We all experience different triggers, anxieties, and stressors in this trajectory called life. One's response to the different situations, triggers, and stressors most often than not depends on an individual’s background, support systems (e.g., family or friends), financial situation, health, emotional background, the community one lives in, and form of socialization.

In addition, cultural context affects how communities talk about mental health. This context will also affect how members of the community access services, thus impacting how you will choose to communicate with these people, ensuring a diverse range of people take part.

Tayo Rockson author of use your difference to make a difference states that

“Every human being longs for connection. When people who hail from diverse backgrounds and who hold differing beliefs and perspectives find ways to connect, they can transform the world with empathy, accountability, and compassion.”

It’s imperative to acknowledge how all types of diversity and differences impact a person’s identity and their experience of mental health.

Do you recognize your privilege?

As we reflect on privilege, let's focus on some findings; it is said that people living in financial hardship, for example, are at increased risk of developing mental health problems and lower mental well-being.

Racial/ethnic, gender, sexual minorities, people with disabilities, and other minority groups often suffer from poor mental health outcomes due to multiple factors including inaccessibility of high-quality mental health care services, the cultural stigma surrounding mental health care, discrimination, and overall lack of awareness about mental health. In addition, finances, food security, domestic violence, homelessness, well-being, and mental and physical healthcare are just some of the social determinants that disproportionately affect most minority groups.

A recent study by CDC found that adults with disabilities report experiencing more mental distress than those without disabilities. In 2018, an estimated 17.4 million (32.9%) adults with disabilities experienced frequent mental distress, defined as 14 or more reported mentally unhealthy days in the past 30 days. Frequent mental distress is associated with poor health behaviors, mental disorders, chronic disease, and limitations in daily life.

LGBTQ individuals are more than twice as likely as heterosexual men and women to have a mental health disorder in their lifetime. LGBTQ individuals are 2.5 times more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and substance misuse compared with heterosexual individuals.

WHO’s World Mental Health Report, published in June 2022, showed that of one billion people living with a mental disorder in 2019, 15% of working-age adults experienced a mental disorder. Work amplifies wider societal issues that negatively affect mental health, including discrimination and inequality.

Beyond the data on who is disproportionately affected by mental health concerns, we also need to look at the why — employees from diverse backgrounds or belonging to marginalized groups often deal with discriminative practices that undermine inclusivity, microaggressions, unconscious bias, a lack of representation, and other stressors — all of which play a role in their overall mental health and wellbeing

“Society’s understanding of mental health issues locates the problem inside the person and ignores the politics of their distress”- Dr Sanah Ahsan

Are you practicing empathy today?

Empathy demonstrates trustworthiness. When others feel heard and considered, this experience cultivates psychological safety. Psychological safety encourages safe and effective interpersonal risk-taking, which contributes to learning experiences, growth, and innovative ideas

Given the impact on employees and communities, every employer should see accessible, inclusive mental health as both an ethical imperative and a new strategic priority. Now is the time for action to address long-standing mental health care gaps and disparities. This is by:

Focusing on the intersection of mental health and inclusion

Mental health and diversity and inclusion (D&I) are closely connected. Employees from diverse backgrounds can face a lack of representation, microaggressions, unconscious bias, and other stressors that impact their mental health and psychological safety at work. As a result, initiatives that support diversity, inclusion, and belonging can also support mental health — and vice versa. As employers deepen their focus on D&I, equality, and justice, they should ensure employees from diverse backgrounds have the mental health support they need, from employee resource groups to counseling services to mental health screening tools. This can be an essential element of effective D&I strategy and investment.

Improve access to culturally competent care

Employers can bolster access to inclusive, effective mental health services for all employees. Organizations should leverage their influence to push for health systems, insurance networks, and policy decisions that deliver culturally competent mental health care. Employers can also help to develop, pilot, and scale digital health tools that address disparities in access.

Genuine involvement by management

Managers are not going to be able to help every employee who needs mental health treatment, nor should they try. A manager’s responsibility is to provide emotional support and create an open environment. Actual treatment and further support will come from professionals.

Leaders who want to be helpful can point employees in the direction of resources. This means managers should be well-educated about EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs), what mental health options are included in company insurance, and any other resources the company may have available.

Inclusive language

It comes down to our day-to-day interactions with our colleagues, clients, and individuals in the workplace and beyond which leads to the language we use. Words have an impact and our behavior creates culture spoken and indeed unspoken.

How can promote inclusive mental health practices?

· Use person-first language: Simply put, this means using mental illness as a noun and not an adjective. Instead of saying, “That person is bipolar,” you would say, “They have bipolar disorder.” This means that the person is not defined by their mental illness, it is just a part of their life.

· Refrain from using inaccurate language: In many cases, society has usurped language around mental health to describe unrelated things. For example, some call unpredictable weather “bipolar,” or describe themselves as “OCD” because they like to keep things tidy. This can minimalize, and sometimes trivialize actual mental illness.

· Avoid using “crazy” or similar adjectives: Similarly, calling someone “crazy,” “insane,” or “psychotic” can contribute to the stigma around actual mental illness. It can also deeply hurt someone who is battling mental illness symptoms.

· Don’t dismiss the struggle: If an employee is telling you about their experience with mental health, don’t say things like, “We’ve all been there,” or, “Just push through it.” Instead, be supportive and use understanding language such as, “I’m here if you need anything,” or, “How can I help?” This will help you to give the employee the aid they need.

In addition, as individuals, we need to be able to advocate for our own mental health and we seek a sense of belonging and inclusivity in the waking world, in the daily working space.

Take the time to find the right mental healthcare provider for your needs by asking key questions and learning about all your options.

These queries include (but are not limited to) the following:

· What do you think might be causing my mental health symptoms?

· Could my physical limitations be impacting my mental health?

· Can you refer me to therapists who have experience with psychological treatment for intellectual disabilities and physical limitations?

· What assessments will you conduct to better understand the problem?

· Will my mental health treatment plan impact my physical health in any way?

· Do you have any partnerships with behavioral health specialists to coordinate care?

As people spend a large proportion of their lives at work — a safe and healthy working environment is critical. We need to invest to build a culture of prevention around mental health at work, reshape the work environment to stop stigma and social exclusion, and ensure employees with mental health conditions feel protected and supported,” Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General.

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email:ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites

Uprise Health (2022).The Role of Mental Health in DEI. Retrieved from The Role of Mental Health in DEI | Uprise Health

Garen Staglin (2020).The Essential Role Of Mental Health For A Diverse, Inclusive Workplace. Retrieved from The Essential Role Of Mental Health For A Diverse, Inclusive Workplace (forbes.com)

Creating an Inclusive Workplace with Mental Health Awareness. Retrieved from Creating an Inclusive Workplace with Mental Health Awareness | Michael Page

What is diversity and difference? Retrieved from Diversity and difference — Mind

The Significance of Mental Health and People with Disabilities. Retrieved from Significance Of Mental Health And People with Disabilities (udservices.org)

The Mental Health of People with Disabilities. Retrieved from The Mental Health of People with Disabilities | CDC

Mental Health Disparities: Diverse Populations. Retrieved from Psychiatry.org — Mental Health Disparities: Diverse Populations

WHO and ILO call for new measures to tackle mental health issues at work. Retrieved from WHO and ILO call for new measures to tackle mental health issues at work

Reminiscing about a time when my primary school music teacher mentioned this

‘Music alone shall live” .

This quote has stuck with me since then and I can testify that music indeed is eternal. Music has been my close ally through my different emotional patterns.

Well, well…Music entertains, livens up our moods, and serves as an escape from the struggles of everyday life. Regardless of what type you enjoy, music arguably evokes powerful emotions and has positive effects on your mind and soul.

Studies show that music can release dopamine, aid memory, increase motivation, and de-stress. According to the British Association for Music Therapy, music can really help those with psychological, cognitive, or communicative needs. Music also helps keep your cardiovascular system in tune. Listening to or performing music can have an effect on your heartbeat, either speeding it up if there’s a higher bpm on the track or slowing it down when you hear more relaxing beats.

To more studies about the impact of music; the World Journal of Psychiatry recently concluded that music could potentially reduce depression and anxiety, and could even prove effective against certain neurological conditions like dementia, strokes, and Parkinson’s disease.

So why Music for Employee Wellness?

Music Has a Profound Effect on Our Mood as we work.

Music has a deeper connection to our emotions than we realize. For thousands of years, music has been associated with love, heartbreak, joy, and social bonding. As mentioned as per the above studies, Music is known to increase levels of well-being hormones i.e. oxytocin and dopamine.

Music Can Improve Employee Productivity in the Workplace

According to a recent research survey by Spotify, more than 61% of workers like to listen to music while working. Even more, interestingly, 91% of employees perform better and an astounding 88% produce more accurate work. Music really does make us feel more positive, engaged, and focused.

Additional studies done in 2014, found that upbeat music can result in improvements in processing speed, while lower-key music can help with memory.

An increasing number of employers are now introducing music in the workplace as a means to soothe stress, calm work anxiety, and promote creativity and concentration. Employees report feeling more motivated while listening to music and consequently feeling more interested in what they are doing. Listening to music is also a shared experience that fosters better bonding and camaraderie among team members.

Improved Workplace Atmosphere

A 2013 study published by Frontiers in Psychology aimed to find out, once and for all, just why people choose to listen to music. It seems that most people choose to listen to music because they know it’s going to improve their mood. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how music could lead to an improved workplace atmosphere.

Music may relieve your stress

Music really is one of the best stress-busters out there. The soothing power of relaxing music and its close link to our emotions can be a really effective stress management tool, helping us cool down and maybe even take a breather. It can be a great way to distract yourself from a stressful situation, while also clearing the mind before readdressing the issue with a fresh outlook.

Listening to music has the potential to relax our minds as well as our bodies. In fact, one study at Marien Hospital Herne Üniversitätsklinikum in Germany has revealed that alongside music from Bach, Strauss, and Mozart — heavy metal can also lower blood pressure.

Improves Task Accuracy

When you are focused on the task at hand, you are more likely to produce accurate results.

Findings from the Mindlab study revealed that nine out of ten workers performed better and produced more accurate results than when working in silence.

The research also reveals how different types of music affect our accuracy at work: Nine out of ten people who listen to ambient music are more likely to enter data accurately; classical music improves accuracy by up to 12 percent, and; pop music improves accuracy by over 80 percent.

Some tips maybe?

Play repetitive songs. If your role involves lots of autonomous, repetitive tasks, music can really lighten what might be seen as a long day ahead. Having upbeat music that fits in with the pace of the repetitive tasks can make it more fun

Play songs without lyrics. There has been some research that shows that classical music works best for concentration. Why? Well, classical music often does not contain any lyrics, which can act as a distraction if you are trying to immerse yourself in a deep task.

Play your favorite songs. If you are doing something that requires a little more concentration, there is no need to switch off your favorite tunes. Such songs cause your brain to release dopamine, which improves your mood and reduces stress and anxiety. One study has also suggested that music can have a positive effect on your memory if you enjoy it.

Play familiar songs. Listening to familiar songs can help you stay focused for longer. That’s because certain regions in the brain that improve concentration are more active when we listen to music that we know, rather than something that’s unfamiliar. So, listening to songs you have heard over and over is a good idea when you really want to get in the zone.

Other ways you can tap into the power of music for your mental health, inspired by music therapist Peter Carpenter:

Use music to help redirect your thoughts, helping you change the negative thoughts you may be experiencing.

Listen to music that matches how you are feeling. Then, gradually switch to music that has a more positive mood to help lift your spirits.

Journal. Write down your thoughts and feelings, your favorite lyrics, or anything else that resonates with you through the process. This will help you discover which types of music help you feel better.

Listen to new music, or find new things in the songs you already love. Get your brain thinking in new ways. This will also help you be mindful while listening to music.

Or make a playlist!

I love alternative or chill house music when doing some creative work.

Find below a link to my Spotify playlist :)

As you work playlist

For employees, music therapy could be particularly useful as an alternative form of rehabilitation following a work-related injury, or as part of a mental wellness and support program.

Given music’s powerful influence over people’s cognition and productivity, it may be essential for business owners and employers to rethink office design and incorporate appropriate soundscapes in the right workspaces. If done right, music can unlock peak creativity and productivity among employees, creating a huge competitive advantage for your business.

Music alone shall live!

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email:ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites

The Sound of Wellness: How Music Tunes Up Workplace Productivity. Retrieved from https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/the-sound-of-wellness-how-music-tunes-up-workplace-productivity

How Music Can Improve Employee Productivity: Retrieved from https://www.passporthealthusa.com/employer-solutions/blog/2019-9-how-music-can-improve-employee-productivity/

Amelia Wilcox(2021). Beating Employee Stress Using Music Therapy at Work. Retrieved from https://nivati.com/beating-employee-stress-using-music-therapy-at-work/

Sabrina Munns. Music in the Workplace: The Secret to a Happy Workforce? Retrieved from https://www.e-days.com/news/music-in-the-workplace

Music Affects Our Emotions and Can Be Used as a Wellness Tool in Workplaces. Retrieved from https://www.emergencysupport.com.au/music-affects-our-emotions-and-can-be-used-as-a-wellness-tool-in-workplaces/

July, 2021

According to mindful.org, mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Most of the time, our minds are wandering — we’re thinking about the future, dwelling on the past, worrying, fantasizing, fretting or daydreaming.

To understand why “living in the moment” is necessary is a successful mindfulness practice, consider how conscious actions become non-conscious habits. In the interest of preserving resources, the brain moves a repeated action from the conscious to the habitual part of the brain. Thus living in the moment pulls whatever activity you happen to be doing from the habitual part of the brain back to the conscious part of the brain.

There are many ways to cultivate mindfulness at work, from walking during the day to taking purposeful pauses when eating. One of the most reliable ways is simple meditation. Meditation brings us back to the present moment and gives us the tools we need to be less stressed, calmer, and kinder to ourselves and others.

It can be especially helpful to bring a mindful disposition to your job, which can be the source of significant stress. And workplace stress is becoming only more consuming, with email, intra-office chat tools, and social media constantly competing for our attention, and often bleeding into the hours that historically gave you a break. Being fully present and consciously focused on the task at hand, free from distractions or judgment, and with a soft and open mind can be hugely beneficial and transformative. Moving forward task by task allows us to create opportunities to be more attentive, aware, and productive and less reactive, overwhelmed, and on autopilot.

How to be more mindful at work

Focus on your breath. A simple breathing exercise can have a deep impact on your state of mind — plus, it’s one of the most inconspicuous ways to practice mindfulness at work. Whenever you start to feel stressed during the workday, take a minute to focus on your inhalation and exhalation, feeling yourself starting to relax.

Pick a mantra. Don’t wait until you log onto your computer to get your mind right. Begin your morning by choosing a positive message or mantra, and repeat it to yourself throughout the day. “Peace begins with me” is a good reminder that we are responsible for how we feel and how we react. “I am strong, capable, and ready” can keep you calm and focused before a big presentation or meeting. From there, come up with a mantra in the present tense to honor it.

Take regular breaks. Most people don’t think they can afford the time to take a break, let alone regular breaks. But a well-known productivity study found among a group of employees, the 10% who were the most productive had an ideal work rhythm of 52 minutes of work time followed by a 17-minute break. Researchers say that’s because the brain naturally works in high activity for about an hour and then switches to low activity for a short period of time — the perfect amount of time, in fact, for a mindful break. If you want to start incorporating regular breaks into your day, try setting a timer on your phone to ring every hour. When the timer rings, take a break — it could be as short as one minute at your desk or as long as you can spare — to do a simple mindfulness practice such as a breathing exercise, a 20-minute meditation to let go of stress or to get outside and take a walk. No matter how you spend them, regular breaks can be particularly effective and rejuvenating after lunch as your mind starts to tire.

Check email less. Email can be a constant source of distraction, making you a slave to your inbox while taking you away from higher-priority tasks. If your job allows it, disable your push notifications and only check your email when you actually have uninterrupted time to concentrate fully on it. When you do open your inbox, try to focus only on what’s important and be aware of what is merely noise.

Actively listen. Try being fully present and mindful of what others are saying throughout the workday, instead of just automatically nodding as you wait for your turn to talk. You’ll benefit from learning to quiet the internal chatter in your head and creating space and openness to process what your coworkers are trying to tell you. And you may even strengthen your relationships with people at work!

Practice gratitude. Everyone has bad days at work — the trick is to use those as an opportunity for mindfulness. The next time you’re feeling a little down at work, try a gratitude meditation and write down one or two things you like about your job. This is a great way to take note of and cultivate an appreciation for your job, even when the day isn’t going exactly as you intended.

Use your commute to mindfully unwind. It’s important to unplug at the end of the workday and set boundaries, so you can be truly present at home. The commute can be an ideal time to make this transition. Here’s one way to do it: turn off your phone, radio, audiobook, and any other distractions, and simply be — noticing things around you and focusing on the breath. If thoughts about work issues and stress arise, simply acknowledge them and let them go.

Just because they call them “workplaces” doesn’t mean they’re the best place to do your work. By learning how to focus more effectively, communicate more compassionately and manage our frustrations, we can avoid many of the common pitfalls that lead to dissatisfaction on the job.

Practice mindfulness today! Your sanity needs it. :)

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email:ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites

How to be mindful at work. Retrieved from https://www.headspace.com/work/mindfulness-at-work

David Gelles. How to be more mindful and work. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/be-more-mindful-at-work

Mindful staff (2020). What is mindfulness?. Retrieved from https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/

Dr. Steve Aldana (2021). 10 tips to implement mindfulness in the workplace. Retrieved from https://www.wellsteps.com/blog/2020/02/11/mindfulness-in-the-workplace/

Ashley Stahl (2017). How to practice mindfulness at work.Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2017/09/14/how-to-practice-mindfulness-at-work/?sh=64ba247b4d57

When working from home, many of us are finding ourselves hunched over laptops on sofas or beds, perched on hard dining room chairs or subjecting our arms and wrists to ill-placed keyboards. This can be quite a pain and a stress trigger which most likely may affect how productivity and how we view work time.

One of the most important things you can do while setting up your home office is to create distance between your work and personal life. Have your own special workspace that is used exclusively (or mostly) for work. Keep your personal space separate. This is the best way to allow yourself to decompress after work.

You may be spending more time working and ideally on a chair ,with a desk in front of you and a laptop and always in a certain “ideal posture” absorbing the energy of environment as well the distractions. You can set up your workspace to be safe and comfortable with a few ergonomic tips. Doing so reduces your chance of injury and increases your comfort, all of which helps you stay creative, minimize stressors and stay productive and focused. Some tips for you and I are as below:

Take stretch breaks. Break up the strain on your body that results from doing the same thing for a long time in an uncomfortable position. When possible, use the time during work calls to stand up, walk and stretch. (This is a good way to promote workplace wellness, too.)

Clear the clutter. Take a page from the minimalism handbook and deep-six the clutter in your office. May Bennison of The Minimal Stylist says, “Think about what is essential for you to do your work and discard the rest. It’s only clogging up your space, and therefore, your mind.”

Suggest a functional routine. Establish and maintain a healthy daily routine that puts them in the right mindset to work as they would do in the office. Getting up at the time they usually would for work may give them the opportunity to exercise or prepare a healthy breakfast that will set them up for the day.

Display meaningful pieces. Mementos can transport us to happy moments or soothe our psyches. It can be anything from a piece of pottery, to special artwork or a photo of loved ones or favorite memories that brings you joy and makes you smile. It’s all up to you!

Surround yourself with plants. Personally I am an “aspiring plant mum” and I find this tip quite useful. Just go ahead and try to be stressed when you’re surrounded by thriving, green plants. It’s almost impossible, right? Research shows that plants improve air quality, health, mood, and productivity being an air filter , leads to improved health as plants are also natural humidifiers which can reduce incidents of dry skin, sore throat, and dry coughs and are mood enhancers as they make a place more appealing.

There are many great options for desk plants that are optimal for cleaning the air and offering other health perks. They include the Spider Plant (Chrolophytum comosum),Snake Plant (Sansevieria trifasciata), Philodendron, Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) and Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata bostoniensis) among others. Feel free to research more on the mentioned and more.

The Pomodoro technique: The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system that encourages people to work with the time they have — rather than against it. Using this method, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks separated by five-minute breaks. These intervals are referred to as pomodoros. After about four pomodoros, you take a longer break of about 15 to 20 minutes.This can be an effective method to use when working in a home environment where there might be more distractions.

Reward: You get stuff done. This feels good, and your brain celebrates by shooting some dopamine into the bloodstream, which is always nice.

Make Time For Exercise: Exercising can keep your heart and lungs healthy, and it may help decrease aches and pains that occur from performing desk work each and every day. Thirty minutes of exercise each day can also help elevate your mood and promote feelings of well-being, something that may be important during these uncertain times.

Exercises that you can be doing include: going for a solitary walk or jog, skip rope, bike riding, low back stretches, postural stretches, neck stretches, body weight strengthening exercises

By being creative and using items around the house for exercise, you can be sure to keep your body moving and your mind sharp. Exercise may also help prevent repetitive strain injuries that may occur while spending countless hours at your home office workstation.

More ergonomic tips: Reduce eyestrain by taking microbreaks. Strive to take a 20-second break every 20 minutes by looking at something else at least 20 feet away.

Improve poor lighting. Use task lighting when working on printed materials and focused, diffuse light for computer work. To prevent eye fatigue, avoid the glare from bright sunlight on a laptop screen.

To minimize external noise, use a headphone with a microphone for teleconference calls. Use an external keyboard and mouse for better positioning of the laptop monitor. This can help foster neutral neck posture and proper alignment of the arms and wrists.

You may want to investigate ways to create a home office setup that allows you to change between a sitting and standing position. Make your own stand up work station. Consider placing your current desk on risers. You could use stacks of books or wooden blocks under your desk legs to make your desk taller. Use a level to ensure that your work surface is level. Another DIY option is to use an old box to elevate your computer and monitor so you can work standing up. Get creative! This option is best if you are using a laptop for work.

Posture. When sitting or standing, be mindful of maintaining an upright posture while you work, your low back should have a slight forward curve, your ears should remain directly over your shoulders, your shoulders should remain over your hips. It may be helpful to set an alarm to ring every hour to remind you to sit up properly while working. The slouch-overcorrect exercise is also a great maneuver to do to remind yourself to sit with proper posture.

Taking a few moments to ensure that your home office is set up properly can help you reduce repetitive stress and strain while working. This can minimize pain, improve posture, and improve your overall productivity while working.

What works for you? Your family is unique, and things are always changing. Staying adaptive, keeping creative, and making your work-from-home situation work for you — that’s what it’s all about.

At the end of the day, as HR practitioners and managers nurturing employee safety and wellness through home office ergonomics is another way to build a positive workplace culture, one that keeps remote workers engaged and productive.

By creating a culture that supports safety and ergonomic best practices, you make your employees feel valued and cared for. Nothing promotes retention like an environment that’s comfortable and safe, where all employees are empowered to be productive and do their best work whenever.

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites

Kurt Bognar. Home office ergonomics — everything you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.insperity.com/blog/home-office-ergonomics/

Daniel Threlfall (2019).How to Create a Stress-Free Home Office in 6 Easy Steps. Retrieved from https://www.teamgantt.com/blog/how-to-work-from-home-and-get-stuff-done-while-still-preserving-family-peace-and-normal-social-behavior

Jill Duffy (2020). Everything You Need to Set Up an Ergonomic Home Office. Retrieved from https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/everything-you-need-to-set-up-an-ergonomic-home-office

Brett Sears (2020).Your Home Office and Your Health. Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/home-office-set-up-tips-

David McComark. Remote working: how to support employee mental healthhttps://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/2039 485-remote-working-how-to-support-employee-mental-health

Cheers to what keeps you going .

Cheers to the break of routine.

Cheers to better days.

When it comes to the future of work, the conversation over the past few years has been increasingly focused on a desire for greater flexi-working arrangements .

(See link to my other article on the same-https://medium.com/@ednaomol/flexi-working-schedules-the-greater-good-411e4ef107f8)

Although the flexibility to work from home, driven by technology, may be something a growing number look for in a job, many now find themselves away from their routine, increasingly isolated or juggling other commitments.

Also, advances in workplace technology can create problems for remote workers, creating an “always on” mentality in which workers feel they must always be contactable and find it difficult to switch off. The addictive nature of technology, as well as an increased expectation for employees to be contactable almost round the clock may lead to stress, fatigue, anxiety and generally poor employee mental health.

According to Buffer’s 2019 State of Remote Working report, 19% of workers said that loneliness was their biggest struggle when working remotely.Video calls are the next best thing to an in-person meeting. They’re ideal for talking out issues, brainstorming ideas and building team spirit in ways that written communications can’t.Encourage each other as colleagues to communicate not just for work-related reasons, but for socializing, too.

It is important for employers to carefully examine how remote working tools are being used and the impact this can have on wellness.Can be by making sure they’ve got the right access to video conferencing software, or making sure that they have the right well-being initiatives to meet the needs of their people when they’re not going to be in the same room as one another.

Well, as a remote worker you can also enhance your work /life balance and mental health with a few of the below reminders . :-)

Creating a routine and schedule

Routine is not a bad thing after all!

Get dressed and ready for the day. Shower, get out of your pajamas, eat breakfast, etc. Basically, do all your morning routines and rituals just like you used to do before going remote.

When you organize your tasks and outline your goals, you mentally prepare yourself for what to expect during the day. Then it’s easier to work towards achieving the goals you set out, rather than vaguely meandering towards them.Also, have a dedicated work space.It’s all about creating an ambiance that reflects calmness, serenity, and warmth.

Scheduling also prevents tasks not on your to-do list from creeping into your day.Also schedule ‘analog’ rests away for the screen. Focus on hobbies, self-care, and anything else that makes you happy for a few minutes every day.

Consider keeping a journal — incorporating gratitude practice i.e. ‘What am I grateful for today? Soon you’ll get to know when you do your best focused work, or need the most input. At home that might be different to the office. You could combine this with a paper bullet journal or planner to keep thoughts, tasks and achievement in the same place.When you are done for the day, pack away your work things or leave your work area at the end of the day.

And remember to breath!

Pick up a hobby/interest

Have you ever considered that maybe it’s time to consider a new hobby you’ve always wanted to pick up?During your breaks perhaps?

This will help you stay sane and focusing on self. You can start reading more, listening to podcasts, dancing around, learning a musical instrument, becoming a master chef, learning a new language, or just simply taking time to relax.It’s all about your interest-no pressure! Personally I’m working on reading more, improving on my french and finally starting on my blog

Stay Active

Fight the urge to stay sedentary and schedule active time to get your heart pumping.

Go for a walk or bike ride, stretch or do yoga, aerobics whichever is preferred .Personally I skip rope and hula hoop for approximately 30 minutes and I’ve resolved to go for a walk at least twice a month at Karura Forest, Nairobi — a popular area for runners and cyclists.

Exercising 20 to 30 minutes daily can significantly lower anxiety levels.You’ll also boost endorphins and serotonin to flood your brain with happiness.Besides you’ll stay fit and shed those calories :)

Find a support system

Support from your peers is just as effective as cognitive behavior therapy when you’re down. So carve out time each week to spend with your core group of friends and family members who lift you up.

Listen to music

Everyone has mood music and the benefits of music to enhancing mental stability is important.Incorporating music into your everyday life can help to elevate your mood and motivation, aid relaxation and increase the efficiency of your brain processing.

Create that playlist today and enjoy!

Keep up the good practices.

It’s more important than ever to keep up your healthy habits.Stay hydrated, get some exercise and fresh air if you can, eat healthy and avoid too much alcohol,carbs or sugar. Taking care of yourself in these ways is also going to have a positive impact on your mental health.

Enough for the day!

You may want to take on as much work as you can, but there’s only so much you can complete in a day. Know your limitations, set boundaries based on your schedule and workload, and don’t extend yourself beyond them.Cross off the items you did tackle for the day, and you’ll gain a sense of accomplishment and pride. This forward momentum will propel you to put your best work forward even while remote

it’s also important to monitor your mental health, especially if you’re prone to anxiety or depression. If your inability to focus or your feelings of sadness or being overwhelmed are making it hard to function, look to what has worked for you in the past.

Lastly, be mindful of changes in your mood or behavior and ask others in your life to do the same if you’re concerned.

Stay connected, Stay healthy, Stay sane!

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites

Ellen Daniels. How the switch to remote working is impacting well being. Retrieved from https://www.verdict.co.uk/remote-working-mental-health/

We work remotely. Your New Remote Life: How To Work From Home and Find Productivity & Motivation In This New Normal. Retrieved from https://weworkremotely.com/your-new-remote-life-how-to-work-from-home-and-find-productivity-motivation-in-this-new-normal

Gwen Moran. How to maintain your mental health while working from home . Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/90479504/how-to-maintain-your-mental-health-while-working-from-home

Prolonged exposure to especially negative, unstable, strife-inducing or just plain chaotic people can take a real toll on your emotions and cause a tremendous amount of stress.

Globally, only 15% of one’s colleagues are engaged. To be clear, engaged to Gallup means those colleagues who ‘are highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. They are psychological “owners”. They drive performance and innovation and move the organization forward’. They are much more productive and profitable than the least engaged. We qualify them as top performers.

The biggest group of 67% is not engaged at work. They are ‘psychologically unattached to their work and their company. Because their engagement needs are not being fully met, they’re putting time — but not energy or passion — into their work.’ We all know those colleagues. We sometimes become annoyed with them. But we wouldn’t qualify them as toxic.

The remaining 18% are those who are actively disengaged at work. These are the ones who sabotage the workplace because they ‘aren’t just unhappy at work — they are resentful that their needs aren’t being met and are acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers potentially undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish.’ Yep, here they are. We definitely describe this group as toxic.

Toxic people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact that they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons. Either way, they create unnecessary complexity, strife, and worst of all stress.

Studies have long shown that stress can have a lasting, negative impact on the brain. Exposure to even a few days of stress compromises the effectiveness of neurons in the hippocampus — an important brain area responsible for reasoning and memory. Weeks of stress can cause reversible damage to neuronal dendrites (the small “arms” that brain cells use to communicate with each other), and months of stress can permanently destroy neurons. Stress is a formidable threat to your success — when stress gets out of control, your brain and your performance suffers.

According to talkspace.com toxic colleagues can come in various groups:

Type 1: The coworker who hits you up to chat about office politics

Gossip is compensatory strategy often used to cover low-self esteem or feelings of powerlessness. It’s likely your co-worker is communicating this way–albeit passively aggressively and manipulatively–to seek connection.They spend most of their day reminding the boss how awesome they are and talking with other employees to try and figure out what is going on and who is doing what. It is all a game to them and one they plan on winning, even if they have to back-stab and step on everyone they work with to win.

Don’t get drawn into their schemes or plots. Don’t give them any more information than you have to, as they will suck away your time asking questions about who is doing what or who is the boss’s favorite.

Type 2: The coworker who is negative about…well, everything.

Coworkers who have a victim mentality act like being busy is a badge of honor. Coworkers with a victim syndrome constantly complain about everything bad that’s happening in their lives. What’s worse, they don’t believe they have any ownership or control of the situation, so in their eyes, everything is being done to them.

Type 3: The coworker who gets too close for comfort.

When someone’s behavior is inappropriate for the workplace — like flirting or remarks about age, appearance or gender — you have to draw a line. The key to establishing and maintaining boundaries is to enforce them immediately and assertively.

There are also other types as shared on powerofpositivity.com. They include:

Type 4 : The procrastinator

They are time suckers in that they procrastinate and wait till the last minute to complete assignments or turn in projects. They are always in a crisis. They are negative and always have some sob story or another to share with you as to why they are late or behind schedule.

The easiest way to deal with them is to leave enough room in the schedule between the deadline you give them and the actual deadline. This way, their crisis does not become an actual crisis for you.

Type 5: The slacker

This person spends more time working to avoid work than just doing their job. They are content to let everyone else in the office to pick up their slack. They don’t care what anyone thinks of them, and if they can get away with not doing anything, then they will do as little as possible. They spend a lot of time learning exactly what they can get away with and how little they can do without getting fired.

Type 6 : The rumor monger

This person is the nexus for the office rumor mill. They spend most of their day chatting with coworkers and digging for juicy tidbits of personal information. They get a perverse pleasure from talking about other people. They waste everyone’s time with trivial stories about fellow coworkers that may or may not even be true. They are a massive time sucker.

Type 7: The blocker

Toxic leaders and colleagues may try to mute the creativity of others. They can operate from a position where they believe they know best when it comes to getting things done. They’ll shut ideas down, halt communication and negotiation and try to get those around them to work in the way they want them to.

The list above is not conclusive and is a guide to recognize toxicity in your work environment.Basically , a colleague who disturbs the work climate and distracts productivity can be considered a toxic colleague.Most often than not some require some form of intervention from fellow colleagues to realize their behavior but for most they may be acting intentionally and it may require more than just talk to cope with them.

How to react around toxic colleagues:

1. Intentionally establish boundaries.

Everyone needs healthy boundaries, all the time. But, it’s especially true when you’re dealing with toxic people. Just because you’re forced to spend time with someone every day, doesn’t mean that you can’t protect yourself.Consciously decide to keep an emotional distance from challenging people. Work on disassociating yourself a little. You should still be friendly and positive but also just a little bit removed.

Once you’ve found your way to rise above a person, you’ll begin to find their behavior more predictable and easier to understand. This will equip you to think rationally about when and where you have to put up with them and when you don’t. For example, even if you work with someone closely on a project team, that doesn’t mean that you need to have the same level of one-on-one interaction with them that you have with other team members.

2. Realize they’re not worried about how this affects you.

There’s no sense in trying to appeal to a toxic person’s compassion. Difficult people often blame everyone but themselves when a problem arises. That’s a big part of the problem. You might think that you can reason with them or try to express how their behavior is impacting you. But, it won’t do any good. They’re not thinking about how this affects you. They’re just worried about themselves. So, don’t waste your time and energy trying to elicit compassion or change via reasonable conversation.

3. Redirect yourself towards the positive.

Toxic people can get in your head. So, remember to count your blessings frequently during this time. Think about everything you enjoy about your job, and talk about those things with other people. Gratitude makes us happier. Practicing it intentionally is a great way to combat toxicity.

4. When the day is done, get them out of your head

You probably aren’t going to be able to change the toxic person you’re dealing with at work, but you can control how you react to them. So, when the workday is done, get them out of your head. Don’t obsess about the situation, that will only make it worse. Instead, try to take the emotion out of your response, and let it go. Other people are going to do what they’re going to do. It doesn’t have to upset you.

5. Set Limits (Especially with Complainers)

Complainers and negative people are bad news because they wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions. They want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves. People often feel pressure to listen to complainers because they don’t want to be seen as callous or rude, but there’s a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spiral.

You can avoid this only by setting limits and distancing yourself when necessary. A great way to set limits is to ask complainers how they intend to fix the problem. They will either quiet down

6. Stay Aware of Their Emotions

Maintaining an emotional distance requires awareness. You can’t stop someone from pushing your buttons if you don’t recognize when it’s happening. Sometimes you’ll find yourself in situations where you’ll need to regroup and choose the best way forward. This is fine and you shouldn’t be afraid to buy yourself some time to do so.

7. Don’t Let Anyone Limit your Joy

When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from the opinions of other people, you are no longer the master of your own happiness. When emotionally intelligent people feel good about something that they’ve done, they won’t let anyone’s opinions or snide remarks take that away from them.

While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don’t have to compare yourself to others, and you can always take people’s opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what toxic people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within. Regardless of what people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is certain — you’re never as good or bad as they say you are.

8. Focus on Solutions

Where you focus your attention determines your emotional state. When you fixate on the problems you’re facing, you create and prolong negative emotions and stress. When you focus on actions to better yourself and your circumstances, you create a sense of personal efficacy that produces positive emotions and reduces stress.

When it comes to toxic people, fixating on how crazy and difficult they are gives them power over you. Quit thinking about how troubling your difficult person is, and focus instead on how you’re going to go about handling them. This makes you more effective by putting you in control, and it will reduce the amount of stress you experience when interacting with them.

9. Squash Negative Self-Talk

Sometimes you absorb the negativity of other people. There’s nothing wrong with feeling bad about how someone is treating you, but your self-talk (the thoughts you have about your feelings) can either intensify the negativity or help you move past it. Negative self-talk is unrealistic, unnecessary, and self-defeating. It sends you into a downward emotional spiral that is

10. Use your Support System

It’s tempting, yet entirely ineffective, to attempt tackling everything by yourself. To deal with toxic people, you need to recognize the weaknesses in your approach to them. This means tapping into your support system to gain perspective on a challenging person. Everyone has someone at work and/or outside work who is on their team, rooting for them, and ready to help them get the best from a difficult situation. Identify these individuals in your life and make an effort to seek their insight and assistance when you need it. Something as simple as explaining the situation can lead to a new perspective. Most of the time, other people can see a solution that you can’t because they are not as emotionally invested in the situation.

11. Accept responsibility for how they feel

Saying that your co-worker makes you feel bad about yourself or claiming that your boss makes you mad implies that other people have power over how you feel.

No matter how difficult your co-workers are, don’t allow their behavior to dictate your emotions. Accept that it’s up to you to manage your emotions, regardless of how other people behave.

12. Practice healthy coping skills

Even when you establish healthy boundaries with difficult co-workers, they can still drain your mental strength. Practice healthy coping skills that will help you stay strong.

Experiment with a variety of coping skills, like gratitude and meditation, to discover what works best for you. Take good care of your health as well. It’s impossible to stay mentally strong when you’re abusing your body with alcohol, sleep deprivation or junk food.

Organization should realize that toxic colleagues are extremely costly to the organization — because their toxic effect turns out to be highly contagious. This is a huge problem if our organizations have more actively disengaged (or toxic) workers than engaged, top performers.

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites:

Carley Sime(2019). How to spot toxic colleagues.Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/carleysime/2019/02/25/how-to-spot-toxic-colleagues/#13b9a653200d

Joost (2019). Toxic colleagues-a bigger problem than you think. Retrieved from https://corporate-rebels.com/toxic-colleagues/

Melody wilding (2018). How successful people handle 3 types of toxic people. Retrieved from https://www.talkspace.com/blog/how-successful-people-handle-3-types-of-toxic-coworkers/

Power of positivity. 5 types of toxic coworkers and how to deal with them. Retrieved from https://www.powerofpositivity.com/5-types-toxic-coworkers-deal/

Gina Belli. 10 tips of dealing with toxic people at work. Retrieved from https://www.payscale.com/career-news/2017/09/10-tips-dealing-toxic-people-work

Diversity and inclusion go hand and hand and are seen at workplaces as a way of providing equal opportunities to three groups of people — women, LGBTQIAP+, and people with physical disabilities.While many workplaces account for diversity and inclusion through these three groups, inclusion for people with mental health issues is rarely addressed.

Inclusion and employee well-being are linked in four ways:

• workplaces that are inclusive foster enhanced employee well-being
• employees with high levels of well-being are more inclusive.
• effective well-being initiatives accommodate the unique needs of different employees
• best-practice diversity and inclusion programs recognize mental health and well-being as a diversity issue.

Our cultural and social identities (e.g.nationality, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, health status) form an integral part of our self-concept and self-esteem. An inclusive work setting supports employee well-being through its positive effects on employee self-concept and self-esteem; enhanced career achievements and progression; greater work-life balance; social connectedness and belonging; reduced discrimination, prejudice and harassment; and pro-social behavior.

Research shows that when self-esteem is threatened, the tendency for prejudice increases.Simply put, we tend to feel better about ourselves by putting other people down.Because prejudice can be a defensive response to integrity or self-esteem threats, self-affirming workplaces can reduce the motivation for prejudice and tendencies for explicit or unconscious bias. This decreases the risk of negative inter-group relations. One of the ways organisations can support their employees’ self-esteem is by ensuring the performance appraisal processes includes timely and regular feedback on strengths and successes as well as developmental goals.

Workplace discrimination for any reason, can have a significant impact on workplace functioning: it lowers job satisfaction, commitment of employees to organizational success, and employee self-esteem related to their jobs. It can also increase turnover among employees in a variety of stigmatized groups.

For corporate mental health awareness, one starting point is to avoid hurtful language that enhance stigmatization against people suffering from mental health issues.Discrimination can occur when a disability such as mental illness is the center of a joke or humor in the office directed towards an individual or even a mental health condition.

Management should provide clear direction and instruction on what is acceptable and not acceptable regarding humor in the workplace, supported through education, positive conversations and if necessary, enforcement.

Employees are also less likely to experience prejudice, harassment or discrimination when their workplaces are inclusive. The positive impact of inclusion on employee well-being are is not limited to diverse talent, however,studies show that helping others makes us happy and supports physical and mental health and well-being.

Be aware if employees with mental health disabilities are treated differently than other employees. Take steps to close these gaps in a respectful way by collaborating with employees about when differential treatment is an accommodation and when it is exclusionary.

Supporting inclusivity at the individual level requires that the employer/manager become an “Authentic Ally” in the workplace.

‘Being an Authentic Ally’ recognizes that diversity and inclusivity, social justice and anti-oppression work requires action-oriented practices.It involves validating other people’s experiences of oppression and not staying silent when discrimination occurs in the workplace especially as the leadership.It also entails engaging in inclusive learning so that the oppressed and the oppressors can benefit from the transfer knowledge.Uses privilege to advocate for equity.

Inspiring authentic change requires the organization to understand that addressing discrimination and building an inclusive and diverse work environment necessitates ongoing organizational reflection and action.

In order to build authentic change, the organization must:

• Recognize any challenges to inclusivity
• Acknowledge when change needs to occur
• Be committed to facilitating change
• Ensure that adequate resources are put in place (i.e., financial resources, human resources, organizational policies, etc.)
• Ensure that implementation and follow-through occur.

Investing in inclusivity increases the success of an organization by improving the quality of decision-making at the operational and governance levels, helping to attract and retain skilled employees and managers, and by raising staff morale, which contributes to the feelings of inclusion and psychological safety in the workplace.

Best-practice diversity and inclusion programs recognize well-being as a diversity and inclusion issue.

Organisations offering well-being programs should take care to ensure that they are accessible to all employees. Consideration should be given to language and literacy, job schedules, family demands, religion, culture, age, and health status including chronic illnesses, disabilities and allergies. Involving diverse talent in the design of well-being programs helps to ensure that they can be reasonably accessed by all employees.

Unless wellness programs are inclusive, they may exacerbate divisions between diverse groups. But when organisations actively seek to design wellness initiatives such as physical activities that accommodate for the needs of different employees, they can be used to promote inclusion as well as wellness by encouraging positive interaction between diverse employees and the formation of inter-group friendships.

Inclusive workplaces make reasonable adjustments to work schedules and loads to support employees managing mental health concerns and offer professional support through employee assistance programs. Inclusive workplaces also recognize the stigma attached to mental health and that individuals may be judged, penalized or discriminated against unfairly.

“Inclusion means to consider everyone’s backgrounds, thoughts, and opinions when assessing a situation or idea. Inclusion is oftentimes not a conscious thought…the unconscious effort to include someone in a process is what seems more natural and effortless.”

Deloitte Insights offer seven powerful actions to bring forth diversity and inclusion revolution:

1. Recognize that progress will take a culture reset
2. Create shared purpose and meaning by broadening the narrative to diversity of thinking and inclusion
3. Build inclusive leadership capabilities
4. Take middle managers on the journey
5. Nudge behavior change by rewiring processes and practices
6. Strengthen accountability, recognition, and rewards
7. Pay attention to diverse employees and customers

With increasing trends of global migration, organizations within the private sector, public service, and non-profit industries must now adapt to meet the expanding needs of diverse customers and service-users at the service, design and strategic levels. Inclusivity is not only beneficial for the workforce but can also benefit an organization’s capacity to compete and capitalize on opportunities in the local and global marketplace.

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites:

Lalithashree Ganesh .How can workplaces be inclusive of mental health . Retrieved from https://www.whiteswanfoundation.org/article/di-what-are-the-best-practices-for-mental-health/

Felicity Menzies. How does employee well being link to diversity and inclusion. Retrieved from https://cultureplusconsulting.com/2018/08/17/how-does-employee-well-being-link-to-diversity-and-inclusion/

Peggy Yu (2018). What should inclusion look like in the workplace? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/peggyyu/2018/01/17/what-should-inclusion-really-look-like-in-the-workplace/

Juliet Bourke, Bernadette Dillon (2018) .The diversity and inclusion revolution: Eight powerful truths.Retrieved from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/deloitte-review/issue-22/diversity-and-inclusion-at-work-eight-powerful-truths.html

Erich Toll (2018). Workplace Diversity and Mental Health .Retrieved from https://www.diversityresources.com/workplace-diversity-and-mental-health/

Workplace Strategies for mental health. Inclusivity and discrimination .Retrieved from https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/psychological-health-and-safety/inclusivity-and-discrimination

September, 2019

Sometimes one can get so overwhelmed at work till they lose confidence and may become irritable or withdrawn. This leads to less productivity ,less effectiveness and makes the work seem less rewarding.This can be a warning sign of work stress.

If one ignores the warning signs of work stress,it can lead to bigger problems. Beyond interfering with job performance and satisfaction, chronic or intense stress can also lead to physical and emotional health problems.

Rather than plan work too far in advance, which in most instances can lead to anxiety and work stress, one can do it daily, modifying one’s agenda for the next day according to new priorities and unfinished business from the day before.

If it’s a huge project,one can prepare a Gantt chart which can break down large goals into small objectives achievable within a timeline step by step.

Planning and prioritizing is crucial when you have more tasks on your to-do list than you can accomplish in one day. This really helps one work faster and more efficiently. And this, in turn, means that you don’t miss deadlines hence get less stressed.

Prioritization Tips

They include:

Creating a balanced schedule. Analyze your schedule, responsibilities and daily tasks. All work and no play is a recipe for burnout. Try to find a balance between work and family life, social activities, solitary pursuits, daily responsibilities and downtime.Make a list of tasks you have to do and tackle them in order of importance. Do the high-priority items first. If you have something particularly unpleasant to do, get it over with early. The rest of your day will be more pleasant as a result.

Don’t over-commit yourself. Avoid scheduling things back-to-back or trying to fit too much into one day. All too often, we underestimate how long things will take. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Try to leave earlier in the morning. Even 10–15 minutes can make the difference between frantically rushing to your desk and having time to ease into your day. Don’t add to your stress levels by running late.

Plan regular breaks. Make sure to take short breaks throughout the day to take a walk or sit back and clear your mind. Also try to get away from your desk or workstation for lunch.Stepping away from work to briefly relax and recharge will help you be more, not less, productive.

Delegate responsibility. You don’t have to do it all yourself. If other people can take care of the task, why not let them? Let go of the desire to control or oversee every little step. You’ll be letting go of unnecessary stress in the process.

Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to contribute differently to a task, revise a deadline or change their behavior at work, be willing to do the same. Sometimes, if you can both bend a little, you’ll be able to find a happy middle ground that reduces the stress levels for everyone concerned.

When you have a lot of things to do, it’s very important to fully concentrate on your priorities one at a time without looking at anything else. 90% of your emails are not important, and certainly not urgent, so reading them can wait until you’re done.

Time Management

Time management is also part of prioritizing. You always have to know how much time you need to complete a certain task. Otherwise, you’re just going forward blindly and have no way to assess what’s possible and what isn't. Structure your time. Use a day planner or notebook to plan your day or week. Just seeing on paper that there is a time to get your tasks done can help you get to work. You can also find apps to help structure and plan your time. They can be used on your phone or computer.

Create short-term deadlines. Short-term deadlines will help you make a habit of meeting deadlines. It will also force you to get things done. That way, when the long-term deadline does arrive, you won’t have as much pressure and work built up.

Avoid perfectionism. If you demand perfection, you might not even start a task because you’re worried it won’t be perfect. Doing your best is fine. Giving yourself enough time to do your best will reduce stress.

Manage your commitments.Making commitments can be just as hard as letting them go. People who are under stress tend to have too many commitments instead of too few. But sometimes stress comes from a lack of commitment.Improving efficiency and productivity allow you to get more done in less time. Managing your time better will make you more relaxed and less stressed as a result.

Store Things in a pleasing,easy retrievable way.While organizing your desk/work space ,you might not be able to get rid of things that don’t spark joy but are necessary to do your job. But what you can do is to store them in a pleasing way ,whether that’s using fun file folders, cute boxes, or funky containers.Also, avoid having filing systems that are too complicated if it means you’ll let things pile up rather than deal with the hassle of figuring out which folder they go in,do this in a way that’s manageable for you and that saves time.

Time management isn’t just about squeezing in as much work as humanly possible into your schedule or completely clearing it so you can do absolutely nothing. It’s also about making room for the non-work things you love and those that allow you to recharge.

Stephen Covey’s classic business book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change has some helpful tips on planning and prioritizing. The idea is to sort activities by importance and urgency and put them in one of four quadrants:

Quadrant I: Important, Urgent includes things like crises, last-minute meetings for important deadlines

Quadrant II: Important, Not Urgent includes things like strategic planning, long-term goal setting

Quadrant III: Not Important, Urgent includes things like certain emails, phone calls, meetings, and events

Quadrant IV: Not Important, Not Urgent includes things like scrolling mindlessly through social media, binge watching TV you don’t really care about.

Be Intentional Going Forward.You should have some kind of intention behind every task you are doing.It can be finishing a report or shooting off an email reply. Or maybe it’s more sentimental and about sparking joy, in the case of a framed picture or motivational Post-it. But this forces you to really consider what you need and don’t need in your workspace. And, it holds you accountable to follow through on the items that are lingering around.

Lastly,Your desk has done a lot for you. It’s been a place where you’ve accomplished so much — it’s where you nailed down that pitch, wrote that perfect copy, upsold that big client, earned a promotion, or launched your business. And be grateful for all it’s provided you by making it orderly and user friendly for you.Your productivity will not regret it!

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites:

Sandeep Kashyap (2019 ) . Importance of Time Management in the Workplace .Retrieved from https://www.proofhub.com/articles/importance-of-time-management-in-the-workplace

Lana Sumati ( 2012) . Reduce Job Stress by Prioritizing and Organizing . Retrieved by https://patch.com/california/santacruz/bp--reduce-job-stress-by-prioritizing-organizing

The happily productive . How to prioritize your to-do-list to reduce stress. Retrieved from https://thehappilyproductive.com/prioritising-stress-management/

Healthwise.org (2017) . Stress Management: Managing Your Time . Retrieved from https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/health-topics/av2103

Stav Liv . 7 Tips to Declutter Your Calendar (and Make Time for What Matters) .Retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/tips-declutter-calendar-make-time-what-matters

Alyse Kalish . The Benefits of “Tidying Up” Your Work Life — Marie Kondo-Style . Retrieved from https://www.themuse.com/advice/marie-kondo-method-spark-joy-at-work

Throughout a typical work week, employees will interact more with their colleagues than loved ones. Positive interactions between employees not only makes for a better work environment but can foster higher levels of job satisfaction and productivity. Negative or toxic relationships in the workplace can increase stress levels among employees, as well as feelings of isolation. Both stress and isolation negatively impact employees’ mental and physical health, lowering employee morale and motivation.

In prioritizing workplace support relationships, employers can promote a creative and collaborative workplace culture.

A meta-analysis in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Review reports that people who feel sociable with their colleagues, have more connection to the company itself, have better health and happiness and are less likely to burn out.

According to a recent article in Forbes, One can improve their working relationships by addressing their own commutative style, body language, energy and persona. One needs to take ownership for how they want to be perceived and the positive impact this can have on their own mental health well-being, and also the well-being of those around us.

Building good relationships at work and offering support is also about making sure your colleagues are performing at their maximum to synchronize work and enhance team work hence the concept of accountability partners.

Accountability partners

An accountability partner is a support partner who challenges you to act in a certain way and you have to report back to them on your progress. They challenge you to do better, and in the same way, you hold them accountable for their actions.

Accountability partners can help to keep you honest with yourself and helps you see things from multiple perspectives — ensuring you are meeting their physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and project goals. .” The idea with accountability partners is to choose partners who are not necessarily part of your team and who have a personality a little different from yours.

Employees are encouraged to touch base with their partners daily or weekly, to chat informally about what’s on their minds and blow off steam if necessary.This can a vital way for an organization to help individuals manage their stresses or insecurities they may have in the workplace.Having an accountability partner involves goal setting and regular interacting to discuss progress on the goals and build on further.

Even as more and more people are embracing flexi-working,accountability partners can still provide support and have regular sessions whether through teleconferencing and quick chats .This brings about a sense of belonging and can help individuals keep on track in their projects.

Setting up an accountability partnership is refreshingly simple:

1. Find someone you trust to be your accountability partner (a different personality from you is good, maybe better).

2. Talk to them about your goals.

3. Get specific with them about actions you will want to take to meet your goals as well as consequences/rewards for taking or not taking them.

4. Set up regular check-in times (this can be a text message, no need to meet every time).

5. Revisit goals and strategies every once in a while to make sure you are on track.

You can generally make what is known as accountability statements. These are action items you promise to complete before the next meeting/session. In a way, they’re similar to milestones because they’re small actions that are part of a larger goal.

The best type of accountability statement is one that is related to your primary goal, has a clear outcome and is doable in a specific time frame.

At the end of the day, we are much more likely to take action if someone is taking note and tracking our goals, but also coaching us and supporting us cheering us on along the way. Smart companies understand this and have integrated it into their culture and the way they do business. The results are better financial performance and employee retention, all of which leads to happier workers. With a system like accountability partners in place, employees feel their company as a whole is looking out for them and they are more likely to stick around and continue to grow personally and professionally.

Randomized meetups

Another way of fostering positive work relationships can be by having randomized coffee/meal dates among co-workers within break periods at the workplace where get to socialize,request support from colleagues and possibly brainstorm on various ideas.This can actually enhance innovation among team members and create a well knit social unit in the organization. The meet ups can be organized regularly by enlisting willing parties within the organization.

As the African proverb says, “if you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Organizations can foster positive workplace relationships by creating a strong mission statement and an upbeat team-based environment.In addition,managers should be coached on maintaining good relationships with their staff. Emphasize the need for two-way communication, clear and precise instructions, and the need for individuals to feel respected as both individuals and crucial contributors to the final service or product of the company.Lastly,Model the behavior of creating good workplace relationships by actively seeking opportunities to offer assistance that will help co-workers or support staff do their jobs better.

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites:

Michele Hellebuyck (2019). Positive Relationships in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/blog/positive-relationships-workplace

Leigh Stringer .Forget mentors,find an accountability partner. Retrieved from https://www.quietrev.com/forget-mentors-find-an-accountability-partner

S.J. Scott. How to Work with an Accountability Partner to Conquer Your Personal Goals. Retrieved from https://www.developgoodhabits.com/accountability-partner/

Michelle Seidel,(2019).How to Establish & Maintain Good Relationships in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/establish-maintain-good-relationships-workplace-22396.html

Impostor syndrome is felt as pervasive self-doubt, insecurity and the unshakable belief that your achievements and successes are due to luck rather than any innate or learned abilities and knowledge.

It can be a belief that you don’t deserve your job despite all of your accomplishments in the workplace.It is a psychological phenomenon that people across all industries and experience levels face.Studies suggest 70 percent of people experience impostor syndrome, a psychological pattern in which they doubt their accomplishments and fear being exposed as a fraud at some time in their career. Not only can impostor syndrome be a negative force on someone’s attitude and mind, it can also impact their work. Feelings of inadequacy often end up making people believe in their insecurities, forcing their fears into realities.

Overall, impostor syndrome is a result of an employee not feeling supported. Organizations must work to “establish a culture of psychological safety, belonging, and authentic leadership, where individuals might be able to bring that type of concern to their manager and not feel penalized because of it,”

Impostor syndrome is a problem for organisations for several reasons: firstly, it reduces well-being and can increase the chance of acute or chronic mental health issues. Secondly, it isolates individuals and negatively impacts interpersonal relationships.

Identifying impostor syndrome

Being reluctant to take initiative can be a strong indicator of low confidence or low self-esteem which may make an individual experience Impostor Syndrome. Employees may demonstrate a lack of self-confidence by turning down promotions, new assignments or other tasks because they’re “not ready yet,” or being slow to highlight their accomplishments and contributions

Perfectionism is also a giant red flag. While you may hear people lightheartedly call themselves perfectionists now and then, look out for those who actually suffer from perfectionism. True perfectionists set unhealthy and unrealistically high goals for themselves and then heavily criticize themselves when they don’t meet those goals. The fear of failure can cause severe anxiety or compulsive behavior. They are constantly afraid they won’t measure up to an unachievable concept of “perfect” and will be exposed as frauds.

These are some signs of perfectionism in employees:

• Trouble delegating because they need to do tasks themselves to ensure they’re done perfectly
• Unrealistic standards for themselves and others
• Procrastination (this may seem counter-intuitive, but perfectionists fear failure so much that they can become immobilized and struggle to start anything at all)

Employees who don’t accept help from others may feel they need to go it alone to prove their worth. They may believe asking for help will reveal them as impostors who are not up to the task.

Workaholism can manifest in an individual affected by impostor syndrome .At first glance, an employee who often arrives early or stays late can seem like a great asset to the company, but be wary of the potential motivations behind excessive work. An employee who works all the time may be motivated by the belief that they are not skilled enough and need to work harder to measure up to their colleagues.

An employee whose impostor syndrome manifests as workaholism may

• Consistently be the first in and/or the last to leave the office, working hours beyond what the job requires.
• Have trouble relaxing when they are not working.
• Skip workplace social events to keep working.

How to overcome impostor syndrome at work

The first step to combating impostor syndrome is to pay attention to your negative thoughts. You know, the ones where you assume that your co-workers think you’re clueless and interpret their every frown or lack of lunch invitations as confirmation of said reality.When this type of thought surfaces, it is important to recognize it as a thought, instead of a fact. Instead of getting sucked into negative thought quicksand, make a self-affirming statement.

Keep track of your strengths and accomplishments.It’s easy to stay so focused on your to-do list, overflowing inbox, mistakes, and weaknesses that you neglect to focus on your strengths and accomplishments.Try making another list, one that lists all of the skills and accomplishments that make you uniquely qualified for your job, so it’s at the top of your mind when you’re having a bad day.

The worst thing that people with impostor syndrome can do is to isolate themselves from receiving accurate and validating feedback from other people.Work hard to build relationships with your co-workers, so you have people to go to any social gathering with and lean on for support,it can be an accountability partner,a mentor or a trustworthy confidante.

Impostor syndrome at work: what should HR and managers do?

HR’s role is in encouraging managers (and supporting them with tools and knowledge) to cut across established norms to create healthier expectations in the workplace.

Many organisations now provide positive feedback on a regular basis so as a way to boost motivation, well-being and productivity. This public acknowledgement can help individuals begin practicing a core strategy for tackling impostor syndrome: proper attribution

There are clear thought patterns and limiting beliefs that occur frequently in those who suffer from impostor syndrome. Feeling alone and feeling like you’re ‘wearing a mask,’ for example, are common.Helping individuals re-frame these beliefs can help.

A workplace culture with severe repercussions for failure is likely to encourage impostor syndrome among its employees. Take a step back and ask yourself if your company sees failure as a dead end or a learning opportunity. It’s vital to send out a clear message to your employees that mistakes happen and they don’t have to be a source of shame.

Managers should play a large role in supporting and encouraging employees, yet few are well equipped to tackle impostor syndrome among their team members — especially when these team members reveal their inner critic.Educate managers at your organization on the various signs of impostor syndrome, and coach them to let their employees know that fears and self-doubt are a natural part of work life. An employee’s goal should not be to strive for supreme self-confidence, but rather better management of self-doubt. Researcher Queena Hoang found in 2013 that nurturing intrinsic motivation can help address impostor syndrome

At the end of the day, remember this: You are here for a reason. In this job, your business, your life, you are worthy. You are better than you think you are. You are smarter than you think you are. You know more than you give yourself credit for. Remember that. Remind yourself as often as you need to -Psychology Today

Written by Edna Omol.

For feedback

Email :ednaomol@gmail.com

Helpful Sites:

Macy Bayern(2018 ) . Why imposter syndrome persists in the workplace, and how to deal with it.Retrieved from https://www.techrepublic.com/article/why-imposter-syndrome-persists-in-the-workplace-and-how-to-deal-with-it/

Chris Lennon (2019)How to Recognize and Support Employees With Impostor Syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.business.com/articles/recognize-support-employees-with-impostor-syndrome/

Elana Lyn Gross.How to overcome imposter syndrome at work Retrieved from https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/how-to-overcome-imposter-syndrome-0717

Investors in people.Retrieved from https://www.investorsinpeople.com/impostor-syndrome-workplace-hr/