People Mean Business

“Companies need to nurture their employee’s individual nature for them to feel confident in their role, as it will empower them, hence making them more productive. It works from the inside out.”

Remote Work

In case you missed it…

It has been a while since I scanned through the world of remote/hybrid working, so I’m going to play a little catch-up. Going through the top ones since January was not an easy task. But it gave me a good insight into the remote work trends, and it put it into perspective for me.

Shocking (or not) that someone like Elon Musk, who is in an advantageous position to substantially improve remote working through tech applications has declared to be against it and found it “morally wrong” based on this work format not being available to those more hand-skilled workers. His comments should in fact cause hand-skilled workers indignation, for his clear lack of will to make this format possible for them too. The public comments are quite funny and can often offer added insight to the news articles.

But on to more important things, we are now well aware that remote work is intrinsically related to the growingly trendy mental health topic.  It’s about how working from home can be damaging to one’s mental wellbeing. It’s said to bring feelings of isolation, which can lead to an inability to adapt, hindering professional progress. Moreover, when staff is confronted (even forced) to work with such a required high level of independence when it was mostly used to working interactively (and/or relying on others), this can threaten their employment.

This can trigger a sequence of unwanted events: stressing about work, which leads to stress about the job position’s relevance when not achieving or delivering. This will be followed by concerns on how to pay the ever-growing bills cost in the current recession. On the other hand we observe the fear of the temporary loss of turnover from employers, that may come as a result of the required allocated time to workshops and training related to mental health, in an already dreaded remote setting. But the revenue that taking this action brings, in the medium term, could attract, will surely overcome it.

In certain cases, there almost seems to be an avoidance, where some employers hope that if they ignore a problem for long enough it will just go away. But they’re happy to assume their workers are just being lazy when they’re not being as productive as expected, without actually offering any solution. There is no benefit for either employees or employers to not have this support in place. With the information and technology currently available, and with access to all information worldwide and in such depth, the unawareness excuse has become unacceptable.

Although companies are not yet at the ideal mental health empathetic level they could be, their awareness of the matter is growing. This is a very positive shift for all corporate work environments. The same applies to fully remote workers, whether working from the comfort of their home or from the comfort of a nice hotel in some remote paradisiac island. Here’s an article with tips to help nomad freelancers manage their work and life balance whilst still preserving their mental health. 

Remote/hybrid work can benefit individuals And if it benefits individuals, it benefits businesses. I can however understand that it doesn’t work for everyone. Either because the work requires it to be office-based, because the individual is not comfortable with working remotely or simply because the required conditions to work from home are not fully met (ie. children and pets, cared ones). This should be a conversation to be had with the employer on a case-by-case basis. It may sound like a time-consuming task but if there are guidelines in place, in partnership with the HR and other relevant Departments this could bring a whole new world of possibilities. What measures is the company willing to put in place to allow this freedom of choice? Perhaps a workshop that covers all areas is in order: mental wellbeing, technology refreshers, expected SLA’s and KPI’s overview, productivity, etc. And acknowledgement: verbally recognising that the employees are also willing to put effort into this will help them not to be left feeling ignored. This is an article from last year, from a company I follow, but I related to the view 100%.

I wouldn’t mind guessing that the people who tend to be more socially active in a physical setting become awkwardly shy in their virtual engagement and the more conservative ones may see remote working as an opportunity to showcase their talents. Companies need to nurture their employee’s individual nature for them to feel confident in their role, as it will empower them, hence making them more productive. It works from the inside out.

What about the extended benefits that remote work brings the business, the higher engagement with other teams, located across the globe? The potential, the opportunity of a wider inclusion and connection with extended teams, how can physical work offer that? Invest in the people and the people will bring business.

My view of remote work sits in the middle. I find hybrid work offers a very reasonable work-life balance for me, for the time being. I like the idea of getting a good amount of autonomy in my work without damage to the physical interaction that the job requires, whilst maintaining a good level of control over my home life. I’m not surprised that many will be willing to take a pay cut or look for another job that grants that freedom if working from home allows a better grip over their life as a whole. And that’s what the Great Resignation was all about.

As a huge defender of hybrid work for corporate jobs, I truly find it the best of both worlds. I have mentioned this in my latest #goals post as well. I disagree with the overlooking or the persistent denial of the productivity potential that it brings to our existence. I strongly feel that much of this has to do with remote/hybrid working. The autonomy it grants us make such a difference in our work-life balance.

Commuting feels like such a waste of time (and money) looking back now. To top that up, my productivity exponentially increased. And alongside the work productivity, is none other than the home life productivity.  I have lost count of how many washing loads I have got through, how many lunch packs I prepared, during my commuting time and how many clothes I’ve ironed over my lunch break, which has granted me that much-needed/deserved extra time during the weekend. Quality family time! Quality WRITING time!

Working towards that 100% balance between life and work, where ideally the balance should, in fact, lean more towards LIFE, where the scale weighs 100% work no longer represents a necessary “evil” for the purpose of sustenance (and those life crutches, creature comforts, whatever you want to call it). What we want to achieve is the Minimax principle where we get the maximum of enjoyment or wealth with the minimum effort or pain. The best minus the worse, does that make sense?

On this note, as I love travelling so much and agree wholeheartedly with this article, simple, well articulated and very positive, it is important to cultivate the things that keep us sane and joyful. At least until our social and financial systems reach that peak where work and pleasure intertwine in a such seamless way, that you can’t tell you are working. “Now that’s the way (huh-huh) I like it!“ (Emphasis on the quoting before someone sues me for infringing copyright laws.

Because sharing is caring

On The Knowledge Newsletter:

On TED: Copyright or appropriation

Another great TED talk, by Damien Riehl. Very worth reading. In this day and age, drowned with commercial capitalism, our society is being constantly moulded to suit a specific purpose. It has been consumed by quick money fixes and, by this talk, some resort to more desperate means to achieve a bit of cash. Damien actually makes a very valid point. Have you ever thought that music is actually maths-based? It is based on algorithms meaning that, in reality, all music harmonic (and disharmonic) combinations are limited.

Thinking with Google UK: The current nostalgia trends

It is so refreshing to see the brands I grew up with making a return. It is inspiring and a great way to create bonds with the new generation, by only revisiting these brands and remember what they meant for us. Where our favourite branded t-shirts were offered to attract more consumers, or as a prize for our regular buys, collecting points of a sort, nowadays this retro fandom has brought a new way to bring new business to old businesses. Now nostalgia has made a comeback on all areas, clothing, music, hairstyle, you name it. To be fair, is only human to want to partake of the atmosphere of the best decades to have ever existed :)

Mind promenade

This blogletter is a work in progress. I am looking for that balance between my availability, my interests. and the reviewing and formatting (when Grammarly doesn’t betray me…).

Life gets very busy very fast and often for long periods. We see life passing us by and our goals still unmet and, obviously we question ourselves. “Oh happiness, goals, personal satisfaction, where are thee?”

A writer’s journey is not one with a deadline, yet that’s what they are loyal to. The writer’s journey is more about themselves than it is to complete the writing task. If they follow their true writing path, they’ll find they’re only trying to understand themselves, continuously looking for a spark.

For someone that leads a busy life, no reading or research feels enough to achieve the goal. It always seems like everything has already been written, all possibilities explored. We live in a world where people’s attention span is getting shorter, where they are more likely to focus on short, noisy, flashy content, such as the hysterical videos my kids sometimes watch. There is no substance to them. 9 out of 10 posts are not true, are not helpful and can have a negative impact on the viewers’ mental well-being. I don’t know when this new generation started valuing superficiality. It is not even entertaining.

For me, reading is a luxury that relies on time. My reading at the moment is mostly limited to practical guidance and self-help. I struggle to set it as a high priority because most days life consumes my energy with mundane but still necessary tasks. “Set time aside for yourself”, they say, “we all need some ME time”. But where do I draw the line between ME time and LIFE time? 

And then there’s the social media pressure. If you can’t win them, join them, right? If we don’t engage we’re seen as anti-social. Today there’s no social interaction that doesn’t include a phone. Even if you meet friends for dinner, if they’re not constantly referring to it to post pics or to respond to comments, they’ll get it out just to share gossip or a funny post or video. We end up all getting our phones out because everyone seems to find it more interesting than the physical act of social interaction. It is truly a sad state of affairs… But I diverge.

I still haven’t given up my quest to read more, to write more. Reading is like decoding a secret message, it’s not just reading for reading, it’s about reading between the lines, it’s about my interpretation of what I’m reading. Well, it also depends on what I’m reading, of course. The truth is when you commit to doing it, that spark returns, without you even realising it. All of a sudden there is a little hope that maybe what I’m writing might have some significance, resonate with someone or even entertain. But the most fun part of writing is the game of putting words together with an intention, a meaning. Playing with words can be so interesting, especially if you are working on a topic that you are curious about. I had forgotten that even researching can be fun.

A couple of weeks ago, following submitting a piece of writing to a freelance writing platform, I was invited to complete a trial order. So I set myself the task to spend some time at the local library so that I could focus on research in a more effective way than I would have done, had I stayed home. It would just not be possible. Children and teenagers are demanding little buggers. If one part of me loves them to bits, the other wishes that they grow and move on to more independent lives, and so I can resume mine.

The Power of Empathy

“It is important to clearly detach from all other similar forms of advertising”

Mind promenade

It’s been a while. This last month, for the first time (luckily after three jabs) I caught Covid. I hoped I could be one of those rare cases of immunity, special enough to remain untouched. The kids had both had it. But it wasn’t until my partner caught it that I got it passed on. With everything that is going on, it’s impossible to dodge it. We have come down all the way, from the beginning of 2020, through the sensible way of prevention as far as we could. How long can we possibly postpone it? We live together, we sleep on the same bed, it was bound to happen. So obviously, this has put our progress with the house works on hold.

My main symptoms of Covid have been lethargy and a VERY persistent cough. I started my Covid still well enough to keep work (remotely, of course). I was already working from home, due to my partner having tested positive. A couple of days later, I had this out-of-the-blue dry cough and started feeling the typical cold and flu shivers, so decided to test. And there it was, that second bold stripe as if it was a pregnancy test.

Of course, I was still feeling ok to work, after all, the type of work I do isn’t physically demanding, so I pushed it. I asked to stay out of the phone queues, so I wasn’t forced to speak, as it would trigger it. But the cough quickly got more persistent and by lunchtime, I didn’t even need to speak to cough, just breathing would do it. So I called it quit for the day. Yes, I surrendered. Sometimes we just have to stop completely, have a lie-down, and literally force ourselves to recover.

For the next 8 hours, between toilet visits and healthy snacks, coughing was all I did. Our bedroom was full of at least 3 types of cough syrups and lozenges, and none of them seemed to be relieving my cough. The little I could smell, through my partially blocked airways, was the smell of a hospital room. A mix of medicine and disease. The coughing got me so tired that my body finally gave in to sleep.

The following day my body felt like it had been beaten with a stick. I was feeling drained, and sore from my throat to my lower back. My diaphragm felt like I had submitted it to 300 abs without a warm-up. On the third day of recovery, I felt that lack in the sense of smell and taste. Don’t get me wrong, I still had an appetite. I had a ringing in my ears but I feel like the worst has now passed. First priority: opening the windows and a big load of washing to bring the sterilised feel back in.

Remote Work

In case you missed it…

Whilst scanning for articles that explore the pros and cons of remote work, I thought it would be fun (and even logical) to through other topics into the mix. Although the topics are not all directly related to remote working, they are of interest to most people as they resonate with us all. And because I tend to read about it, I get more feeds and it then prompts me to write my view on it too—another form of purging my thoughts.

One of the articles I found – about doom-scrolling – was on LinkedIn. Mind you, I don’t spend an awfully long time on LinkedIn because I find it boring. I understand the reason for its existence – networking and all that – but I don’t really identify with its organics. I go there, probably once a day, to check the Daily Rundown, and other news bots I follow. I find LinkedIn is like a second version of Facebook, only there people brag about their jobs instead of their holidays.

Remaining Sane

Doomscrolling

How do we get sucked onto a continuous, mind-numbing, video (and stories) stream for hours and hours on end? This brings memories of the old movie Poltergeist. I’m pretty sure that if a new version was made, the phenomena would kick start from a smartphone, and the consequences would be far more devastating and scary. This article covers research on the rabbit hole of the bite-size content binging urge, once you start. Again, the way I see it, it’s only about disciplining ourselves by scheduling times to do these things, to not lose control over what someone is sharing with us. We set the emergency and our priorities so, unless it’s someone in a real-life danger and I receive that video, it’s not getting watched until I find the time for it. It goes straight into the “Watch Later” category.

Common wellbeing sense

To keep the remote working side of things possible, it needs to be recognised that mental health has become a major part to make the life-work balance work effectively.  Loneliness, isolation, stress and social anxiety build-up is a reality. There is no point in forcing this dynamic if the team leaders are not willing to acknowledge that our mental health being is essential for our work to be completed effectively. In the same way, as our computers need an update every so often, or a tool we use reached the end of its life cycle, our brains are our most important tool. It is the only tool that is used ALL of the time, the one that never gets to switch off (even when we’re sleeping). I’m no expert on this matter, but it seems pretty simple to me. And leaders that are not willing to accept time off for this reason – or even to proactively arrange for regular well being sessions (whether these are meditation, yoga, or Zumba, it doesn’t matter) that will help bring their team members down to earth and stay in sync with their environment – do not have leading material. This is crucial. Then there is the opposite side of the coin, where being forced to return to work from the office is causing people to quit their jobs because they are now starting to feel like they can no longer cope. After getting used to a more flexible work approach induced by the pandemic, they now feel like it is too much having to go back to commuting, full-time office work and all the stresses that come with it.

Teamwork makes the dream work. Or not…?

An interesting approach to how the team members feel about each other and the work they think they are doing (or skipping) whilst working remotely. It is true that we can’t see what the others are doing, but I feel it comes down to the level of transparency, cooperation and trust in the team and how these are maintained by the leadership. Leaders need to be creative when finding ways to do this without micromanaging. KPIs are there to show all levels of productivity and we all need to be grown-ups to stand by ourselves.

Motivational Landscape

It surely comes as no shock that our surroundings can play a part in our productivity. Remote work doesn’t have to be necessarily just working from a cupboard to make ends meet. It should be, let me reword that, IT MUST BE enjoyable.

Lighten it up, bringing some creative workspace (and tools) ideas that could positively contribute to improving our WFH. Because if working from home is pleasurable then our work will be done better (and faster). I’m sure you agree with me here. Finding any little tools that can help us complete our daily tasks can make a lot of difference. And obviously have a huge impact on our mental health (motivation is soooo important!).

Minding my business

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Next: Hotels, pubs, cafes or tea rooms