Generally, we define empathy as the ability to sense emotions of others coupled with the ability to judge what someone else might be thinking and feeling. In common parlance, empathy is most often defined by the metaphors: ‘standing in someone else’s shoes’ or ‘seeing through someone else’s eyes’
Psychologically speaking, there are basically four kinds of empathy in humans, which are self-empathy, mirror (emotional) empathy, cognitive empathy and compassionate empathy as described below:
• Self empathy – Self-empathy is the act of giving ourselves empathy, listening to our own feelings and unmet needs with compassion and understanding. This does not make the problems go away, or magically make all our needs met. But it does help us to feel connected and centered within ourselves. It can also be a tool to express ourselves with more honesty. Though it doesn’t make problems go away, it makes it easier to endure them.
• Cognitive empathy – It means knowing how the other person feels and what they might be thinking. It is very helpful in negotiations or motivating people. It has been found that people who possess good cognitive empathy (also called perspective taking) make good leaders or managers because they are able to move people to give their best efforts. But there can be a downside to this type of empathy. If people, falling within the “Dark Triad” – narcissists, Machiavellians and psychopaths – possess ample ability of cognitive empathy, they can exploit others to the extent of torturing them. Such people have no sympathy for their victims and expertly use their ability to calibrate their cruelty.
• Emotional empathy – It means feeling physically along with the other person as though their emotions are contagious. It makes one well-attuned to another’s emotional world, which is a plus in any of the wide range of callings. There is a downside attached to emotional empathy that occurs, when people lack the ability to manage their own emotions. This can be seen as psychological exhaustion leading to a burnout as commonly seen in professionals. The purposeful detachment cultivated by those in medical profession is a way to void burnout. But when the detachment leads to indifference, it can seriously hamper the professional care.
• Compassionate empathy – Also commonly referred to as empathic concern, this type of empathy not only means understanding a person’s predicament and feel with them but spontaneously move to help them, if needed. In fact, empathic concern is the vital ingredient of an empathic response in a given situation. It is the kind most required in people working as social volunteers.
Empathy – a basic trait –
Empathy is inherently present in humans to varying extents and, therefore, we are affected by another’s predicament differently. In fact, it is one of the basic traits of humans so much so that any one devoid of it strikes us as dangerous or mentally ill.
Females frequently score higher on standard tests of empathy, social sensitivity, and emotion recognition than do males.
Its inherence in humans can be established by the fact that how young children respond to the emotions of family members. Besides children, some household pets also express their worry, when the family members are in distress. The pets hover nearby and put their heads in their owners’ laps showing that even animals have empathy. Besides humans, many other species exhibit presence of empathy to a varying extent.
A compelling evidence for the presence of empathy in animals came from the following research. The researchers reported in 1964 in the American Journal of Psychiatry that rhesus monkeys refused to pull a chain that delivered food to themselves if doing so gave a shock to a companion. One monkey stopped pulling the chain for 12 days after witnessing another monkey receive a shock. Those primates were literally starving themselves in order to avoid causing hurt to other animals.
Role of empathy in life –
• Empathy plays great role in our life in almost every sphere. The skill of empathy, though we inherit it, can be cultivated, which plays a significant role in making us successful in those spheres. Role of empathy in the life of an individual is actually dependent on its conceptualization by the individual, which varies widely. Nevertheless, empathy acts to reflect what has been perceived and creates a supportive or confirming atmosphere.
• Empathy is a powerful communication skill that is actually underused by many. It allows one to understand thoughts and resultant feelings created by them in others. Empathy also makes one to respond to other’s feelings sympathetically so that they can win their trust, which promotes communication further. Our fear of failure, anger, and frustration suddenly drop away, allowing for a more meaningful dialogue and a deepening of relationships.
• Empathy is more than simple sympathy, which makes the individual understand others with compassion and sensitivity. That is why it is plays an important role in the workplace, where many people work together to achieve something of significance. It helps create deep respect for the co-workers, thereby fostering a harmonious atmosphere in the workplace.
• Similarly, empathy is helpful in our professional life because, besides facilitating communication, it makes us a sympathetic listener to our clients, whereby we are able to understand them better.
• Because empathy makes us able to communicate effectively and listen empathetically, we stand a better chance of making our personal and social relationships successful. In fact, empathy is capable of nurturing every kind of relationship we enter into or are in.
• As it is clear that empathy affects our life with far reaching ramifications, we should help our children to cultivate this trait so that they can become better human beings. Since empathy promotes pro-social behavior, it will help our children build close relationships, maintain friendships and develop better communities. Emotional intelligence has assumed great importance over the past twenty years as an instrument in developing an ability to work with our own and other’s emotions. One of the most important components of emotional intelligence skills is empathy.
Conclusion –
Undoubtedly, empathy immensely affects our everyday life. This trait will come in handy in situations, where we find ourselves trapped, because it will make us understand other’s perspectives.
Though we are born with this trait, it happens to be underused by many. As empathy is one of the most important skills to be practiced for success in everyday life, we should encourage our children to cultivate it.
Alison Roman is cooking rice, a grain she dismissed as “filler” in her 2017 cookbook Dining In. But she’s preparing a Passover dessert, and leavening agents are verboten. Roman is not a chocolate person, so flourless chocolate cake is out. But in 2015, rabbis declared rice kosher for Passover after an 800-year ban. So rice pudding it is.
It’s February, over a month before the Jewish holiday, but Roman needs to complete the all-day shoot for her “Home Movies” YouTube series before she goes on a seven-city tour for her latest cookbook, Sweet Enough, out March 28. Her loft-like Brooklyn apartment with whitewashed brick walls and exposed pipes looks more like a studio than a living space when stuffed with lights and cameras. Pots boil over and dishes pile up, but Roman approaches the chaos with enviable levity, squeezing lemon here and sprinkling red pepper flakes there while declaring to the camera that the word “unctuous” has been banished from her vocabulary for onomatopoetic reasons. Being invited into Roman’s kitchen is like snagging a seat at your foodie friend’s boozy dinner party, a vibe that helped her 2021 “Thanksgiving Special” rack up over 1 million views.
Roman declares that she will diverge from the recipe as written and chill the rice pudding without plastic wrap so it can form a film. She hates food without texture—she’s anti-avocado and fills her tuna salad with an obscene amount of celery—so she must add crunch to this mushy dessert. Her crew members exchange skeptical looks, but Roman is probably right. She usually is, about food anyway. Her stances—anchovies make everything better; one-use kitchen tools are a waste; crispy potatoes are superior to mashed—might turn off potential fans if her recipes didn’t work so well.
But her opinions have also gotten her in trouble. In 2020, Roman was semi-canceled and the New York Times suspended her column after she intimated in an interview that Marie Kondo and Chrissy Teigen, women of color in a traditionally white milieu, had sold out by launching lines of home goods—even though Roman herself was working on a line of spoons.
Roman apologized, but she didn’t disappear. She never returned to the Times, but just a month after her suspension, she launched her snarkily named “A Newsletter.” Unlike some public figures felled by scandal in the early days of the pandemic, she couldn’t retreat to a compound. “I didn’t have a choice. Not financially, not emotionally, not intellectually. I have to pay rent. I had no fallback,” she says.
Steadily, her popularity grew again. Perhaps Roman has endured because while she apologized, she didn’t go on an apology tour. She read the comments and engaged in conversations about her privilege, but she doesn’t present herself as a new person. “I had two choices: I could let it ruin my life or not,” she says. “I’m an authentic person, and what is authentic to me is to cook. So I did. There were a lot of people before who didn’t like me. There are a lot of people now who don’t like me. If you try to trace a trajectory from pre-that to post-that, it’s the same person with a wonderful dose of evolution.”
Her life has changed in the last three years. On top of the pandemic and publicity woes, she went through a break-up, met someone new, moved, and got a new therapist. “There are certain things that can only come from failing in a really epic way in a very public forum,” she says. “You become more nervous and afraid and ashamed. But you also become a little bit more brave.”
With her new cookbook, ‘Sweet Enough,’ Roman returns to her roots as a pastry chef.
Justin J Wee for TIME
Roman, 37, dropped out of college to work as a pastry chef. Her parents weren’t particularly thrilled and didn’t offer her any financial assistance. She baked for six years in her home state, California, and her adopted home, New York, including at Pies & Thighs and Momofuku Milk Bar. After Dining In, her editor urged her to write a book of desserts. Instead she wrote Nothing Fancy, a best-selling cookbook that instructs readers how to stage low-maintenance dinner parties like the ones occasionally featured in Roman’s videos: think guests arranging cheese plates while sipping three-ingredient spritzes. She just prefers savory food. Even in her new book on sweets, she’s included a savory section—and yes, anchovies make an appearance.
Desserts can be intimidating. It’s harder to make real-time adjustments. You don’t know if a cake tastes terrible until you serve it. But Roman insists many of her dessert recipes are “casual.” The one on the book’s cover, “Raspberries and Sour Cream,” isn’t even really a recipe. It’s a suggestion that sprinkling sugar on raspberries and layering them with spoonfuls of sour cream will taste delicious. (It does.)
Roman’s recipes are simple: Thanksgiving turkeys are cooked on sheet pans and beans don’t need to be pre-soaked. Simplicity may seem like an obvious way to achieve popularity, but it’s not every cookbook author’s goal. Take London restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi, whose uber-popular cookbooks notoriously contain recipes with dozens of steps. “He did so much for cookbook writers because he pushed people to the f-cking limits,” says Roman. “So anything easier than that people were like, ‘Oh, thank god.’”
When Roman left the restaurant world to work at Bon Appétit, she tried to impress her bosses with complicated dishes. But readers weren’t making them. She asked herself: “Do I want people to know what a badass cook I am and what skills I possess? Or do I want people to feed themselves?”
Roman also learned at Bon Appétit that she was telegenic. She is the rare influencer who projects the same energy in person as she does on camera. Her wit and candor buoy the cooking video genre from informative to outright entertaining. Some of her fans comment that they tune in every week with no intention of making the recipes, just to watch Roman try to dislodge ingredients from her overstuffed refrigerator. During the Passover shoot, Roman’s assistant sits curled up on an orange couch, fact-checking the cook’s quips. Nothing is pre-rehearsed. “It can only appear casual, natural, authentic, and relaxed if it really is,” Roman says.
That sometimes includes delving into the messy contradictions of her own cooking edicts. She’s moved on from rice pudding to a potato dish shared with her by a friend who used to work under Alice Waters at the famed Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse. Roman didn’t want to use a mandolin for the recipe (see: her policy on single-use kitchen tools), but she cooked the dish by cutting the potatoes with a knife and then again using the more precise mandolin. The mandolin potatoes were crispier. “You win this time, Alice Waters,” Roman says. She assures viewers that they can get the mint green tool she’s using online for about $18. Her assistant Googles the particular brand and corrects her: it’s more like $80, though Amazon has a sale for about half-off at the moment. They don’t reshoot the segment; Roman transforms the mistake into an opportunity for banter. “When I was a kid, this only cost $18,” she gripes.
Roman keeps her flaws on-camera. In a recent video she filmed with a friend who never bakes, she repeatedly insists she “loves teaching” while simultaneously micromanaging the process of making a fruit tart, down to adjusting the cherry her friend had placed on top. Based on the comments, viewers found Roman’s need for control endearing—she knows her stubborn attitude is her appeal. Roman is a whizz at branding: her signature orangey-red nail and lip color and affinity for vintage speckled bowls scream Brooklyn ramshackle chic. Her life is aspirational yet accessible to the Millennials who follow her: the newsletter reaches tens of thousands of subscribers across all 50 states, and her fans are mostly women ages 24 to 44, according to Roman’s Instagram data.
Yet she takes umbrage at the idea that she’s a “cool girl,” a phrase often lobbed at her, and not always kindly. She thinks people are confusing insecurity for snobbery. “When I hear ‘cool girl,’ I think aloof, cold. But I’m pretty warm and friendly, I think?” she says. In fact, she started hosting dinner parties to manage her social anxiety. “I can recuse myself from the social activity while being social because I’m in the kitchen. I have a job to do.”
But she is undeniably popular. Her recipes often go viral. Her Shallot Pasta, Labneh Dip, and Chocolate Chunk Shortbread Cookies were inescapable at Millennials’ dinner parties (including my own) for years. Back in 2019, I was in Park City, Utah and stopped by the local Whole Foods to try to buy labneh—a Middle Eastern cheese with the consistency of yogurt—to make her famous dip. Not only was the grocery store sold out, but the cashier informed me multiple customers had specifically asked about Roman’s recipe.
That’s no accident. In her pastry chef days, the description of a dessert on a menu could make the difference between a slow night and a profitable one. “You want them to be like, wow, we sold a lot of desserts tonight,” she says. “So how do I write this so that people are like, ‘F-ck I have to order this’?” Now sometimes the name for a recipe comes to her before the recipe itself: “Dilly Bean” sounded whimsical, so she reverse-engineered a recipe for stew with dill and beans. Her viral “Shallot Pasta” was, at one point, going to be called “Anchovy Tomato Pasta,” and Roman is convinced the same dish wouldn’t have taken off with that moniker. Some recipe names even betray a level of intimacy that’s enticing to her fans: in one video, she explains that “Goodbye Meatballs” were so named after a breakup over dinner.
It works. Even Ryan Murphy once reached out to say he is a fan. They went to dinner, and two years later he dropped her name in his hit Netflix series The Watcher. Her YouTube channel saw a flood of new followers unfamiliar with Roman—or her baggage.
Ice cream in melon, a recipe from ‘Sweet Enough’
Courtesy Chris Bernabeo—Sweet Enough/Alison Roman
Roman’s caramelized maple tart
Courtesy Chris Bernabeo—Sweet Enough/Alison Roman
Sweet Enough includes a recipe for bread pudding from Nora Ephron’s beloved novel Heartburn. The book chronicles, with thinly disguised pseudonyms, Ephron’s divorce from Carl Bernstein after he cheated on her while she was pregnant. It’s sprinkled with recipes that often recall a particular memory in the narrator’s life. Roman admits that the bread pudding wasn’t to her taste, but she wanted the excuse to write about one of her idols. Ephron, herself a famous dinner-party host, writes in Heartburn that “after a hard day, there is something comforting about the fact that if you melt butter and add flour and then hot stock, it will get thick! … It’s a sure thing in a world where nothing is sure.”
Like Ephron, Roman cooked through chaos—even if it was of her own making. When her comments on Teigen and Kondo went viral, Roman’s food came under scrutiny. People pointed out that her chickpea stew recipe bore similarities to Indian chana masala. “I have tried to cook things that feel authentic to me and do a better job of hearing why people were upset and adjusting,” she says. “But ultimately it wasn’t like, ‘I can never use this ingredient again.’ It was, ‘Here’s a better way to handle it.’”
Discussing the criticism over coffee at Brooklyn’s Ace Hotel, I expect Roman to be evasive, defensive, or even rehearsed. But she is open. She removes her beanie as she sits at a corner table of the hotel’s ultra-modern restaurant, rain pouring outside the window behind her. In her videos, Roman leans heavily on a self-deprecating joke. But she eschews that crutch in person: she never hesitates in her answers. She speaks in thoughtful paragraphs, leaving her drink untouched for long stretches. “I’m not ashamed of who I am. I f-cked up,” she says, a note of defiance in her voice. “But I never wanted to have ‘a comeback.’ It’s like eating sh-t on the sidewalk. If you lay there, people are going to notice. But if you get right back up, you can rebound and keep moving.”
Keep moving she did, though not without fits and starts. She was set to host a show on CNN+ until the streamer abruptly shut down in 2022. She was in a meeting when it happened. “I had a million texts and calls, ‘Are you OK?’” she says. “The last time this happened, my world fell apart. I was so scared. So when I found out, I was like, ‘That’s fine. I’ll get through it.’” CNN picked up the show for its network, and Roman shot two seasons. Each episode focused on a different ingredient, where it came from, and how to cook with it. She was at a promotional shoot when she got a call: CNN was making big cuts to its original programming. Her show was on the chopping block along with another food series, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. At least she was in good company. Roman is shopping it to other distributors.
For now, she’s filming more “Home Movies” focused on baking the recipes from Sweet Enough, beginning with a video on the equipment you’ll need (not much besides a cake pan and a whisk) and ingredients you should have (flour and sugar of any brand, but she insists on Diamond Kosher salt). She has set a policy not to comment on other public figures’ lives and is happier for it—though it’s been hard. At one point she mimes her impulse to word vomit. But she’s trying to maintain perspective. “I’m a fallible person who will probably make a mistake again. The goal isn’t to be perfect. It’s to be a human that can evolve and learn.”
She pauses. “Not to make it an allegory for baking, but every time I f-cked up a recipe, I learned something. It wasn’t a waste of time. If you only ever succeed, you’re probably pretty boring. You’re probably not that resilient.”
In this article, I will be discuss simple steps to take action on each day at work to accomplish more in less time. By following these steps, you will learn how to be productive at work on a daily basis.
Benefits of Increasing Productivity
Learning how to be more productive, especially at work, typically results in you increasing the efficiency with which you complete your tasks. Completing more work in less time has many benefits from the obvious benefit of freeing up more of your time for non-work related tasks, increasing your motivation to continue to be productive, increasing your sense of accomplishment and reducing your overall stress levels.
Then of course, there are the positive work benefits that come from increasing your productivity–especially on a daily basis. By being able to complete more work in less time with the high level of quality that you typically complete your work-related tasks, you are literally achieving more at work. Achieving more at work usually earns you benefits that will likely impact your life, and your work life balance, positively.
How to be Productive at Work Daily
There is no one set of strategies or steps to becoming “productive,” and what leads to success for one person may be a disastrous strategy for another person to try to follow. As a result, I encourage you to test out each of the steps below, and decide for yourself which of the steps will be effective at increasing your productivity at work, and that are therefore worth the effort to put into action, and continue using, until you see positive results. These positive results likely will not happen after just one attempt, rather try each step out for at least a week before making a final decision on whether that particular strategy is personally beneficial for you to pursue.
Step 1: Tie Rewarding Tasks for Finishing Work Tasks: To increase your productivity daily at work, you can tie enjoying a rewarding task with accomplishing a less rewarding and/or necessary work-related task.
For example, you can delay enjoying a rewarding task, such as having your first cup of coffee or tea, until after you complete one work-related task. Or, you can delay checking any social media until you’ve completed three work-related tasks.
Step 2: Shift Your “Productivity” Schedule: Everyone experiences a natural lull in energy at some throughout the day. If you are working outside of the home, in a 9-5 or similar job, that lull in energy typically (but not always) comes during the late afternoon.
Shift your work schedule by one hour so that you are leaving work, or at least not attempting to be highly productive, by 4:00 p.m. or whenever your energy lull happens to be. This will ensure that you have more energy to be productive during work hours that you decide will be productive, and reduces your stress levels by not creating unrealistic expectations of what you should accomplish right before the 5:00 p.m. end of day hits.
Step 3: Snacking to Keep Your Energy and Productivity Up: Continuing with the idea that people naturally have more energy to be highly productive at certain times of day, you should also be aware of how the food you eat can positively increase the energy you have and can help you to be more productive.
Foods, typically fruit such as apples, oranges, and bananas, or other foods like honey and agave, are high in both fructose and sucrose. These are two sugars that serve different energy purposes in your body, one giving you a short term energy boost while the other gives you energy over a longer period of time. In either case, by snacking puposefully, you can help make sure that you have the stamina to finish your work day strong and with the high level of productivity you started your day with.
Step 4: Start and End Your Day With Special Tasks: For most people, the most challenging part of experiencing consistently high levels of productivity is finding the motivation to just start working. To help with this problem, try giving yourself select tasks to work on to start and end your day.
To begin your day successfully and to quickly achieve productivity in your day, the first task you should try to accomplish is something fairly short, simple and/or enjoyable to complete. This will ensure that you finish your first task of the day, and that you are left with positive feelings of motivation and accomplishment from doing so.
To end your day, and prepare for the next day, leave work when you are only halfway done with a particular task that can be completed the next day without having a negative impact on your work. Most people feel uncomfortable with “unfinished” work, and this sense of not finishing your work and the discomfort that comes with it will provide a reliable source of motivation to start your work immediately the next day to be able to get to and complete your previous day’s unfinished task.
A MAN plotted sweet revenge on his former boss for sacking him before Christmas by sabotaging his attempts to replace him.
The automotive technician told of how he was able to get his own back on an abusive employer after exposing some serious wage discrepancies.
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A man plotted sweet revenge on his former boss for sacking him before ChristmasCredit: Getty
In a thread on Reddit’s Petty Revenge, the unnamed man explained how he spent years working under a boss owner who would “verbally berated him in front of the rest of staff”.
Then one day, right before Christmas he was suddenly laid off, along with another colleague, after the owner claimed they were stopping the side of the business they worked on.
“We were shocked, especially with how nonchalant an arrogant he was about it. He told us to pack out things and he’d have our final checks to us by the end of the week,” he wrote.
However, after returning to work to pick up his tools he found out that his boss had simply laid them off to be replaced by a single employee on a lower wage.
The man then gleefully recounted how he plotted his revenge.
“I stewed over it the entire time I was loading my stuff. Surprisingly, the new guy came over to see what I was doing. We talked about the job and the installs. Then, an idea popped into my head,” he said.
After asking his replacement what his wages were, he discovered that he was making much less per hour.
“When I found out, I made sure to let him know, and told him personally, he’d be insane to do the job for what he’d been hired at.”
He continued: “A few minutes later, as I was strapping down my tool box, he came walking out, got in a car, and left.”
The owner was reportedly furious and screamed at his former employee for making the newbie quit on his first day.
“I just laughed, said gee, I guess my work here is done, got in my truck and drove away.”
In a satisfying end to the saga, the man discovered it took his boss almost six months to find a replacement.
Redditors loved the revenge story, and one said: “Your employer was a slimeball and a scumbag, good for you for getting instant revenge.”
Another quipped: “Virtuous Revenge. Great name for a band!”
A third wrote: “You didn’t sabotage your replacement. That was an act of virtuous revenge.”
Meanwhile, another employee was left furious with their boss for advertising her job for over £75,000 what she gets paid.
Kimberley Nguyhen wasn’t going to let that slip, and instead planned her revenge by applying for the vacancy and posting about it internally.
The 25-year-old copywriter went viral on Twitter after shaming her employers and later quit her job.
Online users rushed to praise her actions, calling it a “boss move”.
It’s amazing how many people can’t describe their achievements in order to maximize its impact. Whether its in a resume or in a job interview, your ability to describe your achievements is a critical factor for success.
So many people underplay their achievements! Question is, do YOU?
Are you submitting your resume for that job you want, or even need? Or perhaps you’re preparing for an interview?
When you finally get the opportunity to talk about what you have achieved, it’s an opportunity you won’t want to waste. I’ve pulled together 7 keys to guide you on describing your achievements for maximum impact.
1. Clarify Your Involvement in the Achievement: Use powerful words that describe your contribution. For example, ‘created’, ‘reorganized’ or ‘established’. Passive statements like ‘did’, ‘performed’ or ‘was involved in’ don’t indicate your level of involvement – they’re worthless, so don’t use them.
2. Describe a Start, Middle and End: mention the starting conditions, such as ‘poor performance’, ‘high costs’, ‘unpalatable risk’, and follow with a statement on what you made happen (the project, change initiative, etc), and cap it off with the result – was the desired outcome achieved?
3. Quantify the Achievement: use numbers and hard measures where you can. For example, say ‘saved $50,000’ rather than ‘saved operating costs’. The more specific you are, the greater the value of your statement of achievement. In almost all cases, a percentage value has a higher-impact than an absolute number. In some cases, what might look like a minor achievement, when quantified, it could be a major achievement as perceived by others.
4. Don’t Forget Over-Achievement!: If you set out to save $50,000, but instead saved $60,000, then make sure this is known. So many people forget to do this.
5. Indicate Your Personal Award: Some achievements warrant special reward, so mention them. If you were promoted, or awarded a bonus, then add it into your statement of achievement.
6. Include details of challenging circumstances: If the achievement was tough due to business events or conditions, then make sure you say what they were. It’s important to describe any challenges you faced. For example, if there were many layoffs in your organization whilst you were tasked with improving team morale, then make these conditions clear.
7. State the Effect of the Achievement, 360-degree style: Describe the achievement not just from your own perspective; also describe what it meant for your colleagues, subordinates, management and customers (where appropriate.) Don’t forget to quantify the effect for each of these groups of people too.
The relationship you build with your direct manager is the most important one you can establish at work. That’s because their support — or lack thereof — can determine whether you languish in your role or grow in it to be the best you can be.
So when you start a new job, or your old boss quits or is moved to a different team, it’s critical to get up to speed on how your new boss manages so you can get a sense of where you fit in their plans.
Employees with new managers are typically wondering three things, according to Lara Hogan, a manager coach and author of “Resilient Management”:
“How does this manager view me? Do they appreciate my contributions, or am I at risk of them ignoring me or undervaluing my work?”
“Can I lean on my new manager for help? Will they invest in our relationship? Can I be honest with them about how I’m doing, and can I ask them for the things I need to do my job well?”
“With this new reporting relationship change, is my job at risk? I had a career plan with my previous manager — has all that work and relationship-building gone to waste?”
“We obviously can’t ask our new manager those questions outright,” Hogan added. “We haven’t developed a foundation of trust yet, and even if we felt that we could trust them, those kinds of questions can feel really awkward for the other person to answer. So, instead, we can try to get the same signal in a different way.“
Asking questions about how your boss leads and what they consider a priority is how you get those signals. Here are career experts’ suggestions for the most important questions you should ask your new boss and why.
Dimensions via Getty Images
A young job candidate is in an office shaking hands with the HR team during introductions.
1. “What work, project or priority is top-of-mind for you right now?”
This question is a way to get more information on the issues that weigh on your boss’ mind.
“Maybe they’re worried about a deadline or goal. Maybe their focus is unrelated to your team’s work. Maybe they’re still in sponge mode and gathering data,” Hogan said. “No matter what their answer is, by asking this question, you’ll gain a better sense of whether you’re working on solving problems that your new manager cares about. Plus, you’ll be better equipped to connect any future requests for your manager back to the things that they care about.”
2. “What goals would you like this position or team to achieve this year?”
Gregory Tall, a workshop facilitator who coaches managers and has over 15 years of experience in human resources, said this question is important to ask so that you understand exactly what your manager wants you to accomplish.
“Job descriptions are not specific, so you need to hear directly from your manager about the top priorities for your position,” he said. “In fact, it’s a good idea to make this a regular touchpoint of conversation as priorities can shift as things happen in the organization and the external environment. “
And if you can, try to score an early win with your boss, Tall suggested.
“It doesn’t have to be something big, but do something right off the bat to demonstrate that you are a proactive and reliable team member,” Tall said. “It could be as simple as taking the initiative to give your boss a status update on what’s happening in your role before they ask for it.”
“It’s easier to establish a new relationship than repair a damaged one.”
– career strategist Ana Goehner
3. “How would you like to communicate day-to-day and week-to-week?”
Gorick Ng, a career adviser at Harvard University and the author of “The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right,” said this is a good question because “under-communication leads to ambiguity. Ambiguity leads to anxiety. Anxiety leads to micromanagement. Aligning communication style and communication frequency can help you avoid getting micromanaged!”
By clarifying how your boss likes to hear updates, you can learn, for example, if your boss prefers a recap email at the end of every week or something else, Ng said.
4. “What’s the best way to approach you with a question?”
“If you are a new hire or have a new manager, focus on communication and strive for mutual understanding,” said career strategist Ana Goehner. “It’s easier to establish a new relationship than repair a damaged one.“
That’s why Goehner recommends asking your new boss about how they prefer you come to them with questions, along with other communication-establishing questions like: “Can you describe your management style?” and “How do you like to provide feedback to a new employee?”
These questions are a chance for you to share your communication preferences. “You can discuss your needs, but be open to feedback,” she said. “Let your manager know you don’t check messages after work hours. If you like to have weekly one-on-one meetings, ask if they would be open to that.“
Sometimes, what a boss does can tell you more than what they say. Outside of what they tell you about how they communicate, you can also observe your new boss’ behavior to get a better idea of how they operate.
“Check any previous messages from your manager and watch for their communication style,” Goehner advised. “Do they write short sentences, or do they provide details? Does your manager reply to emails at certain times of the day? Do they seem more relaxed and approachable on Fridays?”
5. “Is there anything I can do to help you get up to speed on the team or the work?”
When your manager is new to an existing team, Hogan said asking this question signals that you are here to help your manager and want to learn about the kinds of work you might be doing with them going forward.
How they respond can also help you see what kind of boss they will be.
“They might have a specific request; they might express a vague question and expect you to come up with an idea about how to help; they might say, ‘Not now, thanks,‘” Hogan said. “No matter what they say, you can learn a lot from their answer and what it’s going to be like to work with them. If they say ‘Not now, thanks,’ don’t necessarily take this as a sign that they don’t trust you yet — they might truly be unsure of how you can help!”
Similarly, if the situation is reversed and you are a new person on your boss’ established team, Ng suggests asking, “Is there anyone that you’d suggest I speak to so that I can get up to speed?”
He said, “it gives you an opportunity to learn from someone who’s been in your shoes before, but it also allows you to build your network.”
Lots of Model Survey are being used nowadays for the purpose of HR-benchmarking such as the classic Cross-Sectional Surveys, Longitudinal Surveys and other copyrighted Management Model Survey such as Engagement Model Survey, David Ulrich Models etc… but because of the complexity of human behavior a scenario of one survey conducted in one specific place is not applicable in another place. As human behavior in one organization is directly affected by the quality and attitude of leaders’ leading the organization and culture & trend that being breed in an organization location. Conducting a survey is one way and probably the most effective way for HR practitioner to decide on what to do next, base on the results of the surveys in relation on the current trend that affecting Human Resource issues and problem and one of this is Employees retention problem. Before employees retention is never been that important especially here in the Philippines, as it known a lot of talented professional can easily be found, but because of the brain drain that currently affecting our country it change the trend..
The blunder in the cost of Employees turnover and its serious impact in an organization’s bottom line are increasing, because employee recognition and rewards are limited in most organizations. Unfortunately many HR Practitioners’ don’t understand the importance of recognizing and rewarding a team member’s hard work. Many might even ask why they should recognize their employees when they are “just doing their job.” The truth is that recognizing employees for the job well done is one of the least expensive and easiest ways to improve the morale and employee retention in one organization plus a return on investment for a manager’s time with a very minimal expense in the part of the company. Because of this to help HR practitioners’ in this problem I’d listed here 10 tips that I research and learned and ranked it accordingly during my Masters studies at Mondriaan Aura College-Subic:
1. Balance work and personal life
Balance work and personal life – HR professionals is battling to the challenges of a transforming workforce reality the need to be aware of certain trends which impacts efforts to attract and retain talented employees. Work-life balance application to a person’s effective work-life and personal life wasn’t as important in the past as it is today because, in the past, people often are able to attend easily to every major role in their life. Family is very important to all of us, when work begins to put a significant strain on one’s family no amount of money will keep an employee around. So a small gestures of allowing an employee to take an extended leave once a month to watch with his daughter’s or son’s schools activity will likely be repaid with loyalty and extended employment with an organization.
2. Competitive compensation package
Higher salaries” Money still the number one consideration, in which employees’ seek change. It is normal for us to feel that we’ve been paid appropriately and fairly for the work we do. So be sure to research what other companies and organizations are offering in terms of salary and benefits. It is also important to research what is the standards compensation package and benefits for the particular position, particularly health and dental insurance, retirement, and paid vacation days and time off. You must make sure that the compensation package your company has is competitive enough, so that team members will not go out and look for employers who are willing to offer more competitive compensation packages.
3. Treat each employee with respect and as an individual
Treat each employee with respect and as an individual, recognize the team member’s contribution in front of members of management. This can reduce the tendency for employees to feel that their supervisors take all the credits. Know how to recognize your staff, not all employees want to be singled out at a gathering of hundreds of peers. The approach to recognizing team members can vary greatly by generational group. You might humiliate unintentionally a baby boomer by having them stand up in front of their colleagues while discussing their recent achievements conversely a Young Gen will appreciate the opportunity. A simple “thank you” or “nice job” or a pat in a back given in regular basis or frequency can significantly boost employee morale. Often times a team member will greatly appreciate the time you spent to find him at his desk and deliver the message personally.
4. Positive Work environment
While compensation, benefits are important, the primary reasons workers leave a company are unorganized work environment, toxic workplaces, bad bosses and difficult co-workers. Every employees want is a clean, organized work environment in which they have the necessary equipment to perform well. When people and resources are not organized, physical barriers are stand in the way of being able to work efficiently, obviously it causes stress. Try to arrange things so that people have easy access to the people and resources they need. This normally works best by organizing workspaces around the people operating the process, or the types of work that they do. The idea is to make it as easy as possible for people to do their jobs. Some employee need a personal space but none is available, try blocking off areas with furniture, screens or blinds.
If noise is an issue, plants can help to soften it. Make sure that you explain to your workers why you are doing this emphasize the benefits of making the change. The quality of supervision and mentorship, by a “bad bosses” has been said so often that, people leaves people, not their jobs. Supervisors play the largest role in a team member’s development and organization successes. All employees want to have Boss who’s respectful, courteous, and friendly. Workers are more likely to remain with a company if they have a good and positive work environment.
5. Eradicate Favoritism
The better person can see a question from all sides without bias-Cunfucius” The so-called “inner circle club or good ole boys” can create unpleasant organization culture and can promote bitterness among team members, which can results devastating effect on some valued team members. The results of employee favoritism are destructive in natures because the following idea are unavoidable (Why should I perform if It will get me nowhere? Why do this if others will not? Why put in the effort if I will not be recognized? Why trust the boss if they are not fair?)
As a result, employees’ morale, productivity, and relationship with the manager will diminished thus creating a disengaged employees which eventually create disengage customers. So equally treat all employees and avoid favoritism at all costs. Individuals want a perception that each employee is treated equivalently. Device or create a policy, a behavioral guidelines, or methods for requesting time off, and on any other work related decisions you can think about.
6. Communication and availability
The Human Resource department needs to be very responsive to employee questions and concerns. In many companies, the HR department is perceived as the policy making arm of management. In fact, in forward thinking HR departments, responsiveness to employee needs is one of the cornerstones. You can easily do this by actively listening to your Employee’s. Give them honest feedback, both positive and negative. Clearly communicate expectations, goals, and new rules to be followed.
Let them know what is expected of them. Get them involved and keep them informed – give them any information that tells them how their work fits into the overall company effort. Let’s face it. Employees really want is to have a face-to-face communication time with both their supervisors and managers. This communication helps them feel recognized and important. For the managers; You may have a lot of things to do and attend to and surely your time maybe full. But, a manager’s main job is to support your peers towards the success of organization. With this act managers’ leads and magnifies organization success.
7. Employee Empowerment
Empowered personnel have a sense of responsibility and a sense of ownership, and their ideas are often recognized. So a workplaces that promote employee empowerment, power over what and how things are done, and the knowledge that they are important to the organization have enormous productivity results and less complaints. When employees think that they need their organization as much as the organization needs them, that need became best appreciated more than a paycheck and all benefit package that made them to stayed and remained at the company longer.
8. Placing the Right Talent for the Right Job
Placing the Right Talent in the Right Job dramatically increases Employees retention and enhances the organization success by reducing costs in many business aspects. Discover the way in which you can improve your employees, place them in environment that they can be truly useful. A new car behind glass is just a mass of metal plastic and glass, but a car being driven is truly what a car should be. The same goes for people once developed, one should use what they have learnt so that they can make the world around them a better place for themselves and others. And with this you shall not forget to provide them training, show them advancement opportunities and help them turn a job into a career.
9. Celebrate successes, big and little and make the workplace fun.
Sharing small successes with your Employees’ is a great way of making the workplace fun, not only by champagne, a two or more kilo of Ice Cream or a small cake with a 1.5 Liter of Soda is good enough, but you have to do what works best for you, If your immune system has taken a hit then maybe you can celebrate successes with a cup of coffee or hot tea with a loaf bread, it warms you up and still sets the tone of the celebration or maybe celebrating positive momentum for some time by just whistling a happy tune or tapping out as affirmation of an enhanced gratitude.
10. Workplace flexibility
Be flexible whether that means specifically giving your workers the option to work flexible hours, do some customize schedule rotations or a self-scheduling through coordinating with some other staffs in-charge are good ways to promote positive employee morale or you could allow your staff to leave work early for a personal matter when appropriate. Workplace flexibility is hard to manage, because you need to meet operational demands. But it has to manage so the flexibility policy should be well defined and be implemented accordingly so its’ good intent will not be lost.
The bottom line is that employee recognition works. And with these tips employee’s satisfaction increases and surely enough the satisfied employees produce more and remain in their jobs longer. Visit http://www.aheadguide.com for more articles regarding Human Resource Management
Working from home has become a norm for many people, especially since the pandemic hit. As such, the home office has become an essential part of our work routine. However, many people struggle to keep their workspace organized and clutter-free. That’s why Celebrate Organize Your Home Office Day is such an important reminder of the benefits of a tidy workspace. In this blog post, we’ll explore why you should get your workspace in order and how to do it.
Why You Should Get Your Workspace in Order
A cluttered and disorganized workspace can have a negative impact on your productivity, focus, and well-being. It can make it difficult to find what you need, increase stress levels, and create distractions. On the other hand, a clean and organized workspace can improve your concentration, creativity, and efficiency. It can also reduce stress levels and create a more pleasant working environment.
How to Organize Your Home Office
Declutter:
Start by decluttering your workspace. Remove any items that are no longer necessary or relevant to your work. This can include old paperwork, outdated technology, and miscellaneous items that have accumulated over time. Be ruthless and only keep what you need and use on a regular basis.
Categorize:
Categorize your remaining items based on their purpose or function. This can include categories such as office supplies, paperwork, technology, and personal items. Use labels or color-coding to make it easier to find what you need.
Create a Filing System:
Create a filing system for your paperwork. This can include a filing cabinet, binder, or digital system. Make sure to label your files clearly and organize them alphabetically or by category.
Invest in Storage Solutions:
Invest in storage solutions that help keep your workspace organized. This can include shelves, drawers, and organizers. Use them to store your categorized items and keep them easily accessible.
Keep it Tidy:
Make a habit of keeping your workspace tidy on a daily basis. This can include clearing your desk at the end of each day, filing away paperwork, and putting items back in their designated storage spaces.
Add Personal Touches:
Add personal touches to your workspace to create a more pleasant and inspiring working environment. This can include plants, artwork, or a favorite photo. However, be careful not to clutter your space with too many personal items.
In conclusion, celebrating Organize Your Home Office Day is a great opportunity to get your workspace in order and improve your productivity, focus, and well-being. Start by decluttering, categorizing, and creating a filing system. Invest in storage solutions and make a habit of keeping your workspace tidy. Add personal touches to create a more pleasant working environment. By following these tips, you can create a more organized and efficient home office that helps you work at your best.
THE desperate husband of a British woman who vanished while walking her dogs in Tenerife has insisted her disappearance is not “voluntary”.
Mum Kate Barley Bizzaro, 60, has not been since in almost a week after leaving her home in Adeje in the south of the Spanish island in a white Smart car with her two dogs.
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Kate Barley Bizzaro vanished in Tenerife almost a week agoCredit: Facebook
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The mum was her two pet dogs Jimmy and Lukey when she disappearedCredit: Twitter – @sosdesaparecido
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She left home in a white Smart carCredit: Twitter – @sosdesaparecido
Her frantic husband Giuseppe Bizzarro, 73, has said he is “beside himself” as he clocks up around 500 miles a day travelling the length and breadth of the island searching for Kate.
He even hired a helicopter in a bid to find her, fearing “something bad” has happened.
Speaking as he continued to comb beaches and countryside with the help of their youngest son Richard, who lives in Tenerife, the dad-of-three said: “I’m desperate for news of my wife.
“We’ve been married 41 years and have three grown-up children and this is so out of character for her.
“The last time I saw her was around 6pm last Wednesday when she took the car and said she was going to go for a walk with our two dogs, a Yorkshire Terrier called Lukey and a Chihuahua called Jimmy.
“She didn’t say where she was going or what time she’d be back but she tended to go down to a beach near the place we own here and I’ve searched that high and low without any positive results.
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“She had no problems in life, she wasn’t depressed and she’s never ever gone missing like this in all the time I’ve known her.
“I’m praying obviously it’s not the case but that’s why I fear something bad has happened to her. This is definitely not a voluntary disappearance.”
Missing persons’ platform SOS Desaparecidos, which sounded the public alarm about her disappearance, has described her case as “urgent.”
Mr Bizzarro, who was born in Naples but met and married Kate in Brazil where her British parents were living and working at the time, had flown to Tenerife with his wife at the end of January for a two-month break.
The construction worker, who divides his time with Kate between homes in Monte Carlo and southern Tenerife, said: “We have three children. The youngest one who is 28 lives in Tenerife and is helping me with the search.
“The older two are in their thirties but are flying to Tenerife later this week. One lives in Russia and the other in Monte Carlo.
“I’ve been driving the best part of 500 miles a day round the island looking everywhere for my wife, on the coast, in the mountains, in the countryside.
“I even went up in a helicopter I hired yesterday with a private pilot to see if that would make things easier when it came to combing the island, but it was very difficult.
“I’m going into the police station where I first reported my wife missing every day to see if there’s progress.
“The car she left our house in has a GPS tracker and I don’t know why they haven’t been able to find it yet.
DESPERATE SEARCH
“There’s been no sign of the vehicle, which is a four-door white Smart Bianca and not a common car at all, and no sign of Kate or the dogs.
“I’m going everywhere with her photo and pictures of the car and the dogs in the hope it will jog someone’s memory and they will be able to help me and the police find her with any little bit of information they can remember.”
Mr Bizzarro said Kate’s parents, who were both British, had died and her stepdad lived in Australia. Kate speaks English, Italian and Portuguese.
He said: “Our other two sons are going to join in the search as soon as they get here but hopefully we have some good news before they arrive.”
An initial SOS Desaparecidos appeal said: “Kate Barley Bizzarro aged 60 disappeared on March 8 in Adeje.”
Describing her as just over 5ft 7 tall, with long straight blonde hair and blue eyes, it said: “She uses graduated glasses, has a foreign accent and drives a white Smart Bianca with the number-plate 6274 KDL.”
A spokesman for the National Police in Tenerife said: “The missing woman is a British national and the National Police are working on trying to establish her whereabouts.”
The spokesman said he was unable to offer any more information on the police work that was being done at this stage although it is understood that as part of standard protocol officers will have checked out places like hospitals.
The Civil Guard, which is Spain’s other national police force and covers parts of Tenerife that tend to be more rural and outside of populated towns and cities, said they were also aware of the disappearance.
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Kate was last seen on March 8 in Adeje, in the south of the Spanish islandCredit: Solarpix
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The 60-year-old’s family are searching for herCredit: Twitter – @sosdesaparecido
As startups in Asia continue to grow and innovate, it’s important to consider all aspects of their business, including the aesthetics of their office space. Aesthetically appealing workspaces have been proven to boost productivity, enhance creativity, and increase employee satisfaction, making them indispensable for any successful startup. In this blog, we will discuss the impact of aesthetic appeal in the office and how startups in Asia can design their workspace for optimal productivity.
The Role of Aesthetics in the Workplace
Aesthetics in the workplace refer to the design, layout, and overall atmosphere and emotion they create in a space. The colour scheme, lighting, furniture, artwork, and other design elements all contribute to activating the senses and aim to evoke the desired feeling or emotion. These features play a crucial role in how employees perceive their work environment, which can directly impact their productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction.
The Impact of Aesthetic Appeal on Productivity
1. Boosts Creativity
Innovation and creativity are essential to the success of any startup. An aesthetically appealing office can stimulate the mind and inspire new ideas. Bright colours, unique artwork, and creative design features can encourage employees to think outside the box and develop innovative solutions to challenges.
Stanza Living, a leader in co-living spaces, understands the importance of creativity and has successfully incorporated design elements that stimulate innovation. For example, the company has a running ticker that displays real-time milestone achievements in a central location for maximum visibility and impact. This approach not only showcases the company’s services but also inspires employees to come up with new ideas and boosts creativity. In conclusion, an aesthetically appealing workspace can have a positive impact on productivity, specifically by boosting creativity. Stanza Living’s approach to design and innovation is a great example of how companies can incorporate creativity into their workspace and improve productivity.
2. Enhances Mood
The aesthetics of an office space can significantly affect an employee’s mood. A dull and uninspiring workspace can lead to boredom and fatigue, while an aesthetically appealing space can uplift employees and increase energy levels. This positive mood can lead to increased productivity, engagement, and motivation.
Licious, a meat delivery startup based in Bengaluru, understands the importance of aesthetics in the workplace. Their new office, designed by Space Matrix, features custom artwork that not only showcases the brand’s love for meat but also uplifts the mood of employees. The Kebab Corner, a breakout space at the heart of the office, is designed to provide a stimulating environment. The Gastro Studio offers new recipe experiences, and employees can enjoy scrumptious meals at the office’s very own Copper Chimney. The office’s step seating and lunch huts create a perfect interior for enhancing mood and productivity.
3. Increases Focus
Distractions are a common issue in many workplaces, which can lead to reduced productivity and job satisfaction. By designing an aesthetically appealing workspace, startups in Asia can help employees stay focused and engaged in their work. By creating a visually stimulating environment, employees are more likely to avoid distractions and remain productive throughout the workday.
CRED, a digital credit card payments start-up office in Bangalore understands the importance of aesthetics in a workplace. Their office design concept created by Space Matrix features a combination of linear and agile workstations, meeting rooms and leadership clusters. There are Meeting rooms ranging from 4-16 pax enclosed rooms and a few open breakthrough spaces with movable furniture to facilitate formal and informal meetings. This approach provides employees with different options of work settings that let them focus on their work.
4. Improves Employee Satisfaction
Employee satisfaction is crucial to the success of any business. Startups in Asia can increase employee satisfaction by creating a positive and engaging work environment through an aesthetically appealing workspace. By investing in the aesthetics of the office, companies can attract and retain top talent, leading to increased productivity and long-term success.
Amagi, a media technology company, understands the importance of employee satisfaction in the workplace. Their founder wanted an office space that nurtures a sense of healing for anyone who walks in. The outdoor deck embodies this concept with artistically designed mosaic flooring made with discarded pieces of granite and plants grown by employees to pick leaves out to be used to stir in their tea. This thoughtfulness can be seen in other design elements such as concrete flooring, which can help with arthritis when walked on barefoot, and brickwork for partition walls to keep internal temperatures down, eliminating the use of artificial air conditioning and reducing the workspace’s carbon footprint. All these elements contribute to employee satisfaction, making it a workspace that’s truly worth the commute.
Designing an Aesthetically Appealing Office
1. Incorporate Nature
Nature has a calming effect on the mind, and incorporating natural elements into the office can have a significant impact on the aesthetics and mood of the space. Startups in Asia can add plants, flowers, or a water feature to create a calming and relaxing atmosphere that encourages productivity.
2. Use Color Wisely
Colours can significantly affect an employee’s mood and productivity. Startups in Asia can use colour wisely to create a stimulating and engaging workspace. For example, blue is a calming colour that can enhance focus, while yellow is an energising colour that can boost creativity.
3. Add Artwork
Artwork adds a personal touch to the office and can help create a unique and inspiring workspace. Startups in Asia can include paintings, sculptures, or murals that reflect their company culture and values. This can inspire creativity and boost employee morale.
4. Invest in Lighting
Lighting is a crucial element of any office design. Startups in Asia can invest in high-quality lighting to create a bright and inviting space that enhances productivity and mood. It’s important to consider both natural and artificial lighting when designing the office, as both can have a significant impact on the overall aesthetics and atmosphere of the space.
Aesthetics play a critical role in the productivity and success of startups in Asia. By investing in the aesthetic appeal of their office space, startups can create a positive and engaging work environment that inspires creativity, boosts mood, and enhances productivity. Incorporating elements such as nature, colour, artwork, and lighting can create a unique and inspiring workspace that attracts top talent and helps to establish a strong brand image for the startup. Do you think your office interior could use an aesthetic makeover? Hire the best in the industry to revamp your workspace! Contact our experts today!
Managers hire people for their teams based on their experience and how they present themselves throughout the interview process. They might strive to develop...
