March 13, 2020 was the day most businesses in Michigan sent their staff home.
Michigan's unemployment rate hit 24.0 in April of 2020 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nationwide, unemployment rose by 4.8 million in June.
But for those who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs, they were told to work from home.
Many of us are still working from home.
With employees and managers now apart, trust & communication is crucial now more than ever.
According to medium.com, before the pandemic happened, 48% of businesses did not allow working from home.
Now that most of the America's work force is working from home, we have learned to embrace the situation.
TEC Client Services Manager, Kristy says, "These last several months were a great learning experience that exposed what processes were working and what needed improvement."
Employees and managers have had to take their communication skills to the next level.
"Communication is key just as it is in an in person setting. Whether using phone calls, text, Zoom or Teams it is important to communicate various tasks/projects, absences, breaks, etc." Says TEC's Nicole Goodman.
Our TEC Team has embraced this continued time away from the office and in our new private offices.
Kristy Stacy says, "I think the key is trust in the company and your teammates. We are very lucky to work for a company that truly cares and appreciates it's employees and to work with co-workers that respect & care about each other."
Meanwhile, not all managers have had a trustworthy time.
The Harvard Business Review conducted a study with more than 1200 people in 24 different countries.
That study found that nearly 40% of 215 supervisors & managers expressed low-self confidence in their ability to manage workers remotely.
23% of managers disagreed with Harvard Business Review's statement, 'I am confident I can manage a team of remote workers.'