'Manage up' while working from home

What if there was a better way to deal with the a bad workplace other than quitting a job?

People don’t leave jobs, they leave bad bosses. This aphorism is backed by research, which shows many people leave jobs because of poor management.

But what if there was a better way to deal with the bad workplace other than quitting?

One solution might be to ‘Manage up’ at the workplace — working to maintaining an effective workplace relationship with your boss and other people above you in the organisation.

However, remote working presents several challenges.

First, most managers are not trained to work virtually and have had to learn on the go. Often, these ‘traditional’ managers don’t believe in teleworking and don’t trust that the employees are working all the time.

So ‘managing up’ effectively becomes all the harder.

Strategies

Stay connected: Since you rarely meet your manager during remote working, make it a point to stay on the radar of your boss. Keep them in the loop with everything you do.

It may require a short call every day or an email. Essentially, you have to let your boss and others know what are you working on.

Be transparent: You have to be totally transparent about your work schedule and when you are available. Providing your manager with an idea of what your daily workday looks like, and sharing the meetings and tasks you have scheduled is important.

It is essential that you be available when you say you are going to be available. if you aren’t present when your boss contacts you, then it will just damage the trust and relationship you have.

Responding promptly during work hours is also a good way to strengthen a professional relationship.

Learn when and how often your boss wants to communicate and adapt to it.

Get feedback: Here you should not only get the feedback on the projects but also on how your managers think the work is being done virtually.

You and your managers can discuss things which are going well in the virtual workspace and things that need improvement.

This will help you make the necessary changes and improve your productivity.

Emotional intelligence: Managing up also requires you to have emotional intelligence, as it can help you anticipate and deal with difficult situations. This is quite hard to do in a virtual environment, so learn how to read the non-visual cues in your interactions with your boss.