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The current spread of corona virus and its repercussions on organisations, the economy at large and on each one of us individually influences how we are responding to the situation, both physically and emotionally. It is imperative that we closely monitor our mental and emotional well-being, understand our stress triggers and deal with them constructively so that we emerge from this crisis strong. In this article, we have tried to break down the issue of stress so that each one of us can deal with it in our own ways.

What is stress?

Stress is our body’s response to any challenging or demanding situation -actual or apparent. Any type of challenge whether it is related to work, completing certain tasks within specified time, a significant life change or facing any tough, adverse circumstances can cause stress. Even events like getting married, receiving a promotion (and hence dealing with increased responsibilities) could cause some amount of stress!

Stress is different for everyone. What stresses me out may not even bother you or vice versa.  May be because some of us are better able to manage stress than others; or may be because we are better attuned to dealing some situations while others might overwhelm us.

It would also be right to demystify the myth, that stress is always a bad thing to happen. In small doses, stress can do good. All of us are equipped mentally and physically to handle some measure of stress. It challenges us to stay alert, motivated, and ready to avoid danger. It can give us the push we need, persuading us to do our best.  But we need to be watchful, when it gets too tough and demands in personal and professional life exceeds our ability to cope. That is when it starts impacting our physical and emotional wellbeing.

Symptoms of Stress

Stress is a part of our lives and can impact us in many ways. It may be impossible to stop it from impacting us, but the best we can do is manage it better. The first step to doing so would be identifying its symptoms. But recognizing these symptoms can be harder than we think.

People handle stress differently, hence its symptoms also may vary. Symptoms could be implicit or same as those caused by a medical condition. They could either be physical, emotional, behavioural or cognitive.

Most common physical symptoms of stress include fatigue, lethargy, headaches, insomnia, low energy, frequent colds or infections etc.

Feeling overwhelmed, becoming easily agitated, frustrated, irritability and moodiness could be emotional symptoms of stress.

Behavioural Symptoms could be changes in appetite, exhibiting nervous behaviours like nail biting, fidgeting, procrastinating, social withdrawal.

Cognitive Symptoms are the most difficult to identify which include concentration lapses, forgetfulness, constant worrying, being pessimistic to name a few.

It is important to be aware of these common warning signs. This can prevent stress overload. Else, ongoing stress, if not addressed on time can cause or aggravate serious health issues like mental health problems – depression, anxiety, cardiovascular diseases – heart disease, high blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, skin and hair problems etc.

What are the triggers of stress linked to work?

Since stress is a very personalised phenomenon, a stress trigger could be an event, stimulus that causes stress and could be different for all of us. Numerous surveys and studies confirm that workplace pressures and fears are a leading source of stress and has been steadily increasing over the past few decades. According to the American Institute of Stress, 80% of workers feel stress on the job and nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress. Some of the potential sources of workplace stressors include:

Basic to the job – which include long hours, work overload, time pressure, difficult or complex tasks, lack of breaks, lack of variety, lack of adequate resources and poor working conditions (light, spacing, temperature etc). Given the current lockdown situation, some people might be facing issues in delivering on the basics. In certain cases, like in manufacturing or sales field jobs, there might be a complete stand still. For those who can work from home, handling of household chores and distractions might be leading to stress.

Job Content – Unclear /ambiguous work, conflicting roles and responsibilities, vague organizational boundaries and responsibilities for others can cause stress. In the absence of regular meetings and face to face interactions, this could possibly aggravate and be an area of concern.

Career Development – Lack of opportunities for job development, lack of growth opportunities/promotions, lack of training, and job insecurity is a major reason for stress at work. The current situation which has been impacting the economy, growth of organisations and in some cases business continuity will impact employee careers.

Relationship at work – It includes poor relations with superiors, team and subordinates create an environment which is critical, demanding and unsupportive. At times even leads to discrimination, bullying and harassment which creates stress. On the contrary, a positive social dimension of work can reduce it to a large extent. In remote working situations, lack of managerial empathy, connect can be extremely stressful.

Organization Culture – The organizational structure and climate where there is little or no participation in decision making, influenced by office politics, no stability, frequent changes like restructuring, mergers relocations etc are major contributors to workplace stress. The current situation’s financial impact may reflect in salary raises, pay-outs and layoffs and other drastic policy changes in many organizations leading to heightened financial stress amongst employees.

Work-related stress is a management issue

Stress is a costly affair. In the US industry it costs over $300 billion annually as a result of stress related – accidents, absenteeism, employee turnover, diminished productivity and medical/ insurance costs.

It is important for employers to recognise work-related stress as a significant health and safety issue and take appropriate steps. Given the current crises we are in, employee mental wellbeing has become an extremely important area for organizations.

Workplace Culture – Employers need to work on creating robust relationships with managers and colleagues, employee participation, level of responsibility, authority and decision making, optimal workload, flexible working hours, and career development prospects which are key factors defining the work culture of an organization. Specially amid the rumours and speculations doing the rounds these days, organisations will need to pay extra heed to connecting with their employees, regular communication to ensure a positive culture.  Employers need to lead with empathy and enable its managers to build psychological safety in teams– conduct awareness and sensitization sessions that help them build trust, acceptance of vulnerability and failure and ability to speak up without fear.

Safe physical work environment – A healthy workplace environment involves the physical environment of the office or shop floor and the occupational health & safety of its employees. Employers can reduce the worry of its employees by looking into the safety of the workplace. In current situations, extending medical and insurance benefits to employees and their family members would be key. Once the lock down is over, having a phased plan to get people back to work, ensuring complete sanitization of the workplace, make work from home a formal policy will go a long way in creating a safe work environment.

Customised Wellbeing Solutions – The symptoms and triggers of stress could be different for every organization. Employers need to deep dive into the same by administering wellbeing surveys to recognise the specific stress triggers for its employees. Accordingly offer solutions, interventions, introduce activities and even policy changes to mitigate the stressors.

Stress is a part of life. All we can do is focus on things that are in our control and worry less for things which are out of our control. Create healthy boundaries like setting realistic deadlines, take appropriate breaks from work, prioritize, adopt healthy lifestyle practices like exercise, diet and sleep. This way we can surely prevent stress overload and manage it without impacting our heath.  Stay Positive! Stay Healthy and Safe!

Coronavirus, a topic which is nearly impossible to avoid these days online, on TV or in conversations. Conferences have been canceled or postponed, travel on a stand still, social interaction zero and organizations are working hard to deploy business continuity plans to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

Our working lives have been challenging for a while now, dealing with generational diversity, emergence of technology, volatile economic conditions, workplace burnout and many more but the emergence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has led to a massive change, more uncertainty, and new challenges for many of us.

We all are well aware about the steps that need to be taken for protecting our physical health amidst this pandemic, but what about our mental health?

Between social media’s endless stream of information and news reports of mandatory quarantines, it is very natural for people to experience concern, fear, and anxiety.

Not a new concern, but now more prevalent

Concerns about health, trust, work, finances, children, family and the uncertainty of what will happen have created a perfect storm for serious behavioral health issues in the workforce.

The March 25 survey of 88,000 people by Evidation Health found a 68% increase, in just one week, of concern about someone in the household contracting COVID-19 along with a 59% increase in anxiety levels.

In the most recent poll from the Pew Research Center, 73% of Americans reported feeling anxious at least a few days a week.

Recently WHO named burnout a workplace syndrome which costs $125 billion per year. Workforce emotional wellbeing and behavioral health were already priority challenges prior to the pandemic. Extreme stress, fear and burnout may be the precursors for long-lasting problems such as depression, anxiety and PTSD.

Promoting workplace mental health during this crisis

We have to understand the importance of mental health in this time of COVID-19. It is foundational to overall health and maintaining the mental health of people right now is a fundamental priority for maintaining workforce health.

As workplaces continue to grapple with the best course of action for maintaining the health, safety, and productivity of their employees, they must also consider employee’s mental health.

Strategies to support mental wellness efforts for organizations or leaders

1. Lead with empathy: When communicating business related information, start with a statement that the organization is foremost concerned about the safety and health of its employees.

When employees hear inconsistent messaging from leaders about sick leave, for example, or if some managerspressurize employees to look at P&L at this stage, and send conflicting messages about job continuity, the damage to morale, engagement, and workplace culture can be devastating.

2. Communicate with full transparency: Regular, open communication is the key. With so much uncertainty, it falls to leaders to be the calm voice of reason and reassure employees.

Create psychological safety by including both logical and empathetic statements in all communication and convey that ‘whatever happens we’ll do the best we can for you.’ Build trust, allow employees to voice their concerns and share vulnerability, give assurances that it’s ok and we are all in the same situation.

3. Consider the impact across the board: Whatever our circumstances, this outbreak is going to have an impact on how we think and feel about ourselves and the world we live in. Good work is great for our mental health and it’s important that we preserve the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of work wherever we can. Try to share response in a way that protects the physical and mental health of staff – starting with those who are at greatest need.

4. Be flexible: One of the biggest stressors for many employees is the well-being of those they may care for. Due to the current situation we may have increased responsibilities, like child care, elderly care, household chores. Offer support for navigating these responsibilities by providing flexible timings for those zoom meetings, plan those one on one connects etc.

5. Promote access to support: You may provide access to support services through your workplace. If you have mental health champions, allies or mental health first aiders make sure they have the latest information to share with the other employees.

6. Don’t stop the social: From virtual team quizzes to conference call coffee breaks, the best way to combat loneliness during this time is to maintain connection with your colleagues. This could mean setting up one-on-ones; small team chats, or involving the whole organization, just make sure it becomes part of the weekly routine.

7. Seek opportunities for growth and development alongside crisis planning: Use this time as an opportunity for the development for your team. Engage with your team more, attend courses, engage them in developmental projects and crisis management, read or write articles and attend webinars. These practices will keep you and your team busy and also eventually promote growth and development.

Employee mental health is not only the responsibility of managers and leaders.Each individual needs to take care of themselves too. The coronavirus has unsettled the very fundamentals of our way of life and working, from CEO to intern, so we all need to keep ourselves calm and motivated. A shout out to organizations who have assured their employees of no job losses on adverse impact on employment and are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring business continuity plans and post Covid recovery plans. A word of caution to organizations that are still sending messages on profitability, cost cuts, using reduced ratings and low increments as mixed messaging. This is not the time to alienate your most important assets, your people. As I recently heard, your talent is the only asset that appreciates over time. Take care of them.

In a very significant move, the Prime Minister of India announced a 21 day national lockdown effective from 25th March 2020. This lockdown is to ensure effective social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While the lockdown is undoubtedly essential to contain the pandemic,the impact on businesses and the economy can’t be ignored.

Amid the national lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order directing that employers should pay wages to their workers at their place of work without deduction during the period of lockdown.

The order states, “All the employees, be it in the Industry or in the shops and commercial establishments, shall make payment of wages of their workers, at their work places, on the due date, without any deduction, for the period their establishments are under closure during the lockdown”

This order invokes power under section 10 (2)(l) of the Disaster Management Act 2005.

Let’s understand more about the provisions under this act:

1. In addition, Ministry of Labour& Employment, Government of India vide its letter dated 20.03.2020 has advised all the employers of Public / Private Establishments not to terminate their employees, particularly casual or contractual workers from job or reduce their wages.

2. If any worker takes leave, he should be deemed to be on duty without any consequential deduction in wages for this period.

3. Based on various advisories and orders issued by Central Government/ State Governments, the scope of payment of wages shall extend to regular, casual and contractual workers.

4. As per the MHA order, the wages are to be paid on the due date.

5. The employees can be encouraged to utilize their accrued annual / privilege. Availing leave is an employee’s prerogative and the employers cannot compel them to adjust accrued annualleave.

We all know that it is a difficult situation, but it is difficult for all. It is during times of crisis that we see true employers of choice emerging, Responsible corporate citizens who stand by their employees financially and emotionally.

The COVID-19 outbreak has pushedall organizations to adopt ‘working from home’. What used to be a choice or discretionary, or a ‘once ina while option’, is now part of our daily life for some time to come.

It is new, it’s achange, and can be uncomfortable. For those who are not used to working from home, distractions, lack of normal ‘working space’, ‘professional environment’, lack of resources that one takes for granted in an office space, like IT support, printer etc, can disrupt one’s working rhythm and productivity.

We at Marching Sheep transitioned to ‘work from home’ nearly 10 days back. With some simple processes in place, we as a team have ensured that we continue our pace of work.

Here are somethings we have done-

1.     Aligning family and friends: As we are in our personal environment, and not in our usual professional environment,there will be several instances of disturbances like family or neighbors peeping in, children wanting to spend time with you, some domestic chore that needs attention, which eventually makes one lose train of thought. Creating a workspace and aligning people around you that your office timings are sacrosanct, and you cannot be disturbed during these hours can be a start.

2.     Create a workspace that works: Creating an effective and consistent workspace is essential if you want to stay on track and get things done. Make your space a stress-free zone of quiet and solitude where you can concentrate. Also, your work should not intrude into the lives of other household members. It’s almost impossible to work effectively at home if there are other people nearby. So, be sure to have a place to go where you can shut the door on potential distractions.

3.     Stay focused on daily and weekly deliverables– as a team, we have re-aligned our goals. While most of our clients are also on work from home, there are several developmental activities that we are focusing on. We are focusing on how we can help clients tide over this uncertain, ambiguous period. We take every day at a time and ensure we complete our tasks as scheduled.

4.     Regular Monitoring and evolving– while we have our daily and weekly deliverables, monitoring our progress and evolving our task lists to meet the needs of an evolving environment ensures we stay relevant.

5.     Manage your time: Effective time management is essential if you want to continue hitting your deadlines when you’re working from home. Organize and prioritize key tasks with a To-Do List . This will help you to avoid procrastinating , or losing focus by ‘switch-tasking’ and add an extra layer of structure to your day.

6.     Managing Break times– Use the lunch break, tea/ coffee time to connect with those at home. They too are going through the change and spending that time with you will both comfort and pacify them.

7.     Leverage your social media: Social media is of utmost importance for any business. And now in this condition of outbreak, it has become a necessity. One should always try to be active on your professional social media like Linkedin so that visibility and relevance is maintained. At the same time, be cautious of fake posts and those that create and spread panic. All steps are being taken to deal with the situation. We all need to be responsible and take our own precautions.

8.     Motivate your team: There is possibility of employees getting demotivated or losing interest at this crucial time.As an organization it’s your responsibility to help them manage this situation and eventually overcoming it. Stay connected with your team as much as possible. We at Marching Sheep, do this by a having a con call with team every evening to discuss updates and also how we all are coping with this situation. It’s not always about work but building the comfort and psychological safety that we are together in this as a team.

9.     Embrace technology– Zoom meetings, skype, conference calls, google hangouts are great tools to leverage at this time and plan to run effective meetings using these tools. Plan your agenda, share with the participants in advance, share clear expectations so that meetings do not over run, but are productive and meaningful.

What is important to note for employers at this stage that this is not a work from home in normal times. Families with both spouses/ partners working, and a lockdown impacting the availability of domestic help, schools being shut, is adding the burden of domestic chores and childcare. Allowing for flexibility, allowing for time off to help your employees take care of their familial and domestic responsibilities will emotionally and psychologically support the employees. It will make them happier, focused and more productive when they are working.

Working from home can be challenging but if handled effectively and mindfully, it can be fruitful and productive.Without the proper checks and balances in place, it can just as easily lead to feelings of isolation and lack of motivation.Keep the lines of communication open between team members to manage working in a virtual team. Nothing stays forever, this too shall pass. So, let’s learn a thing or two from this phase of life, and emerge the better for it!

In the current constantly evolving economic scenario, with multi-generational workforce, changing workforce requirements, changing organisational priorities and strategy, it is imperative that learning and development keep pace with the changes to be able to ensure an optimally skilled, motivated and aligned workforce. There are two kinds of learning programmes that can be chosen from:

• Off-the-shelf courses (generic): Off-the-shelf courses are ready to use.
• Bespoke (also known as custom) courses: Bespoke or custom courses, as the name suggests, are specifically designed or tailor-made to meet the specific learning needs of an organization/department.

Off-the-shelf courses can be deployed quickly, whereas bespoke courses will need longer time to develop and deploy. It is important to understand that today’s workforce no longer responds to traditional training methods and if they do not find the interventions relevant, it is a wasted cost.While bespoke courses, curated and contextualised to organisational and participant needs, might seem more time consuming and expensive, are custom made to meet the needs of the participant group and can truly help move the needle.

How Does Bespoke Learning Fare Against Off-the-shelf Courses? 

Off-the-shelf courses are quicker to deploy, but have certain inherent shortcomings. Often a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to learning doesn’t work, and something more authentic is needed to get better results. Bespoke learning provides an opportunity for L&D leaders to really innovate and inspire learners by offering a more personalised learning solution. They let you tell stories through the eyes of your people, use your work environments, and test competence through engaging, real-life scenarios. The advantages accrued out of bespoke approach are listed as below:

1. The courses are developed as per your needs. They feature your scenarios, problems and imagery and this helps learners relate and connect better to the learning piece.
2. The content is specific to you and your learners. It is presented in a form that will engage them and ensures the required learning mandate is met.
3. The learning experience is customized to your culture and factors for your learners’ preferences, and is tailor-made to meet your learning and business mandates.
4. The Assessment strategy is customized and aligns effectively to your learning and business mandates.
5. You can also decide on supplementing your primary learning with Performance Support interventions that can lead to better application of the learning on the job. This will have a significant impact on the ROI of the learning.

We at Marching Sheep believe and specialize in conceptualizing, creating and delivering Bespoke Learning Interventions which are well aligned with the overall mandate, culture and goals of an organization, leading to a holistic & effective learning experience for the employees and enhanced performance & growth for the organization.

It’s all about putting the right things at the right place; the results will happen!

We are all in an unprecedented situation with no rule book to refer to. The corona virus has hit us all, globally, with far reaching impact on individuals, small scale and large organizations alike, the economy at large. The current quasi lock down, with ban on social gatherings, schools, malls, cinema halls being shut down in different states, offices being shut down, work from home being advocated, individuals and families self-isolating to prevent spread of infection, are all good measures to prevent the situation from taking pandemic proportions in India.

At the same time, it is posing problems for businesses. How do we maintain business and work continuity in such situations? How do we manage, motivate and drive remote teams? How do we conduct events, that we normally do at the beginning or end of the year? How do we conduct performance appraisals and difficult conversations over a call? How do we complete selection processes? How do we ensure that employees continue to feel engaged with the organization?

These are all very valid questions and need to be addressed NOW. So that when things get back to normal, your workforce comes back stronger, charged to take on those stretch targets and assignments, which will come because the industry would have lost a month/ month and half of business. All companies will have to catchup, and now is the time to help build that engagement and resilience in the teams.

So, what do we do?

1.     Business processes that need to be tweaked to ensure remote working succeeds. Review your way of working, process flows etc and ensure people are enabled to do their job.

2.     Build managerial capability to keep employees engaged through this period. Instill simple processes, daily/ weekly reviews, skip level calls to ensure employees and their families are well.

3.     Stretch your leave/ medical policy to extend support to those who need it. Ensure Insurance companies and TPAs are engaged and spoken to respond quickly in times of emergency.

4.     Engage employees in new learning projects. Develop something new, new ideas, new processes.

5.     Continue bite sized learnings through online programs/ zoom sessions and webinars. At this time webinars on how to work remotely, manage self and others, psychological safety, managing stress and crisis will make sense and signal to your workforce that you care.

6.     Ongoing communication from Leaders- over zoom call/ emailers to keep employees engaged with what’s happening in the organization at a business and employee health and well-being level.

7.     Build Empathy- This is new to all of us and each individual, whether a leader, manager or an individual contributor would be dealing with some issue or the other. Build empathy is your conversations. Listen to what the other is saying and be there to help.

Let’s all remember, this too shall pass. And we shall emerge stronger, braver and more resilient. We just need to work together on building a strong, engaged and resilient workforce.

Ankita has been a star employee in her organisation but from the last few months, there has been a shift in her behaviour.She is late for work on a regular basis. Her enthusiasm has waned, and productivity has dropped. She is shying away from responsibilities and has frequent arguments with co-workers. Her manager is both concerned about her loss of productivity, as well as impact on overall team morale and ethos.

Such cases are not uncommon in organizations. The instances where otherwise high performing employees suddenly demonstrate a dip in their productivity, and commitment should be warning bells for managers and organizations.

Is this a problem with the employee(s)? Or there are other factors influencing their behavior? Are they feeling overwhelmed or underappreciated? Are they seeing value in the work they do? Do they feel supported? Are they going through some emotional or mental trauma, or fatigue, that need to be addressed.

Some Data & Facts

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized burnout as a mental condition stemming from chronic workforce stress.

A recent Gallup study of nearly 7,500 full-time employees found that 23% of employees reported feeling burned out at work very often or always, while an additional 44% reported feeling burned out sometimes.

A year-long study conducted by the University of Minnesota and the MIT Sloan School of Management found that Fortune 500 workers who were offered flexible scheduling felt more in control of their lives, more supported by their bosses, and more content with the amount of time they spent with their families. They also reported greater job satisfaction, less burnout, and a decrease in psychological distress.2019 State of Remote Work Report found that remote workers were 40 percent more likely to have been promoted in the past year than their in-office peers, and 27 percent more likely to feel they had growth opportunities.

Understanding Workplace Burnout

Burnout is an individual’s response to ongoing and chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors around them.

It doesn’t simply result from working too many hours in a high-demand environment. Rather, it is a multidimensional response with many complex causes.

There are three dimensions to the Burnout:

1. Exhaustion: Exhaustion results from the depletion of emotional resources to cope with the ongoing work and personal demands. This is the stressed out, overwhelmed employee.

2. Cynicism: Cynicism is an individual’s distant attitude toward the job. This is the disgruntled employee.

3. Inefficacy: Inefficacy is a reduction in personal accomplishment. This is the stressed out employee who has developed a cynical attitude and has given up trying.

Common causes of Burnout:

1. Extensive Job or personal demands that the individual might find overwhelming

2. Role Conflict& Ambiguity

3. Lack of Appropriate Resources to deal with demands

4. Lack of Social, organisational or family Support

5. Lack of Feedback/Rewards

6. Little Participation in Decision Making

Signs of Burnout in the Workplace

Burnout not only affects the employee’s performance, but impacts the performance of the team and work environment. Below are some effects of burnout in the workplace:

·        Unexplained absences from work

·        Showing up to work late/leaving early

·        Decrease in productivity

·        Apparent frustration

·        Decline in physical health

·        Lack of enthusiasm

·        Isolation

·        Frequent interpersonal conflict

How Manager / Organisations can prevent or deal with workplace burnout

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for helping your employees deal with burnout. Sending them off on vacation will not make the problem go away upon their return. A real change needs to be made to their work, their work environment, and their emotional state.

Below are some tips to manage workplace burnout:

1. Offer remote work opportunities: One of the most effective and widely-studied ways to improve employee well-being is to offer remote flexibility. It’s not hard to understand why remote options are such a coveted benefit, commuting has been shown to negatively impact mental health and overall life satisfaction.

Working from home eliminates this stress and gives employees complete control over their work environment, such as location, clothing choice, and potential distractions. Working from home also saves money, time, and other valuable resources, often providing employees the freedom to pursue endeavors that promote overall well-being.

2. Encourage real weekends and holidays: Burnout happens when people aren’t given enough time to disconnect, rest, focus on other aspects of life and recharge. This is why it’s so important for leaders to create an environment where taking time off is not only allowed but championed.

3.Flexible scheduling options: In a flexible environment, your team may still need to come into the office, but schedules are more customizable. While flexible scheduling doesn’t have the same allure as telecommuting, it can still dramatically reduce burnout and job-related stress.

4.Recognize, Reward & Promote: Recognizing employees’ hard work and contribution goes a long way in making them feel valued.Each employee’s contribution to the company should be acknowledged. Reward excellent performances with recognition and awards.

5. Clarify Expectations and Job Requirements: Another common reason that employees experience workplace burnout is because it is unclear what they should be doing. Perhaps their tasks are vague, or perhaps they get instructions and feedback from multiple superiors. Regardless, it is the manager’s job to make sure they know their precise role. Otherwise, money and time are wasted, and frustrations will continue to grow.

6.Encourage Stress Relievers: In addition to directly motivating your employees, encourage them to rejuvenate by allowing stress relievers: Let them listen to music while they work, flex their work hours, create a friendly work environment where people can speak up and engage. This will help your employees enjoy their time at work, while also demonstrating that you care about their well-being.

7.  Encourage Socializing: A moderate amount of socialization is optimal for team bonding to occur. Encourage employees to freely socialize on breaks, at lunch, or after work.

8.Educate Employees on Burnout: Provide information about burnout and how employees can prevent it. It should not be a “Taboo” topic to be pushed under the carpet. Instead, it should be addressed openly, and employees to be made aware that the organization is there to support them should they start to feel early signs. Hold awareness sessions where employees can be made aware of early symptoms, causes and manifestation, where they can ask relevant questions and get answers.

Burnout is a common phenomenon that no one is immune to.In today’s VUCA environment, it is even more of a threat to organizational morale, satisfaction scores and productivity than ever. Keeping Employee Health and Wellness as a priority will go a long way for organizations to build a strong, resilient and dependable work force, which will be the ultimate competitive edge an organization can have.

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered anxious times across the globe. We are getting to experience extreme facets of the VUCA world. What we learn in the next few months could help us shape the future of work.

These challenging times require organizations and leaders to think differently about how they can lead and sail through these tough times. Organizations need to look at strengthening their connect with employees, engage with them more authentically to neutralize the impact of uncertainty.

This is where the concept of Psychological Safety comes in which can influence the organization’s connect with employees positively.

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological Safety is about providing a safe space for employees to be their full selves. It is an environment in which they feel included, safe to learn, safe to contribute and safe to challenge the status quo without any fear of being penalized, embarrassed or marginalized.

As Amy Edmondson, a pioneer in Psychological Safety defines it as – “A belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes”.

It plays a key role in organizational effectiveness and helps build trust and motivation in teams considering the present dynamic work environment. It lets you be yourself, make mistakes, disagree, take risks and ask questions.

Generates positive emotions in uncertain environment

Volatile situations often spark fight-or-flight responses and restrict employees from thinking clearly. Psychological safety breeds positive emotions like trust, curiosity and resilience which gives employees the strength to broaden perspectives and navigate through unprecedented times with confidence. Employees are more open-minded, motivated, and persistent when they feel emotionally safe.

Fosters Innovation

An organization’s ability to innovate is critical to success in changing world. Innovation is all about taking risks, experimenting, asking questions and even accepting failure. A psychologically safe environment mitigates the fear of taking risks and is key to nurturing new ideas in the workplace to cope with the changing times.

Creates High Performing teams

Research reveals that the highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety, the confidence that you won’t be punished when you make a mistake. This belief allows for risk-taking, speaking your mind without fear, trying something unusual— just the types of behaviour that can make a difference.

Promotes inclusive culture

Psychological Safety promotes a “speak up” culture, where employees from diverse backgrounds irrespective of their sex, age, colour, race, ethnicity can express and share ideas /thoughts without any fear of being judged. It creates an environment for open communication. Psychological safety can help break bias patterns in the organization and shift from unconscious bias to conscious inclusion.

How can we bring in psychological safety in teams?
Reframe work as a learning opportunity

We should look at work as learning experiences which can either go well or teach us how to do things differently in the future rather than a failure. In Amy Edmondson’s Tedx Talk she suggests that we “frame work as a learning problem, not an execution problem.” If we have an atmosphere of psychological safety we are in what she terms a learning zone rather than the anxiety zone with low psychological safety, which negatively impacts our performance.

Demonstrate vulnerability

If leaders of the organization are able to display vulnerability, acknowledge their fallibilities it will provide unspoken permission to others in the team to do the same, and will become part of the team culture.

Earn and extend Trust

It is not enough to acknowledge that trust is critical, but it is important to be built in teams.It is easy to extend practical trust which is purely based on the competence and dependability of people you interact with. But extending and earning emotional trust (that one will be treated kindly and respectfully, that one won’t be judged for his/her failures and that one is comfortable sharing honest thoughts, feelings, and ideas) is the key to psychological safety.

Replace blame with curiosity

Blame and criticism lead to conflict, defensiveness and eventually to disengagement. The alternative to blame is curiosity. Being exploratory, asking for solutions will help the team identify effective solutions in times of crises.

Give employees voice

Create pathways to leadership, provide channels for feedback, and encourage conversation. Encourage upward communication to give employees opportunity to challenge the status quo, offer ideas and identify opportunities.

Creating this sense of psychological safety in your own team starting now, we can expect to see higher levels of engagement, increased motivation to tackle challenging situations like the one we are in, and will surely emerge stronger and victorious, and ready to take the world head on!

Emotions are an intrinsic part of our daily life, personal as well as professional. Various emotions serve functional roles for us, helping us prioritize and regulate behaviour to adapt to a given situation. Emotional Diversity, also called Emodiversity, draws from research in the natural sciences on the benefits of biodiversity. Our emotional landscape can be compared to an ecosystem. An ecosystem is healthier when various species are in harmony, serving their own functional roles, and suffers when any one species is depleted or becomes overabundant, throwing off the balance.

In a study published in the journal of Emotion, researchers have found that better health could be linked to “emotional diversity” rather than just having positive emotions. Jordi Quoidback, in another related study report,  says that biodiversity increases resilience to negative events because a single predator cannot wipe out an entire ecosystem; similarly emodiversity can prevent specific emotions becoming overwhelming and enhances the emotional resilience of a person.

Intimately connected with the theory of Emodiversity is the concept of ‘constructive expression’ of emotions. Constructive Expression is expressing the negative emotions with problem-solution approach.

Most people typically avoid expressing the negative emotions like anger or disappointment to avoid conflict of any kind, while a few may choose to vent them out instantly, which may be destructive in many ways. Both are not desirable in any workplace.

The time of ‘the workplace is no place for expressing emotions’ philosophy is gone, replaced with the understanding that ‘suppressing emotions does not lessen the problem, rather leaving it fester until it eventually comes out in ways that will negatively affect relationships, performance, and productivity.’

Understandably, the ability to effectively express emotions is a desirable skill in today’s workplace. The benefits of upskilling your ability to constructively express emotions are multifold:

• • Nips it at the bud: Having an emotionally expressive conversation with an employee or a manager is far preferable to letting it fester and brew into a negative-emotionally charged conflict.
  • Enhances empathy: One can raise the amount of empathy that your co-workers feel for you by making it easier for them to understand why you feel that way.
  • Accentuates understanding: Employees who understand why decisions are being made are much more likely to agree with and respect those decisions.

It is also important to understand how to be mindful of triggers that generate the spectrum of emotions, and how to constructively channelize and articulate those emotions, for better relationships at work and at home.

We at Marching Sheep believe in diversity & inclusion with constructive expression, both at physical & emotional levels, to make a workplace progressive with an environment that makes the employees comfortable to communicate their concerns, self-doubts and actions without fear of judgment or biases, enabling them to overcome personal obstacles and maximize their potential.

We all pay attention to your financial bank accounts—the deposits and withdrawals, the interest and penalties. After all money does the world go round…. But does it?

Are we mindful of our relationships, both at work and at home, that help us become better professional, and human beings. That help us better be at work, and better versions of ourselves?

Are aware of our emotional bank account?

Emotional bank accounts are the investments we make in relationships. The deposits we make when we help some one out, or support them, mentor them, give them a shoulder to lean on. The withdrawals are when we seek help. The balance of the two is our emotional bank account (EBA).

What is Emotional Bank Account?

Stephen Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) uses the metaphor of Emotional Bank Account to describe the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship. This is one of the most powerful concepts to date on building relationships based on trust. The basic tenet of this simple yet profound principle is that we maintain a personal “emotional” bank account with anyone who works or relates with us.

This concept is powerful because it transcends time, space and hierarchy; that is; it doesn’t matter whether you are the office cleaner, middle, senior management, or the boss. Thus, a kind word from anyone in the office to another person of any level is a deposit. When you do anything nice to anyone in your office without expectation of any good in return, that is a deposit. This includes making a nice cup of coffee for your busy colleague or offering free rides to your colleagues because it’s ‘along the way.’ Also, when you relate to your potential client as a flesh and blood human being rather than your potential bottom line, you are making a deposit.

The deposits do not stop there as it transcends time and space: After work, there are the ‘inner-circle’ people whom we relate to and love. A loving hug and a listening ear for our loved ones is definitely a deposit.

Stephen Covey describes 6 major ways of making deposits on the Emotional Bank Account:

• • Understanding the individual
  •  Attending to little things
  •  Keeping commitments
  •  Clarifying expectations;
  •  Showing personal integrity
  •  Apologizing sincerely when you make a “withdrawal”

What can we learn from the EBA?

What can we take away from the concept of the EBA? We are reminded that people, not material possessions, are the real deal. Walt Disney is right when he says: “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality”.

Secondly, the EBA reminds us to be ‘other-centered’. Being other-centered is the first step to ‘seeking first to understand, then to be understood.’ If we constantly make deposits into the accounts of everyone whom we interact with everyday, the account (trust) will be healthy and so will the relationship.

When your trust level is high, because you’ve made lots of deposits, communication is almost effortless. You can be yourself, and others understand and appreciate you. Then, when you make mistakes or offend someone unexpectedly, you draw on that reserve and the relationship still maintains a solid level of trust.

Conversely, when you are discourteous, disrespect others, interrupt others, speak sarcastically or ignore others, your emotional bank account becomes overdrawn because you have jeopardized the trust level. When the trust level is low, you have to be very careful of what you say; you tend to be more political.

Gottman concept of emotional bank account

According to the Gottman Institute, a relationship and counseling program who championed the idea of an emotional bank account in relationships, the key is to keep a ratio of 5:1. That’s five deposits for every ONE withdrawal. But that’s just in times of conflict or stress (like bedtime routine!). Otherwise a 20:1 ratio is ideal for everyday interactions! TWENTY!

This 5:1 ratio does suggest that you still need to say and do five positive things for every negative thing, even during an argument.

Emotional Bank Account at Work

When it comes to relationships at work, we make similar kinds of deposits or withdrawals in what is called an Emotional Bank Account (EBA). When the EBA balance is high, so is the resulting level of trust—and so is your ability to achieve the results you’re measured by. When the balance is low, trust plummets, the quality of your work suffers or slows down, and relationships suffer.

Below are the tips to build a strong emotional bank account at work:

1. Never deposit to withdraw – While there are similarities between a traditional bank account and an Emotional Bank Account, you should never accumulate a high emotional balance in order to make planned withdrawals later.

2. Know the other person’s currency – We all have individual forms of currency we’re willing to accept. What amounts to a deposit for one person in the office can be meaningless for another. Take time to learn what the important people in your workplace consider a deposit.

3. Communicate your own currency. You can’t expect people to read your mind. In the fast-paced world of work, it can cost you plenty if you do. Clarify and communicate your expectations before, during, and after every project. Doing so sets everyone up for success.

4. Make small, consistent deposits over time -Relationships grow in security and trust when they are built with frequent, meaningful contributions rather than occasional grand gestures. You need to draw from the deep well of deposits to turn a situation around.

5. Right wrongs: A piece of Eastern wisdom says, if you’re going to bow, bow low. In other words, when you mess up, make a sincere apology. There’s nothing more meaningful than admitting a mistake without making excuses for it. Doing so can be a huge deposit in the EBA of another, and an experience that will build strong trust.

By applying these tips for building healthy Emotional Bank Accounts, you not only develop habits of good character out of the meaningful deposits you make, but you build the kind of security and trust that can weather the mistakes of unintentional withdrawals in the future.

As we approach international women’s day 2020, on 8th March, the theme for which is #EachForEqual, it’s important to understand what it stands for. In an evolving society where gender norms and violence against women are still rampant, it is important to pause and understand why do we celebrate this day? Is it just about women? Is it about feminism?

That is where the values of IWD come in. Let’s see what they are-

1. Justice: Justice here simply means being afforded the same equal rights and opportunities to women as men. Equal opportunity does not mean equal treatment. It means creating a level playing ground when all genders have a right to contribute and grow to the best of their abilities.

2. Dignity: Dignity refers to the idea that all people, irrespective of gender, age, caste & status, have the right to be valued, respected and to receive ethical treatment. This is where work needs to be done on unconscious bias, social conditioning, gender norms and stereotypes. Every one has a right to their opinion and ideas and to voice them. And the organisations need to create a work environment where all voices are heard.

3. Hope: Hope is the essence of life for all humans, looking forward to improvement and growth. Creating career progression policies and career paths that allow for employees of all genders to manage their professional and personal life stages and continue to grow in the organisation is key to this value.

4. Equality: Equality means all people have equal opportunities to make the most of their lives and talents without any discrimination based on their background, gender or status. it is the very core of IWD. Along the employee lifecycle stages- from resume shortlisting to hiring to increments, promotions, learning opportunities, employees from the entire spectrum of diversity should get equal opportunities.

5. Collaboration: IWD calls for collaboration of women across communal and geographical boundaries. Societal mindset and norms cannot change overnight. It requires collective efforts from both men and women, across families, organisations and governments.

6. Tenacity: IWD is the major day for rallying action, driving visibility and applauding women in a resolute & consistent way. Change will take time. It’s a slow burn and will require tenacity and resilience. Hence IWD is not once a year activity, but a celebration of what we do round the year to drive diversity and inclusion.

7. Appreciation: IWD celebrates the achievements of women from all walks of life. Every one likes to be recognised and appreciated for their contribution and achievements, at work and in personal life. Building a culture of recognition and appreciation, based on merit will help drive this value.

8. Respect: Respect for others and respect for self play a central part in forging gender equality. Respect every one- different genders, generations, people from different cultures, different functions, what have you. Every one has a role to play, and every one is a human being first before anything else.

9. Empathy: IWD calls for valuing diversity and caring for all without any biases to forge an inclusive and progressive world. Listen, be present. Build trust and empathy in the team and workplace. Extend support. Building empathy across all levels in the organisation will go a long way in building a cohesive, collaborative, inclusive workforce.

10. Forgiveness: Forgiveness for all the past wrongs is vital to establish inclusiveness under all forms of diversity. Norms and stereotypes have existed and will continue to. It’s only awareness and continued effort that will help bring about change.

These values are the bedrock foundation for an inclusive society. Let’s all join hands to imbibe these values in their true spirit and to celebrate the diversity with an open mind. Hence International Women’s day is not just one day, but a celebration of all the work done in driving the diversity agenda, and a promise of what to do next!

We are in 2020, but Mental Health in India is fast becoming a cause for concern. As per WHO, mental illnesses constitute one sixth of all health-related disorders and India accounts for nearly 15% of global mental disorders. By end of 2020, roughly 20% of India will suffer from some form of mental illness.

Beyond these staggering numbers, it is important to recognize the voids in how mental health is understood and dealt with in our country. The lack of awareness on this subject, the old age-stigma associated with it, lack of trained professionals are reasons for the low priority given to mental healthcare in India.

One never hesitates from taking medication for high blood pressure, diabetes or wait to go to the hospital, if one experiences any physical pain. We do not hesitate in sharing and speaking about our physical ailments with our near and dear ones, family, friends and colleagues. But how often do we seek treatment for mental health issues. Are we comfortable in sharing that we are having anxiety or panic attacks, battle with depression or worse?

We often tend to forget that it is stress and mental issues like depression and anxiety which debilitate our health silently. They are in fact a major reason for most of the above physical illnesses.

In fact, India adopted its first act on mental health care as late as 2017 which covered medical services for people with mental illnesses but did not make provision for awareness on mental health.

Productivity Burden of Mental Illness

There are multiple researches which highlight the impact mental health has on productivity. The WHO has estimated that India alone will suffer economic losses amounting to 1.03 trillion dollars from mental health conditions between 2012 and 2030.

In addition to the direct costs to the economy associated with mental illness, there are many indirect costs which impact productivity. Research reveals that the most stressful thoughts in people’s minds are work related. Factors like job insecurity, challenging targets, performance pressure and even office politics at work lead to increased stress levels which physically, mentally and emotionally drain the employees. And when a person is mentally stressed, it limits her/him functionally. Reduced capacity to focus, handle pressure, respond to change, deal with negative feedback leads to increase in absenteeism and presenteeism – physically being at work but not working, underperformance, overstaffing to cover absences, conflict at work and the personal front. Without appropriate support and medication such employees struggle to manage, call in sick, and at times end up quitting adding to cost related to recruitment and retention.

Approach towards Employee Well Being and Mental Health

Again quoting WHO, mental health as “a state of wellbeing in which every individual realizes his/her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. “

To realise this aspirational state of affairs, organizations have a key role to play.

Well-being cannot be an isolated program or initiative. Well-being is purpose-driven and woven into the fabric of an organization’s values and the employee experience. It is inextricably linked to policies, programs and benefits as well as to desired culture, productivity improvement, talent retention and sustainability of business at large.

Achieving health in the workplace begins by building and sustaining workplace culture that enhance health and well-being. Robust relationships with managers and colleagues, open communication, level of employee participation, level of responsibility, authority and decision making, optimal workload, flexible working hours, and career development prospects are key factors which define the work culture of an organization. Creation of a healthy company culture begins with top leadership support and includes every level of the management from leaders to line managers.

Regular training and sensitization programs on issues around mental health will help improve awareness on mental health issues. Tools like online courses, videos, and reading materials would improve mental health literacy in the organization and aid people managers to communicate with employees in a more sensitive and empathetic manner.

Beyond the steps taken around prevention, employers should also have in place support for employees showing signs of mental health problems. Identifying early signs and symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression and other mental health problems through monitoring and screening tools, providing forums like Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) can help with diagnosis and treatment on time.  Also, organizations need to provide appropriate forums which encourage employees to share their success stories on dealing with such issues, encourage them to speak about it without inhibitions and come forward to seek help. This would be a critical step aimed at demystifying the stigma around mental health and its treatment.

Having occasional health talks or just doing a health camp will not be enough to move the needle. Organizations need to have well-being programs that are comprehensive and sustainable. Programs that can bring a change in employee behaviours and inculcate habits towards a healthy and stress-free lifestyle. Only then organizations will see a bend in their healthcare cost trends and improvement in work quality and productivity.

When we say comprehensive, the program should help improve well-being of employees around multiple health dimensions- physical, social, emotional and even financial.

Organizations need to understand that stress triggers vary from employee to employee depending on the different life stages they are in. For example, with Millennials and Generation Z entering our workforce and their changing focus from sales targets to aspects like work life balance and value creation, emotional and social wellness are becoming important which focus on being more self-aware, accepting diversity, being inclusive, supporting and collaborating with others. On the other hand, a new mother may seek help on postpartum depression, stress management or seek support through flexible working hours etc.

Organizational support should not end as the employee leaves office. Concerns around family, finances can also be major stress triggers which impact work. Having 24/7 access to counsellors/trainers can help in such situations.

Well-being programs need to be sustainable to see the desired change in the behaviours of its employees. This can be done by introducing programs which encourage continuous communication, engagement of employees and recognition – offering financial incentives for a healthy lifestyle.

From physical infrastructure like in house gyms, on campus doctors/pharmacy, nap rooms, standing desks, to offering healthy meals, introducing flexible policies, running awareness sessions/campaigns, having in house counsellors, it is heartening to see how some organizations have taken major strides in their journey towards the overall well-being of their employees. With the challenges of today’s VUCA environment (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity), and increased levels of stress, mental wellbeing of employees will continue to be a focus area for organizations in years to come. However it will take a comprehensive and sustained approach to deal with it holistically and effectively.