How to assist your colleague during their challenging times

We always say that it is good to separate work from personal issues, but we also know and understand that it is not always possible. While handling Human Resources must be an objective approach, we must always remember that we are still handling people. It is good to strike the correct balance between empathetic, yet objective.

These are things you could help your employees going through a tough time. 

SETTING YOUR CULTURE RIGHT

If you think that your colleagues are going to approach you to share their problems when you have been nasty throughout the entire year, you’re wrong. You might even be the last person that they want you to be aware of their personal issues.

You must start it right by being seem as approachable and making the extra effort to be approachable and non-judgemental. By constantly engaging your peers, it will also be easier for you to take notice when you know that something is not right with them and you can approach and then lend your listening ears.

LISTEN AND SET THE CORRECT TONE

When someone is sharing their challenging times with you, you should not be asking too many private questions that one might be unwilling to share. You might want to give them the opportunity to share with you, if you’re willing. Do not be quick to provide advice or solutions – they could just need a listening ear.

SHOW YOU CARE

Not about your business, or your daily operations – but about your colleagues. Imagine after hearing about their personal issues and asking them “I understand, but how will this help you focus at work?” – how would your colleagues feel?

The questions you can ask could be “How can we assist or support you during this critical period of time?” to show you care more about their feelings and understanding what their thoughts process are.

Do your follow up with your employees if you know they are going a tough time. Conversations like this is not concluded over one time. Remind them you are available to listen when any more issues happen.

BE OBJECTIVE

The rule of the thumb is still not to be over empathetic. You would want to clear about your company policies and understand any restrictions before over promising or committing yourself to their recommendations. If you need to check and get approval, you can explain you’ll need to check before committing. You would not want a situation where you promise and not deliver.

How to overcome challenges during your first day of work

On your first day of work, you need to step out of your comfort zone. Being in your previous job was your comfort zone where you were comfortable with your colleagues, your assignments, your routine at work as knew the working style of your colleagues.

On your first day, you might not be very sure with regards to what you were supposed to be doing, and assignments with very short deadline could have been thrown to you.

Here are some tips to overcome that.

ENJOY THE PROCESS

We all must start from somewhere. You must understand that during your previous job, the transitioning process was not that easy as well. When you are experiencing discomfort, it means you are challenging yourself, and are progressing. You are also likely a skill which makes you feel incompetent for now, but you must keep reminding yourself that it is all right.

ASK FOR HELP AND ACCEPT IT

This is crucial because it makes more sense to shout for help in the initial stages in comparison to shouting for help a few months down the road when people assumed you should be well familiar with it. It is acceptable for you to put your pride aside and ask for help from someone who have done it before. Do not assume your colleagues are too busy to help you in transition because as the saying goes – never ask never to know.

When you ask, you also gradually build relationships among your colleague. An intelligent person would make use of the resources instead of just self-reliance.

DON’T GIVE UP

Gradually, it will get better. The starting is always the most challenging, but you will get there one day. You will likely be very uncertain, hence not very comfortable in speaking up during meetings or unsure of how is the best approach to handle your boss.

Handling your corporate work as a working parent

In the current society, it's common for both parents to be in the working force. Being a working parent can be very stressful both emotionally and physically, especially when your child is unwell.

You will most probably be at work worrying about your child's condition while be in a rush to cover duties at work in order to hurry home and into your child's arms. In order to have a balance between work and your family, you can make a couple of strategize steps stated below.

Acknowledge and be prepared

Studies shows that small children tend to get the cold and viruses 8-10 times per year, thus you have to acknowledge that your child might be ill on an average of once per month or two.

Be prepared, have someone on standby mode to be ready to take care of the kids, be it a babysitter, your spouse or even your relatives. The more realistic your plan is, the easier to handle the situation when it occurs.

Notify beforehand

Let your employer and colleagues be aware of the kind of flexibility you would be requiring, for example "if your child is ill, your babysitter would only be available till 2pm, and you would be required to cover their shift after, will have to work from home and only be contactable via mobile." Make sure that the company is comfortable and supportive with your arrangement in order to ensure that everything at work is not delayed.

Be in Control

Plan your backup plan ahead of time and make sure that all aspects of the plan is working to avoid any last-minute hiccups. Ensure that your caretaker knows what he/she is supposed to do and what not to, from the type of medicine to be taken to the special cases like allergies. In the case if you are the caretaker and has to work from home, make sure that you have access to all your resources needed when you are out of the office. It's also good if you could prepare a bag of your child's necessities to be ready to hand them over to your caretaker when needed.

Plan your finances

The cost incurred for childcare is high and can be taxing to a household. List down the things that you might be paying for during a situation and start allocating funds into an "emergency fund" so that you do not have to worry about the finances when the time comes.

Gather support from your company

If you will be working from home, make sure that you are not misusing the goodwill of your company. Ensure that you are still contactable and responsive on email and calls even though you have to factor in the time to look after your child as well. If your child is down with a health issue that requires longer recovery period, notify your company immediately in order for them to have ample time to make suitable arrangement for you.

Make your child feel better

Your child is already feeling grumpy and irritated when they are unwell, do not show them that you are also annoyed by the situation. Assure them by letting them feel that daddy/mommy has everything under control, or at least that you are doing your best in the situation. Making a big fuss out of the situation will only make the situation worst and always remember the reason of working is to provide for your love ones, keeping the situation all in control will benefit both your family and the company that you are working for in the long run.

How to deal with negative colleagues?

Experiencing negativity in the workplace can be challenging. It can become distracting and pull focus away from goals and responsibilities, or create so much drama in its wake that the whole working environment becomes toxic. Other than avoiding these toxic colleagues completely, is there anything else that can be done? There are situations when different people have to work together and it can be mutually harmful if such negativity isn’t handled appropriately and professionally.

EMBRACE POSITIVITY AND ENCOURAGE IT IN OTHERS

We all know the mean-spirited and highly-competitive colleagues can be the trickiest to work with, especially when they are constantly putting people down in order to feel better about the job at hand. The way to counter this is not to have a difficult and awkward confrontation, but instead channel good thoughts and embrace positivity in the self. Remember that not everyone has the same perspectives or opinions, so there is never any singular right answer to a problem. The workplace is for people to learn and grow together, so just be positive.

BE FIRM IN DRAWING PERSONAL BOUNDARIES

Put a feet down if things get too hard between conversations with these people. If their negativity is affecting the job, then one has to be firm and draw boundaries as to how much of this negativity can be allowed in the workplace. Do not allow it to become personal as it will further complicate things and let the matter live on for longer than appropriate. If one can keep cool, calm and sitting down, then the problem will only limit itself to the professional space and be dealt with properly.

POWER CHECK YOURSELF TO KEEP EVERYTHING IN ORDER

One of the most common traits of negative people is their constant habit of doubting everyone’s abilities. This will cause people to overthink their work choices and delay decisions, resulting in tardiness or excuses about work that cannot be completed with confidence. The fact is that everyone has complete power over themselves and how they react to negativity, so as long as the individual is collected and believes in himself or herself, all decisions ultimately weigh and matter only to the self.

Keeping Today’s Employees Engaged at Work

Given the ever-changing employment landscape and the demands from employees to enjoy work-life balance. Employees want to feel connected to work, yet want to have their personal time and space away from work as well. How can you strike a good balance between both? There is no one best way but good to work out something that works best for the company culture and environment.

Value the Opinions and Feedback

It is natural that employees want their voices heard by the management or the bosses. Some opinions or ideas given may be a little overboard or unrealistic in the present moment but never shove off any employee’s feedback right away. Always give them the perception that you will consider it, but never expect the turnaround of the opinions or ideas to be taken in immediately or even execute them!

Option to Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA)

FWA is one of the ways to allow employees to feel that they have the autonomy to decide and plan their schedule well. This can help them in fulfilling their personal commitments, for example, bringing kids to school early in the morning, and cutting through or if possible, avoid the traffic jams to get to work. They will be glad to commit the hours required but at a different time from others than to rush their mornings away. Other ways are also to offer options to work from home, hot-desking.

Don’t create tension unknowingly

Allow employees to be themselves at work and encouraged them to behave like their usual self. Some employers or bosses have a certain level of expectations that employees must behave in a certain manner which makes them feel uneasy at work. However, do you know that giving employees autonomy will make them feel that you trust them in their work? They will eventually portray a positive attitude towards work and will be more than willing to put it that extra effort unknowingly. Never limit your employees’ capabilities and creativities at work!

Don’t Create Fear in Failure

This is the key thing that people back-off after they faced with setbacks, people fear failure. It would be nice and consoling if employees are given an environment to learn and make mistakes. But of course, mistakes should be moderate. Employees can make mistakes and must quickly manage it together and not leave it hanging. Sense of fear will decrease as employees are given ownership, power to make decisions. Always remember that any mistakes made should not be accompanied with harsh criticism or demerits, everyone is learning on the go!

Maintain Strong Employer-Employee Relationship

Humans are ultimately companies’ assets in achieving results and success. It is one key factor that it is important to maintain a strong employer-employee relationship and such strong relationship will not bring about too many conflicts in the workplace. This will also help to keep employees focus, more efficient and more committed to work. Put some thoughts into your position and analyse if it is the same for your company too.

Keep the Motivation Going

Observe your employees carefully. What are ways they are doing to keep themselves motivated at work? I’m sure it is not just the monetary aspect that kept them coming to work. Every individual is motivated in different ways and if you understand what the motivation factor are, then it will help you manage a strong relationship with them. An example will be praising and encouraging your employees who have done well in the last quarter of the business year and let them know that you appreciate their performances and hard work.

Ensure Open Communication

Create that effective network for employees to be engaged is one way that allow them to ‘rant’ and share what they felt could have been better for the Company and them. Constantly remind them that you are to listen to them. This also allows you to resolve issues quickly and not snowball the situations and it does show employees that the Company are taking each feedback and issue seriously.

Employee Commitment

In today’s context, cost of a new employee is getting costly – from hiring and training. Keeping a committed and loyal workforce will not only help you in cutting down hiring cost and it will reflect well with your clients and other related business partners that they do not have to liaise with a ‘newbie’ and they may not be as well-trained.

Conflict Reduction

Keep the focus on the right track. Create that conducive environment which allows employees to focus on the tasks and assignments that have been assigned. With reduced conflicts in the company will also allow the people and environment be friendlier. It’s an instinct that you can feel it when you enter the workplace. That instinct can never go wrong. While employees focus on business- or work-related tasks and assignments, it’d also mean that they will be more willing to help one another when escalations from arise.

3 Ways to show appreciation for your colleagues!

Getting along with colleagues can sometimes be problematic, especially when no one knows each other prior to the working environment, creating an awkward gap in social interactions. In order to promote a healthy working space for everyone, there are times when people need an extra boost of confidence that they are doing things right, and that they are ultimately appreciated. This does not just concern the boss or upper management.

Appreciation from fellow colleagues is equally important to strengthen company loyalty and job satisfaction, especially since people are working along side with each other. It can be tricky, but there is a multitude of ways to show colleagues that they are being appreciated without directly confronting them.

BRING IN A DELICIOUS TREAT FOR EVERYONE

Almost everyone appreciates food, especially free food. For special occasions or a colleague’s birthday, consider taking the initiative to order in pizza or tacos for everyone as a treat. This gesture does not have to be repeated everyday, but a little sweet treat goes a long way to make everyone feel better about being at work, and around people who care about them.

As the adage goes, the best way to get people is through their stomachs, so show some care with a thoughtful homemade treat or some delicious perks in the middle of the working day.

OFFER TO COVER THEIR SHIFTS OR EXCHANGE SCHEDULES

Sometimes the best way to show that colleagues are being care for is to offer to cover them or exchange schedules when they have something important in their personal lives. For example, taking over a project when the person in charge has a family birthday or medical appointment that they cannot miss — this will be repaid when personal obligations crop up on your plate.

Be aware of what is happening and be the first to offer as a form of communal gratitude for a more balanced lifestyle culture in the office.

REMEMBER TO SAY THANK YOU WHEN IT MATTERS

Learning and remembering to say our P’s and Q’s may sound quite elementary, but people often to say it after a matter cools and everything blows over. It doesn’t take much for a quick handwritten note to reach a helpful colleague to say, “Hey, thanks again for your help on the project on Tuesday! I really appreciate it.”

Small gestures like these matter and go a long way to ensure that the same help is returned in the future.