Microsoft Teams to get new well being features to reduce stress | Canada News Updates

Microsoft Teams to get new well being features to reduce stress | Canada News Updates

Microsoft's key tool in connecting the distributed workforce is its team communications platform. At Microsoft Ignite, the company announced a series of new features in teams to reduce work-from-home stress and improve collaboration regardless of location. 

Social disturbances have brought the pace of adoption of distant work closer to light speed. Microsoft 365's corporate vice president, Jaird Spattro, wrote in a blog post that Microsoft has navigated the equivalent of one year of digital transformation every month until 2020. 

More and more people converted their living rooms, bedrooms and kitchens into their new offices. , The distant works are scattered in two contrasting narratives. 

A crowd happily embraced the change; According to a report by the Grossman Group, 48 percent of employees want to continue working from home after the epidemic. 

Top tech companies including Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft have formulated new policies centered around remote work. But another crowd resented the change. 

Microsoft found that more than 30 percent of the first line and information workers were burning more at work. Remote workers listed a lack of separation between work and life and felt disconnected from their peers as the top cause for burns. 

Despite individual work preferences, almost everyone missed some face-to-face interactions. Gossiping on watercoolers, a walk in the park during lunch, or happy hours after work. 

Even in the individualistic culture of North America, complete isolation can prove harmful. To change the workplace experience of the future, Spattro broke Microsoft's strategy into seven major focuses.

1. Reimagine teamwork culture and social capital digitally.
2. Prioritize individual wellbeing.
3. Help people learn, reinvent and grow with the pace of change.
4. Unlock the data knowledge and expertise of the entire organization.
5. Automate processes and workflows to increase discontinuous innovation.
6. Include everyone in digital transformation.
7. Ensure a trusted, secure, modern experience.

Spatro placed importance for organizations beyond improving technology entirely through advanced technology and focusing on the mental and physical well-being of their workers. 

After all, it is common knowledge that healthy, happy employees are more productive. "Machines don't create value, people do," Spatro said on stage. "And you can't treat people like machines. Up to this point, technology has been focused on efficiency. 

And I think there is a downfall. Sustainable productivity for people is not just about efficiency. People need a cycle of performance, and they need a cycle of recovery.

 “The sense of isolation while working from a distance has lurked before the epidemic, and social distance has increased its spread. Teams have new features to deal with stress, features such as simultaneous viewing that keep all video chat participants in one view rather than in a separate grid box. Later this year, Microsoft is adding more visuals for Simultaneous Mode. 

Additionally, presenters will be able to choose how to best display their content using a custom layout that moves the video stream above the foreground. 

Participants will also be able to brainstorm in the new breakout room feature, which divides participants into smaller, more intimate groups. 

The Microsoft team will get good features and productivity insights powered by MyAnalytics and Workplace Analytics. They analyze an employee's work and communication patterns to better manage their role. 

And because social disturbances can adversely affect mental health, teams will receive an emotional check-in experience and integration with Headspace, a Meditation Guidance app, coming next year. Finally, to reduce the feeling of isolation, teams will make 1: 1 meetings much easier. A new appreciation ceremony lets team members share their appreciation for each other during a project. One of the marquee benefits of working remotely is to eliminate long-term traffic addictions. 

While studies have shown that happiness can be affected by commute length, Microsoft says it can increase productivity. It has been found that self-reflection during a commute can increase productivity by 12–15 percent. To mimic this effect, Microsoft teams will get a virtual commute feature next year. This feature is centered around providing a structured start and window before and after the workday.