Tips to help your fundraising team find its post-COVID working rhythm

1. Talk to your team

As lockdown restrictions end, more and more people are starting to venture back into the office. After so many months of remote working, habits won’t change overnight. You need to allow for the transition. To give people the time and space they need to adapt to an office-based or hybrid work environment. Don’t impose changes. Create them together. At the end of the day, the only way to find out what your team needs is to ask them. Make time and space for people to talk about their fears, challenges and anxieties and to co-create solutions that take their needs into account.

2. Keep on counting outputs, not hours

When you work in an office you have a very defined structure and routine. Whether you’re typing furiously or taking a break on Facebook, you’re at your desk from 9-5 and that’s what counts. At home, or when you are hybrid working, it is very easy to feel guilty about taking time to put on the laundry or walk the dog. The key here is to count outputs, not hours. Is the work getting done? Yes. Then congratulate yourself and your team and trust them to work in their own way.

3. Don’t glamourise overworking

Have you ever bragged about the extra hours you’ve worked? I know I have. But looking back on it, I’m not sure why. If we keep on glamourising excessive hours, we set them as a standard, something to be achieved and to be proud of. No longer the extra mile, overworking becomes the norm. It’s time to change the narrative. To promote a positive work-life balance and celebrate logging-off just as much as logging-on.

4. Create positive working spaces

Let’s say the average fundraiser works an eight-hour day (see above, if you’re doing more!). That’s a 40 hour week, and somewhere in the region of 1,920 working hours a year. That’s a long time to spend anywhere - particularly in a workspace or office environment that isn’t designed for it. Whether it’s an office, spare room or kitchen table you need to create a ‘work zone’ that works and that has the light, space and resources you and your team need to be productive.

5. Take a break from Zoom and the traditional meeting room

Did you know it’s possible to have a meeting that doesn’t involve a video call or a meeting room? True story. Next time you have a one-to-one, put on a jacket and make nature your venue. Whether it’s face-to-face or over the phone, the change of scene and a breath of fresh air will help get the blood pumping, the conversation going, and the ideas flowing. 

6. Create time to just ‘be’

Hands up if you missed a bit of office banter during lockdown? The arguments about who’s using whose cup, bartering over kitchen duty, and having a chat by the coffee machine. It might seem like time wasted, but ‘brain breaks’ are a great way to help clear, refresh and regenerate your mind. So make some time with your team to just ‘be’. To talk about whatever. To play a few games or quizzes. It doesn’t have to take a lot of preparation. Just enough to get people talking.

7. Wind down your working day*

The end of the day is nigh. Before you sign-off, take a couple of minutes to recognise something that’s gone well, maybe thank a colleague for a piece of work, or write a few words of encouragement to someone who may be struggling. ‘The idea is to find something positive that makes you feel good about your job and make sure that moment is the last thing on your mind before walking out the door.’ Then shut down your computer and turn off the work notifications on your phone. Transitional activities can also help people switch between work and non-working gears. So why not take 10-15 minutes to play with your kids, listen to some music or a podcast? It will help you leave your working day behind, exactly where it belongs!

8. Do not disturb*

Who knew silence could be so noisy? Whether it’s the news, your phone, email, social media, messenger or WhatsApp, there are a million ways to be digitally distracted.  Being constantly on call can affect your ability to relax and recharge. At its worst, it can even affect your presence with others and disrupt your sleeping patterns. It’s okay to say ‘stop’. So don’t be afraid to use the ‘Do Not Disturb’ setting on your phone, try to avoid push notifications and only check your emails during the working day…

But that’s just the start…

When it comes to mental health and workplace wellbeing, there is no quick fix. So much of what needs to be done goes beyond the individual or line manager. It is about creating an organisational culture that recognises and respects the mental health needs of its team, and that integrates practical solutions at every level – setting an example at the top and embedding systems and processes that have been developed from the bottom, up. To do this, it is important to create genuine safe spaces where people and groups can share their experiences and talk openly (and anonymously) about their thoughts and feelings, and any other issues that might be affecting them at home. It might not always be easy to hear, but it is important to listen. Because acknowledging the challenges you and your team face is the only way to start addressing them. To create a culture that promotes positive mental health, normalises the conversation, and gives people the space and confidence to speak out and ask for help when they need it.

*Inspired by Mair Dyer, Strategic Partnership Manage, Macmillan Cancer Support 


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