Fusion of Life & Money The Gig -- Calming a Freaked Employee/Co-worker | The Gig -- Calming a Freaked Employee/Co-worker |
|
|
|
|
We all know that in order to create wealth, you must first have an income source. For most of us that usually means a J-O-B. We are excited to introduce to you Dustin Williams who will be contributing to Molifeney on things to do to get, keep and move up at your place of employment. He will be the resident gig expert so if you have any questions hit him up at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Here is Dustin's bio:
Dustin Williams is a Career Counselor at UMKC. He has a dual Bachelors degree in Psychology and Sociology as well as a Masters degree in Counseling with an emphasis in couples and family therapy, both from University of Missouri – Kansas City. Through those, and many more, tedious job searches he’s learned a few tricks that have landed him jobs. Schooling rounded off the rough edges and polished up his image enough for him to slap “Career Counselor” on his business card. Calming a Freaked Employee/Co-worker
We’ve all seen it happen, and sometimes, rarely, we can be the ones doing it. “What is it?” you ask. What I’m talking about here is when people are freaking out in the office. Freaking out on the job is rarely pretty. It can be funny, but rarely is it pretty. People on the ragged edge of burnout have particular trouble self –soothing, or controlling their urge to freak-out. The inability to chill out and take things in stride is a key component of burnout. High stress jobs, looming deadlines, or personal problems can all pile up to increase someone’s stress load. Check out these deescalating techniques for when other people are freaking:
Assess: Is the freak-out epic? Is the person at a place that they will allow themselves to calm down? If it the person continues to escalate, you may have to call security before someone’s forehead gets stapled and filed.
What is your body saying?: Depending on which expert you ask, the influence of body language on a conversation can range from 30% to 50%. What is your body language communicating? Crossed arms can send a message that someone is closed off. What about frowning? Clenched fists? Try to maintain a neutral stance: arms loose at the sides (it’s easier to whip out some Kung-foo action that way too), an open expression on your face, standing straight and directly facing the person in the middle of a freakout.
Talk calmly: If someone is in the middle of a freak-out, usually it’s safe to assume they aren’t at a place where they can listen to reason, so don’t try it. Calming someone down usually needs to happen before reason kicks in. Gentle, but firm tone of voice is the key. Use a calm, but NOT soothing, voice. If they feel like someone is talking down or patronizing to them that could send them into orbit instead of calming them down.
Listen: Sometimes a person just needs, not wants, but needs to be heard. Hear them out. I generally use the Rule of 3: the third time someone repeats the same line of reasoning, an intervention can be inserted. Not an argument, but something positive that shows the person is being heard. Ask a question. Comment on what a good idea they have. Reflect what they are saying in your own words but put a positive spin on it. Be careful not to contribute and put your reputation in jeopardy. So if they are talking trash on your boss, don’t join in.
The aftermath: This is more important that it seems. If you are the one that freaked, depending on the severity, an apology might be in order. Learn from it and try not to let it happen again.
If a coworker is the one that blew a head gasket, then you might want to check back with them after they cool down. It’s great opportunity to make a connection with a coworker, as long as your concern is genuine. Most people can tell the difference between genuine concern and BS, maybe not all the time, but enough to spot a fake.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email This
Hits: 232 Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
