New requirements for the psychosocial work environment: Why dialogue matters more than ever
Eirin Eriksen Horvei
October 14, 2026
Don't postpone the employee appraisal now – quite the opposite. It is incredibly valuable to check how the “new” working day affects each individual, where flexibility suits many people well. That is also why an online employee appraisal is nothing you need to shy away from.
Many are still in a difficult situation with lay-offs, redundancies and uncertain employees and managers who don't quite know what the future will look like. How should we handle this so that we can land on our feet on the other side?
In the first weeks of the lockdown in 2020, I shared a home office with my husband – it didn't occur to us that this was going to last a long time. One of us used the little office corner we had in the bedroom, while the other sat in bed with a laptop on their lap. It was obvious that this wouldn't work in the long run, and fortunately we got other solutions in place. As an employee, I also felt a bit lost, until we got structure on the daily dialogue between colleagues and good tools for digital meeting places were in place.
Even though it is easy to think “I know my employees well enough”, we are all in a completely new situation. We have been living with this for a while and have adapted as best we can, but you will definitely be surprised by the positive effects you achieve by setting aside time to talk to each individual. So put the employee appraisal near the top of your list in the time ahead. Here are some good tips along the way.
Have as concrete a starting point as possible – the key lies in the preparation. It can be tempting to run through the same 20 preparatory questions employees have always been given, but they quickly become irrelevant. You can certainly use these questions as a starting point, but the more tailored they are to each employee, the better. Why? It is important to talk about what matters to the individual – then both manager and employee have something concrete to relate to, and you save valuable time.
Focus on the employee's motivation. In challenging times, it is the first thing to disappear if people don't feel seen or heard. Then you can deal with the practical issues. Does the employee have the tools they need to do their job well?
The focus of the conversation itself should be on what is important and relevant to the employee's work situation, in light of the company's needs and opportunities. Have the expectations of the employee changed in the new situation you may find yourselves in? What about the employee's expectations – have they changed? The result is that the employee will feel seen, while also being held accountable by getting to suggest measures and improvements themselves. And you must be prepared to wait for answers and let the employee talk. Something to be aware of if you hold the meeting online is that you don't see the full body language of the person you are talking to in the same way as in a physical meeting. That is why listening is extra important. The key for you as a manager is to be open and well-meaningly curious.
Agree on the way forward during the conversation. What is needed for each person to manage their work situation and tasks as well as possible? Make this concrete in an action plan with follow-up points if necessary. If you are going through major change, follow-up from the manager may well be more frequent than usual. Make sure everything can be stored in the cloud or similar – otherwise it easily ends up in a drawer, and after a while you are no longer sure what you actually agreed on.
