Tag: people

Work-Life Balance Is Obsolete

An exciting article from Your Workplace, welcome your comments

For years, Your Workplace has touted the importance of work-life balance. We even made it part of our corporate values statement. If balancing work on the one hand with life on the other was a cause to uphold, then I was the champion in our workplace — and one of its biggest proponents beyond our walls as well.

But like all movements toward change, we usually have to endorse an extreme version of it first, ensuring momentum is created to make that change occur. Eventually, the extreme version gives way to a more moderate stance and ultimately settles somewhere in the middle. And a movement away from the concept of work-life balance is no exception.

If it is better for you to attend a parent’s appointment at 1pm and finish a report at 6am, then do it.

The notion that we each have two separate lives — one work and one life — requiring different treatment is unreasonable. The long-held notion of ensuring your personal life does not suffer at the expense of your work responsibilities, by compartmentalizing each to ensure carefully walking the fine line between the two, is obsolete. In order to find the right balance, the proper amount of time must be given to allow things to settle to a more “natural” stage. By pitting work against life there is an implication that work is the negative experience and life is the positive one. Why should work be perceived as negative? We spend the bulk of our waking hours at work, earning a living to support ourselves and our family. The experience should be enriching, and if not that, at least a reality within our lives.

We have to let go of the unachievable idea of work-life balance and start looking at things with a more individualistic lens. We are singular whole people, and every effort or action we take should be rooted in approaching each other holistically.

Whether you are grocery shopping, preparing a presentation, chairing a meeting, taking an elderly parent to an appointment, dealing with being short-staffed, going for a brisk walk at lunch or cheering on your child’s soccer game, it should be understood that it all makes up the threads of the tapestry of our very existence.

Isolating work from life is not only impossible but it places enormous strain, anxiety and tension on an unachievable goal.

Life is fluid and organic. We no longer have to compartmentalize the difference aspects of our selves. We no longer have to balance one against the other. We can have it all. Breaking down time to do work between 8am to 4pm, dinner from 5pm to 6pm, kids homework (or sport) from 6pm to 8pm or whatever your formula is, needs to stop. If it works for you, fine. But if it is better for you to attend a parent’s appointment at 1pm and finish a report at 6am, then do it. We are responsible adults after all.

Think about what is important to you. Make a list and prioritize.

The needs of individuals are constantly shifting. Allowing the whole person to show up at work (and at home) requires an investment in understanding mental, emotional, spiritual and physical well-being.

Who you are is who you are everywhere. No matter where you go, there you are, so it’s important to integrate work and life together rather than separating the different aspects of self in order to fit some pre-determined label of how work and life are supposed to exist.

credit to: VERA ASANIN

The Carolyle Destiny Group
https://linktr.ee/TheCarolyleDestinyGroup
#growthmindset #growthanddevelopment #personalgrowthanddevelopment #leadershipdevelopment #leadership #thecarolyledestinygroup

It’s here!!! The revised 2nd ed. ebook and Paperback is out on Amazon.

“Cooperating in the Workplace” Revised Expanded Second Edition

Normally, when a person thinks about cooperation in the workplace, they think it simply means avoiding chaos on the job. However, in reality, it means much more than that it means working productively with others to achieve a common corporate goal. For those trying to maintain a fulfilling workplace experience and encourage others to the same end, certain steps can be taken to make cooperation an objective understood and shared by all.

But let’s face it: not everyone is taught how to succeed in the workplace while working with others. Ask yourself: 

• Are you productive each day on your job, and living up to your fullest potential?

• At work, do you feel you’re lost in a confusing maze and don’t know how to escape?

• Do you feel that you want to know how to work better with millennials, deal with sexual harassment, or work with veterans?

• Do you want to learn about teamwork because you just landed a position that requires you to lead a bunch of high-speed coworkers?

As our working environment becomes more diverse and global ,our knowledge and organizational skills and behavior must develop along with those changes. Improving workplace cooperation is forefront in the minds of many who understand the importance of communication and teamwork as skills needed to reach a common goal. 

The author not only let you know what is happening in the business world, but gives you what you need to be a winner in your workplace.

As a Gulf War Veteran and Senior Army Warrant Officer who worked in the fields of logistics and Federal Acquisition in the federal government and later as an entrepreneur, I’ve seen how organizational form and structure within the federal government and in my own business experience provided foundational keys and principles that guided me to success in both the public and private sectors. 

This 2nd edition is for new employees, supervisors in mid-level management would benefit. 

On Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/sitb/B07MYBQHHN?ref=sib_dp_aw_kd_udp

Blog: http:// dcdardentalks.com

Please leave a comment.

Communication: Mutual trust, respect and commitment

Author Northouse explains that “Effective leadership offers when the communication between leaders and subordinates is characterized by mutual trust, respect, and commitment.” Such communication and sincerity in our interactions is key to success. This behavior should be displayed by both top management and throughout the organization. It has long been my aim to instill such values in our organizational culture.

Information is key to business today. When it flows, there is innovation and excellence. When it is blocked, dropped, or misconstrued, our business suffers. Sometimes information doesn’t make its way thru the channels to all levels. Many times, valuable information is held by someone intentionally or unintentionally because one may feel that specific information should be on a need-to-know basis. This can create feelings of exclusion or mistrust in management and erodes trust and loyalty within the company.

To resolve this communication problem in my organization, we established a system of feedback that ensures that messages are communicated to and received at all levels. Two-way communication is always the best methodology to ensure that trust is developed, which leads to commitment in our employees.

Developing relationships is vital to building trust. For example, I use to think of going to the dentist an unpleasant experience, especially when it involved a tooth extraction or an annual in-depth cleaning appointment. However, my present experience is quite different. My dentist always communicates to me about the procedure which I am about to undergo, which establishes a rapport between the professional and the patient. The dentist details the procedures and gives me the option to continue the procedure or not. Importantly, my consent signifies my trust in their abilities and in the mutual concern about my well-being before digging into my mouth.

It is vital in our communications that we remove inaccurate mis-perceived ideas and clearly communicate our intentions. Fear of the unknown can be a debilitating factor, employees that do not know what to expect will fear the unknown and will act on their misconceived knowledge, which can be far from the truth.

Importantly, management must form positive relationships with their employees before implementing an action. Just as the dentist created trust in our interaction, managers and leaders must establish mutual respect in their relationships with employees. Promoting an atmosphere of collaboration creates trust and loyalty.

It’s a well-known fact that when employees become loyal to the company, they become dedicated and willing to work harder towards achieving priorities and fulfilling the company mission. They become eager to take on and complete those extra tasks and projects that are vital to success. I believe committed employees see themselves as stakeholders in the company’s overall success.
Derrick Darden, PhD

(Northouse, 2004)

http://cooperatingintheworkplace.net