brain

Don’t Discount Covid Brain

by with No Comment LeadershipLoyaltyTeam Building

After a brief hiatus from writing – I am back!  While I planned a short time away for personal reasons, my extended leave was not expected.  This novel Covid-19 virus decided to attack the world and, unfortunately, made it into our home.  I must clarify that I am only a presumptive case of Covid-19.  I’m a nurse practitioner with the knowledge and resources to manage my symptoms safely at home, and I’m a bit stubborn and didn’t want to leave the comfort of my house to get tested.  That being said, I had all the classic symptoms:  sore throat, shortness of breath, fatigue, muscle pain, dry/hacking cough, and a SEVERE headache.  I am a migraine sufferer and have never endured anything close to the severity of this headache.  Worse yet, no medication could take the pain away.  It’s been just over twelve weeks since I became ill.  Fortunately, I’ve recovered from most of the symptoms but I still suffer from intermittent headaches, easily fatigued, and a heightened sense of anxiety/agitation.  All of these symptoms are consistent with brain trauma, referred to as Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

So I’m In the 30%

As we all know, Covid-19 is a new virus that is sending the research world into a high-pressure, time-sensitive environment. Governments are demanding data, new treatment modalities, and a vaccine for the deadly virus. As brains of the deceased are studied, and data is compiled, researchers can give us more information about the virus.  An estimated 30% of Covid-19 patients develop neurological symptoms. Initially, it was thought that the virus could not cross the blood-brain barrier meaning that it didn’t directly affect the brain.  As more data is received, however, it was discovered that it can and does cross into the brain.  This shouldn’t be a surprise as many other respiratory viruses  (influenza, measles, RSV) create havoc in the brain.

As research continues and more answers are found, there are many questions that still need to be answered.  Of special interest to me is how long will this “Covid Brain” last? I’m talking about more than the headache and fatigue here.  I’m talking about the loss of short-term memory, inability to focus, intermittent confusion, and days like yesterday that I just can’t focus on anything.  My husband asked me what I was thinking, and my reply was “nothing”.  And I meant it.  There was absolutely nothing going on upstairs.  That’s frightening for an educated, intelligent person to experience.

So Why Does This Matter?

As the world begins to re-open businesses after this virus has devastated lives and the economy, they will struggle with getting the business back on its feet.  This may mean downsizing (even if temporarily), restructuring, and for some, closing their doors forever.  But what about those staff that were infected with Covid-19?  Many of them will suffer residual effects from the brain trauma.

A healing brain is a delicate organ.  In most traumatic brain injury cases, the healing is slow, and the person may not get back to the full function they had before the injury. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough evidence with Covid-19 yet to fully understand the residual effects on the infected brain.  Fortunately, there are ways to promote healing and support your staff as they recover. Always keep in mind how frustrating this is for the person struggling to get their brain back.

Brainline.org provides some excellent tips to help your staff transition back into their position while still encouraging a healing environment.

Vision – Lighting is important – change the fluorescent lights to high intensity, white lights, and increase natural lighting.  Provide an anti-glare computer screen and large print on reading materials.

Focus– Concentration is going to be a constant struggle.  To help with this, provide a quiet work area with little distraction (a private office or work enclosure if possible).  Allow for white noise.  Break down large jobs into smaller, manageable tasks.  If necessary, restructure their role to include only the essential functions.

Fatigue – Maintaining stamina throughout the day is a challenge.  Offering flexible schedules, longer or more frequent breaks, and part-time work schedules are all viable options.  Schedule more challenging tasks at the beginning of the day, leaving more mundane tasks for the end of the day when fatigue is more likely.  Most importantly, encourage your employee to acknowledge their fatigue and rest when they are to that point, even if it means going home.

Stress– Handling stressful situations and managing emotions is more difficult while the brain is recovering. Acknowledging this includes sensitivity training for other staff and providing a positive work environment. Encourage the employee to access any available Employee Assistance Programs and coaching services.

Awareness & Acknowledgement

As a leader, it is important that you are aware of these symptoms and remember that not everyone that had Covid-19 was tested and confirmed. You may have staff that had/have the symptoms that aren’t confirmed with testing but may still suffer the long-term complications of the disease.  Acknowledging their struggles will go a long way to support them during their recovery. Hopefully, the recovery time will be a matter of weeks, but for some, it is turning into months.  This can be frustrating to management and the staff member. Patience and understanding will be key.

broken plate

Why Does Accountability Matter?

by with No Comment Employee EngagementLeadershipLoyaltyTeam Building

Acknowledging our mistakes is a sign of strong character. It is a primary component of accountability and is essential for effective leadership.  Accountability isn’t the same as responsibility, although the two terms are often interchanged.  We all have responsibilities at work, the tasks that make up our job.  Responsibility can be shared, divided up amongst team members.  Accountability, however, belongs to only one person.  It is what happens after an incident and how you respond and take ownership of the results.

Accountability is essential for building trust in the workplace.  If staff are worried about getting thrown under the bus or are unsure of their leader’s support in the event of an incident, they are not going to exude creativity. They will work for the company but not with the energy and passion that they would if they know that mistakes won’t end their career with the organization. Obviously, I’m not talking about repeatedly making the same stupid mistake but rather the kind that happens on occasion.

Why Is It Important?

Despite the importance of owning our mistakes, and the fact that every human makes them, it becomes more evident that so many people in positions of power are not accountable themselves.  How many of us have worked for a manager that never had our back?  Or that took credit for success but was quick to blame when something happened? Everyone knows this scenario – the real question is, how are these individuals put in any position of influence?

There are so many reasons that businesses benefit from accountable leadership.  Not only can accountable leaders quickly identify problems, but they can find solutions just as fast.  Just like other characteristics of good leadership, the other members of the team will follow suit.  Accountability will inspire accountability.   It also breeds trust and loyalty, both of which increase productivity.

When Accountability is Lacking

Of course, you can’t discount the consequences of no accountability.  When the blame game starts with management, it festers among the team.  This will no doubt create division among the staff. There are those that will accept the blame, those that will fight back, and those that will become one of the brown-nosers to the boss in hopes of avoiding the blame.  Either way, division of the team occurs.  I have seen it happen to the best of them.  Naturally, productivity declines, as does loyalty to the manager and the organization.  Whether it’s the blame game or lack of leadership, employee engagement is sure to decrease.

Lack of accountability also affects the customer experience.  Due to its profound effect on employee engagement, it will affect the way the employees treat customers.  This will lead to first-time customers not returning, regular customers not returning, and those that do leave negative reviews.  We all know that more people complain about a bad experience than shout out about the good ones.

How To Encourage It

Bent tracks

Two approaches are often taken when someone shirks accountability.  One is to ignore the problems, and the other is to remove the person from their team. Realistically, neither approach is ideal.  Ignoring the problem will likely make it more significant or recurring, and you don’t want to terminate someone or shuffle them if they have the potential to be an asset to the team.  First and foremost, lead by example.  Again, accountability inspires accountability.  Make sure that your staff has the tools and equipment needed to do their job efficiently and effectively.  Ensure that there is a continuous feedback loop.  Too often, feedback only happens when something goes wrong, but it’s essential to have feedback when things are going well.

Most importantly, provide them with an environment that makes it easy to own their mistakes.  Working in a safe environment encourages creativity and productivity.  We learn more from our mistakes than our successes, as it’s our mistakes that keep us growing.

Stress

Trauma At Work

by with No Comment Employee EngagementLeadership

How Does Trauma Happen?

A few years ago, if you asked me about trauma in the workplace, I would have thought of a major incident akin to the planes crashing into the Twin Towers or a disgruntled employee opening fire on colleagues.  Fortunately for all of us, these major types of traumatic events in the workplace are rare.   More often, trauma is caused by working in a persistently toxic work environment.  This type of toxicity is costly to the individual as well as the organization.

Unfortunately, I worked in a toxic work environment for the past two to three years.  It wasn’t always toxic.  In fact, it was one of the best places I had ever worked until management at three levels changed in rapid succession.  When circumstances afforded me the opportunity, I finally left the organization.  The choice came with an enormous amount of guilt – guilt that I was leaving the patients that meant so much to me, but even more was the guilt for the work-family that I left behind.    I had spent the past two years fighting for my team at a cost to me professionally as well as mentally and emotionally.  By the time I left the organization, I was damaged and truly felt like a failure.  I was unable to successfully lead my team through some very difficult times and, after twenty years of service, felt like I had been dishonorably discharged without actually being fired.  Feeling completely defeated and like I had let my work family down, I walked away.

There were many factors that contributed to the hell that I called work.  First and foremost was the lack of leadership at the managerial level.  Bullying behavior was not only supported but encouraged by the management.  This created a work floor with snitches that were more than happy to report any infraction, regardless of how small, to the manager.  She then took great pleasure in belittling staff, yelling, threatening, and emulating basic bullying behavior.  Bullying alone can contribute to a toxic environment, but when coupled with narcissistic, manipulative, and condescending management, workplace trauma is guaranteed.

Cost to the Organization

The trend in recent years is organizations asking more from their staff with fewer resources.  While organizations may feel this increases productivity, it actually increases stress among the team, causing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and social isolation leading to an increase in sick leave.   In fact, it’s estimated that 60% of sick leave is due to stress-related illnesses, in turn, having a significant impact on the bottom line.  A study in Canada showed that unaddressed mental illness in the workplace costs businesses more than $50 billion in lost productivity each year.  Interestingly, a third of managers have no formal support or resources to support their employees.

Eventually, as in my case, when employees are given the opportunity, they will leave the toxicity.  Staff turnover is challenging, but it is also incredibly expensive.  For every employee that leaves, someone new must be recruited and trained to fill the position, not to mention the lost productivity during the transition period.  The cost of one employee leaving an organization is upwards of $20,000.

Cost to the Employee

Repeated exposure to a toxic work environment can cause a variety of issues.  According to clinical psychologist Dr. L. Michael Tompkins, bullying in the workplace can be emotional abuse and can cause the symptoms and/or diagnosis of PTSD.  Employees can experience a loss of problem solving ability , may be poor at making rational decisions, and may take risks that they normally wouldn’t and consider it normal behavior.  Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to hear of suicide as a result of repeated exposure to a toxic work environment – the ultimate cost to the employee.

So Now What?

When CBC News published an article in November 2019, “Workplace Mental Health Programs Deliver Healthier Bottom Lines”, all I could think was ‘no kidding’.  We know that for every dollar spent on mental health in the workplace, the return is $1.62.  This makes great business sense.  But having worked in Primary Health Care for nearly fifteen years, my mind tends to focus on prevention.  How can we create environments at work that minimize the stress that creates the anxiety and depression that so many employees face?

Relationships Matter

A key to a healthy workplace is the relationships that are developed among colleagues and with management.  If an employee is absent, a caring, empathetic manager should reach out to see how they are doing, if they can support them in any way and to provide them the opportunity to remain an integral part of the team while they are off, if they are physically and mentally able to.   Employees are the most critical asset that a business has and as such, need to be cared for.  Developing relationships with employees should remain a priority.

Education

Management must have the basic skills to lead their people.  They need to be trained to identify and manage trauma among their staff.  The key to mental support begins with transparent and supportive relationships between the manager and the staff.   This helps management with early identification of mental and stress-related difficulties.  Organizations need to invest in the mental health of their staff, going beyond the basic employee assistance programs.  Considering that we spend the majority of our day at work, it’s essential that everyone has a safe environment to work in.  Organizations should encourage the development of relationships between staff and encourage what I call the “work family”.  This allows for more support and increased resilience to stress.  Encouraging self-care such as ensuring break times, adequate lunch breaks, encouraging physical activity, and stress management are all ways the employer can help build on an individual’s resilience.  Empowering employees to develop and grow as individuals and as professionals only strengthens this resilience.

Organizations that invest in their employees and foster an environment that is safe, supportive, and encourages resiliency will find that the payoff is far greater than the investment.  Happy, resilient employees are more productive and will give 100% knowing that the organization has their back.

Productivity

4 Principles for Increasing Productivity

by with No Comment Employee Engagement

Want more productivity from your employees?  Read this…

Multiple things influence productivity on the work floor.  While there are external factors that are beyond the company’s control, there are many internal factors that can be manipulated on the personal and organizational levels. It is often thought that the internal factors affecting productivity rest solely on the shoulders of the employees.   In fact, management has a more significant impact due to their influence on their teams.

Employee Health

Investing in employee health results in staff that come to work mentally and physically prepared with an increased stamina and focus.  Regular exercise gets the blood pumping, increases oxygenation to the brain, and helps clear the mind.  Employees who exercise regularly will be healthier, more efficient, and in the end, more productive.  Investing in an employee wellness program is something every organization should aspire to.

Environment

In addition to encouraging personal health, the organization needs to provide a healthy environment.  Having a workspace with proper ergonomics will keep attitudes more positive, and people focused on work instead of aches and pains from a poorly arranged environment. The short-term investment of a proper ergonomic assessment will pay off in the long run with decreased time away from work to manage neck, back or shoulder problems, fewer WCB claims, and overall healthier employees.

Temperature is a factor that contributes significantly to productivity.  If the staff is too cold, they will spend time trying to get warm. Conversely, if the staff is too warm, they are sluggish.  Either way, temperature affects productivity.  The perfect temperature for the office environment is between 60-70 Fahrenheit or 15.5-21 Celsius.  Something to keep in mind, but out of our control, is the outdoor environment. Employees are likely to be more productive on bright, sunny days versus dreary, dull days.

Listening to music may also have a profound effect on productivity.  Music has been shown to improve mood, focus, and endurance. Playing music in the background may significantly improve productivity. Beware, however, if someone doesn’t usually listen to music, it may hinder their productivity.

Training, Equipment, and Systems

Regardless of their position within the company, all staff will benefit from training of some sort. Whether it is initial training to ensure they can do their job or ongoing training, employees must be encouraged to continue their professional and personal development.

A major factor in productivity is ensuring that the employee has the proper training and tools for the job.  Nothing is more frustrating than performing a task with the wrong tool.  Whatever the business, there are tools customized to the organization to reduce waste and increase productivity.  Even when trying to cut costs and maintain overhead, there is a point that some investment is necessary.  The cost of equipment upgrades will outweigh the loss of productivity due to substandard equipment.

Even with the right equipment in place, productivity can be stifled by inefficient workflow processes.  It’s important to review processes from time to time and change them as needed.  Ask for and reward employee input on a regular basis.  They often will have creative ways to improve workflow and productivity.

Employee Satisfaction

When employees are no longer engaged at work, their productivity declines.  Likewise, employees that are passionate about their job will work to their full potential.  Therefore, organizations that want to optimize productivity need to focus on employee satisfaction.  This is truly the core of Oteos.  Happy employees equal increased productivity resulting in happy customers, regardless of the nature of the organization.  Developing relationships, providing an ideal work environment, encouraging professional and personal growth, autonomy and empowerment and open, two-way communication are all methods of improving employee engagement.

In summary, if productivity remains the goal, then it is necessary to identify the factors that are affecting it.  It starts at the hiring process, and the expectations remain for the term of employment. That said, it is the organization’s responsibility to provide the right tools and environment to facilitate a continually improving rate of productivity and efficiency.

I challenge you to identify areas of improvement in your organization.  What can you do to boost productivity?

Scrolling

Slack – What does it mean?

by with No Comment Leadership

What do you do when you identify slack?Slack

The other day I was listening to Craig Groeschel’s podcast about slack amongst leaders in the workplace.  He defined slack as anything that doesn’t move us towards our goal. I was surprised by the amount of slack time that the typical leader engages in during an average work week.  Now slack can come in multiple forms, including excessively long breaks or lunch hours or excessive visiting or chatting on the work floor.  Note that I said excessivevisiting.  We know that strong teams are developed more by the connections made out of the workplace than those made at work.  That is why some visiting about kids, husbands and lives outside of work is actually good for the team.  I have many more thoughts on team building that I will share in later articles.

The stat that really resonated with me was the 3.8 hours a week that leaders spend engaging in mindless activities like scrolling Facebook and Instagram or streaming YouTube.  According to Groeschel, this is done to give them a mental break.  Think about that – 3.8 hours per week for mental breaks at work.  I am in no way saying that mental breaks are not necessary during a workday but what happening that this is adding to the average 20 hours of slack in a week?  Or is this a practice that should actually be encouraged?

The Tork poll done in spring of 2018 showed a large disconnect between the management and employee perception of breaks, specifically lunch breaks.  Tork showed that management often considered the lunch break when evaluating job performance or view staff that took a regular lunch break as less productive. This despite the evidence that regular breaks, including lunch breaks increase creativity, productivity and focus. A common trend is the 30 minute lunch break.  While 30 minutes is enough to inhale a sandwich, is it really long enough to give someone a true break?  The hour long lunch not only gives your staff room to breathe but it can discourage poor habits like getting fast food or encourage positive health habits like exercise, meditation or other forms of self-care.

There are many ways that organizations can encourage regular breaks.  Yes, you read that correctly – organizations should encourage regular breaks. Mutually important is the body’s need for regular fuel throughout the day and the minds need for intermittent rest. Healthy snacks in a comfortable environment can help decrease the mid-afternoon slump and help your team continue strong until the end of the day.

One easy way to encourage regular breaks is to take a break yourself.  I am a firm believer in leading by example.  This is something I practiced as a parent and as a leader on the team. Just as we cannot expect our kids to be healthy eaters as we are eating a Big Mac, we cannot expect our staff to take breaks if we don’t practice it ourselves.

Don’t confuse busyness with productivity.  When I first started nursing many years ago, we were encouraged by older nurses to look busy.  That way the head nurse would not think you were slacking.  Of course, today this practice is obsolete – in nursing anyway.  Just because staff is not scrolling on their phone does not mean they are being productive. If you notice their focus is absent or weak, it may be time for a break – scheduled or not.

Aside from encouraging regular breaks to encourage mental and physical health, leaders should view slack in the workplace as an opportunity for improvement.  Perhaps something has changed within the team, a staff is facing something difficult on the home front or is experiencing poor job satisfaction. Either way, identifying the why behind the slack can be an opportunity to provide support to your team and identify ways to encourage growth.

Even amongst your best employee slack is always going to be present to some degree, it’s how we utilize it that matters.  Encourage your team to practice good self-care, take their breaks and lead by example.  Do you take your breaks?  How do you lead your staff to decrease slack and increase productivity?

Stop the Silence

Stop the Silence!

by with No Comment Employee Engagement

Stop the Silence – Keeping your employees engaged…

Research shows that communication is a vital component for a high-functioning organization that wishes to empower employees and thrive as a business, regardless of the industry. Unfortunately, there seems to be a misconception by many in management roles that employees that don’t speak their mind and who go along with the management’s direction are more valued than those that express themselves.  While these silenced employees may be perceived as easier to manage, the opposite is actually true.  Employers must provide a platform for employees to have a voice.  This not only keeps employees engaged but increases performance.  It promotes creativity and stifles groupthink leading to greater innovation.

Several years ago, my former organization was exploring a new health care delivery model.  This change was based on the Southcentral Foundation’s NUKA model of care that focused on patient-driven care.  Part of the initial stages of this process included sending a delegation to a week-long training at the Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska.  My director, at the time, asked if I would be willing to attend.  Naturally, I agreed.  Who doesn’t want to spend a week in Alaska at the boss’s expense?  The experience was invigorating and ignited my passion for healthcare again.  Later my director confessed that the reason she invited me to participate was due to my outspoken nature.  She knew if she didn’t have my buy-in, she would likely have some push-back.  She also understood that I could be her biggest ally in the implementation process if I realized the benefits of the change. Instead of silencing my voice, she understood the informal leadership role I had on the team and used it to benefit the organization.

Unfortunately, many organizations miss out on the ideas and valuable input that employees have to offer.  I’ve never understood why, but some organizations intentionally silence their people.  Perhaps management feels it is easier to manage or control situations, or possibly the manager is treated the same from those in the next management level up.  Either way, this culture of silence is counterproductive and diminishes the organization’s opportunity for sustainable growth.

Although high-performing organizations promote a culture of open communication, recent research shows that the majority of employees fear speaking up and that those that did speak up were less likely to move up the ladder.  Research also shows that suffering in silence leads to adverse outcomes for the organization. It causes low motivation, disengagement, alienation, and, low morale.

The benefits of employee input are numerous.  Employees work on the front-lines and are most familiar with the products, customers, and processes.  This day to day exposure to the workings of the organization offers insights that those at the management level may not be aware of.  Coming from a healthcare background, I will use the nurse-doctor analogy.  The nurse spends twelve hours with the patient while the doctor may spend ten minutes. Who knows the patient better?  Not that the nurse knows better than the doctor, but they will know more about the patient’s symptoms and overall condition. Ultimately, the doctor makes the decision, but without input from the nurse, the doctor wouldn’t have all of the information to make the best decision.  Without input from employees, management will not have all the information required to make the best decisions for the organization.

There are multiple strategies that organizations can use to encourage employees to contribute their opinions. First and foremost is leadership modeling behaviors that encourage and support active two-way communication.  By reducing formality and power cues, the leader assumes a collaboration role rather than a dictator role, making them more approachable.  Avoid speaking to only those employees that you are comfortable with.  This alienates the rest and promotes favoritism, which, in turn, silences your staff.

Make asking input part of a daily routine and then actually do something with the information.  Twenty-five percent of employees do not share ideas or information as they feel that nothing will be done with it.  Maybe it isn’t valuable today, but it may be tomorrow. Assuming that employees will speak up on their own is a gamble.  Perhaps previous experiences or lack of confidence will stop them from presenting what could be an amazing idea.  By not asking for their input, you are essentially silencing them.

To encourage diversity in your cohesive team, bring up controversial topics, and encourage debate.  Do not nit-pick or demand a plan or data during the brainstorming phase.  Allow the team to be creative and follow-up with data to support their suggestions. These approaches encourage active dialogue and set the tone for a safe environment for honest communication.

Promoting a culture of recognition encourages continuous input from employees.  Staff that feels appreciated for the achievements will gain confidence within the company.  The more confident an employee is, the more likely they are to offer input.  Commend staff for their suggestions and for asking tough questions.  Finally, reward and recognize employees that offer input that contributes to successes.

In conclusion, cultures of dialogue not only result in more engaged employees but the bottom-line results that organizations strive to achieve.  When organizations utilize the full potential of their staff, it diminishes creativity and productivity.  Worse yet, silencing employees leaves untapped potential, and eventually, that potential will go elsewhere to an environment that appreciates them.

Even if you don’t intentionally silence your team, I challenge managers to look at their own behavior.  What can you do to encourage employee input?  Is there a behavior that you can change to stop the silence?