‘Remotely connected? — Reflections on delivering a Psychologically Informed Environment (PIE) when you are not physically present…’
07.08.2020: After a lovely few days annual leave to go camping in our vintage VW campervan with friends, I returned to work this week as the Lead for Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE) for the UK national homeless charity Centrepoint. However, if I am honest it was hard to return to working remotely this week (and not just because of coming back from annual leave or the ongoing building work and childcare responsibilities at home!). Rather, it was because of the challenges of trying to continue to fulfil my role as a Psychologist when it has been months since I have actually been present in a room with another person whom I am helping, rather than speaking with them via a video screen or a telephone. Consequently, I have been reflecting this week about remote working, the challenges of continuing to deliver a PIE in these circumstances, and how to adjust to this ‘new normal’ at least for the time being.
Of course working remotely is a major luxury, and being able to #StayAtHome to work during a global pandemic, with the technology to deliver psychological input remotely has not been the experience of many of our amazing ‘frontline’ staff, not just in the National Health Service (NHS) but also in our Centrepoint Supported Accommodation Services for homeless young people. I have been extremely grateful for my ability to continue to work at home, and been in awe of the way that many of our Support and Housing staff have risked their lives throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to come into work to continue to ensure that all our accommodation services, without exception, have remained open these past few months. Had I not left the NHS last year, after 20 years’ service, I know that my experience of the past few months would have been a very different, anxiety provoking and challenging one from my recent reality.
However, remote working whilst having some advantages is also not without its own particular challenges. Consequently, as there appears to be little end in sight or a return to working outside the home for many of us anytime soon, these issues need to be considered within organisations in the future, as remote working has become the likely ongoing reality for a significant proportion of the UK workforce. Previous psychological research has demonstrated many benefits to remote working (e.g. Lewis & Cooper, 2005; Twentyman, 2010; Madsen, 2011; Noonan & Glass, 2012; Wheatley, 2012; Grant et al, 2013; Allen et al, 2015; Gajendran & Golden, 2019). These include being a way for organisations to offer flexibility, increase staff autonomy, reduce staff attrition, costs, travel/commuting time and staff burnout whilst improving productivity and staff satisfaction. However, other research has indicated that there are also negative effects (e.g. (e.g. Hartiget et al, 2007; Allvinet et al, 2011; Allen et al, 2005; Grant et al, 2013; Eddleston et al, 2017). For example, struggling to maintain work-home boundaries, a reduction in free time outside work, an increase in family conflict due to intrusions on family life or caring responsibilities, impacts on physical and mental health, and social and professional isolation because there are fewer opportunities for spontaneous information sharing and collaboration between work colleagues.
Interestingly, Gajendran & Harrison (2007) in their meta-analysis of research on remote working noted that many of the negative impacts manifest once staff worked remotely three or more days a week, which of course has become the norm in recent months since COVID-19. Prior to lock-down, I often worked at home on a Friday, and this was a very positive and productive end to my working week. However, on reflection this was because I had benefited from the experience of being able to connect in person with others within Centrepoint’s Head Office, or within our supported accommodation services the other four days a week. Building and maintaining relationships remotely is known to more difficult (Grant et al, 2013), and is an argument for at least some return to face to face working in the future. Of course, this may need to be a rota attendance system rather than a full week, which fits with the likely ongoing UK government guidance about physical or social distancing in office or workspaces.
Fortunately, as argued by O’Leary et al (2014); ‘geographic distance is not destiny’. Their research noted that good communication (as per a PIE) and a strong, shared group identity within teams could mediate the effects of physical separation. The importance of building and maintaining high quality relationships (also as per a PIE) was shown to be linked to ‘perceived proximity’ regardless of any actual ‘physical proximity’. Teams having the opportunity to come together, even remotely, and sharing safe personal information (e.g. favourite TV show or food) can build stronger connections and trust. Importantly Grant et al (2013) note that remote workers should not be allowed to become “invisible workers”, so regular communication not just about work matters but also psychological issues such as over-work, home and work boundaries, and stress levels is important support to offer (and critically is also a PIE approach), especially at the moment.
Another issue for remote working is the importance of an individual creating an optimal, physical workspace, which is safeguarded as a ‘work’ not a ‘personal’ space. This has been particularly challenging during the COVID-19 lock-down in our house due to our ongoing building work and loss of kitchen space, coupled with the need to create appropriate spaces for my husband to work and my children to complete their home learning. At times, to ensure my space is ‘confidential’ (an ethical prerequisite for any psychological work I have been undertaking (c.f. British Psychological Society Guidance on remote working: https://www.bps.org.uk/sites/www.bps.org.uk/files/Policy/Policy%20-%20Files/Effective%20therapy%20via%20video%20-%20top%20tips.pdf), I have had the unusual experience of feeling somewhat ‘homeless’ within my own home, grabbing whatever free space or room can be private at that time. This has been one of the most difficult aspects of remote working for me personally, and had I not taken up some light yoga or physical exercise each morning during lock-down, might have resulted in me developing more significant physical health issues (e.g. lower back pain) as well as significantly increasing my stress levels!
Another challenge has been my own focus, although this has improved significantly since the ‘stop-start’ nature of working remotely whilst trying to home school my children has passed now as it is finally the summer holidays! I have had to be more realistic about the deadlines and expectations I have set for myself, as well as for the PIE Team as a whole. I have also found it important to try and focus on one task at a time, rather than constantly ‘juggling’ multiple tasks, which can be overwhelming and lead to a sense of never quite getting anything done! It has however been a positive experience to be autonomous and to manage my own workload and time, more so than normal whilst I have been working remotely, although I can imagine that some individuals can struggle with their time management and prioritisation of tasks if they are not used to it.
Key has also been to try to optimise my interaction and communication with others, albeit mostly remotely but even occasionally in person at a physical or social distance. However, this lack of personal contact has been the most challenging aspect for me personally as a Psychologist, for as I noted above, I am far more used to being physically present in a room with another person rather than staring at often only the top half of them through a screen! Psychologists are encouraged to ‘read a room’, and to pay particular attention to the non-verbal cues from body language as well as the verbal cues (i.e. what is actually said) when interacting with another individual. In normal circumstances, sometimes I can almost ‘feel’ the dynamic in a room change when someone is speaking, which of course doesn’t occur when you are having a session via a video screen or a telephone. Issues which of course are heightened when technology does not work perfectly or connections are ‘unstable’ or do not work, and/or software does not allow you to actually ‘see’ everyone present in the discussion.
Consequently, running reflective spaces for our ‘frontline’ staff, which can often involve discussing sensitive or distressing information about the homeless young people that they are working with or their own responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been a particular challenge in this context. Having run such similar spaces in person for many years, I have almost had to ‘re-learn’ how to facilitate them in these new remote conditions, and I am conscious, as are the other members of the PIE Team, that in this format they can feel more ‘clunky’ or less satisfying or useful for participants. I want to be present with the staff, and be more than a ‘talking head’, so that I can truly hear their experiences and communicate my empathy and understanding, and work with them to process difficult emotions or offer a sense of containment, which is so much harder when it is ‘just words’ on a screen.
Although a reflective space remotely is arguably better than none at all at the moment, I am also aware that for many of the staff in our organisation this might be their first experience of a reflective space, and of course the professional in me wants this space to be the best it can be for those taking the time out of their busy working day to attend. Consequently, whilst I am pleased that we as a PIE Team have been able to offer all our teams the option of remote reflective spaces, I am also aware that not all staff or teams have felt able to engage in these to date. I am therefore hopeful that once we can return to some face-to-face working, these reflective spaces will develop in their frequency and usefulness for our staff.
Similarly, whilst the PIE Team have had to suspend our face-to-face PIE training for the time being, we have tried to deliver some training remotely (e.g. Bereavement Awareness). Again, this remote PIE training offer has posed challenges in its delivery. As a Psychologist, I know that learning is best achieved interactively, and with engagement from participants with plenty of space to reflect upon topics and practice new skills. However, whilst remote working, training sessions are often more didactic, shorter (because of the increased levels of concentration required for video learning), and less engaging even when spaces for reflection are included. Again, this is less than satisfying for me personally as a Psychologist and it has required a ‘re-learning’ of and/or reflection upon some of my previously taken for granted skills in training others.
However, one notable positive for remote training and reflective practice has been the opportunity for a larger and more geographically diverse group of staff to attend from across our national charity. Moreover, providing the technology works and is accessible, it is arguably more inclusive (e.g. staff have been able to attend who perhaps were not in the office or on shift at that time, such as night staff). Consequently, this has lead our team to start considering whether a ‘hybrid’ remote and ‘in-person’ model of PIE delivery would be useful in the future.
Moreover, as a Psychologist, I remain mindful of the importance of my own mental state and self-care when working remotely and I have found the tips from the Mental Health Foundation (c.f. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/looking-after-your-mental-health-during-coronavirus-outbreak-while-working) and seeking support when needed helpful in this regard. It can be especially hard to keep a positive mind set around our work, when we are not connecting in a physical space with our work colleagues. For example, it is easy to forget those passing comments that reinforce a ‘job well done’ or offer support or help when we are finding things challenging that occur when you are physically occupying a space with another person. It is also harder to remember to take annual leave and regular breaks when you are working at home, but as last week reminded me, they can be very valuable and refreshing and ensure we maintain some work-life balance. I particularly appreciated finally being able to travel outside of London to visit green spaces and countryside (as did my dog and children!), also reminding me of the healing power of nature.
Finally, there is a famous quote by the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, who supposedly stated that; “The only thing that is constant is change”, which reminds me that life is continually changing and evolving. Just when I thought I knew what this year held both personally, and professionally with the delivery of the PIE within Centrepoint, COVID-19 has turned everything upside down! I have had to adapt my psychological practice quickly, and I am aware that I probably have not got everything ‘right’ or delivered how I might have wanted it to be in an ‘ideal world’. Remote working has been just one part of our ongoing PIE journey in Centrepoint, and I am therefore trying to focus on the beneficial aspects and accept the limitations for now. Positive psychology approaches (e.g. Seligman, 2006) note that the end of something positive might not only be negative but can also create space for something else positive to develop in the future. This helps us retain an optimistic outlook and allows us to see the potential for the future. Therefore as I reflect this week for this blog, I am left wondering what the next few months of PIE in Centrepoint might bring? However, I am hopeful that whilst some doors are closed for now, other doors may open and our PIE Team will continue to adapt our psychological offer, in order to deliver PIE informed benefits for Centrepoint staff and young people whenever and wherever we can…
