A top PwC exec shares how companies can maintain the well-being of workers in a remote setting, and what the future has in store for the virtual workforce

• During a particularly stressful time, like the novel coronavirus pandemic, it's important that leaders develop new methods for checking in on their employees.
• Michael Fenlon, chief people officer at PwC, a global professional services firm, told Business Insider he uses a number of strategies, including virtual town halls, to see how his workforce is feeling.
• By providing a space for employees to talk, leaders can identify gaps and access their employee's well-being, Fenlon said.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As social distancing becomes the new normal, leaders should regularly check in on how isolated employees are feeling.

That's according to Michael Fenlon, chief people officer at professional services firm PwC, which has 55,000 employees in the US alone. He told Business Insider that providing workers a safe space to discuss how they're feeling can offer insight into their well-being.

"We need to be listening, and be very connected to understand what our people need and how we can best support them," he said.

Today, more employees than ever before are adjusting to life in social isolation. Long periods of isolation can be damaging. Experts say being separated from others can drive feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression.

This is why some employers are adding new mental health benefits to help employees cope. PwC, for example, introduced well-being coaching sessions where employees can reach out to a professional coach to discuss anything that may be causing them stress.

At PwC, Fenlon uses virtual town halls, "Feedback Fridays," and activities such as sharing work-from-home photos to ease anxiety and give employees the tools necessary to be successful, even during times of stress.

Fenlon recently spoke with Caroline Hroncich, an associate editor at Business Insider, about mental health benefits in the workplace, improving the well being of employees in a remote setting, and the future of a virtual workforce.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Customized mental health support is key

Hroncich: How do you support your employees' mental health?

Fenlon: One longstanding priority is something we call "Be Well, Work Well," which includes physical, emotional, spiritual well-being. It includes mental well-being and mental health as well. That's not new. We've been working in this area for years now and it's been a top priority for our firm.

We're really trying to customize the support we provide. [We have] a large in-house executive coaching group in our firm. They are now providing one-on-one coaching sessions on well-being. In sessions they cover everything from dealing with stress and anxiety to "I can't focus or concentrate," and "how do I work effectively in an all-remote [environment.]" If you need another type of support, let's say more formal therapy or some sort of treatment, that will also then be delivered virtually.

We also have something called "citizen-led virtual communities" [online communities where employees can come together and discuss how they're feeling.] We're running a session on managing the stress of having young children at home and homeschooling issues. This is an opportunity for parents to come together and share ideas.

Hroncich: Why is it important for companies to invest in mental health benefits right now?

Fenlon: Well, it's extraordinarily important, and maybe these things maybe should seem obvious, but I think maybe just to state it clearly, this is a moment where we've got to invest to live our values. I think most companies have values that relate to caring, to people first, if you will, and investing not only in the health and safety of people but in the well-being of their people. We want to enable our people to be at their best. And this is a period of time where obviously we're all feeling a high level of uncertainty.

Soliciting feedback from employees is crucial for understanding how they feel

Caroline Hroncich: How has the coronavirus pandemic altered work for your employees?

Michael Fenlon: Some of our people live alone by themselves. Maybe that can engender a sense of isolation and loneliness that we're certainly not accustomed to because we've never worked full time in social distancing. Others may live in crowded apartments with roommates and others that they may enjoy spending time with, but now it's kind of 24/7. So that creates a set of challenges.

Many of us are now in circumstances, not of our own choosing, where we're juggling many different demands: health and safety for ourselves and our family; young kids now at home who have homeschooling agendas and they need help; toddlers coming in the middle of a conference call.

[At Pwc,] we've done something where we've asked our people across the firm to share pictures of their new [workspace] and we call it their "why" and their "how." Some folks are sending in photographs of working at their desk. Maybe their dog is on their lap, maybe their kids are on their lap. All sorts of pictures of different arrangements that make it real.

The first step is just acknowledging the situation and making it okay to recognize that we're all going to be juggling a lot right now and we shouldn't make assumptions.

Hroncich: How do you assess how your employees are feeling during the pandemic?

Fenlon: We have something called "Feedback Fridays." Each Friday we post a few questions that go to everyone and we get feedback that way. But this pandemic is a time, obviously, where we have an increased need for communication. Right now, every single Wednesday we are doing a town hall with all of our partners and we do a town hall with all of our people in our firm. We have segments on mental health and well-being, how we can support each other, and how to work virtually.

It's also a time for people to submit questions and to let us know and what's top of mind for them. Some of those questions we're able to address in real-time. We also created a site, a COVID-19 site, that's a one-stop-shop on our internal site for our people. It's loaded with FAQ information links.

The coronavirus pandemic is an 'unprecedented experiment' of virtual work for employees and leaders

Hroncich: What kind of advice would you give to people leaders who are managing remote teams during the pandemic?

Fenlon: This is a time for clarity and decisiveness overall. And it's got to start with tone at the top. There's absolutely no substitute for direct communication at this time from CEOs and other organizational leaders. This is a time for visibility, and it's a time for authenticity. What do I mean by that? Being open, that all of us are going through this together and that we're all going to be having feelings of fear or anxiety or concern. That's normal.

That's to be expected in this abnormal situation that we're all going through. It's a time when we have to communicate clarity and direction and operate from a position of values and what we stand for. At the same time, be listening and very connected to understand what our people need and how we can best support them. Whether that's [through] new benefits or other kinds of resources that people need to work effectively in a 100% remote work from home environment.

Hroncich: What are some of the things people and HR leaders are going to learn from this experience?

Fenlon: I think overall it's in some respects an unprecedented experiment of working virtually. I don't think there will be a return to what was before. I think a lot of us are learning a lot.

And we're going to apply some of these lessons now going forward. I think there will be even greater openness to virtual work arrangements, a recognition that teams can operate effectively virtually.

If companies had not recognized the importance of supporting employees through mental health benefits, it has be crystal clear now how important those are. Not just to their personal well-being, but to the ability of any workforce to really intervene to the fullest, be at their best, and to feel a deep sense of commitment as well.