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An Important Leadership Key: Empathy

rs_ph_website
August 23, 2021
8:02 pm
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Leadership is a big word that comes with bigger responsibilities. While a leader gets praised for their team’s success, they are also responsible for its troubles. After all, there are many challenges employees face in the workplace. This is true whether it’s remote or in the office. This is where leadership comes in to make sure nobody gets left behind in precarious situations when the dust finally settles.

It is important for a leader to have eyes for both the trouble and the troubled. It is not enough that they only care about the challenge, as they must also be considerate of who these hurdles are affecting. Saying that a leader requires the greatest amount of empathy is an understatement. A person in charge must know their team members by heart, and always remind themselves that these diligent workers are also people.

Read: Filling the Void: Leading with Empathy while Working From Home

People have lives outside of work, and their personal struggles and challenges can affect how they perform. They can lose focus, be less vocal, have a lack of energy, and have an overall lack of motivation to work. Being the person at the helm means you need to spot these changes in behavior as soon as they begin and come up with a solution.

By having empathy, we’re able to identify people in crisis with their personal lives, but what should be the next step?

Encourage Breaks

Plenty of employees end up not using their paid leaves. This may result from having trouble scheduling these incentives or may stem from an area of bigger concern. People tend to be afraid of being thought of as replaceable while they’re on break. Others don’t take breaks because they want to show that they’re the most productive in the team. All of these reasons are a product of a worldwide work culture that is only beginning to realize the benefits of taking breaks. As the one leading the team, advocating rest and work-life balance can begin with you simply adjusting team culture to honor days of rest by taking those paid leaves.

Offer Flexibility

With the dawn of new technologies came new opportunities in working and management. Great leaders make use of all available resources to maximize productivity. Offering a flexible schedule to certain individuals has the potential to boost their efficiency. This stems from others having their performance peak at different times of the day. Offering others a work-from-home opportunity also gives wonderful results. Being with their family at home, and being able to manage their own time helps with their work-life balance. Cutting commute times to zero means leaving time for their hobbies. Working from home also gives health benefits that would surely reflect in their performance.

Trust the Team

We invite leaders to learn when to let go and when to pull in the reins but with intention and empathy at the fore. It’s tempting to require everyone to update you on their progress all the time. For people working from home, it may even become the default. However, wiser leaders put trust in their team. This means allowing them to work independently. It can be a scary thought, but employees and bosses who have built a good relationship become more productive in the long run. It saves plenty of time as you no longer have to talk repeatedly about the same tasks. People can now focus on their work. While this doesn’t mean removing meetings entirely, it limits them down to the essentials. Hours become more meaningful, and that extra time can be used by everyone for a well-deserved break.

While it requires a great deal of change for plenty of people in leadership roles, these empathetic reactions to work-life balance issues are definitely worth the time and effort. Taking care of the team means that the team will take care of you and the company. Making sure that everyone is in a state of balance makes happiness, and happiness can only lead to good things.

About Rocket Station: Rocket Station prides itself in nurturing top talents in order to give the best possible service to its clients. With this in mind, Rocket Station works to ensure that its remote workers have a good work-life balance to truly reach their full potential. If you’d like to know more about how we enhance lives and better businesses, then sign up for our mailing list!

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This Simple Trick Improves Happiness at Work and at Home

rs_ph_website
August 17, 2021
7:54 pm
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When people talk about “work-life balance,” we tend to fixate on what it can do for our careers. Rarely do we think about how it affects other aspects of our lives. It is why people pursue it less actively despite the growing need for it in the present work culture. While there is nothing inherently wrong with it, the primary motivator for some managers in seeking work-life balance is to get more things done. Leaders advocate for it so employees are able to do their job better and in a more productive manner.

This prevalent thinking however is understandable. There is a clear improvement in work performance when employees are given ample time to rest. Tasks are done efficiently and employees are happier at work resulting in a desire to grow with the company. These facts are what draw eyes the most in a very competitive business environment. However, we need to remember to look at the other side of the coin as well.

Along with all the work benefits, comes the other half of this concept, life.

Our lives outside of our jobs are a dynamic combination of interests. Therefore, we should also always remember to ask “what can having set boundaries at work do for you?”

Better Time with Loved Ones

Having work-life balance also means you’ll have more time with the people you care about. However, it’s often undersold how much better that time spent will be. After all, despite a heavy day at work, we still manage to find ways to talk to our friends and family. The difference is that with better time management and boundaries, we can go to parties and other events free of work-related thoughts and stress. You’ll have more energy to play with your kids or to spend time with your friends. Social gatherings no longer need to be limited as a short pastime before your next shift. This time, you’ll be able to create a larger impact with the time you spend with people. The memories you make will be vivid experiences that you’ll be happy to share and relive.

Opportunities for Growth

Aside from being able to engage in hobbies, we can now aim to excel at them. Simple recreation actions can become fruitful passions that lead to the development of skills. The extra energy and time you have can be directed towards training and expanding your hobby. Having adequate time lets you apply more focus on your personal activities rather than making them an afterthought. This freedom can also be used to find and learn new interests and modes of recreation. Aspiring hobbyists will find satisfaction in knowing that their discoveries and recently acquired abilities will have further purpose and usage.

Encouragement to Travel

Having an adequate amount of vacation time provides people with an opportunity to become more adventurous. Knowing that certain constraints have been lifted becomes motivation to learn more about the world. The various places to discover, and cultures to explore open a window of new learning experiences that can only be acquired through travel. These trips are guaranteed to be of better quality for people too. Workers free of workaholism would be able to focus on the scenery rather than carrying mental baggage from work.