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Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. –Maya Angelou Having a gap in employment is a lot more common than you may think. And with the millennials comprising 80 % of the workforce today, it is actually becoming popular to take time out of work voluntarily.  Here is an article on my take on “Career Gap- not a taboo anymore”. Please read and share your views in the comments section.   Happy reading!

Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. –Maya Angelou

Achieving work life balance is one of the most frequently discussed topics in the corporate world today and especially the Millennials, who make up 35% of the global workforce today, are leading the way with this new mindset.

Some statistics

1.  A recent report by ManpowerGroup shows that 84% of Millennials foresee significant career breaks along the way. This trend reinforces the idea that “career waves” are replacing the “career ladder” of earlier generations.

2. A study written by TSNE’s Deborah Linnell and CompassPoint’s Tim Wolfred, exposes the myth that an executive sabbatical will be a chaotic disruption, finding instead that the creative disruption of a well-planned sabbatical can be productive for the entire leadership of an organization. This study recommends funding sabbaticals as a best practice for leadership development, succession planning and organizational capacity building.

3. In the research conducted by The Sabbatical Project, 50 people were interviewed about their experiences of taking a sabbatical from work, and how it played a part in shaping their lives afterwards. Patterns in their responses show that separation from a stressful working environment, and the opportunity for rest and restoration, can provide a powerful ‘identity workspace’ to reflect and make lifestyle changes for the better.

4. According to the Huffington Post, Cliff Bar has a low employee turnover rate of less than 3%, and when the firm conducted a survey among its employees to determine which perks were the most useful to them, Sabbaticals came out on top.

5. A study by TSNE found that people who’ve took up the roles and responsibilities of employees on sabbatical leave have pursued them effectively.

How it benefits

Employment gaps exist between jobs. Career changes are evident. Parental leave is common. So why is there such taboo surrounding the topic of taking a “gap year”?

Gone were the days when for corporate employees their work life was everything.Today’s workforce prioritizes balance and yes they want to have a proper work life balance throughout their lives. Hence this trend of taking career gaps or work sabbatical is going to stay.

Also, since last 2 years there have been a lot of changes in the work culture across organizations as most of them have transitioned to remote working because of the pandemic. A lot of new leave policies are being introduced at the workplaces, but Sabbatical leave is still there and surprisingly being availed as well. Although the reasons for taking the Sabbatical leaves in the pre pandemic times were quite different like travelling, pursuing passions or hobbies, or opting for higher education.

A lot of work from home experts believe and state that they are suffering from Digital Fatigue and want to take a break just to spend time with their family and that’s how a new reason to take sabbatical leaves is coming into being.

In one of the recent articles in Times of India, Kelloggs South Asia director (HR) Nimisha Das said, “Despite the pandemic, it is unlikely that sabbaticals will go out of the vogue. Working professionals will continue taking them with the exception that the reasons for taking a sabbatical will change. For instance, one of the reasons earlier could be travelling. Now it might be to deal with the challenges of digital fatigue, pursue a newly acquired passion or to simply spend time with their families.”

Another reason which that has been the cause for career gaps nowadays is that when covid pandemic swept across the world in 2019 it caused millions to lose their jobs and made it difficult for them to get employment in the next two years.

There are several misconceptions around sabbaticals, one of them being that for an organization it will be a productivity loss to give an employee so many leaves. As a matter of fact, it actually benefits companies in many ways.

Let’s understand few benefits for both the parties:

For employee:

Ø Employees return rejuvenated and feel like working for challenging opportunities with renewed rigor

Ø Declined stress levels and improved emotional well-being

Ø Personal fulfillment and achieved personal goals

Ø Up-skilling and personal development

Ø Feeling of being valued by the organization and hence, more motivated and sense of belonging and loyalty towards the organization

For employer:

Ø Improved retention

Ø Improved work culture

Ø Productive and motivated teams

Ø Employer branding

Ø Attract new talent

Current scenario around career gaps in the corporate world

While some companies may still be resistant to the idea of sabbaticals, many companies have learned that they benefit both employees and the company.There are a lot of big organizations like Adobe, Intel,TCS, Infosys, EY, Accenture, Deloitte, L & T, Cognizant, Paypal and IBM who have made sabbatical policy official now.

What these new changes in the work culture clearly point towards, is a future where people don’t have to feel embarrassed and afraid because of a gap in their resumes. One’s gap year is for them, and there is no proper way to define another’s gap year or determine if it was worth it or not – that’s for the individual, themselves, to decide.

It’s for business leaders and organizations to understand the changing reasons why their employees may be tempted to leave them and start to update and evolve with the changing times and on the other hand it is employees’ responsibility to contribute back to society by improving or working on themselves during their sabbatical days.

Given the social construct around the role of women as primary caregivers there is a clear gender push when it comes to choosing remote working as an option. Today, with evolved working models in place, remote/hybrid working has been a blessing for women, helping them manage work and home effectively. While it has provided tremendous flexibility to them, it is important to understand how it may have implications in terms of – lack of visibility at work, assumptions around their commitment and not to forget the missed opportunities to network and build collaborative relationships at work. How is remote working impacting careers , growth trajectory, compensation, performance ratings of women and what are its implications on the existing gender inequities?    Is it a remote work penalty they are paying? A food for thought for organizations and for leaders to create a level playing field for all.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of teleworking modes by employers across the corporate world. Teleworking has allowed organisations to continue operations while protecting employees from virus exposure during lock downs and other restrictive measures implemented by governments. As the pandemic started, we often spoke of ‘Work from Home’ being the new normal and today hybrid working models have become a common feature of corporate culture, as we have started moving to a form of normalcy. These hybrid models, combine in-person work with work from home. In such a context, it is reasonable to wonder whether this trend will narrow the gender divide and help address the corporate culture of “presenteeism” that penalizes women, or whether it will worsen the existing gender inequalities.  When we talk of remote working, work from home – who is more likely to engage and use these formats, men or women?  What are the implications for gender? What impact will it have on their careers, growth trajectory, compensation, and performance ratings and gender pay gap?

Remote Work for Women – Is it a Mixed Blessing?

Prior to the pandemic, a small percentage of the workforce was teleworking occasionally – working from home or a location outside of the employer’s premises. According to a global survey of CIOs, prior to the pandemic, approximately 15 to 16 percent of respondents stated that their companies’ workforce worked remotely. But after a year, in March 2021, 70% of respondents were working remotely.  Reports suggest in EU – in Finland, 60% of employees shifted to working from home, whereas in Italy and Austria, 40% of employees shifted to this type of work (Eurofound, 2020). As per LinkedIn Talent Solutions, in the US in 2020, 1 in 67 was in a remote job as compared to now in 2022 where 1 in 6 is in a remote job.

One of the proclaimed objectives of remote working has been to support working parents, especially mothers, and reduce gender inequalities in employment. Hence, there is a clear gender push when choosing the remote work option. Even in the hybrid working models prevalent today, women have been the ones using the WFH opportunity the most. According to a Forbes poll, 19% of women never want to return to in-person work, compared to only 7% of men. According to a recent LinkedIn survey, women are 26% more likely than men to apply for remote jobs.

Here, it is worth reviewing how the remote working trend has been impacting working women both on personal and professional front.

THE REMOTE WORK PENALTY

While on a personal front, there are compelling reasons – remote working has eased things for women giving them flexibility, making it easier for mothers to balance paid work and family responsibilities, first hand evidence clearly shows that they do a disproportionate amount of housework and childcare when compared to men. Women continue to pay motherhood penalty, for the unpaid care work they do. But the intense multitasking between these responsibilities has led to increased levels of stress, anxiety, spiked burnout rates among women which in turn has been adversely impacts their employability.

We can’t stop at the above. In the current ways of working which is a mix of remote and hybrid working models with a predominant percentage of women in fixed remote working roles we come across what we call – Remote Work Penalty which women often end up paying. This includes an array of things which the corporate culture of presenteeism brings with it and puts remote working women at a disadvantage. It important to note that these could be potential threats that can impact even men working remotely in terms of their experiences, key decisions around their compensation, performance ratings and team involvement. But women working remotely at are a higher risk of experiencing these. Let us see how.

• Assumptions round Commitment

This is the biggest challenge women face as they work remotely. Asking for accommodations like flex working specially by women is assumed to be a sign of low commitment. This lack of trust often dampens the work opportunities for women and hinder their likelihood of promotion since working from a distance could make them seem less involved.

• Lack of Visibility

Women working remotely often find it harder to showcase their achievements, find it uncomfortable to speak up, make their point or carefully listened to in virtual meetings as compared to men. They find it hard to interject and participate in conversations, meeting etc impacting their visibility in the team and organization. As per a catalyst survey, women business leaders reported its difficult to speak up in virtual meetings.

• Missed Opportunities to Network/Relationship Building

The saying out of sight, out of mind fits appropriately here. Working remotely becomes a barrier in the way of building relationships at work with co-workers and leaders. Working remotely, women miss on the opportunities to network, meet colleagues in person, develop mentors which are key as they collaborate for work and grow in the organization.

• The Power Differences

In the hybrid working model, the proximity bias or the face time bias as it is called, often creates power differences between those in office and those working virtually, in terms of allocation of work responsibilities, influence and decision making.  Again, women working virtually, find themselves mostly at a disadvantage here.

Creating a Level Playing Field

Organizations and leaders need to reflect on how they can create a level playing field for employees working virtually or otherwise. They need to be intentional about how they view the hybrid workplace and at the same time be mindful of the drawbacks of remote working.

Certain tweaks in current practices at work can make a huge difference. For example, it could be in terms of how performance reviews are taken, team meetings are conducted or avenues for communication provided or reviewing expectations set around remote working – focusing on productivity rather that hours logged.

Leaders should go out of their way to ensure that a two-layer workforce is not created in which in-person employees have greater access to special projects, raises, and promotions. And organizations need to bring in policies that can support leaders create that inclusive and equitable ecosystem in a remote/hybrid working model.

We live in a society where leaders are expected to lead, coach, guide, monitor, motivate and drive business but not be selfless and serve juniors or subordinates. Which is why, even though the concept of Servant Leadership is decades old, it has found renewed importance in todays age and post COVID times. A leader is somebody who leads by example and prioritizes self-growth before coaching other and a Servant Leader aspires to serve his/her team and the organization first, ahead of their personal goals. Here is my article on “Servant Leadership – an Important Leadership style in todays corporate world”. Being a servant leader is amazing, but it’s a huge commitment because you’re really going to have to take very intentional actions to be a servant leader. It’s really about truly walking that talk every day and the road often gets blurred. Do read, like and share your comments.

Here is a take on the difficult emotion that we all experienced at some time at work and some ways to deal with it. Do share your thoughts and opinions on it!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/navigating-through-grief-workplace-sourajita-panda-she-her-hers-/?trackingId=uG1cPHrUDrtuTmq%2F%2FfOiow%3D%3D

The art of communication is the language of leadership- James Humes

Communication as a process at the organisational level, or as a competence at an individual level has always been one of the key factors for success. Since when we have transitioned to remote and hybrid working, the value of communication at work has increased significantly. A workplace that communicates more effectively establishes a “safe” place for people to think creatively and express their ideas.

Here’s an article where I have penned down my thoughts on “How you communicate at work matters”. Please comment down your views on the same.

Happy Reading!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-you-communicate-work-matters-prerna-arora/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_company_admin%3Bk2SwAUJZS1O4sLWR%2B1jtRA%3D%3D

Self-sabotage is when we say we want something and then go about making sure it doesn’t happen.” – Alyce Cornyn-Selby.   Self-sabotage is when you consciously or unconsciously do things that work against your own best interest. The biggest trigger of self sabotaging behavior is fear, fear of rejection, fear of failure or may be fear of criticism.    Here is my article on- How women self sabotage their career and how to deal with it.   Please share your views in the comments section.   Happy Reading!

Have you ever been self-doubting yourself and thinking you are not able enough to do something? Yes, it is a very common scenario for many women out there. We women are conditioned since our birth to be modest, to not boast about our success, our achievements, to be soft spoken and what not and this conditioning what an ideal women should be like plays a very vital role in our careers.

Because of this conditioning and the environmental pressures women usually self sabotage their career.Self-sabotaging behaviors can be both conscious and unconscious depending on how aware you are of them.

Ways in which women self-sabotage their career

1. The “Good Girl” trap: We as women always try to please everyone, we don’t want to say No and that is why we avoid having difficult conversations or we give up easily when someone doesn’t agree with us and this approach affects our career and work life in a negative manner.

To share an example, your approach towards an assignment might be different from your manager’s but you choose to follow the template provided because you don’t want to upset the apple cart or be labeled as someone who doesn’t accept the norms which are in practice for years.

There are so many instances where capable women work hard on projects, but at the first sign of challenging feedback, they withdraw, all to avoid conflict or confrontation.

2. Seeking perfection all the time:Author Julia Cameron wrote in The Artist’s Way, “Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead. We all get to learn perfectionism from a very young age and if not checked,this tendency to chase perfection in everything starts sabotaging your success.

Attention to detail is one thing, but attempting to polish off every task on your to-do list with pure perfection is not realistic. Setting goals is a good thing, but it’s also important to remember that we’re all fallible. Accepting the imperfection of humanity is a liberating gift, and people will respond to you better once you become comfortable with any perceived flaws.

3. Selling yourself short: Women often sell themselves short in business, playing small to make others feel comfortable rather than acknowledging their strengths. While this may appear as innocent modesty, it can cripple your chances of getting that promotion or landing a dream job. Focus on your strengths and practice self love.

Own your accomplishments just as you celebrate the achievements of others.Even if we get an increment, we wonder if we are worth it. Often women work and deliver more than what is expected and don’t even seek recognition for it.

4. Seeking feedback or permission: Women, in general, tend to seek feedback or ask for ‘permission’ or validation, which is a form of resistance and denotes self-doubt. We do not want to be labelled as overpowering and want to get the approval of everyone concerned so that we fit in, which also results in women not holding leadership positions.

5. Not speaking up: “When we avoid speaking up and expressing how we feel or what we need, we are sabotaging our self-esteem and allowing negative feelings to build up internally,” says Emily Roberts.

Assertiveness and effective communication is the key here. Stop trying to please everyone in each and every situation, if you do not agree, you don’t feel fit in, just say it out loud. Demand the respect you deserve.

7. The imposter syndrome: With imposter syndrome, it’s more than just self-doubt. It’s a condition of such deep-rooted insecurity that we are faking ourselves and we are not good enough. To sum it up you underestimate yourself and don’t understand your worth.

And hence this feeling affects your career, for example not striving for promotions simply because you  don’t believe that you deserve it, or you become intense micromanagers which can make you  susceptible to burning out quickly because you are constantly trying to overcompensate.

8. Not asking for help: “I can do it all”, “I don’t need any help”, these are few thoughts which are always there at our mind lest we be seen as vulnerable. We always try to be a superwomenand hence we do not ask for support.

We stop ourselves from communicating our needs in an authentic and effective manner. Repressing your needs is also another self-sabotage mechanism, that drives you to take on too much, grow resentful and miss out on being the person you’re truly meant to be and focusing on what matters most.

9. Relationship aggression: Relationship aggression is just one of the many ways women sabotage their careers.

A very common scenario is where one female employee gets a promotion and suddenly you see change in the behaviour of other female employees towards her. They start whispering whenever she walks by; they stopped inviting her to gatherings, there is workplace isolation etc.

These actions define relationship aggression at workplace. Sometimes women work against one another instead of working together as a team or allies. Women tend to fight over the throne instead of fixing each other’s crowns.

How to fix this

2 step process to stop self sabotage

1. Reflect and recognize your self-sabotaging habits: To stop this habit of self sabotaging for good, firstly you need to be aware of that, yes you are actually doing this to yourself. You need to understand the need these habits fill in your life and then act accordingly.

As we discussed above these can be very actions or behaviors like procrastination, thinking negative all the time, underselling yourself, being too tough on yourself, not owning your achievements and many more.

2. Work on the path for improvement: Once you recognize your habits you can start working on reversing them and in the way to convert self sabotaging with self empowerment.

You can beat self-sabotage by monitoring your behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and beliefs about yourself, and challenging them when they stand between you and your goals. Consider how failing to overcome certain behaviours could cost you professionally. Start building positive behaviour and create an affirmative, confident voice to guide you to keep you on the right track.

Fortunately none of these self sabotaging habits are chronic and can easily be rectified and even reversed if checked at the right time and the right actions are taken.Making conscious effort and some minor adjustments in your approach will put you back in control and get you on the track.

So if you are still struggling with these self sabotaging issues, start working on it today and don’t let anything keep you away from a positive, successful career.

“The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes”- Tony Blair   As human beings we are hardwired to say “Yes” to each and everything that comes in our way. In a work environment, saying “No” can be hard but we really need to understand the importance of saying No at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons and how it can help improve one’s productivity at work.   Here is my take on this. Please share your views in the comments section.

The modern workplace and work demands are moving at lightning speed and the fun fact is that we all get only 24 hours a day to match up to this.

Being productive at work is no rocket science but it requires serious hardwork and excellent time management skills. Especially after this COVID situation, as everything turned digital, it is very normal to hear from employees about feeling stressed and unproductive at the end of the day. In fact it is happening with the most productive and skilled professionals.

So let’s try to understand where are we going wrong? What’s the actual pain point? The answer to all of these questions is a single word “No”, yes you need to stop saying“Yes” to each and everything.

A very common scenario: You are up to ears in your assignments/tasks and your manager or colleague comes up with a new task or request and asks you for the assistance, and you will hear yourself saying a Yes immediately knowing very well that you are already packed. And that’s where your entire schedule goes haywire.

There are various reasons behind us fearing to saying No, because we don’t want to come across as non-cooperative, non-responsive, lazy or unprofessional. We’re social creatures that crave approval, and saying no feels like the easiest way to get on someone’s bad side. Also in a work environment, saying no can feel like you’re sabotaging someone else’s hard work.

But we really need to understand the importance of saying No at the right time, in the right way and obviously for the right reasons and how it can help improve one’s productivity at work.

Strategies to increase productivity in the workplace by saying NO

1. Say no to the idea of perfection

As human beings it is in our nature to chase perfection in everything we do. But we usually forget that nobody is perfect and one doesn’t even need to be.

Instead of chasing perfection one should focus on efficacy in each and every task we do. For instance, you have a presentation to submit in an hour, and even though you have revised it multiple times you still feel the need to read it one more time. You’re stressed and want to be on time, yet you want the presentation to be perfect. So, instead of submitting your presentation on time, you miss the deadline. Now not only are you stressed, you might have disappointed your manager/client as well.

Knowing when good enough is good enough, so you quit chasing perfectionand focus on efficacy, you will see results.

2. Clean up the digital clutter and Say No to the digital mess

We all like our workplaces to be clean but are we cleaning the digital office regularly? No, unread emails, spam messages, irrelevant email blasts, heavy unessential files, all of these things create unnecessary stress and distract you from focusing on important things.

Try clearing this digital clutter once in aweek, this will surely result in lower anxiety and higher productivity.

3. Say no to the unproductive/irrelevant meetings

How many times you find yourself stuck in a meeting and complaining about each minute getting wasted? If your answer is very often,that’s where you need to pause and look for a solution.

Arrange your meetings in a manner that it is beneficial and relevant for every participant. If you have the chance and option to opt out from a meeting which is not useful or relevant for you, do not shy away from speaking up and discussing this with your manager.

4. Be honest

Be honest to yourself and your work; don’t use this for your interest or benefits. Don’t make fake excuses.If the reason you are saying no is because you are being asked to do something you are bad at, admit it.If you are saying no because you are swamped or trying to preserve your work-life balance, say so and say what you are doing instead.

5. Be clear and support your approach with data

A “No” now is better than a “No” later.“Instead of saying ‘Yes’ now and disappointing the person later when you fail to fulfill the request, say ‘No’ now.

If you know that you really don’t have the bandwidth to help and hence you need to turn down the request, be honest and share your genuine reasons. Describe your workload and the projects on your plate.Support your ‘No’ with valid data and facts so that others can respect your decision. Letting people down at a later stage can damage your credibility.

6. Say no to unwanted interruptions

If you really want to be productive at your workplace, you will need to limit your distractions. Random chit chat sessions, multiple coffee breaks are small things which if not monitored effectively can impact productivity. In work from home scenarios, setting boundaries with people at home for ‘no interruptions’ during productive hours for mundane tasks will help improve productivity. Say yes to breaks, but be cautious of the frequency and the timings.

7. Be polite and offer a lifeline

While saying no is important, it must be delivered in an effective way for the other person to perceive and receive it well. Being watchful of your body language and tone is important to appear supportive even when you may be refusing the other person.

For refusing or not accepting something, you don’t need to be ruthless. Least you can do is to be polite and offer an alternative if you are not available. Soften your No, even the way you say this will have a great effect on the other person.

For example instead of saying “No, I will not be able to this” if you will convey it like “I really wish I could help but my bandwidth doesn’t allow this for now”, the whole feel of the conversation changes in a positive manner.

Frameworks for saying NO effectively

1. DOC Framework

D: Distraction: Next time you are faced with such a situation, first of all check if the request would be a distraction from your on- the plate tasks. Ask yourself whether the request might be a complement to tasks you’re already doing or a complete detour into another initiative.

O: Objectives: Ask yourself if the new request could fit into one of your objectives. If so, it might be worth taking on, even if it is a potential distraction from the day-to-day activities. If it doesn’t fit with an objective, give it the axe.

C: Consider the upside: If the request doesn’t fit an objective, is there another potential upside for doing it? Perhaps you are looking to transition to new responsibilities, and this new task will help demonstrate your capabilities.

2. BEST Framework

B: Because-Putting because after the No and validating it with facts and data.

E: Empathy- Show empathy. Convey your message softly and help with an alternative if you can.

S: Situation- Describe your situation, explain with genuine reasons.

T: Add timelines- Elaborate about your ongoing demands and the timelines for that.

As humans, we are hardwired to say yes to things. When there is a power dynamic involved, we are even more inclined to agree first and then think about it later.There’s nothing wrong with putting others first and helping those you care about when they need it. The problem comes when you say yes so often that it affects your own productivity.

When you say no, it shows that you understand your priorities and what’s important to you. Say it for the right reasons and in the right way, you’ll be much better off!