How to Work with Difficult Co-Workers

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articles
You have worked hard for your career or position and did a lot to achieve where you are at now.

You’ve seen a lot and know there is nothing you can’t handle. Then there’s that co-worker. The one “bad apple” you just can’t stand or get along with – perhaps they’re negatively impacting teams, projects or just making your work-life needlessly more challenging.

A nerve-wracking work relationship can quickly become a personal burden leading to stress, frustration and lack of motivation. It can result in a less than enjoyable work environment, and perhaps even effect the capabilities you have in your role.
You may also intentionally or unintentionally draw other colleagues into the toxic situation as you try to cope.

The good news is, it is possible to deal with even the most problematic co-workers and difficult colleagues, and it starts with following a few simple rules:

Acknowledge the situation as it is. Don’t try and pretend everything is okay when it isn’t. The first step to moving forward is seeing the situation as it is, not as you want it to be, or hope it to be. If is not working for you, acknowledge that is the case, even if only to yourself.

Recognize it’s not personal. If you have spent any time speculating that the behavior of the problematic person is personal and about you, stop it now. It’s not. They may have something else going on in their lives that you don’t know about. It may not even have anything to do with you. You may be the convenient target right now, but they are not behaving this way because of you, so there is no point in wondering what you might’ve said or did wrong to create the situation.

Don’t let it consume you or overpower you. Whenever you choose to see yourself as powerless and without choice due to what another person chooses, you make yourself a victim. You don’t have to lose happiness and fulfillment in your life because of someone else’s behavior. You are never powerless. Ask yourself, “What choices do I actually have here that I haven’t considered yet?” Also, don’t obsess and talk about it all the time to others as it makes the problem bigger. Put your mind towards choices, actions and conversations that are empowering for all.

Be grateful for that person. This may sound like an impossible request, especially if someone has been making life miserable for a while, but just try it for 20 seconds a day. What contribution are they and what can you be grateful for about them? Gratitude and anger can’t coexist – so by instilling gratitude and focusing less on the anger and upset, the tensions will tend to dissolve it and make it less significant.

Start fresh every day. Resentments build up over time because we hold onto memories of yesterday. We keep referencing them in our minds until we are already angry, frustrated and preparing for conflict or problems before then next interaction. If you give everyone a clear slate, every day (including you and your difficult colleague or co-worker), yesterday has less influence on determining the present, and you will be open to something other than conflict, fight or problems occurring. Choose to be kind even if they aren’t, choose to be happy rather than approaching that person with anger and frustration due to the past, and go into every moment with them wondering, “What could be possible here I haven’t considered?”

Always be you. Don’t turn into someone else around that person, don’t stop being you or make yourself small. The simple tool of, “Interesting point of view,” can assist. The idea is, whenever the anger, upset, reaction or judgment about that person (or about yourself in relation to that person) comes up, you say to silently to yourself, “Oh, interesting point of view, I have that point of view.” Repeat it several times and notice how the “charge” or intensity of the reaction begins to dissipate. When we do reaction or judgement, you aren’t being present as yourself. With “Interesting point of view,” you stop the reaction loop and get to be, choose, and act, as you.

In a perfect world, we would live and work by the Musketeer’s guiding principle of: “One for all and all for one,” but unfortunately, we don’t always get the colleagues who make that easily possible. Big egos, sneaky schemers, toxic gossips, lazy lopers, reckless careerists and obnoxious attitudes show up in business just as much as in life. But with these tools, you can be less at the effect of problematic people, stay true to yourself, and be the source for instigating greater outcomes for you and all involved.

Guest Contributors Views are their own and not affiliated in any way with the glasshammer.com

About Doris Schachenhofer

After completing her social work studies in Vienna, Doris Schachenhofer worked with children, homeless people, delinquent teenagers and prisoners transitioning back into the real world. Today she travels the world teaching and supporting people to be more of themselves. Her Being You classes are delivered in both live and online settings. Follow Doris here and on Instagram.

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Gender Roles in Business | Are They Still Relevant in 2018?

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Guest Contribution

In a rapidly changing world, stereotypes of gender are transforming many aspects of society and business culture.

Not only is motherhood no impediment to the degree of ambition and expectation women have in terms of achieving greater job and career responsibility, male attitudes to gender roles are shifting, with men more willing to make job changes and sacrifices to achieve better work and family life balance, and to contribute to their wives or partners career success. Many traditionally male or female dominated jobs are also seeing an increase in gender balance to varying degrees, particularly in the last 10 years.

While many are successfully shifting attitudes to gender-roles, narrow mindsets can still dominate in both overt or subtle ways, and both men and women can still feel limited in their freedom to advance in business or chose a career that may be perceived as atypical to generalized norms.

Whether you have experienced a little or a lot of discrimination for the body you were born in, you can have profound impact on the future of business by taking a leadership role in empowering yourself and others to go beyond gender-roles or any other perceived limitation.

This begins with committing to becoming limitless in your own mindset and addressing any unconscious judgements you may have in place. Adopt the following questions into your business mindset and become an invitation to function outside of confines based on gender or any other definition:

Are you willing to be a leader that empowers all people?

The key to continual progress where gender-role issues may arise is to first recognize that judgment, definition or discrimination of any kind, gender-based or not, will create a limitation in mindset and as a result in business. It is important to ask yourself the question, “Am I willing to be a leader for the empowerment of all?”

When you ask this question, you will step beyond oppositional thinking such as men versus women, right versus wrong, and begin to see the change you can affect with the people around you based on the possibilities available, rather than the problems and issues you think you have to overcome to succeed.

If you perceive gender-based judgment coming into play around you, or even in your own thinking, asking a question as simple as, “What else is possible here?” or “What choice is available beyond this?” will expand your thoughts beyond any barriers to include all kinds of possibilities for instigating change that you may not have previously considered.

Do you encourage contribution or competition?

The narrow-thinking that underpins gender-role stereotypes are usually accompanied by a sense of divisiveness, opposition and competition. The elements of competition are: right and wrong, win and lose, better than and less than, proving and defending. When you function from competition you cannot acknowledge your value and capacities in their own right and you cannot receive the talents and capacities of others that could contribute to you. In business this means potentially losing money, projects, and opportunities by not being willing to come together and take advantage of what everyone can bring to the table.

Eliminate oppositional thinking and develop a contribution-based mindset. Ask yourself, “What do I know that no one else does?” “What do others know that I don’t that would contribute to bringing this to fruition?” “Who or what can I add to the business/project today that would contribute to this becoming greater than what I can create alone?” “What are we capable of together that we could not create alone?”

With a contribution mindset, you can be in pole position and invite others to springboard off you to create even greater. This in turn can challenge you to look at what else is possible for you and what you are capable of that you haven’t acknowledged. A contribution-based perspective empowers you and others to out-create alongside each other, rather than compete against each other from oppositional positions.

Are you willing to be a game-changer?

As a leader in life and business, would you ever truly allow any definition, judgment or limitation to be relevant, significant or dominant? A limitation is only real if you decide it is. When you recognize that no judgment or belief can hold you back, you can ask questions like, “How can I out-create and go beyond this with ease?” and “If this wasn’t a problem, what possibility would it be?” and see possibilities, opportunities and advantages where others see none. A true leader is willing to be a game-changer, not just a player.

When you are willing to acknowledge that any limitation is only relevant if you choose to make it so, you will recognize your ability to create a different future and be an invitation for others to do the same. With an empowered perspective, gender-based roles, biases and limitations lose relevance in the face of our commitment to embracing and levering all differences to create more in our businesses and organizations.

The glasshammer.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with view of guest contributors or their organizations or affiliations.

About Doris Schachenhofer

After completing her social work studies in Vienna, Doris Schachenhofer worked with children, homeless people, delinquent teenagers and prisoners transitioning back into the real world.
Follow Doris here.

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OP-ED: Why Corporations have a role in America’s STEM Pipeline

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Serene Gallegos

By Serene Gallegos

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, by 2020 there will be more than one million more computer science-related job openings in the U.S. than graduating college students qualified to fill them.

And it’s not just computer science careers that are changing; at the same time, automation is reshaping the way we work across professions. So, what does that mean as we try to prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs – many that don’t even exist quite yet?

As a former elementary teacher, I know firsthand that teachers face a unique challenge to build lessons that are engaging and relevant for the future. Plus, it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the resources that may or may not be available – particularly around STEM and computer science. These subjects used to be relegated to math and science, but in today’s digital-first environment, technology permeates throughout everything we do, and therefore everything we teach.

To successfully navigate this new era of technology, students must be problem-solvers armed with skills to compose a successful workforce in the future. To achieve this, we need to implement a new way of thinking – namely, computational thinking – into the classroom. That’s part of the reason why I made the move to the private sector. Today, I work at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to lead a program equipping teachers with relevant lesson plans and experiential learning activities that help bring computational thinking to life.

So, what exactly is computational thinking? It’s a higher-level problem solving process whereby students learn to decipher information and form innovative solutions. What sets computational thinking apart from traditional critical thinking is that it considers how 21st century technology overlaps with key strategies to solve any given challenge. Computational thinking goes far beyond computer science to encompass all subject areas across all industries – from social studies to physical education, or simple tasks like packing a suitcase, learning to dance, or cooking a meal.

According to a recent report released by The World Economic Forum, by 2022 more than 54 percent of employees will require re-skilling because of new and emerging technology. Computational thinking is a foundational skill for the success of the future workforce and is how we future-proof students with skills that will be relevant to any career they choose.

In general, organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of building a diverse workforce. With STEM jobs growing 50% higher than the national growth average, it’s important to engage diverse backgrounds and different problem solving perspectives in order to maximize innovation. In addition, we know that the economic impact of stable, salaried STEM jobs for women and people of color will strengthen our economy. Yet for resource-strapped school districts, it’s difficult to single-handedly retrain teachers or implement costly new technologies in the classroom that engage all students.

Additionally, women’s underrepresentation in STEM is widely reported. Surprisingly, the number of female computer science college grads is trending downward – at just 18 percent according to the latest figures. Yet, women bring a highly valuable perspective to business operations today; just look at Lyft, a company that’s built a reputation for driving gender-inclusive policies that evens the playing field between drivers and passengers. Lyft partially attributes their app design to input from female leadership. This is just one example of why critical, computational thinking is an essential tool for women that can be applied in many different ways in today’s digital-first workforce.

That’s why education-focused corporate partnerships can truly make an impact to broaden the reach of STEM skill-building. TCS unveiled Ignite My Future In School in partnership with Discovery Education to provide free, easy-to-implement lesson plans and resources for teachers that can jump-start their ability to bring computational thinking to the forefront, across subjects, and for all students.

The value of corporate-led initiatives like TCS’ Ignite My Future in School are unique in that they are designed to meet teachers where they are, regardless of experience. Whether you are a new art teacher just starting out your career, or a tenured teacher with more than twenty years under your belt, curriculum that is digestible to all is less daunting to implement, and is also the most well-received by students. In many cases, schools cannot achieve this on their own – at least, not without a costly investment that may or may not be realistic. That’s why corporations are key to help fill a void, so long as they work in tandem with school needs.

Also, corporations must be realistic that they also can’t do this alone. When building out a successful education-focused CSR initiative, it’s crucial to bring in the right partners who can successfully integrate technology into resources that will resonate well with teachers. At TCS, we chose to partner with Discovery Education, a well-established leader in teacher resources and professional development, which only strengthens awareness and the educational components of our program.

When you’re a teacher, particularly in elementary education, you must become adept at many things – not just your subject area. You gain an understanding of how to incorporate different activities to bring your classroom teaching to life. Having an arsenal of resources with a curriculum that explores all subject areas and includes lesson plans on everything from building drones to deliver pizzas, to how to spur activism as it relates to an ecological crisis, is so powerful. That is why looking to corporations who are willing to step up to the plate, take accountability and address building a teacher’s capacity to the best of their ability is so critical in 2018.

My experience as a teacher has proved very valuable in helping TCS consider ways that our CSR program can positively influence the STEM pipeline in our country. I would stress then, that for other corporations’ programs to be just as successful, they should look to diversify the minds behind it and ensure that they are employing those from all walks of life who can bring unique perspectives to the table. When businesses take the first step, but also work in tandem with experts and thought leaders that can help guide their efforts to make a difference, they have the power to shape and propel us towards a prosperous future.

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How to Combat Perfectionism

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combatting perfectionism
Psychologist Susanna Mittermaier says perfectionism is often fueled by cultural expectations and conditioning, involves a harsh inner critic, ruins people’s capacity to feel joy and needs to be addressed.

She states:

“I grew up in a culture where it was very important to be as perfect as possible, which meant living in the constant fear of judgement and the need to filter everything through the question of: is this perfect enough?” she says. “We must put an end to this for ourselves and the generations to come.”

Mittermaier teaches people how to step out of self-judgement and perfectionistic tendencies in her Right Voice for You course. It invites people to let go of the harsh internal critical voice and make way for their own. Some of her top tips include:

1. Stop judging you

Every judgement defines you and stops positive energy and opportunities from flowing into your world. Every time you judge yourself negatively or harshly it’s like putting the brakes on whatever you’re trying to create in your life.

2. Be willing to let go

Perfectionists can hold onto ideas, projects and contributions in fear of the judgement that will come if they share them before they are 100 percent perfect. Be willing to let these ideas, projects and conversation pieces fly out into the world, whether they’re perfect or not.

3. Don’t look for others approval

If you feel excited about saying, creating or contributing something in your home, workplace or social circles, don’t wait for approval from others (or even your inner critic). Other people’s points of view are not relevant.

3. Don’t wait. Create.

Stop waiting for conditions to be perfect to start creating the experiences you actually want in your life. Give yourself permission to stop worrying about the outcomes (whether things will be perfect or what others will think) and start creating today. Creation starts with one choice. Ask yourself what the first, easy step you could take might be.

4. Your past does not determine who you are in the present or future

Perfectionists have usually judged themselves harshly. They may have never measured up to the expectations of others or that of their own inner critic, which can leave many feeling like a failure. Don’t buy into the story of your past. Instead, start creating your future.

5. Get to know your imperfections

Make a list of your top three imperfections. Then, ask how can you can use each of them to your advantage? If you think you are shy and you believe that is a weakness, ask yourself what the power of shyness is? Shy people are usually great listeners, which can be a great advantage in many work and social settings.

6. Learn to enjoy being imperfect

Perfection is about measuring yourself against the standards of society and others. See your individuality as a resource rather than a liability. Enjoy your imperfection and recognize your difference as a treasure box of gifts then use them to create your life, projects and relationships in a way that is unique to you.

“Perfectionism stops people from being able to express themselves in the world,” Mittermaier says. “Giving up the need to be perfect and allowing your right voice to come through into the world is so liberating for people. I love it when people realize they can do things they’ve been stopping themselves from doing, especially when those things have the capacity to make them happy.”

About the author

Susanna Mittermaier is a clinical psychologist, psychotherapist and author of the #1 International Bestselling book, “Pragmatic Psychology: Practical Tools for Being Crazy Happy.” A global speaker, she has also been featured in magazines such as TV soap, Women’s Weekly, Empowerment Channel Voice America, Om Times, Motherpedia, Newstalk New Zealand and Holistic Bliss. Susanna offers a new paradigm of therapy called Pragmatic Psychology and is known for her revolutionary perspective on mental illness. Her unique perspective identifies depression, anxiety, ADHD and other forms of mental illness as a capacity that has not yet been acknowledged. Susanna is an internationally accredited Access Consciousness Facilitator, including Right Riches for You, a specialty program of Access Consciousness. She transforms people’s problems and difficulties into possibilities and powerful choices. Follow on Twitter @AccessSusanna.

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Know the Flexibility You Want in Your Current Job

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If your current work structure is too demanding and you’re considering a work hiatus, first explore a more flexible schedule with your boss.

Women frequently tell me they left their jobs because flexibility was impossible. When I dig deeper, I find that they made premature assumptions or exerted no effort to negotiate. A boss who is asked a simple question on the fly e.g., “Can I work at home on Fridays?”, is not likely to react positively. It takes a more professional proposal, ideally a written one that leads to flexibility about 80% of the time, detailing all the safeguards that will ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Before you craft a proposal, pinpoint the flexibility you want. A vague request puts the onus on your boss to figure out possible scenarios. Get specific by asking yourself these three key questions:

1.Can I afford to earn less than a full-time salary? Do I want reduced hours or a more flexible full-time schedule?
2.How much do I want to advance to more senior levels? Would flexwork slow my progress? Is a better work/life blend more valuable?
3. Could I compress a predictable 40 hours into fewer days?

Going part-time

If you don’t want to work 40 hours or more, then what is the alternative? What is a job share possibility and who could be a good partner? Could your most important job responsibilities be done in a part-time schedule? Could you work three days and be paid 60% of your salary—a substantial savings for your employer and two free days for you? How would a part-time schedule affect your employee benefits eligibility?

There are other considerations as you consider your ideal flexible schedule. Would your day begin or end earlier/later than the standard hours? There are practicalities to think about such as which regularly scheduled meetings require your on-site participation? And should you be on site for predictable monthly responsibilities requiring last-minute coordination among many people? If you’re a manager, how much on-site training or oversight is needed by your direct reports? You might be a person who needs the buzz of a busy office to be productive. If you’re in a client-facing role you need to think about how your flexwork schedule would sync with their needs, especially for those in different time zones. What are known busy periods and would you be be willing to forego flexibility during those times? Would your current childcare arrangements fit your ideal flexible schedule? Would your childcare provider be flexible if you need to work extra time in emergency situations? Would you prefer to cut back on or eliminate travel? How would travel affect your desired flexible schedule?

Know Which Employers Have the Most Flexible Cultures

If you run up against a brick wall getting the flexwork you want, head toward
small businesses—often led by individuals who fled from inflexible corporate America. Great progress has been made by employers across-the-board, but it may be years before flexibility is status quo across big corporates or mandated by government. Smaller, more nimble management teams (especially at professional services firms, nonprofits, companies founded more recently and those employing more women) have the leeway to bend on work structures. Small employers (50 to 99 employees) are much more likely than large employers (1,000+ employees) to offer employees the ability to:

· Change start/end times periodically or daily
· Compress workweeks by working longer hours on fewer days
· Work some hours at home
· Take time off without penalty as personal needs arise.

The big take-away is that today women have options to nurture both family and financial security. It’s possible to lean in-between in a wide range of workplaces—keeping both balance and sanity intact.

Kathryn Sollmann is a flexwork expert, speaker and career coach—and the author of Ambition Redefined: Why the Corner Office Doesn’t Work for Every Woman & What to Do Instead.

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Women in Technology: 4 Tips to Advance in your career in tech

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Guest contributed by Avery Phillips

Interestingly, despite the noise, the number of women in computer science jobs is actually lower than it was in 1995 — by 37 percent.

Research from Ohio University shows that organizations with greater levels of gender diversity can see sales revenue up to 1325 percent higher than those with the least amount of gender diversity. Still, the stereotypical Silicon Valley crowd remains predominantly male, despite the gains being documented on several levels.

Set Yourself Up for Success

It’s still an uphill climb, unfortunately — women are granted less than 2 percent of venture capital funding, despite accounting for 38 percent of small business ownership. Networking is incredibly valuable before you take the plunge and head to Silicon Valley. Arm yourself with great people, good ideas, and a lot of perseverance.

Here are 4 tips for setting yourself up for success:

  • Cultivate real-life positivity. According to Fortune 500, companies with three or more female executives see an incredible 66 percent increase in their return on investment. What you bring to the table is invaluable, and you shouldn’t let potential investors forget it.
  • Diversity breeds innovation, and innovation in tech means money — something an investor is happy to hear about. Build a team that you can count on and trust them. Pushing the tech sector outside of its current homogeny will benefit companies and consumers alike.
  • Embrace your strengths. Society will tell you that to be successful in tech and business, you must eschew traditionally female traits and conduct yourself as a man. Throw that idea out the window. Society sees men as the standard for business conduct because that’s what it’s always looked like. Interrupt that idea, embrace your differences, and use them to your advantage.
  • Believe in your work. Being a woman in tech is hard, and it will continue to be hard for quite some time. Change does not happen overnight, but the implicit biases that individuals bring to the table do not diminish your work. Have faith in your cause and hustle until it happens. The next generation of workers will thank you.
Taking Advantage of Current Opportunities

Advances in augmented reality, device connectivity, and remote monitoring are changing the way we look at education and personal health. Historically, these fields (sans technology) have been dominated by women, which makes a female tech-takeover more widely palatable although not a given.

Though it may unfairly gendered, investors perceive women as having more authority in these fields based on previous career trends, making investment in female-founded startups more likely in the health and education sector.

Classrooms are quickly becoming highly digital, requiring students to use laptops and tablets proficiently for many activities. Education requires applications designed to be understood by a variety of learning styles, applicable across subjects, and available at a cost reasonable to educational institutes. Unfortunately, the lack of a consumer market makes it less appealing to existing tech companies; there simply isn’t as much money to be made, despite the long-term benefits of a more educated population.

Healthcare is becoming increasingly digitized, with individual health data being collected and used to make treatment decisions from afar or to monitor patient adherence to treatment plans. While this presents an incredible advancement in the accessibility of care, it places patient data at high risk. The tech sector is charged with responding to the risk and protecting patient information — whatever that may look like.

Currently, solutions in both markets lack efficacy and practicality, creating huge opportunity for innovative thinkers to disrupt the industry. With women being more welcome in these sectors, it’s the perfect bridge to a Silicon Valley C-Suite.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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5 Tips For Avoiding Miscommunication in the Workplace

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miscommunication, emails

By Guest Contributor

New research into communication in the workplace has revealed that 56% of all workers have committed some kind of miscommunication in the office (defined in the study as unintentionally sending a communication to the wrong person at work).

Communication is a key aspect of your everyday working life but, clearly, there is work to be done when trying to get your point across. Follow these five tips and minimize the likelihood of a misunderstanding in your office.

1. Use the best methods available

Alongside investigating how often miscommunication occurs in the workplace, TollFreeForwarding’s recent research uncovered the mediums with which it takes places.

Email was the chief culprit, with just over a third (34%) saying they’d sent an email to the wrong person when at work. Other platforms where regular miscommunication occurs include texts or instant messages (such as Whatsapp) at 22%.

Despite it probably being your go-to method for communicating in the office (269 billion are sent worldwide every day), email isn’t actually the most efficient way of communicating at work.

This is particularly true when communicating internally, so take a look at which platforms you predominantly use and look to give new ones a try. Try collaboration tools like Skype (which had a much lower 16% miscommunication rate in the survey) or Slack, which are designed for inter-team comms. You could even go a little old-fashioned and encourage more face-to-face communication. Some companies have incorporated tech-free office hours in a bid to encourage more verbal communication.

2. Know your data restrictions

Data compliance is everyone’s responsibility in business, but the research revealed how often information is leaked by employees. Almost a quarter (23%) of the workforce said they had sent some form of confidential information to the wrong person at work. Most of this was personal information about another colleague (13%), but that still leaves 10% of workers who have admitted to miscommunicating confidential business information. This can often be down to not applying the correct level of protection for your data, or simply using the wrong platform. Again, emails aren’t terribly secure, so communicating across them with confidential information can lead to disaster. Be extra vigilant with what you’re saying, who you’re saying it to and what medium you’re using to say it.

3. Separate work and personal communication

Methods for work and personal communication are often blurred. If using instant messaging to chat with others becomes the norm at home, chances are you’ll begin to adopt it in working life.

This does come with its own complications, particularly if you’re using the same device in both instances. Almost one in five (19%) said they’d left a voicemail on a colleague’s mobile phone that it wasn’t intended for, and just over one in five (21%) said they have accidentally sent a photo or video to a colleague.Depending on the content, this can be embarrassing for both the sender and receiver of these communications.

17% of workers said they had sent insulting comments to the wrong person by accident. The majority of these instances (10%) were comments about someone who wasn’t the receiver of the communication, but the remaining 7% admitted to accidentally sending insulting comments about the person who received it.

There are vastly different communicative expectations between work life and home life. Get it wrong, and this can lead to inappropriate content being sent to a colleague at work. To avoid the potential pitfalls, look to separate work and personal communication wherever possible. As an easy starter, pick up a cheap work mobile phone and don’t use your personal email address for any work-based communications.

4. Don’t be afraid to speak up

That last point should be applied as a general rule in your communicative habits. Bad communication at work happens – it’s a skill to get it right and sometimes we fail to hit the mark. This can lead to unwarranted stress, confusion, unclear strategies and missed deadlines.Sometimes, it can be daunting to approach your boss if you didn’t understand their instruction, but it’s a key part of avoiding miscommunication in the office. If in doubt, just ask.

5. Try something new

Like an earlier suggestion, you could choose to switch up your daily communication methods and attempt to loosen your reliance on technology. Frank, face-to-face conversation is always going to be the most efficient way to discuss workplace problems and bring about solutions. So, how can you incorporate more of it into your working day?
An alternative to the tech-free hour mentioned above is the “Scrum” or “Daily Standup”. This is essentially a brief, daily team meeting that gives everyone an opportunity to mention blockages and barriers to success. Issues can be addressed early at the start of the day and you can avoid a back-and-forth email exchange that can so easily be misinterpreted or ignored.

Where miscommunication occurs in the office

Alarmingly, throughout the research conducted, men were found to miscommunicate at work with much more regularity. In every aspect of miscommunication investigated in the survey, men were found to do it more.

Earlier, we said that 56% of workers had miscommunicated in the office – but break it down by gender and the story is different. 70% of men say they have miscommunicated in the office, compared to just 49% of women. The same is true of the method of communication. For example, 43% of men have accidentally sent an email to the wrong person at work – 12 percentage points higher than women.

As for the content of the communication, the trend continues. Over a third of men have accidentally sent some confidential information (35%), almost double that of women (18%). Similarly, more than a quarter of men (26%) have sent insulting comments to the wrong person at work – the same category is just 15% for women.

In summary, women are much better at avoiding miscommunication in the office than their male counterparts – but that too comes with its own risks. To boost productivity and avoid the embarrassing pitfalls of poor office communication, we’ll need to give and take instructions from both men and women. Following the tips above, and encouraging others to do the same, could lead to a decrease in the level of miscommunication we see today.

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Can a Notepad and Pencil Save your Sanity?

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letter writing

Image via Shutterstock

Guest contributed by Sarah Dixon

You may have caught the headlines recently that being a mother is the equivalent of working two and a half jobs.

Mothers put in a whopping 98 hours of work in a week, between their actual jobs and time spent caring for children. Ms Average starts at 6:23am and carries on until 8:31pm. Although this information (gathered from a study by the US juice company, Welch’s) may grab headlines, it really only confirms to women what we already know; our plates are full.

Another survey, back in 2013, claimed that 85% of women feel over-burdened, and listed 26 jobs that women ‘have to’ do on top of their paid work. Participants revealed that they often had so much to remember that things inevitably got forgotten – 1 in 8 said they’d forgotten to pick their kids up from school!

Of course, what we need to do is to change society to make sure that women don’t take on the brunt of the caring duties (whether it’s for children or older family members) and that men truly co-parent and take on a bigger share of the parenting. But while we’re working towards a change in society, how can we save our sanity?

Go Analog

While there are any number of apps out there that claim to help you manage a busy schedule, many people are finding the key to managing the tasks in their lives by going analogue. The system that is helping people all over the world to get organized is called Bullet Journalling or BuJo for short. It was developed by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer from New York but is now used by converts all over the world.

From the relatively simple beginnings of Carroll’s system, bullet journalling has gone on to become a catch-all term for a pen and paper system. The Bullet Journal Junkies group on Facebook has almost one hundred and fifty thousand members, who share their own take on the idea. The most commonly used features are: An index to help you find information, and a daily/weekly to-do list that is kept deliberately brief. Tasks that don’t get done are migrated to the next day/week so they don’t get forgotten. Double page ‘spreads’ of reference information or long-term goals/challenges are also common; for example weight-loss trackers.

Of course, this isn’t the only system. Pen and paper journaling has become an industry in recent years with some systems launching via Kickstarter campaigns and others using more traditional means. What do they have I common? They tend to either be in a hardback journal or a binder which means they can be carried around with you, without getting damaged. They also make it a pleasure to use; focusing on good paper, including inspirational quotes or the opportunity to personalise or colour them in.

Brain Dump

Part of the reason that being busy is stressful, is because our brains are working overtime to remember all the things we need to do. That’s why a brain-dump is so helpful when dealing with anxiety. Rather than mentally juggling a hundred different things, you can just ‘download’ them into your journal and relax, knowing that you won’t forget them.

A journal becomes a permanent brain dump. Once you get into using a system, you come to trust that you won’t forget things; everything you need to remember is there, even that appointment in six-months-time and which episode of the Gilmore Girls you need to watch next. That frees up brain-space because the only thing you need to hold onto is ‘remember to check your journal’.

Your journal can also become a useful source of reference information. The Bullet Journal Junkies facebook group is filled with stories of how someone got a job, or a promotion, because they were in a meeting and had the information they needed at hand, because they had their journal with them.

Getting Started

Although journalling addicts may spend a fortune on journals, pens and washi tape, to get started you only need the nearest notepad and a pencil. Use the system for a while, and if it works for you? Then you can invest in something that will last longer. You may become one of the people who finds their busy life is much more manageable using this system.
The important part of any journaling system is that you should want to use it. It’s no use persisting with a pre-printed journal that doesn’t have the features you need or drawing up your own every week if your time is better spent elsewhere. Experiment with different ideas and see what works best for you.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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OP-ED: Navigating Employment with a Disability

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October is Disabilities Awareness Month

According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for persons with a disability is 81.3% that means only a 18.7% employment rate. Among persons with disabilities ages 16-64, the unemployment-population ratio is 70.7% (29.3% employment-population ratio)

These numbers prove we have inclusivity problems in areas beyond the media & government websites. By “we” I mean people with disabilities. I am a wheelchair user and part of the disabled minority that has a higher-education degree. I am part of the 32% of working disabled persons who work part time and the 10.6% of working disabled persons who are currently self-employed.

At the time I’m writing this post, I’m simultaneously trying to boost my freelance salary to a full-time equivalent and/or find full-time employment. I wish I could claim to be an “expert” on helping people with disabilities find employment; I’m not. I’m a freelance writer who knows what the climb toward (and fall away) from full-time employment feels like.

I’m always learning on my journey. One thing I know is that if you’re looking for a job, it’s important to know your rights as a disabled person under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA,) the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC,) the Department of Justice (DOJ,) the Department of Labor (DOL) and state and local government. All of the aforementioned departments are responsible for upholding the rights provided to you by the ADA.

I’ve also acquired a wealth of tips that have made job searching with a disability less overwhelming. Hopefully, this post will make your climb a little bit easier.

Know Your Employment Rights & What They Mean

After July 26, 1994, the ADA protected persons with disabilities from job discrimination by “all employers, including State and local government employers, with 15 or more employees.”

That sounds simple enough, but as with most laws, you won’t clearly understand your rights until you know the definitions of key terms and know where the loopholes are.

To be covered by the ADA, you must have all of the academic qualifications and work experience required by the employer to do the job. Your disability must be a “substantial” impairment, meaning that it affects a major life activity like seeing, hearing, speaking, walking, breathing, self-care, completing manual tasks, learning, and other functions. You must be able to perform the essential roles of the job with or without reasonable accommodations.

“Reasonable accommodation” can be defined as a modification or change to the job or environment that helps a disabled person perform essential tasks or receive equal benefits to other employees. This includes the application process.

Some examples of modifications include providing readers or interpreters, adjusting work schedules, modifying training or tests and more. Your employer is required to provide you with reasonable accommodations unless they can prove that doing so would cause “undue hardship.” Undue hardship is substantial difficulty or financial distress.

Employment practices that the ADA covers includes:

  • Recruitment
  • Hiring
  • Training
  • Firing
  • Pay
  • Promotion
  • Benefits
  • Leave
  • Lay off

During the hiring process, your employer cannot ask you if you are disabled or about the severity of your disability. They can ask you questions about completing job-related tasks with or without accommodation, including asking you to demonstrate how you would perform a task.

You cannot be required to take a medical exam before being offered a job. After a job offer, an employer can ask that you complete a medical exam if they require one of all employees. You cannot be discriminated against based on any information that comes from the exam. When you begin working, your employer can only ask questions about your disability if they relate to the job. All of your medical information is to be kept confidential.

Your employer is not required to offer a health care package that includes pre-existing conditions. The ADA does not require that a person with a disability be hired over other qualified applicants because they have a disability.

An employer can refuse to hire a candidate if they pose a threat to themselves or others. The threat must be an objective fact based on evidence. The employer cannot refuse to hire you because of a “slightly increased risk” or perceived risk to you or others.

Building Codes & the ADA

All of the employment protection in the world won’t help you if a building’s structure is inherently inaccessible. The ADA has compliance guidelines for contractors so there is an accessibility standard when building businesses. There are a lot of technical points regarding space needed for wheelchairs and it’s very technically worded and impossible to memorize. Unfortunately, there are loopholes and exceptions written in, as with most laws. But, it’s good to understand some basic rules and note if they aren’t followed upon your first visit to the building.

Tips for the Job Search & Beyond

The hard truth is that the ADA is not your biggest advocate, you have to be. It takes us more work to land the interview, and we can’t relax when we’re in the room if we want to get the job. Here are some tips I’ve learned to help you make job searching less stressful than it already is.

Tip 1: Use Your Resources

If you have resources available to help you find a job at the level your qualification/experience allows, use them. Able-bodied people do it all the time.

Networking with a disability can be difficult, especially in person. I find that as a wheelchair user, I’m constantly fighting to be heard. A group of people (OK, honestly even one person) is not likely to kneel down on my level, so I have to look up constantly and be loud often.

It shakes my confidence, especially in professional situations. Disabled people know that the ADA only protects us so much. Do what you need to do to level the playing field as much as possible. Here are some ideas:

  • Vocational services
  • Resume writing services
  • Headhunting services

The statistics above prove that even with the ADA in place, having a disability makes it more difficult to get a job. Don’t be ashamed to reach out wherever you can for help.

Always speak up for yourself. Make sure the jobs you are seeking are not below your intellectual abilities.

Tip 2: Know the Building

If, when and to whom you disclose your disability is entirely your decision. If you choose not to disclose, you still need to be sure the building meets your needs before an in-person meeting.

Have a friend or family member call to ask if the building is accessible. That term is general and means different things for everyone, so future accommodations might be necessary. (See above for some basics.) But any barrier that keeps you from having a successful interview or first day should be addressed as soon as possible.

If you are a wheelchair user and there is a huge staircase in front of the building, for example, you need to know of alternative entrances. Having a friend call is a way to maintain your right of non-disclosure for as long as you can. They don’t have to identify themselves or ask anything beyond basics.

Look at the bathroom before the interview if you can. If the bathroom doesn’t meet your needs or is being used for storage, address the issue carefully. Do not view the facilities with your employer.

If you feel like your rights are being violated, record it. Digital records are more reliable than paper these days as it’s more difficult to misplace them.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking a superior to record agreements or conversations for you, do it yourself. If your rights are being violated, you’ll need to prove it in court, and that’s not easy. The more records you have, the better your case will be. Contact a lawyer or call the EEOC for more information.

Guest Contributed by Sarah Turner

Sarah is an experienced content writer and digital marketer. She is a well-versed online strategist and produces quality content to help others improve their website. Her expertise covers site development, social media promotion, SEO and content creation.

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6 Ways to Mentor Others to Change their Trajectory and Yours!

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women working mentoring
In all great ‘mentor-mentee’ relationships, both lives are changed for the better.

As a mentor, not only can you share your experience to benefit another, you also gain from their unique perspectives and insights that differ to yours. Mentoring is a two-way street where, if maximized, can contribute to both you and your mentee’s growth and success in surprising ways.
If you desire to create successful mentoring relationships, here are six essential “do’s” and “don’ts”:

Tip 1: Don’t advise

Considering the traditional meaning of mentor is “advisor,” shouldn’t the one thing a mentor definitely be doing, is giving advice? Sharing your experiences and making suggestions is not a bad thing, but a truly empowering mentor knows that what creates more than giving someone an answer, is asking them questions. Asking questions allows you to invite the unique leadership capacities of another to come to the fore, rather than mirroring yours.

What if it was never about getting someone to do it your way? Even when someone comes to you for advice, ask them simple questions like, “What do you know about this?” “What are you aware of that’s required here?” and begin empowering them to find their own way.

Tip 2: Do Inspire

Inspiring others is ten thousand times more effective than advising them. By you not holding yourself back from being successful, being committed to never giving in and never giving up – and going for it with the speed, perseverance and determination you do – you become an inspiration for others to go as well.

Inspiring rather than advising also helps you avoid the trap of trying to get people to become more than they are willing to be. Most times, you want more for other people than they want for themselves. Trying to be the motor for people that don’t want to go takes a lot of energy and doesn’t lead anywhere.

Put your energy towards those you know can and will go further. Ask yourself: What unstoppable greatness can I choose to be to inspire others? Who can receive my contribution? Who is willing to be successful? Asking these questions will make you aware of those who can go and those who can’t and where you can make the greatest difference.

Tip 3: Don’t set goals

Particularly in a business mentoring relationship, the expectation is for the person you mentor to succeed by setting goals and attaining them with your help. The danger of setting goals however, is clearly indicated in the origin of the word, meaning “gaol” (a limit or boundary). With goals, your sights are fixed on an outcome. You become hyper-focused and invested in that result, excluding any new information that potentially threatens it – even if it would mean a change for the better.

Do set targets

Instead of identifying fixed goals, create broader targets of what you would like to achieve. Unlike goals, Targets are movable and more flexible. You can shoot at them numerous times and you can adapt and change them. As you create a project or run a business, you have to be open to constant change and re-evaluating your targets to match the next level of where you want to go.
Ask yourself every day: What is my target? Is it still relevant, or do I need to change it? Adaptability is a highly desired and required leadership skill. By setting targets in your mentoring relationships, you will increase your ability to use adaptability to create greater than expected.

Tip 4: Don’t visualize

Visualizing is great, but it has one big limitation: your mind. When you visualize, you can only see as far as your brain’s capacity to visualize things. It cannot go beyond that. And there is much more available than what your mind can come up with!

Tip 5:Do actualize

Actualizing is not just about visualizing or talking about what you desire, but making it show up in physical reality. Trajectory change occurs when you actualize beyond what you can visualize, and it starts with a question. Ask: What can I truly create that is far greater than I can imagine? What steps can I take today so that what I am asking for can come to fruition? What action is required for this to actualize?

A question takes you beyond your mind and imagination. It takes you beyond definitions – definitions of success, of what is possible for you, your business, or another person. Definition by definition alone is a limitation. If you don’t define your future, your success, your capacities – there are no limits to what you can achieve.

Don’t forget to allow mentoring to be easy! Successful mentoring should not be all about what you do, but about what you choose to be in the world and with others that creates the future you would like to see.

Guest Contributions are not necessarily representative of theglasshammer.com’s views. We have no formal or informal connection with our guest contributors.

About the author

Susanna Mittermaier is a psychologist, psychotherapist and author of the #1 international bestselling book, “Pragmatic Psychology: Practical Tools for Being Crazy Happy.”  A sought after public speaker, Susanna has been featured in magazines such as TV soap, Women’s Weekly, Empowerment Channel Voice America, Om Times, Motherpedia, Newstalk New Zealand and Holistic Bliss. Susanna offers a new paradigm of therapy called Pragmatic Psychology and is known for her ability to transform people’s problems and difficulties into possibilities and powerful choices. Follow on Twitter @AccessSusanna.

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