Savoir-Agir@Work

Clutter is an energy thief and a distraction, and every distracting thing prevents you from using your time effectively. When you lack of organization, or you don’t have an established system or effective process, lots of time is spent doing the same thing several times over.

If your main workspace (virtual or physical) is confusing, you will end up wasting time looking for things. A scattered workspace is made for a scattered mind. Clutter induces a feeling of guilt and makes a feeling of perpetual dissatisfaction persist within us.

Get rid of clutter and you will handle your workload more effectively. A tidy workspace incites more effective work and a greater productivity.

Our workplaces introduce us to constant challenges such as angry customers, unpleasant coworkers, demanding superiors, objectives to achieve, recurring issues, and performance requirements, making it easy to feel overwhelmed, overworked and on edge. Regardless of our roles we sometimes find ourselves in difficult situations leading to an emotional breakdown.

We can learn to adapt to or overcome difficult situations and it is in our best interest to manage our emotions, regain our balance and strengthen our emotional stamina.

Athletes regulate their emotions before competitions to help them perform better, and soldiers regulate their emotions before going to battle to avoid emotional collapses.

Why not make it a regular practice in your professional tool box?

Tattoos are not necessarily compatible with all professions and work sectors, and depending on the career or occupation you wish to have, tattoos will be more or less tolerated, accepted, appreciated perhaps even admired.

Some industries are more open minded and value the creativity and the self expression, while some are more formal, and want to give off a more rigorous image of impartiality, confidence by means of a fitting and polished appearance. In those cases, a tattoo must be more … discreet – in order to respect the neutrality and formality required by the organization.

In terms of tattoos, corporate image must be a key element to consider. One should show some caution, all depending on the kind of employment and the context. It is essential to understand the organization’s culture (its implied rules), its philosophy (its values), the nature of the job… And above of all whom will you be in contact with!

Do good manners matter at work? Should you really be expected to be polite all the time, or can you bend the rules in the name of efficiency and productiveness? The answers are Yes, Yes and No!

Most people don’t intend to be rude or discourteous. In an attempt to be efficient and productive we sometimes forget to consider the impact of our behaviours on our colleagues. Courtesy and respect towards others should be standard behavior in the workplace, regardless of role, rank, stress or circumstances.

Demonstrating workplace courtesies is not about just being nice, it’s about the effect you have on the world around you. Being unaware or uncaring of your behaviour will eventually create a toxic and hostile environment where no one is happy. There's no excuse for discourtesy in the workplace. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Life is short, but there is always time enough for courtesy.” Take the time. Be mindful of it. The results—a pleasant outcome for everyone.

Regardless of your position, you are an expert in your field. You excel in what you do and have the knowledge and experience to do a good job.

In order to maintain this expertise, an expert must commit themselves to developing their knowledge, maintaining their skills over time and should look for ways to stay up to date rather instead of falling behind.

Most areas of expertise are constantly evolving. Once your initial training is complete, it is important to stay up to date on changes and developments in your profession and industry.

Do not let your knowledge and skills become outdated. Invest in yourself and keep improving yourself. Give yourself the means to develop your skills. Continuously update your knowledge. Sign up for training, read, and attend trade shows and conferences within your industry. Subscribe to specialized journals or join a professional organization ... Learn from others.

When you do not understand something, or do not see something the same way as the person you are talking to, ask the person to explain. This is probably the most effective, straightforward and direct way to understand the other person. Simply asking: “Help me understand why you see the situation like this/why do you want that” is enough. Yet this is probably the least common method and instead we try to guess what is happening as if we can earn “bonus points” by figuring it out on our own.

Being ready and able to see the world from multiple perspectives is a desirable skill and you can use it all the time, in any situation. When people feel understood, they are more inclined to want to understand you as well - and that is how you can begin to build a cooperative and collaborative environment.

Rudeness is generally defined as a display of disrespect, a breaking of social norms or expectations, a breach of etiquette, or ignoring "accepted" behavior. It can also mean someone behaving inconsiderately, aggressively or deliberately offensively.

The word "accepted" is important, because rudeness can mean different things to different people, or within different organizations or environments. For example, shouting and swearing might be considered normal in a busy restaurant kitchen or on a construction site, but it would be regarded as inappropriate and unacceptable in most offices.

Similarly, there can be cultural differences to consider. For example, in Japan, something as seemingly innocent as laughing with your mouth open is a no-no. So, it's important to be aware of possible cultural faux pas, especially if you are working with a culturally diverse team.

Rudeness can be a way of displaying power, trying to get your own way, or provoking a reaction. It can also be a response to stress, pressure, frustration, or some other form of unhappiness and may lead to aggressive and bullying behavior.

According to a study in the Academy of Management Journal, rudeness can seriously damage team morale and performance, reduce helpfulness and collaboration, and negatively impact workplace productivity and relationships.

There’s a concept in law enforcement known as the broken windows theory, which says that we take cues from our environment – so if a neighborhood shows evidence of minor lawbreaking, like graffiti or vandalism, and these things go unchecked, people in that neighborhood become more likely to break bigger laws. But if you address these minor infractions, people start behaving better.

That concept applies to your work as well. There are small indicators of disorder that unleash in us a feeling that things are out of control. Even if the trigger is just a stack of unfinished projects on our desk, that feeling triggers bigger feelings – namely guilt, defeat or a sense of ineffectiveness.

Maybe your broken window is a cluttered desk, an inbox full of unanswered email, or a pile of unfiled documents. Whatever it is, it undermines your goals because it gives you a sense of chaos.

The act of fixing broken windows, however, is liberating. The task takes a symbolic weight. It doesn’t just feel like you’re sorting the emails you’ve been meaning to sort – it feels like you’re taking the first step toward doing everything you’ve been meaning to do.

The things we neglect – or decide not to do – influence our outlook and its outcome. So, find your broken window, and go fix it!

When we are tired, we are less equipped to handle life. Getting too little sleep can affect our emotional control and regulation capacities, as well as our ability to think a few steps ahead.

According to William Killgore, PhD, professor of psychiatry and psychology, and medical imaging at the University of Arizona, just one off-night can compromise your ability to "tap the brakes on the emotional centers of your brain".

That leaves you prone to overreacting in situations (bad or good). You’re more inclined to feel frustrated, hurt and oversensitive, or you may feel anxious and out of it.

When you are tired, every interaction may seem a little worse and this can chip away at your happiness.

So, before you quit your job, or worst, stay at a job you think you hate, try to significantly improve your sleep, and see if you wake up a newer, saner, brighter person.

Meetings are an essential part of management. However, if they’re not managed properly, they can be a colossal waste of time.

We call it “meetingitis” – its (mock) definition is the excessive propensity to organize useless meetings. The word “meetingitis” is now accepted and even valid for Scrabble. It’s not just you – it is a real problem we have to do something about.

By identifying 30 to 40 minutes every day and by using them more productively, you will add the equivalence of 20 8-hour days to your annual yield.

The compromise approach is relevant in the case of structural problems that relate to process, task, or content of work. They are concrete challenges, in a non-conflictual relationship, where each party renounces to an objective or their interest in order to attain a common objective or a superior interest that is mutually satisfying.

The compromise approach remains inefficient in the case of a conflictual relationship. The relational conflict is different from the structural conflict in its emotional component. Compromise is not a conflict resolution strategy, and when used in these circumstances, always leaves a bitter aftertaste.

During our work days, we are constantly solicited by emails, tasks, deadlines to the point of getting completely saturated. With a sometimes superhuman effort, we keep going without ever questioning if we are really performing or if we are simply productive.

These moments are fundamentally empty - we are here, but not really. We’re guilty of presenteeism.

During these moments, it would be more valuable to take a few minutes to get refreshed. We often only need a few minutes to jump right back into it, with clearer ideas that allow us to perform better. Come on, get up! Go drink some water. It’s your “performance” break!

Try this five steps approach:

1. Examine your attitude - Start with the assumption that your coworker actually does care about doing a good job but that he’s as busy as you are.  It is possible that he actually doesn’t care, but that assumption serves no purpose other than to frustrate you.

2. Make sure that your coworker understands why it is important - “We have a sensitive situation to deal with on Friday with customer ABC, and one of the critical pieces is XYZ.  Could you please send me the information on it?”

3. Acknowledging how busy he is - “I know how busy you are…”  Empathy is a relationship builder.

4. Help him help you - “This information is critical to the resolution of the situation.  If there’s anything I can do to help you get me the information by Wednesday, please let me know.”

5. Express appreciation and make it personal - “Thanks in advance Michael, I really appreciate your help on this!”