3 things managers can do to keep employees calm, cool, and connected while working remotely during times of crisis

In times of crisis, clarity provides continuity. That's why Cochran and Gascoigne try to make what's happening on the management level visible to employees.

Doing so also encourages workers to be transparent about what struggles they're facing and how leaders can support them. This especially helps when employees are on edge given economic instability and fears of illness amid the pandemic.

"People have to be willing to be very proactive and upfront with where they're at and what they need, and then have a very deep sense of integrity in everything that we do — that we're looking to do the right thing," Cochran said.

Similarly, Buffer makes much of their information front-facing, helping keep clients and the public in the loop as well.

"So we set down transparency as one of our core values very early, and we actually phrased it as 'default to transparency,' which forced us to really aim to make everything transparent unless there's a very good reason otherwise" Gascoigne said.

Treating your employees as people first is always important, but it is especially so when they're balancing a more difficult work-from-home situation. Not only may they be unaccustomed to being out of office, but they also might be working with kids running around, taking care of loved ones, or preparing for unexpected circumstances.

Fostering trust and connectivity through virtual happy hours and celebrations can help ease tension and keep employees happy amid these unprecedented times. Both Buffer and FlexJobs have video gatherings and messaging groups dedicated to building connection with nonwork activities — from birthdays to cocktails.

"We've also done virtual pizza parties to celebrate achievements on teams where we will arrange to have pizzas delivered to everybody's house within a time frame so that they can all enjoy their pizza together on a Zoom meeting," Cochran added.

This is also crucial when onboarding new team members. At Buffer, Gascoigne encourages a buddy system to get people to ingratiate themselves in the company culture. New hires have a "role buddy" on their team to learn the ropes and a "culture buddy" who's not on their team to see how the company works as one.

"That's already creating that bond with other areas, and that person is specifically tasked with helping with all the questions, and just helping that person to understand some of the unique elements of how the culture works in practice within the company," he said.