Managing an International Workforce

Posted on September 4, 2023August 9, 2023 by Angie Weinberger

Managing an International Workforce

by Brooke Faulkner via @faulknercreek

The worldwide web has also led to a more worldwide economy, and despite recent political manoeuvrings and issues with trade, that situation is not likely to change anytime soon. Many companies have moved toward not only a remote workforce, but one that is international as well.

Think of the social media sharing app Buffer. The company has a 100 percent remote workforce with no physical home office. Employees and often their spouses are treated to a once-a-year retreat paid for with the money the company saves on infrastructure. Employees work around the world, in many different places and environments.

How do they manage this workforce? How do other countries do it? What does it take to manage employees across the globe and from various cultures who speak different languages? It is challenging, but for many companies, it is not only worth it, but it is a necessary evil.

Understanding Culture

One of the first challenges you will face is maintaining company culture when a different societal culture defines the country where your employees are located. When any company is looking to expand globally, it is important to maintain vision, mission, and values. This involves some important steps in cross-cultural management.

Send Experienced Teams to Establish New Teams

No matter how great a leader you might be, you cannot instil company culture by yourself. Typically, as a company grows, the company culture becomes a blend of employees and management working together. Assemble a small, experienced team to help set up and manage remote teams even if they do so virtually. This will assure that mission and vision are communicated properly.

Understand and Honor Local Customs and Traditions

You cannot establish a workforce presence in another country without understanding and respecting local customs and traditions including holidays, religious restrictions, and other cultural differences. To work with these things, you will have to think outside the box and have alternative holidays and other considerations.

This translates to many different areas, including the location and layout of offices, necessary break times, and even dress codes if you have one. Your team must work to align your company culture with that of your host country.

Work at Cultural Alignment

This cultural alignment will take work. There are several important aspects of aligning your company culture globally, and it will not happen organically. Here are some points to consider.

Direction and purpose: What is your “why” and how does it translate to a new culture?
Supervisor support: What does management support mean, and how can it be achieved remotely or globally?
Learning and growth: Are there opportunities for growth even globally? Are training materials available in the native language and are they relevant?
Relationships and team performance: Relationships must be developed outside of employees’ and management’s comfort zones, but the end result is rewarding. Pick team members who are willing to do this.
Make feedback into influence: Your global team members are more than just employees and will have ideas of how to make your company work in their culture. Welcome their influence and implement their feedback.
Recognition and rewards: These may look different in another culture, but they are still necessary and relevant.

By making the alignment of your company culture a priority and following these steps, you will increase the value of your global presence.

Managing Remote Teams

Like Buffer, many global teams are remote, and managing remote workers has additional challenges. While there are many advantages to a remote team such as global talent, saving the cost of relocation, and the addition of diversity, there are also some drawbacks. One of those is that they can be more difficult to manage.

LIke cultural alignment, there are some general guidelines for managing virtual teams that apply nearly universally.

Build trust: Your team must trust that you have their best interests at heart, just as you do those of your customers. You have to follow through with what you say you will do, and give them the support they need to accomplish the tasks you set for them.
Have clear goals, standards, and rules: A part of this building of trust is to have clear and consistent expectations and goals. Work must be done to a standard regardless of where in the world your employee is.
Communicate clearly and constantly: Communication is the key, and while this can be challenging in different time zones and across the world, it still can be done. As a leader, it is your responsibility to align your schedule with theirs, not for them to inconvenience themselves to accommodate you.
Build a team rhythm: Consistency is also key. Develop a rhythm and a schedule your team can adhere to, and that works for all of you. Develop and stick to consistent workflows to keep everyone at their most productive.

To manage a remote team, you will need a more flexible company culture, especially worldwide. Be conscious of this, and don’t micromanage no matter where in the world your employees are. Your management style must be consistent and predictable, too. Managing people is much different than managing spreadsheets and numbers, no matter how far removed from your office they are.

Remember, you are the leader, and the satisfaction of the employees and, in the end, the customer is your responsibility.

Providing Your Team with Tools

One of the key elements to working globally is to have tools that translate to everyone and are available in a variety of languages and formats for different countries. There are several tools that do this in different categories.

Chat programs: Facebook Workplace and Slack are two common tools that work worldwide.
Microsoft Office Suite: Microsoft offers worldwide support, and through OneDrive, more than one person can work on a document at the same time.
The Google Business Suite: There are many apps and shared applications that can be had from Google through their business suite, and it is almost universal with the exception of China (which creates a challenge for some teams).
Adobe PDF and Acrobat: Adobe also offers Adobe PDF files and Adobe Acrobat, which work almost anywhere and translate worldwide. This is a powerful tool, and one many global teams depend on. There are many training programs to teach your team about them as well.

There are other ways to support your team as well. Tablets or laptops are the most common platforms, but you may want to provide remote teams with phones or pay their cell phone service costs for them. Both physical tools and software are important and should be a consideration. Managing their devices makes it easier to manage the team overall.

Traveling Both Ways

Face it, if you expand globally, you will be doing more travel, and you may want to bring in your remote employees from time to time, or like Buffer, have some kind of annual gathering.

While video meetings and chat are good, there is something to be said for meeting face to face. There are many ways to manage your international business travel, from rewards cards to mileage programs, and rewards programs can save you substantial money, especially when traveling abroad. Don’t be afraid to bring employees to you too, for annual reviews or other special events. Make this a positive experience for them, and use the time to connect and build a deeper relationship.

Global management and handling an international workforce comes with a number of challenges, but in the end, the diversity, the relationships you develop, and the broader presence of your company will be worth all of the work.

The 12 Days Of Christmas – Lonely Expat in Zurich Edition

Posted on December 28, 2023December 28, 2023 by Angie Weinberger

The holiday season is upon us, I am sure most of us are ready for a well-deserved break from work. Why do I bring this up? There are two main reasons for discussing it. The first, the more generally known reason is that the human body needs a break to recover motivation and energy. Extensive research by Harvard Business Review has found that more holiday time not only improves energy levels and happiness but is also linked to improved success rate and chances of promotion. You can read the findings of this research here.

The second reason is specifically for expat professionals. While the holidays may be a time of joy and happiness for most people, they can be quite bittersweet for the lonely expat. That is because some of you may not be able to return to your families or maybe you have lost loved ones around the holidays. Or maybe you are just no longer close with your family and your friends are all married with kids.

Maybe you haven’t made any close friends yet in Switzerland and maybe you just don’t feel like seeing your successful high school friends in the bar at home this year. Or you are in the middle of your next move and taking time off isn’t an option. Check our relocation guide. Sometimes insufficient integration into host culture can make it a tough period for mobile professionals like you and me. Even if that’s not the case, just being away from loved ones can take its toll.

So, if you are worried a little about how to handle the holidays here are our ideas for a Christmas on your own. (I know…scary!) Before starting on this topic I would like to invite every reader and client who is not Christian to enjoy the fun around our holiday traditions with us. Christmas is about being a good human and about giving to others and yourself. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter what your faith is as long as you aspire to do good in the world. There is an interesting background that you might want to read more about.

Often Christians celebrated holidays when originally there was another meaning behind the days so here is a more mythical explanation too. In Germany, it is called the Rauhnächte. Christmas is also a time when we can connect with our inner child again and give this child all the love it deserves. I like to indulge in food like pancakes, marzipan, and hot chocolate even just once a year, and in my family, we follow traditions to the T because our lives are otherwise rather non-traditional and it’s fun to pretend to have some sanity.

Buy a fresh Christmas Tree at Bahnhof Stadelhofen

Put on the “Jingle Bells” (or another YouTube mix) and decorate your Christmas tree. I would also finally write Christmas cards, instead of just thinking about it. I would start to clean up my wardrobe, the attic, and the cellar and throw out anything I would like to leave in the old year.

Before Christmas: Go offline for crafting and cleaning on the day before Christmas

Being stuck in a foreign country during the holidays is never ideal, more so if you don’t have family or friends there. It is important to keep yourself occupied to prevent loneliness from affecting you too much. Planning visits to local attractions, farmer’s markets, and other communal locations can keep you busy in a positive way.

A luxury not afforded to pre-internet expats, but still in no way a replacement for family and friends, is video chat. While not the ideal replacement for the people you are missing, it can allow you to keep in near-constant touch and keep the holiday spirit fresh in you. This can also be a perfect time to reconnect with old friends and catch up.

If you have been in a work frenzy in the build-up to the holidays you probably want nothing more than switching off. If I had time off I would do something crafty like making my own ornaments, bake Christmas cookies, and a gingerbread house. Tag us when you share photos on Instagram.

Do all your laundry because you “cannot” wash between Christmas and New Year. We call this time “zwischen den Jahren” (between the years). I like this expression and did a bit of research on why you can’t do laundry (this is a local tradition not every German knows about).

No laundry between Christmas and New Year’s Day – Life in Germany.

24 December (Holy Night): Read a novel to a Senior Citizen on Christmas Eve

I’ve never spent Christmas Eve alone as far as I can remember. You probably know that I come from a big family and I hardly find time to see all my relatives. If I was ever alone in Zurich on Christmas Eve, I would use the chance to read to someone. In my neighborhood, I often see lonely senior citizens. There is also a shelter for homeless people and you could volunteer there. Or check with your religious community if you can help a child with a present.

25 December: Go skiing on Christmas Day

After you open all your presents to yourself why don’t you go to the mountains and check out if there is a chance for a skiing day. Alternatively, you could organize yourself a museum tour of Zurich with a lovely Christmas dinner at a cozy place like Rosaly’s. Probably you could meet a few lonely hearts in Bohemia. Check if you can get a ticket for the Opera or the Schauspielhaus.

26 December: Boxing Day

This is a holiday in Zurich and shops are closed so you could plan a spa day or again go outside. For example, take the S-Train to Greifensee and walk around the lake for a while. Later, go to one of the nicest hotels in Zurich for afternoon tea and sip a glass of champagne.

27 December: Back at Work (from Home)

Update your LinkedIn profile with Nabeha’s tips. It’s time to review your work year. Write down one big accomplishment for every month or check the reporting facility in the RockMeApp. With a cup of hot cocoa (or gluehwein if that’s allowed) start to clean up your desk.

throw out old files,
clean up your computer,
update your task lists,
prepare your performance reviews,
order that new work phone and
pay all your outstanding invoices.

Decorate your desk with something cheerful. Maybe you still have personal administrative tasks or other fun stuff we usually procrastinate on. Here my advice would be to use the Pomodoro technique to start working on the task for 25 minutes. Then take a break.

28 December: Close Your Laptop early to enjoy Swiss-Greek Apéro Culture

Enjoy an aperitif at YAMAS Zurich, the little Greek restaurant with a flair for the meatpacking district and Greek hospitality. You can also check out this great blog for more ideas: Newinzurich.

29 December: Movie Catch-Up Night

Do you always want to go and see movies but you end up watching them on your laptop like me? Are you a cinema lover who is just too much of a nerd to go there alone? Why don’t you challenge yourself, pick a movie that you missed seeing this year, and go to FRAME, the new house of the Zurich Film Festival?

30 December: Pamper Day

No matter what gender you identify with, we all need a pamper day at least once a year. Book an appointment at your favorite spa and enjoy the treatment. PURE Beauty Spa in Seefeld is great for that. Mention us for a discount.

Don’t forget to stock up on groceries. If you’re like me, you probably have an empty fridge by now. These days the Bahnhofstrasse isn’t as crowded as usual, so you could also go to the city and buy a new outfit. Maybe with style advice from Rowena Downing or a new outfit from Adam Brody?

31 December 2023: New Year’s Eve

It’s time to let go. For me, this will also be the day when I write down everything I’m grateful for in my life and what my wishes are for 2024. Review your RockMeApp archives too. Go to “View Weekly Reflections History”, Write down everything you wish to leave in the old year on a Farewell List and burn it (outside in a safe place).

Afterwards take a stroll on Lake Zurich to Zurichhorn, A nice place to spend the afternoon with a glass of champagne and salmon sandwich and a piano player used to be the bar at the SAVOY Hotel. It seems that it will re-open so check it out.

I promised you a second part of this post on the “Twelve Days of Christmas” as a lonely Expat in Zurich or elsewhere in the world.

1 January 2024: New Year’s Day

Most of you will still have a hangover from New Year’s Eve and want to sleep in. I like to recommend fresh air and a hangover brunch to cure any headaches. Also, you could just drink less this year and go to the gym or do a yoga session. I would like to challenge you to join in for Dry January.

2 January 2024: Berchthold Day

Berchtold Day is a regional holiday in many cantons (Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchâtel, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, Vaud, Zug, Zurich, Nidwalden) so unless you work for a foreign company not respecting the local laws (or run your own) you will probably have the day off. You could take the train to Davos and enjoy the amazing atmosphere there. Another beautiful place I recommend is Lindau in Germany. The additional benefit of going to Lindau is that the shops will be open there.

3 January 2024: Slow Start at Work

You wanted to be an early starter this year and be ahead of the pack. You will be back at work wondering where you left things before the holidays. It might feel a bit harder than usual. Your iPad needs charging, you forgot a few passwords and the building is 18 degrees Celsius only. This is a great day to enjoy an extended lunch with a colleague in the city. Leave the office a bit earlier than usual and catch up on your work reading.

I love the first week of January for research and lecture preparation. Before New Year’s Eve, I’d rather catch up on novels and escapist drama (Don’t let me explain how disappointed I was with the last season of The Crown). Come 1 Jan 2024 my grown-up self is back and wants to take charge. Out with the magic, in with the science. Hit me with those Global Mobility reports, trend updates, and economic predictions of what to expect for 2024. Recession or no recession, investments in shares or money markets, housing prices, conversion issues,

The light shifts and my mood too.

Also, lecture notes need updating.

Our Ten Commandments for the Global Mobility Manager

4 January 2024: Setting 2024 Intentions

This year we are forgetting New Year’s resolutions and working with setting intentions.

If you haven’t done so yet, this is the time where you should review your three major career goals in the RockMeApp and also check where you are on your learning schedule. As you know I am teaching practices to help you stay focussed and grounded. Check your ten practices. Are they still relevant? Do you need other practices in 2024? What are new learning goals? Can you evaluate your learning over the past year? Did you learn what you had promised yourself?

Check your data too. Do you have any measure of your progress that you can improve year over year? I have a spreadsheet with numbers. Data can be annoying if you can’t see visible progress so you must clarify your definition of success for yourself first. This would be a good topic for your next coaching session with me too.

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/rockmeapp-expat-coaching-global-rockstars/

5 January 2024: First Baby Step Day

Let’s get serious about the job market. If you are looking for a new role or are considering moving to Zurich, Switzerland right now I would say be carefully optimistic. We are still dealing with the fallout of the merger of Credit Suisse and UBS and we need to be mindful that not every job in Zurich is purely English-speaking. At the same time, there is a gap between skilled workers and talent that seems to be prevailing for certain role profiles. It’s best if you check your area of work closely before making hasty decisions. If you have not resigned yet due to stress or frustration you might still consider this over the next few weeks. If you just moved here you are probably more concerned about settling in and making it here in Switzerland. If you are serious about raising your profile, finding a new job, or getting your cash flow in order this year I invite you to join our free lunch workshops in preparation for our HireMeExpress program. Start with a baby step today.

Start a Business or Land Your Dream Job with HireMeExpress – From Frustrated to Fantastic in 90 Days

https://www.kmu.admin.ch/kmu/en/home/New/news/2023/job-market-picks-up.html

https://www.adeccogroup.com/en-ch/future-of-work/job-index/

https://www.expatica.com/ch/working/finding-a-job/find-jobs-in-switzerland-102375/

https://www.arbeit.swiss/secoalv/en/home/menue/institutionen-medien/schweizer-arbeitsmarktbarometer.html

https://www2.deloitte.com/ch/en/pages/innovation/articles/gap-in-the-swiss-labour-market-ageing-workforce.html

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/why-building-professional-relationships-is-harder-for-expats-and-their-spouses-in-zurich/

6 January 2024: Epiphany / Three Kings

This is NOT a holiday in Zurich so normally you would have to work, but not this year because it is a Saturday. One of my favorite traditions in the Swiss work environment is the “Dreikönigskuchen (King’s Cake) which you can also just buy for yourself. This is gender neutral so if you win the king as a female you would be the Queen for the day. What would you allow yourself to do if you were the Queen? One idea I love from Downton Abbey is that the ladies of the house have breakfast in bed. That would be my wish to be the Queen of the Day.

https://www.sinas-backstube.ch/

https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/switzerland/epiphany

Why Gender is Not a Factor in Hiring a Remote Employee

Posted on August 21, 2020September 17, 2020 by Angie Weinberger

Guest post by ANGELINE LICERIO

Discrimination of any kind should be unacceptable in any given situation. Gender discrimination, on the other hand, takes this to another notch, especially in the workplace. The sad reality is that gender discrimination still happens in most hiring processes. I found this surprising, and no wonder if you’re shocked too: in light of our new global situation, those who work remotely also experience gender discrimination. An article published by Harvard Business Review has highlighted that women are viewed by employers to be carrying out more domestic responsibilities, while men are seen to be more career-oriented and likely to expand their work spheres. Another article published by Forbes suggests that men are more likely to put in extra overtime on work tasks, while women pick up the slack with more domestic duties.

So, is gender a factor when hiring a remote employee? The short and definitive answer is “no”. The decision to hire a worker should be based on how they fit the role and how they can contribute to the growth of the organisation. Hiring an employee, especially for a remote position, should always be based on merits, qualifications, and skills.

Is Gender Discrimination Still Happening?

Gender issues in the workplace still happen, and it’s a proven fact. Women and men both get discriminated against when it comes to work, especially remotely. Some employers would often put in their job posting that they only hire women or men for specific roles. This is not illegal just across the whole European Union (Directive 2006/54/EC), but also in many other more authoritarian countries and notably less egalitarian countries. Hence, you might be shocked to read this. Human Rights Watch spotted “men only”, “suitable for men” or the like on thousands of job descriptions in China, despite this being illegal there as well. Read the report here.

While this may be the case, we should also highlight that there are a lot of companies that look past gender differences and many leaders genuinely respect a person for his or her achievements at work. More people have the utmost respect for both women and men in the workplace because of their contributions to their respective fields.

A Different Approach

Hiring remote employees, whether a single one or a full team, requires not only the right skill sets but their ability to work in an unsupervised working environment. Remote work has a lot of merits. At the top of that is more savings timewise and moneywise, which makes this option very attractive to both employers and employees. Remote workers are also not bound by geographic locations, which means that an employer looking to hire has a massive pool of talent at his disposal.

Let’s now look at the skills that make remote workers more employable regardless of their genders.

Self-discipline

A remote employee needs to be able to work with minimal supervision, and being male or female has no bearing on this whatsoever. Remote workers need to block and manage their time for and focus their energy on work when it is time to. Great employees need to be on the clock without anyone telling them to do so, and this should be among the top considerations when looking to hire remote workers. This quality is never gender-related – it is either a person has self-discipline or not.

Strong, Above-average Communication Skills

Having average communication skills will never be enough for a remote worker because communication is a crucial element for a successful remote-based work. In this case, a person can have excellent communication skills regardless of sex. There is no workaround for not having above-average communication skills in a remote working environment.

For one, a remote employee would need to be in constant communication with their teammates and their direct supervisors. Instructions will likely be over calls, emails, and video conferences. Average communication skills help when you’re working with someone face to face, but you will need to be an excellent communicator to thrive in the remote work environment.

Remote workers need to have the extra sensitivity to listen and hear what is actually being said in an email or telephone conversation. It would take above average communication skills to read between the lines of an email and to pick up the nuances in a conversation.

Troubleshooting Skills

The ability to troubleshoot not only work-related problems concerning clients but also technical and business continuity problems are crucial when it comes to working remotely. Remember that when a person works remotely, there is no IT department to support them round the clock. A remote worker should, at the very least, have rudimentary troubleshooting skills when it comes to networks and computers. Without this, simple installation or a simple network problem can cause delays in their deliverables.

Troubleshooting does not always mean technical problems, but it is also about finding out the root cause of a problem. We need not to reiterate it, but troubleshooting skills are never dependent on the gender of the employee.

Have Reliable Judgment

Some would say that this is part of having troubleshooting skills, but for us, having a reliable judgment is completely separate. It comes very handy whenever decisions have to be made without the help of a team or a committee. A person who has great judgement, whether male or female, can make decisions that will affect the business he or she is representing as a whole.

The ability to rely on themselves and weigh their options well is one rare but necessary skill to have as a remote worker.

In Closing

Hiring remote employees brings a lot of benefits to the table. Apart from more productivity and motivation, the company can save money and get higher quality output in the long run. This is why gender should never be a cause for someone’s disqualification.

It is unfortunate that this topic even exists and that we feel the need to enumerate the right qualifications for hiring a remote employee. Gender ultimately has no bearing on the effectiveness of a remote worker to do their jobs well. Any company that uses gender to segregate their employees should rethink their hiring process if they want to thrive in their chosen industry. Being male or female has nothing to do with a person’s ability to succeed in their jobs, be it remote or not.

How the Author Defines a Remote Worker

In this article, the author refers to remote workers as anyone who works outside of a traditional office environment. They can be working from home, working from a coworking space, at a coffee shop, etc.

Resources and further reading

Guest post by ANGELINE LICERIO

Is Gender Discrimination Still Happening?

A Different Approach

Let’s now look at the skills that make remote workers more employable regardless of their genders.

Self-discipline

Strong, Above-average Communication Skills

Troubleshooting Skills

Have Reliable Judgment

The ability to rely on themselves and weigh their options well is one rare but necessary skill to have as a remote worker.

In Closing

How the Author Defines a Remote Worker

Resources and further reading

Read the insights of the 4th edition of the Advance and HSG Gender Intelligence Report.

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/?s=Tips+for+Managing+an+International+Workforce

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/?s=Values+in+Global+Virtual+Teams

https://cdn.gendereconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID-and-gender-GATE-policy-brief-.pdf

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-018-2025-x

References

Ibarra H., Gillard J., Chamorro-Premuzic T. (2020, July 16). ‘Why WFH isn’t necessarily good for women’. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved August 14, 2020 from https://hbr.org/2020/07/why-wfh-isnt-necessarily-good-for-women

Stauffer, B. (2018, April 23). ‘Only Men Apply’, Human Rights Watch. Retrieved August 14, 2020, from https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/04/23/only-men-need-apply/gender-discrimination-job-advertisements-china

Gaskell A. (2020, April 1). ‘Breaking Down The Gender Divide To Survive Working From Home’. Forbes. Retrieved 2020, August 14 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2020/04/01/breaking-down-the-gender-divide-to-survive-working-from-home/#7996063720cf

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/?s=Tips+for+Managing+an+International+Workforce

https://globalpeopletransitions.com/?s=Values+in+Global+Virtual+Teams

https://cdn.gendereconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID-and-gender-GATE-policy-brief-.pdf

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-018-2025-x

References

Author’s Bio

Angeline Licerio is a content writer for Elevate Corporate Training. Like the rest of her teammates at Elevate, Angeline believes that she can help create better bottom lines, happier and healthier staff and build communities where people engage with each other in high functioning relationships.

Here is her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angeline-licerio-2a3406107/

Sleepless in Switzerland – Getting Through the Pandemic – Part 2

Posted on March 24, 2020August 13, 2020 by Angie Weinberger

The last week has been one of the most challenging weeks of my life.

The bad news first: I have not been tested for CORONA-Virus, because my symptoms seem to be too mild. My dizziness, weakness, cough might just be a sign of an anxiety attack, mountain disease or a weird cold. For me, it would have been better to know if I’m positive or not. Not knowing if I’m potentially a transmitter of the disease makes it hard to allow my partner to come back home.. This is week 2 of my quarantine.

For those of you who are still trying to catch up on emails here is what happened and why I’m under quarantine. Read this!

The good news: Last night I could finally sleep for more than a few hours and I have the feeling that I’m on the right track mentally and also that my body is getting better. I promised that I would keep you up-to-date and share a few lessons with you. Maybe you can imagine that I have become an information junkie. So I’m trying to do this:

I summarize 20 quick recommendations in a list style. Most of my recommendations are geared towards expats and international people living in Switzerland. Most of the advice will be working in any other country too though.
I’m offering deeper conversations for those of you who face similar problems and I will be available via the RockMeApp over the next few days. I’m also giving every client free access to the online version of the RockMe! program. It might help you to work on a career-related topic during this crisis.
I’m looking for an idea on how to distribute more information to clients and other people. At the moment I’m using Twitter (@angieweinberger) and LinkedIn.

I hope this is helpful and let’s stay connected through these times. Check below my 20 recommendations for Quarantine.

Angie’s 20 Quarantine Recommendations

First Things First: Fix your” oxygen mask”, open windows regularly and try to take in sunshine. Look into ways to improve your immune system naturally. Eat Vitamin-C and Vitamin-D. Prepare your meals with grace and dedication. Add ginger to anything. Drink more water and herbal tea than usual. I start my day with adding all the water to the table so I know how much I have to drink.
Help Migrants and Refugees: Share the multilingual updates from your country health authority. If you have capacity and want to do something useful, help the ministry of health by sharing the information in different languages. It seems the migrant population was not addressed in previous campaigns and many migrants do not fully understand what is going on. Help migrants in your neighbourhood if you can. This page has information in many languages.
Buy Local: Ensure that you know where you can support local businesses by ordering food and home delivery. Newinzurich has great information for day-to-day topics such as food delivery, restricted areas, and online entertainment.
Help the Neighbors: If you feel you can support others, get to know the neighbors through this site and offer your help.
Be Reachable and Savable: Have phone and emergency numbers next to your bed. I left my apartment door unlocked when I felt dizzy. I will soon feel strong enough to lock it again.
Define your Essentials: Stock up on essentials without hoarding, maintain a basic list of food and household items that you always want to keep in the house. I’m not good at this at all since I’m a convenience shopper but at least now I have enough pasta to survive a week or two without support.
Consider Small Projects: If you are fit and free of symptoms, start spring cleaning at home
Reduce Your Online Time: We are using the Internet too much now. We should learn to entertain ourselves offline too. Listen to old-fashioned radio, watch DVD’s or learn games with dice or chess. Read a paper-book. Challenge the kids for a round of “Kniffel”.
Learn Basic Relaxation Methods:
- Listen to classical music and close your eyes.
- Practice “hand discovery” with lavender oil.
- Try Feldenkrais breathing exercises by @ryannagy.
- Download “Progressive Muscle Relaxation” from Youtube or Spotify.
- For five minutes breathe in and out standing at an open window.
- Try active meditation is also a good idea. I have a video for this.
Enjoy the Fact That you are Still Alive: Sing and dance, play an instrument. Invite your friends to a virtual coffee chat and set up dinner dates.
Reduce Your Work Time: Set a work schedule for max 6 hours a day if you are well enough. I’ve decided that I will work every day but only as long as I’m feeling okay. I have a hard time sitting in an office chair for more than two hours. I’m working mainly from my red sofa. It feels more like fun this way.
Check Your Health Insurance: If you live in Switzerland you probably have basic coverage and additional hospital coverage. If you are not sure what is covered exactly and if your family members are covered for the same treatment it’s a good time to check that.
International and Local Pension Plans: Verify and update the beneficiaries on your pension plan, check if your pension plan is sufficient for now or if you need to set money aside for your old-age pension. Usually, we procrastinate on these topics but in a situation like this we want to be sure our family is not suffering any unnecessary stress.
Have Cash at Home: I keep more cash than usual. Even though it is generally recommended to pay with cards and other cashless payments for dealing with grocery shopping and pharmacies, you might need more cash than usual. Sometimes you just want to give a person a tip or you need to pay cash at the door. I know that I’m inviting burglars to my house writing this but I will cough at everyone who dares to enter. Karma baby.
Improve your Cash Flow: If you are experiencing cash flow issues as a small company owner or freelancer please check if you are entitled to support through social security. For Switzerland, there is a temporary support package (see email below from Markus Hohl) and the really great news is that invoices from social security can be paid later without interest. I’m very happy with the government’s fast action following this petition.
Ensure Business Continuity: I noticed that I’m the only person who can access the company bank account. So I’ve organized power of attorney for two close friends. The bank was very supportive and delivered forms in no time. I hope we can get everything set up digitally.
Do Admin Stuff: You have to a lot of admin work anyway such as your tax declaration. If you are bored you can work on your tax declaration for 2019. The deadline has been extended to 31 May 2020 in Zurich for everyone. If you are done with your taxes think about all the money you can claim back now. Also, if you have a general train ticket you can freeze it online for 30 days. Small peas but they also contribute.
Seek Professional Help: My colleague Axel Kellerbauer offers free German and English-speaking crisis support calls.
Send an Orchid: Orchids are long-lasting and show perseverance. They are a perfect symbol for our condition. If you know a person who’s unwell send orchids. Help Hans-Peter Mayer so the orchids and shop can survive by ordering orchids for your team and others.
Support this Petition: Switzerland should get more people tested against Corona-Virus in order to make more informed statements. Being in limbo myself, I know that not knowing doesn’t really help. The petition was started about a week ago and by now 2000 people have signed. The organizers will need at least 10’000 signatures before the government will take this serious enough.

Free Support & Access to RockMe! Program

We will only charge fees for usual Executive Coaching sessions. Access to the RockMeApp, online support and program are free of charge until 30 April 2020. The access to the RockMeApp will remain free for 2020.