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Employee Fulfillment vs. Employee Happiness

1/28/2020

Happiness is fleeting and can be influenced by trivial matters. It is also quite personal; what makes one person happy might not make someone else happy. Yet despite the mercurial nature of happiness, many organizations now routinely survey their employees with questions such as “How happy are you at the company?”

Writing in Inc. Emma Brudner, Director of People Operations at Lola.com, says that companies would be better off finding out if employees are fulfilled, rather than happy. Fulfillment, she says, occurs when organizations deliver on expectations set during hiring interviews and when the employee is learning and growing. “Employees can feel fulfilled overall even if their happiness fluctuates,” contends Brudner. For example, personal growth can be uncomfortable in the moment, but valuable overall. (Tweet it!)

Brudner suggests that measuring fulfillment is much more effective than attempting to measure happiness. Doing so, she says, will encourage self-reflection. It also “innately places accountability jointly on the employee and the company, versus solely the latter.” To assess levels of fulfillment she suggests companies pose one or several of these questions on their next employee surveys:

How likely are you to recommend the company as a place to work?
How much would you say you're growing in your role?
How well do the expectations set out in the interview process and the reality of working here align?
Are you glad you joined the company? Why or why not?
How would you rate your fulfillment at the company, on a scale from 1 to 10?

Do you think employees at your organization are fulfilled, and, if so, what does the organization do to further that fulfillment? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

If you would like to learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication, check out our online learning programs.

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Nurturing Adult Friendships

1/21/2020

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Let’s face it: It’s hard to make friends as an adult. If you don’t stay connected to childhood or college friends, you might wind up knowing lots of people, but being close to few. It’s an unfortunate reality for many, given that research shows how vital close friendships are for well-being.

There are many reasons why it’s difficult to bond closely with others in adult life—ranging from lack of time to a focus on careers, finances and family, to an emphasis on quantity over quality—but it is possible to get closer to existing friends. Writing in The New York Times, Emma Pattee offers some ways of doing so:

Create a foundation of security: Be responsive, reliable and consistent.
Pay attention: When your friend shares something about their life, focus with your full attention.
Confide: Self-disclosure is a main driver of relationship. So don’t try to be seen as perfect…instead be real.
Give friends a chance to help: Ask someone for assistance, even if you could survive without it; give friends a chance to show up for you.
Know that closeness isn't one size fits all: How you measure the depth of friendship is personal, but everyone agrees on its importance for health and happiness. (Tweet it!)

Would you like to have closer friendships in your adult years, and what have you proactively done to meet this goal? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

If you would like to learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication, check out our online learning programs.

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Managing Oppositional Employees

1/14/2020

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Oppositional employees are perpetual naysayers, refusing to follow instructions, debating or dismissing feedback, or creating an ongoing stream of negative comments. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Fortune 500 consultant and former NYU professor Liz Kislik offers several approaches to help managers get the best from such difficult employees:

Adjust job responsibilities to leverage their strengths. Sometimes defiance masks a fear of looking incompetent. For a time, overlooking someone’s oppositional behaviors and focusing on how they might best employ their strengths might restore their cooperation.

Consider that they might have some valid points. Employees who express negativity can grow more negative when they feel unheard. If you listen to their concerns, you may find that some are justified and that hearing them out may make them more willing to hear you out. (Tweet it!)

Know where to draw the line. If an employee, even one who is personally successful and productive, is an unrelenting drain on morale and consistently makes others feel denigrated, the organization cannot sustain it. They must be encouraged to move on.

Letting an oppositional employee go may not be necessary. First, try understanding their concerns and motivations, and provide support through possible job redesign and relationship building. “Then,” says Kislik, “employees who were once seen as problems can bring their greatest strengths to bear on behalf of the organization, rather than against it.”

Have you ever had to manage an oppositional employee? Were your approaches successful? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

If you would like to learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication, check out our online learning programs.

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Online Etiquette

1/7/2020

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As more and more of our encounters—especially first encounters—migrate to online formats, making a good digital first impression is essential. But like other “soft skills” online etiquette is rarely taught. There’s an unspoken expectation that we all know the rules, but often we don’t. To help alleviate awkward digital encounters, Victor Turk offers this advice in The New York Times.

Learn the Lingo – Both content and tone are important, especially in text messaging, and tone can be influenced greatly by grammar. Something as simple as a period can have multiple meanings (finality, seriousness, sarcasm), depending on context. If you’re not sure how something will be received, remember that less can be more. Gretchen McCulloch, a linguist and author of Because Internet: Learning the New Rules of Language, believes that anything unnecessary should be eliminated because it has the potential to take on additional connotations and confuse intent.

Read the Room – As in the real world, it's necessary to choose the appropriate level of formality for the situation. Be prepared to adapt according to the culture and background of the person you are speaking with as well as the medium you are using. Again, be aware of your tone so excessive politeness doesn’t come off as distant or aloof.

Stay Human – Internet etiquette is continually evolving. Even when technology stays the same, social norms can morph quickly. Perhaps the best etiquette guideline is to operate from a place of consideration for others. That will never change. (Tweet it!)

Have you ever made a digital faux pas or been on the receiving end of one? How was the situation resolved? To join the conversation, click "comments" above.

If you would like to learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication, check out our online learning programs.

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Employee Fulfillment vs. Employee Happiness

Nurturing Adult Friendships

Managing Oppositional Employees

Online Etiquette

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