How have you prepared for your return to work?
For many, a return to work is a great relief: a “normal” routine, friendly faces, a steady paycheck. But the pandemic is not over. New routines will replace the norm, friendly faces may be veiled behind a mask, and hours may be part-time. Trepidation is expected. Optimal performance and recovery depend on our ability to address anxiety and restructure flow.
To be sure, we have suffered loss, re-examined our values, and grown in surprising new ways. According to Dr. Erika Felix, PhD, a psychologist at UC Santa Barbara, who treats and studies trauma survivors, “Most people will be resilient and return to their previous level of functioning.” But by definition, a crisis is something that exceeds our ability to cope. Fortunately, there are steps leaders can take to help everyone cope better.
Return to Work Requires Anxiety Management
I agree with Dr. Julia DeGangi, who recently wrote in Harvard Business Review (June 2020) that three strategies can help leaders manage anxieties:
- Allow greater flexibility in performance management. Avoid over-investing in processes and micromanaging schedules.
- Communicate clearly. Provide clarity, context, and reinforcement of priorities.
- Demonstrate mental toughness. This means perceiving, understanding, using, and managing your feelings. It requires appropriate demonstration of emotional vulnerability at the highest leadership levels.
Remember: anxiety can be a sign of productive growth. Leaders who communicate appropriately about messy issues can alleviate anxiety and model resilience. This sets the stage to restructure flow at work.
Restructure Flow
Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, has studied the phenomenon of zone focus or “flow” throughout his career. “Flow” is the zone state in limited form, but has the same attention characteristics. I usually think of “flow” as a sample state of entering the zone that leads to optimum performance.
Based upon his research, Dr. Csikszentmihaly theorized that four elements must be present to get into the flow state:
- Presence of a challenging activity
- Perception that your skills match the challenge
- Clear goals
- Availability of instant feedback concerning your performance
You see, when these elements are present, an “order in consciousness” occurs. And, it is this phenomenon that helps people immerse themselves in an activity and have fun doing it.
What do you think? How have you prepared for your return to work? How will you restructure flow at work? I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached here, on LinkedIn, or give me a call: 561-582-6060.
