Sad to Return to Work? Toxic Positivity Says You Need to Feel Blessed!

The longer our time off work is, the more common it is to feel upset about returning. As we return to work after the long Yuletide season, our routine will start to change. Humans experience the most comfort with what is known and a routine of being at home or being away from work becomes our normal. Feeling nervous or discontent about returning to work after a break of one week or more is not necessarily concerning! It is more likely human nature.

As you enter the halls of your office, a co-worker may tell you to “bring good vibes only” or “feel blessed that you have work”. It is upsetting to hear that “be positive” remark when you know that you are having a difficult day. You are in the presence of toxic positivity at work. Toxic positivity comes when you are actively minimizing or invalidating negative emotions.

A study showed that more than 75% of respondents in a survey by Science of People said they “sometimes, often, or very often ignore their emotions in favor of being happy.” An example of toxic positivity in the workplace is being told that you need to “look at the brighter side” or to “just stay positive” despite not getting the promotion that you worked hard for. Have you experienced these? Does your workplace value positivity to the extent that it turns toxic?

Toxic positivity at its worst can negatively impact engagement and productivity, diminish trust, and damage company culture.

#1: INCREASED BURNOUT

Toxic positive increases burnout, which is exacerbated by emotional labor. Emotional labor occurs when you are feeling obligated to express an emotion that you are not actually feeling.

#2: LOSS OF TRUST

Invalidating the emotions of the employees or minimizing their prowess can cause loss of trust and create an avoidant work culture.

#3: BLOCKED MINDFULNESS

When you cannot even name what is happening to you, you cannot start the process of analyzation. You will not be able to process your emotions. It not only affects your mental health, but also your overall well-being. Toxic positivity blocks mindfulness, because you cannot accept what is happening in the present.

#4: UNSAFE SPACE

If you do not feel comfortable telling each other your feelings when something is not functioning properly, you may not feel that the space is safe. Is it time to turn the culture upside down to create a new level of emotional openness?

#5: UNQUESTIONABLE TOXIC POSITIVITY

Organizations should ask themselves the following queries to identify if toxic positivity is present:
a. Are employees allowed to change or challenge the culture?

b. Are employees allowed to express concerns or reservations during meetings?

c. Is this team allowed to play the role of devil’s advocate?

d. Are your employees expected to say yes or to agree all the time?

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Optimism is healthy. However, you need to ensure you are not being positive at the expense of the truth. Leaders should encourage openness and honesty at work. Employees will follow soon. Practice emotion-sharing exercises at meetings to foster more understanding and ignite cohesion between co-workers!

Sources: 1 & 2

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How to Handle Conflicts with Your Boss

Sometimes the toughest part of your job is not the work…it is the people. The mixture of personalities and individual differences can cause conflicts. In the workplace, conflict causes a significant degree of frustration, discomfort, sadness, anger, and pain. It is a different story when the conflict is between you and your boss.

Where your boss is concerned, you want to be sure to apply plenty of finesse. It is crucial that you remain calm and objective. There is nothing to be gained and much to lose by getting angry and being disrespectful. You may not be able to see each other eye-to-eye, but you will have shared thoughts by further nurturing your relationship. Thay being said, here are some tips you can apply to handle the conflicts with your boss:

#1: ACKNOWLEDGING AND RESPECTING AUTHORITY

Put all your energy into understanding and empathizing with the management’s point of view. Ask open-ended questions until you fully understand where your boss is coming from. Resolution begins with respecting each other’s point of view.

#2: RE-DIRECT THE DISCUSSION

Find a common ground that makes sense for you, your boss, and the organization. Stay on this topic until you identify a mutually beneficial outcome that you can work towards to.

#3: ASK FOR HELP

An honest, sit-down conversation is more likely to yield a thoughtful response than an emotional exchange sandwiched between meetings. Unless it is an emergency, you can ask your boss for an appointment so that you will have time to gather your thoughts. It is best to approach your boss with a calm and collected attitude to get your point across and to ask for necessary help.

#4: KNOW YOUR TIMING

Timing is essential when approaching your boss about issues and other combative events. You may be the perfect target for a feisty exchange if he or she just had a major setback.

Know your timing! Try to avoid addressing conflicts before lunch when hunger might distort reason or just before the end of shift when everyone is eager to go home.

#5: ASK IF YOU CAN SHARE YOUR VIEWPOINT

Once you are given permission to discuss your concern, be clear and compelling. Link your perspective to what matters most to your boss, the organization, and your common goal. If your boss is not (physically and emotionally) available to talk, reschedule the discussion when the dust settles.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Sources: 1 & 2

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Why Are Millennials So Challenging to Manage?

Fully understanding how the minds of Millennials work is a near-impossible task! However, it is crucial to address a few generation-defining characteristics to help enhance your understanding.

#1: MILLENNIALS VIEW THEMSELVES AND OTHERS AS EQUALS

Regardless of their co-workers’ relative seniority, level of education, or other remarkable accomplishments, Millennials view themselves and other generations as equals. You can either interpret this as a sign of entitlement or a sign of secured self-image. The perception of equivalence is partially rooted from the fact that they bring a unique skillset to the workplace, and they know it.

Millennials are fluent in technology compared to previous generations. Their recommendations often provide increased organizational efficiency, and they expect to be taken seriously for that.

#2: MILLENNIALS ARE MORE “SENSITIVE”

Previous generations considered Millennials as more sensitive. A part of it is true and it’s not all bad. Millennials have low tolerance for injustice, disrespect, and hostility.

They are willing to speak up about the quality of their experiences (i.e., the good and bad) and are willing to apply compassion in what they do. Thus, they are aware of the harm inflicted by toxic management. They are wary of its risks including burnout and diminished performance arising from unsupportive working environments.

#3: MILLENNIALS DESIRE PROFESSIONAL GROWTH

According to data from Gallup, 60% of Millennials are open to new job opportunities, making them the generation that is most likely to change jobs when they get the chance. Millennials are eager to climb the metaphorical ladder. They keep a constant eye out for professional growth.

The desire for professional growth may be influenced by social comparison and social media. From peers publishing their latest accomplishments on LinkedIn to the implicit follower counts on other platforms, Millennials often measure their accomplishments against their peers.

#4: MILLENNIALS NEED FREQUENT FEEDBACK

Millennials have seemingly insatiable craving for feedback and instant gratification. In response to technology, the Internet has become a background noise for constant positive and negative feedback. Beyond the noise, this generation has come to rely on crowd-sourced data to guide their every move.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

Regardless of whether you are giving constructive feedback or compliments, it is important to understand their expectations about frequency when determining how to communicate with them in the workplace.

HOW TO MANAGE THEM

If you are concerned about how to manage them in the workplace, you need to learn how to communicate in a way that encourages them to stay open. For instance, you may start by saying: “I am going to be frank with you about your performance because I see your potential and I trust that you can handle this feedback.”

Using this strategy frames the feedback no matter how difficult it is to deliver. Moreover, it puts your employee in a position where being receptive to feedback affirms their reputation as a respectable peer. Additionally, you can provide opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Millennials can be your greatest allies and your hardest working group of employees if you manage them correctly. Consider the generation-defining characteristics mentioned above to guide your leadership style!

Sources: 1 & 2

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From Feb 1, More Restrictions for the Unvaccinated will be Implemented

Singapore’s Vaccination-Differentiated Safe Management Measures (VDS) will extend to more events and venues from 1 Feb 2022. The VDS includes all indoor sports facilities and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs).

Unvaccinated guests will no longer be allowed to visit serviced apartments, hotels, and hostels for leisure purposes. Thus, only fully vaccinated individuals or people who have a 180-day exemption due to being previously infected with COVID-19 will be permitted to enter these spaces.

Last 14 Dec 2021, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce said that the VDS expansion will be placed to “better protect the vulnerable and at-risk groups in our population, while allowing specific concessions for fully vaccinated individuals to return safely to the workplace”.

VDS MUST PERTAIN TO ALL EVENTS

From February 1, all events must implement the VDS measures – regardless of the event size. This shall include media conferences, work-related events, and funerary memorial events.

The Multi-Ministry Taskforce decided that this change is necessary because “even smaller-sized events can spark transmission that can then spread to wider groups of people, especially in view of the Omicron variant.”

FURTHER DETAILS

The VDS measures will be required at work-related events, media conferences, and funerary memorial events starting 1 Feb 2022. Funerals, wakes, or funeral processions that were held prior to cremation or burial do not fall under the VDS requirements. However, no more than thirty individuals at any time may participate in these activities.

There are other exemptions. Students in IHLs who are completing their full-time NITEC/Higher NITEC, degree, or diploma programs will be exempted from the VDS requirements when entering their respective academic institutions.

WORK ADJUSTMENTS FROM JAN 15

Last 26 Dec 2021, the Ministry of Health announced that unvaccinated workers will no longer be permitted to return to the workplace despite having negative pre-event testing (PET) result. This statement was released to the press:

“Following the review and discussion with tripartite partners, we have decided to remove the PET concession for unvaccinated persons to return to the workplace from 15 Jan, 2022.”

Partially vaccinated workers who received one dose of vaccine will be granted a grace period until January 31 to complete their vaccination and to enter their workplaces.

Image Credits: pixabay.com

These measures apply to foreign workers too. Foreigners who wish to work here on a long-term basis or want to renew their existing employment visas will have to be inoculated against COVID-19. According to the MOH, exemptions will be granted for children below 12 and for the people who are medically ineligible for the shots.

PRECAUTIONS FOR THE OMICRON

“WE HAVE TO LEARN TO LIVE WITH OMICRON AS WE HAVE WITH DELTA,” said Co-chair Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.

These precautionary measures were considered in view of a boost in COVID-19 infections by the Omicron variant. MOH stated that “international evidence indicates that the Omicron variant is likely to be more transmissible but less severe than the Delta variant.”

“We have done whatever we can to prepare ourselves for it; especially in administering boosters to our population and starting vaccinations for our children. We seek the cooperation and understanding of everyone, as we weather through an Omicron wave in the next one to two months,” added by the MOH.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, & 4

 

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Self-doubt: How Impostor Syndrome Can Hold You Back At Work

You are suited up and ready to impress!

On your way to a job interview for a company that you care about, you brought a C.V. that highlights how perfectly you fit in the position you applied for. You are more than qualified for the position, and the team would be lucky to have you. The hiring manager said so himself!

However, you start questioning whether you are capable of the job as you meet the company’s supervisor. Self-doubt can cripple you and hinder your success.

WHAT IS IMPOSTOR SYNDROME?

Impostor Syndrome is the overwhelming feeling that you do not deserve success. You become convinced that you are not talented, attractive, intelligent, or capable as you may seem. You suspect that your achievements are due to luck, good timing, and other external factors.

Particularly in male-dominated environments, impostor syndrome has been thought to affect women more than men. However, recent study showed that it affects both genders equally.

A person with impostor syndrome (impostor) has a sense of being a fraud, a difficulty internalizing his or her success, and a fear of being discovered. Usually, the stressor triggering impostor syndrome involves getting a new opportunity such as a new job or an advanced degree.

“The person who achieved this level of success begins to have negative thoughts that the success was not really earned. These negative thoughts, which are often referred to as ‘cognitive distortions,’ are based on fear and anxiety and not based in objective facts.” – Ms. Cara Maksimow, LCSW

HOW CAN IT AFFECT WORK?

An impostor may procrastinate or put off assignments due to the fear of being unable to complete the necessary ambitious standards. On the other hand, the imposter may over-prepare by spending too much time on the task. If his or her behavior creates a successful outcome, it will be written off as luck or fluke in the system.

Image Credits: unsplash.com

Success can create a cycle of self-doubt for imposters. Even when they achieve important milestones, they are unable to recognize their own achievements. Instead of celebrating these, the impostors are worried that others will discover the “truth” about their abilities. This is an irrational thought.

HOW CAN YOU MANAGE IT?

There are many ways to manage the impostor syndrome. Here are just some of them:

a. Create a list of your strengths and prior accomplishments at work. Refer to this list when you are questioning yourself.

b. Talk to mentors who are more experienced in the field, when you feel like you do not belong in the situation.

c. Set realistic goals. Often, a fear of failure and a need to be the best can lead to overachievement.

d. Acknowledge what you are feeling. Do your best to keep a journal. Whenever you experience feelings of self-doubt or inadequacy, write your thoughts down. Be specific about why you are feeling this way.

e. Handling with Impostor Syndrome takes long-term effort. You need to employ strategies to deal with it at particularly stressful situations. When the negative self-talk takes over your mind, try to confront it by distancing yourself from the “emotional power” of the voice.

Sources: 1, 2, & 3

 

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