Conflicts at work can be stressful and counterproductive for everyone involved.

Common causes of workplace conflict:

• Increased responsibility, often with little authority – as the number of supervisors and administrators shrink, employees are increasingly asked to ‘pick up the slack’. Yet, they often face ‘turf’ issues, because they don’t have the authority to recruit or lead other employees

• Multiple tasks and multiple leaders – when dealing with competing job demands, disagreements can develop over how to prioritize and when to complete specific tasks

• Increased involvement in teamwork – groups of individuals, working together for the first time, can encounter conflicts as they deal with differing work ethics, varying levels of commitment and the challenges of time and resource limitations

• High stress – the frantic pace we keep today makes everyone irritable and hard to please at one time or another. Stress heightens emotions and can lead to poor communication and misunderstandings

• Last-minute crises – people who leave things to the last minute, then dump their problems onto someone else’s desk, raise the stress quotient in any workplace

• Lack of appreciation – when extra effort goes unnoticed and unappreciated, resentment simmers and may surface as conflict at a later date

Effective conflict resolution techniques:

• Learn what triggers your emotions – it’s much easier to avoid or control emotional outbursts when you know your own ‘hot buttons’

• Walk away when you’re angered by someone’s actions or comments. Count to 10 – or 100 if you need to – before responding. Make a point of never addressing a problem while you’re still fuming

• If something or someone bothers you, deal with problems as soon as possible, rather than holding it in and letting your resentment build (remembering, of course, to wait until you’re calm enough to deal with the situation rationally!)

• Listen to other people carefully and be sure you understand their positions. Don’t make assumptions about what you think you heard

• Express interest in the other person’s opinions. You can acknowledge someone’s point of view without necessarily agreeing with it

• Try to be objective when dealing with conflicts or criticism – address problems, not personalities. Know your facts and avoid gossip and personal attacks

• Be careful not to express hostility in your posture, facial expression or tone of voice. Be assertive without being aggressive

• Minimize problems by working co-operatively with colleagues and others. A little graciousness goes a long way – be willing to extend yourself to support or help others

• When addressing job-related issues, make a point of clarifying expectations for every assignment and be clear about the priorities

• When working with others, establish an action plan, so that everyone involved is on the same page and knows their responsibilities and targets

Relax on the run? Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? But when tension makes muscles cramp, moods swing and blood pressure soar, just five minutes of quality down time can make all the difference in the world!

Next time your day goes haywire, these simple suggestions may bring a little inner calm into your life.

Coping techniques:

Progressive muscle relaxation

Deep breathing

Meditation

Positive thinking and self-affirmation

Exercise

Nutrition

Talk to others

Progressive muscle relaxation

• Relax tense muscles with a series of squeeze-release exercises. Tense one part of your body at a time, holding the muscles as tightly contracted as possible for a few seconds. Then slowly let the muscles relax and ease into a more comfortable position

• Start with your shoulders – a prime spot for tension – then repeat with your neck, arms, legs and feet. Don’t forget your face muscles – stress can cause facial tension that leads to tooth-grinding and headaches. You can do these stress-relieving exercises anywhere – at your desk, in a line-up, even in a traffic jam!

Back to top

Deep breathing

• Deep breathing is a very effective form of relaxation. Take 10 deep breaths, counting slowly up to five as you inhale and up to six as you exhale. You’ll feel the stress flow out of your body, as your breathing calms your mind

Back to top

Meditation

• Meditation relieves inner tension by keeping your mind focused on one soothing thought or image for a sustained period of time. Start by relaxing your body and concentrate on breathing deeply and slowly

• Now focus all your attention on something that you find peaceful. It can be a relaxing sound, a gentle image – you can even focus on the steady rhythm of your breathing. It’s important to keep your attention focused. If external thoughts intrude into your mediation, let them drift out again. The more you practice meditating, the better you’ll get at it – soon you’ll find that five minutes of meditation is as refreshing as a short nap!

Back to top

Positive thinking and self-affirmation

• You may find it useful to counter negative thoughts with positive affirmations. Affirmations build confidence and help turn negative behaviour patterns into positive ones
• Affirmations are short, positive statements that you repeat to yourself every day. Examples of affirmations include:
  • I can do this
  • I can achieve my goals
  • People like me for myself
  • I am completely in control of my life
  • I learn from my mistakes. They increase my basis of experience
  • I am a good, valued person in my own right

• Reinforce your positive ’self-talk’ by writing down your successes at the end of the day or first thing in the morning. Periodically reward yourself for your hard work

Back to top

Exercise

• Exercise is a powerful stress reliever. Releasing physical energy through exercise helps to dissipate feelings of anger and tension in a healthy way

• When you’re feeling stressed, try to find time for a short, fast-paced walk or a quick trip to the gym. Any type of activity that gets your blood pumping and fully engages your body will help relax you

• Exercise stimulates the release of endorphins, a type of chemical compound that will naturally lift your spirits and improve your mood. Preliminary research also suggests that long-term exercise may condition your body and mind to handle stress more effectively

Back to top

Nutrition

• Stress can deplete your store of nutrients and weaken your immune system. When you’re under stress, there are specific foods that will help you cope and foods that you should avoid
• To boost your stress-coping quotient, add vitamins B and C to your diet, avoid caffeine and indulge in the soothing benefits of carbohydrate-rich foods

Back to top

 Talk to others

• Problems seem worse when you keep them to yourself. Make time for family – invest the energy to deepen friendships and nurture relationships

• Arrange to meet a trusted friend, colleague or relative for coffee and share your concerns. They may help you see your situation in a new light, which could be the first step toward a constructive solution. Maintaining a strong support network helps you deal more effectively with life’s joys and sorrows

Back to top

Workplace stress

43% of Americans feel that their job or work is the greatest source of stress in their lives. Recent research links workplace stress to four key factors:

• High demand – having too much to do in too short a time
• Low control – having too little influence on the way that work is carried out
• High effort – the emotional or psychological demands of the job
• Low reward – receiving inadequate recognition for a job well done

The good and bad sides of stress

It’s normal to expect a certain amount of stress in your life. In fact, stress can be good for you. In small doses, stress can generate the energy and motivation you need to meet the daily challenges at work and at home. When you handle a challenge successfully, the brief but intense brush with stress generates an adrenalin rush that can leave you feeling happy and satisfied.

Health problems tend to develop only if excessive stress becomes chronic. When worry or tension continues for a length of time, the prolonged exposure to high levels of stress hormones can cause permanent damage to your body. Chronic stress has been linked to heart disease, depression, immune disorders, diabetes and is a contributing factor to many other health conditions.

Maintain a positive attitude

In many workplace situations, the factors that contribute to job stress can’t be changed or may take a long time to improve. When stress is unavoidable, it’s essential to maintain a good mental attitude. Instead of dreading your workday, take a step back and try changing your perspective a little – you may surprise yourself by discovering a new passion for your work:

Chart success differently
If you’re driving hard towards a specific goal, you may have forgotten to enjoy the journey along the way. Take time to appreciate the progress you’re making, instead of focusing exclusively on your final destination.  Each morning, review the successes of the previous day (no matter how small!). Look for the positive – it’s a great way to start your day

Change your patterns
Take a different route to work, try a new restaurant, talk with a colleague about something other than work. When you make small changes in your daily routines, you’ll find that your outlook on life improves dramatically. Those little adjustments really do make a difference!

Reset your goals
Stress can be just as easily caused by frustration and boredom, as by overwork. Maybe you’ve achieved many of your work goals and you’ve hit a plateau. Or maybe you’re just coasting at work, instead of challenging yourself. Now’s the time to start fresh. Come up with some new ideas and new goals that you want to accomplish – your enthusiasm will pick up when you start to see new opportunities on the horizon

Face your fears
Are you putting up with the status quo because you’re afraid to make a change? Are you refusing to take a risk because you don’t want to face criticism, disapproval or failure? Think about the issues that are holding you back and decide if your fears are realistic. Then take the plunge!  A calculated risk may be just the thing to get rid of your restlessness and improve your job satisfaction

Concentrate on your strengths
Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Try to pursue tasks that suit your talents and focus on opportunities where your weaknesses won’t matter. Doing work you enjoy is one of the best ways to build your self-confidence and achieve a happy, healthy life

Strive for excellence
Don’t fritter away your time doing work that doesn’t help you achieve your goals. Focus on the right things and you’ll find your job satisfaction will improve and your stress levels will drop. When you tackle a new task, ask yourself:

•  
  • What is the purpose of the job?
  • What are the measures of success?
  • What are the priorities and deadlines?
  • What resources are available?
  • What costs are acceptable?
  • How does this task relate to my personal work goals and the goals of my organization?
  • How can I perform my best in completing this task?

Take a vacation
Absence makes the heart grow fonder! Give yourself a well-deserved break to recharge your batteries. Some time away from work will let you return refreshed and re-energized. You won’t do anyone any good if you’re constantly running on empty

Living and working in a cluttered environment is expensive. Clutter costs us:

• Time – which is priceless and can never be replaced
• Energy – because it makes our jobs harder
• Financially - because we pay for the initial purchase, pay to maintain the clutter and pay for wasted time spent looking for misplaced items
• Peace of mind – because it’s hard to relax in a space that’s overloaded with things that demand attention. And, as we all know only too well, it’s very stressful to look for items that go missing when we need them

Making order out of chaos

Here’s a simple, three-step process for organizing any space:

Step 1. Designate the purpose of the space you’re planning to organize

• Create a purpose statement for your space. Identify all the activities that will take place in that space and write them down in a list

Step 2. Eliminate anything that doesn’t fit the purpose of the space

• Start by creating four sorting boxes or piles:
  o Give away
  o Throw away
  o Store in this space
  o Store in another space

• Now, with your purpose statement and list in mind, go through the entire contents of your space and sort everything into these four categories

• ‘Sort everything’ means exactly that! Take a good, hard look at everything on your desk, drawers and cabinets – don’t forget to check your walls and counters, too. Sort all the items in one area before moving on to the next spot (yes, it’s a big job, but it’s worth it – once your living/working spaces are organized, you’ll have more time to relax!)

• As you go through the sorting process, ask yourself these questions:
  • Is this item useful to me? Have I used it in the past year? If not, get rid of it
  • Is it in good condition? Does it work properly? If not, fix it or throw it out
  • Do I have too many of these? Store excess supplies somewhere else or give them away
  • Is this a seasonal item I can store elsewhere? A labeled storage box is ideal for this type of thing

Step 3. Find a home for the items in the ’store in this space’ pile

• Eliminate the things that don’t fit the purpose of your space

• Invest in some organizing tools for storing the items that you put back into your desk, cabinets and counters. File boxes, drawer organizers, accordion files, even plastic containers will help keep your spaces tidy

• Store frequently used items in easily accessible drawers and cabinets. Make sure these items are kept close to the place where they’ll be used

• Store similar things together (eg. all office supplies in one place)

• Store items on your desk or counters only if you use them often (several times a week). Otherwise, put them away

• Once you have everything in the right spot, use a label maker to label what goes where. Then make a point of always putting things back in the right place!

Are you running out of time before you run out of tasks? Do you wish you had more hours in the day to get it all done?

Here are some common time-wasters that eat up precious minutes every day. Learning how to plan for and manage these distractions will dramatically improve your effectiveness and productivity.

Time Stealers:

Crisis management
Attempting too much
Procrastination
Telephone interruptions
Unexpected visitors
Paper clutter
E-mail overload

Crisis management
You’ve already planned a full workday and suddenly, a crisis develops that needs your immediate attention. Unexpected problems can disrupt even the most carefully organized schedule.

Solution:

• Don’t let someone else’s crisis become your problem. Try not to react to tasks that seem urgent but may not really be furthering your work goals or the goals of your organization
• When planning your workday, always ask yourself, “What is the best use of my time right now?” That will help you set priorities and focus your energy on the important tasks of the day
• Accept the fact that problems will always develop, so try to plan for them. Set aside some time each day to deal with unexpected issues – if nothing develops, you’ll have the benefit of some extra time to complete other work or enjoy a short break
• Whenever possible, anticipate crises and take action to head them off – it’s always easier to put out a small spark than a raging fire

Back to top

Attempting too much
It’s easy to fall into the trap of taking on more than you can handle – and trying to get it all done ‘yesterday.’ If you don’t allocate enough time to do things properly, you’ll be left with half-finished projects and no sense of accomplishment at the end of the day.

Solution:

• Start by setting realistic goals for yourself.  Plan your activities each day, taking into account specific time commitments, such as meetings and appointments. Identify and prioritize all the tasks you have to complete during your available working hours and do the important jobs first.
• Plan enough time to complete your ‘to do’ list – make sure you allocate some time to deal with your normal daily interruptions
• Make a habit of finishing the main task you’ve set for each day before you go home at night
• Try to complete one task before starting another – incomplete work drains your energy and leaves you feeling frustrated
• Learn to say no graciously – when someone asks you to take on a project, try to determine if you’re really the right person for the job
• Delegate work whenever possible – remember, you don’t have to do it all – many tasks can be done just as well by someone else

Back to top 

Procrastination
The biggest thief of time is not decision making, but decision-avoidance. By reducing the amount of procrastinating you do, you can substantially increase the amount of productive time in your day.

Solution:

•  The longer you put a job off, the more it clutters up your daily schedule – if you have a job to do, take action. Do it now!
• Don’t postpone an important task simply because it’s unpleasant – the task won’t get better with time and you’ll waste precious hours worrying about it or finding creative excuses to avoid it!
• Make molehills out of mountains – if you’re avoiding a task because it seems difficult or overpowering, try breaking it down into smaller segments and tackle a little part of it each day – you’ll make better progress this way and your motivation will increase, as you become more involved in the project
• Arrange set times of the day for mundane tasks, such as going through mail, responding to memos etc – that way you won’t be tempted to postpone work that’s boring and repetitive

Back to top

Telephone interruptions
The telephone is one of our greatest communication tools – but it can also be our biggest time waster.

Solution:

• Plan a specific ‘telephone time’ for returning calls – by grouping your calls, you’ll complete them quickly and minimize the disruptions in your daily work
• Avoid prolonging work-related calls with unnecessary social chitchat – try to get your caller down to business quickly by asking “How may I help you?
• Let your caller know your time constraints – if you have a class to teach in 10 minutes, say so right at the beginning of the conversation (politely, of course!)
• Try to avoid being placed ‘on hold’ when making a phone call – if someone is unavailable, arrange for a convenient time to call back or leave a message and your phone number
• Leave clear messages on other people’s answering machines – always give your name and phone number, as well as a convenient time for a return call
• Encourage the use of e-mail – it’s less disruptive and you can respond at a time that’s convenient for you

Back to top

Unexpected visitors
“Do you have a minute?” When it comes to effective time management, these five little words can be lethal! Unexpected, ‘drop-in’ visitors can soak up your time like a sponge.

Solution:

• Stand up when a colleague or visitor comes into your office or classroom – your body language will send the message that you’re busy. Chances are your visitor will also remain standing and will get to the point quickly, instead of sitting down for an extended visit
• Try to establish the purpose of the unexpected visit as soon as possible, then deal with the issue immediately or arrange for a follow-up meeting at a more convenient time
• Try not to engage in small talk and set a clear time limit for the discussion
• Don’t use an interruption as an excuse to stop work on a task or project – make note of what you were doing when you were interrupted and get back to your task immediately after the call or visit is complete
• Whenever possible, plan specific times for discussing routine matters with colleagues, staff or parents – that will help limit the number of unexpected interruptions in your day

Back to top

Paper Clutter

If your workspace is cluttered and messy, you’re probably wasting a surprising amount of time hunting for things that have gone missing in your desk or office.

Solution:

• Avoid a paper buildup by setting aside a specific time each day to deal with your mail – any paper that you don’t need to keep should be discarded immediately
• Don’t use your desk as a giant ‘in box’. Create in and out boxes for on-going work and place them on a cabinet or shelf, so they don’t distract you from your daily tasks

Back to top

E-mail overload
E-mail can be a major distraction. It’s hard to resist the temptation to check your inbox constantly. Learn to ignore that insistent little ‘you’ve got mail’ message and you’ll find your day is much more productive

Solution:

• Establish a regular time of day for processing e-mail and look at it only then 
• Reduce computer clutter by deleting or filing messages as soon as you’ve taken action on them
• Create a filing system for your e-mail, using broad categories and subcategories to keep like subjects together

Back to top

There’s no mystery to managing time. Everyone has 24 hours each day to eat, sleep, relax and work. It’s what you do with those 24 hours that really counts.

Learning to manage your time well equips you to get the most out of every day. Most people spend their days in a frenzy of activity. But, often they don’t achieve their goals because they spend time on the wrong things.

Effective time management techniques can help you deal with the time crunch that rules your life. These strategies teach you to shift your focus and to concentrate on results, not just on being busy. It’s worth making the effort to learn these new skills because the payoff is significant – you’ll enjoy a less frazzled, more fulfilling life.

Benefits of time management:

· Reduce frustration – most frustrating situations can be avoided with good planning and sound organizational techniques. When you overcome frustration, you’ll be much more productive

· Effective goals – when you don’t know where you’re going or how you’re going to get there, it’s easy to become anxious and dissatisfied. By learning to set smart goals, you’ll have a target to aim for and you’ll be able to determine the best way to get there

· Overcome guilt – do you struggle with a constant sense of guilt over all the things you haven’t done or should be doing? Time management techniques help you stop procrastinating and learn to prioritize. You’ll be much more confident and decisive in dealing with your daily challenges

· Increased energy – worrying about ‘unfinished business’ and tasks left undone drains your mental and physical energy. As you become more organized, you’ll find your energy levels actually increase

· Quality time – boring, mundane tasks can take up a lot of your time and keep you from enjoying other, more rewarding activities. When you take steps to organize these tasks efficiently, you’ll get them out of the way quickly and have more time for the fun things in life

Taking charge

In many ways, time management is actually a process of self-management. Time management teaches you to plan, delegate, organize, direct and control. If you’re a busy person with a demanding schedule, out of necessity, you’re probably quite organized already. But how are you allocating your time? Are you prioritizing the things that are important to you? Or is your efficient, organized and hectic schedule preventing you from spending any time on yourself and your passions?

Start an activity log

One of the first steps towards improving your life management skills is to determine exactly how you’re spending time. Start by keeping an activity log for a few days – you’ll be astonished at how much time you waste reading junk mail, making coffee and chatting to colleagues.

Fill in the activity log by recording all the things you do in a day, as you do them. Try not to modify your behaviour – be honest with yourself! Record the time of each activity and track how you feel while you’re completing each task. Are you alert, tired, energetic, bored etc.?

By analyzing your log, you’ll see how much time you spend on low-value or mundane tasks. You’ll also be able to determine when you perform at your best. During some parts of the day you’ll be energetic and at other times you’ll be flat and listless. A lot will depend on the number of breaks you’ve taken, the food you’ve eaten and the quality of your nutrition.

The activity log will give you a sound basis for experimenting with these and other variables. Once you know more about your time and how you spend it, you’ll be able to reduce the number of time-wasting jobs that clutter your schedule. You can also plan important tasks when you know you’ll be most focused and alert.