5 Tips For Better Problem Solving

Finding a better way to deal with problems. Follow these five helpful lessons.

In our work situation we are prone to many different problems during our day. It might be as simple as a tie-up of traffic on our normal route to work or a simple disagreement with a peer or as major as losing our job. For most issues, we can move on from the moment. However, there are other problems that cannot be let go. Not because it has happened once, but because it has become a pattern.

As Karl Popper, who was a 20th century philosopher of science, once quoted, “All life is problem solving.”

5 Ways to Untangle the Problem:
Problem solving

Let us look at some different ways to crack the problem and arrive at the desired result:

1. Take a Break

If you simply cannot solve a problem, this is the time to get some air. Go to another office or private space, or outside. By removing yourself from the situation, this allows your brain to process the puzzle and figure out a different approach. Or if you have a dispute with an associate and you know that the person will not back down, simply postpone the conversation till later.

Engineering professor Barbara Oakley quoted to the Mother Jones newspaper, “When you are focusing, you are blocking your access to the diffuse mode. The diffuse mode, it turns out, is what you often need to be able to solve an exceedingly difficult, new problem.”

2. Write it Down

If the problem is more serious, try writing down the issue. Often, our brains have a hard time sorting through the feelings before even tackling the solution. Write down the why, what, when, etc. Add to each subtitle with more sensible ideas. Much like an outline you did for an essay in school. Get it all out on paper first. Then, go back and read each entry. Does it make sense? Does it seem like a better approach to ending the problem?

Author Natalie Goldberg quoted, “Whether you’re keeping a journal or writing as a meditation, it’s the same thing. What’s important is you’re having a relationship with your mind.”

3. Sleep on it

Some problems can not be solved in one day. By keeping yourself up worrying about it, not only is bad for your physical health but worse for your mental health. The National Institutes of Health estimates that up to 30 percent of the general population complain of sleep disruption. Compound that with an unresolved issue, and now you have not only the task of resolving the matter in question but your own poor health to deal with.

4. Discuss the Problem with Others

If the problem is not resolved and you are feeling overwhelmed, sometimes voicing the problem is therapeutic. Call a co-worker, peer, associate, etc. – someone that is close to you that has some understanding of your personality.

When we are emotional, it is hard to see our own wrong approach to the issue. By having a third-party hear the problem, it gives us that moment to release that roadblock and re-focus on the base of the problem more rationally.

5. Tackle it Head-on

This is the moment that you feel ready and your mind is clear enough to solve the problem. This might look like, talking to the co-worker with whom you have an unresolved matter (like convincing your boss for a raise) or as serious as getting up every day to find a new job because you are out of work. When we push ourselves and overcome the hurdle that is holding us back, we are substituting determination for what is clouding our judgement and we are boosting our feelings of satisfaction and lowering our anxiety.

In Conclusion…

As Albert Einstein eloquently summed it up, “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” Practicing and utilizing these tips will not only assure a more easily resolved conclusion, but your mental health will thank you.

10 Essential Traits to Create Resilience

Resilience speaks to one’s ability to bounce back from difficulties and catastrophes experienced in life. Resilience is essential to navigating life because adversity and challenges are inevitable. While there are a variety of things related to resilience, the following is a list of resilience power traits. Each of these traits is linked to the development of resilience, which ultimately equates to the ability to handle adversity with grace.Resilience-in-the-workplace-1

1. Acceptance

Adversity is inevitable, so learning to accept and embrace it is essential to developing resilience and navigating challenges well. Those who are resilient accept difficulties as normal and spend their time and energy learning to adapt to the adversity rather than fighting it or running from it. The choice to lean into the discomfort and embrace it ultimately helps employees better deal with and bounce back from the hardships they face (Waters, 2013).

2. Adaptability

The ability to be able to adjust and shift as the pandemic creates new circumstances and increases challenges is a key facet of resilience. Those employees who are resilient can develop numerous strategies from dealing with stressful situations. This flexibility in the way they think about challenges allows them to respond flexibly with regards to their emotion. Thus, they are better able to shift from one coping strategy to another depending upon what is best given the specific set of circumstances (Barker, 2016).

3. Awareness

Awareness is also heavily tied to the development of resilience. Awareness helps individual personnel understand what they need, how they feel, when they need to reach out for help, and when they need to make adjustments and improvements. Being aware of what personal adjustments need to be made to one’s staff members or their situation helps your staff gain the knowledge and information needed to best approach and navigate the challenge at hand (Waters, 2013).

4. Boundaries

Boundaries in the context of adversity relate to one’s ability to create distinction between who they are at their core and the cause of their current negative circumstances. This means being able to understand that the adversity currently being faced is temporary.

This also means refraining from allowing the negative situation or circumstance to become one’s permanent identity. Being able to set these boundaries aids in quick recovery from trials because individuals understand that their situation will eventually change for the better, and there is the understanding that their identity is not rooted in the trauma. Thus, there is an ability to approach the challenge with a more positive attitude, and less likelihood of allowing the challenge to define one’s self (Waters, 2013).

5. Confidence

A key to learning to cope with the stresses of life is a belief in your ability to do so. Research shows that there is a link between one’s self-esteem and one’s ability to handle stress and recover from negative events. Employees who lack self-esteem have a tendency to approach negative events with a negative outlook, and in general, have more negative outcomes. On the other hand, those who possess high levels of confidence in themselves and their abilities, approach negative circumstances with the belief that they possess what is necessary to overcome the circumstance. Thus, their outcomes tend to be more favorable (Cherry, 2020).

6. Goals

Goal setting and resilience are linked for workers in the sense that setting goals help breakdown challenges and hardships into more manageable parts that can be tackled and conquered. Goals allow challenges to be addressed in a realistic manner while also helping people to manage their emotional response to a given situation. When a person can tackle a situation one step at a time, there is less anxiety, less stress, and more probability of a favorable outcome. This ultimately means a better ability to bounce back from adversity (Cherry, 2020).

7. Optimism

Optimism is the ability to look at situations and circumstances and find the positives, even in the midst of what seems like endless negatives. The ability to approach hardships with this type of positive attitude is key to being able to quickly recover from the difficulties your workers face.  You should support positivity in your workforce by creating and sustaining intentional employee reward and recognition programs.

True optimism isn’t about ignoring the negatives, but rather paying attention to those negatives that are relevant to the problems they face and then actively choosing not to remain focused on those negative solely or long term. A truly optimistic workforce that is able to foster resilience learn how to balance a positive outlook with a realistic view of the world and that helps them bounce back from challenges faced (Barker, 2016).

8. Problem-Solving

There is research that suggests workers who know how to analyze and develop solutions for problems are better able to cope with challenges as compared to those who do not know how to do those things. Being faced with a challenge creates an opportunity for workers in your employ to perform and on-the-job learning that will help them develop potential solutions for the issue at hand.

It is that regular and consistent work of engaging in exercises that build focus and encourages non-traditional thinking that better helps employees to able be able to solve problems in future scenarios (Cherry, 2020).

9. Purpose

Helping your work teams find or create a sense of purpose for themselves in the midst of adversity or crisis can significantly help when it comes to coping and recovery. Developing a ‘why’ becomes the motivation needed to do the work that will help them get through the crisis. It is the purpose that makes the work of fighting through the trouble worthwhile and sustains their ability to continue moving forward to overcome adversity (Cherry, 2020).

10. Support

Having a support system in place when faced with difficulties is essential to building resilience. The emotional support offered by having additional associates help carry the load of mental/emotional burdens can make the adversity more manageable and easier to navigate.

Additionally, other workers or mentors can remind workers of their abilities and strengths which may help tap into the skills and inner strength they need to persevere. The support of others can also offer practical physical support and provision of resources and information that will aid you in overcoming the challenges they face (Barker, 2016).

Resilience is linked to so many other useful traits and qualities. In fostering resilience, one is able to foster the 10 traits mentioned in this article, and that in turn subsequently strengthens resilience.

Thus, an emphasis on continued growth within your company in any of these areas is sure to result in improved resilience bringing in a better ability to navigate through day-to-day work challenges.

References:

Barker, E. (2016, April 26). 10 ways to boost your emotional resilience, backed by research. Time. https://time.com/4306492/boost-emotional-resilience/

Cherry, K. (2020, January). Use these 10 tips to improve your resilience. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/ways-to-become-more-resilient-2795063

Waters, B. (2013, May 21). 10 traits of emotionally resilient people. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/design-your-path/201305/10-traits-emotionally-resilient-people

Yes, You Can Build your Resiliency and Grow from it

Resilient workers recover quickly from setbacks and don’t allow difficulties to hinder their success. How does a person become resilient?  Can you build your resiliency?  Can you use resiliency to grow and succeed?  Psychologists have determined that resiliency is a skill you can learn.  And once you learn what you need to be resilient, you can also improve and grow your expertise.

strength

Resiliency requires a commitment to improving yourself.  Specific actions and skills are needed to become and stay resilient.

Researchers have identified the following ways you can build and grow resiliency:
  • Take Responsibility
  • See Change as an Opportunity
  • Have Goals
  • Learn from Success and Failure
  • Get Support
  • Take Action
  • Be Optimistic
  • Have Patience
Take Responsibility

Resilient people understand that they can control their actions and reaction, but not the actions and reactions of others. To be resilient, you need to take responsibility for how you manage and conduct yourself.  Blaming others for your mistakes makes you weak.  Taking responsibility for yourself makes you strong and focuses your control on yourself.

See Change as an Opportunity

Is change good or bad? To build resiliency, you need to answer that question by knowing that change is an opportunity for both good and bad.  When your workforce sees change as being forced on them by Management, they lose their control of the situation.  Resilience requires a different approach.  Resilient workers see change as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Have Goals

You can’t learn to recover from setbacks if you don’t have goals. Otherwise, you may spend your time reacting to things that don’t improve your experiences or help you reach your goals.  Having goals helps a team focus, avoid distractions, and stay committed, making them more resilient.

Learn from Success and Failure

Resiliency is a skill that comes partly from the knowledge gained with each success and failure. When team members accept responsibility for their own actions, their successes and failures depend on each of them.  Each time workers complete a successful project, they learn ways to improve themselves for their next project.  This helps them grow and achieve more.  When you fail, instead of belittling yourself, use your failure as an opportunity to discard what doesn’t work and learn new ways to overcome obstacles.

Get Support

Even before the pandemic, work had many challenges. Getting support from others helps a single worker overcome challenges and be resilient when faced with difficulty.  Seeking others out for knowledge, through education and mentoring, helps build resilience.  Knowing there are trusted co-workers and family can help motivate and keep an individual worker focused on his team’s goals.

Take Action

Resilient people don’t’ give up. They find ways to achieve their goals despite setbacks and difficulties.  Resiliency requires action to create the opportunity to learn and grow.  Allowing your circumstances to dictate responses isn’t action.  Action involves trying new things and making the changes necessary to succeed.

Be Optimistic

Realistic optimism is necessary for resiliency. Overly optimistic people don’t adjust their plan when they need to make changes to reach a goal.  Pessimistic people rarely stay committed to their goals because they don’t believe they can achieve them.  But, people with realistic optimism understand they must be resilient when obstacles arise.

Have Patience

Building resiliency involves allowing yourself the time needed to reach goals. Long-term goals, like launching a new product or creating a software platform, or even finishing one’s education, take time to achieve.  Patience allows team members to stay focused on their goals even when they make mistakes or need more time to meet them.  The resiliency built with patience can help a team achieve targets on-time and within budget, reach professional goals and strengthen team relationships.

Yes, you can build resiliency.  By focusing on the skills, you need to develop to become resilient you can grow as a trusted work team member and improve your satisfaction with your performance.

Need Assistance Hiring Resilient Workers

If you need some assistance in recruiting and hiring more resilient workers in this uncertain labor market, contact Flexicrew Today.

 

The Connection between Patience and Resilience

It doesn’t seem obviously apparent, but there is a connection between patience and resilience. Patience can be defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Resilience is their ability to recover quickly from difficulties and challenges we encounter.

Sea Kayak

So what’s the link?

Patience is a marker of resilience.

The more we are able to tolerate and withstand circumstances in their lives without an angry response, the more indicative that is of their ability to endure tough circumstances and recover from them with speed and ease (Sood, 2019). Thus, taking the time to strengthen one’s patience skills subsequently strengthens one’s resilience.

How to Cultivate Patience in the Workplace

Since patience is so critical to the development of resilience, it’s important to pursue opportunities to train your workforce to increase their patience. There are many ways to cultivate patience in their daily routines. The following outlines a few key techniques for developing and implementing patience into their work habits on a consistent basis.

  1. Wait: This may seem like a common-sense solution or it may seem counterintuitive (or even childish), but the practice of making yourself wait actually does develop patience over time. Much like their physical muscles, patience is a mental/emotional muscle that when worked will get stronger. By making your staff wait they demonstrate to you that they are able to endure without being reactive (Power, 2017). This practice can begin by making them wait just a few minutes and over time gradually increased to making them wait a few weeks, months, or even years.
  2. Embrace the Discomfort: Let’s face it- there is nothing comfortable about waiting. The typical response to discomfort is to run from it or try to avoid it. However, choosing to embrace the discomfort is where the real growth comes from. Learning to embrace the discomfort that waiting brings and become more comfortable with the uncomfortable is actually a strong way to build patience and endurance according to therapist Jane Bolton, Psy.D. (Holmes, 2017).
  3. Reframing: Often the root of impatience is the focus on what your workers don’t presently have. Reframing is the practice of intentionally changing the way a situation is viewed. When you reframe situations to shift from what they are lacking to focus on another aspect of the situation, such as how the waiting is stretching them and challenging us for the better, then they are put in a position where they are better able to wait and build patience. As a result, their increased patience leads to increased resilience (DiGiulio, 2019).
  4. Calming Techniques: When all else seems to fail, resorting to the use of calming techniques can be a great way to help increase their patience. These techniques can include breathing, meditation, walking, or other similar methods. The goal of these methods is to engage in a practice that helps them to cope with feelings of anxiety or anger caused by impatience (Power, 2017). By learning to implement a calming technique at the onset of feelings of stress, you enhance their ability to become more tolerant and thus become more resilient.

Ultimately, those who are able to cultivate more patience will be better equipped to be more resilient. In learning to deal with their somewhat innate desire to be instantly gratified and the feelings of anxiety and anger that can often accompany waiting, they learn to become more tolerant and endure more things that are challenging and unpleasant.

This, therefore, sets the stage for someone to quickly recover from hardships and cope with unpleasantries in a healthy manner. With this in mind, you should make it a goal to find ways to increase your workforce’ patience so that they can become more resilient in their daily work activities.

References:

DiGiulio, S. (2019, July 9). How to train yourself to be more patient. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/how-train-yourself-be-more-patient-ncna1022356

Holmes, L. (2017, December 7). 5 tricks to becoming a more patient person. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/patience-tips_n_5843928

Power, R. (2017, October 24). 4 tips to help you be a more patient person, science says you will be happier. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/4-tips-to-help-you-be-a-more-patient-person-science-says-you-will-be-happier.html

Sood, A. (2019, September 17). The essential skills that boost resilience | Everyday health. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/resilience/essential-skills-that-make-you-resilient/

What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Stronger and Resilient

Resilience. This ability has risen to the forefront and become a more prominent topic of discussion particularly over the course of 2020 for most of us, but even before that in recent times due to natural disasters, market forces and technological change. It has been recognized as a concept that can be applied in all facets of your life, including personal and professional – at home and in the workplace. It greatly strengthens your ability to cope with threats, whether they are anticipated or unforeseen.

Resilience is complex; it’s a multifaceted idea that can be useful for dealing with stress, risk, shock, and environmental changes. Often, resilience is posed as the opposite of vulnerability. That’s a simplistic view, seeing as they are relative terms. However, just as you have certain vulnerabilities, you can build resilience to them. In a way, they do absolutely go hand-in-hand.

Workplace Resilience

Resilience is heavily related to capacity. It’s a broad concept that stretches far beyond plans, resources, and actions. You may find that some people use capacity and resilience interchangeably.

Let’s clarify this now. Resilience is two-pronged – a desired outcome and the process resulting in that outcome. For example, you want to build a safe, resilient workplace and in order to achieve that end, you have to enable people and empower the workforce to adapt and show them how to become more resilient.

What – Defining Resilience

First and foremost, resilience is a skill, and not a trait. This is great news because it means anyone can build resilience; you don’t have to be born with it.

If you type resilience definition into your search engine, you will likely find a series of answers. It means a lot of different things in many different contexts.

However, the straightforward definition is this – the ability to anticipate, absorb, and accommodate/recover from an unsettling event or ongoing situation in a timely fashion and efficiently. This may include preserving, restoring, or improving existing situations, structures, or functions.

You can see from that description, that the word resilience can be applied to more than just individuals. It can be applied to corporations, communities, and even processes. However, our focus is on individual workers. To break it down to its base level – resilience is the ability to bounce back. Let’s break it down further.

Context

This is the person, system, or process that is facing interruption. The resilience of what?

Challenge

This is the dire situation, the shock or stressor. The resilience to what?

Capacity to Cope

This includes peoples’ exposure to an issue, their sensitivity to it, and their capacity to adapt.

Reaction

Your work team’s (or your) reaction to the disturbance is the impulse to survive and cope, to recover and learn, and to transform. Your capacity to deal with an issue forms your reaction to it – it influences your ability to bounce back.

Further Details

The COVID pandemic has brought about radical change in the work environment and increased the need for greater resilience for companies and their employees to cope and even thrive when faced with monumental levels of stress.

Flexicrew has faced and faced-down our stressors and have observed clients, leaders, workers and candidates who have dealt with difficult current circumstances and either persevered or didn’t have the capacity to cope.

Over the next month we will explore this concept of resilience and identify tools to improve your resilience and that of your peers and personnel.

4 Tools to Help Your Workers Deal with Anxiety from Today’s Chaos

Okay, so besides the normal day-to-day hustle and immense stress of daily living and working in the modern world, workers also have a pandemic to contend with.

Unfortunately, dealing with anxiety has become somewhat of a normal part of life for many individuals in the workplace today. Although this problem is not necessarily a new phenomenon, there are certain aspects of modern times that have served to exacerbate the issue.

Anxiety-1

Due to our society being so connected through the internet, social media and other forms of media, your employees are not only exposed to the issues in their immediate environment. Instead, they are shown all of the bad things taking place across the entire globe. Furthermore, they are expected to juggle so many more responsibilities at one time, all while being as productive as possible.

Although anxiety certainly varies in intensity and frequency from person to person, there are a few ways to deal with the problem that are beneficial for any of your staff experiencing this issue.

Anxiety Relieving Techniques for Your  Workforce

This article intends to discuss a few of these techniques in order to alleviate some of your staff’s anxiety, hopefully improving their overall quality of life and work.

1. Live In The Moment

Although it may seem obvious when stated, the only point in time in which we will ever exist is right now. Ironically, most of us dedicate the bulk of our mental energy into the past or future. Anxiety is great at causing individuals to replay past mistakes in their head and constantly worry about things that have yet to occur.

A big part of your workforce dealing with anxiety is to live in the moment. This means focusing all of their physical and mental energy on what is going on right now. Not only does this simplify life, it also allows them to get the most out of their limited time and put 100% of their energy into being productive while at work without distractions.

Trying to deal with their entire past and future on a constant basis makes it virtually impossible to appreciate what is right in front of them.

2. Control What You Can Control

The truth is, many of the issues causing anxiety in peoples’ lives are beyond their control. This includes global and community issues as well as problems in their work and personal life.

What they need to realize is that the weight of the world is NOT on their shoulders, even though it can certainly seem like it at times. Anxiety tells people to be worried about solving problems that are way out of their hands.

In reality, focusing on the issues that they actually have the ability to resolve is a much healthier response to a problem-filled world.

3. It’s Okay to Not Feel Okay 

Another side effect of anxiety is a feeling of isolation. People experiencing anxiety on a routine basis tend to feel like they are the only ones dealing with this issue.

Because of this perspective, workers often feel like everyone else is much happier than they are, which shows up in multiple employee satisfaction surveys.  It’s like people won’t be accepted if anyone else knew the extent of their anxiety. It is so important to realize that this is far from the truth.

Every member of your company is experiencing some degree of anxiety or mental hang up. They are far from alone. They must be coached not to feel like they have to go through this acting as if everything is okay when it isn’t.

4. Get Help If You Need It

Finally, if your own anxiety is something you are having trouble dealing with on your own, then don’t! There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking professional help for this issue. Ironically, our society welcomes getting help for even minor physical ailments but acts as if doing the same for a serious mental issue is taboo.

Consider this, if your workers had the chest pain, they would most certainly seek the appropriate doctor to take care of it. Why would they not seek a doctor that is medically trained in alleviating mental health issues if they are dealing with anxiety? There is help out there; you need to instruct them to get it if they need it!

Reduce Recruiting Anxiety with a Staffing Agency’s Support

Flexicrew can help reduce your anxiety and stress by assisting you with workforce planning and recruiting the quality talent that you need in this upheaval.  Contact one of our workforce professionals Today!

Employee Performance Hurt by these 4 Factors

Different things can affect employee performance in the workplace. Employee performance is an overall determinant of a company’s results and profit. If there are barriers that may lower employees’ morale, then the company’s performance can be lower as well.

These barriers and obstacles prevent workers from accomplishing their fixed duties. The don’t get to reach their full potential. If certain factors affect a large number of employees, then the results will be harmful. It would also lower workers’ personal esteem of the . It wouldn’t be long before your best workers strike out for greener pastures.

higher performance

 Some of these barriers to employee performance include:    

  

1. CHANGING MANAGER’S PRIORITIES

At times the priorities of a business may change. That’s par for the course.  But, these changes may affect the employees positively or negatively. If the managers change their policies or continuously revisit employee targets, it will have a significant impact on the employees.   And not for the better. 

It leads to burnout because employees will have to work longer hours to meet shortened deadlines or target increases.  The overtime is great for bank accounts, but not for attitudes. The change in priorities should be procedural and analyzed. Not ramdom. The priorities should ensure that you achieve the best from the employees. Changing priorities haphazardly will just diminish employee performance.      

2. UNFAIR TREATMENT

Unfair treatment of workers by their supaervisor causes their performance to deteriorate. Their productivity would also set the company a few steps back. workers sense If an employer discriminates in terms of allocating duties. Also, harassment in the workplace will prove to be a challenge to the employees.  

If an employer makes negative remarks about an employee or a group of employees in front of others, this will demoralize them. In other setups, if employees are harassed and have no one they can report o, it leads to depression and will affect the employee’s performance.     

 3. FAULTY COMMUNICATION 

Communication is vital for any formal and non-formal setup. It allows information to flow with ease. And gets to job done efficiently.  Employees won’t have challenges in finding solutions to any emerging issues. However, poor communication between employees and the supervisor lowers employee performance. It would make it hard to finish projects on time if employees can’t communicate effectively among themselves.   

The lack of communication may also lead to speculations and gossip. It would take a lot of productive time where employees will be busy on irrelevant issues. Or ‘water cooler’ discussions.  Eventually, their performance and the company’s performance will deteriorate.    

4. MULTITASKING  

Multi-tasking may be beneficial but also very risky in a working environment. Multitasking is performing two or more duties at once. If an employee is forced to multitask, this generally harmfully affects their performance. An example is where an employer’s secretary is given a duty to analyze reports and still receive calls and emails for the boss. The chances are high that the secretary will miss details in the reports.    

The worker can end up forgetting vital information. It will also distract them when executing specific duties. This will lower their productivity and also build up pressure on the employee. It will also lead to stress and consequently absenteeism.  

CONCLUSION   

If your organization faces these challenges, your employee performance will sink. The barriers can be avoided by setting the organization’s performance requirements. The duties and responsibilities of every employee should be predetermined. And then managers must hold them accountable.  That ensures that responsibilities are carried out in a timely and quality fashion.     

Flexicrew Staffing Agency Best in GA and east TN

Flexicrew Staffing has the expert knowledge and resources to help you find candidates you won’t find on your own. Let us assist you in finding the right person for your small or midsize business.  Call today.