Month: April 2021

Want to Be Happier at Work? Try to Experience Flow

Who Doesn’t Want to be Happier at Work? Even if we love what we do, most of us want to be happier at work. We may like parts of our work but not others, such as paperwork, bills, answering email and so on. If we’re leaders, we probably want our team to be happier also.

The Experience of Flow: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a world-famous Hungarian-American psychologist, pondered this problem for most of his career. He started out studying musicians and other artists, endeavoring to determine what made them happier and more productive in their work.

What he found was that at a certain level of practice of their craft – sometimes as much as 10,000 hours – they started to experience a state he called “flow”. In this state, the world disappeared, and they were totally involved in the experience of the work. Some even called this an ecstatic experience.

Anyone Can Experience Flow: While he started out studying artists, he expanded his research and found the same state in “executives and assembly-line workers in Detroit, Himalayan mountain climbers, Navajo shepherds, Olympic athletes. Whatever they did, if they found a way to experience flow in their lives, they seemed to be truly happy.”

In one famous example, he studied a man who worked in a bagel shop in New York. The worker spent all day filleting salmon for lox. He tried to improve what he was doing every day and went home happy and knowing that he was the best at his job.

What Should You Do?

Here Are Three Steps for an Easy Mediation Exercise:

Practice, Practice, Practice: Like the old advice about getting to Carnegie Hall, what he found was that practice made people proficient and that helped them feel that experience of flow.

Focus on Improving: As Csikszentmihalyi puts his advice: “The world is so full of things you can do that you can try to do better. And if you can do that, it doesn’t matter what you are doing.”

So the key seems to be not just doing the work more and more, but trying to improve. The act of focusing on improvement itself seems to lead to flow.

For more advice on how to be happier at work, read the following articles:

Could You Have Your Dream Job Now? It’s Easier Than You Might Think

Snarling, Screaming or Sobbing at Work? You’re Not Alone!

When to Move On

What Do You Think?

Have you found ways to be happier at work? Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

What Are the Costs, Losses, and Consequences of Poor Workplace Communication and What Should You Do?

POOR WORKPLACE COMMUNICATION:  Ineffective, inefficient, or just plain bad workplace communication is something we have all endured. Your co-worker does not understand what you said because they do not listen, your boss avoids conflicts so nothing is resolved, or someone is emailing disrespectful “jokes” to your group. Good communication is rare and almost everyone thinks they are good at it!

COSTS, LOSSES AND CONSEQUENCES:  What are the soft and hard costs of bad communication? David Grossman reported in “The Cost of Poor Communications” that a survey of 400 companies with 100,000 employees each cited an average loss per company of $62.4 million per year because of inadequate communication to and between employees.

WHAT MAKES UP THESE COSTS?  In most organizations, it is lost productivity, a lack of focus, loss of respect for leaders, poor morale, more turnover, and perhaps even claims for bullying or harassing behavior. Turnover alone, for example, costs most organizations at least one and one-half times the amount of the departing employee’s salary.

WHY DO THESE COSTS OCCUR?  Research shows that these costs escalate because most groups have failed to educate their people about communications skills and have failed to create systems to establish and maintain communication norms.

What Should You Do?

Learn and model good skills:  As a leader, you need to take the time to learn and model good communication skills. We all spend a big part of every day trying to communicate our thoughts, our ideas, and our directions, yet we spend very little time learning how best to improve our skills.

Insist That Your Staff Do Likewise:  Make sure that you provide opportunities for your people to acquire effective workplace communication skills and mandate that they use what they have learned.

Monitor Electronic Communication: Even if your people are working remotely, they cannot escape the need to communicate well electronically. All the same problems with poor, inefficient, and even abusive in-person communication can manifest even more seriously with online communication. Make sure that your people understand that the same rules apply.

For more information about this topic, go to Lynne’s Monday Memos.

What Do You Think?

Is politics an issue in your workplace? Call or write us: 303-216-1020 or email: Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Change Your Personality? Here’s How

IS CHANGE REALLY POSSIBLE? Most of us have something about ourselves, our partner or that annoying co-worker that we would like to change. In my coaching practice, I am frequently charged with specific things that a leader wants to change about a staff member. In my work with the coaching client, they may initially resist the leader’s request, alleging some version of the claim: “That’s just the way I am!”

 THE LATEST RESEARCH: As Olga Khazan, author of the book “Weird” writes in a recent New York Times article, “You Can Be a Different Person After the Pandemic”: “Our personalities are not set in stone. They are more like sand dunes.”

While previous theories might have assumed that our personalities did not change after childhood, more recent research has revealed that we can change well into adulthood, and that the brain is more elastic than previously assumed.

Khazan cites research that found that adults can change the five basic traits that make up personality – extroversion, openness to experience, emotional stability, agreeableness, and conscientiousness – within just a few months with concerted effort.

ACTING “AS IF” AND SPECIFIC STEPS: Change requires two things: 1) acting “as if” we are the person we would like to be and 2) setting goals and specific steps. Therapy, apps, and coaching can all help us stay on track. 

What Should You Do?

FOR LEADERS: When coaching specific staff members that you need to change, do not accept their excuses that they are who they are and cannot evolve. Set specific performance goals and consequences for new behaviors. Be sure to be behaviorally specific, rather than asking them to change into someone less confrontational, more assertive, more respectful and the like. Identify what they would specifically do and say if they acted the way you want them to behave, as well as what they currently do or say that is unacceptable. Offer coaching, books, videos and so on to help them through the process.

FOR INDIVIDUALS: Practice small steps toward behaving the way you want to be. If, for example, you want to be more open to new experiences, take a walk on a different path or go to lunch at a new restaurant, rather than immediately taking up sky diving or swimming with sharks. Use lists, apps or an accountability partner to keep you on track.

For more suggestions about how to change your staff or yourself, go to other articles in our Monday Memo collection.

https://www.workplacesthatwork.com/resources/monday-memo-archives/

What Do You Think?

Have you or your staff experienced burnout during this last year? How did you cope? Contact us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Did You Know?

Our leadership and management workshops and coaching – both in person and live– help you deliver real change. Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Coaching and webinars on these and other management and leadership topics can all be delivered virtually.

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Read Lynne’s book “We Need to Talk — Tough Conversations with Your Employee” and learn to tackle any topic with sensitivity and smarts

Shootings: What Can You Do?

Boulder Mourns: I feel so far beyond sad to talk about the shooting last week. On a personal note, I had been in that store the day before and knew many of the workers, all of whom were unfailingly helpful and kind. We feel helpless and hopeless in the aftermath of one more tragedy. Rising from the ashes, we all want to do something, yet we may lack an understanding of what might really help.

Multiple Causation: Many want to push forward their own pet theory of causation: too many guns, mental illness, hatred of the other, toxic masculinity and on and on. My own view is that the desire to find one cause is not helpful. Most likely, we will find many contributing factors once the dust settles.

Workplace Shootings: While we are still bewildered as to why someone would drive from a different town to shoot people in this particular store, workplace violence from current or former co-workers has been extensively studied and is much more common. We can do our best to try to prevent those kinds of shootings.

What Should You Do?

Educate leaders about the warning signs of violence: Studies have found that perpetrators of co-worker violence (the most common kind of workplace violence) always exhibited warning signs, as follows:

WARNING SIGNS OF VIOLENCE

These signs tend to be clustered in people who commit violent acts in workplaces. Just one of these probably does not signal a warning sign.

ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SPEAK UP: Many people, of course, exhibit one of these signs, but not a cluster of them. Almost always, when workplace violence occurs, co-workers had observed these signs. If you are a leader, try to create an environment where your people feel comfortable speaking up without fear of retaliation. If you are an associate, please say something to your boss, your boss’s boss, HR, or security, as appropriate.

What Do You Think?

What steps has your organization taken to prevent workplace violence? Contact us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Did You Know?

Both our management and leadership programs – live and online — include sections on preventing violence. Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Coaching and webinars on these and other management and leadership topics can all be delivered virtually.

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Read Lynne’s book “We Need to Talk — Tough Conversations with Your Employee” and learn to tackle any topic with sensitivity and smarts

What is Successful Harassment Training?

STRICTER LAWS: Many states now require some kind of sexual harassment training. What’s new is that those laws are becoming stricter. The Colorado legislature, for example, is now considering a new law that will provide that an employer may use harassment training as a defense to harassment claims only if the organization utilizes a training program with a “documented success in preventing harassment and a history of punishing supervisors who have unlawfully harassed employees”.

INTERACTION REQUIRED: Several states, including New York, require “interactive” training, defined as: some form of employee participation, meaning the training must:

• be web-based with questions asked of employees as part of the program;
• accommodate questions asked by employees;
• include a live trainer made available during the session to answer questions; and/or
• require feedback from employees about the training and the materials presented.

California defines its “interactive” requirement as: “individualized, interactive, computer-based training created by a trainer and an instructional designer. An e-learning training shall provide a link or directions on how to contact a trainer who shall be available to answer questions and to provide guidance and assistance about the training within a reasonable time period after the supervisor asks the question, but no more than two business days after the question is asked. The trainer shall maintain all written questions received, and all written responses or guidance provided, for a period of two years after the date of the response.”

What Should You Do?

CHECK LEGAL REQUIREMENTS: As a start, before designing or selecting a harassment program, make sure that – as a minimum – it will meet the legal requirements of your state.

CHECK INTERACTIVITY: All trainings are not created equal. The trend is to require interactivity, defined variously as the ability for participants to engage in questions and answers, engage with a live trainer, seek answers to questions after the session ends, analyze relevant case studies and videos, and so on.

CHECK FOR A RECORD OF SUCCESS: If the Colorado law passes, employers who are defendants in lawsuits will need to prove that they have taken steps to prevent harassment by choosing training with a “record of success” in preventing harassment. While it is unclear what this requirement might mean, it may be that the new legislation will require the training organization to maintain records or statistics to prove success.

What Do You Think?

Have you made changes to your harassment prevention programs because of the requirements of state laws? Contact us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Did You Know?

Our harassment training, coaching, and consulting—both live and in-person — meets or exceeds the requirements of all state laws. We constantly receive feedback that our sessions are the most engaging and interactive they have experienced.

Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Coaching and webinars on these and other management and leadership topics can all be delivered virtually.

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Read Lynne’s book on sexual harassment.

Is Harassment a Popularity Contest? I Think Not!

CUOMO AGAIN: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo continues to be in the news. A recent poll, found that 50% of residents thought he should not resign. Many US Representatives, Senators, and NY state representatives have also weighed in, most suggesting resignation.

INVESTIGATIONS TAKE TIME: As I wrote last week, I always suggest that organizations wait until there has been a full and fair investigation before they make a decision as to the consequences of any harassment allegation. Unfortunately, investigations take time. While we always strive to finish investigations we are conducting within two weeks, they may drag on because of witness unavailability, document searches and consults with inside and outside counsel, as well as business leaders. The time lag allows for much mischief in terms of gossip, rumors, and unsolicited advice from various stakeholders. When I am asked what I think about a public harassment complaint, I always reply that I don’t know, unless I did the investigation (in which case, of course, the results would be confidential).

EVERYONE HAS RIGHTS: Everyone has rights in any workplace investigation: the person(s) bringing the complaint, the accused, as well as any witnesses. We need to treat everyone with respect until the investigation is concluded and the organization has a chance to determine appropriate consequences, if any. In the meantime, everyone else needs to do their best to stay out of the fray.

What Should You Do?

MANAGE GOSSIP: If you are a leader, do your best to quell the rumors and gossip during the course of an investigation. In addition to the potential legal consequences of defamation claims, you have an ethical obligation to treat all your staff with respect until the situation is resolved. If necessary, the alleged harassers, as well as the target(s) can be placed on suspension with pay while the investigation proceeds.

REMAIN NEUTRAL: As an employer, your role during and after receiving a complaint is to remain neutral. Refrain from expressing an opinion as to the honesty of any of the claimants or respondents unless you are asked as a part of the investigation.

ACCEPT THE RESULTS: Unless you have facts that you believe were not considered as a part of the investigation, accept the results. Investigations and their conclusions should be kept confidential, only those who need to know should know. Frequently, the investigator considered facts or witness statements of which you may not be aware. In addition, an organization has an obligation to be consistent in determining consequences. Responsible leaders may need to take into account previous outcomes or the needs of the business in calculating a result.

What Do You Think?

Have you observed workplace investigations that you thought were mishandled?  Contact us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Did You Know?

In addition to providing workshops on preventing harassment and other discrimination issues, we conduct investigations, providing consulting advice to those conducting investigations,

Call or write us at: 303-216-1020 or Lynne@workplacesthatwork.com

Coaching and webinars on these and other management and leadership topics can all be delivered virtually.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Read Lynne’s book on sexual harassment.