Walk the Week - Reducing Hassle at Work

Hassle could be said to mean “an irritating inconvenience – like all the hassle involved in travel.” I flew to France last week for a working holiday (doing up an apartment) and for the first time outside of a business trip took an offer to upgrade to Club which is British Airways Business class. Yes, it was expensive but it comes with so many pluses.

1 No queue at bag check in. I had decided to take a checked in bag and avoided literally an hour’s queue which would have put catching my flight in serious doubt.

2 Fast track through security avoiding another queue and those annoying people who take an age to load 3 trays with computers (to be fair I am often one of them).

3 Access to comfortable airport lounges where you can relax and eat and work away from the madding crowds saving the queues, hassle and indeed expense of airport restaurants.

4 First onto plane avoiding that long trudging queue down to Row 29 with the fight to find luggage space in the overhead lockers.

5 More spacious and comfortable seats not squashed in next to fellow passengers.

6 A meal on board (remember those days in BA economy!) which in my case was a full English breakfast that saved me from stopping to buy lunch on the autoroute.

7 First off the plane and in the passport queue avoiding the fight to drag your luggage out of the overheads.

8 Checked luggage delivered as a priority. I arrived at the baggage belt to find my luggage already there.

I know this seems a bit extravagant not to say elitist. However in addition to all the above benefits the huge and for me key advantage is that travelling in business class ultimately helps reduce aggravation in what let’s face it is a pretty stressful activity however well you plan it.

Which brings me to my theme this week which is about reducing aggravation in our busy working (and personal) lives. This means I suggest first recognising that work as with flying is inevitably stressful however hard we may try to deny it. And in this context, this means additional and preventable hassle which detracts from effective and indeed enjoyable and fulfilling work (and travel). For example, I find travelling and arriving early always helps. I was organising and speaking at a training event we were holding in the offices of a London law firm this week I took a train from our local station well before I needed to. It was worth it – when I arrived there was a long queue at the building reception.

I am not here talking about the well-known ways of reducing stress which we all know – a quick AI search says these include healthy lifestyle, planning, social connection, time management and don’t drink too much coffee! I am more interested in novel or creative solutions. Helping others is a simple example I encountered when I was leaving the law firm offices this week. As anybody who was in central London this week will attest, we have been blessed with some heavy rain showers. One of the receptionists at the law firm of her own volition offered me a free branded umbrella, which saved me from a soaking. A simple act which was also a win win because every time I use the umbrella, I advertise the law firm!

I see reducing hassle at work as a combination of removing the challenges (like queues at check in) and positive creative affirmation encouraging wellbeing – we have a wellbeing champion at work. See, for example, this article 10 Fun Ways to Relieve Stress at Work which include:

·?????? Read a book - take a short break to read a book or magazine or browse some digital content

·?????? Encourage creative side projects - revamping the office layout or holding skill-sharing meeting

·?????? Bring pets to work! – I like this one but know it is hard to do in most offices – it is allowed, for example, in some California companies

·?????? Celebrate milestones - What’s the point of working hard if you don’t pause to celebrate your success

·?????? Host a wellness lunch-and-learn – don’t just run knowledge seminars like ours above but hold lunch-and-learns to foster employee well-being.

In this context see also this Harvard Business Review article 6 Science-Backed Ways to Improve Your Well-Being at Work which recommends amongst other things:

·?????? Take a few short, quality breaks during the day. The key word here is “quality.” This means doing something that helps you disconnect from work, refuel, and recharge. Scrolling social media or reading the news is not a quality break, and neither is catching up on your to-do list.

·?????? Prioritize micro-moments of connection with colleagues. Make it a point to greet your colleagues with genuine enthusiasm when you’re on a call or when you see them for the first time during the day.

·?????? Practice gratitude to counter your brain’s negativity bias. If you don’t have one, create a daily gratitude practice, which can be as simple as writing down three things you appreciate every morning or in the evening.

`it concludes “As the cliche goes: “You are not your job.”

But I have slightly digressed from my theme this week of practical ways to avoid hassle at work into the related topic of well-being. Like the practical advantages of taking a cab versus the tube in London – yes it may be more expensive but you can work and make calls in private in the taxi. Here are some more ideas for improving day to day working practice I have pulled together from various sources.

·?????? Prepare and plan for each day

·?????? Plan travel and keep this to essential journeys – save the planet!

·?????? Don’t let events dictate

·?????? Consider other communication methods than email which tends to flood recipients

·?????? Learn from others – recycle good ideas

·?????? Decide whether you really need to attend a meeting

·?????? Delegate, which can reduce management workload and develop colleagues

·?????? Be prepared to say no occasionally if this is an option

·?????? Reduce tech distractions

·?????? Follow the keep it simple stupid principle – see my blog Keeping it Simple

Here are some pertinent observations relevant to effective management of stress in our professional working lives.

“It’s like driving at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” - the American novelist E.L. Doctorow.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi.

“There cannot be a stressful crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” - Henry Kissinger.

“Life is actually really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius.