The Snitch

In order to thrive in the workplace, some employees feel the need to don a more serious persona and lose their sense of humour. However, Lenny Ravich, optimism guru at Ha-p.com says using humour at work can help relieve stress and encourage creative problem-solving.

To find out the benefits of using humour at work, watch the short video below.

Stay in line and follow my lead!

Crises such as the economic calamity can result in unfavorable outcomes such as employee layoffs, degrading employee morale and even bankruptcy.

If you’re leader, a crisis can either make or break you. In fact, crises have brought down many leaders and their organisations with them. But there are also others who have risen to the challenge to prove their mettle.

With tough challenges and a heavy responsibility to lead your employees through them without getting undone, how can you deal with the predicaments?

Lesson 1: Face reality.

The crisis isn’t going to fix itself, so denying its existence would only make things worse. Until you acknowledge the fact that you’re facing a serious problem, you will not be able to move forward and solve it. You will also have to guide your employees to face reality as well.

Lesson 2: Don’t carry the world on your shoulders.

You can’t get through this alone. So don’t attempt trying. Instead, reach out to others in the organisation and your personal circle to share the burden. They will be more than willing to help if you ask them and are willing to open up to them. Also, this will create an opportunity for you to strengthen chemistry within your team, because the strongest bonds are built in crisis.

Lesson 3: Dig for the root cause.

Often, employees are mentally blocked from recognising the implications of a crisis because they get frightened by it. This would leave your organisation vulnerable to repeating the mistakes made in the last crisis. Thus you, as a leader, must bring your employees together to confront their worst fears and address the risks. The only way to solve these problems is to identify the root cause and implement permanent solutions.

Lesson 4: Prepare for the long haul.

Never underestimate the severity of the crisis, even if it has nothing to do with the economy. Don’t declare victory too soon if you are in its early stages, because you may only be looking at the tip of the iceberg. Prudent leaders recognise survivability as their most important goal, so they can make a strong come-back as when the crisis subsides.

Lesson 5: Take advantage of the crisis.

A good crisis is one that presents you with the opportunity to make major changes in your organisation because they lessen the resistance that exists in good times. Move aggressively and implement reductions in infrastructure and employment if the decision helps strengthen your organisation as you emerge from the crisis.

Lesson 6: Use the spotlight as opportunity.

As a leader, you are constantly in the public eye. Your compensations are published in newspapers and your statements are widely quoted. Get out in front of the crisis in its first hours with clear statements, both internally and externally. This shows that you accept responsibility and also builds confidence and credibility with all your constituents.

Lesson 7: Focus on winning.

Be sure to maintain your focus as you emerge from the crisis. The market never looks the same as it did going in. But this period offers you the best opportunity you will ever have to reshape markets to your advantage. The best leaders emerge from a crisis because they are not only aggressive and courageous in turning challenges into advantages, but are also passionate about using their leadership to make a difference in the world.

Via “Seven lessons for leading in crisis” by Bill George, published by Jossey-Bass 2009

With longer working hours, emails that demand for your attention (even if you are out of the office), busy executives walk a fine line between juggling the demands of the home and the workplace.

“But having a meaningful career doesn’t mean sacrificing your personal life,” says LesValene Ngion, director of product development at SIM Professional Development.

Ngion shares a five-step-plan on how can you manage better this ordeal between work and family commitments:

Step 1: Get real

To begin, make a list of Work Time and Personal Time needs.  Quantify and qualify how much time is needed in each category. Then conduct a personal audit of your work-life using a simple SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis and access the results. Where do the  gaps between your current work time, personal time,and lifestyle commitments?

Step 2: Purpose driven

What is  your values and purpose in work and life? Reflect, analyse, and list down three to five items and focus on them. Stress and frustration may result if these values and purposes are not met. But remember, perseverance is needed to keep the balance!

Step 3: Goal oriented

As goals are seen as the end result from perseverance, setting them at an attainable level would help you keep focused and refrain from getting overly ambitious. Discuss these goals with people for additional morale support. Write down your goals in your PDA calendar’s ‘to-do’ list and set reminders about them on a weekly basis.

Step 4: Adaptability

It takes conscious effort and determination to obtain work-life balance as it calls for long term changes to your lifestyle. Compromises and sacrifices are inevitable. Sometimes, you’ll just have to say  “No” without having to feel guilty about it.

If you find adaptability a trouble, please relook back to Step 2.

Step 5: Evaluation

Since the continuous effort of evaluation is necessary to maintain work-life harmony, sustaining it is an even greater challenge.

Restart the five-step plan if bump into any major decision your work-life journey.

Ngion believes that work-life balance is obtainable. All you have to do is to choose, focus, evaluate to adapt, then keep moving!

There are better ways to get noticed at work...

You’ve been sitting in the office for a year, your contribution to the company has been overlooked or undervalued. This plays a toll not just on your self-worth, but it will affect your chances of further career advancement. Especially in a time when the economy is only slightly picking up, “now is not the time to be invisible at work and let your work fall under your boss’ radar”, says Chris Mead, general manager of Hays Singapore.

Mead offers five tips to help make your boss sit up and take notice of you:

1. Make a positive impact

It’s time to get into the frame of mind you had when you first started the job, says Mead. Assume every opportunity is a chance to impress your manager with your good work. It is important people notice your positive impact. Hence, sell yourself at work by the positive results you achieve. In meetings, make sure everyone knows what you’re working on and what the outcomes are.

2. Add value

Businesses are always looking at increasing revenue and cost improvements, so look in that direction to add value. For example, if you work in the construction sector, try demonstrating business development skills.

3. Upgrade your skills

Mead believes you should take every opportunity to volunteer for additional tasks. They will not only improve your own employable skill base, but “make you even more invaluable to your employer”.

4. Made a mistake?

When you’ve made a mistake, don’t panic or try to hide it. Honesty is the key, so go to your manager with the truth and a plan of how you intend to rectify the error.

5. Remember the basics

It’s crucial to arrive for work on time, show enthusiasm, look and act professional, and be organised. Don’t watch the clock, and be prepared to do extra work.

Mead also advises to keep a record of your achievements and the times when you exceed targets and beat deadlines. Also, it will help to get to know people in other departments.

Don't fall to the bait of saying yes to every request that comes your way.

Many of us want to be liked. Maybe that’s why saying ‘no’ seems difficult in everyday situations. To the ear of a boss, colleague or customer, a ‘no’ may be insulting and even offensive. Every ‘yes’, no matter how trivial, takes up available time and energy. While a flat ‘no’ can damage relationships and stunt your career, some limits have to be set to prevent you winding up overloaded and overstressed.

Alec Mackenzie and Pat Nickerson, authors of The Time Trap, offers a five-step approach to get your ‘no’ across gently but firmly.

1. If there is a situation where you must decline a request, don’t say ‘no’ outright. The moment requesters feel denied or resisted, they stop listening and start building counter-arguments.

2. Instead, highlight that there might be a possible risk in the task or request. For example, open with a statement like, “I believe there may be a potential risk involved.” This way, the requester is curious and not defensive.

3. Let requesters see the risks graphically. For example, start sketching the risks on a pad of paper if you are both in the same room. This places their focus on the page and not on your face. They might also want the sketch for themselves for when they have to make their case to their own higher-ups.

4. Avoid mentioning any problem or inconvenience to yourself or your team. Your requester will expect you to manage your work risks in private.

5. Be prepared to illustrate workable options for every risk you list.

In the current economic crisis, forward-thinking companies are constantly looking to prove to existing or new customers that they can add value to their business needs. One way to do that is developing a reputation for innovation and being good at what you do.

Likewise, employees who can show how they add value to the company during the downturn will be the ones earmarked for further success at work. But it takes time to build such a positive reputation.

Dr Martin Henery, who heads the Manchester Enterprise Centre UK for Manchester Business School, shares how you can enhance your reputation as a valuable employee at work. The trick is to start small.

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Master your emotions and save the discomfort of having to wear a box over your head.

Emotions are often a messy and sordid affair. At work, being overly sensitive affects your work productivity and harmony with your co-workers. But when under control, emotions can take your work performance and power of persuasion to greater heights. Mastering your emotions can also give you a big leg-up in a competition.

In the book Full Throttle, Gregg Steinberg spills some strategies to supercharge your performance at work through emotional mastery. Here are a few suggestions:

Discover your inner Tiger (Woods)

True happiness is a verb, says Steinberg. It involves meaningful endeavors that inspire us from the heart. Tiger Woods epitomises authentic happiness living a life of meaning that gives him inspiration to do more and to be a better person.

Steinberg recommends making a “tiger list”, where you write down a list of all the meaingful contributions your job has made to yourself. Ask yourself if your job has made a meaningful contribution to your company, and how does your job make a meaningful contribution to you. Put the list somewhere in your office, and when you’re feeling stressed or depressed, take a glance at it for a jolt of needed motivation.

Serenity now

Let serenity be your advantage at work. When finding serenity at the workplace, you first need to gain wisdom to recognise the difference between aspects of your business life which you have control and no control over. Next, place them into two categories: Can Control and Cannot Control. For the Cannot Control list, crumble up the paper and throw it away. Hence, when you start thinking unproductive thoughts, say “trash can” to yourself.

Also, focus on what you can control by devising one strategy for each worry on your Can Control list. For example, if you have a strategy to take on extra work, stay late but make sure the work is of the highest quality. Following a specified strategy will give you a greater sense of control over the situation and reduce your anxiety.

Find your joy spot

Sometimes, we get so caught up in work that we forget to have fun. With this, Steinberg suggests laughter. Laughter puts you in a better mood, and increases your work productivity as your mental capacities increase. A good chuckle can also produce a relaxation response. So when things go awry with work, you can choose to feel angry, or you can decide to laugh at the difficulties faced at work and in your life.

Leap above boredom

Steinberg believes that boredom is on the flip side of flow. Boredom is caused by the lack of challenge, where you cannot achieve flow unless you’re appropriately challenged at work. Ask yourself if you can add more seminars to your schedule, or increase your quota to be more challenged. In short, fight boredom by making it your mission to add challenges to your job.

How can you stay afloat when your financial situation is sinking?

While a layoff may be our greatest fear in this recession, a pay cut comes close to second. In a survey conducted by Hewitt in April this year, 37% of 53 companies in Singapore say they have implemented a recruitment freeze, and another 33% say they have plans to do so in the May-July period. Although 66% of overall companies  reported no layoffs, the service sector saw 18.2%  looking to retrench staff.

That said, a pay cut, unpaid furlough, or diminished working hours can be a difficult adjustment. In an article on Money Watch, Richard Sine suggests four steps to minimise the effects of a pay cut.

Step One: Get the full story

At the news of a pay cut, it is important to get past the emotions and understand what your employer is actually offering so you can plan ahead. Bosses often don’t make things clear, and it is best for you to review the company’s HR policies or ask the HR department about the possible effects a pay cut has on your benefits. Perks like health insurance, severance packages and bonuses are calculated based on salary and/or work hours, which a pay slash or work reduction may eliminate. It is hence important to fully understand what a pay cut means.

Step Two: Know your rights

Make sure your boss is treating you fairly. There is always a possibility that a manager is using the recession as an excuse to penalise certain workers unfairly or even illegally. If you suspect discrimination, bring it up to the company’s HR department before taking it out of the company.

Step Three: Try to negotiate something in return

Bosses are usually forced to cut your hours or pay because they have little choice. They still want you to remain loyal and productive. Hence, it may be a good time to negotiate for something in return, such as a more flexible work schedule, discounts on company products or services, or allowing you to retain some of the benefits you were set to lose. Approach your boss about this. If it fails, consider banding together with some colleagues for more heft.

Step Four: Adjust your finances

A pay cut may be temporary, but depending on the economy and the company’s fortune, it may be a long time. It is thus important to make adjustments to your finances. Sine provides a list of strategies for consideration:

* Divide all your expenses into “mandatory” and “discretionary.” Then, reduce your discretionary spending and get an idea of how long you can continue paying your mandatory expenses with your reduced salary.

* Increase your savings cushion to prepare for the possibility of a layoff.

* Maintain your access to credit. Make sure you occasionally use each of your credit cards so they don’t get closed due to inactivity. But pay the balance in full!

* To make up for your lost spending power, take advantage of every last benefit your employer offers, such as transit reimbursements, flexible spending accounts for health or childcare, and company-sponsored discounts.

Related article: Penny pinching tips for the unemployed

No one is expecting a song and dance, but is HR doing enough to ease the transition for returning expats?

The latest issue of Human Resources magazine has been uploaded on our website!

Some of the topics that we cover in the latest issue include:

• Why is repatriation often a neglected process and what HR practitioners can do about their assignees who are returning home.
• How workplace and employee diversity can help boost your business bottom-line.
• Simon Cooper, president and chief operating officer of Ritz-Carlton talking about how a strong company culture can inhibit change.
• Is HR the new chief integrity officer?
• Get a mentor without looking like a stalker.
• Office policies doesn’t have to be dirty, but you definitely need to play the game.