An unconscious bias is a quick and often erroneous judgment based on limited facts and our own experiences. This judgment may give individuals and groups an undeserved advantage or disadvantage in the workplace. Prejudices can be about just about any aspect, not just about gender, skin colour or age. They may relate to a person’s communication style or hobbies.

An unconscious bias is not intentional, it is part of the lens through which we see the world. It is the fruit of the life experience of individuals, and no one is immune to it.

Everyone has implicit or unconscious biases. They appear when our brain has to deal with great amounts of information.

The secret to change is to focus your energy on creating something new, not on fighting the old.

Dan Millman
Artist, writer, record man, sportsman

Saying no should be a moment of empowerment, when you take responsibility for yourself and resist the pressure, or the urge, to satisfy someone else instead.

If you still find it hard to get the word out, you can say no with a mild and diplomatic refusal.

Next time you want to say NO while softening the blow try a ‘’I’m not comfortable with that’’ or a ‘’That’s probably not going to work for me’’

It will get the job done as well as NO!

A personal touch is the best way to let your customers know that they are a priority.

When you talk to a customer, remember their name, and use it throughout the conversation. To show that you’re listening, mention something they said earlier. Your customers will appreciate this personalization.

This seems obvious, but it still doesn’t happen as often as it should. No one wants to hear “Sir” or “Ma’am” (or worse yet, “Madam”).

Being professional and being friendly are not mutually exclusive. So, make it a point to remember and address your customers by their name.

Are all hours created equal? On our watches, yes, but not necessarily in our minds: Upcoming events may alter the way we think about and use the preceding time.

In a recent study, researchers found that participants with an approaching event were less inclined to take up relatively long (but doable) tasks, including ones with rewards attached.

The reluctance to even get started contributes the biggest part of this effect. To help push back on this tendency, lead author and Rudgers University marketing researcher Gabriels Tonietto recommends ‘’any strategy you can think of to minimize the number of boundaries that you’re creating’’ in your schedule – for example, planning back-to-back meetings in the morning while keeping the afternoon open.

Stereotypes and prejudices are often considered to be the same thing, but they influence our behaviour differently.

Stereotype (Conscious bias)
A false or generalized conception of a group of people that results in a conscious categorization of each member of that group, regardless of individual differences. Consciously biased individuals act intentionally by developing beliefs and stereotypes about a group of people with similar characteristics. (for example, women are emotional)

Prejudice (Unconscious bias)
An inclination or preference formed without reasonable justification that may prevent the judgment from being balanced or impartial. This type of bias is unconscious. The unconscious biases of each are different depending on their own socialization and exposure to diversity. Unconscious bias can affect an organization’s culture, team dynamics and conflict resolution. (for example, Asians are smart)

“Offer me something I’m passionate about and I’ll show up with all of my energy, effort and care.”

That’s a great way to hide.

Because nothing is good enough to earn your passion before you do it. Perhaps, in concept, it’s worthy, but as soon as you closely examine the details and the pitfalls, it’s easy to decide that it may be better to wait for a better offer.

What about considering the opposite?

“Offer me a chance to contribute, and I’ll work hard on it, with focus, and once I begin to make progress, I’ll become passionate about it.”

Work before passion measures our craft in terms of contribution, not in an idealized model of perfection.

Passion comes from feeling needed, from approaching mastery, from doing work that matters.

Seth Godin

You may have noticed that emails often involve misrepresentation, or misinterpretation?

One of the reasons for this is that we don’t ensure understanding in emails. This process is delayed or does not exist because an email is sent and there is no real-time dialogue – it is a one-way communication.

In the case of emails, the distortions are systematic and have been studied. Studies show that people tend to interpret positive emails as somewhat neutral and neutral emails as more negative.

We keep hyping how much speed and fast replies matter in customer service. But...if that's your only focus, you're compromising on other customer service metrics.

In customer service, measuring the speed of service is easier than measuring customer satisfaction - but that measure may have nothing at all to do with improving the very thing you set out to achieve in the first place.

Instead, define your goal (customer satisfaction, customer engagement, …) and focus on measuring that.

When we are tired, we are less well equipped to deal with life. Sleep deprivation can affect our ability to control and regulate our emotions, as well as our ability to think proactively.

According to William Killgore, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Medical Imaging at the University of Arizona, a simple bad night can compromise your ability to “put the brakes on the emotional center of your brain.”

This makes you likely to over-react (good or bad) in certain situations. You are more likely to feel frustrated, hurt, and hypersensitive, or anxious or overwhelmed.
When you are tired, each interaction may seem worse than it really is and undermines your happiness.

So, before you resign or, worse, stay in a job that you think you hate, try to significantly improve your sleep, and see if you wake up being a new person, more fit and brighter.

John Gottman, the relationship researcher, observed that married couples had a healthier relationship when the balance between positive and negative actions and feelings in a relationship was five to one.

Of course, workplace relations are less intimate than conjugal relationships, but the study suggests that the more positive experiences we have, the happier we are.

We place more importance on negative events than positive ones. It seems logical, therefore, that to overcome a negative event such as a critique, we will have to experience a greater number of positive events.

This suggests that, if you are a superior, you should start compensating for negative reviews or feedback with positive events and feedback.

As the days grow darker and colder, many of us experience the winter blues, triggered by scant sunlight. The lack of light seems to shift our circadian rhythms which in turn impacts levels of key body regulating hormones or neurotransmitters in the brain such as melatonin and serotonin. Essentially, we get stuck in a biological night state, and we feel gloomy and lethargic.

Kelly J. Rohan, Ph.D, psychological science professor at the University of Vermont recommends getting outside for a half hour every morning or going on a walk over your lunch break. It will improve your productivity, your motivation, and your focus.

According to George Bernard Shaw, the main problem in communication is the illusion that it took place.

Very often, when it comes to communication, an illusion has occurred.

Let us remember that communication is not what we say, but what the other understands.

And for our message to be effective, we must ensure that it is understood!

Don't blame the other person for not understanding. Rather, look for ways to clarify or rephrase what you are trying to say so that your message can be understood.

Automation and artificial intelligence are hot topics in all industries, and customer service is no exception. But when customers hear “customer service automation”, they think about menus and unwanted robocalls.

But when used properly, customer service software can reduce an agent’s workload so that they can focus more on the customer and less on transcription errors.

Automation is inevitable, and when used properly, it can increase the productivity and effectiveness of workers without erasing human contact.

Multitasking at work can lower a person’s IQ by ten points, which is equivalent to losing a night’s sleep and twice the effect of smoking marijuana.

Bregman, Peter. "How (and why) to stop multitasking." Harvard Business Review

In remote work environments - where you are generally not regularly exposed to non-verbal communication signals from team members - it can be easy to miss the first signs of conflict.

One of the easiest ways to increase your awareness of the frustrations of your remote team members is to develop an understanding of their basic communication habits. Irony or sarcasm may not be of concern if this is their standard way of operating. But increased negativity from a generally positive worker, on the other hand, could be a concern.

Don’t let tacit problems and bad situations persist. If you see these types of changes or other signs of potential conflict, proactively resolve them.

If you are looking to create positive change at work, it is likely that you will also create discomfort.

Normally, when we want to suggest/impose/apply something new, we say:

• “This is a very good idea…”

• “It will improve our work…”

• “This is a better way to do things…”

What is more difficult (but useful) is to say all this in addition to saying:

• “…and it will make some people uncomfortable.”

Then continue this conversation.

Do not avoid or ignore talking about discomfort… rather accept it and incorporate it.

Faces can provide vital clues about a person’s mood, but the most reliable way to ‘’read’’ someone may simply be to listen to them.

Yale psychologist Michael Kraus tested the ability to evaluate someone’s emotional state using different types of sensory information.

The experiments determined that voice-only interactions led to more accurate perceptions than visual-only or multisensory versions.

One reason is that faces can be misleading: while we sometimes hide our emotions by feigning a smile or a straight face, the cues contained in our voices may be harder to mask.

When a customer thanks you for your service, avoid answering “No problem” …

Even if your intention is good, some customers may be offended.

They may wonder why there would be a problem if the task is simply part of your job. Are you suggesting that your customers could potentially be a nuisance or inconvenience?

Here are some alternatives for a good exchange of appreciation:

• “At your service.”

• “You’re very welcome.”

• “My pleasure.”

• “Glad I could help.”

Words are important!

Choose them carefully, especially when answering a “Thank you”.

We all have the same amount of time available: 24 hours a day, 168 hours a week.

Yet, some people succeed in achieving their goals and others still run out of time.

Effectiveness is determining what is a priority for us. It is making choices.

Every time you say “I don’t have time”, what you’re really saying is “It’s not important enough to be at the top of my list”.

Psychological distance is the perception of how close an individual is to another person, group, or organization. This is a perception that can only be measured by the impression of the individual.

The greater the sense of psychological distance, the greater the negative impact on the team in terms of innovation effectiveness: confidence, job satisfaction, clarity of roles and objectives, and project success.

A low psychological distance ensures a higher level of employee engagement, greater cohesion between members, increases individual satisfaction, facilitates communication between colleagues, accelerates the process of building trust, allows the creation of a culture, and ultimately increases the performance of workers.

Studies show that lifelong learning benefits us beyond the skills we acquire.

The act of learning is just as important as what you learn. Believing that you can improve and do things beyond your current possibilities is exciting and fulfilling.

When you communicate remotely, you never know exactly what the other person is doing at that moment.

A person can answer your question with a simple “Yes” and not elaborate because they don’t have the time.

Without understanding the context of the other person, you might think that the other person is not listening or doesn’t care about the issue you raised when they are maybe just juggling you and their child simultaneously. This is why virtual teams must communicate effectively and avoid making assumptions.

Whether you are delivering or receiving the message, considering your colleague’s context (distractions, cultural norms, mother tongue, presence of young children, just a bad day) could help prevent misunderstandings.

Obviously, you can prove your point, and even have the last word. Maybe you’re even in the right.

However, right or wrong, your efforts will be in vain: It is impossible to win an argument with a client.

Your goal is to acquire, retain and grow a loyal customer base, not be right.

If you win the argument, you risk damaging the relationship with the client.

Whether your organization is private or public, this is always a LOSING outcome for YOU.

The customer is not always right …

But they’re still the customer.

We must find a fair solution to respond to their requests while respecting the needs of the organization!

1. SOCIAL PHOBIA – Fear of interacting with people
2. AGORAPHOBIA – Fear of crowds
3. EMETOPHOBIA – Fear of vomiting
4. EREUTHOPHOBIA – Fear of blushing in public
5. AMAXOPHOBIA – Fear of driving a car
6. HYPOCONDRIA – Fear of disease
7. AERODROMOPHOBIA – Fear of flying
8. ARACHNOPHOBIA – Fear of spiders
9. ZOOPHOBIA – Fear of animals
10. CLAUSTROPHOBIA – Fear of closed spaces