tout the benefits of no commute, more flexibility for family and personal time, and the convenience of doing a load of laundry during the day, building meaningful connections with colleagues is far more difficult when you don’t share the same physical space. There are digital alternatives that leaders across industries are experimenting with to inspire culture-building and collaboration, from coffee breaks to happy hours. Some virtual experiments have worked well, and some just can’t hold a candle to in-person interactions.
Virtual coffee breaks are a way to refresh the brain during a long meeting or at a virtual conference to break things up. These breaks also allow people to engage in less work-centric conversations or brainstorming sessions. While hot drinks are optional, these 15- to 30-minute informal conversations have been implemented by a third of companies surveyed by GitLab as a way to foster community during hybrid or remote work.
Using video conferencing software, participants might engage in a one-on-one, getting-to-know-you chat, or they might be themed around an organized activity such as trivia, a chair workout, or a meditation session. Virtual coffee chats seek to replace the informal break room banter and help colleagues get to know each other better in a more relaxed setting. They can also be used to increase energy and allow people to decompress between meetings the way they might if they were physically running into coworkers in the office.
Dexiao Productions // Shutterstock
Virtual coffee breaks are a way to refresh the brain during a long meeting or at a virtual conference to break things up. These breaks also allow people to engage in less work-centric conversations or brainstorming sessions. While hot drinks are optional, these 15- to 30-minute informal conversations have been implemented by a third of companies surveyed by GitLab as a way to foster community during hybrid or remote work.
Using video conferencing software, participants might engage in a one-on-one, getting-to-know-you chat, or they might be themed around an organized activity such as trivia, a chair workout, or a meditation session. Virtual coffee chats seek to replace the informal break room banter and help colleagues get to know each other better in a more relaxed setting. They can also be used to increase energy and allow people to decompress between meetings the way they might if they were physically running into coworkers in the office.
Remote lunch-and-learns are a great way to refresh knowledge and skills while showcasing an individual's expertise. At each regularly scheduled lunch-and-learn, a different team member prepares a presentation to teach their colleagues a new skill, dive deep into a challenge they faced and how they solved it, or introduce a new concept or way of working. Lunch-and-learns are a good way to hand the floor to a colleague who doesn’t usually run meetings but has something valuable to share.
While it was easy to cater for in-person lunch-and-learns, the nature of remote work makes the food portion of the event a bit trickier to handle. Some companies reimburse attendees and others use services like GrubHub to deliver food.
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
Remote lunch-and-learns are a great way to refresh knowledge and skills while showcasing an individual's expertise. At each regularly scheduled lunch-and-learn, a different team member prepares a presentation to teach their colleagues a new skill, dive deep into a challenge they faced and how they solved it, or introduce a new concept or way of working. Lunch-and-learns are a good way to hand the floor to a colleague who doesn’t usually run meetings but has something valuable to share.
While it was easy to cater for in-person lunch-and-learns, the nature of remote work makes the food portion of the event a bit trickier to handle. Some companies reimburse attendees and others use services like GrubHub to deliver food.
Informal interactions help colleagues build trust and bond as a team: In-person workers run into each other and often share ideas and problems naturally and spontaneously. In a virtual work environment, it’s counterintuitive but important to schedule unstructured time into meeting agendas.
Setting aside the last 10 minutes of a meeting for attendees to talk about whatever’s on their mind in whole-group or break-out sessions is one way to share ideas. Scheduling office hours or an open-door policy where leaders invite their reports to make video calls the norm among the team can also help keep teams collaborating rather than working in silos.
fizkes // Shutterstock
Informal interactions help colleagues build trust and bond as a team: In-person workers run into each other and often share ideas and problems naturally and spontaneously. In a virtual work environment, it’s counterintuitive but important to schedule unstructured time into meeting agendas.
Setting aside the last 10 minutes of a meeting for attendees to talk about whatever’s on their mind in whole-group or break-out sessions is one way to share ideas. Scheduling office hours or an open-door policy where leaders invite their reports to make video calls the norm among the team can also help keep teams collaborating rather than working in silos.
Game nights took off during the pandemic with companies like Kahoot, JackBox, and Heads Up! upping their virtual offerings. While an after-hours Zoom trivia session with friends can be energizing, forced after-work socializing is not a perk: Many workers feel forced into attending.
If a work virtual game night is scheduled, it should be truly voluntary where team members don’t feel social pressure to join if they need a break from their screens. Alternatives include embedding brain breaks and trivia questions into meetings. Building connections with colleagues should happen on the clock; sometimes the best way to build connections is to give employees their time back so they’re refreshed for the next day.
Tryzkropy // Shutterstock
Game nights took off during the pandemic with companies like Kahoot, JackBox, and Heads Up! upping their virtual offerings. While an after-hours Zoom trivia session with friends can be energizing, forced after-work socializing is not a perk: Many workers feel forced into attending.
If a work virtual game night is scheduled, it should be truly voluntary where team members don’t feel social pressure to join if they need a break from their screens. Alternatives include embedding brain breaks and trivia questions into meetings. Building connections with colleagues should happen on the clock; sometimes the best way to build connections is to give employees their time back so they’re refreshed for the next day.
It’s not uncommon for empathetic and highly sensitive people to be told to toughen up in the workplace. Sensitive people can often predict toxic culture, impossibly high workloads, and bad management decisions before many of their colleagues.
By empowering (rather than silencing) employees who report sexism, racism, or other issues at the workplace, managers can appropriately deal with issues before they become endemic in the organization. A toxic culture “alarm” does not need to be an abrupt alarm at all: Providing an outlet for office culture feedback can help to mitigate workplace inequity.
Paying extra attention to the needs of the most vulnerable colleagues—including employees of color, working mothers, and those with disabilities—makes the workplace more welcoming for everyone. “Designing for the margin” means focusing on those who are most likely to face obstacles at work and making sure policies are written to help them succeed.
fizkes // Shutterstock
It’s not uncommon for empathetic and highly sensitive people to be told to toughen up in the workplace. Sensitive people can often predict toxic culture, impossibly high workloads, and bad management decisions before many of their colleagues.
By empowering (rather than silencing) employees who report sexism, racism, or other issues at the workplace, managers can appropriately deal with issues before they become endemic in the organization. A toxic culture “alarm” does not need to be an abrupt alarm at all: Providing an outlet for office culture feedback can help to mitigate workplace inequity.
Paying extra attention to the needs of the most vulnerable colleagues—including employees of color, working mothers, and those with disabilities—makes the workplace more welcoming for everyone. “Designing for the margin” means focusing on those who are most likely to face obstacles at work and making sure policies are written to help them succeed.
Employees are generally happier and stay with a company longer when they trust leadership and feel that decision-making is transparent. The Remote Work Report from GitLab found 34% of respondents reported leadership transparency leads to connectedness in the workplace. Similarly, 38% said that increased visibility into an organization improved feelings of connection.
Understanding how all the moving pieces fit together helps people grasp the impact of their work on the company and even the greater public. Providing staff with regular updates from each department along with any new company-wide developments can seriously improve leadership transparency.
Prostock-studio // Shutterstock
Employees are generally happier and stay with a company longer when they trust leadership and feel that decision-making is transparent. The Remote Work Report from GitLab found 34% of respondents reported leadership transparency leads to connectedness in the workplace. Similarly, 38% said that increased visibility into an organization improved feelings of connection.
Understanding how all the moving pieces fit together helps people grasp the impact of their work on the company and even the greater public. Providing staff with regular updates from each department along with any new company-wide developments can seriously improve leadership transparency.
Digital lobbies are social gathering places for people to virtually network, build connections, and hear announcements from leaders. Functioning as virtual meeting places where company culture is felt and practiced, some digital lobby platforms help remote workforces align and connect; others allow for workflow or status updates, or can integrate with Slack to promote water-cooler talk.
Workers who feel like they really know their colleagues are more likely to stay at a job and report that their work feels less transactional. Virtual lobbies can be like a social network for coworkers who can pop in to ask questions, congratulate one another, and post announcements.
Nattakorn_Maneerat // Shutterstock
Digital lobbies are social gathering places for people to virtually network, build connections, and hear announcements from leaders. Functioning as virtual meeting places where company culture is felt and practiced, some digital lobby platforms help remote workforces align and connect; others allow for workflow or status updates, or can integrate with Slack to promote water-cooler talk.
Workers who feel like they really know their colleagues are more likely to stay at a job and report that their work feels less transactional. Virtual lobbies can be like a social network for coworkers who can pop in to ask questions, congratulate one another, and post announcements.
Cross-team projects shake up people’s usual ways of working and get them out of their comfort zones. When working with a new group, collaborators need to learn each members’ working style and communication style. New ideas are often born when people from different backgrounds or areas of expertise brainstorm together.
Successful cross-team collaborations require well-communicated group goals and milestones to keep everyone on track and on budget. Since remote work can encourage social loafing, it’s important for each team member to have individual metrics as well as team goals.
REDPIXEL.PL // Shutterstock
Cross-team projects shake up people’s usual ways of working and get them out of their comfort zones. When working with a new group, collaborators need to learn each members’ working style and communication style. New ideas are often born when people from different backgrounds or areas of expertise brainstorm together.
Successful cross-team collaborations require well-communicated group goals and milestones to keep everyone on track and on budget. Since remote work can encourage social loafing, it’s important for each team member to have individual metrics as well as team goals.
Regenerative workplaces seek to give back to employees more than they extract. Think in addition to competitive salaries also folding in individualized perks that capitalize on community. The values of employees who may not stay long-term can have a big impact if they feel connected to the company during their tenure.
Some examples of embracing a regenerative workplace include generous time-off policies so workers can comfortably find a work-life balance, childcare perks, and decision-making and collaborative thinking across every level of the company. Overall, regenerative workplaces think long-term and do not see their workers as expendable. Instead of compartmentalizing roles, a regenerative workplace ties everyone’s contributions to the overall business strategy and goals. Employees know exactly how they contribute to solving clients’ problems and strive to create a better working society.
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
Regenerative workplaces seek to give back to employees more than they extract. Think in addition to competitive salaries also folding in individualized perks that capitalize on community. The values of employees who may not stay long-term can have a big impact if they feel connected to the company during their tenure.
Some examples of embracing a regenerative workplace include generous time-off policies so workers can comfortably find a work-life balance, childcare perks, and decision-making and collaborative thinking across every level of the company. Overall, regenerative workplaces think long-term and do not see their workers as expendable. Instead of compartmentalizing roles, a regenerative workplace ties everyone’s contributions to the overall business strategy and goals. Employees know exactly how they contribute to solving clients’ problems and strive to create a better working society.
Some companies have transitioned to be fully remote while others operate on a hybrid model. While there are plenty of tools for collaborating with colleagues virtually, nothing truly replaces the synergy of physically being present together.
Quarterly or semi-annual in-person summits can build community and help people connect. From one-day meetings to week-long retreats, companies are recognizing the importance of facetime. Some in-person summits focus on fun and team building, while others focus on strategic planning and big-picture thinking.
This story originally appeared on Kazoo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
fizkes // Shutterstock
Some companies have transitioned to be fully remote while others operate on a hybrid model. While there are plenty of tools for collaborating with colleagues virtually, nothing truly replaces the synergy of physically being present together.
Quarterly or semi-annual in-person summits can build community and help people connect. From one-day meetings to week-long retreats, companies are recognizing the importance of facetime. Some in-person summits focus on fun and team building, while others focus on strategic planning and big-picture thinking.
This story originally appeared on Kazoo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.