Emotional Intelligence Archives - Page 15 of 16

Are You Working in a Toxic Environment? How Can You Survive It?

Before you go jumping into conclusions, let’s make it clear that we’re not talking of some sinister laboratory on a remote island of Dr. No where poisonous gas seeps through the room vents so you’d be rendered unconscious and be lobotomized. No! We’re talking of what HR management experts refer to as a hostile working environment defined as one, where there is discrimination and unpleasant, unwelcome conduct. This becomes pervasive and grievous that it alters a worker’s conditions of employment and creates an abusive work surroundings. So, is your workplace toxic? Questions To Ask, To Give You An Idea Of What A Toxic Workplace Is : Are you doing the work of two or more people but getting a one-person paycheck? Do you hate going to work everyday ? (And not because your wife/husband works for the same company?) Does nobody appreciate you and your work.? Is there somebody there yelling at you or your co workers (quit kidding around with your wife!) Have you sought some help but nothing happened? Have you been asked to do some lying for someone? Have you been asked to make false entries into official reports? Have you been a victim of sexual harassment? Has there been discrimination against you because of gender, age, race, religion or sexual preference? Does violence happen in your workplace or has anyone been threatened or assaulted? Having a YES answer to just one of these questions says, you’re working in a toxic environment. This happens because the big guys in positions of authority run the company through abuse of power, giant egos, distrust, inequality, unfairness, greed, ruthless ambition, pressure and lack of respect for one’s fellowman. What To Do Working in a place like this, you’ll have to be strong and assertive. You’ve got to use tried and tested communication techniques and refer to laws and guidelines to transform a toxic office. If these and prayers don’t work, heck, find yourself a healthy company that’s founded on truth, respect and open communications. Take our word for it. There are many of them around in the business district. But, before you give-up, know and appreciate that, obviously, no workplace is perfect. There are things you can do though, as an individual to alter the negative work surroundings and make the day run smoother and more productively for you and the rest of the guys. Do What’s In Your Power To Do Don’t mope around and sulk for things you are powerless to do. Look around and find out what in fact, you can do and do it! Take it upon yourself to discover what sort of a working environment might best support you in the job you do. Forget the HR department! They’ve got lots of other things to do. So now get working on changing your work surroundings. Can’t do? Look at it this way. If you believe in “Feng Shui” (ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with the elements) and all it’ll take is to reposition your desk and your chair so that your area attracts success and career opportunities, why not?. Use More Of Your Strengths Pull back and take some time to figure out things that really matter to you. Do you enjoy working in a team or individually? Are you good at starting projects or finishing them? The perfect job for you should be a good fit for how you enjoy working. Consider how your skills, strengths and career objectives fit with the job’s requirements. If they do, great. If not, if there is little or no skill match and the job is stressing you out … then you’ll have to make a big decision. Good luck!

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Is It Really The Money That Everybody Works Hard For?

Compassion, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership / My Holland

If the very popular late 1970’s Donna Sommer’s monster hit “She Works Hard for The Money” is to be believed, you’d say it was money and pay raises that make office workers go the extra mile. But that’s a song, and you know what they say about song writers being allowed their creative license to say practically anything. In truth, here’s what a recent survey of more than two hundred thousand (200,000) workers around the globe have to say about being happy in the workplace: The seven most important factors these people value for on-the-job satisfaction and happiness are: That They Get To Be Appreciated For Their Work – That proverbial pat on the back, that “Hey, that was a great job you did on the project!” that “the team couldn’t have done it without you!” is the number one motivator that gets people working in support of the company’s goals and values. That There Is Good Relationship Among Colleagues And Peers – Don’t take this to mean that this is about those bold and adult, man-woman romantic dalliances that you get to hear about in the office every now and then. Sure, these would probably be good storylines for those late-night TV series as “Sex and The city”. But it’s not about that. This is about real, genuine teamwork that goes hand in hand with mutual respect on a personal and professional level, with fun-at-work thrown in for good measure. That They’re Able To Have A Good Work–Life Balance – Happy at work and happy with their personal lives. The ample, adequate time they spend on both sides of the fence are of top quality leaving them neither frustrations or disappointments. That There Is Good, Professional Relationship With The Head Honchos – The guys in dark grey suits from the top floor have nothing but respect and appreciation for the work that they do. That they’re sometimes called by their first name by the chairman of the board, is something that can really get them going more than 100%! That The Company They’re Working For Is Financially Stable. It doesn’t make them happy to be working for some fly-by-night organization. It’s got to be a company that’s standing on solid ground, an organization that fights back when bullied by a competitor. a reputable, respected company that’s got the muscles it needs to win its matches. They’d be proud and happy to be working for a group like that. That There Are Opportunities For The Employees To Learn, Develop And Further Their Careers – Anybody worth his salt would surely want to be able to go up higher on the corporate ladder. They’d be happy in a company that gives them the chance to learn and take a crack at whatever opportunities there might be to prop them up closer to the top. That The Company They’re Connected With Offers Attractive Fixed Salaries. And why not? We’d be hypocrites if we said thick wads of US dollars or Euros didn’t create some adrenaline rush on paydays. But hey! It’s not the be all and end all of being happy at work. In fact, if you take a closer look, among the 7 most important components that matter in relation to happiness on the job, it’s at the bottom! Keep these findings in mind as you manage your people. They’re rock solid. Adopt them and make your organization humming like happy bees at work. oozing with productivity.

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Emotional Intelligence and IQ… which one is more important?

Emotional Intelligence, Engagement / My Holland

EQ versus IQ in the workplace Every business out there is looking for the competitive edge. Every employer wants the best employees – the hardest working, the most reliable, the most co-operative colleagues. While this has usually been picked and determined by the IQ level of a person applying for a job (a measurement of cognitive ability), many businesses are starting to look at other qualities, and in particular EQ or emotional intelligence. What is the difference between the two and how can employers benefit from recruiting differently and thinking outside the box? Two psychology professors , John Mayer (University of New Hampshire) and Peter Salovey (Yale University), discovered the concept of EQ back in 1987 when they realised that good decision making and other employable skills depend on more than just the intellect of a person. This theory was explored further by Dan Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ (1995). He concludes that leaders use ‘people skills’ in the workplace to build relationships, respond effectively to the needs of others and are in tune with their own emotions. He defined EQ as the ability to recognize, understand, use and manage emotions in oneself and in others. And the good news for all of us? Unlike IQ, EQ can be taught, learnt and developed. So what qualities does somebody with a high EQ possess? Self awareness (intra-personal) – a knowledge and understanding of their personal strengths and weaknesses and in tune with their own emotions Empathy (inter-personal) – An understanding of others Self control (stress management) – Thinking before acting Optimism (mood) – an ability to see the ‘cup half full’ Adaptability – be grounded and realistic rather than a ‘dreamer’ The more of these qualities you possess, the higher your EQ and all of these qualities can be developed. While our personalities are unique to us as an individual, emotional intelligence is not. In the workplace, having a high EQ means making decisions based on the needs of yourself and others, playing by the rules but challenging yourself and making a success of your endeavours. While it does not necessarily mean that you will be a higher achiever, those with a high EQ will be easier to work with, more productive in a team and help with the overall mood of a workplace. In other words, many employers are starting to appreciate a higher EQ compared with a higher IQ to help their workplaces flourish.

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5 Smart Tips On How To Be Happy At Work And Bring Down The Daily Pressure.

Emotional Intelligence, Engagement, Leadership, Productivity / My Holland

Somebody once quipped that the happiest workers in the world are traffic cops. They whistle while they work. An even wiser man said .. find a job you’ll really enjoy doing every single day and you won’t feel like it’s work. Unfortunately, we can’t all be loving our work like Tiger Woods, Roger Federer or Taylor Swift and make lots of money while enjoying a terrific rush swinging a golf club, a tennis racket or belting out a country song. We, modern slaves of the bundy clock will have to be a little more creative and innovative so we don’t drag our feet on the way to the office as if we’re headed for the dentist. And, we’re not talking of salary raises and promotions either. Of course, that helps too but that doesn’t happen everyday. Below are five of the most popular tips that are known to have had positive results among people who work under much pressure and stress: Make the choice to be happy at work. Being happy at work is essentially a choice. It’s true. Think positively about your work .. how it contributes to the company and what important role it plays to the satisfaction of a customer or client. Focus on the facets of your job that you like doing. Go with co-workers whose company you enjoy. Psych yourself up. Even in the midst of pressure and deadlines, you can choose to be happy at work. Get rid of negativity. Making a choice to be happy in the office means staying away from gossip, negative talks and disgruntled people. You can feel positively great at work but negative people can have a dramatic impact on your attitude. Don’t let these types of people get you down. Take responsibility for your own professional development. The person with the most to gain from continuing to professionally grow is yourself. So, take charge of your career growth. Don’t stay put. Seek some meaningful help or feedback from your superiors and as you see them complementing your planned goals, work them into your plans. Strike a happy balance. Your job is only a fraction of your life. It is not your total life. You cannot and should not get into a go-to-work-go-home-and-back-to-work cycle. Outside of work, find and do something that interests you, a hobby or a sport, or Friday nights out with friends that’ll serve as an outlet for relaxation and enjoyment. Create a pleasant work station. If you’ve got your own office, desk or cubicle, arrange your surroundings so it gets to be nice and comfortable for you to be there and work. Make your area pleasant. Tack on a few personal mementos, a cute little plant at the corner or Brad Pitt’s photo if it’ll make you happy. These will add warmth and meaning to your work station and ease up the daily pressure of the job. If none of these ideas help to make you a bit happier at work after applying them over time, it would make sense for you to reevaluate your employer, your job or your whole career. You wouldn’t want to spend the rest of your life in a job you can’t stand in a work environment that’s unfriendly. Go look for another job with a smile.

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Start again with realistic resolutions with the year of the Goat…

Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Productivity / My Holland

This year I will (again?)…. With the New Year starting on 19th February 2015 (year of the Goat or sheep), our minds wander once again to resolutions, hopes and plans for the year ahead. We ponder what we would like to achieve and how we will do so. Clement Stone once told us to aim for the moon, and if we fail, we will still land amongst the stars. But how about if we turn this on its head? What if we stop trying to reach the unattainable goal (the moon), but instead pick realistic targets to start with (the stars). Will we feel more fulfilled in our accomplishments? Swiss philosopher Alain de Botton, in his book Status Anxiety, explores this very question. In fact, he comes up with a formula: Satisfaction = accomplishments/expectations. In short, when we set ourselves up with high expectations and fail to meet them, we feel bad, whereas if our accomplishments exceed our expectations, we feel happy. So the answer to this seems simple. We need to set ourselves small, achievable and positive goals that we can achieve and ‘tick off,’ leaving us feeling satisfied. It is a balance between increasing our accomplishments and lowering our expectations. As de Botton says: “We are tempted to believe that certain achievements and possessions will give us enduring satisfaction. We are invited to imagine ourselves scaling the steep cliff face of happiness in order to reach a wide, high plateau on which we will live out the rest of our lives; we are not reminded that soon after gaining the summit, we will be called down again into fresh lowlands of anxiety and desire.” Our journey and the small but measurable successes are what is important. This Lunar New Year marks a chance for a ‘fresh start’ – a point to reflect on what we have achieved and what we want from the future. It allows us to feel reinvigorated and energised for the challenges to come. It marks a date in the diary where we can renew our energy. The key now is to make our goals realistic and work towards small steps in the right direction. According to a publication in the Journal of Clinical Psychology by John Norcross, as many as 50% of us make a New Year Resolution – be it weight loss or debt reduction. But Psychology Professor Peter Herman and colleagues believe the high failure rate in seeing these through is called the ‘false hope syndrome, ’ meaning the resolution is unrealistic and out of alignment with the person’s views and lifestyles. Here are a few tips to ensure you make goals you can stick to: Make ‘bitesize’ targets rather than one large (and often unachievable) one. Do not think too long-term – it is better to think daily or weekly, than monthly or annually Reward yourself along your journey and keep a chart of your progress Look after yourself and remember to take time out to ‘recharge your batteries’ and be in the best possible condition to give your goals all the effort they deserve – this means taking care of your energy both physically and mentally. Good luck and enjoy the process.

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Emotional Intelligence

Are You Working in a Toxic Environment? How Can You Survive It?

Is It Really The Money That Everybody Works Hard For?

Emotional Intelligence and IQ… which one is more important?

5 Smart Tips On How To Be Happy At Work And Bring Down The Daily Pressure.

Start again with realistic resolutions with the year of the Goat…

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