Ten Tips for Writing Inclusive Job Postings in Switzerland
Job postings are crucial in attracting diverse talent, but overt and subtle discriminatory language can inadvertently exclude certain groups. In Switzerland, where diversity is supposedly valued, discriminatory language must be recognized and eliminated from job advertisements. Creating inclusive job postings in Switzerland fosters diversity and attracts many talents. Organizations can contribute to a more equitable and welcoming job market by carefully crafting language and eliminating unintentional biases.
Why do we need to get better at writing inclusive job postings?
Diverse Talent Pool: Inclusive language attracts candidates from various backgrounds, promoting a diverse and dynamic workforce. We suffer from a lack of talent, and at the same time, we hold back diverse talent from applying to our jobs because we use exclusive language and portray an image that stops great talent from applying. A study by Harvard researchers, carried out on a job platform, revealed that adverts for roles in stereotypically ‘male’ areas, such as analytical or management roles, attracted a higher proportion of qualified male applicants than females. We need to actively encourage female and rainbow talent to apply.
https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-gender-gap-report-2023/
Legal Compliance: Discriminatory language can have legal consequences. In Switzerland, adhering to anti-discrimination laws is essential to maintaining a fair hiring process. Still, research by ETH confirms that there is widespread discrimination not only against hiring from abroad but also towards second-generation immigrants IN Switzerland.
“Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions has been well-documented in many countries, with ethnic minority jobseekers writing about 50% more applications before being invited for a job interview than their majority competitors (Zschirnt and Ruedin 2016). However, it is not only first-generation immigrants that are affected by ethnic discrimination but also their offspring.”
Corporate Reputation: Job postings reflect the company’s values. Inclusivity enhances the organization’s reputation and fosters a positive employer brand. I mentioned the Coop fiasco recently and I think there are enough challenges for inclusion in the Swiss workplace so if you would like to attract more foreigners you need to understand inclusion better and also work towards better inclusion in your onboarding process.
Innovation and Creativity: Diverse teams bring varied perspectives, fostering innovation and creativity within the workplace.
Employee Morale: Inclusive language signals that the company values all employees, boosting morale and creating a positive work environment.
Ten Tips f
or Writing Inclusive Job Postings
- Use Gender-Neutral Language: To ensure inclusivity, use gender-neutral titles and pronouns. Follow the UN Guidelines and our templates provided in “The Global Rockstar Album.”
- Focus on Skills and Qualifications: Emphasize the skills and qualifications necessary for the job, avoiding unnecessary criteria that may exclude certain groups. Explain the exact necessity of language proficiency and add the roster from the European language certificate framework.
- Apply Cultural Sensitivity: Be aware of cultural biases and use language welcoming to candidates from various cultural backgrounds. Learn about white supremacy and privilege to reduce bias and stereotypes in your recruiting process. The Global Rockstar Album has an extensive reading list on the topic, and I offer customized workshops on unconscious bias and inclusive leadership.
- Use Disability-Inclusive Language: Frame job requirements around skills, allowing individuals with disabilities to showcase their abilities.
- Avoid Age-Related Language: Avoid terms that may imply age preferences. Instead, focus on the required skills and experience.
- Incorporate Diversity Statements: Include a diversity statement highlighting the company’s commitment to an inclusive workplace. Encourage women and rainbow talent to apply even if they do not meet the full criteria of the job posting.
- Seek Input from Diverse Teams: When crafting job postings, consult with employees from diverse backgrounds to ensure inclusivity.
- Review and Update Regularly: Job postings should be reviewed and updated regularly to align with evolving diversity and inclusion best practices.
- Check Your Imagery and Look and Feel: What message does your recruiting website convey through its imagery and look and feel? Ask users of different generations and backgrounds to give feedback on the “vibe” they get from your recruiting website and all your social media channels.
- Be approachable: Ask your recruiters and hiring managers to post roles and be approachable for questions. Ask them to accept candidate connection requests and have a qualitative database for direct feedback on your candidate experience. There is so much you could learn from listening to diverse candidates.
By adopting these practices, organizations in Switzerland can create job postings that comply with legal requirements and foster a welcoming and inclusive workplace culture. Please book a first consultation with Angie Weinberger for expert guidance on creating inclusive job postings and fostering a diverse workplace.
https://calendly.com/angieweinberger
Further Resources
https://www.snf.ch/en/6x7fl9pIJtxVXYJS/news/how-recruiters-discriminate-on-employment-websites
https://ethz.ch/staffnet/en/employment-and-work/employment/recruitment/inklusives-recruiting.html
http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters
http://www.advocate-group.co.uk/5-real-benefits-of-gender-diversity-in-the-workplace/
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/166220/business-benefits-gender-diversity.aspx
https://www.wgea.gov.au/learn/about-workplace-gender-equality
https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/wgea-business-case-for-gender-equality.pdf
Inbox Anxiety – Seven Rules to Claim Your Confidence Back and Stop Responding all the Time
How many times do you open your inbox and find over a hundred unread emails? And how often do you “clean your inbox” just to find it overflowing with emails again the day after? One of the reasons why I get stressed around emails is that I spend a whole day in a workshop and I cannot check my emails because it would distract my mind too much. Then I check my emails after the workshop when I am already exhausted and know that I have a lot of tasks and queries to handle.
When I worked in the corporate world, I would often have a day full of meetings and calls and come back to my desk at 5 or 6 PM and “started to work productively”. Or, you probably know this: it’s Friday, 4.30 PM, and you are just about to start your weekend and then you see this one email and it keeps you at your desk for another hour. Your partner in the meantime is waiting for you to help with the groceries or wants you to be home early so that you can greet your friends that are coming by for dinner. There are different reasons why our body shows stress reactions and I thought it would help to break this phenomenon down to help you deal with it.
If you experience high levels of stress when you find too many unread emails in your inbox, you should know that you’re not alone. In fact, the phenomenon is so widespread that it became known as inbox anxiety
Inbox Anxiety Came with Emails
When emails were invented in the 1970s, nobody had a clue how they were going to change the way we work. In time, they have become such a ubiquitous tool that, depending on your seniority, there’s a chance that you haven’t even experienced work without emails. I personally remember the days when we did not have emails at work yet and I went through several tech upgrades since then (desktop, laptop, blackberry, smartphone). Despite more than 25 years of experience with the technology I still don’t know exactly what to do when I get certain emails. One ground rule I established early in my career was: when I am angry I don’t send a response. I wait until I feel calm again. In fact, when I then go through the same email with a fresher approach, I sometimes even notice a certain positivity that I had overlooked earlier.
You might be surprised that our generation still relies so much on email, but inbox anxiety doesn’t only refer to email now.
I have several other professional inboxes to manage as well (Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, XING, four email accounts, professional messages on FB pages, Instagram, and Twitter direct messages). Sometimes, I feel like I should change my job description to “emailer”.
With the Corona-crisis and the need to work from home, most of us probably worked even more with emails and messages than usual and despite the general reply-to-all rule in some organizations this is still not done so you are falling off a thread and then you have to follow up or update your colleagues in a different way.
In our team at GPT, we introduced Slack during the crisis. We had already failed at it in 2016 largely due to my inability to focus on too many channels so now I’m making a more concerted effort to use Slack instead of WhatsApp. I don’t really use it to replace emails but I notice it helps me write less follow up emails and also I can ask the Slack bot to remind me instead of asking our intern.
I’m trying to find out where MY own inbox anxiety stems from and I hope to share this with you so you find ways to overcome this as well.
Switching Off and FOMO
One issue that creates inbox anxiety for me is the need to switch off completely for short and extended periods of time. Last year, I took the liberty not to be available for four weeks over the summer. Some of my email accounts were not checked while I was offline. That created stress when coming back. Same happened when I was out sick for three weeks with COVID19 this year.
There is enough research to show that you should completely switch off from work for at least two consecutive weeks each year. However, in most of your jobs it is still expected that you are available during vacation and weekends, especially during launches, emergencies, crisis and personnel related decisions.
As a matter of fact, according to a YouGov survey 60% of people check their work inboxes also during holidays. We don’t do it necessarily because we want to, but because we feel some sort of obligation to do it. The same research found that 80% of the respondents would actually prefer to “switch off completely”.
Being Responsive versus Productive
Another issue is that I would like to be responsive. It’s one of my trademarks. And there are certain limitations between being responsive and being productive. However, in order to be able to do “deep work” and to focus on quality time online with my clients I sometimes have to wait for a response until my work day is over or until I get a break. This might be only an issue when you are a small company and nobody else can cover for you. Most companies now don’t expect a response on weekends and responding within 24 hours still seems to be acceptable.
Underlying Relationship and Trust Issues
The third theme I notice has to do with email anxiety when you receive emails from certain persons. I assume that there is an underlying relationship or trust issue with this person. Maybe this person has treated you unfairly in the past or they have turned around something you wrote in an unacceptable way. Maybe they belittle you in their emails with their manager in cc or they criticize you publicly. A good manager would give their feedback in more appropriate ways than emails but we know that there are a number of mediocre managers out there as well.
What is Inbox Anxiety and Where Does it Come from?
According to Ron Friedman, author and psychologist, the reason why we feel overwhelmed when we find a lot of emails in our inbox is that each message is a new demand of our time and it triggers one more decision to make. This leaves most of us with less energy for the work that matters. Another reason that could make you anxious might be the lack of clear expectations and etiquette especially in the intercultural context you live in as an expat.
Also not having anybody to delegate emails to and feeling responsible for client service even when it’s not in your direct area of control could considerably make your stress level rise. In fact, studies have shown that checking email frequently leads to higher levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress.
We feel stressed also because we don’t feel productive. As we are constantly interrupted by a “PLING” our cognitive performance is reduced resulting in an attention deficit. According to research done on the negative effects of email on productivity, it takes us an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the taks after we’ve been interrupted. Now, think of how many times they interrupt you at work and make an average calculation. It’s scary.
There is one more issue related to inbox anxiety and this is known as “email apnea.” In fact, 80% of people tend to hold their breath unnaturally when going through their emails causing a change in their normal breathing patterns. Holding your breath can contribute to stress-related diseases because it throws off the body’s balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitric oxide.
Seven Tips to Help you Take Back Control
Here are seven tips that will help you take back control of your inbox, time and productivity.
1 – Clarify the Purpose of Your Conversations
Make sure you know the communication policy and etiquette of the company where you work. This will also make clearer why and how you’re using emails and not other tools.
2 – Build Better Relationships to the Senders and Receivers
If you don’t know the other person well, try to reciprocate their tone. You don’t want to come across as too friendly or too formal if the relationship is just at the beginning. When I communicate in German, I struggle because the connotations of how you address a person are quite different depending on the cultural context. In English, you can easily be far too informal and hurt somebody’s feelings. As a general rule, avoid emotions and emotional topics.
When you aren’t familiar with the sender, another good alternative is picking up the phone. If you are a millennial, calling someone you don’t know might not be your preference, but I still think it’s the best way to establish first contact with someone.
3 – Stop Escalations and Solve the Real Issue
I love to watch escalation bingo on email only when I’m not in the firing line and cc-ed but not cause of anger. I personally read too many emails that are escalated to the appropriate management level too late. We often read many blame-storms and cover-your-back when the real underlying relationship issue is not addressed. I’m pretty good at NOT responding and I’m often slow when it’s heated or emotional. The reason is that I often need a break from the triggered emotions.
I can leave emails drafted for days only to discard them. It’s a skill I learned. Sometimes I might come across rude or negligent…It even happens that I forget an email. However, it’s often not that important or the person can find another route to talk to me. If the person knows me, they will reach out by phone, text message or just resend.
4 – Stop Flagging, Sorting, Deleting, and Trust Your Inner Priority Manager
I hear people are still flagging, filing in folders, reading, and answering emails all the time, although I notice that response time has gone from 1 minute to 1 week to ghosting. Frankly speaking, I sometimes don’t respond to an email because I don’t feel that I have anything to say. In some cultural contexts this is a perfectly acceptable behavior, however, in some others this could come across as rude.
5 – Limit the Times You Check Inboxes and Respond
Role model the change you would like to see in this world. If you don’t want to be bothered by emails after 7 pm, either you are powerful enough not to respond anymore or you also stop sending emails after “normal office hours”.
6 – Apply a Filter, Deactivate Notifications, and Practice Writing Better Headers for Receivers
Have a policy for all your media who you accept and what kind of messages you will respond to. Instead of responding to every tweet I have now connected Twitter to Slack. I can check first if I want to respond or if it is a random tag.
I get a lot of system notifications, newsletters and promotions that I just scan but usually I only need to read the header or key words to know if it’s worth going deeper.
7 – Track How Much Time You Spend Emailing, Messaging and with Whom
Try using RescueTime to track your email time. This will allow you to realistically plan how to gradually reduce your email time. For example, you might try to reduce the time you spend on your inbox by 5 to 10 percent weekly. One way to do this is to practice writing shorter emails. If you notice you are so busy because you spend an hour sending cat videos to friends and family, you might want to change that. And you might not know right away what you want to change and how. I recommend you call me for a 15-minute chat. Maybe I can give you guidance on how to reduce your inbox anxiety.
Resources
Trottinetting back to School – Three Kitten Tips on how to jumpstart this Fall
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/in-practice/201805/3-types-email-anxiety-and-solutions
https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/heres-why-email-makes-us-so-stressed-out-2015-2
https://happiful.com/how-to-deal-with-inbox-anxiety/
https://www.businessinsider.fr/us/email-apnea-how-email-change-breathing-2012-12
https://blog.trello.com/work-life-boundaries-as-a-remote-worker
References
Mark, G., Gudit, D. and Klocke, U. (2008). The cost of interrupted work: more speed and less stress. Conference Paper, DOI: 10.1145/1357054.1357072, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221518077_The_cost_of_interrupted_work_More_speed_and_stress
Mark, G., Voida, S. & Cardello, A. (2012). A pace not dictated by electrons: An empirical study of work without email. Conference Paper, https://sites.oxy.edu/clint/physio/article/APaceNotDictatedbyElectronsAnEmpiricalStudyofWorkWithoutEmail.pdf
Waldersee, V. (2018). The majority of employees check work emails while on holiday. YouGov, https://yougov.co.uk/topics/economy/articles-reports/2018/08/15/majority-employees-check-work-emails-while-holiday
The Power of Global Leadership Coaching for Expats
In today’s rapidly evolving global landscape, effective leadership is indispensable. Organizations worldwide are navigating unprecedented challenges, from technological advancements to cultural shifts and economic uncertainties. In such dynamic environments, the need for capable leaders to steer their teams toward success has never been more crucial. This is where global leadership coaching is a game-changer, offering many benefits beyond individual growth to catalyze organizational excellence.
Understanding Global Leadership Coaching
Global leadership coaching is not just about imparting skills or techniques; it’s a comprehensive approach that fosters holistic development. It involves working closely with leaders across diverse cultures, backgrounds, and geographical locations to enhance their capabilities, broaden their perspectives, and maximize their potential. Whether it’s guiding executives through complex decision-making processes, facilitating effective communication across borders, or nurturing a culture of innovation, global leadership coaching addresses multifaceted challenges with a tailored approach.
Cultivating Cultural Intelligence
In today’s interconnected world, cultural intelligence is a prized asset for leaders aiming to thrive in diverse environments. Global leadership coaching emphasizes developing GLOBAL COMPETENCY (please check my publications for further explanations), enabling leaders to navigate cultural nuances, adapt their leadership styles, and foster INCLUSION within their teams. By promoting cross-cultural understanding and sensitivity, coaching facilitates smoother collaborations, minimizes misunderstandings, and enhances productivity on a global scale. Culture adds additional complexity to communication in an already complex world. It can amplify communication issues and the likelihood of misunderstandings is especially high in GLOBAL, VIRTUAL TEAMS.
Here are a few examples of differences between German speakers and US Americans.
Accelerating Personal Growth and Development
At its core, leadership coaching is about unlocking potential and fostering personal growth. Through insightful conversations, feedback sessions, and tailored development plans, global leadership coaching empowers individuals to identify their strengths, address their weaknesses, and embrace continuous learning. Leaders gain clarity on their goals, develop resilience in the face of challenges, and cultivate the self-awareness necessary for effective leadership. This process benefits the individual and cascades down to their teams, fostering a culture of growth and excellence.
Enhancing Communication and Collaboration
Clear and effective communication lies at the heart of successful leadership. Global leadership coaching equips leaders with the tools and strategies to communicate authentically, inspire trust, and bridge cultural divides. Whether it’s leading virtual teams spread across different time zones or negotiating with stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, coaching enables leaders to communicate with impact and build meaningful relationships. Coaching cultivates a collaborative environment where ideas flourish, and innovation thrives by fostering open dialogue and active listening.
Driving Organizational Performance
The impact of global leadership coaching transcends individual development to drive tangible results for organizations. Research indicates that companies with strong leadership development programs are more likely to outperform their competitors. By investing in their leaders’ development, organizations not only retain top talent but also cultivate a pipeline of capable leaders poised to tackle future challenges. From improving employee engagement and retention to fostering a culture of accountability and innovation, the ripple effects of effective leadership resonate throughout the organization, contributing to long-term success.
Navigating Change and Uncertainty
Agile leadership is paramount in an era marked by rapid change and uncertainty. Global leadership coaching equips leaders with the skills and mindset to navigate ambiguity, adapt to change, and confidently lead amidst uncertainty. By fostering resilience, creativity, and a growth mindset, coaching enables leaders to turn challenges into opportunities and drive positive organizational transformation. Effective leadership becomes the cornerstone of organizational resilience in times of crisis, allowing the teams to weather the storm and emerge stronger on the other side.
Effective leadership is indispensable in a world where the only constant is change. Global leadership coaching offers a transformative journey towards unlocking individual potential, fostering cultural intelligence, and driving organizational excellence. By equipping leaders with the skills, mindset, and support they need to succeed in today’s complex landscape, coaching paves the way for a brighter future where leaders inspire, teams thrive, and organizations flourish. As we navigate the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow, investing in global leadership coaching is not just a strategic choice but a catalyst for unlocking the full potential of individuals and organizations alike.
Further Reading:
My Top Seven Killer Tips for Jobseekers
Here’s the thing with social media. Everyone keeps telling you that you must be on social media to develop your brand, but what nobody is telling you when you are a newbie is how much work it takes to develop a personal brand on social media. I’m not talking about being featured on posts that your employer (and their big marketing team and budget) developed to attract more clients. I’m talking about you and me as human beings. We thought about your struggle and came up with the Social Media Newbie Series for Global Nomads to help you understand LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, but we got stuck in the detail ourselves and I realized from the questions you are asking that you might still wonder:
What for?
Is it worth my time and money?
So, I thought that today we should take a step back and revisit why it is worth having a digital media presence and share with you my top seven killer tips for job seekers and solopreneurs (and those of you who share my vision of becoming digital global nomads).
As a Career Coach, I have encountered job seekers and freelancers, who still believe that they can thrive in today’s world without a digital presence. In short, they refuse social and professional networking as they feel they will be stalked or annoyed by others. I started with online networking on XING in 2004. Before that “networking” for me meant only person-to-person (or IRL – in real life if you are my age and don’t know what IRL means).
I would regularly have lunch with different internal and external colleagues to find out about what is going on in their line of work. In the early millennium, the lunch date roster was your “dance card” and showed how popular you were.
It was almost embarrassing to lunch alone and if you were booked for several weeks this meant you had made it. It was part of the culture of that organization, but networking helped me to understand background stories, build trust, and get support on a variety of topics. I still prefer lunch dates over any type of online interaction, but as a creator, I have more influence and a bigger circle to reach out to if I leverage my online network too.
Remember that in Germany, Switzerland, and other “Coconut” cultures we tend to be very task-focused and have to invest in building relationships. (Yes, it takes us a lot of energy to get out of that Coconut-Face.)
If I look back, I also pulled my team members, trainers, providers, and friends from my network. The network expanded to external contacts and it got harder to maintain when I left Frankfurt for Zurich, but I started to build a new network, which helped me to build and maintain a start-up in a rather difficult economic environment. If I was looking for a full-time role now, I would certainly try and source it through my network. If I am looking to hire an intern, designer, or specialist I am going to rely on my network. We are teaching the idea of leveraging your network to find a job in Switzerland rather than only applying online in our HireMeExpress program.
I know that you might be afraid to put yourself out there and have people laughing at you trolling you or giving you negative feedback and comments. How do you even deal with that when you are already fragile and full of self-doubt daily?
Would it help you if I told you that I still go through the same fear and anxiety? Would it help you if I said: Yes, there are weird people on the Internet and many of them just want your money…but what if 10% of those following you, reading you, hearing you need to hear exactly what you have to say? What if there is one person out there who like me lost half of their family in a tragic accident and thought they would never, ever recover from that? What if one woman that you speak to just lost her child or her husband and needs to hear that it will be okay and that you are there for her? What if one person is listening to you who is about to kill themselves because they are so desperate and you tell them that they are loved and they hear that and they reconsider?
What if what you have to say is important for one person only?
Don’t you think it’s worth it?
Don’t you think it is worth half an hour of your time?
Remember that you are loved, you are safe, and you are among friends here.
1) Focus on Your Followers
In all likelihood, you will meet most of your followers on LinkedIn if you are in a professional field like banking, accounting, or human resources. If you are a creative writer, you might want to focus on Twitter because this is where readers will gather their information. On the other hand, if you provide makeup tips in short videos you should focus on Instagram or YouTube. Try not to overwhelm yourself by joining all platforms at once.
2) Develop A Digital Home
In times of social media, it is hard to understand why you need to have your digital home. Imagine it this way: When you are on Twitter it is like you are attending a huge networking event where you exchange information with colleagues and potential clients. If you want them to look at the information (“content”) that you produce you have to invite them to your “home”. And when you host a party at your place you have to give people directions on how to find you and a good reason to party with you. When you go to a party you don’t expect to be asked to buy something or pay for your beer, right? So, when you start out you would probably provide some of your content for free until you have a followership. Then you can move to a membership model. A membership model mastermind is Stu McLaren.
3) Build Trust First
The Internet is full of offers and scams. Before anyone wants to give you their email ID and bank details you will need to have their trust. You can develop trust by being a helpful source of information and by solving people’s problems. You can also build trust by being personable and by avoiding any sales touch in your content and copywriting. You can provide helpful advice and invite people to join your party, but you need to remember that building trust online is a step-by-step process that takes mastery. You can follow Amy Porterfield and Ash Ambirge for further advice.
4) Reduce Self-Promotion
Instead of promoting yourself, you should promote other people’s work. If you help others you will not come across as a big-headed egomaniac, but as someone who cares about people. There is a point where you can also show your work, but it needs to be in the context of solving a problem for your followers. For example, they might need a checklist or a how-to guide that you can provide when you often hear them ask you the same questions. I read that there is an 80/20-rule where 80% of the posts should be valuable content, and 20% you should promote your brand. So, in the case of your brand, you should talk about your work, what you have achieved, and other stuff related to your greatness for about 20% of your posts.
5) Curate Content
A retweet does not always mean that you endorse the opinion of the tweeter, but at least you can verify that the information is genuine and up-to-date and that links are working. If you are like me, you probably don’t read everything you would like to read, but you know where to find trusted sources and where to be skeptical.
6) Encourage Others to Have a Voice
I know many people who suffer from “imposter syndrome” and who are modest. It helps once in a while when you tell others that their work is helpful and that you are reading their updates or their input. Instead of expecting others to support you, you can do a lot more to support others. Be a giver on social media. Learn why this is important by reading and following Adam M. Grant.
7) Charge Your Purpose Batteries
A Digital Presence is great. If people deal with you in real life or on a call, they should be positively surprised by your genuine interest in them. One of the reasons for the lack of trust nowadays is that everyone is putting their interest in front. Many people have a hard time accepting support because they are not used to free help. They are used to being cheated and pulled over the table and you want to stand out. Charge your purpose batteries and get very clear on your purpose, and one-sentence mission, and become a real giver.
Aggression at Work
When your colleague Paul tells you he has get home at 6 pm to see his children he throws in that your boss asked for a report she needs to have on her desk at 7 AM tomorrow. You cringe and call your partner to tell him you will need another 30 minutes to finalize the report. Your stomach feels hot and red. You are angry. Your colleague manages to get away. Why does he not have a deliverable here? Why is this team effort on your shoulders now? You think you could test if the boss was serious about 7 AM but you know you won’t get away with it.
Another messed up night. Your partner will be angry too now. You strip out of your suit as soon as you get home. On nights like this after leaving the battle ground you just want to have a glass of wine and a bath. Your partner rattles with the car keys. It is his gym night. Dinner needs to be cooked, the kids want a story and your inner household monster tells you to clean up the wardrobe. At 10 pm when your partner gets home you just want to go to bed. You almost had a bottle of wine by now.
The next morning, you protect your feelings through professionalism. You meditate and go for a run to keep up a smile. You wear a mask. You put on your business persona together with your pin-striped business suit and when you ask your boss if the report was ok, she just shrugs
“I had other priorities this morning. Team meeting at 10. Will you book a room for us?”.
“Isn’t that Paul’s task?”
“Yes, but he got caught up at kindergarden and will only get here at 9.45 AM. Be a good colleague and get us some pretzels too.”
You smile your best smile and help out again. While men seem to handle office politics better, I often notice that women prefer to stay out of roles where they have to deal with conflicts all the time. If you are in a leadership role – no matter if you are male or female – you won’t stay out of the firing lines. Doing favors might be easy, but verbal and written attacks will be part of your day.
You might feel you are giving more than you should, you might even feel that some of your colleagues advance faster than you, make more money and aren’t even better at what they do than you are. The good news is: You don’t have to accept aggressive behavior at the workplace.
1) Reduce Your Aggressive Tonality
You could be seen as aggressive by others. If you solve conflicts on your managerial level by escalating issues to the next level, this could be seen as conflict avoiding and aggressive. Maybe your intention is to highlight a flaw in the process or that the team is understaffed. Still, the effect could be different than what you intend.
You might underestimate your native language and cultural assumptions too. If you are for example a native Russian speaker you could come across as unfriendly and aggressive in English without intending it. Or if you are a native French speaker you might come across as long-winded and complicated in English. It is good to ask a native-speaker friend how they see you and what you could improve in your communication style.
2) Stop Giving Unsolicited Feedback
You might also be seen as passive aggressive as you feel the need to correct others and give them unsolicited feedback. I had a colleague who would do that. I know now, that he was just trying to help me to become more assertive but at the time it drove me crazy. The basic rule is that you only give feedback and tips if your colleagues explicitly ask you for it. If you are the boss you probably need to give advice but be sure that you tell your subordinate that. Otherwise they will feel scolded and like back in high school. Since I started a business it happened to me more than once that listeners in an audience wanted to help me “sell” my services better or gave me feedback on word plays they would not understand. I understand the intention but I would have remembered them in a different light if they had just asked me about my intentions before babbling their ideas out.
3) Become a Listener
With the current average attention span of 90 seconds your colleagues will love you if you manage to listen to them for a full length of a three minute story without interrupting. If you practice to be authentic and a compassionate listener you will be seen as a source of inspiration and wisdom. Try to understand where your colleague or manager stands at the moment, which issues they have to solve and maybe also what they are going through in their personal lives.
4) Communicate your Needs
In business conversations it is helpful to speak about your needs and expectations in the I-form. “I need quite space to be able to think…” instead of “Could you shut up please?”. Or “I expect you to keep the deadline for your deliverables as you promised to help me on this report.” instead of “Once again, you have not delivered what you said you would in time.”
5) Improve your business relationships
As I mentioned several times in the “Seven Principles for Intercultural Effectiveness,” improving your business relationships is the key to success in this globalized world. Work on every single relationship that is important to you and become a giver. You will be rewarded with success and long-term friendships across the globe.
6) Practice Non-Violent Communication
Even if we have become used to aggressive behavior in our hierarchical work cultures, we can all work towards a more appreciative communication culture. I recommend you learn about Marshall B. Rosenberg’s concept of non-violent communication and start practicing giving feedback by addressing a wish to the other person.
7) Address Microaggressions in Others
Sometimes we notice microaggressions in others, and it can be hard to deal with that especially if you belong to a marginalized group of the society you live in, for example, you could feel labeled as an “expat”, “migrant” or “foreigner”. One of the ways exclusive micro-aggressions can harm you is that they might trigger old childhood issues of feeling left out, of not belonging. If you notice other people’s microaggressions, it would be good to address them, even if you can’t address them right away. Maybe you need to wait for a few hours and calm down before confronting the other person. Maybe you need to think about a good way to address the topic.
If you feel insecure about the above-mentioned topics either as a leader or as a team member you can always book a meeting with me to discuss this further. In my view, we should all feel safe at the workplace and be able to express our opinions, whether we are foreigners or not.
