How to leave work at work, ways to recognise if your colleague is going to quit, and other trending stories
This week, the Daily Rundown is keeping you up to date with the world of work and the big ideas shaping 2018 (and beyond). Read on and join the conversation.
An inability to disengage from work after work is "among the top-10 stressful situations" we are least able to handle, the Harvard Business Review reports. And while the first step is recognising you have a problem, HBR has a few tips to help you get better at leaving work at work. Some are habits that will help your brain make the transition, like ending each day the same way – a phone call home, turning off the computer, or locking your door. Updating your to-do list before you leave will underscore that tomorrow is another day. When you get home, make the how-was-your-day conversation about everyone else, and the "good and exciting things" that happened to them.
Companies aren't just giving lip service to "employee happiness" anymore. In a tightening job market, employees have many more options; compensation, flex time and ping pong only get part of the retention job done. Serial entrepreneur James Caan says he's noticed three signs a worker may be looking for the exits: a dramatic decline in productivity, a sudden spate of negativity, and a withdrawal from team activities. These could all be signs of trouble at home, of course – which itself would be a good enough reason to engage. But they might indicate a worker is on the verge of making a move. "Watch out for these warning signs and there will be less of a shock factor when it comes to having ‘the conversation’," Cann says.
Working from home could make you a much better worker – but you have do it right. Gallup's latest State of the American Workplace report finds that people who work at home or another remote location as many as 3-4 days a week "are more engaged in their work", per Fast Company. The magic happens when one is able to work in a way which "seamlessly blends with family and recreational time". But in addition to the obvious challenge of staying in the zone and out of the kitchen, getting it done at home also requires mastering your ultradian rhythm. And that means after crushing it for a couple of hours you need to spend 20 minutes indulging the right side of your brain's desire to "yawn, eat and stretch".
Successfully making a radical career change is the difference between having a dream and a plan. But a plan also needs careful execution; it's not enough to find your "unique purpose", as Fast Company puts it. Timing is everything, "and knowing exactly how to time your switch isn’t always easy". It takes practice. Start by regularly doing a little of what you eventually want do for a living. At some point before you quit your day job your side hustle should earn you about half what you make for a living. Finally, the gut check. Not yours, but friends and family. Not everyone needs to get it, but "someone should see what you see and be cheering for you". Sound like a steep climb? Maybe you're better off where you are.
Idea of the Day: Wharton School Dean Geoffrey Garrett has picked up wisdom from many CEOs. One of his favorite pieces of advice, from Vanguard chief Bill McNabb: You have to recharge. Consider your job a series of sprints; resting in between is crucial.
“How you recover doesn’t matter. That you do it is essential if you want to succeed, personally and professionally, in jobs with lots of expectations and lots of responsibilities.”
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.WHY WE MUST LEAVE THE OFFICE ON TIME. The measure of our performance is what we achieve,not the number of hours we spend in the office.n.b.in some countries and corporate cultures,if we cannot get our job done between 09-1700,we are considered inefficient.Let's make this the model. To achieve our objectives in both professional and personal life we need to leave the office on time'.Of course we can make rare exceptions to help out,but only rare. 'Work–life balance?is an essential concept including proper prioritizing between "work" (career and ambition) and "lifestyle" (health, pleasure, leisure and family?). Let's remember 1.To check the scope of our responsibilities and objectives.Do they go beyond our resources? Check,as too often they do.Then clarify,challenge and negotiate with our managers to make them realistic.And also to keep workload to what can reasonably be done during office hours. 2.Success in both our professional and personal lives depends on having a life philosophy and distinct priorities.So let's have medium and long term plans for both. 3.We did not study hard or struggle in life to become machines-machines can operate 24 hours a day.We cannot. 4.Our managers rarely 'force' us to work late - we make assumptions that it is necessary to achieve the excessive work load we have tacitly accepted. As a trainer with over 20 years experience,I've seen too many employees go into burnout and families destroyed because parents put work before family. SO LEAVE THE OFFICE ON TIME.
Monitoring And Evaluation Coordinator at Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise
6 年Recognition at work is key. Your contribution should be valued at all costs. As an integral employee you should appreciate that you are part of the decision making body. Once your input is not valued you are bound to leave work at work. Managers that is your homework
A polyglot in training with planning experience.
6 年Relatively good article but I'm bothered by the lack of the word "to" when it comes to the sentences where it should be what to do instead of what do.
Data Entry Operator at DC Office, Record Room Branch, Dhaka
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