3 WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT EMPLOYEES WITH JANUARY EMOTIONS

Line Management

11 Jan

It’s that middling feeling of January, you know the one where you are unsure if it’s still ok to say happy new year, ask about Christmas and wonder if you need to drink that last bit of Baileys in the fridge, or is having a Baileys in January just a step too far!

January is a funny old month We are often surrounded by the either the ‘New Year New Me people’ or those that are moving through the month, like they are on an escalator at a busy tube station. Moving forward. Some, with Martin Lewis level energy, the others taking steps (important steps) but allowing the orderly fashion of moving onwards to take them where they need to be.

I’m probably somewhere in the middle, energetic in bursts, thrusting back into work, ticking off the tasks (in new shiny APP that I downloaded ready for New Year New Me) and then quiet, and you know what, that’s ok. I’ve learnt, that’s ok.

As a Leader, a Business Owner or even Partner, Parent and Friend, we can encourage and support those around us to know that whether they are sprinting up that escalator at lightening speed or if they are simply taking steps, important steps, forward that either is ok.

So how can you best support your team with such a jive of January emotion?

1. CHECK IN

It’s a no brainer, you won’t know how anyone is truly feeling unless you ask them. Maybe it’s not just the meh of January. Many a life changing decision as been made at the start of the year, so check in, what do they need from you?

2. LISTEN

No competitive listening here thank you very much! Just solid, uninterrupted listening.

3. SHARE VULNERABILITY

All hail to those Leaders who show they are human, share with your team how you feel, that it’s ok

to feel squiggly.

And here we are, striding towards the end of the month, February tends to feel brighter don’t you think? Maybe it’s the flushness of payday? Maybe it’s the tiny bit shorter month?