Change your behavior

Don’t Take Kindness for Weakness at Work

May 23, 2016 by Wilma Jones

Don’t Take Kindness for Weakness at Work

I recently heard about a woman who worked in a company that didn’t value her ability to be kind in her dealings with coworkers. The culture was one where people were not expected to be thoughtful in their dealings with each other. Her management encouraged this behavior. When she pressed them about the ‘mean girl attitudes’ of her coworkers, management advised her that her behavior was considered ‘weak.’

In these organizations it’s almost impossible to start living happier at work because that is not what the leadership value or reward. No matter how much you work to create that bubble of positivity in your presence, being surrounded by toxicity will eventually overcome your efforts. These companies are so off base in mistaking a worker’s kindness as a workplace weakness.

Companies that understand kindness builds stronger teams have such an advantage. The fact that they retain their workers for a longer period of time translates straight to the bottom line with less employee turnover meaning reduced costs. Also keeping the company intellectual property in-house because employees don’t leave with institutional knowledge is priceless. Many times this happens and companies screw themselves when they reorganize and ruin workplace harmony.

When I began my quest to start implementing the pillars of kindness, gratitude, exercise and mindfulness into my workday, the work environment at my job was tough. The company had RIF’d a bunch of people and we were sorely overworked. People were became critical because they weren’t happy. But no one was encouraged to be unkind. And spots of kindness were appreciated whenever they happened. Which wasn’t as often as it should have been, but at least kindness happened every now and then.

It has to be a real challenge to work in a place where they interpret your kindness as a weakness to the team. It might be impossible to be consistently positive while working a cesspool of negativity. As this woman’s story proves, you only need to look at the leadership to see why that attitude is acceptable.

The culture of the company is modeled for workers by company leadership. If the boss is an asshole, the workers who model his behavior to their coworkers will be the same. If management makes promises and doesn’t keep them, the trust and confidence levels of the workers will be a direct reflection of that experience.

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

May 2, 2016 by Wilma Jones

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

Mindfulness is becoming more mainstream everyday. I think that is a really good thing. There are an abundance of studies that prove the benefits of practicing mindfulness, ranging from its ability to lower stress to the positive changes it makes in our brains.

For me personally, I was one of those people who overthought everything. I was often worried about whether I had said or done the wrong thing. You might say I was consumed by past actions. That is the essence of being mindless. Always thinking about the past and basing my future actions on what I did or didn’t do in the past.

The biggest personal benefit I received from learning to be more mindful was to eliminate that type of thinking from my life. I now actively think through challenges based on current options, not choices from my past. I am able to stop the thoughts because I have a more objective view about my life and my abilities.

I know that just because something didn’t work in the past, that is not a reason I can’t accomplish what I want in the future. Mindfulness has given me a great tool for looking outside myself and the little box my thoughts had created for me.

We all have that little box that we’ve put ourselves in. We think we’re too old, too broke, too fearful or too…whatever. That little box is just allowing a mess to have a place in our mind. All those thoughts are under our control and all it takes to start breaking free is to learn to be more mindful about ourselves.

That is why be more mindful at work can take your productivity and creativity to a new level. It allows you to stop looking at issues the same way you always have in the past. Even if other staff members remain in their respective boxes and old patterns of thought, you don’t have to stay there with them.

Interested in giving it a try? Start with this easy, 3 minute mindful morning meditation today!

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

April 20, 2016 by Wilma Jones

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

A lawyer in the UK cautions employers about offering mindfulness training to their staff as it could create a legal risk for the company. This is an interesting perspective built on the presumption that mindfulness training is seen as a form of “therapy.”

Helping people to understand how to ‘live in the moment without judgement,’ is the main principle of mindfulness. I am not sure that all mindfulness training can be considered therapy, but I understand that people like to sue for anything these days. Because of the litigious nature of society, I agree that employers and their management teams should present mindfulness training [italicize] in the appropriate framework.

I believe mindfulness training, is just that- training. Just like other types of skills and behaviors companies expose their staff to, mindfulness is just another tool for employees to have in their toolkit. Employees who are able to add the practice of mindfulness to their workday are less stressed and more productive. They feel better about their jobs and themselves.

I have found mindfulness helps me to deal with those unexpected irritants that can move you off your game at the job. Whether it be people, policies or the dreaded processes, I can use mindfulness to remember that ‘this too shall pass.’ Learning to breathe and stop letting outside influences roil my day has been invaluable.

The article encourages employers to ensure the training is not offered to just one group. It should also be presented at a time and in a manner that doesn’t encumber the staff by making their jobs more difficult. I think that information is applicable for lots of training options, not just mindfulness.

I hope this lawyer’s viewpoint of doesn’t derail the increasing use of mindfulness training as a option for employees. As with any other new skills being taught to staff, you must present it in the correct fashion. Take the focus off mindfulness as therapy as a first step. Mindfulness has been proven as a valuable skill for workers, especially office workers.

That is why the Living Happier @ Work programs introduce practical applications of mindfulness (along with the other 3 practices of gratitude, kindness and exercise) for workers to see how to use the skills in their everyday work activity. Applying the learned skills to how they approach meetings, addressing workplace conflict and even their emails take the training from a therapeutic offering to real workplace skill.

It’s part of a bosses job to help make their teams increase productivity. It’s a bonus if the training you offer helps the staff become less stressed. Mindfulness training can do both. Present the tool as a skill to be mastered, not a therapy and you can reduce concerns about litigation.

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

April 8, 2016 by Wilma Jones

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

The workplace is the place you’re least likely to hear the words, “Thank you.” A 2012 study documents that 90% of workers do not show gratitude to their colleagues on a daily basis. And the results are even worse for bosses. Only 7% of workers thank their bosses for anything regularly. That is a pretty sad state of gratitude in American companies.

Statistics document that a workplace environment where people feel gratitude from management and are encouraged to show thankfulness to one another, reduces employee turnover and increases profit. Why then, is it so hard to accomplish? One of the biggest issues is management. As many of us have heard in our careers, the company shows their thankfulness for our efforts in the form of a paycheck. But obviously, that is not enough to motivate people over the longer term. That’s why so many of us think to ourselves at the end of the weekend, “Is it Monday already?”

The best way to begin to change this course is to ask your employees what way they would like to be recognized when management wants to thank them for their efforts. People are not the same and what one person enjoys in terms of thanks may not be accepted the same way by another employee. For example, some people want to be acknowledged in front of other staff, maybe in a team meeting. Others would prefer comp time off to enjoy with their family outside the office. Find out what is important to your staff and figure a way to show gratitude in a way they will really appreciate.

I remember when I started out in my first sales gig. I so craved to be on the top of the stack ranking board. I wanted to earn the glamorous trips the top performers were awarded every year. When I won a trip to London in my second year of sales, I was over the moon with pride and happiness! However, after more than 25 years and hundreds of thousands of miles in travel, the thought of taking a trip with a few hundred of my (not) closest coworker-friends is not something I am thankful for. There are other ways to motivate me as a seasoned sales management person.

Your next best move if you manage a team is to start gradually. If you haven’t been a “thanker’, you can’t just walk in and start showing gratitude to everyone. It will be received as insincere. You need to take baby steps toward gratitude. Start with simple conversations with your team. Or maybe even launch a survey asking your team what they value in terms of recognition and thanks for their efforts.

Be sincere and be realistic. Remember that the most important relationship a person has at work is with their immediate supervisor. Make sure your team knows you care and you appreciate their work. That is the biggest indicator of work happiness. Reduced turnover and increased productivity are the by-products of building a great team based on showing gratitude to one another.

What are your thoughts about showing gratitude at work?

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

April 6, 2016 by Wilma Jones

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

I am a firm believer that kindness is a good business practice. At a recent event I watched a business owner be pretty unkind to an employee in front of customers. I felt uncomfortable and also a little sad for both the boss and her staff member. Of course, I was sad for the employee because it’s embarrassing and so ego deflating to be put down, especially in front of others. I was sad for the owner because she was hurting her business by behaving in this manner.

Anyone managing human beings needs to understand that the culture of the work environment makes a huge difference in the performance of your staff. Negative, unpleasant workplaces are not as productive as environments where people are kind and gracious toward one another. No one wants to go to work at an unfriendly job.

Some business owners and management personnel need to be persuaded a little more to foster kindness at the job. The ultimate reason is the fact that people prefer to work for people who are kind and respect them. Those workers feel better about their jobs and as a result they exhibit more creativity and collaboration than people who work in negative spaces.

The data on creating and sustaining kindness is clear. It helps people like their jobs better and it helps the business make more money because their workers are more creative, collaborative and productive.

Would a kinder office environment spur you to be more productive?

Don’t Take Kindness for Weakness at Work

Don’t Take Kindness for Weakness at Work

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

Your Mindlessness Just Creates a Mess

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

Mindfulness at Work – Is It a Legal Risk?

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

Two Words Can Make a Huge Difference

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

What is the ROI of Kindness at Work?

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