Real life Category

business communication skills

Identifying Behaviours (good and bad) Under Covid-19 Pressure

As our economy continues to take a blow from the current Covid-19 crisis now it is as important as ever to keep strong work relationships. Impossible times like these can place a lot of pressure on us in a number of ways. It’s important that we recognise and demonstrate important behaviours that can make all the difference in getting to the other side while maintaining healthy, productive business to business relationships.

BEHAVIOUR THAT ENHANCES WORK RELATIONSHIPS & PRODUCTIVITY

We all have good and bad days but a pattern of negative behaviour can be detrimental to your work and the relationships around you. There’s always time to weed out a few bad habits, consider adopting one or more positive changes:

STAY CALM

Stay calm

Let’s face it, we are all anxious about the circulating Coronavirus and the constantly changing alerts that impact our day to day living but we can stay calm at work by arriving with the right set of facts (only) from good sources of information.

  • A sense of humour (even dark humour) can often relieve tension and promote a more relaxed atmosphere.
  • Accept that some things are not in our control and we need to trust the advice of Australian and world health experts.

Good communication

CONSIDER GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Whether talking to another in person, on the phone or online, each presents its own challenges requiring good communication skills. Now, we should continue to build excellent communication skills. Are you a good listener? Do you speak with confidence? Do you practice assertiveness without aggressiveness? Staying aware of your conversation habits (both good and developing) will help in conducting better conversations that are considerate and productive at the same time.

  • Be organised when approaching difficult conversations. This helps to stay clear, focused and less emotional.
  • Pay attention to verbal and non-verbal communication.
  • Actively listen to the person talking, wait for them to finish.
  • Remember that talking regularly between businesses helps to stay connected in your field but it also provides a way of supporting one another during this difficult time especially.

Be gratefulBE GRATEFUL

Your job role was awarded to you, so own it and be grateful to it. The power of gratitude boosts your day and helps to manage stress, so consider these things to be grateful for:

  • Flexibility
  • Salary and benefits
  • Your peers
  • Work life balance
  • Small (and large) successes in what you do

Going for a runSTAY POSITIVE WITH A HEALTHY BODY AND HEALTHY MIND

Actively managing your wellbeing is looking after your diet intake and the physical activity that you engage to relieve tension and stress. People with healthier lifestyles are less likely to develop depression (Doc. Seana Gall, University of Tasmania’s Menzies Institute for Medical Research) so continue to look at what you give your body for nourishment and how you look after it each day (i.e stretching and regular physical activity).

TACKLING NEGATIVE WORKPLACE BEHAVIOUR

Here are some ways you can handle the co-workers that are bringing you down…

  1. Focus on controlling your behaviour (not theirs) – you can’t control others but you can control the way you respond.
  2. Don’t engage in conversations that lead to complaining, this will only bring you down with them.
  3. Keep your distance…not just the 1.5m social distance, this means maintaining your personal boundaries for getting included in negative discussions.
  4. Breathe…5 seconds breathe in, 5 seconds breathe out (yes, this can be very powerful).

Resource: MBO Partners (2019)

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Breast Cancer Awareness and Fundraising in October – Pink Hard Hats

October is breast cancer awareness month. For the month of October Leisuretex Painting Contractors fundraised for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and flooded our social media with our breast cancer awareness activities. Our primary effort was our pink hard hats.

If you follow us on Facebook you would be well aware of the pink hard hats! For those of you who don’t (why not?? www.facebook.com/leisuretex ) we ordered pink hard hats for breast cancer awareness month and had the pink ribbon logo emblazoned on them (thank you to Tork Signs for the fantastic job you did!). Our painters throughout Brisbane and greater South East Queensland wore the #leisuretexpink hard hats on site and when time permitted took photos of themselves and others wearing them. For each photo we received Leisuretex Painting Contractors donated to NBCF and their goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030.

I was completely blown away by the support we received! Not just by our painters and staff (who were amazing and without their support this would never have been successful), but also by everyone we spoke to across the month on job sites and even family and friends. I have been touched by not only how eager everyone has been to help and get involved but by just how many people have been affected by this devastating disease; whether it was a family member who’s had a mastectomy, a friend who has had a scare or worse knowing people that have passed away from Breast Cancer.

It really hit me that while I have been looking at this from the perspective of the company and how we can help raise awareness and money for research, breast cancer is such a personal issue. So I would like to share why I personally support National Breast Cancer Foundation and their goal of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030.

I have been very blessed in my life to have been surrounded by strong and wonderful women. My Grandmother who I was too young to know very well but I still have great memories of, passed away from breast cancer when I was 7 years old. At the age of 15 a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. When the only lunch time topics should have been school and boys, we discussed wigs and recurrences. After a 7 year battle which included remission and recurrences, Jordan passed away.

Then there was my close friend’s mother, Shirley. Shirley was one of those people who could make anyone smile just by being around her. She was a bright ball of strength, light and laughter. At her funeral the service was overflowing with people to the point where our large group of friends were standing outside farewelling one of our Mums; something no 21 year old should have to do.

And then there’s Mrs G. Mrs G was not just a teacher to me or any of the other students she taught. We called her ‘Mum’. Mrs G was kind, caring, funny, strong and selfless. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer we were all shocked. There was no doubt in any of our minds that Mrs G would win this battle, I mean it’s Mrs G. She fought the cancer for years but passed away 2 years ago. Mrs G was my hero, she made me the woman I am today.

In my 25 years of life, I have said goodbye to four important women who have fought and succumbed to breast cancer and have watched others touched by this horrible disease. One in eight Australian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during their life. It’s estimated that in 2014, 15,270 Australian women will be diagnosed with cancer. That is approximately 42 Australian women each day. Frightening figures. To me, NBCF’s aim of zero deaths from breast cancer by 2030 isn’t just a nice idea, it is a cause to support in any way we can.

I would especially like to thank Alpha Car Hire  for your support in our fundraising efforts and again our fantastic painters and managers for tirelessly promoting the hard hats and really going above and beyond!

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