When work doesn’t work any more
With employment news hitting the headlines again it is appropriate to reflect on how people are affected when their jobs are at risk or when relationships – usually between those in charge and those who work for them – break down.
- Today, the army has told 38 people their jobs will end in 12
months’ time – and it has done so by email. The army’s assistant general chief
of staff and the government have apologised for the unacceptable way in which
they broke the news to the long-serving soldiers.
- This week, the RAF announced that about 50 of its trainee
pilots could face redundancy and that it will not take any new students next
year, ending the careers of people whose hopes seemed built on strong
foundations, and disappointing others who had seen a positive future.
- Throughout this month, widespread media coverage has been
given to the fact that the future of our libraries is at risk, potentially
putting thousands of librarians out of work.
- And, again this month, the long-running dispute at British
Airways filled more column inches when its recent ballot was declared unlawful,
creating more uncertainties for cabin crew whose jobs are under threat.
These high profile cases have attracted sympathy from the public; there is a collective understanding of the disappointment, frustrations and irritations those affected must feel. But, for most people whose jobs are unsatisfactory or at risk, or whose relationships at work have deteriorated, there is no guarantee of understanding from anyone; their bosses, colleagues, family, friends might be too preoccupied by their own work or home lives to provide support.
At work, the highs and lows reverse: when morale dips and motivation wanes, production falls and absenteeism rises. Diffidence increases, tensions heighten, commitment slumps. Managers might not be equipped to manage these new situations or ask for help; respect for them dissipates; their achievements come under closer scrutiny – they, too, struggle to keep up the pace.
The private lives of the people whose jobs are at risk might also fall apart creating tensions, conflict, stress, a withdrawal from normal life and perhaps a drift into risky behaviour.
Professional advice – coaching, counselling, mentoring, mediation, training – can help individuals, individually or in teams, by building confidence, inspiring people, reducing conflict. It can also create a business shift – providing strategic advice on workplace policies, building skills for handling difficult situations or people, devising policies and practices that engender focus, build confidence, strengthen leadership and reshape the corporate culture
In all four examples highlighted above, professional support could create huge positive shifts for the people – and for the organisations – involved.
15/02/2011 | Posted in Training, Strategic advice, Productivity, Policy development, Performance, Morale, Mediation, Leadership, Counselling, Conflict, Confidence, Commitment, Coaching, Absenteeism,
Mutiny in the ranks
The news from Egypt – people power at perhaps its most effective – provides several lessons for business.
Many organisations will be looking at the way the Israeli people have managed to turn round the political situation of their country – and, ultimately, to force a bigger change of government than was expected – while wondering what might happen if a similar situation were to arise at their workplace. Even organisations that are not unionised are at risk from disruption by staff who decide to take action, however slight (relatively) that action might be.
No business can ever know how few disaffected voices it takes to galvanise others into action. But businesses do need to be alert to the fact that there almost always will be some – and that they could lead to conflict. Leaders, at every level within a business, need to be alert to dissatisfaction and take pre-emptive action.
People who take drastic steps – and they are almost always drastic – usually do so because they feel they do not have a voice. Although they might speak using words – making disgruntled asides to colleagues by the photocopier or kettle; raising issues with a sympathetic but ineffectual boss; going to the HR department; being uncomfortably vocal in meetings; writing strongly worded emails or letters – there are some for whom finding the words is difficult.
Instead, their disquiet is played out by their absence (taking sickies or going on sickness leave); their inactive presence (they come in but don’t do much, paralysed into inaction, lacking confidence and commitment); their lack of morale (leading to reduced performance, lower productivity and, often, dragging others down with them).
In all cases, it is the response that matters most. And, typically, responding is the hardest part for many businesses.
Line managers might feel unable to act, or to pass on comments or give feedback, for fear of their own futures. Department heads might have no power to influence change even if they risk nothing personally – obduracy from above might prevent them from speaking out. Leaders might worry about appearing weak if the corporate culture decrees that negotiation is seen as giving in. The reasons are varied and complex – but they are solvable.
If the root cause of a problem is lack of effective communication because of conflicts of interest, for example, using a mediator could provide the conduit to an effective change of views. If it is because of weak policies, using an outside specialist to audit and analyse processes could bring clarity and a new direction. Often the cause is the threat (as many see it) of change – or the inappropriate introduction of change (without consultation or adequate explanation, for example). Strategic advice, looking at the barriers to change and how they can be overcome, could be the answer.
Whatever the situation – and whatever level of impact it has on your business – avoiding mutiny in your ranks is essential. If there are rumblings of dissatisfaction in your organisation, taking swift action and using outside specialist help could ensure your own, and your business’s, future success.
31/01/2011 | Posted in Success, Strategic advice, Productivity, Presenteeism, Policy development, Performance, Morale, Mediation, Leadership, Feedback, Conflict, Confidence, Communication, Commitment, Change, Audit, Analysis, Absenteeism,
Workplace trauma leaves a legacy
Two inquests are currently dominating the news – reminding us that traumas leave an unpredictable legacy. It is impossible to know exactly how people will be affected by a trauma – and it is impossible to know exactly when its effects might emerge.
In the case of the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005, the inquest highlighted resentments and misunderstandings between specialists – ambulance, police and firefighting staff all had expectations of each other that went unfulfilled, leaving them all feeling blamed for others’ shortcomings. And it made those specialists relive their experiences – bringing some to tears in the witness stand.
As for the death of barrister Mark Saunders, killed in a siege in May 2008, a specialist firearms police officer is accused of playing a game with the evidence he gave at the inquest in September 2009.
What both these situations show is that it is important not just to support people’s mental and emotional health years after they have experienced a trauma; it is also important to help them develop resilience before they experience a trauma including by recognising when they might be vulnerable to pressures and stress, how those vulnerabilities might emerge, and when and how to seek help.
While it might not have been possible to predict a random bombing, it is possible to predict that community leaders such as the police, firefighters, paramedics and ambulance staff will face traumas of some sort – and that they will react differently to them. With specialists such as firearms officers, it is possible to predict that some will behave oddly before, during or after a trauma, perhaps as a way of managing their anxieties, the overwhelming nature of their responsibilities, or the difficult decisions they had to make while under pressure.
It is not for us to pass judgement on the way the people involved in these two high-profile cases behaved during their traumas or afterwards – or to imply whether they are innocent or guilty. What we can say is that the way they behaved is entirely predictable, in an unpredictable kind of way, and that organisations can help their staff face, manage and recover from a trauma – if they take professional advice, including from mental health specialists, to develop policies that help their people build resilience and learn how to manage stress or anxiety caused by anticipating or experiencing trauma.
05/11/2010 | Posted in Resilience, Policy development, Leadership, Communication, Stress, Success, Training,
Company alternative treatment plans
Many businesses are coming round to the idea of alternative treatments and recognising that, although they do not replace conventional medicine or seeing your GP, they can have beneficial effects and are useful in many aspects of health and wellbeing.
Over the last few years, employers have started to add healthcare programmes to their benefits packages - and many include alternative treatments as standard policy. Employers benefit from healthier, happy employee and a lower sickness or absence rate. Employees gain access to alternative treatments, or faster health treatments, than they may otherwise have done.
One such company is Avanta which specialises in providing office space to small and medium sized businesses. It has introduced a range of improvements to its staff benefits since it reviewed its entire benefits structure earlier this year.
Amongst new benefits such as salary sacrifice pension contributions, increases to maternity and paternity pay, and medical insurance, is an innovative offer to help its staff to quit smoking. For any member of staff who wants to stop smoking, Avanta is offering an incentive to reimburse them on aids to quitting, and this includes any hypnotherapy treatment.
Not all companies recognise alternative therapies in programmes such as this, but those that do know it is worthwhile - not least because hypnotherapy, for example, is recognised by the NHS as being a valuable aid for treating people with addictions or habits or who find it hard to cope with stress.
25/10/2010 | Posted in Policy development, Absenteeism,
We also provide Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), Counselling, Eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR), Emotional freedom technique (EFT), Existential counselling, Gestalt therapy, Humanistic psychotherapy, Hypno-birthing, Hypnotherapy, Integrative counselling, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), Person-centred counselling, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalytical therapy, Psychodynamic therapy and Sensorimotor psychotherapy services.
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