How To Create A Culture Of Value At Work

Maya Angelou once said, “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”

It can be hard to take this sentiment as more than a mere platitude in a world where cash is king, but for employees, it rings true. Happiness in the workplace leads to productive workers, and it turns out, salary isn’t the key to workplace happiness.

Via INC.com, Dapulse, a workplace collaboration tool, polled 10,000 users and asked a simple but profound question:

“What makes you happy at work?”

A strong company culture and useful perks towered over the idea of salary, but, in the end, one simple factor seemed to make workers the happiest—feeling valued.

Leah Walters of Dapulse noted, “But at the end of the day what we are learning time and time again from our users, and also as a company ourselves is, it is how you personally feel your work is being valued that makes you happier.”

A sense of being valued and belonging at work is what employees crave, and with the Great Resignation in full swing, a significant amount of employees are choosing happiness over salary. Workplaces need to examine their culture and see if they fit the bill. TalentCulture’s Andrew Nelson offered six ways to make employees feel valued. We look at our favorites.

Create innovative compensation packages

We just established that salary isn’t the key to workplace happiness, but a good compensation package is about more than money. Nelson writes that the traditional nine-to-five in the office is quickly fading, and employers need to offer new perks to compensate and keep their employees engaged.

Perkbox found that 66% of U.K. workers desired a more personalized benefits package, going beyond insurance and retirement deals (though those were still important!). What does a personalized benefits package look like?

Nelson suggested flexible schedules and leave policies, paid childcare, perks that improve employee well-being (gym memberships, counseling, etc.), and entertainment subscriptions. Indeed offers even more ideas, including performance pay and incentives (a great way to let an employee know their contributions are valued), transportation reimbursement, and volunteer days.

These perks are more in line with the reality of life in the 2020s and show a workplace committed to its employees and keeping with the times.

Stay modern

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: remote work is here to stay. We aren’t out of the woods with COVID-19 yet, and, regardless, remote work is a part of life now. A savvy workplace needs to embrace technology and keep the workplace modernized to keep employees feeling valued.

We’ve previously covered how to onboard remote teams and how to keep them engaged from home. Nelson reiterates the importance of adding company- or department-wide calls into the schedule to create a shared space to share ideas and praise. Social media can be a boon, especially for millennials. A workplace Teams space, Slack channel, or Discord server can be a place to exchange ideas or even just replace the water cooler as a platform for conversation.

For employees still working out of the office, modernizing the workplace is still a key. Forbes found that a massive number of employees seek a healthier workplace.

“An overwhelming majority (87%) of workers would like their current employer to offer healthier workspace benefits, with options ranging from wellness rooms, company fitness benefits, sit-stands, healthy lunch options and ergonomic seating.” -Forbes

Few people want to work in the stereotypical fluorescent lighting-filled cubicle jungle, and if you’ve ever worked in one, you know it’s hard to feel valued in that environment. Creating a welcoming environment for employees in and out of the office shows a commitment to investing in them, leading to a greater sense of value.

Make growth a priority

Many of Nelson’s suggestions (challenge employees, provide critical feedback) call back to a central theme: providing a foundation for growth. In the above section, we mentioned investing in employees, and this is another way to do that. If the modernized workplace is the soil, the interpersonal connections are the sunshine and water to help an employee blossom.

Giving an employee a challenging assignment shows that you believe in their capabilities while rotating employees through different assignments gives them a chance to grow, writes Nelson. Constructive feedback leads to growth and more success down the road, and actively taking time to mentor an employee shows how valued they are. Take an interest in their work and provide ways to invest in your employees.

Of course, don’t skimp out on the praise either. Indeed believes celebrating accomplishments is a great way to remind workers of their tangible accomplishments. Celebrate small and large numerical accomplishments, including customer satisfaction ratings, sales growth, new services, products, and clients, and onboarding new members. These reminders are a great way to foster a sense of value and growth.

Wrap up

They say money can’t buy happiness, and data supports the idea money isn’t the source of workplace happiness. Creating a mighty workplace culture of growth and value is the key to happy employees, and any organization wanting top-tier employees needs to view their value and happiness as a wise investment.

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How To Conquer Imposter Syndrome

Have you ever felt like a peasant among royalty in the workplace? That even though you’ve gotten a great promotion or chance to lead a project, you haven’t really earned it? Despite your accomplishments and qualifications, maybe you have a feeling you don’t quite belong in your role. Surely, luck played a role in you getting the job, and your peers are much more talented?

There’s a name for this type of thought process. It’s called imposter syndrome, and it’s very common. The concept was first identified in the late 1970s by researchers Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes, who wrote:

“The term impostor phenomenon is used to designate an internal experience of intellectual phonies, which appears to be particularly prevalent and intense among a select sample of high achieving women.”-Clance and Imes

Further research shows that while a proportionately high number of women experience imposter syndrome, people of all genders and age groups can be affected. Psychology Today’s Megan Dalla-Camina best describes imposter syndrome as “A psychological phenomenon in which people are unable to internalize their accomplishments.”

Imposter syndrome can have a negative effect in the workplace, as noted by New View Psychology. Strong imposter feelings can lead to caving under pressure, procrastinating important tasks out of fear, and burnout.

The good news is that if you’re feeling like a fraud at work, you aren’t alone, and there are ways to overcome these feelings. The experts at Forbes found 15 ways to overcome imposter syndrome at work. We break them down into three categories that can help you embrace your success and conqueror imposter syndrome.

Reframe your mindset

The most simple way to overcome imposter syndrome is changing how you view yourself, though it can be easier said than done.

Imes, who is now a clinical psychologist in Georgia, believes,

“Most high achievers are pretty smart people, and many really smart people wish they were geniuses. But most of us aren’t. We have areas where we’re quite smart and areas where we’re not so smart.”-Suzanne Imes, Ph.D.

She suggests in light of this to make a list of things you’re good at and things you need to work on. This allows one to recognize positive traits that can be celebrated and compartmentalize ones that could use improvement rather than assuming a deficiency in all aspects.

Forbes cited Monica Thakrar, who thought the age-old “fake it til you make it strategy” can help. Practice what scares you and you’ll start to believe in yourself. After all, if you convinced yourself you’re an imposter, you can convince yourself you’re a superstar.

Find ways to celebrate your success

Reframing the way you view yourself and your accomplishments goes a long way to solving imposter syndrome, but creating concrete reminders helps it stick. Celebrating the things you’ve accomplished and recognizing the work that went into it can remind you that you’ve earned your opportunities fairly.

Keeping a journal and reflecting on a few accomplishments a day can help you stay focused as well as create a tangible list of success you can reflect on, believes Vantage Consulting’s Christian Muntean. HuffPost discussed the idea of creating a ‘brag folder’ in order to celebrate your accomplishments. They cite actress Jenneviere Villegas, who defined the ‘brag folder’ this way:

“Start a folder on your desktop — mine is called ‘you’re doing a great job’ ― and when you get positive feedback, a compliment, etc., screenshot it and put it in there. When you need a confidence boost, or to combat imposter syndrome, open it up and read them.” -Jenneviere Villegas

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Ultimately, if you struggle with changing your mindset, reaching out to others can make a difference. Asking your supervisors or peers for feedback can give you insight without your own bias, Janet Fouts of Tatu Digital Media told Forbes.

Mentoring can be a fantastic way to work through imposter syndrome—on both sides of the process. The Muse’s Ximena Vengoechea believes that by mentoring someone, you’ll realize how much knowledge you have and that it can help you rediscover some of your best skills. Sometimes going back to basics opens up new lines of thought.

Meanwhile, Scott Singer of Insider Career Strategies told Forbes finding a mentor of your own can help.

“Everyone finds themselves in a new situation at some point in their career. Identifying a good mentor who’s been there before can make all the difference—he or she can offer strategic insights, support, encouragement and constructive criticism from their own experience, while also acting as a sounding board.” -Scott Siner

In the end, sometimes professional help is the best answer. There’s no stigma in finding a therapist for finding a solution more tailored to your needs, believes Career Pro Inc.’s John M. O’Connor.

Wrap up

Imposter syndrome is something anyone can suffer from, and while that means not every solution will work for everyone, there are many ways to try to overcome these thoughts. Building self-confidence isn’t always easy, but there are plenty of resources to help. The Muse offers a helpful guide to discover what type of imposter syndrome you may have to discover even more tailored options for your needs. Remember, you’ve come this far for a reason, and you have people in your corner willing to remind you.

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Making A Career Change During The Holiday Season

For many, the winter holiday season is a time of reflection and contemplation. Regardless of which individual holidays you celebrate, there is a common theme of togetherness and gratitude that make it easy to get into this contemplative mindset.

As a result, many put together New Year’s resolutions of goals to accomplish or things to change about themselves, and these resolutions are often work-related. Maybe taking an extended time away from the day-to-day of your job provides a different viewpoint when the holidays end. Maybe talking to family and friends during gatherings gives you new ideas or allows you to refocus on what’s important in your life.

Whatever the reason, holidays are a perfect time to take stock of your life. Because of this, many find themselves looking for a career change. Searching for a new career during the holidays can already be a difficult but rewarding challenge, as we discussed recently. Yet in this post-pandemic world, more individuals are reassessing their careers than ever before, and the holidays can actually be a smart time to start working on a career change.

A desire to change careers is normal

Planning a career change can be scary no matter what time of year it takes place, but know what you’re not the only one considering it. According to Washington Post’s Heather Long and Scott Clement, almost one-third of workers under 40 considered a career change during the pandemic.

“Many people told The Post that the pandemic altered how they think about what is important in life and their careers. It has given them a heightened understanding that life is short and that now is the time to make the changes they have long dreamed of. The result is a great reassessment of work, as Americans fundamentally reimagine their relationships to their jobs.” -Heather Long and Scott Clement.

The pandemic forced many layoffs and career changes, and time away from the office made people reflect on the work itself according to Yale School of Management’s Amy Wrzesniewski (reported by MarketPlace.org’s Kristin Schwab).

“It shakes people up. It makes them really think about how they’re spending their time, who they’re spending it with, what they’re spending it doing. What seemed tolerable before may not seem tolerable anymore. It may seem very different.” -Amy Wrzesniewski

While the holiday season is a much different source of reflection, the downtime can lead to the same conclusions about one’s career. If your reflections do lead you to the idea of a career change, Northeastern University has a helpful list of signs it may be time to take that leap. They provide a detailed guide on how to assess your career situation and what changes can be made.

Meanwhile, hcareers.com’s Deb Ward recommends making a personal development plan this holiday season while providing additional questions to reflect on.

Why the holidays?

Maybe you’re thinking, “It IS time for a career change, but shouldn’t I wait until the new year?” In our previous holiday job search article, we suggested that while there are challenges to looking for a new job in late November and December, jobs are still out there, and there are a plethora of ways to take advantage of the holiday season.

The lack of competition is one of the mightiest boons of the holiday season, especially if you’re switching to a new industry. A common myth is no one is hiring during the holidays, which leads to a lack of applicants. This can be used to your advantage!

The holidays also provide perhaps more networking opportunities than any other time of the year. Professional and personal office parties provide a chance to mingle and gather information. Holiday cards are a great way to stay in touch with contacts in a personal manner.

Camden Kelly’s Carly Weiner offers even more advantages to a holiday job search. Companies oft have ‘use it or lose it’ budgets at the end of the year. For HR managers, the best way to make sure they don’t lose it is to hire someone before the new year. You may not start your position until January, but you’ll be in the books and ready to go.

It’s also easier to take some time off for any potential interviews if you’re still at your current job, Weiner writes. It’s common for employees to take more time off in December for holiday commitments, and that can make it easier to fit some searching and interviews into your routine.

Ultimately, if you’re set on a career change, there are zero reasons to put it off until January, writes Forbes’ Jack Kelly. Amid this time of uncertainty, many people search for a career to make them feel fulfilled but slow down during the holidays when they should be ramping up instead, Kelly believes.

“Since we are in a new type of world where everything seems possible, why not start on improving your work life right now? View today as the start of the new year and work life. It’s your chance to get ahead of the crowd, as most people put off their job searches during the holiday season and resume it again in the first few weeks of the new year.” -Jack Kelly

Wrap up

Take some time to really contemplate where you’re at in your professional life this holiday season. If you find that part of life wanting, know that you aren’t alone. More workers are considering career changes than ever before. The holiday season may not be the easiest time to find a new job, but it offers some perks no other time of year has. If you’re really invested in a career change, there’s no time like the present. ‘New Year, New Me’ your way into a new career by using this time to your advantage.

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How To Successfully Navigate Workplace Conflict

You’ll spend a significant amount of time at work seeing the same people every day. Ideally, you enjoy spending time with your workplace acquaintances, and you can work together well. But even the strongest relationships have frayed ends, and you (usually!) don’t get to choose the people you work with. Eventually, there will be conflict.

A hectic project may bring out the choler, or your teammate may have a contradictory work style to yours. Maybe you and your boss don’t see eye-to-eye on your salary negotiation, or maybe someone simply keeps eating your lunch. No matter what form it may appear in, workplace conflict is unavoidable.

However, conflict is not always something negative. Conflict can be a catalyst for growth. According to organizational communication scholars Stanley Deetz and Sheryl Stevenson:

“(a) conflict is natural; (b) conflict is good and necessary; and (c) most conflicts are based on real differences” -Deetz and Stevenson (1986)

With help from leadership and workplace experts across the globe, we’ll examine the nature of conflict, recognize that conflict doesn’t have to be hostile, and learn how to effectively navigate the murky waters of workplace conflict.

Conflict itself isn’t a bad thing

As the aforementioned communication scholars have noted, conflict is both natural and necessary. It’s impossible to imagine a group of people in any setting that won’t eventually have a difference of opinion and clash.

“As with any place full of interpersonal relationships, a workplace can be rife with a wide range of conflicts. There are the work-specific problems related to promotions, salary disparity, lack of recognition for achievement, or shared responsibility among a team. There are also more general issues with personal space and privacy; and then there are plain old personality conflicts.” –Rita Friedman, Career Coach

The first instinct many have is to avoid the conflict and hope it passes so as not to create a hostile environment. Yet this denies an opportunity for growth and understanding. By leaving the cause of a conflict in the dark, a solution can never come to light. Imagine a colleague always talks over you in meetings, leaving your ideas on the sidelines. By staying silent, you may never get your chance to have your voice heard.

Libby Calaby believes without a strong leader willing to step in as an unbiased adjudicator, a team will eventually tear itself apart. A third party can help, but an understanding that conflict is necessary and that it doesn’t need to be antagonistic can empower you to take charge.

Conflict doesn’t have to be hostile

The biggest myth of conflict is that conflict is always a hostile act. You don’t need to call your coworker out in front of everyone and put them on the spot or come up with some elaborate revenge plot.

Think of conflict simply as a disagreement. A conflict may sound severe but we have disagreements all the time, right? If I want to go out for tacos but you’d rather get a pizza, that’s not such a big deal, is it? We may have a little debate about the merits of each, and ultimately both of us won’t get our way, but that’s not something cataclysmic.

Putting conflict into this perspective makes it easier to handle conversations a bit more easily. Nexxt’s Alexander Richardson offers the example of negotiations with your boss. You may want something from your boss, a raise, or a day off, and assume your boss is against you. You may believe yourself to be in conflict with your boss, and you may be right, but that doesn’t mean you’re at odds. Think of the opportunity as negotiation and you’ll get the best results.

How to handle workplace conflicts

With a better understanding that conflict is necessary for growth and that it doesn’t need to be aggressive, how can we handle workplace conflicts in a respectful manner? The experts at Small Biz Viewpoints, Robert Half, and Advanced Leadership Consulting each have their ideas on how to handle the process. These tips fall into three broad categories to get you started.

1. Be proactive

Don’t let a conflict fester or snowball out of control. You can often stop conflict before it happens by checking in with your peers and asking for simple feedback, writes Carl Robinson of Advanced Leadership Consulting.

He adds that, while recognizing conflict is inevitable, you want to establish conflict resolution procedures in advance. “Think of the procedures as ground rules for behavior within and outside the team. Don’t wait for the conflict to happen before establishing ground rules for navigating conflict.”

2. Be respectful

Stick to the facts and don’t make a conflict feel personal. Keep the argument on the issue at hand. This prevents the other party from immediately feeling defensive or attacked, and they’ll be far more willing to listen to what you have to say.

“Be mindful during the resolution process, you should use neutral terms and display open body language with all of the employees involved. For this reason, you should focus on the events and behaviors instead of the personalities.” -Small Biz Viewpoints

3. Compromise

Chances are, you won’t reach a perfect solution for both parties involved. Learning how to compromise is key. While it may feel like you’re conceding or giving up, learning how to give and take is vital for growth and to move past a disagreement. Robert Half believes “[D]iplomacy is based on tradeoffs and finding an acceptable middle ground. Aim to create a win-win situation where both parties walk away gaining something.”

Wrap up

Even in the best company culture, even if you adore your coworkers, conflicts will happen. Keeping perspective in these conflicts is necessary to gain an understanding and come to an amicable solution. You may not always “win” your conflicts, but by realizing that conflict is necessary and can be positive, and understanding how to handle conflicts, you’ll come away without losing or damaging your workplace relationships. But either way, don’t eat your coworkers’ lunch. That’s just impolite.

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Improving Mindfulness For Career Growth

What is mindfulness? The American Psychological Association defines mindfulness as “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgment. It is a state and not a trait.” A mindful individual is fully present and aware of their surroundings and reactions to specific thoughts and situations. Mindfulness is not something people can be born with but instead attained through attentiveness and comprehension. By tending to your thoughts, emotions, and sensations, you can accurately identify your habits and prepare the necessary steps to improve job performance.

A lack of mindfulness presents a disconnected employee walking through their days on autopilot. In the absence of self-awareness, organization, and intentionality towards one’s mental health, employees are not only stunting growth potential but instituting a continuous cycle of detachment as well. Making a conscious effort to these three healthy habits will unify an increased sense of mindfulness and take your career to new heights!

The Quest For Self-Awareness

Being self-aware is a critical part of becoming more mindful, as it allows you to better understand how you fit into your environment. Stay alert of your surroundings; offering attention without personal bias enables you to see how your work affects others and how it makes you feel. As you improve your self-awareness, you will learn to properly assess your capabilities and know your limits. Self-awareness is not just about recognizing your weaknesses but knowing how to capitalize on your strengths as well. 

Self-awareness is a continuous practice that often includes scheduling times to measure your progress and nurture your mind. This can be achieved through daily journaling or speaking with a mentoring figure. But remember, your quest will require you to take on some tough criticism with an open mind and a level of comfortability to examine your perpetual obstacles. Additionally, completing aptitude tests online or seeking performance reviews from your superiors or peers is another great tactic to initiating self-awareness. 

Recognizing Organization as a Form of Self-Care

Are you putting your organizational skills into practice? Becoming more mindful is achieved by putting your self-care methods into practice, and one of the best strategies for your career is organization. Examples include maintaining a well-kept, uncluttered workspace and a structured calendar with blocks of time left open for mindfulness exercises such as journaling, walking, yoga, or meditation.

The Mindfulness and Wellness experts at Mindful.org proceed to expand on the connection between mindfulness and organization by detailing a self-care roadmap. The ‘activity list’ consists of various exercises and strategies written out to become more intentional in your self-care in your Workplace, Physical Fitness, Emotional Life, and Relationships. As you improve on your organization in these areas, you will find yourself to be more confident, energized, engaging, and patient in your career. 

“Self-care means asking yourself what you need and following through on the honest answer.” (Mindful.org)

Prioritizing Mental Health Through Kindness

While mindfulness is recognized as just one outlet for enhancing your mental health, its connectivity to your thoughts, emotions, and sensations makes it a large piece of the puzzle. Humans are naturally wired to be kind, and being kind to others starts with being kind to yourself. When you act on your instincts to be compassionate and mindful of others, you are strengthening yourself and society. Tying into your surroundings, you must make yourself approachable to others and look out for their mental well-being. Studies have shown that providing social support to others often has more benefits to your physical and mental health than receiving it. 

5 Ways To Improve Mindfulness

Via CERIC & Mindworks:

  • Concentrated attention exercises on different objects such as the breath, bodily sensations, or the five senses.
  • Concentrated attention exercises on body movements (e.g. mindful walking, mindful stretching, yoga)
  • Enjoy the silence. Meditations that develop compassion for the self and others. 
  • Eliminate distractions to help avoid multitasking. Focusing on one task or project for a specific period helps to take a weight off your shoulders and pinpoint your attention.
  • Pour yourself into your household chores wholeheartedly.

Final Thoughts

Remember that mindfulness is about showing yourself unconditional kindness during your highs and lows. Mindfulness techniques, such as meditation and relaxation, are proven to enhance moods and dramatically reduce daily stressors. These benefits offer a significant boost to career satisfaction and increased productivity. Erasing stress and worry is not the goal but rather a byproduct of your renewed confidence and elevated sense of purpose.

Stay Vigilant – Watch out for signs of a toxic work culture. Find your support group and keep looking to grow it! Don’t be afraid to allow people the chance to surprise you.

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