My Holland, Author at EQuest Asia

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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Flow and sustainable happiness…

Engagement, Positive Psychology, Productivity, Wellbeing / My Holland

Flow – the secret of happiness Have you ever done an activity – a sport or something creative – where you have been totally absorbed in that exact moment, without a care about what is going on around you? Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, one of the pioneers of the scientific study of happiness, called this feeling ‘flow’ and says it is the key to happiness. He said: “The best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times… The best moments usually occur if a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” At that moment when you forget yourself and only the thing you are doing at that moment matters, you have effortless control and Csikszentmihalyi says this is an optimum state of happiness. Lots of psychologists and theorists argue that happiness must be worked at to achieve, it doesn’t simply happen. It can be achieved by setting ourselves challenges (nothing too hard or too simple) and making them unique to our passions. We need to cultivate our own happiness and one way to do that is to work out when and how we can achieve flow. Flow happens on our journey towards completing – so for example, it is the creative process of writing a story or painting a picture, or it is what athletes refer to as ‘being in the zone’ when they are preparing or running a race. When we are totally immersed in something we give it our full attention and can forget all of our external issues and problems. Cziksentmihalyi stated that happiness comes from within us and is unique to US –our passions, our likes, what makes us tick. In 1990, he explained flow as: “a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience is so enjoyable that people will continue to do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it.” This is why it is so worthwhile to have hobbies in our lives and make the time to do the things we love to do. To achieve flow, Czikszentmihalyi said there are certain things to do and feel, such as having clear goals, allow awareness and action to meet, disregard time and allow self-consciousness to disappear. During ‘flow’ there is no worry about failing; instead we receive immediate feedback in the shape of gratification. So how do can we achieve flow on our lives? Csikszentmihalyi says that we need to immerse ourselves in an activity we can lose ourselves in. This will be different from one person to the next. It also requires us to practise mindfulness – being aware of the here and now. When we learn to enjoy the immediate experiences we face, we can experience flow and its benefits for our happiness.

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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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My Holland

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

Flow and sustainable happiness…

Is It Really The Money That Everybody Works Hard For?

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