People receive an influx of information on a daily basis, especially with the digital acceleration that the world is experiencing today. Aside from being able to search for virtually anything on the web, people have been relying on video conferencing and other virtual means to communicate with one another since the global lockdown last year. This also brought about the consequence of “Zoom fatigue” or the psychological fatigue from the constant use of these tools.
As such, people are more pressed for time than ever to keep up with the flow of information. Some would opt to multitask in receiving information – like reading an email during a meeting – as an attempt to stay relevant. While individuals are constantly on the lookout for new information, it also distracts them from the present and turns them into ineffective listeners. Even in communicating, others would anticipate what will be said and prioritize what their response will be instead of listening to the other party.
Despite being an essential skill, listening is currently overlooked by most. In fact, there are studies that point to the idea of listening as a skill that people are losing due to several reasons that can act as listening barriers, like visual distractions, impatience, and even an overall sense of superiority over the speaker. Due to these factors, people are susceptible to misunderstandings, which may lead to poor decision-making and dissolve relationships.
To avoid this from happening, it is imperative that one should practice being an active listener. Doing so will help you understand and retain what is being said while also showing that the other party is recognized and respected. This is not only to build stronger relationships but also to lessen misunderstandings and become more effective in maintaining information.
Techniques in active listening
Being an active listener doesn’t only entail that a person listens. Rather, it is a conscious effort to provide one’s full attention to understand and empathize with the speaker. Here are a few ways that will help you become a better listener:
Let them speak. More often than not, people preoccupy themselves with their judgments while another person is talking by evaluating what is being said and prioritizing their own response. Instead of doing this, hold your judgment, keep an open mind, and let the other person finish what they want to say without interrupting to see their point of view. This will also help you widen your perception and open up the avenue for you to learn something new.
Be fully present. Contrary to what people may think, multitasking does not guarantee an increase in productivity. For example, having conversations with other people while doing something else is not only counterproductive but shows a lack of respect for the other person. Avoid distractions like reading your emails or doing other tasks when you are having a conversation with a person to give the speaker your full attention.
Actions speak louder. A person’s body language can express a lot more than what can be said. Crossing your arms, avoiding eye contact, or fidgeting may signal to the speaker that you are disagreeing or not listening to them. Meanwhile, providing eye contact, leaning in, or nodding your head occasionally will let them know that you are paying attention.
Clarify and summarize. Once the speaker is done, it is encouraged to repeat or paraphrase their thoughts, so they know that you understood what they meant. This also gives you an avenue to ask questions or clarify what has been said. Doing so opens the conversation more and reduces miscommunication between you and the speaker.
While the world is constantly racing to get to the next big thing, it is important to take the time and listen. As such, active listening is an indispensable skill that can help build relationships in and out of the workplace. By practicing these steps, you can become more patient and empathetic, as well as improve your leadership skills.
At the start of the 21st century, the field of coparenting was found to be centrally crucial across diverse families and structures. While the term has been associated with divorce or separated families, it doesn’t necessarily refer to the current relationship of the parents. Instead, coparenting refers to how two or more adults work together to care for and raise children with respect and support for each other’s role and function as parents.
Children from infant to adolescent have been found to benefit from positive coparenting. Children that grow up with parents that support and collaborate together tend to exhibit prosocial behavior, work actively and independently, and have better attentional capacities. This may be associated with a child’s imitation of the positive relationship dynamics they observed in coparents; in turn, they tend to display these same dynamics to others later on in life.
The Impact of Coparenting
Children of all ages benefit when the parental figure in their lives provides a healthy environment through positive coparenting. A lot of studies found that well-coordinated coparenting has been related to a wide variety of child development. Here are some ways that show positive coparenting as a significant role in supporting a child’s healthy development.
Sleep Duration. Healthy maintenance of coparenting habits can have a positive effect on the efficient implementation of a child’s bedtime routine and improve their sleep. However, if parents are unable to maintain positive coparenting and the routine, it may induce emotional distress in their child. This may also interfere with a child’s sense of security which can affect their sleep.
Emotional development. The limbic system, most commonly known for emotion regulation, starts to develop during the first year of a person’s life. Positive coparenting can help babies regulate emotions, reduce distress, and learn rhythms. This will also support an infant’s emotional development, directing them to have stronger emotional regulation later in life.
Reduce behavioral problems. Unresolved difficulties in coparenting may result in an unstable environment for a child to grow up in. This may cause the development of problematic behaviors such as social withdrawal, depressive/anxious symptoms, aggressive or antisocial behavior, and hyperactive symptoms. To lessen these problems, coparenting can predict child emotional adjustment and behavior.
Coparenting components
Positive coparenting can be developed before a child is born and is a process that can grow in the family through nurturing and practicing. Coparents who build stable habits while their children are young will be more proficient at keeping solidarity as children grow older. For this, Mark E. Feinberg formulated four coparenting components that can be applied when developing positive coparenting habits.
Childrearing agreement.Parents need to decide how to handle and manage their child’s life. This includes the educational priorities, discipline method, moral values, and emotional needs of a child. Parents will be practice how to tackle disagreements and agree on their ways so they may pass down knowledge and values to their children.
Division of labor.Parents need to divide responsibilities and tasks related to the daily routine of childcare and household early on. Apart from that, they have to manage their expectations and beliefs when dividing their duties. This will affect the level of satisfaction and flexibility between coparents.
Support/undermining.Parents have to show their support towards each other, such as affirming the other’s competency as a parent, acknowledging and respecting the other’s contributions, and upholding the other’s parenting decisions and authority. The negative counterpart of this is expressed through undermining the other parent through criticism, disparagement, and blame. To prevent this, parents will need to learn how to voice recognition, appreciation, and encouragement towards each other.
Joint family management.Managing family interactions is an essential responsibility in coparenting that can be seen in at least three ways. First, there has to be an ample amount of communication that parents engage in when managing coparenting duties. Second, the amount of conflict that emerges when parents discuss or engage in coparenting activities should be kept to a minimum. Third, the interactions and involvement between parents and children should be balanced. Overall, parents will need to learn how to manage communication, conflict, and participation in the family.
Conclusion
Positive coparenting has a vast impact on children’s lives that can only occur when the adults or parental figures in a child’s life provide adequate protection, safety, and respect. As such, its function will be determined by how much the parents manifest positive coparenting in daily life. Once coparents can maintain a healthy way of working together, there is a bigger chance for children to experience a higher level of security within the family. This will manifest when coparents support one another and are attuned to the needs and sensibilities of their children.
What does business as usual mean now? How have last year’s events changed the future of work? How has employee engagement changed? New business models, exponential technology, agile working methods, and regulation are constantly changing how organizations work. Let’s take a closer look at lessons learned through the experiences of employee engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world was shaken, and despite the negative effects of the recent global health crisis, we can all agree on one thing: We learned a lot in terms of organizational change and growth. After businesses were forced to close their offices and manage all their employees remotely, the learning curve for managers was initially steep. Yet this new way of functioning has brought valuable lessons about how to boost employee engagement that should not be forgotten in the new normal.
Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization and its employees, vision, and goals. It is not only about employee satisfaction, high salaries, or benefits packages. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organizations give companies crucial competitive advantages, such as higher productivity and lower employee turnover.
So, let’s see some lessons and how some companies managed their organizations and increased engagement in a virtual environment.
1. Choose a supportive management approach.
Some companies have been allowing their employees to work from home even before the pandemic hit. They already have rules and ways to manage teams remotely. Other organizations were completely surprised when the lockdowns happened, having no procedures or ways to manage and assess employees in a remote work setup. Some common online methods used were daily or weekly team meetings and frequent 1-1 check-ins.
For many, having frequent check-ins led to a micro-goal setting and allowed employees to receive constant feedback. This coaching approach has led to performance improvement. It also allows management to easily assess and measure progress while also boosting team productivity, which, in turn, keeps employees engaged and gives them a sense of purpose and achievement in reaching goals.
INMAGINE’s remote working environment was quick to adopt best practices in the areas of employee engagement and retention. This creative company founded in 2001 started an anonymous online feedback channel for employees to share anything, assuring them that lines of communication are open. They have also formed peer support groups according to six personality types. It serves as a platform for employees to exchange stories and thoughts not just about their jobs but also their personal lives.
2. Assure a flexible and positive work environment.
For most employees, a change in the environment has become the biggest challenge. It is felt in the transition from being physically present in the office, where one can focus on work, to working at home, where varying contrasts abound, such as being alone or having young children or elderly to care for., All of these could be disruptive to any workflow.
That said, the flexible working environment that most employees experienced during COVID-19 has changed our understanding of work-life balance. Working from home has allowed employees to do their work and attend to personal needs (e.g. taking care of children, elderly, and pets and running errands) simultaneously. This has served as a reminder to managers that several non-work-related factors can affect an employee’s mindset and engagement.
Employees have proven the ability to maintain the balance between work and personal needs, albeit through a forced testing period. In the post-COVID period, management must not forget the importance of constantly creating a positive work environment for their employees. This must include ensuring that work fits into their employees’ lives and not the other way around. When employees feel that their personal needs are valued by management, their emotional connection to the organization is strengthened, and they are more likely to stay.
3. Encourage trust in leadership.
During these challenging times, employees had to trust their leaders to take the right direction and to make tough decisions about the future. A key part of trust in leadership is transparency, which means employees are aware of what is happening within their organization. This is particularly important during a work-from-home scenario, where employees rely on leaders to make crucial decisions for the future of their jobs and the organization. This is why clear, open communication between management and employees on how the organization is tackling COVID-19 is crucial.
At INMAGINE, online meetups with founders and online mentoring sessions with the CEO allowed employees of all levels to engage directly with senior management leaders. In these sessions, employees can freely ask questions and solicit feedback. Having a good collaboration platform is another example of how INMAGINE eases the challenges of working from home. INMAGINE uses Bitrix to keep employees updated on work matters, enable employees to chat live online, and create workgroups for discussions and brainstorming. The tech team advocates extra tools to help manage projects and people, Jira. This ensures that all deadlines are crystal clear to everyone, and the pipeline of each project journey is clearly outlined.
4. Build a virtual office watercooler.
For decades, practitioners have gathered around office watercoolers to catch up with colleagues. Casual conversations run the gambit from professional to personal topics. If you and your team are missing these chats, why not create a virtual watercooler so they can continue even if you are not physically in an office? Establish an “Around the Watercooler” team on the Microsoft Teams platform where team members can start or engage in random conversations throughout the day when they need a break. Add an optional standing “Watercooler Conversation” on Zoom during the week to encourage this type of interaction. If your firm uses Slack, check out the Watercooler app, where bots organize random conversations among team members. Ask your employees what platform is best for them.
5. Make a virtual remix of the firm’s favorite tax season activities.
Bring back the friendly atmosphere from the fun activities you used to have by creating new virtual versions. Incorporate a “crazy hat day” or “wear your favorite sports team attire” in virtual check-ins. Ask individuals to share interesting backstories about what they are wearing, then vote for the best attire. Host monthly lunch celebrations online to recognize your team’s accomplishments. To add to the excitement, have a meal from a restaurant client delivered to the team. How about a bracket selection party for Christmas, New Year Celebration, or other types of celebrations.
6. Reward good efforts.
People want to know that they are appreciated, especially when they work additional hours to help the company achieve its goals. Make it a priority to acknowledge your team members for their hard work. Share success stories during meetings. Pick up the phone, initiate a quick Zoom call, send an email, or write a personal note to say “thank you.” Tell them how much their dedication means to you and the management. Send them a gift card from their favorite restaurant or store, movie tickets, or other types of incentives. Do all you can to make your staff feel appreciated and valued. A little recognition can make the difference between an engaged employee and one that has a foot out the door.
To inspire trust in leadership in the post-COVID-19 period, we recommend having frequent check-ins and transparent conversations between top management, head of departments, and employees to feel included in what is happening within the organization. Moreover, it is also imperative for employees to learn about individual growth opportunities.
Leaders who invest in the learning and development of their employees will be encouraging engagement. Learning can be provided not only through professional education and training but also through constructive feedback, a crucial element in achieving a learning organization status. These practices will boost employee engagement and help organizations to retain their employees for the longer term.
Managing individual and team performance requires up-to-date knowledge and skills. Through The KPI Institute’s Employee Performance Management Professional and Practitioner training courses, leaders will learn how to develop a culture of performance and implement performance systems aligned with the strategic goals of the company. Learn more about the course by sending an email to [email protected] or calling T: +61 3 9028 2223 M: +61 4 2456 8088
Mental health at work has now become an important area of concern for several organizations. Half of working adults worldwide have admitted experiencing anxiety about job security, stress caused by changes at work, loneliness, and difficulty balancing work and life due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the mental health data published by the World Economic Forum.
Mental health issues affect not only one’s quality of life but also work performance and productivity. Studies cited in a Unite for Sight report show that psychological issues lead to reduced income, “lowered individual productivity due to unemployment, missed work, and reduced productivity at work.”
The effects of mental health issues on workers go beyond the offices. The Black Dog Institute, a medical research institute in Australia specializing in mental health, reported that the Australian economy alone loses more than $12 billion each year due to mental health challenges. Such economic losses support the findings by the World Health Organization (WHO), which states that the cost of depression and anxiety to the global economy is US$ 1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
What organizations can do
According to WHO, among the factors affecting the mental health of employees are poor communication and management practices, limited participation in decision-making, long or inflexible working hours, and lack of team cohesion. Bullying and psychological harassment are also listed as well-known causes of work-related stress and related mental health problems.
Given that information, how can organizations take care of their employees’ mental health? Taking action on this matter requires an entirely different and mostly less-traveled or less successful path.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development or CIPD reports in their Health and Well-being at Work Survey in 2019 that just one in 10 (or 9%) of organizations in the UK have a standalone mental health policy for employees.
Marcela Prescan, a performance management expert at The KPI Institute, previously wrote that performance management does focus most of its practice on the human element. She explained that a performance management system is anchored on homogeneity, which can mean several things, including having “a common understanding of the organization’s mission,” “communication that exceeds the boundaries of formality and begets familiarity,” and a “full grasp of the role and responsibilities that come with being part of a community.”
With that in mind, performance management may recognize and include the needs of employees in terms of their mental health.
Memish (2017) emphasized in their study that it is important to focus on the promotion and prevention side. According to them, “The Canadian Standard (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2013) was the only guideline that adhered to all levels of the integrated approach and included extensive guidance and practical tools for the implementation of recommendations at each of these levels.”
This is the model in the Standard that shows how mental health is promoted at the organizational level.
In the diagram, the model envisions psychological well-being promotion and is implemented through key drivers and strategic pillars as an umbrella to the thirteen workplace factors. These factors are the more targeted areas to achieve the vision. As mentioned by the Standard, “addressing these factors as listed on Figure A.1 effectively has the potential to positively impact worker mental health, psychological safety, and participation. This in turn can improve productivity and bottom line results (p. 19).”
At the individual level, employees can start with small steps. The Mental Health Foundation in the UK recommends that they discuss their feelings to gather support, remain physically active to keep the brain healthy, take a break, ask for help, and reflect and value one’s strengths, uniqueness, and relationships.
Wealth building is the process of producing long-term revenue from a variety of sources. This includes savings, investments, and other income-generating assets in addition to job-based income. The foundation of wealth creation is based on effective financial planning and insight into one’s future financial goals.
Almost everyone wishes to be prosperous at some phase of life. Some individuals prefer to live frugally to save more money, while others take risks by investing in high-return assets to accumulate wealth. Everyone has a different definition of wealth. For some, it is owning property; for others, it consists of making profitable investments.
In terms of finance, wealth is defined as the number of assets you possess without your creditors. Building wealth may tend to be challenging, but it is simple. You don’t have to make six figures to make this a reality. If you are committed, you can accumulate wealth regardless of your age.
Accumulating wealth
Keep in mind that accumulating wealth does not happen overnight. Here are some strategies for expanding your wealth. To accumulate wealth over time, three basic formulas must be taken: make more money than you spend, avoid debt, and invest your savings wisely.
Before investing, you must have a consistent source of income that will last for the rest of your life. It is recommended to establish a solid savings strategy once a steady source of income has been established. Finally, it is time to invest. Step one is to make money, this may appear to be a simple step, but it is the most crucial for individuals who are just commencing out or in transition.
Most of us have seen statistics that indicate how a modest sum saved daily and compounded over time may eventually build up to massive wealth. An essential thing to consider is if your present work can supply you with a consistent quantity of savings for the next 40 to 50 years. If not, it’s time to start looking for alternatives to make more money. Earned income and passive income are the two primary forms of income.
Earned money is derived from your regular work, whereas passive income is derived from investments. To improve your earning income, you may need to first improve your career. Once you’ve established adequate financial stability, you may begin saving and investing.
There are two strategies to increase your income and return on investment. You have the option of reducing your costs or increasing your income. Most people focus on the first and ignore the second. By developing your skillset, you may improve your wealth which may include acquiring a degree, an MBA, or a specific certification all of which can prompt a career advancement and salary increase.
But as we all know, the world’s wealthiest people are not employees but entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship addresses two main components of creating wealth: income and strong returns on invested capital. In a nutshell, if you have an organizational methodology that might help you gain more profit, get started.
Then you can also take up high-paying jobs. Some of the careers, however, are too unaffordable. They may also need a significant amount of time to finish the required education, and it may take much longer before you begin earning a high income.
Before deciding on a career, you should think about all these issues. Whatever professional route you pick, make sure it does not put you in too much debt. Even if you have a job, you don’t have to rely solely on it. You may improve your income by running a profitable side hustle.
It doesn’t have to be a huge company. You can establish a small business and provide the services that you are proficient at. For example, with the advent of technology, you may now start a completely online firm. If you’re too busy, you can recruit others to operate the business for you.
During your spare time, you may convert your ability or interest into financial worth. If you have an internet connection, you may operate a variety of profitable side hustles online. These include assisting people as a virtual assistant, copywriting, online tutoring, consulting, and so on. Other non-internet-required side hustles include being a part-time lecturer at a nearby community college, freelance bookkeeping, tax preparation, and part-time driver for ridesharing or delivery services.
Setting aside your wealth
Many people live comfortably after achieving financial security, yet they do not save well. The second step to wealth building is to set aside a percentage of your earned money regularly. Once you’ve saved enough money, you may begin investing to generate passive income. There are some ways to save more money; first, creating a budget should be part of your financial plan which includes projections of your expenses versus your income.
A budget is a key instrument in the building of wealth. It provides you with a breakdown of your expenses, highlighting areas where you may cut back to improve your savings. It is best to set a fresh budget every month to keep it manageable. Such a person without allocation of the budget will almost certainly face a terrible financial collapse.
According to GOBankingRates, the fifty, thirty, and twenty rule is a common and efficient budgeting method. According to this strategy, you should spend 50% of your salary on necessities such as food, rent, and healthcare. Non-essentials, such as shopping and luxury pastimes, receive a 30% allocation. The remaining 20% is the most significant allocation, and it should be used for savings.
Building an emergency fund is the most important part because you never really know what’s around the corner. Emergency fund kits prepare you for unforeseen occurrences such as a job loss. Such incidents might throw your wealth-building strategy off track if you don’t have emergency reserves.
Selling investment or developing debts are two frequent consequences. When you accumulate loans, your wealth begins to dwindle. You’ll also have to pay interest on the loan. If you sell your investment, you will lose the money and interest that you would have earned otherwise.
To avoid such circumstances, create an emergency fund as a backup to cover unexpected expenses. Debt whether credit card debt, mortgage debt, student loan debt, or any other type — can obstruct your efforts to create your wealth. You may begin by paying off high-interest debt to save money and begin building wealth.
Living below your means can also help to save more money. Meanwhile, overspending can have a significant influence on your capacity to accumulate money. Reduce your expenditure on needless items such as dining out, buying expensive clothes, and taking frequent trips. While being thrifty might be tedious and unsatisfactory, you will acquire riches and find it gratifying over time.
Securing your wealth
You’re bringing sufficient funds and adequately saving, yet you are putting it all in safe investments, like your bank’s normal savings account. According to FortuneBuilders, if you want to develop a substantial portfolio, you must accept some risk, which means you must invest in securities. So, you should figure out what degree of exposure is best for you.
When you invest your money, it gives you more money in return. Investing your income in the stock market, and in real estate, the gold market, and bank investment can build you massive wealth over time. Purchasing stock in a firm is one of the simplest and most effective methods to generate money. You become a shareholder by purchasing shares, which gives you ownership of a portion of the firm.
Investing in equities using exchange-traded funds is a transparent and risk-free method. Real estate, private notes backed by real estate, and stocks have traditionally been the strongest wealth-building investments. This is because each of these assets can provide consistent cash flow. While other wealth-building assets can give returns for skilled investors, these are regarded to be the best.
Gold may be a valuable financial item to have in a well-balanced portfolio. This kind of investment has some of the strongest turnovers in currency markets and has often grown in value over time. It can also be purchased online or through a mutual fund distributor.
You may also buy these funds through a mutual fund distributor. Investment banking is a branch of banking concerned with the production of money via the selling of stocks and bonds to assist firms in raising cash. Investment banks serve as a link between major corporations and investors, advising firms and governments on how to address financial difficulties and the best method to generate cash, whether through stock offerings, bond issuances, or derivative products.
Building wealth is not a difficult task. If you are diligent and disciplined, you can quickly raise your money. Before embarking on this path, it is critical to empower yourself with financial knowledge. That alone should accelerate you through the other phases with ease and finally lead to wealth creation. When it comes to building wealth, many individuals ignore retirement funds. You will not only save for retirement, but you will also increase your wealth over time.
