They are still waiting for winter in the northeast meanwhile spring has arrived. The 70 degree days and 50 degree nights have caused me to question whether we are experiencing global warming or living through a natural abnormality in the weather pattern. Whatever the reason for the mild temperatures daylight savings arrived on the scene just over a week ago and millions of us are experiencing the stress of losing an extra hour of sleep. True to form as daylight savings reared its head, I found myself humming the Carly Simon tune, Coming Around Again.

In my travels I have noticed that despite media reporting that the economy is improving, American workers are still anxious. Lack of sleep and worry about the stability of current employment are often cited as sources for the overwhelming anxiety. I am convinced that daylight savings contributes a bit to the angst of the average worker because beginning the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November the time between sunset and bedtime is one hour shorter than in the rest of the year. The movement of the clock saves on electricity usage because we spend more time outside of the home. Movement of daylight hours also means shorten periods of rest. Lack of sleep is a known stressor.

This year the early spring weather coupled with daylight savings is creating a new conundrum for workers. Companies are reluctant to cut their profit margins and continue to rely on their employees to do more with less. Warm weather and later daylight beckons people to the outdoors but workloads demand indoor productivity. Changes in benefit plans regarding sick days, personal days and vacation days are weighing heavy on the minds of workers and are causing them to reconsider the consequences of taking a day off. The scarcity of movement in most companies keeps employees cautious about abandoning work for more leisure, less stress time with family and friends.

Instead of the warm inviting days entering the work scene in late June, July and August this year the middle of March is reminiscent of summer days. If this weather pattern continues the northeast could experience six months of warm weather instead of the gradual onset of spring and then summer that is the pattern we are accustomed to experiencing. Employers and employees may have to develop a new business strategy to accommodate changes in climate. The old adages about March winds, April showers and May flowers could soon be a distant memory. Despite the warm weather, business cycles continue to operate at a familiar pace and employees are expected to save spring fever for their personal time. The employer has the upper hand in the current economy.

Balance in professional and personal life remains the key to surviving the challenges of living in stressful times. The reality of modern life is that we spend most of the year in daylight savings time. We can make adjustments to create balance in our lives. I have developed a list of options to help you get your life in balance.

• Listen to your circadian rhythm (your internal time clock for sleep, activity)

• Exercise (30 to 60 minutes a day/build momentum)
(walk, run, dance, swim, bowl, garden, sports but remember to move)

• Eat healthy
Make an appointment with a nutritionist
Take a cooking class to discover new foods
Experiment by sampling unfamiliar fruits and vegetables
Discover different ethnic meals (Have you heard that a Mediterranean diet is healthy?)

• Reassess your job satisfaction
Ask yourself if you are in the right job. If the answer is no, start researching new prospects.
Review your skill sets. Update your resume.
Look online at career websites to check possibilities for job/career change.

• Teach someone else something you like to do

• Volunteer (give back to the community)

• Treat yourself to an outing
Take a drive
Go to a museum, park, lecture, shop
Join a Meet Up group
Visit a friend

• Create an opportunity for quiet time for yourself
Meditate or consult a spiritual advisor
Yoga
Special bath
Read or listen to a book
Take a walk

• Learn something new (become a lifelong learner)
Plan daily, weekly or monthly to learn something you didn’t know before

• Journal
Write down your thoughts or record your thoughts to stay in touch with who you are

• Allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from the experience

• Rest when you are tired (Listen to your circadian rhythm)

Experiment with the list to keep your life in balance. With every new experience a bit of healthy stress may surface but gradually destructive stress will slip away. A life in balance can weather any storm even daylight savings time.

For more helpful hints about destressing your life visit the APLS Online store.

My son is returning to college after a hiatus I don’t particularly understand, but I am ecstatic that this time around it is his idea to get his college degree and not mine. As we talked over his plans I noticed how differently he and I interpreted the road required to attain his degree. He concentrated on the credits the school gave him for prior work experience. He also scheduled a combination of experiential courses and online courses. I questioned him about his lack of traditional lecture classes because I felt he needed a foundation for his major area of study. I was not prepared for my son’s reply that ended up with him lecturing me about the importance of knowing your learning style.

I did not realize at the time how the conversation with my son would haunt me. As I prepared a proposal for my next client it hit me. How many times have I said OSDFA (one size does not fit all) in a training session or at a client meeting? Have I really meant it or is OSDFA a clever mnemonic device used to impress clients? I prefer to think that as a trainer and consultant part of my value is that I am consistent in the belief that one size does not fit all. There are many theories about learning styles from the traditional visual, auditory and kinesthetic to the current trend of adding social- emotional value to the way people learn. Learning styles from a business context can loosely be categorized as follows:

Auditory:  hearing information
Kinesthetic: hands on, learn by doing
Logical :  reasoning, logic, systems thinking
Social:  learning through group interaction
Solitary:  self -taught, solo, intrapersonal learning
Verbal:  words, talk, writing
Visual:  seeing, images, drawings

It is important to tune into the learning styles of your trainees whether you are an internal or external trainer or consultant. Your job is based on people learning. Clients are not cookie cutter people. It makes sense that as trainers and consultants we differentiate our instruction in order for our clients to learn. Do an informal survey of your trainees prior to your presentation to see if you can assess the learning styles in your group. Review the seven prevalent learning styles and see if your presentation has something for everyone. Be versatile in your approach. Do not rely on any one set style too much. The more you vary your message, the more people you will reach. According to (Computer Technology Research, 1993) the following information attests to the importance of paying attention to learning styles:

We retain          20% what we see     30% what we hear                                              

We remember   50% what we see and hear      80% what see, hear and do at the same time    

                            90% what we teach others      

If we agree with research the nature of our business (teaching others) makes us experts. However, we can increase our value to clients and increase our credibility by remembering OSDFA.

Read more about Learning Styles by checking out our publications at the APLS Online Store.

I came across a book the other day titled, You Majored in What? Mapping Your Path from Chaos to Career by Katharine Brook, ED.D. Flipping through the pages it looked like an informative read with useful career strategies. But I had a gnawing sensation that I picked up the book because it reminded me of a conversation I had recently with a client that was overwhelmed by the amount of work she had facing her daily amidst staff cutbacks, new initiatives and increased accountability. Even though she is a seasoned professional the woman questioned the validity of her degree in her current position. Unfortunately, this is a common scenario in the era of downsizing. The client was seeking advice on whether to leave the company, speak to senior management or continue at her position in hopes that the work would soon stabilize. Given the client’s situation, Coach Nanci thought of a possible sequel to Dr. Brook’s book. It could be called Mapping Your Path from Career to Chaos: How to Handle the Change.

Much is written about why companies use downsizing as a corporate strategy to increase or stabilize profits to keep the company solvent. Some pundits even speculate that downsizing is the negative result of poor business strategy during prosperous times. Downsizing is widely popular in tough economic times when terms like “lean and mean” become tag lines for companies during restructuring. According to wiseGEEK, “downsizing is a commonly used euphemism which refers to reducing overall size and operating costs of a company, most directly through reduction in the total number of employees.” Unfortunately, the employee who stays takes the brunt of the seesaw juggling that occurs during downsizing.

Complaints like those of my client are both audible and silent depending on the personal situation of the employee. The prevalent attitude of management is that the employees are lucky that they kept their jobs. My client’s company has been steadily downsizing for the last three years. There has been an unofficial hiring freeze. Any jobs that were lost through attrition, the personnel were not replaced. The remaining employees have had to restructure, rework and consolidate duties to deliver company services. Management did not provide training to the remaining employees on unfamiliar job functions nor did they give adequate incentive for employees to seek education on their own. The job my client’s education prepared her for has morphed into a continuum of putting out fires, working on unfamiliar projects and keeping current on her job duties.

Has downsizing in your company changed how you feel about your current position? Change is inevitable but change due to downsizing does not have to alter your career plans. How can you keep your career on track and dispel the negative effects of downsizing?
• Be proactive even though the company is in a reactive mode
• Visit Human Resources to review your job description
• Meet with your manager to discuss where you fit in the reorganization of the company
• Discuss with manager projected timelines for consolidation of duties
• Offer suggestions to management on ways to work more efficiently
• Seek training for unfamiliar duties (preferably turnkey)
• Plan time to relieve stress during business hours (take a walk at lunch time, use of gym)
• Realign work schedule to reflect new responsibilities
• Network with other departments
• Update manager on your progress
• Stay aware of the best practices in your industry
• Commit to updating your education

Downsizing has not proven to be the panacea business pretends it is. Statistics show that well over 60% of companies that engage in downsizing, retooling, and restructuring as a means to change profitability do not get the prolonged boost expected. In fact quite the opposite is true. Unhappy employees create havoc on a business bottom line. Employees are the human capital that is the most valuable resource of most businesses. The costs attributed to employee low morale, exiting, survivor guilt, overwork, frustration, absenteeism and confusion is rarely accounted for in the original equation of renewed profitability through downsizing.

Coach Nanci has the following advice for companies who are considering downsizing:
• Communicate with your employees before you take any action that involves them
• Explain the company situation in terms employees understand
• Seek employee suggestions on how to do the work more efficiently (the people who do the work are the best resource not management)
• Turnkey retraining (use the expertise you have in your employees to rebuild)
• Reduce management perks (travel, bonus percentages, business expense accounts)
• If you have to eliminate positions do it proportionally
• Praise employees for tightening belts and incentives for cost saving ideas
• Communicate! Communicate! Communicate! Manage Up and Down

For more ideas on how to be proactive in your career take a look at Juggling Elephants in the APLS Online Store.