Psychology@Work

More offices and workplaces are now starting to open and more people are returning to work, and there’s an unusual atmosphere of normality combined with concerns about the unknown. To ease those concerns and increase the feeling of normality, my headline advice is to go for familiarity and control, that will help ease any stress and tension you might be feeling, and that includes remembering your...

Well-being at work is a hotter topic than ever and rightly so. We’re regularly being told that employees’ mental health is worsening and that stress-related absence is on the increase. According to the UK’s official HR-representing body (the CIPD) between 2018-19, work-related stress increased in 40% of organisations and reporting of mental health conditions increased by 60%. Now this may be in pa...

Something we’re hearing from more and more organisations is how they’re looking to help their employees explore new opportunities in areas of the business that are continuing to do well even when faced with the challenges we’re seeing today. Sometimes, this kind of role sidestep might mean a need to upskill and it may well also give people an opportunity to pursue areas of strength that they haven...

The new normal is a funny phrase because it makes you think that at some point, change is going to stop and normal is going to be forever and then we can all chill a bit and get a bit of certainty back. Let’s hope that’s true but for now, one thing we know for sure is that there’s a lotT of change around and more change ahead. We don’t know what it will bring but we know it will mean that things w...

Are you a perfectionist? Perfectionism has significant negative health impacts. Learn how to keep it under control so that it remains in service to you rather than you becoming a slave to perfection. https://www.strengthscope.com/how-to-aim-for-progress-not-perfection/ In a 2019 study of around 41,000 young people, researchers found that over the last 25 years, people across the US, Canada and the...

https://www.strengthscope.com/getting-the-best-from-your-strengths-in-a-crisis/ Once upon a time, the strengths approach wasn’t so well-known as it is today and one of the pushbacks to the approach I used to hear fairly often was about strengths being a great idea for the good times, but actually how helpful are your strengths in bad times, when you’re under pressure, in a crisis if you like? So t...

Your social network can have a significant effect on your health – studies have shown that those with stronger social networks enjoy multiple physiological, psychological and long-term health benefits than those who lack social support. This is particularly important at times of pressure and stress, when a sense of isolation can lead to higher experienced stress levels. And what about at work? Tod...

Why is it that the ‘news’ is pretty much always negative? We live in a world wired towards negativity bias (I podcast on this in Season 1, episode 2). As humans, we react quickly to potential threats, that is we’re programmed to hear about those things first; in addition, we kind of like to hear about other people’s misfortune so that we feel better about our own situation (so called schadenfreude...

“A resilient individual is not someone who avoids stress but someone who learns how to tame and master it”. And my favourite definition is one that I heard at an event once – that “Resilience isn’t just the ability to bounce back, but to bounce forward”. So if you want to get the best from yourself and your team during challenging times, what are the four things that you need to do to build resili...

‘New normal’ seems to be the phrase of the moment (at least it was last month). But in truth, nothing ever really gets a chance to ‘normalise’ these days, so pretty soon, ‘new normal’ will be ‘old world’ and the next wave of new will be on us. https://www.strengthscope.com/the-future-of-leadership-in-the-new-normal/ So how can leaders - how can anyone at any level for that matter - effectively nav...

Diversity is one of the hottest topics in organisational life and for good reason: it relates to fair treatment of all groups, and all people. Visit: https://www.strengthscope.com/getting-the-most-from-the-diverse-strengths-of-your-employees/ Taking a positive approach to diversity in organisations can also bring big commercial benefits, as I touched on in my podcast from not so long ago on ‘ dive...

Today’s podcast relates to diversity and inclusion, the strengths way – how you can help your people identify what makes them truly unique and then support them in bringing that uniqueness to work each day. Diversity and Inclusion strategies are seen as a technical necessity in organisations focused on fulfilling their legal requirements and stakeholder expectations. https://www.strengthscope.com/...

In a recent study cited by the Mental Health Foundation, there were just over 8 million cases of anxiety reported per year in the UK and the global figures country-by-country are similar. https://www.strengthscope.com/managing-anxiety-through-your-strengths/ During extraordinary times, particularly during times of crisis, economic or otherwise, people’s anxiety levels can increase significantly, a...

Something we tend to forget as adults as we take on more responsibility, more life baggage, more ‘shoulds’ and ‘musts’, is how to reconnect with the child that is still there in all of us. A particular child as well, our ‘free child’, the child who did things for the sheer joy, the enjoyment, the fun, the feeling. https://www.strengthscope.com/find-your-joy/ As we grow, it’s easy to lose that conn...

Wherever your team are located right now – remotely or physically, some together, some apart, research shows us that when people play to their strengths, they are more likely to perform well. https://www.strengthscope.com/empowering-your-team-with-strengths/ The business case therefore for bringing strengths into everyday management performance conversations with employees include: Higher levels o...

During the course of each day, you’re likely to experience some emotions that are uncomfortable, difficult, distracting or we might even label them as negative or unwanted. These emotions can be brought on by a whole range of triggers – work, relationships, memories, pressure, stress, the weather, our general mindset and so on – humans are complex creatures. The power of discomfort – managing your...

Daily strength users enjoy higher levels of well-being, lower stress levels, higher levels of motivation, are more effective at problem-solving, have improved relationships at work, higher self-confidence, see greater career success and enjoy higher levels of job satisfaction. For the research findings which back up all of that, check the references at the end of this blog. What we also know is th...

There’s negativity all around us and sometimes that can make things feel stuck, like we can’t move forward. It’s relatively easy to get caught up in those negative feelings so our focus can become even more negative and we see even more of the negative when actually nothing much has really changed. Get this on the Strenghtscope blog Today’s podcast is all about becoming aware of your mindset and m...

Stress affects us more than we might think. The American Institute of Stress recently reported that over 80% of workers feel stressed at work at some time, so understanding what stress is is important. Stress occurs when the demands of a situation exceed your perceived ability to deal with them. The more that we perceive we can control, the less stressed we feel. Today’s podcast is about managing...

We’ve all been there – when you feel you’re in a situation where you just don’t have the strength to get the best outcome . You might be facing change without having a Flexibility strength. Or you might need to work with others but you don’t have Collaboration as a strength. Or you may be needing to think about the future, without the benefit of a Strategic mindedness strength. What can you do in...

So I’ve been working with wholly or partially dispersed or virtual teams for around 15 years, across a number of industries and today, I’d like to talk about what I’ve learned from working with these teams to help them ensure that they get the very best from themselves and from others in the team when working at distance. This podcast is best consumed in combination with my others on Making homewo...

More and more people are managing some or all of their team remotely these days – partly because technology allows and in some cases, because circumstances dictate. Whatever the reason for you managing others remotely, or even you being managed remotely, I’d like to share some tips with you on today’s podcast as to how to get the very best from yourself and your team if you’re in that place. Trans...

Working from home is on the increase thanks mainly to improvements in communication and work technology, and for some people it’s more of a necessity because of their location or home circumstances. Personally, I work from home 2 days a week so that I can do the school run twice a week and I’ve had periods of my working life where I’ve been full time working from home and also part-time homeworkin...

Transcription : Womankind podversation with Alicia Luther-Jones Today we have an exciting podversation with Alicia Luther-Jones, Philanthropy Manager at Womankind, one of Strengthscope’s charity partners. We talk about Womankind’s vision and purpose, because more people need to know about the amazing work these guys do.

The energy lifeline - plotting your year ahead As we come to financial year end for many organisations, it may well be worth taking a moment to stop and reflect on how the last year at work has been for and how you can get more out of the year ahead. To do that, I want to introduce you today to the energy lifeline – a handy tool that can be used in all sorts of ways…looking at your whole career, y...