Janet Fouts's Blog, page 13

How Can I help You?

Business as usual just doesn’t exist for most of the world right now. On top of that many of the resources we’ve learned to rely on have either stopped or gone virtual.

An article in the New York Times in 2019 (pre pandemic) indicated that Americans were the most stressed-out population in the world! I’m not sure how those numbers would look now, but I’m willing to guess that stress levels are at an all-time high worldwide.

What can we do about it?

The community has responded with free mindfulness, meditation, yoga, and exercise classes online. These businesses are struggling just like others. When we used to hold in-person workshops, one-on-one coaching, retreats, and training sessions, now all of that has gone virtual.

I’m working on new programs to continue online long after the pandemic passes, but I also want to offer something NOW, that can help people learn how to manage stress more effectively, find creative ways to get through this and create action plans for moving forward in what will certainly be a new work environment going forward.

I’ve been a business coach for more than 20 years. I’ve  worked in startups, marketing, social media  and teaching mindfulness, emotional intelligence and positive psychology.

How can I help you?

Here’s the link to sign up for 30 minutes of time on my calendar. All meetings will take place on Zoom by phone or video, whatever works for you. This is my way of giving back and also of being of service in a difficult time.I’ve extended my free open office hours for coaching anyone who wants some help with:

Learning about mindfulness and/or meditation
Finding ways to create a sense of ease and calm in turbulent times
Leadership
Remote work
Conscious business
Social media marketing and business strategizing

Note: I am a coach, not a therapist or a psychologist. If you’re in crisis mode, know that seeking help is a strength—not a weakness. Crisis Text Line is a free, 24/7, confidential support to people in crisis in the U.S., U.K., and Canada.

How are we caring for the caregivers in the workplace?

In a recent report from the Harvard Business School (The Caring Company) less than 25% of employers say that being a caregiver impacts the performance of employees. Wow, that’s simply obtuse when over 80% of employees surveyed said that caregiving had impacted their performance.  20% of those interviewed stated that being a caregiver hurt their careers. My own experiences with caregivers certainly bear witness to this. They simply hide their caregiving duties until the stress and exhaustion force them to quit.

What do employers know?
We can’t blame employers for not knowing what we don’t disclose. Employees may fear retribution, discrimination,  loss of advancement opportunities, missed raises and bonuses. But if employers are truly in touch with their team, they can see the signs. According to the report “Employers identified unplanned absences and missed days of work (33%), late arrival at work (28%), and early departure from work (17%) as the top three behaviors that always undermine career progression. Those are all behaviors that frequently arise due to an employee’s need to respond to a caregiving obligation.“

Who are the Carers?
While some may assume that caregivers who quit are in “less important” roles in the company, that’s not actually true. You may be surprised to learn that the percentage who left a position rose higher at each rung on the corporate ladder.

The cost of not caring for caregivers
Senior leaders are most likely to leave to care for a family member. Let that sink in for a moment. The cost of finding, hiring, and retaining skilled teams is rising.
(SHRM) reported that on average it costs a company 6 to 9 months of an employee’s salary to replace him or her.  On top of that, it affects productivity, engagement, company culture, and overhead.

Who are the caregivers at work?
The demographics may be much different than you think:

Employee 23%Manager of employees 44%Manager of managers 53%Senior leaders 61%

Taking a conscious business approach
With the changing population and the rise in nontraditional families, caregivers have fewer resources to turn to. We are going to have to face the fact that caregiving is a much larger part of the workforce than we realized. Helping employees manage their roles as employees, caregivers, family members and members of the community is becoming more important to a modern workforce.

Companies in the conscious business movement are recognizing that when people thrive in an organization the company is more successful and that trickles down into every aspect of a community.

Today’s corporate environment is moving toward enhanced employee benefits plans, and that’s great, but it’s time to take a closer look at who those plans serve. Employers are looking to provide wellness plans, but corners get cut and programs that look good on paper may not serve the needs of the employees.  A recent report on corporate wellness programs by Jeremiah Owyang points out that digital wellness programs may be a good start, but it’s crucial that we involve that human-to-human factor in wellness programs if we truly want to see them become part of the corporate culture.

Interested in hearing how you can support caregivers in your organization? 
Schedule time to talk about programs for stress reduction, building personal resilience in your company.

Corporate America steps up to deal with #COVID-19

You might be wondering how companies are taking care of their people during the COVID-19 crisis. Here are a few of the many companies who have stepped up to care for and protect their teams, customers and vendors.

Zoom is offering free services and technical support to nonprofits, medical institutions, and NGOs as well as schools for online education.

Comcast and T-Mobile upgraded everyone to unlimited data for the next 90 days. Comcast made their Xfinity hotspots open to anyone for free. And T-Mobile is working with Lifeline, a federal program that provides service to those with low incomes to add free data up to 5GB for the next 60 days.

AT&T instructed employees who can work from home to do so and is providing limited paid time off for those who need to self-quarantine, have children home from school and daycare or are at higher risk.

Dropbox is sharing tips for Preparing for Distributed Work and offering free Dropbox business subscriptions for 3 months for nonprofits and NGOs fighting the virus.

Nike Closed its stores in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand through to March 27 and instituted work from home and staggered work schedules and safety measures in the workplace.

Apple shut down their retail stores, offered expanded its sick leave policy to cover family issues, set up work from home guidelines.  and donated $15 million to a global fund for COVID-19 response.

Kaiser Permanente plans to prevent treat the homeless for COVID-19. They’ll be partners with the advocacy group National Health Care for the Homeless Council to fund at least four housing activist groups in California, Seattle, and Portland, Ore.

Patagonia closed its stores and online sales until March 27 and will pay all employees regular pay for the next two weeks.

Target instructed those who could do so to work from home at headquarters until the end of April and is working with the federal government to offer testing in their locations as soon as possible. All employees are eligible for free back-up ca=re through partner Bright Horizons.

Microsoft announced Asked workers to stay home until March 25 in Seattle and San Francisco, and agreed to pay hourly service providers their regular pay even if they are not needed to work.

Warby Parker retailer closed all stores to March 27 and will pay retail team members as though they were working.

General Motors sent workers around the world home if their jobs allow it, and adjusted schedules to allow for more deep cleaning.

Ford handled it in a similar fashion, even after the union in Louisville called for a shutdown.

Proctor and Gamble instructed all North American employees who are able to work from home to do so, and canceled all in-person gatherings.

Google advised all employees in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Canada, and US to work from home. They’ve also created a host of resources to get solid information and reduce disinformation.

Cisco is offering free Webex to employees and customers who have employees who work from home to have 14 days of service.

Amazon sent workers home in and will continue to pay hourly workers (estimated at 10,000) including security to food service and janitorial workers on the Washington campuses and subsidize small businesses on campus that rely on Amazon employees for income.

Twitter sent everyone home globally and will cover the wages of contractors and hourly workers who are not able to work from home. They are also reimbursing daycare costs for parents and for the costs of setting up home offices.

Both MGM and Wynn resorts shut down their operations in Las Vegas. Layoffs and furloughs are said to begin in the coming days. MGM said in a statement they would continue to pay employees eligible for Flexible Time Off and Paid Time Off accrued.

Facebook gave employees free Portal devices so they could stay connected while working from home through April 10, but contractors whose jobs require them to be in the office are still apparently required to come in or take PTO.

Living with Resilience

Things are a little crazy in our world right now.

The economy, Covid19, politics and a host of things that seem small, but all add up to a lot of fear, frustration, anger, and resentment.

Resentment is an evil beastie, and sometimes we don’t recognize it until it’s WAY too late. When it goes unrecognized we can really cause a lot of hurt, and we might not even know that resentment is at the root of it all.

What’s going on?

The onslaught of media and social noise is keeping you in a constant state of worry and anxiety.
Working from home sounds like fun, but it can be isolating and after a couple of days cabin-fever sets in but you’re avoiding going out too.
The conference or meeting you were going to attend or speak at is canceled and now your business is struggling.
You’re caring for a family member with love and care, but beginning to wonder how you can keep going like this without breaking down.
You expected a project to go the way you envisioned it, but the other people involved didn’t know your plans and now it’s all wrong.
You tried to speak up in a meeting but a co-worker spoke first and took over the conversation. Now, you avoid meetings if they will be there.
The person in front of you at the stoplight stopped on a yellow light and now you’re going to be late, and you just go OFF!

Resentment is the persistent feeling that you are not being treated fairly. You don’t feel you’re getting the appreciation, respect, recognition, apology, affection or reward that you deserve. You feel devalued, and when your mind is in that state it can be hard to get out of that mindset. You may find yourself locked up in “What if” and “If only” scenarios.

Because resentment is a low-energy emotion, it can sit there, festering and affecting your life in many ways for years. You start to see other examples of being under-valued and each time the resentment grows. It becomes so familiar that you look for more things to resent, in the news, in other people’s tastes and opinions.

Let’s build Resilience into our lives together

Enough drowning in the negative aspects of resentment, what do we DO about this?

Join me for a free 1-hour online class to learn how to live with a resilient approach.

Gain coping skills for stressful situations.
How to develop your inner resources to be more resilient in the face of adversity, at home and at work.
Identify your pre-set responses to specific stresses and how they affect what is really going on.
Recognize emotional triggers and create a game plan to address them mindfully.

Are you ready to start being happier and more resilient in your daily life?

 

Sign up for the class

Wednesday, March 13 at 12 Noon PT

register

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The Connectors Advantage, #MindfulSocial with @mtlederman

My guest this week is Michelle Tillis Lederman,  a real human connector, not one of those people who connects with their own end result in mind, but someone who puts the relationships first and really connecting on a personal level. That’s what makes her one of Forbes Top 25 Networking Experts, and she’s the author of four books including the bestselling The Connectors Advantage.

AND it’s Michelle’s bookaversary! It’s been one year since she launched The Connectors Advantage and from March 10-12 you can download a Kindle version for just $.99!

For the past 15 years, Michelle has become the expert around growing a business’s greatest asset – it’s people!

Michelle is a connection creator and CEO of Executive Essentials, which provides customized communications and leadership programs for Fortune 500, non-profit, university and government clients.

Michelle is known for helping people work better together to advance their individual impact and establish their own greatest assets – their connections.

Find Michelle on your favorite social networks:

Website: http://www.michelletillislederman.com/  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MichelleTillisLederman

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/communicationexpertspeaker

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mtlederman

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/MichelleLederman

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mtlederman/

Are you happy? How do you know?

I’ve mentioned before that there was a time in my life I saw no way to find joy in my life. I was stuck in a loop of negativity and just couldn’t dig myself out of it.

Over the years since then I look back on those days a lot, in part as a reminder of how far I’ve come. Thanks to learning mindfulness and self-awareness, I’m able to snap out of the negative spirals more quickly and bring to mind the resources I’ve built up that help me remember that happiness and joy are always nearby, I just have to make the effort to take a breath and find it again.

So how do we know when we are in a negative or positive space? Being aware of our feelings and our body is important here. Our physical reaction can tell us so much if we learn to listen to it. Tune in to what you feel in your body. Does it feel contracted or expanded?

Contraction

We experience negative things like fear, anger, ignorance, or meanness in our body as a sort of contraction.

Some examples:

Shortness of breath- tight chest
Pulse racing, heart pounding
Tightness in the body, clenched fists
Sick to your stomach
Can’t focus thoughts
Wanting to run or hide

All of these are demonstrations of contracting, sort of like a puppy when you shout at it. When we are contracted it can be difficult to reason through what to do next.

Expansion

We experience positive feelings in our body in what is sometimes called “opening”. Expansion lends itself to learning, awareness of self and others, communication, kindness, and love.

Some examples:

Breathing flows easily, effortlessly
A feeling of lightness in the body
A swing in your step
Expansive, freedom, openness
Smiling or laughing
A sense of wonder or delight

Of course, it’s not really that cut and dried. For example, you might get a promotion at work, or take on a big project. You feel a rush of adrenalin and your breathing is short and fast, your stomach tight. This is contraction at work, even though you know you should be happy. It’s confusing.

So what to do?

Take a breath or two and allow the feelings you are feeling to be what they are. Don’t fight it, just allow without judgment. Observe how you are feeling, and being mindful of what is happening in your body.

Now choose actions and thoughts to can help you open, to expand. In the above example you might:

Smile and allow yourself to celebrate the promotion, let it soak in
Feel gratitude for the opportunity
Notice that the change in workload is an opportunity and think about what benefits it might have that will bring happiness.
Listen to some happy music, dance, sing, celebrate!
Planning where you’ll go on a vacation when the project is finished
Going for a brisk walk in the sunshine

The key to moving toward expansion is to do something that helps you feel even a tiny amount of happiness. Then allow that feeling to soak in. Bask in the glow. Give yourself permission to relax. Let the positive feeling grow and feel your body relax, your face soften, your breathing slow. Stay in this state for a few seconds and feel the expansion. Enjoy it.

This doesn’t happen for everything, or immediately either. It takes practice to be able to call up a changing state of being. But that’s all it takes. Practice. Next time you’re feeling lighthearted? Don’t let it go too fast. Soak in it, enjoy it. Allow yourself to fully feel it and recognize it. Now it will be much easier to find next time.

Having more joy

This is one small way to start experiencing more joy into your life. Just think what a whole mindfulness retreat focused on creating more pathways to joy and enhancing it will be like? Learn more about our “Bring on the Joy” retreat in Santa Cruz, Ca, May 28 2020!

The Caregiver in Your Workplace

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When I became a caregiver it changed the way I did everything. I thought I was a master at multi-tasking. Juggling life and work, being able to stay up to the wee hours coding or managing client work was second nature to me. Suddenly I was thrown into what it really means to multi-task, and I really wasn’t as good at it as I imagined.

Over time, (years!) I learned to manage and create new workflows to get things done and still function. How? I dove into training in Emotional Intelligence, Positive Neuroplasticity, and Mindfulness. I met and spoke to hundreds of family caregivers who were dealing with many of the same issues I was. It was the inspiration for writing When Life Hits the Fan–a Mindful Guide the Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others.

I learned that 40 million individuals in the US are performing care for a family member or friend without pay, adding up to 37 billion hours of care for loved ones. Most are also working to support themselves and/or family at the same time, and few felt equipped for the task, but we do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Family caregivers struggle financially, mentally and physically with the demands of caring and work. They know little of what their options are to take care of themselves and their loved ones and still be productive and engaged at work. 

This is why I’m collaborating with the team at CareWise with an innovative solution for employee-caregivers to create a program offering a mindful approach to self-care for the caregiver and designed with elements from a number of well-respected self-care tools:

MindfulnessNeurosciencePositive PsychologyConscious CommunicationMeditationMindful Movement

I’m offering  a series of workshops online and in-person, bringing the training and the knowledge I’ve gained from working within the system to help caregivers understand how they can practice self-care and use these skills to manage all of this skillfully, at work and at home. 

We have included workshops for employees as well as team leaders and managers to optimise the benefits of bringing mindfulness into the workplace for the benefit of all. 

Read about the workshops at the links below.
Space is limited–Get your seat today!

Mindfulness Training for Employee Caregivers January 7, 2020
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM PST
San Jose, CA, 95113
Learn more

Mindfulness Training for Employee Caregivers February 7, 2020
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM PST
San Jose, CA, 95113
Learn more

ONLINE
Mindfulness Training for Employee Caregivers January 15 & 22 (2 days), 2020
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM PST
Learn more

Mindfulness Training for
TeamLeaders January 13, 2020
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM PST
San Jose, CA, 95113
Learn more

ONLINE
Mindfulness Training for
Team Leaders January 20, 2020
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM PST
Online
Learn More

Say What You Mean- #mindfulSocial with @orenjaysofer

This week’s guest on Mindful Social is Oren Jay Sofer. I first discovered Oren on Twitter and discovered his book, Say what you Mean- A Mindful Guide to Nonviolent Communication Having studied the work of Marshall Rosenberg in Nonviolent Communication for some time, I dove into the book and devoured it. If you are wanting to bring empathy forward and open to clearer communication with others, you really should get this one, there is so much to learn! I’m honored to have him on the podcast and I know you’ll enjoy it too.

Mindful Social Podcast

About Oren Jay Sofer

Oren teaches meditation and communication retreats and workshops nationally. A member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council, he is a Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication and a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner for the healing of trauma. Oren also holds a degree in Comparative Religion from Columbia University, is the founder of Next Step Dharma and co-founder of Mindful Healthcare. He is the author of Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication, and co-author of Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Adolescents.

Myths and facts about being a family caregiver

Did you know there are more than 40 million Americans caring for a family member or friend? Many of them are working a full-time job (or more) while also dedicating  20-40 hours a week* as a caregiver for a family member, friend, or neighbor.

There are a lot of assumptions made about who caregivers are and what they do. As a caregiver myself, and through my work with caregivers, I wanted to share a fe myths and facts with you.

Myth: The majority of family caregivers are caring for children at home.
Fact: 82% of family caregivers are caring for at least one other adult (18+), and 15% care for 2 adults.

Myth: It’s always a woman who is providing care
Fact: It’s true that 65% are female but that is changing. In fact, a recent study from Harvard Business School showed that men are more likely to leave a job to care for a loved one than women. (Men 38%, women 27%)

Myth: People become the caregiver for someone because they either aren’t working or have a lower-paying job than others who might provide care for family.
Fact: In the Harvard study they discovered that 61% of those who quit their job to be a caregiver for family we senior leadership in the workplace. 44% were managers of managers and 23% were regular employees.

Myth: Keeping family at home will be easier and saves money
Fact: We often overlook the costs of keeping family at home, especially when they are our parents. Running errands, home maintenance, doctor’s visits, therapy and the prospect of hiring professional care at some point sneaks up on us. Most insurance won’t cover the cost of family care, only professional care.

Myth: Only the patient matters
Fact: The stress of caregiving can be immense, and often the caregiver goes into super-hero mode. “Here I am to save the daaaay!”. That’s great in a crisis, but with longer-term care, it’s important to care for yourself too or you may experience burnout, depression, and a feeling of inadequacy. Practice a little self-compassion too and get help.  Seek out counseling or support from groups. Give yourself a break. For me, taking a mindful approach to caregiving was the answer and why I wrote the book  When Life Hits the Fan, so you could learn how to take better care of yourself too.

Myth: Nobody wants to help
Fact: In my experience working with caregivers, many feel that they are the “only one helping”. We may have to face the fact that we aren’t letting others help. Often the caregivers I meet are the family go-to to solve problems, so naturally, the rest of the family defers to them and doesn’t “get in the way”. Being frank about what you need and how people can help can make a world of difference.

How can I help you?
I’ve spent more than 15 years understanding how a mindful approach to caregiving can help caregivers not just survive but thrive. It quite likely saved my life and my relationships at home and at work.  Ask me how.

An interview with @BrennerMichael, author of #MeanPeopleSuck on #MindfulSocial

I had such a great chat this week with  Michael Brenner, author of the brand new release,  Mean People Suck: How Empathy Leads to Bigger Profits and a Better Life, and it is on sale now, so you can snag your own copy or buy one for a friend (or better yet, that miserable co-worker or mean boss) and learn how to turn a toxic workplace into a healthier, happier place.

Michael shares with us what’s really at the root of being disengaged and miserable in our jobs, and spoiler alert, sometimes it’s US, our attitude, expectations or even our victim mindset.

Wanna know how we can get to a place where we allow ourselves to be happy in the job we’re doing by bringing empathy and service to others forward? This helps us, our brand, the company we work for, our customers and the world too. How awesome is that?

About Michael

Michael Brenner has been recognized as a Forbes top CMO influencer, a Top Business Keynote Speaker by the Huffington Post and a Top Motivational Speaker by Entrepreneur Magazine. He is CEO of Marketing Insider Group, where he has worked with more than 75 brands in building effective content marketing and employee activation programs.

Michael is the best-selling author of 3 books including Mean People Suck – how empathy leads to bigger profits and a better life, The Content Formula, and Digital Marketing Growth Hacks. Michael enjoys sharing his experiences and client stories to inspire leaders like you into action that creates impact.

Find Michael on  Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook too!