Hiding Stress, The Future of Work and Disrupting Hair Salons...
A look at the price you pay when hiding your stress at work, what is the reality of the way we work in the future and can this idea disrupt the hair salon industry?
Dear Reader,
This week, I am kicking off the post with an important topic and ending it with some fun idea brainstorming to change the world of hairdressing!
This week I am excited to cover…
The Price of Stress and Hiding your Feelings at Work
Remote, Hybrid or Office-based Working, where are you in relation to this debate?
Entrepreneurial Business Analyst: An idea to positively disrupt the hairdressers’s industry
I hope you enjoy the read! I look forward to hearing your thoughts..
🌍 In the Spotlight this Week: The Price of Stress and Hiding your Feelings at Work.
I want to start this week’s post with something important that many of us tend to dismiss until it is too late…
Everyone seems to always talk about managing your stress at work but how many of us truly do something about that?
I was reminded this week about how stress is a very real thing that causes illness, not just mentally but physically too…
A colleague of my husband suddenly took extended leave and at first no one knew why…
It was a guy who always seemed in full control and even calm during stressful situations on the project they were working on together.
It was a guy who was hiding his stress and it transpired that he paid the price by having a break down. The sad part was that no one realised just how much stress he was putting himself under.
Sadly, his story is not unique.
These are some important facts we should remember when looking after ourselves at work:
Be honest with yourself. Identify and recognise when you are under too much stress. Don’t suppress it for long periods of time, address it.
You are no one’s hero. We often think that others will be disappointed in us, or they might think less of us if we show we cannot cope. The truth is, they will admire us, if they spare us a thought. They will admire your courage for standing up for yourself and saying: no more.
There are always alternative options. We sometimes have mental ideas or beliefs that cause us to put ourselves into small enclosed mental boxes where we cannot see alternative possibilities. When we are very stressed, we tend to believe we have no options. Remember, there are always alternative options, you just need to start looking for them with an open mind.
I hope this section is simply reminding you to look after yourself.
In coming weeks, I will include some more practical things you can do to reduce your stress permanently. In the meantime, make a note of these facts and make sure you action them.
Start de-stressing with with this Audible book:
The Happiness Trap - How to Stop Struggling and Start Living
🌍 Remote, hybrid or office-based working, where are you in relation to this debate?
Whilst I work from home a 100% of the time, I know that many currently have new rules being imposed on them by their employers regarding working from home.
Some employers are in full support of remote working on an ongoing basis, but some are starting to introduce a required minimum number of days in the office.
Instead of arguing the pros and cons on each approach which I am sure you are familiar with, I just want to know:
Side Note: Some successful tech companies supporting remote work
If you are pro full time remote working, then consider working for these companies who encourage remote working: Atlassian, GitHub, DropBox, Twitter, Spotify, Slack and Trello!
The Future of Remote Work
Assuming an employer’s goal is to ensure employees are as productive as possible and working as a highly collaborative team, then my view is that to build that type of team, you should put in the effort required to do just that regardless of whether people are in the office or working fulltime as a remote worker.
Whilst I can see the benefit of having some in-office time occasionally, I don’t believe mandating several days in an office every week is necessarily the way to achieve that productive, cohesive team all employers are seeking.
I also think that the employers who can successfully prevent implementing this type of mandate will most likely be the employers of choice in the future.
🗣️ What are your thoughts on this?
The Entrepreneurial Business Analyst: An idea to positively disrupt the hairdresser’s industry.
As Business Analysts we have so many opportunities to help improve or even disrupt a business model in different industries for the better. It is however often a much larger undertaking to disrupt an industry than just one person’s idea but let’s play with this idea and see what you think.
I was sitting in the local hair salon a few weeks ago while my hair was being cut and my mind started wandering down the business optimisation path (again).
The Problem
I saw all these empty salon chairs next to me and thought: “What a waste!”
These seats should be full. I have noticed a few local hair salons in my area here in the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia who seem to always have lots of empty seats, or the salons tend to only open a few days a week.
My Business Analyst brain started ticking over and this is what I came up with: Read about the idea of how these hair salons and hairstylists can reinvent their own business model for the better.
💌 Reader's Corner
Please share your views and ideas about this week’s post. I would love to hear your thoughts!
🔔 Closing Thoughts
I think we often underestimate the pressure we put ourselves under when it comes to work and the stresses that brings. It is important to recognise this early and in time to ensure we maintain a healthy mind and body.
Remote working is shifting the world of work in many different ways. I love hearing where you are at with this change and can’t wait to read your comments.
Finally, I hope you are having fun with brainstorming the idea of disrupting the hairdresser’s world for the better!
I look forward to sharing more insights and ideas with you next week.
All the best,
Esta from Beyond the Byte
❤️ You can find more about my work here…
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