Monthly Archives: April 2020

Finding Resiliency In Times of Change

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Social distancing has turned the world upside down for most people.  Think about all the change that happened when states, then companies started to adapt the way they operated.  I’m sure you and everyone around you felt the uneasiness, uncertainty and may even have been afraid of what could happen personally and for your work.

Resilience is the ability to move through such change or chaos quickly using the least amount of energy reserves.  Many people equate resilience with “bouncing back” after being depleted.  With change being constant in our daily lives, living in a state of persistent depletion will negatively impact your cells, your body, mind, family and co-workers.  Consistently being in a state of high stress is not healthy or normal.  Stress depletes your cells, muscles and mental capacity internally and likely impacts your family and work relationships.  Fortunately, resilience is a skill that can be learned by anyone.

Preparation is key

You don’t have to wait to be depleted to prepare yourself with enough energy to adapt to changes/stress quickly and get back to living your best life.  Having energy reserves is like having money in the bank.  You’re being proactive and storing energy regularly to have it available when you need it.

Ways to build your resiliency

Here are 4 approaches to build your resilience that you can start today.  Ideally, you will embed these four approaches into your life BEFORE you have a major change or issue.  However, it’s never too late to start. As you practice these actions, they will become natural habits.

Consider your choices: We all have choices in how we deal with any situation.  You can act/react out of fear and negativity or you can choose to look for the positive possibilities in the change.  For example, you have a choice to learn about the COVID-19 virus or you can perpetuate the fear with everyone you talk to.  Sharing accurate knowledge about the disease is more positive than being so fearful you become paralyzed.

Reassess your perspective: Are you seeing the whole picture in a difficult situation?  Is it possible you’re missing information?  Seek clarity to make sure your perspective is accurate so you don’t waste time worrying about something that doesn’t exist.  How often have you assumed someone, maybe a boss, would be upset that you’re 10 minutes late in the morning because it took longer to get the kids to school?  Your manager was likely too busy with his/her priorities to notice.  That’s a wasted use of your reserves.  Do the best you can during the moment.

Prioritize positivity:  We create most of the stress we feel by allowing our negative thoughts to sabotage us.  How often have you had an argument with someone in your head and it never materialized.  Yet, you reduced your energy reserves to have that one-sided argument.  How often do you feel not qualified for a job?  How often do you tell yourself you’re not good enough of a parent?  Replace negative self-talk with positivity to build your reserves. Tell yourself that you’re the best parent you can be.  You are qualified for the job.  Push aside the negative voices and replace them with positive affirmations of who you are.  You will feel lighter and better about yourself.

Practice refueling:  Consider mental, physical, emotional and spiritual activities that make you feel good.  It can be as simple as sitting quietly for 15 minutes to change your perspective or breakthrough a mental roadblock you’re having.  Reading or exercising may help you recharge.  Find what works for you and give yourself the time to practice it.  Refuel your energy daily or as often as possible.  The energy you get out will be worth the investment.

Tips for success

  • Pick one or two of the above tactics and practice them every day.
  • Make small changes and build on them. Make the changes small so you feel the accomplishment and progress.
  • Pause occasionally to look around you and appreciate what you do have.
  • Spend time examining the values you hold. Have they changed?  If so, consider changing where you’re focusing your energy and time to reflect your current values.
  • Treat yourself kindly.

Changing your behavior to build energy reserves can be challenging.  However, you will feel the difference with each tiny step you take.  When you continue to build on each new habit, you’ll end up with more ways of energizing yourself that will benefit you to move through any change quicker and easier.  This is not to say that building your resilience will prevent you from life’s difficult challenges but having positive, healthy habits to draw on will better equip you to move through them.

Business leaders: Are you aware how fragile your employees are right now?

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I’ve been talking with family and colleagues and am alarmed at the number of people working for mid to large organizations who are working harder, longer and with more distractions than ever. What is so concerning to me is that many of the organizations they work for are acknowledging the difficulties being faced and providing some additional time “off” or have lessened their work expectations. However, employees are still trying to work at peak performance while dealing with the havoc wreaked in their personal lives by the pandemic.

The stress of potential failure (whether real or perceived) is taking its toll on employee mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. Our bodies aren’t built to sustain long periods of excessive stress without breaking down. These high performers, overachievers, workhorses are at risk for major fatigue in the coming months when a new normal emerges and they are expected to swing into the groove.

My question for business leaders is what more can you do to help your workers slow down, pause, take the time they need without worry or additional stress? Helping your employees take this respite now will allow them to come back stronger than ever when you get back to the new normal. They will engage, commit and be your biggest advocates if you take care of them now.

What will you do today, tomorrow and next week for your people?

Help with the Family First Coronavirus Response Act

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Good afternoon everybody. Stressful times are certainly upon us

As you may be aware, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was just recently passed.

On March 18, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”). The FFCRA seeks to assist employees impacted by novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees. The U.S. House of Representatives originally passed the FFCRA on March 14, 2020; however, the House later made “technical corrections” to the bill, many of which were substantive—such as adding caps on the paid leave—prior to passing it to the U.S. Senate for approval. The pared down House version of the FFCRA approved by the Senate and signed by President Trump provides for, among other things, (1) one new category of paid FMLA leave related to child care disruption due to the current public health emergency and (2) paid sick time for certain reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will take effect not later than 15 days after enactment, i.e., April 2, 2020, and are scheduled to terminate December 31, 2020. The FFCRA also includes related employer tax credits.

SHRM just posted on its website today (March 25, 2020), several U.S. Dept. of Labor, Wage & Hour Division information sheets: 1 for employees, 1 for employers, and a combined Q&A sheet. This is probably the most definitive and “official” information concerning how to comply with the FFCRA. Note: if you find out about this via a SHRM e-mail, you probably won’t be able to follow its links/URLs to get to those sheets; I found it easier to go to the SHRM website directly, and even then it was a little slow loading, probably due to heavy demand/viewing.

SHRM will be having another webcast this Friday, specifically pertaining to the FFCRA. From various employment law firms’ emails, it looks like a lot of them will be offering their own webcasts/webinars on this subject, too.

If interested in the ENTIRE Bill under the Act, you can find it here:

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/6201/text

The official US Department of Labor briefing on the Act can be found here:

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pandemic/ffcra-employer-paid-leave

Another source of information on the topic is this article that has some great information to assist employers in complying with the new legislation. In the article, there’s a link to a free webinar on the topic that gives extensive coverage.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alangassman/2020/03/20/new-paid-leave-for-virus-act-will-give-significant-virus-caused-compensation-rights-to-affected-employees/#632268f865a0

Another source of free information is from ComplyHR:

https://www.complyright.com/employment-laws/covid-19-and-the-workplace?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11429

We’re all in unchartered territory here, and unfortunately even the U.S. Dept. of Labor, SHRM, and our various employment law firm partners will not have all the answers, but from what I’ve seen they’ve taken a huge first step and I believe there will be more information/guidance to come.

If you need guidance and support with these new regulations, we are prepared to assist. Contact Randy Lumia at Paradise Workplace Solutions: 908-723-4609.

Take Care: Now’s The Time For A CMD (Crisis Management Dozen) Plan

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I don’t know of a single event in my lifetime that has had the world gripped in fear and was not as a result of the actions of one country or person.

Countries, businesses, and families have been affected.

Some people will wallow in the constant changing events or numbers of lives lost.

Some people will heed advice of doomsayer’s and continue to stock up unnecessarily on toilet paper.

Some people will sit back and see what happens.

What about you? The business owner? The solopreneur? You are not helpless in this situation!

I have long professed the use of the “CMD” Plan; also known as the Crisis Management Dozen Plan. I have modified it slightly based on current events.

Let me explain……

It is all centered around “Taking Care”. Taking care of what’s most important:

1.      Care of Yourself and Your Family

2.      Care of Your Business

3.      Care of Your People

Each of these, has 4 components that each of us could, and should, focus on during any time of crisis.

1.      Care of Yourself and Family

Very easily put, you are no use to yourself or anyone else unless you start by focusing on yourself. You do this by starting with 4 very simple, yet important steps:

A.    Assure your safety and that of your family. Make sure that you and your family are healthy and safe and take the necessary precautions to assure that this continues. Keep yourself and family insulated (I prefer to use this word rather than isolate) from harm by assuring you have a safe place to call “home”. This includes assuring you have the necessary amount of food, supplies, medication, etc. to make it through the period of time that you may need to be sheltered and “insulated”.

B.      Make prudent financial decisions. During times of crisis, financial instability abounds. It may not be the right time to buy that new car or book a vacation. Your source of income could be jeopardized and may need to put your “rainy-day fund” in play.

C.      Keep calm and poised. You cannot change the actions or behaviors of others; you can only control your own. If you have a family, you may be setting the tone for others’ actions. Be mindful of what you do and say.

D.      Keep growing. If you need to work remotely, or you happen to have a reduced workload or even lose your job. Never stop learning and growing. Use technology to your advantage. There are many FREE websites and sources for education and training. LinkedIn offers free training and development courses. Use this time to positively focus your energies on activities that move you forward.

2.      Care of Your Business:

Once you have assured the safety and health of you and your family, you can turn your attention to that of your business.

A.      Business Continuity. All businesses should have a business continuity plan. What happens if you experienced a blizzard? A hurricane? An earthquake? A system-wide computer virus? Will you continue to operate? If so, how and where? When world events like we are experiencing now, when we are being asked to assure social distancing, working in a normal business center may not be acceptable, but you need to continue operating your business. How do you do it? You can start now if you don’t already have a plan.

B.      Current Financial Review. Current world events of business environment conditions may warrant an in-depth look at your short-term financial stability. Has your business suffered revenue loss? Can you make payroll this month? Will you need to cut expenses and/or staff? If so, when and how much?

C.      Business Plan Review. When is the last time you looked at your business plan? I’m not talking about your annual plan or a review of your P&L statement, I’m talking about your strategic plan. If during times of crisis, your business is slowed, take the opportunity to brush the cobwebs off your (strategic) business plan. Are you where you wanted to be (under normal business conditions)? Do you need to adjust your plan or consider alternative strategies? Now is the time.

D.      People Strategy Review. Those that know me know I preach about the need for a people strategy. Now is the time to review that strategy as well. Start with a review of your succession plan. Depending upon the severity of the world events, and the possible turnover of employees, you need to assure you have the right people, in the right jobs, at the right time, for the right reasons.

3.      Care of Your People:

Once you have looked at the business, you need to look at your people; the heartbeat of your business.

A.      Assure the Safety of Your Employees. If your business has employees that are in a brick and mortar facility, you need to assure the safety of your employees, customers and visitors under any circumstances. Under current events, if your business is still operating and not shut down, this means you need to assure that you take the necessary precautions of social distancing, extraordinary cleanliness procedures and perhaps even providing masks and/or hand sanitizers.

B.      Use Virtual Offices or Work from Home Provisions. Whether your business has a formal telecommuting or work from home policy or not, you should consider the implementation of such programs to minimize the potential for spreading of any contagious conditions.

C.      Support the Needs of Your Employees and Their Families. Employees with school-age children may be faced with the reality that they need to be home with their children as a result of school closures. The employee themself, or their family member, may be sick or contagious. Support, where possible the work from home provision. If the employee is a production worker or someone that needs to be in the workplace, perhaps there are on-line training courses that this individual can benefit from while completing from home.

D.      Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. In times of chaos, people (employees) are begging for information. Over the past week or so, I have received no less than 3 dozen emails from CEO’s of banks, financial institutions, public services, etc. explaining what they are doing to assure the safety of their customers, their employees and of their families. While they may all have similar messages, they all felt the need and importance for communicating to their customers. As a business owner, you need to assure ongoing communication with employees; whether you are open or closed! Ongoing communications to keep your employees abreast of the business, as well as to reinforce calm and a showing of support for all your employees is not optional, but mandatory during these unsettling times.

As I indicated earlier, I have modified the CMD Plan based upon current events. However, the basis for the CMD Plan are important and critical during any emergency situation.

For more information on our CMD Plan or any component within this article, please contact Randy Lumia, President and People Strategy Lead at Paradise Workplace Solutions, LLC. at Randy.Lumia@ParadiseWorkplaceSolutions.com

3 R’s for Thriving During Coronavirus Times

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Guest blog:  Paradise Workplace Solutions asked Gail Siggelakis, Speaker and Author of  The Affirming Way of Life: See the Good, Speak the Good, Spread the Good to write this blog on how to thrive during this difficult time with positivity and self care.

Life as it is now, for every single one of us, is something we’ve never encountered before. Many of us are working from home and may be caring for kids and elder parents at the same time; work and home life have blended. And some of us aren’t even working.

We’re unsure how long our quarantined lifestyle will continue, we’re missing the freedom of freely going places, and mostly, we’re missing being with all the people we love and care about.

We will get through this, but like every challenge we face, we need a plan and framework for managing. Here’s my approach to living in confinement that’s helped me still feel like myself. I call it the 3 R’s for empowerment and peace during these crazy times: resources, routines, and relationships.

  1. Resources (Inner): We need to take care of ourselves, so that we have the energy and positive mind frame to feel capable of handling the new stresses in our life, and to be there for the people who are relying on us. This means paying attention to our needs physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Ask yourself, when can I steal even thirty minutes for me? The beginning or end of the day are good times to carve out time for yourself.

Here are some things I do that enable me to feel inwardly balanced.

  • Physically: It’s really important to get exercise. Most of us had exercise routines before the coronavirus, and we know what a stress reliever it is and how good it makes us feel mentally and emotionally. I did Jazzercize and pilates and both programs have offered me online options that I’m taking advantage of. Here’s one link to many free online.

Get outside in the sun and fresh air daily, even for 15 minutes. Being in nature is so healing. My husband and I have begun sitting on our front stoop watching the sunset and enjoying the robins, wrens, and rabbits that make their home in the huge pine tree on our front lawn. In the 17 years we’ve lived in our home, we never knew we had such wonderful natural entertainment!

  • Mentally/Emotionally: Our mind and emotions go hand in hand. Aside from reading, watching TV series’, and doing puzzles of some kind (my husband and I are doing jigsaw puzzles, a first since we’re married), there’s two biggies I do that nourish my mind and heart.

First, I have a daily gratitude practice. Focusing on all the good things we still do have in our life lifts our spirits. Research has shown not only does gratitude reduce stress, but it may also play a major role in overcoming trauma. I give thanks now for having my safe comfortable home to live in, running water, the technology to stay connected with loved ones, the greenness of nature.

Second, I use positive self-talk. Throughout my day I applaud myself for efforts, “You put makeup on today to feel like yourself. I’m proud of you.” And I speak kindly to myself for screw-up’s, “It’s OK you went into fear mode again. It’s understandable after listening to the news.” If you can master these two practices during these extreme times, they can literally transform your life when things return to ‘normal’.

  • Spiritually: A meditation practice trains our mind and emotions to not be reactive, and enables us to be more present-moment-focused (which can help us not get caught in gloomy future thoughts.) Research says meditation is a natural stress stabilizer and increases happiness. Who doesn’t want more of that now! I use the Insight Timer to meditate. I love it because there’s guided meditation, music and a timer to set my own background sounds. It gives me a structure and even rewards me with stars for every 10 days meditating. I’ve meditated 340 days in a row and I’m proud of it!
  1. Routines: A very comforting article I read at the start of our quarantine was by Scott Kelly, the astronaut. He gave tips for living in isolation, as he did when in space for a year. The first on his list was routines. Before our homebound life we had a routine that gave us order and a sense of control. Though we know how important routines are we may not have consciously created one yet. Creating a routine will help everyone in your family live better in the new normal. I follow most of the same schedule as before, except now when I would have met friends for lunch or dinner, I call, Face Time, or Zoom to feel like we’re together. Which leads me to…

 

  1. Relationships: The focus of my book, The Affirming Way of Life: See the Good, Speak the Good, Spread the Good is how to form and maintain the kind of strong, healthy relationships that lead to a happy, fulfilling life. Through personal stories and research I show readers that when we look with eyes for the best in others and are generous enough to tell them, we bring a flow of love and care to our relationships that brings the joy and connection we all are looking for.

Though we can’t be physically with most of our family and friends, we can reach out to them and let them know how much they mean to us. I’ve committed to doing just that. Each day I speak to 3 people and before the conversation is over, I tell them something I love or appreciate about them and how much our relationship means to me. The other day my son, Theo’s best friend, Wes, was helping me (via Face Time and computer sharing) learn to send group emails on my book. I said to him, “I can’t thank you enough for pointing out to me that I really am getting how to do this. You are such a wonderful teacher patiently explaining how the program works and having me practice the skills myself. Not only am I grateful Theo has you, I’m so lucky to have you, too!” Wes, affirmed me back, and we shared a moment of heart-warming connection. Though being affirmed back feels wonderful, each time I affirm someone I feel the love.

Wishing you all safety, health and finding moments of joy even during these crazy times!

Gail’s book is available at Amazon. Visit her blog/website theaffirmingway.com.