In all the years I’ve been a remote-work advocate, there’s one thing I’ve consistently noticed when talking to remote workers: They almost never want to go back to the office. Recent studies have also shown that only 12% of employees are willing to work full-time from an office in the future.
Though it comes with its own challenges, it’s clear that implementing a hybrid workplace will be essential. It also requires a solid plan for getting your team on board before you decide to go back to the office, even if just for a couple of days per week.
Here are five ways of preparing your team for the switch.
Physical safety and stable mental health are the chief priorities for most employees. Health hazards represent the primary difference between the office as we once knew it and the future of the workplace. So going back to the office naturally raises concerns.
But employees are well aware of these issues by now. Many of them were seriously concerned even before 2020 whenever the flu season was around the corner. A line can be drawn between a top employer who acknowledges employees as the company’s number-one asset and one whose priorities are elsewhere.
Put together a realistic plan to tackle in-office health, including:
Rethinking office paths.
Adding more space between desks.
Periodically running health check-ups on your staff.
Implementinging a strict room-booking system to prevent overcrowding.
Having people come into the office at different times of day.
Keeping routine meetings via video calls.
Present this plan to your employees before you ask them to return to the office so they can be aware of the new changes and suggest potential improvements.
2. Place the individual at the center of your business
Remote work has been challenging enough in the pandemic. In a hybrid setting, these obstacles will only accumulate. Within a hybrid workplace, every individual is likely to struggle with making the schedule work for them. As work keeps switching between the office and their screens at home, they might lose focus and motivation.
This can put a halt on their professional-development goals, leaving them feeling like they haven’t achieved everything they wanted at the end of the year. Giving everyone the freedom to craft a schedule that suits their needs can prove a first good step to take in this regard.
Similarly, the issue of loneliness when working from home will persist for people who still haven’t adapted. Imposing a strict policy as to when people should come to the office won’t work for everyone. The few people who are feeling constricted or find it hard to focus at home will be better off with flexible choices that let them work from the office with their colleagues, even if just on a rotational basis.
To find all hidden problems, talk to your team — to every single person. Anonymous employee-feedback surveys or polls are appropriate approaches to receive the details of sensitive issues they wouldn’t want to otherwise disclose.
3. Ask employees for feedback before making any change
The pre-remote-work era was largely dependent on leadership decisions. Employee feedback was something not all organizations took seriously. Even when they did, surveys were sent too rarely. But working remotely highlighted the importance of listening to employees and meeting their demands. In turn, managers have gained relevant insights into how they could improve employee satisfaction, simply by talking to the people in their company.
Making a change within the hybrid office can always have a severely negative impact. Get everyone to come into the office and you might end up with half of your team sick. Force them to show up at strict office hours and you’ll lose them as they leave for more understanding employers.
Before you decide on anything, discuss it with everyone. Schedules, work processes, tools, concerns, team collaboration and independent wishes are all aspects to bring up before returning to your office.
4. Paving the way for new restrictions
Regardless of how strong your hybrid-workplace plans are, new restrictions are bound to appear, so don’t rely only on your office for specific project tasks. Make sure that everything you’re planning to handle in the office can be done at home too. Prepare a list of policies or guidelines, and don’t ditch a tool that might turn out to be your best on-project communication pathway.
Keep your team culture in mind at this point. Have a list of team-building activities your employees can bond over using video calls in case of a new lockdown. This is also the perfect time to tap into a global talent pool and start hiring non-locally. Bonus points for diversity right so you can benefit from fresh talent and new cultures.
Keep everyone in the loop. Have a document anyone can access to see your roadmap to the hybrid office. Be fully honest when it comes to not being able to do something. If you can’t promise everyone will enjoy using a new collaboration app, let them know. The same goes for any time you need to reduce costs or prepare for a low-sales season.
8Nearly 90% of employees expect CEOs to speak out publicly regarding any new societal or local issues. Displaying trust and interest in keeping your employees safe gives them the mental security they need to worry less about what’s to come. Transparency is the keyword to hold on to as you’re preparing your team to join a hybrid workplace. Forget that, and you’re bound to see a sudden drop in your employee retention rates.
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It only takes one toxic worker to wreak havoc and negatively impact an entire workplace. Toxic coworkers not only make work dreadful and unpleasant, but they harm the productivity and morale of everyone around them. They create unnecessary drama, erode the culture, undermine the values of the company and destroy trust within the team.
According to a Fierce Inc.study, four out of five employees currently work or have worked with a potentially toxic coworker. Randstad conducted a study exploring why employees leave their workplace and found 58% have left or are considering leaving due to negativity, office politics and disrespectful behavior.
It’s easier said than done to not allow the toxicity of one person to affect your own work especially if you have to work closely with them. Working with a toxic coworker is a powerless and draining experience. Furthermore, it’s not always easy to identify a toxic coworker especially if you consider them to be a friend.
If you feel drained or negative after interacting with them, this could be a sign they’re toxic. Toxic behavior can manifest through words, body language, disrespecting boundaries, hoarding information, purposely undermining others, not following through on promises or commitments, insults and rumors, to name a few.
Here are three ways you can identify a toxic coworker and set healthy boundaries.
Employees with a victim mindset will always talk about how much they hate their job, their boss, their team or the company. There’s a difference between having a bad day and someone who revels in creating misery for others. Dan Bailey, president of WikiLawn Los Angeles Lawn Care, explained, “the more people they can get to share in their discontent, the better they feel.”
Despite being disengaged, toxic coworkers will make excuses for their performance when given constructive feedback with the belief that it’s a personal attack against them. Moreover, they hold grudges and never lose a chance to share how they’ve been wronged even if those situations have been rectified.
Those who are new to a company are prone to being swept up into the negativity as they’re eager to make friends and unaware of a toxic persons patterns. For this reason, it’s important to do pulse checks to see if this is a cultural thing or a person thing.
Here are some coping strategies to help you bounce back from a toxic encounter and stay mentally strong:
Surround yourself with uplifting coworkers who take responsibility and learn from their mistakes
Seek out your company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or professional help to learn how to better manage the situation and have a safe space to talk about it
Talk to your HR department and keep the conversation based on facts rather than an individual’s personality. Be prepared to provide specific examples of incidents
Incorporate social activities you can look forward to after work
Practice gratitude and meditation
They Gossip More Than They Knowledge Share
Gossip is the root of many internal company problems. It breeds negativity and spreads quickly. Yasir Nawaz, digital content producer at Pure VPN, said, “toxic colleagues drain your energy and are a constant source of demotivation at work. The worst part is you may not realize you’re in the company of a toxic colleague until it’s too late.” He added, “there’s one sure-fire way to identify one; someone that constantly talks about others behind their backs.”
Melanie Musson, insurance specialist for Buy Auto Insurance asserted, “gossip doesn’t help build a stronger team; rather, it tears down teamwork. Chances are, if they gossip to you, they’re also gossiping about you.”
Another warning sign a colleague is toxic is if they refuse to share knowledge with you that prevents you from being able to do your job. As a victim of a former toxic coworker and boss, I know how detrimental their impact can be not only on my work and mental health, but also to the team and overall workplace. In my experience, my former coworker excluded me from meetings, team activities and withheld information that prevented me from being able to do my job well and used it against me.
Musson explained, “toxic people put themselves first. They really don’t care about others and use others’ misfortunes as a way to move forward at work. If a team member is struggling, the toxic coworker may take the opportunity to show how they excel in that same area.”
Eventually, I set a boundary with her where I started documenting every incident before confronting her. Then, I worked around her to find the information I needed and limited my interactions with her altogether. Be aware, setting healthy boundaries will often push toxic coworkers to react negatively. However, those who are the happiest and most productive are the ones who set healthy boundaries and those who aren’t used to having boundaries set with them are likely to take offense.
Here are boundaries you can set with a coworker that gossips:
Empathize and redirect them to focus on what’s working or to speak with their manager
Refuse to participate by excusing yourself from the conversation when they start gossiping
Focus on positive gossip that celebrates others instead of participating in negative gossip that hurts morale
Communicate your boundaries letting them know you don’t like to talk about office politics
Surround yourself with people who would rather share knowledge than spread gossip
Use key phrases such as “this sounds like a rumor and I don’t want to hear it”, “I’d rather engage in conversations that are positive and uplifting” or countering with “is that a fact or gossip?”
They Use Passive Aggressive Comments Rather Than Compliments
Matt Satell, CEO of Prime Mailboxes said, “toxic employees are often those who purposely undermine the capabilities of others so they can stay ahead of their competition.” They thrive on finding fault, negativity and holding people back.
Here are a few examples of passive-aggressive behaviors and comments:
Giving the silent treatment
Responding with sarcasm or disguised insults
Blaming others
Rejecting feedback and others perspectives
Making excuses
A cynical attitude
An air or superiority
Nich Chernets, CEO of Data for SEO said “in my experience, toxic people tend to complain a lot, even in the situations when everything is good. They’re looking for an audience that will constantly listen to their problems. In the long run, these people bring a lot of negativity to the work process and burden others with unnecessary things.” John Stevenson, marketing specialist at My GRE Exam Preparation added, “in turn, this creates an environment where other members of the team cannot work at full capacity because they’re too busy watching their backs.”
You can cultivate positivity through uplifting interactions with other colleagues, listening to motivating podcasts and finding the good in the work you do. It’s easy to lose motivation when a toxic coworker undermines your abilities and believes their role and contributions are more valuable than everyone else’s.
Here are some ways you can remind yourself of your hard work and contributions:
Keep a running document of your achievements and wins
Copy and paste recognitions from emails, client/manager reviews and Slack comments into the running document
I’m a Leadership Coach & Workplace Culture Consultant at Heidi Lynne Consulting helping individuals and organizations gain the confidence to become better leaders for themselves and their teams. As a consultant, I deliver and implement strategies to develop current talent and create impactful and engaging employee experiences. Companies hire me to to speak, coach, consult and train their teams and organizations of all sizes. I’ve gained a breadth of knowledge working internationally in Europe, America and Asia. I use my global expertise to provide virtual and in-person consulting and leadership coaching to the students at Babson College, Ivy League students and my global network. I’m a black belt in Six Sigma, former Society of Human Resources (SHRM) President and domestic violence mentor. Learn more at http://www.heidilynneco.com or get in touch at Heidi@heidilynneco.com
Toxic Coworkers | How to Deal with Toxic People at Work // Do you have a toxic coworker? Or even worse, several toxic workers. Nothing make a toxic work culture faster than having these difficult coworkers and having to deal with toxic coworkers every day. If you have toxic work colleagues, you need to know how to cope with toxic coworkers. You can disarm toxic people in the workplace, and while it won’t totally heal a toxic work environment, it can make your day to day in a toxic workplace slightly more tolerable. In this video I will show you how to deal with toxic coworkers – it’s six simple strategies that will disarm toxic person at work and help you survive until you can escape the toxic environment at work. I’d love to know which strategies you would implement or how you have dealt with toxic coworkers in the past. ****************** Stop settling for mediocrity, it’s time to glow up your career. Attend the free LIVE workshop on December 2nd at 12pm EST. glowupyourcareer.com ************* Think I might be the right Career Success Coach for you? Learn more & apply: capdecasolutions.com/coaching Accelerate your job search, get Hired in a Hurry hiredinahurry.com ****************** More videos to help deal with difficult coworkers and toxic workplaces: TOXIC WORK ENVIRONMENT: 14 Signs Your Workplace is Toxic (and How to Cope) https://youtu.be/GEJBaigzUcA COWORKERS ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS https://youtu.be/XjhF3xQE1lM How to Work with People You Don’t Like https://youtu.be/x1S5EPX0Jik HOW TO HANDLE DIFFICULT COWORKERS | Dealing with difficult people at work https://youtu.be/R-nI-IpQYbo POSITIVE ATTITUDE AT WORK (HOW TO STAY POSITIVE AT WORK) https://youtu.be/wVKUB0-ZHvM ****************** SUCCESS HABITS & RESOURCES Join my private community, the Strive Squad (it’s free!) https://www.facebook.com/groups/striv… I’m all about productivity tools, great books, and sanity savers in general. Browse my favorites in my Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/jenniferb… Get your bookworm on when you’re on the move. Audible is my OBSESSION, and it helps me read an extra 1-2 books per week. Get 30 days free: https://amzn.to/39d3U3W Try my 30 books in 30 days challenge, and make it easier with Kindle Unlimited (your first month is free!): https://amzn.to/3ftIBMB Being the best means you keep your knowledge up to date, for this I love Skillshare! Get a free trial: https://bit.ly/3l3oTbJ What Am I Wearing? I hate wearing the same thing twice and I love saving money, so 95% of my wardrobe is from Rent the Runway. Wanna try it (and save $30): https://bit.ly/3995mnT ****************** LET’S HANG! I post more content and videos on LinkedIn – follow me there https://linkedin.com/in/jenniferbrick Daily career glow-up videos on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferbrick… You can also follow me on: Instagram: http://instagram.com/capdeca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ccJenniferbr… Twitter: https://twitter.com/jennifer_brick Sometimes I write stuff for Thrive Global https://thriveglobal.com/authors/jenn…
Whether you’re entering the workforce for the first time, looking to change careers, or in a leadership position, one of the most important factors to consider is the culture of your workplace. In fact, according to research from Deloitte, “94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success.” It’s easy to understand why.
A positive workplace culture boosts morale, prevents burnout, decreases conflicts, and improves collaboration. It also keeps everyone engaged and inspired. As a result, productivity soars, and turnover is less likely to occur.
While there are several ways to build a more positive culture, it ultimately comes down to the personalities of the people within the office. Just take a moment to think about the people you’ve worked with. Did you ever have the honor of working with a micromanager, a bully, or a critic? How about someone who’s always negative or unable to control his emotions? I doubt you were effective in that role. Even worse, I bet you dreaded working with these types of individuals — meaning that showing up to work each day took real effort.
Understanding the various personality types within your organization is key to improving its culture. Better yet, it can make you a stronger teammate.
Recognizing Personality Types
I feel TypeFinder has a clear definition of what personality types are: “Personality typing is a framework designed to describe individuals according to their unique personality styles: their approach to managing energy, processing information, interacting with others, and organizing their lives.”
Personality typing can be traced back to the studies of psychologist Carl Jung. The theory of personality was later continued by Katharine Briggs and her daughter, Isabel Myers. The goal of personality typing is to highlight people’s differences while showcasing their individual strengths and tendencies.
If you want to learn what your personality type is or have your co-workers join you in a typing exercise, there are more than enough personality tests available. The most well-known are Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, Big Five, DiSC, and StrengthsFinder. Some of these may charge you for an assessment, but many sites offer free options as well. Many offer team assessments to bring together the different types under one roof.
Will these assessments always be 100% accurate? No — in fact, some experts recommend that you consider the result you were given, as well as other high-scoring options, to determine which one most closely reflects your outlook and habits. Nonetheless, these assessments can concretely help you identify your and your teammates’ strengths, preferences, and behaviors. Knowing these things will help you better collaborate with others; if you’re a leader, this knowledge can assist in motivating and managing your team.
I would like to add one final note here: I suggest you don’t use personality testing when hiring. Besides prolonging the hiring process, some candidates may be able to “trick” the test to give the result they think you want. More concerning may be some legal concerns, such as violating the Americans with Disabilities Act. Instead, you could have new hires take a personality test as part of the onboarding process, which is something I’ve done in the past.
Beyond onboarding, you could also take personality tests as a part of a career development effort or use them for a team-building activity. Our team, for example, took an Enneagram assessment before our biannual meeting and discussed the results and how we could help address each other’s needs.
Taking the test is just the first step. Here’s what you should do next to become a better and stronger teammate.
1. Develop your own self-awareness.
I’ll be honest: It’s not always easy to admit and embrace your shortcomings. But self-awareness should be the first move you make when it comes to working with teams because it gives you a chance to know yourself better. If you can’t understand your own motivations, how can you possibly embrace others’?
For example, according to the Myers-Briggs personality assessment, my type is ENTP. This type is often referred to as the debater because we have a tendency to be curious and innovative. Not bad for an entrepreneur, right? The problem with ENTPs is that we often love playing devil’s advocate. As a result, others might perceive us as pushy, rude, or dismissive of their ideas.
Knowing this, I’ve had to work on my tone and body language to let others know that I’m not hating on their ideas or feedback. I just want to challenge them and their ideas so we can find the best solution possible.
2. Prioritize time with your teammates.
Granted, taking a personality test won’t make you an expert. But it can let you know the most common types of personalities that exist within your organization. Those dominant tendencies and outlooks naturally shape your culture.
Of course, the only way you can match these personality types with your colleagues is by actually getting to know them. I get that time can be an issue, but it can also serve as an excuse. There are always opportunities to prioritize time with each of your teammates, like inviting a co-worker to lunch or having a quick chat during a break.
When you get to know your teammates better, you can identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their preferences. These one-on-one interactions also give you a chance to ask what their needs are and exchange feedback.
For example, if you have an employee who’s an introvert, don’t put her on the spot during a brainstorming session. A better alternative would be to conduct a brainwriting session so her voice can be heard while respecting her habits and preferences. It’s how you’ll get the best work out of her — and build the best camaraderie among your teammates.
3. Use individual strengths and preferences to your advantage — but don’t be afraid to shake things up.
In school, English was not my forte. That meant I had to work my tail off in college to ensure I got a good grade. One way I achieved that was by working with my classmates who excelled in English, partnering with them on projects and studying with them before an essay-writing exam.
At the same time, I had no problem speaking in front of a crowd, which carried over nicely into my public speaking career. If one of my quieter writing buddies had to work on a group presentation, he would team up with me. He would structure the argument, based on our research, and I would present it to the class.
The same idea can be applied to the workplace. Whether you’re assigning tasks or collaborating on a project, people want to play to their strengths and preferences. Do you have a coder who works best at home? Grant him the autonomy to work from home as often as possible. Do you have a salesperson who loves talking to others? Find opportunities to let her spread her wings at conferences.
At the same time, shake things up to prevent getting in a rut. Consider rotating positions or asking your teammates to take on new responsibilities. It can help everyone develop new skills, show off previously hidden talents, and gain insight into the diversity of the entire team.
Understanding personality types isn’t a magic bullet, but it can help you discover more about yourself and your teammates. Better understanding your teammates’ preferences and motivations can strengthen your communication with them and help you avoid conflicts. Personality typing can ensure that a diverse group of people not only is productive and successful, but also respectful — and that’s exactly the culture you want.
John Hall is the co-founder and president of Calendar, a scheduling and time management app. You can book him as a keynote speaker here and you can check out
http://www.RichHomeInspector.com Matt Smith shares helpful tips about how to schedule presentations – the #1 Fastest Way to Grow Your Business! Understanding personality types can be a Powerful tool. Learn how to use your knowledge of personality types to Grow Your Company Now! Get more information on how to grow Your Business! Go to http://www.RichHomeInspector.com
Creativity is essential for any organization if you want to keep your business moving forward.
There are numerous organizations that have designed a cool, funky, creative environment for their employees to help them relax and spark creative thinking to get their projects moving forward.
Some organizations go as far as having regular brainstorming sessions when working on a project to allow employees to contribute and build on a project. This creates immense engagement as their team members have a say and they are involved in the creative process.
Just by supporting open-mindedness, setting up an inspirational environment and offering the right rewards, you can get the creative juices of your team members flowing like never before.
Thinking outside of the box can work wonders
Why is it so important to broaden mental horizons? Thinking outside of the box generates excitement, passion and creativity. Additionally, teamwork is oftentimes essential when coming up with outstanding ideas and solutions, as two heads are better that one. We perform better when we collaborate and when we look at the number one human need that activates the heart, it is connection.
When you look at it from a decision-making perspective, imagine how many ideas and decisions you can collect from putting together a creative environment where people actually are encouraged to think on their own two feet. Treat your team members like the creative human beings they are, listen to their point of view and support them in developing their imaginations. Feed creativity by asking questions and build your ideas with the help of insight from others.
To create big ideas, you have to create the space and encourage that sort of behavior and culture. If you want your teams to think creatively, you need to motivate them with some form of reward.
Dopamine, curiosity and creativity
When exposed to a reward stimulus, your brain responds by increasing a release of the neurotransmitter dopamine that is well known for its role in movement, motivation and pleasure.
Bring it on! Your teams will magically come up with creative ways of improving the workplace, fostering imagination and solving problems. Increasing one’s imagination creates possibilities and can enable a person to pursue and accomplish many great goals.
Creativity also increases curiosity that drives the desire to learn. It opens up the mind to unexplored paths. Can you imagine a workplace now without encouraged creativity?
Start solving your problems by encouraging creativity
If creativity is fueled by passion, then you need to focus on honing individual talents in order to express creativity and have your employees reach their fullest potential. A lack of such action is how employees become disengaged from any organization. They don’t feel valued because the organization is not using their talents and strengths; they become bored and always feel tired.
If you want happy, productive and prized members in your team, you need to start igniting their creativity to get them motivated.
Here are some examples to get started:
Creative environment: first, create an environment that encourages creativity. You could decorate one area of your office with some nice, bright colors and designate that area to your employees, giving your team some sense of ownership
Work hard, play harder: allow your team to play. You can have colored markers, flip charts, Lego, play dough, paint, music and anything that sparks the creative process during brainstorm sessions
Brainstorming: set a fortnightly meeting where you can brainstorm and work on a problem or project. This gives your team the right intention before entering your meeting
Goal board: create a board where you have goals or strategies that your company is striving for and each week you can focus on one goal or problem to solve or work on
Homework and teamwork: you may give your team some pre-work where you have one agenda for the meeting and they all have to come into this meeting with one suggestion or solution to your goal or problem
Reward creativity: of course, this followed with a reward for the best suggestion or solution that your team is all agreed upon. This is just as important as the implementation of the suggestion or idea
Establish engaging rewards: incentive could be movie tickets, a bottle of wine, a Thai massage, a voucher or money. You could even go a step further and have a board to acknowledge and encourage creative thinking
What can management gain from creativity in the workplace?
Developing a creative culture takes time and it begins with management, being more open-minded and less judgmental to the suggestions of their team. Patience is a virtue; you need to allow time for your team members to develop their creativity in the organization and to put their ideas together to find optimum solutions.
Most leaders are expected to think creatively and come up with innovative solutions to organizational problems. However, by cultivating and utilizing the creative abilities of your team, it is likely to produce an even more prosperous selection of creative ideas and solutions to organizational problems.
Do you know why? We all think differently. A diverse group collectively possesses knowledge and a variety of perspectives; this goes back to why two heads are better than one.
The benefits of creativity in the workplace are countless; here are just a few examples of the amazing results you will experience:
International executive coach Catherine Plano has fully dedicated her entire life to helping others transform their own lives into greatness. With more than two decades of flourishing corporate activity, countless renowned companies lead and 100,000 lives touched through spiritual and mental reinvention, she continues her mission of aiding companies and individuals in becoming aware of their limitless potential and using their extraordinary abilities to achieve their desired outcomes. She is also the author of “Getting to the Heart of the Matter: The No-Nonsense Guide to Professional& Personal Transformation.“
hbr.org – February 26
futurumresearch.com – February 26
realtynxt.com – February 26
designerati.co.uk – February 26
slack.com – February 26
startup.jobs – February 25
rippleffectgroup.com – February 25
info.restech.net – February 25
ngotenders.net – February 25
chicagobarfoundation.org – February 24
tower.substack.com – February 24
dailynewshungary.com – February 24
searchunifiedcommunications.techtarget.com – February 24
theimpactlawyers.com – February 23
business-review.eu – February 23
humanresourcesonline.net – February 23
blog.proactivetalent.com – February 20
japan-forward.com – February 20
emag.archiexpo.com – February 19
Jennifer Brick
