Category: Organization

Healthy leadership: The workplace trait that relieves stress

Healthy leadership is becoming increasingly important

Against the background of the demographic development in our country and the expected challenges for occupational psychologists and occupational physicians, healthy management is becoming more and more important.

Management styles have both positive and negative effects on the health of employees. How healthy the employees are influences performance and productivity and ultimately the competitiveness of a company. In addition, health reduces costs due to absenteeism.

Healthy and less healthy leadership

The psychologist Gregersen states in a recently published article that 2 statements can be made with certainty:

1. Maintaining leadership acts as a resource or stressor on the health of employees.
   • Social support from superiors increases resilience in difficult and stressful working conditions.
   • Opportunities for co-determination and participation also increase resilience.
   • Appreciative communication and recognition also lead to greater resilience.
2. Certain leadership styles have a health-promoting effect while others are detrimental.

Employee-oriented management styles have a positive effect on health. Some studies even show that a balance between employee- and task-oriented leadership results in the lowest levels of stress and burnout.

Impairing leadership styles primarily increase psychological (improper) burdens (stress).

The reason for a lack of healthy leadership is probably the confusion between management and leadership

In day-to-day work, a closer look reveals in many companies that management activities far outweigh leadership activities.

Ergonomic findings show that employee orientation or a good balance between both levels brings the best results in terms of employee health. The connections even go so far that managers take their sick leave with them when they take on a new position.

What should you pay attention to? What should you avoid if you want to promote a healthy leadership style:

Business tips organization

After a hard day at work, it is important to switch off properly. Letting go of the stress of the day and switching mentally is very helpful. For many people, switching between work and leisure is not easy. Read here how you don’t have to take the worries of the day home with you, but instead use your way home after work to reduce stress.

Reduce stress and find more time for yourself

Stopping, distancing and relativizing

When you are under stress, it is usually very difficult for you to change the situation in your favor. The only chance is to become aware of it. How do you do that?

When the hustle and bustle gets the better of you, shout out loud: “Stop!” Take a mental step back and ask yourself: “How would I rate this problem in six months?”

In other words, is it even worth the fuss? Does it actually make sense to wind up on it? Isn’t there anything more important? Does the stress bring me closer to solving my problem? By answering these questions, you can manage to reduce stress and hectic, to remain confident and to do the right thing in this moment with the necessary composure.

Change perspective

Many people really get their teeth into a problem that, on closer inspection, is not that difficult. Why? Because they see it from a certain perspective and never think that a different approach could solve it much more efficiently and elegantly.

Therefore, change the frame through which you see an issue more often. The glass can always be half full or half empty. So how about reinterpreting a negative situation as an opportunity for improvement? Because no situation has only negative or only positive sides.

Rethink long-term

If you know that you panic easily, over the next few days pay attention to when negative feelings arise and how they are expressed. Perhaps as fear or unrest, as anger or anger? Make a quick note in the appropriate situation.

Can you see the underlying theme? Are you angry that something isn’t going fast enough? What if it went faster? Would you actually be happier then, or would that only fuel your inner rush even more? Wouldn’t it be more helpful and better for your well-being to lower the demands on yourself?

Business tips organization

Stress is caused on the one hand by external demands and on the other hand by the way we deal with these demands. Sometimes stress is productive because it spurs us on to top performance, sometimes it acts like a blockage when the inner tension has become too great. Here’s how to reduce stress and increase your chances of getting the tasks you set out to do on time for the day.

3 suggestions to slow down your pace with better time management

Unplug again

Really train yourself to disconnect from the daily hustle and bustle. And regularly. Enjoy the luxury of having and taking your time. Treat yourself to deliberation, slowness and serenity. It is not speed and maximum concentration that are decisive now, but leisure and leisure.

This also applies to your movements. From time to time, consciously slow down the speed of your arm movements and your walking speed. Talk slower than usual. Cultize dawdling. Observe how others rush and be happy that you don’t need it and consciously counteract it.

Check it out again

As you know, unexpected things often happen and Murphy’s law is always confirmed in the most inopportune situations. When everything that can go wrong has gone wrong, it’s better to get on with the day instead of getting upset about it.

Of course it’s not nice when the computer goes on strike, your parking space is occupied again and the announced important telephone appointment cannot take place because the person you are talking to is ill. As a result, you haven’t even completed half of your tasks and are frustrated. But things like this happen despite good planning. Getting angry won’t get you any further and will at most spoil your evening at the end of the day. Remember, tomorrow is another day and you can do your best.

Decide for yourself again

Don’t subject yourself to time pressure, instead determine your own rhythm. You have the power to move faster or slower, to get angry or simply to enjoy the day. Sit comfortably, risk a longer look out of the window, take a closer look at the flowers or plants on your desk.

Take your time. 10 minutes is enough. And you will notice how you become calmer and more relaxed while also recharging your batteries.

Self-Management: Reward yourself

Reward yourself regularly

Nothing is worse than stubbornly working towards yourself and thinking that that alone will make you happy. While this may work for a period of time, the longer that period lasts, the greater the frustration. Because your brain has the job of making sure that you are doing well. That’s when your reward system kicks in.

And that, in turn, makes it when you can celebrate successes. In this way you express appreciation and gratitude towards yourself, you enjoy the moment and experience the good feeling of having achieved something. That’s why rewards are so important. In addition, you also soothe your inner bastard, because after all he persevered and was looking forward to a reward.

Small livestock makes crap too

Do you only think big? Graduated, got a promotion, got a job? What if college is dragging on, promotion is taking longer than expected, and the job comes with a long probationary period? What if you also rewarded yourself for small successes? Because even a small success is a success!

These small rewards are extremely important in order to persevere until a certain goal is reached. They provide the power to keep going. It doesn’t have to be anything big. Perhaps reward yourself with a good book, treat yourself to a visit to the cinema or even enjoy a wellness weekend. Be creative. It helps your motivation and gives you energy.

Don’t fall into this trap

Can’t go wrong with rewards? Not even close. Pay attention to two crucial things:

• Reward yourself only after completing your task
• Then actually reward yourself.

If you ignore these two conditions, this type of motivation no longer works. Your brain, or rather your memory from experience, registers very precisely when a reward arrives for what. If there are discrepancies, you have lost – the effect is gone.

Why self-organization is so important to us

Good self-organization lets you get more done in less time

Or do you like to dawdle and enjoy wasted time? Probably not. Those who can organize themselves well not only save time and money, but also reduce stress and frustration.

In addition, he is well prepared for the future, because the flood of information will not decrease, but will increase disproportionately. It’s good to know that you’ve made provisions. If you haven’t already, learn self-management skills, learn to organize, and most importantly, practice separating the essential from the non-essential. Then you can look to the future with confidence.

There is no such thing as the best system.

Unfortunately. Otherwise everyone would use it. As a result, there is no right or wrong way to organize yourself optimally. Simply use the various options to find out what works well for you and is therefore the best.

However, don’t give up if it doesn’t work the way you want it to the first time or two. The rule is: the proof of the pudding is in the eating. And: Proceed step by step. First deal with the area where it “sticks” the most, where most of the time goes by the wayside. And only when you have this one under control, move on to the next.

Self-organization is not a one-time thing

Why? Because the world is constantly changing and you with it. What seems optimal today may be totally outdated tomorrow. Make use of the Kaizen principle: The work philosophy originating from Japan, which aims at striving for constant improvement.

In this respect, your self-organization should also be a continuous process, not a completed task. Therefore, the question does not have to be: “When will I finally be optimally organized?”, but rather “How can I best adapt my self-organization to the constantly changing requirements?”

It is important to stay on the ball consistently, to constantly learn, to neglect techniques that are no longer suitable and to test new variations and adopt them if necessary.

Optimal time management: plan cleverly!

1. Think before you plan

If you want to slim down your to-do list, then follow a very simple principle: Don’t write down all the upcoming tasks, but ask yourself the following three questions:

• Got to I do it? (Maybe I can delegate it?)
• Do I have to? now make? (Is there still time?)
• Do I have to? at all make? (Does it get me further?)

2. First implement your top project

Before you get overwhelmed by the mass of activities for the day, select the three most important and then the most important. And that’s exactly what you tackle first. Until she’s done. Then it’s on to the next task and so on. In this way, you always do the most important things and in the evening you can enjoy the good feeling of having moved something!

3. Courage to gap!

If your diary is bursting at the seams with meetings, phone calls, projects and private activities, just leave something out. Show the red card to unimportant things, become the world champion in canceling appointments and have the courage to leave gaps.

So you can concentrate on the essentials. Your day becomes more manageable, your commitments lessen. Then, after 4 weeks, take stock: where did you make the right decision, what should you keep and what can be deleted without replacement in the future.

4. Choose the right planning aid

What is optimal for one person does not exactly knock the other off their feet and vice versa. If you’re a fan of electronic to-do lists, then find one that suits you. If the technology seems too cumbersome, time-consuming (you have to type everything in first) and risky (the computer crashes) and you prefer to work with paper, then do it.

Don’t let anyone tell you what’s good or bad for you. Decide for yourself and listen to your gut. He’s smarter than many think.

Self-management: 3 tips to curb your weaker self

These 3 recommendations will show you how to deal with it better.

1st recommendation: Just start

The reason for this is simple: If you keep moaning about what you don’t like about this task, you will never take action. If you let your weaker self do as you please, there are usually several reasons for this. Such as objections and doubts – the project could go wrong.

Also, there are sooo many other things to do right now and the end result may not be as perfect as you imagined. That’s why getting started in the first place is critical to your progress. Instead of allowing the psychological strain to keep increasing, design a future scenario: How much time, money or nerves will it cost you if you don’t tackle the matter now? Is this price justified for it? This consideration will quickly lead you to the positive consequences if you start quickly.

So don’t wait for the best time and don’t let time pass. After all, sooner or later you will have to do unpleasant tasks anyway.

2. Recommendation: Strengthen your self-discipline

Easier said than done, because your brain is brilliant at coming up with excuses pretty quickly as to why you can’t devote yourself to this task right now. Although the mind knows that it must be done at some point. Now let your weaker self on a long leash, you will quickly end up in the devil’s kitchen and later have to pay for it with hectic and stress under time pressure.

Instead, strengthen your self-discipline and give him a clear “Stop!” This makes you immune to being distracted or waiting. Hold on until you’ve answered the awkward email, had the appraisal interview, or finished the monthly report. Then treat yourself to a treat if you can cross one of these awkward tasks off your list.

3. Recommendation: Give him food regularly

You probably know it from your own experience: You can hardly beat your weaker self. But there’s a tried-and-tested trick: if he growls really loud, give him what he asks for in moderation. Because exaggerations will get you no further than stubborn abstinence. So give him a little or a longer break, allow yourself a coffee, allow distractions.

It is crucial, however, that you limit the duration, otherwise you will not get any further. Example: You set a break of 15 minutes and then go back to work in a disciplined and concentrated manner. If you implement this regularly, it has a great advantage. You calm down your weaker self because it knows in advance when you will treat yourself again. So you don’t have to think about how to tame him every time.