Planning For Employees’ Return to the Office? Don’t Overlook Differences in Employee Opinions

Employee trust and appreciation are on the rise.  The COVID pandemic presented leaders a substantial opportunity to put their employees first, to communicate often and with authenticity.  This has paid off in building trust and connection among employees, their managers and leaders.

With companies planning for the return to the office, maintaining these improved connections is paramount.  One aspect of returning to the workplace you may not be thinking about is the span of opinions your employees have about the virus and how they will treat others whose views differ. You can lose your bump in engagement by not reinforcing respect in the office when it comes to employees’ diverse behavior, opinions and actions on the virus and safety guidance.

 

Learn from the media’s mistakes

If you haven’t completely stopped watching and reading the news, you’re aware of the conflict between people who diligently follow the guidance given to protect vulnerable populations and those who resist wearing the protective equipment.  One cause of the conflict is that the directives given by health experts and our state, local and federal governments are inconsistent.

Complicating the guidance given is media headlines that convey an incomplete description.  Recently, a USA Today headline read “New Jersey will require face masks to be worn outdoors, governor says.”  Missing from the headline and first four paragraphs of the article was the critical additional information “if you can’t socially distance.”  Disputes on social media were rampant.  The initial headline and that of many news stations caused fear among those who feel vulnerable contrasted with outrage from the people that don’t believe you need a mask everywhere.

 

Preventing conflict among employees

For business leaders, have you considered how this could play out in your workplace when employees return to the office?  People have very different fears and opinions for many reasons.  Employee conflict around issues of safety and preference can erupt when least expected.  Some employees will be extra cautious by wearing masks when they’re not required and others will want the restrictions lifted as early as possible.  This can cause disagreements and ridicule among employees if not openly addressed.  You want to avoid situations where employees are mocking a colleague for being extra cautious or blaming someone for not caring about others.

 

What you can do to reduce employee disagreements

Employees tend to be on their best behavior in the workplace but there are actions you can take to limit teasing or accusations from eroding the improvements you gained in employee trust and appreciation.

  • Be clear on your mandatory expectations and where there is flexibility.
  • Be upfront with employees on unacceptable behaviors and the consequences.
  • Hold managers accountable for enforcing the expectations as soon as an issue arises.
  • Provide a resource for employees to go to for consistent, accurate information.
  • Let employees know that the health and safety guidelines will be adjusted over time and no changes will be effective until the company notifies them.
  • Reinforce importance of respect in the workplace.
  • Communicate, communicate, communicate.

You want to avoid contention, blaming and ridicule during this very sensitive time.  And you want to enhance the positive culture you’ve gained so your employees like coming to work and building on their and the company’s success.

Finding Resiliency In Times of Change

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?

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?

Your Values Fuel Your Best Life

When in your life has your heart sung from joy?  Can you remember the circumstances?  Likely, your core values were aligned with whatever you were doing at that specific time.  Unfortunately, most people haven’t spent time concentrating on their personal values.  It’s not to say that we aren’t aware of the values (family, religious and societal) we were taught.  Those values can be very different from the core ones we become more aware of when provided the opportunity to examine what is important and why.  Let’s talk about the different values we hold and why.

 

Types of values

The definition Merriam Webster uses to define values is “something (such as a principle or quality) intrinsically desirable”.  To be more precise, values are beliefs or philosophies that are important to how we live and work.  Our values can drive our actions and decisions.

There are three categories of values every person is exposed to—superficial, chosen and core.

  1. Superficial values are those values we think we should live by because someone taught them to us. These are values that we have not challenged. For example, values a parent may have passed on like giving to others is more important than taking care of yourself.  Many people spend most of their lives trying to take care of everyone else and end up disillusioned and unhappy because they thought taking care of others was more of a priority to caring for themselves.
  2. Chosen values are those that we select to uphold as consistently as possible. An example could be a Catholic going to church every Sunday or honoring the Sabbath if you’re Jewish.  You may be disappointed in yourself for not celebrating your faith but you probably won’t be greatly dissatisfied if you miss a week.
  3. Core values are those on which we hold and base our lives. We know we’re living within our core values when we’re happy and satisfied with what we’re doing and the decisions we’ve made. We are dissatisfied, reluctant or embarrassed when we are not living them consistently.  For example, if a person’s core value is teaching and he/she is not in a position to teach, he/she will likely feel disconnected or unhappy unless the need to teach can be fulfilled in other areas of life.

For years, I believed I knew my values.  I was a family person, a hard worker, caring friend.  I believed in being “good” and respectful, taking care of others.  Some of these values ended up being superficial, ones that I took on but didn’t bring me satisfaction.  I felt overwhelmed at times because I was taking care of others and ignoring my needs.  It was when I was dissatisfied that I was not living within the core values important to me.

 

What you can do today to clarify your values

Write down your values as you believe them to be.  Examine why they are important to you.  Are they central to your happiness?

When I took a deep look at my values I realized there were a few that I had not been actively engaging with when I was making decisions.  For many years, I had not been considering my spirituality in my decisions.  This left me feeling adrift as if I didn’t have anything to anchor me.  Once I was able to define what spirituality meant to me I was able to make decisions more easily and quickly.

If you’re not sure where to start in examining your values, Google “Defining Your Values”.  There are many resources available to help you.  Here’s one link from Wikihow that is a good place to start.  https://www.wikihow.com/Define-Your-Personal-Values  Don’t be discouraged by the time it takes to uncover your values.  You will need to spend enough time thinking through where they come from and what purpose they serve you and if they will continue to help you make good decisions.

 

Living a values-based life

I’m much clearer on what I want, what I do and how I’ll go about achieving my goals and making decisions now that I’ve clarified my values.  This past year one of my values came to life through starting Paradise Workplace Solutions.  Learning is critical to my happiness.  But it wasn’t until I was in a situation where I needed to gain knowledge as business owner that I realized the full energy and passion that was driving me to make this business successful. My heart sings every day because I’m working on my business and learning along the way.

Identifying your core values and living them out is what will make your heart sing, your life fulfilled and guide you to your true purpose.

Susan O’Connor is CEO of Paradise Workplace Solutions and coaches clients to connect their personal values and passions to their business goals.

Stop Controlling Your Employees If You Want To Increase Engagement

Employee engagement is a popular topic.  The money and attention companies give to engagement may be a superficial band aid that ends up backfiring if they aren’t spending their efforts on employees’ engagement with the work.  Keep in mind, 85% of employees are disengaged according to a Gallup Poll.1

What are leaders trying to accomplish with a focus on employee engagement?  In brutal truth, at the core, business leaders want to improve productivity, so that their businesses are successful.  Yes, most aspire to have a workplace their employees like coming to but ultimately, they’re in business to make money, solve problems or serve people.  They shouldn’t be shamed into acting otherwise.

 

Are you killing productivity?

Many leaders are trying to balance “engagement” with getting the job done.  You can have employees who like each other, celebrate successes and are given rewards but what happens when they get back to their desks?  Do they eagerly engage in their work?  Many disengage as soon as they sit down.  Why?  Because their WORK is not engaging them.

Many company’s cultures have been set up to control when and how a job gets done.  Flex time permits employees some leeway on when to arrive and leave but it’s still controlled.  American businesses are headed in the right direction but how motivating is it to be controlled, held within specific parameters?  What happens to creativity?

 

What can leaders do to improve engagement?

Get a picture in your mind.  Think about the most highly motivating time in your career or business.  What was it about that time that made you want to get up every morning and accomplish your goals?  Who was telling you what to do and how to do it?  How were you rewarded?

I experienced my most engaging times when I worked at companies that were growing and I’ve experienced that same in my own business.  Why?  Because no one had predetermined rules in how to accomplish what needed to be done. I was eager to learn, prove to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to.  I was able to use my creativity.  My work was acknowledged by others and I was rewarded intrinsically by feeling good about my accomplishments.  None of my engagement had anything to do with receiving monetary rewards or parties in the hallways.

Let’s acknowledge that systems and rules need to be in place for very routine tasks, like expense reports and assembly line work.  However, allowing employees the autonomy to complete their work in a way that allows them to tap into their creativity and self-motivation can be more engaging.

 

Autonomy is motivating

Daniel Pink talks about the four essentials of autonomy in his book Drive published 10 years ago and still holding true today.2  Time, task, technique and team are ways in which autonomy can exist.  Not all people are motivated by each one equally.  The goal is to find out which motivators work best for each employee.

Time—getting results instead of focusing on the time it takes to get work done.  Many companies are now looking at getting results by allowing employees more freedom in when they have to produce results.  Obviously, some jobs are based on time-determined outputs and don’t allow employees freedom from time constraints.

Questions to ask yourself:  What jobs do we have that we can remove time obligations?  What could the benefits be if we tapped into our employees’ creativity in getting results?

 

Task—selecting certain aspects of what we do.  For example, employees see many opportunities for improvement in your business all the time.  Allowing them the independence to work on these opportunities for a portion of their time can be rewarding because there is no roadmap.  They can use their creativity and solve problems on their own.

Questions to ask yourself: How often do my employees see ways to make improvements or come up with new ideas that are getting left behind because we’re controlling the work they do?  What would happen if we experimented with allowing some employees to work on projects they create?

 

Technique—allowing employees to figure out how they will get their work done.  There are some organizations that permit customer service employees to work from home, for example.  They choose how they want to set up their home office and how they will accomplish their goals.  Technically, there is no reason they need to be in a physical call center, all together following rote scripts.  That’s a controlled environment that stifles their creativity.

Questions to ask yourself:  Are we losing by not allowing employees to come up with how to accomplish their tasks?  Can we gain efficiencies and produce more or better products?

 

Team—choosing who you work with on certain projects.  Self-directed improvement projects are a good example in which a person can choose who he/she wants to work with.  Allowing a team to come together by choice can produce great results.

Questions to ask yourself:  Who can I ask in my business to select a project and team to test out this theory?  Am I willing to give up control to see if there is a better, more motivating way to get work done?

 

What can you do today?

If you truly want to engage your employees, start looking at ways in which you can reduce control and compliance and increase autonomy and creativity.  There are many published examples of autonomous workplaces and theories.  Do some reading on motivation and use your business to do some experimenting.  Keep what works and refine what doesn’t.  Be ahead of the curve.  Your high performers will appreciate it.  And your bottom line may see a bump up.

 

1 Building a High-Development Culture Through Your Employee Engagement Strategy, Gallup, Inc. Washington, DC, 2019.

2 Daniel H. Pink, Drive, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us,  Riverhead Books, New York, 2009.

 

Paradise Workplace Solutions, LLC works with business owners to improve productivity and profitable growth by aligning people strategies to the company’s business plan.

It’s Personal: An Employee In Crisis Can Build Up Or Tear Down Your Company’s Culture

I didn’t have any intention of writing this article until I woke up this morning. After seeing all the news and reminders about breast cancer month I was compelled to talk about how a health scare created an employee/employer bond that can’t be broken.

It’s time for me to own up. Not many people know that I went through breast cancer and Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma treatment two years ago. Or, maybe it’s more accurate to say that I didn’t talk much about it.

I pride myself on helping others and was surprised by my reaction to the diagnoses. I didn’t let many people help me. I was overwrought with emotions. I put a cocoon around myself and went deep within to deal with the cancers. I told only those who absolutely needed to know and I asked them not to discuss it with me or anyone else unless I brought it up. I realize, without a doubt, that was very difficult for family, friends and co-workers who love and care for me. Yet, everyone respected my wishes.

What does this have to do with company culture? How employees are treated every day is part of your company culture. An employee in crisis can magnify aspects of the culture either good or bad.

Build your culture and help an employee at the same time
I was working for a large corporation at the time and was naturally nervous about what cancer would mean for my life and career. I was worried that I wouldn’t be considered for a promotion or plumb assignment if they thought I couldn’t handle it physically or if my future was uncertain.

Fortunately, I had a manager and employer who respected my wishes and helped me through my treatment. Their handling of my diagnoses also demonstrates the culture they want for the company. They value their employees; plain and simple. Here is how my situation was handled and how helping employees when they’re “down” can help build a culture of mutual admiration.

Six actions to take to help an employee through a crisis

  1. Listen, listen, listen.  This is the single most important action any manager can take during a difficult situation.  Listen for what your employee is saying and not saying.
  2. Ask how you can help.  Find out what they would like you to do or not do.
  3. Respect the employee’s wishes.  If the employee wants support from his/her team, help them get it.  If they want to keep it on the down low, abide by their decision.
  4. Look out for ways you can alleviate their stress.  This can be in the form of easing their workload, setting up a system that will allow your employee to attend to any necessary appointments without having to ask, or providing them with additional resources.
  5. Check in.  Their needs may change from the initial discussion and you want to make sure you’re helping them throughout the process.
  6. Give them time to adjust to their new reality. Continue to view this employee as an active contributor who will come through their situation to be the same or better employee.  Other employees are watching closely to see how you’re handling the situation.

My outcome
I am healthy and free of cancer. I was loyal to my employer and co-workers before my health scare. Their approach to my situation made me double down on my commitment and demonstrated to those closest to me at work how a compassionate manager and employer can make a difference.

Since my treatment, many aspects of my life have changed. I was promoted to a position I always wanted two months after returning from a short medical leave. Six months later, I made some difficult and dramatic changes because I realized that I didn’t want to put off dreams I had for my future. My husband and I moved to Florida from New Jersey and started our own business, Paradise Workplace Solutions.

I made sure before leaving that someone was in place, up to speed on leading my group and that there was a smooth transition. I wanted the company to know that I appreciated everything they did for me and that I had no intention of leaving them in a lurch.

After my leaving the company, the manner in which I was treated remains a part of the culture they are building every day. My commitment to my former manager and employer is still strong. I cheer for my former co-workers and company from the sidelines and advocate for the work they are doing. I am a staunch supporter and make sure I refer only the very best potential employees because I want their culture to be the best it can be. That’s the least I can do for the co-workers, manager and company who helped me through the most difficult time of my life.

Click here to talk with us about people strategies.

Paradise Workplace Solutions, LLC works with business owners dealing with disappointing business results get on a path to improved productivity and profitable growth by aligning people strategies to the company’s business plan.

5 Things You Can Do To Improve Your Employees’ Understanding of Change

Did you ever think that leading a business would involve so much talking and explaining? You talk with your managers, employees, customers, peers, vendors, the mailman, the cleaning crew and on it goes. It’s no wonder, then, when an employee says he/she doesn’t understand a change you want to make that you question if anyone has heard you.

Many important business decisions are well thought out and communicated with managers and employees. Yet, employees still don’t make the changes you need. This isn’t uncommon. How people adapt to change has been well studied in various situations from grief to business. There’s a process that people go through before they can truly act on implementing any change.1 Resistance is normal and should be expected when you begin to think about making a change. Still, how can you help employees through it?

Overcoming resistance to change
As a business owner, you spend a good deal of your time developing plans and finding solutions to problems. Your time is consumed by many different issues. Once you’ve solved one problem, another pops up to demand your attention. This is the point at which a change can begin to fail and you could be missing out on the most important factor in making your business successful—ensuring employees understand what you need from them. I’m not talking about knowing what the change is. I mean truly UNDERSTANDING and being a part of the company’s success.

Having spent most of my career in employee and leadership communications, I found that a company is always evolving to flourish. In stark contrast, many employees fear the very actions that will ensure the longevity of the company and their own future. Basically, they want their work experience to remain the same or want to make part of a change. How often have you heard team members say that they like the way the company was before more employees were hired or challenging market dynamics affected the business? Each employee has his/her own preference and degree of comfort with change.

Change is inevitable
Change IS happening more rapidly and businesses need to adapt or suffer. So, if companies are changing regularly and rapidly, shouldn’t we expect that employees would “get used to change”, adjust quicker and get on with the work that needs to get done? The number of experiences employees have with change doesn’t help them adjust. It’s the quality of how they have been included and understand the change that helps them adapt more quickly to what you need from them.2 Employees’ needs around the change must be met in order for them to be able to focus and get the job done.

As the owner of your business, you’re continually looking for ways to make improvements, increase your profits, become leaner, satisfy your workers and customers and reduce costs. You can’t do all that without occasional disruption. The question becomes how to continually improve your business while keeping your employees productive and satisfied working for you. The answer is to involve them in your business issues and improvements.

How to involve your employees

  1. Have conversations about your current business plans with your employees. Let them ask questions, probe your thoughts and rationale.  Include the naysayers.  Make sure your managers can articulate your plan and have conversations with their employees.  Do this as often as it feels comfortable.  Rotate the employees you’re having conversations with to get different perspectives.
  2. Set up environments that allow open, unstructured dialogue to occur. Coffee or lunch sessions with you or their manager.  Let employees know that they can ask you anything and you will answer to the best of your knowledge.  Most importantly, listen with no expectation other than to hear what they say.  Afterwards, take what you’ve gathered and think on it. Incorporate what you can and keep other ideas socked away until you see a pattern of similar issues or ideas.  Then act on those improvements.
  3. Ask your employees regularly how business or their work can be improved and what can be done differently. Employees are the experts on your business and know what your business needs.  Talk to employees who directly interact with customers.  What are your customers asking for that the business isn’t providing?  This is where your next new business development idea may originate.
  4. Write down what employees say and who made the recommendations. Follow up with one-on-one conversations or get a group of people with similar ideas together to discuss.  Engage them in coming up with ideas or changes.  Then have them help explain the change to others.
  5. Recognize employees for contributing. Give them credit when possible.  Use stories that include them when talking about new business ideas or changes that will make the business run better and more efficiently.

Here’s what you can do today

  • Talk to your leadership team about involving employees at all levels in discussions on business direction and improvements.
  • Set up a lunch meeting with 5 or 6 trusted employees to discuss how you want to get more worker input. Then set up another lunch meeting with 5 or 6 naysayers.  Ask them if your approach will work in your company’s culture.  Ask what would concern other employees about contributing more and owning the changes that will result.  Then begin implementing consistent, timely discussions with your workforce.

If you haven’t involved employees in solutions and business development previously explain what you’re doing and why, what you expect from workers and how you’d like this new approach to be part of your culture. The larger your business becomes, the more insights you will need from employees. It’s never too late to start including your employees in growing your business.


1 Managing resistance to change, www.prosci.com, August 5, 2019.
2 Joseph B. Fuller, Judith K. Wallenstein, Manjari Raman, Alice de Chalendar, Your Workforce is More Adaptable than you think, Harvard Business Review, May-June 2019, issue, p. 118-126.

Look for our upcoming blog on:
Enhancing your employees’ skills through training and development