Leadership and Self-regulation: The Importance Now More Than Ever

Since last March, working at home has become a norm. Many companies have implemented remote work policies, asking employees to work at home to protect themselves in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

And as the prospects of heading back to the office keep shrinking, it’s about time we adjust to the new normal. Yet, most employees may have little or no experience working at home. Yes, many are still struggling to adapt and be as productive from a couch as they were at the office.

HR and managing directors have plenty to handle here. While changing from routine office life to remote working is a challenge in itself, managing the workers is the most significant hurdle.

On the employees’ side, working at home come with its challenges. From home-schooling kids, elderly parents, or not enough room for an office.

The Fear of Homeworking

There’s a persistent fear in trusting employees who work at home. Lack of constant monitoring is mostly thought to encourage laziness.

But research suggests that job performance when working at home is, at the very least, as productive as working from the office base. Well, other than encouraging social distancing, it also costs much less.

Nevertheless, managerial control doesn’t work for home-based workers. Here, productivity largely depends on self-regulation and empowered decision-making.

Due to these remote working challenges, self-regulation remains the key to increasing productivity.

Home-based Work Management Approach

With the inherited cliché of 9-5 slowly dissipating, as a manager, you need to crafts ways to monitor your team and keep them engaged. With the office at home, the management has to restructure its approach.

Trust and freedom are the keys to efficiency. Working at home may mean an employee has to share the space with their family. So, employees may clock in at their most convenient time and do their work. As such, the deal should not be hitting their set hours but achieving the set targets.

Any attempts to confine the workers to routine work patterns may miserably fail. Self-drive or autonomy, clear communication of targets, objectives, and deadlines, expected outcomes, and excellent hierarchical communication flow would serve you well.

Remote working isn’t for everyone. But home-based workers may even work more hours and perform exceptionally well than their counterparts who operate exclusively from expensive corner offices. An organization stands to save a lot on overheads. But remote working isn’t for everyone.

As a manager, you need to offer trust and freedom to your employees and create systems that empower them to self-regulate.

How to enhance self-regulation for a remote worker

To get the best out of your home-based employees, you need to facilitate them to feel comfortable working from their homes.

Some of the things your firm can do include helping them turn a spot in their house into their home office. Well, this means doing the following:

Since the employees would be working at home, it is also best if you consider stepping in to help them settle overhead costs, they incur as a result of it. Of course, this further motivates them to work comfortably at home.

Work patterns and the nature of the emotional contract between employer and employee has shifted and continues to evolve. Thus, there’s a need to adapt to a new relationship model between managers and workers, home-based workers, to be precise.

As a CEO or an HR manager, showing leadership, and encouraging your team to self-regulate will largely determine the overall performance of your company during this pandemic period, and beyond. Instead of wasting time on commuting, employees can invest the time on adequate rest, and be more efficient when they turn up on the projects assigned to them.

Ways To Manage Your Workload More Effectively

How many times have you wished there were more hours in a day just so you could finish all your responsibilities at work on time? If you have been struggling in dealing with your heavy workloads, you’re not alone. As a matter of fact, one of the common issues organizations have to address is their workers’ inability to work efficiently. There are many things you can do actually if you are serious about finding the right balance in your life. This can help you overcome the challenges of your job before you end up getting burnt out. (more…)

Gracefully Eating Your Business Lunch

 

by Adeodata Czink

Last month, we looked at the set-up of a successful business lunch: when to arrive, where to sit, and how to order and pay. This month we explore how to actually consume your meal with grace and elegance. (more…)

Common Reasons an Employee May Be Terminated

The ordinary workers are considered as the backbone of any type of business, no matter how big or small it is. Organizations and companies invite job applicants for interviews, and later on invite them to work as part of their businesses. Despite the fact that employers are always striving to hire and keep those workers who fit their systems perfectly, there are still many reasons why business owners sometimes have no choice but to let go of their workers. There are many different factors that may lead to employee termination, such as: (more…)

Skills Needed To Work From Home

For many of us, especially mothers and other women, being able to work from home is an opportunity that is very difficult to pass up. There are many great things about having a home-based job, such as financial freedom, flexible working hours, and the chance to do something you really love. While it may seem that this kind of career is ideal, it still takes some sets of skills and personality to succeed as a home-based employee.

If you are thinking of working from home, do a self-assessment to determine if you have the traits and the skills that this kind of employment needs.

Outstanding Communication Skills: Considering that you will be running a business or doing your work remotely, it is a must that you have great commendation skills. Any home-based business mentoring program will tell you how vital it is that you learn how to use emails and other software such as Skype to ensure that you can convey your messages precisely and clearly.

Critical Thinking: If you want to be an effective home-based employee, you should have the ability to work efficiently even without so many instructions. As you can imagine, you will be working all by yourself, and so there will be nobody next to you whom you can ask help from. You need to be able to figure things out on your own.

Self-Discipline and Motivation: As you work from home, you will enjoy the luxury of choosing when to work. The problem here is if you don’t have discipline and enough motivation, you may end procrastinating a lot. Thus, you should know how to keep yourself motivated to make sure you are always productive at work.

Ability to Stay Focused: One of the biggest challenges in working from home, especially for mothers, is to stay keep from getting distracted while working. This can be achieved through proper planning and scheduling. It is ideal also to have a specific spot at home that you can consider your office so that you have the space to do your work efficiently.

Being Organized: As a home-based employee, you should anticipate that work will always be around you. This means that it may be more difficult to keep the balance between your personal time and time for work. But then again, as long as you are organized and you plan ahead really well, things will go smoothly for you. If you succeed in doing these things, there is no doubt that you can further your career planning and make this home-based work or business of yours your main source of income.

Top 5 Tips on Creating Your LinkedIn Profile

1. Do Not Skimp on Your Photo. Your LinkedIn profile is in essence your online CV or resume, so your photograph in it should indicate professionalism. The very first thing that a browser sees upon hitting your page is your photograph. LinkedIn users prefer to see a clear head shot taken by a professional photographer if possible. Don’t think of your LinkedIn profile like your Facebook page where you can put just any photo on.

2. Mind the Keywords. The search algorithm for LinkedIn is basically the same as that of Google. In order to make sure that your profile is seen via the search function, it is vital that you use exactly what keywords you want to be associated with in your profile. You should add the keywords in your headline, in your previous and current employment information, as well as in your personal summary. If you want to be discovered in a certain field or category, be sure to use the exact words or phrase a couple of times all through your profile, but without keyword stuffing your profile. (more…)

The Job Interview Question Hated by Most: “Tell me about yourself”

When you are looking for a job, being called in for a job interview is very exciting.  Out of all the applications submitted, there is something about yours that stood out above the rest.  You have made the final cut.  Then, you realize that the interview will determine whether you are employed or back to sending out more resumes. What can you do to ensure job interview success? What do you say?  How do you answer that inevitable question: “Tell me about yourself”? (more…)

Teaching Values to your Kids

Values are ideals that guide or qualify your personal conduct, interaction with others, and involvement in your career. They help you to distinguish what is right from wrong.

It stands to reason then, that teaching values to your children is an important part of being a parent. Values make our society safe and workable, and instilling them in our kids is the most significant and effective thing we can do for their happiness. Studies show that morality and value-oriented behaviour helps a child develop a sense of autonomy, independence, and confidence. (more…)

Setting Yourself Up For Success

Most people want to be successful in life. But success can mean different things to different people: making more money; spending quality time with your family; or learning to play a musical instrument. Since success is personal, defining what it means for you is the first step to achieving it. Once you are clear about what success looks like for you, here are some important points to help you achieve it. (more…)

Writing your Personal Vision/Mission Statement

I recently spent some time revising my personal vision/mission statement for my career coaching and mentoring practice. While doing this, it occurred to me that the vision I have for my work is closely related to my personal vision. Having a job that reflects my personal vision is powerful because it has allowed me to create a business life for myself that truly reflects who I am. Companies know all about vision and mission statements and getting their employees on board. (more…)