Employee surveys over many years of job attitudes show that a majority of them do not feel positive about their work environment, their contributions, and how they feel going home from their work every day. To nearly 80% of them work is something they are required to do to earn a living, manage to go through their day, and to suffer the indignities of their colleagues, abuse of their bosses, and uncertainty about their future prospects. Many of those who come to see me initially is because they even dread the thought of going to work every day. The dread they feel, the constant stress levels they experience, and the negativity of their toxic colleagues make them wonder if there is a better way to earn a living.
Although many of these factors cannot be changed on your own, there is a way to make the situation more bearable. As someone said, nearly 90% of what happens to you is based on how you react to the 10% that you cannot control. So, although there is that endless vortex of negative forces that swirl around you at work, there is a way to dealing with them to make them a constructive force in how you manage your own situation.
This blog is about simple changes you can make in your everyday attitudes and behaviors that will make your situation much more bearable, less stressful, and help you even bring some joy to your otherwise dreary existence.
1.Whistle throughout the day: Although you may not be able to whistle aloud at your place of work, pretend that you are whistling your favorite tune as you navigate through your job during the day. Smile at everyone who passes you by and greet them with positive energy. As they say, A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
2.Never complain, never explain: As your boss comes to you when you feel that everything is on a track for you to move ahead and blindsides you about a change in how your team will be restructured, with your now reporting to a jerk, who was previously your colleague, the normal reaction is likely to be negative. Remember, when your boss is telling you this, that decision has already been made, and one or two levels above your boss have already blessed it with or without due consideration.
So, showing a negative reaction to such a change, although a total surprise to you, is not going to make things better for you. Your best response is to smile, take it all in that will be said in that contrite meeting, and show your boss that you are a team player and will work to make the change a success. Walk away whistling your favorite tune (see # 1 above). As soon as you go back to your office and return home that day, decide if you want to make a job/career change quietly and quickly. You can be assured that if you did not do that (change jobs) things will spiral down further and faster for you at that place.
3.Avoid toxic colleagues: No matter where you go youll encounter toxic colleagues. Toxic colleagues are those that are difficult to work with. They come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Although it is difficult to avoid them, since their MO is to make themselves indispensable to everyone in their ecosystem, keep your interactions with them to a functional and transactional level. Do not get sucked into their schemes or subscribe to their ideas, no matter how much they appear to benefit you on their face.
4.Empower yourself: In addition to doing the task that is assigned or expected from you take on something that will benefit a bigger agenda and that which will have high visibility in the eyes of your management. This can be something within your own team (improving a process), your group (improving how the group does its work), or even changing the way your customer experiences what you create. Identifying the right, high-leverage and high-visibility initiative can take some effort, but selling that undertaking to your boss and making them look good is a sure-fire way of getting that initiative assigned to you with alacrity. Successfully implementing a self-initiated change is a good avenue burnishing your rsum.
5.Think and look confident: Many of my clients initially come to me complaining about how everyone else gives them work that they avoid for themselves inveigling my client to take it on. Pretty soon you end up doing everyone elses work in addition to doing your own. You soon start falling behind in completing your own tasks and your boss starts chiding you about your work habits. STOP doing work for others if it rightfully belongs to them. If you create a barrier around you by thinking and looking powerful, you are less likely to be succumbing to such work requests. If you still cannot deal with this read my blog, Demystifying the Power to Say No!, from July 9
6.Take your power pill: Everyone has some tricks that give you power to conquer the world. This could be spending a few minutes with someone that empowers you, watching a video that inspires you, or reading a few of your favorite quotes. Keep these tools handy in your tool kit instead of keeping some pills or uppers. Learn how to use these simple tools to charge up and get through difficult times.
7.Manage your circle: Your immediate circle of friends and colleagues can have a profound influence on your attitude and energy. If you have friends that bring you down with their constant negativity and thoughts, replace them with their counterparts that provide you the encouragement, energy, and positivity you need to get through a difficult day.
8.Manage timeouts: It is not unusual to get overwhelmed by a swirling vortex of things that suck you in. When you get into this energy it is best to take a timeout and do something to reboot yourself. Meditation, yoga, or any of the items suggested above can help you during such crisis times.
9.Mentor someone: Mentoring is one of the most underrated resources for recharging your energies. Find someone to mentor and learn to have regular sessions with them. Youll be amazed how much mentoring someone can help you grow, energize, and develop. If you do not have a mentor yourself do not let that excuse you from mentoring someone you care about.
10.Hobby: Develop a hobby that engages you deeply and that provides you a sense of control, fulfillment, and joy. Regularlyand especiallyengage in your hobby, when you are so consumed by work that you do not have time for it. Another avenue is also to volunteer your time regularly to a cause that you care about.
To most people in the workforce work is not an endless party. Surprises, difficult days, and stress are the norm for nearly 80% of those earning a living for a paycheck. Use some of these tips above and build your own toolkit to make your work less stressful and your work life more joyous!
Good luck!
| About Author | |
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Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader. |
Website: http://dilipsaraf.com/?p=2789
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