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Health and Wellbeing

Freeing Choice Through Non-Judgement

Written by Haze Carver on .

The Engaging People Company

A linguistic misunderstanding created much amusement over the weekend – and a memory to treasure too. My daughter had asked my husband: ‘What do you want for your birthday?’ ‘A lie-in,’ he’d replied, with the weariness of one who hasn’t slept properly in five years. Later, I asked her: ‘What do you want to get Dad for his birthday?’ ‘A LION,’ she replied, confidently.

When I’d finally stopped laughing, having watched him open his cuddly new lion with an air of bemusement, one thought struck me and stayed with me. Her complete lack of judgement. My daughter didn’t question or challenge her dad in his request, she didn’t ask him if he was sure, she didn’t wonder if she’d misheard. She simply accepted that this was his choice and it was not for her to project her own prejudices or beliefs onto his decision-making.

I don’t know when we become more judgemental, when we become weighed down by expectations that can limit our openness. But what I do know is that non-judgement enriches the experiences we have, frees us up to find new solutions, and empowers us to follow our goals and ambitions.

Non-judgement is an important factor in engaging people. After all, the very act of asking people what they think and feel shows that we are not relying on our own perceptions and understanding – we are opening the question up to gain that insight, trusting in the experiences and knowledge of others. When we are engaging people, how we ask questions is important too: the more open we can be, the less we shape the direction of travel of the feedback we get. And, then to paraphrase George Michael, listening to others – our staff, customers, partners, stakeholders – without prejudice. This can be trickier, but when we free ourselves of expectations, and disassociate personally from what we are being told, we can learn so much.

And this can lead to real innovation and creativity. When we ask, listen, and learn without judgement, we can do great things. We can shape new ways of doing and working – things that we might not previously have envisaged.

But perhaps where we use judgement most is with ourselves. How often do we think ‘I’d like to….’ but before we get any further throw a great big ‘I can’t’ in our way? How frequently do we stop ourselves taking a step forward towards our goals, our ambitions – our dreams – because of our own thinking errors, hurdles at which we stumble? How many times have we been offered an opportunity but said ‘no’ because we judge ourselves with limiting perceptions?

And it’s not just the judgement we use with ourselves. It’s the perception of how we might be judged: ‘what will people think?’ The fact is people aren’t probably thinking what we imagine them to be, and besides, what does it matter anyway? And yet, we let their perceived judgement stop us from taking a step forward.

Through non-judgement, we can hear more, see more, learn more, and enjoy richer, different experiences – and perhaps we can achieve the dreams we aspire to too.

And maybe, because of non-judgement, we can end up with a birthday present that we never knew we wanted, but which could not have been any more perfect.

This article was shared with permission from The Engaging People Company

Can we help? We’d love to hear from you. Please do get in touch:

Phone: 07834 578872

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @engagepeopleco

I’m now sleeping better than at the beginning of lockdown, are you?

Written by Haze Carver on .

Energise Me

Getting a good night’s sleep is one of my favourite subjects, in fact at the Yes Group Norwich talk I did way back in January, I inadvertently turned it into a Stand-up Comedy act. But there is a very serious side that we just don’t pay enough attention too. Lack of sleep in the short-term will lead to mood swings, lack of concentration, mistakes, lack of energy, headaches, general fuzziness and poor decision making, to name a few. In the long-term, it’s a big risk factor in many major diseases, from Type 2 Diabetes to heart conditions, to many cancers. Basically, we need to give our body and brain a chance to rejuvenate and recharge. Generally, we all (adults) need around 7-9 hours. I challenge anyone who says they need less. You might get less and think you are OK, but you are not, trust me.

But enough of the science lesson. What I want to talk about today is the inevitable disruption we all had in our sleep during the early part of the pandemic. With increased stress, anxiety and uncertainty and a big change in most people’s routines, it’s no surprise we all suffered. Even The Sun is reporting on How American’s lost sleep. 

How has your sleep been lately?

But personally, I noticed how well I’ve been sleeping lately. I wondered how you were feeling? Are you getting a better night’s sleep than you did? I’ve asked a few clients and colleagues and generally to consensus is the same. It’s like our body and minds are playing catch-up. We need it, and when we do, mother nature has the amazing ability to make things happen. 

If you are still struggling to get a good nights sleep, then all is not lost. Try these simple sleep routine and good habits to try to get back on track from Matthew Walker, first published at fastlifehacks.com (He’s a pretty big deal in the sleep world).

1. Stick to a sleep schedule

We should aim to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. People generally have a hard time adjusting to changes in sleep patterns. Unfortunately sleeping late on weekends doesn’t make up for poor sleep during the week. If necessary, set an alarm for bedtime. Matthew emphasizes this is the #1 priority from the list; stick to a regular sleep schedule.

2. Don’t exercise too late in the day

Exercise is great, and we should try to exercise at least 30 minutes on most days. But try to time it no later than 2-3 hours before bed.

3. Avoid caffeine & nicotine

Colas, coffee, teas (that aren’t herbal) and chocolate contain caffeine, which is a stimulant. Even consuming these in the afternoon can have an effect on your sleep. Nicotine is also a mild stimulant, and smokers will often wake up earlier than they would otherwise, due to nicotine withdrawal.

4. Avoid alcoholic drinks before bed

The presence of alcohol in the body can reduce your REM sleep, keeping you in the lighter stages of sleep.

5. Avoid large meals and beverages late at night

A lights snack before bed is okay, but a heavy meal can cause digestive issues, which interferes with sleep. Drinking too many fluids can cause frequent awakenings to urinate.

6. Avoid medicines that delay or disrupt your sleep (where possible)

Some commonly prescribed heart, blood pressure or asthma medications, as well as some over the counter and herbal medicines for coughs colds or allergies, can disrupt sleep patterns. If you have trouble sleeping, it may be worth speaking to your doctor or pharmacist to see if any of the drugs you’re taking may be contributing to this. It may be possible to take them earlier in the day.

7. Don’t nap after 3 pm

Naps are great, but taking them too late in the day can make it hard to fall asleep at night.

8. Make sure to leave time to relax before bed

It’s important to have time before bed to unwind. Try to schedule your days so that there is time to relax before bed.

9. Take a hot bath before bed

The drop in body temperature after a bath may help you to feel sleepy, and the bath can help you to slow down and relax before bed.

10. Have a dark, cool (in temperature), gadget-free bedroom

We sleep better at night if the temperature in the room is kept on the cool side. Gadgets such as mobile phones and computers can be a distraction. Additionally, the light they emit, especially the blue light, suppresses the secretion of melatonin. Melatonin being a hormone that regulates sleep/wake cycles – with it increasing in the evening to induce sleep. There are things we can do to reduce the blue light at night:

A comfortable mattress and pillow can set you up for a good sleep. Those with insomnia will often watch the clock, turn it away from view so you don’t have to worry about the time while trying to sleep. Use these tips to optimize your sleeping space.

11. Get the right sunlight exposure

Sun exposure during the day helps us to regulate sleeping patterns. Try to get outside in the natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes per day.

12. Don’t stay in bed if you (really) can’t sleep

If you find yourself still in bed for more than 20 minutes, or you’re starting to get anxious in bed, get up and do something else until you feel sleepy. Anxiety whilst trying to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep

Read the full article here.

So if you are sleeping better, please let us know, if not, maybe some of these tips from Matthew will help.

Ian Hacon

Chief Energy Officer

Get involved with the Norfolk Knowledge Hub!

Written by Haze Carver on .

If you have content you want to share, get in touch!

The Norfolk Knowledge Hub is available to every business, the content is provided by every business that would like to share their knowledge, skills and expertise. It is curated by your Norfolk Chambers of Commerce.

If you would like to get involved, then we would love to hear from you!

Why not drop us a line and we’ll get straight back to you to arrange a chat.

You can find out more about membership with the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce here

Or if you would like to speak to a member of our team directly call us on 01603 625977

(we’d love to know more about you and your business!)

Work engagement, job quality, wellbeing and innovation post-COVID – what can employers do

Written by Haze Carver on .

UEA – PrOPEL Hub

Businesses across the UK share an aspiration to bounce back after the COVID-19 crisis and get back to delivering value for customers and good jobs for employees. Promoting employee engagement (or ‘work engagement’) is important to delivering wellbeing for employees and improved innovation and performance for businesses.

As part of the ‘PrOPEL Hub’ and ‘Management Practices for Employee Engagement’ initiatives, supported by the Economic and Social Research Council, our team at the University of Strathclyde is working with UK companies to explore the linkages between jobs, work engagement and a crucial innovation outcome sought by employers – what we call ‘innovative work behaviours’ among employees. You can find lots of useful resources from us and colleagues on steps organisations can take to encourage these behaviours at www.propelhub.org.

Some critics have argued that engagement has become a buzzword – cover for employers reluctant to do the hard work of improving jobs, pay and conditions. So what is work engagement and how solid is the evidence base that action on engagement can deliver positive outcomes for employees and businesses?

It is true that the ‘engagement agenda’ has become somewhat ubiquitous, and the term has been used with reference to a range of meanings. But there is a decent evidence base that levels of ‘work engagement’ are important predictors of performance and wellbeing. Work engagement has been defined as ‘a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterised by vigour, dedication, and absorption’. This way of capturing engagement – developed by Wilmar Schaufeli and colleagues in the early 2000s – asks fundamental questions about feelings of resilience and energy (the vigour bit), whether employees find jobs meaningful (dedication) and if they are happy and immersed in interesting work (absorption).

There is good evidence that higher levels of engagement are associated with positive wellbeing outcomes for employees and some signs that they are also bottom-line benefits for companies. One area of performance that there is increasing interest is innovation – Are more engaged workers more likely to innovate and solve problems in the workplace? Here the evidence is a bit more limited, but there are signs that higher levels of engagement can support employees’ innovative work behaviours – ‘the intentional proposal and application of novel and improved ideas, processes, practices, and policies aimed at organizational effectiveness, business success, and long-term sustainability’. A new study by Kibum Kwon and Taesung Kim in Human Resource Management Review journal concludes that ‘engaged employees are more likely to behave innovatively by activating coping strategies to deal with challenges’. But we need to strengthen the evidence base on what works in supporting employees to innovate and also enhancing their wellbeing.

What sort of things should employers be thinking about to promote engagement and innovation? Our research focuses on the importance of job quality. Two members of our research team – professors Evangelia Demerouti and Arnold Bakker – have lead the development of the Job Demands-Resources Model. This is a way of thinking about job quality that centres on the need to balance, on the one hand, ‘job demands’ such as workload, emotional demands, interpersonal conflict, and on the other hand, ‘job resources’ – the elements of good job quality that help people to cope with the demands of the workplace, like job control, task variety, development opportunities and effective feedback. Evangelia Demerouti and Arnold Bakker and their colleagues have developed an impressive evidence base that suggests that these elements of job quality can feed into engagement and wellbeing. As I have already said, there is also some evidence that higher engagement equals more innovation, but we need more information on how these processes work.

Which brings us back to the major research programme that the University of Strathclyde is leading to arrive at new insights on these issues. We will be working with thirty companies to explore linkages between job quality, work engagement and wellbeing, and crucially, adding to the evidence on how we can support employees to innovate.

Of course, these are uniquely challenging times for HR practitioners and business leaders, and in the immediate term the emphasis is likely to be on business survival and retaining or exiting people from the organisation as necessary. But it might also be a good time for businesses to reflect on their workplace practices – as we move towards a ‘new normal’ post-COVID-19, employers have an opportunity to think about improving job quality to benefit people and performance.

For more from the PrOPEL Hub on Work Engagement, Job Quality and Innovation, head over to https://www.propelhub.org/job-quality-matters-building-workplace-wellbeing-and-engagement-into-the-new-normal-for-business/

If your business would like to work with our at team at the Scottish Centre for Employment Research at the University of Strathclyde Business School we would be keen to hear from you.

To find out more about the research, contact Professor Colin Lindsay at the University of Strathclyde – [email protected]

We think you may also find this interesting: The Value of Personality Tests

The PrOPEL Hub

Written by Haze Carver on .

Management Practice, Employee Engagement and the Productivity Puzzle

The UK ‘productivity puzzle’ – that is the long-term lag in our economic growth compared to competitors – is no secret. The causes for this are still not fully understood, but one thing is certain…if the UK economy is to survive the challenges thrown up by our EU exit and the Covid-19 pandemic, a solution is required.

Here at the PrOPEL Hub we believe that the workplace is the key to driving higher levels of engagement and productivity.

So who are we?

The PrOPEL Hub (Productivity Outcomes of workplace Practice, Engagement & Learning) is a major initiative designed to support improvements in productivity through enhanced workplace practice and employee engagement. The Hub brings together leading researchers from 8 UK universities alongside the CIPD, to develop practical tips and tools to help businesses take advantage of the latest insights and expertise. Funded by the Economic & Social Research Council, we focus on supporting the development of high quality, inclusive and engaging workplaces that help tackle the UK’s productivity puzzle. 

What do we do?

Events. We run a series of events exploring links between management practice, employee engagement and productivity. These range from our larger Masterclass events targeted at a senior business audience, our International Research Seminars aimed at an academic audience, to our smaller more engaged workshops and hacks which allow organisations to problem solve within their own specific business context

Research. All of our activity is underpinned by a robust evidence-base. We have 5 major on-going research projects funded by the ESRC which explore links between workplace practice and productivity through a range of different perspectives. You can learn more about these here.

Webcontent. Our website shares findings from our own and other key stakeholder’s research in a format that can be usefully and practically applied by businesses. We offer blogs, podcasts, videos and ‘How To’ toolkits.

Work with Us

We work with all different types of workplace stakeholders. For opportunities and to get involved, please sign up for our mailing list at www.propelhub.org or email us at [email protected]

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