Health Blog

Being more assertive at the workplace may ultimately backfire on you now no matter what the business gurus tell you. Many of us who have been in the workforce for some time are coming to this conclusion, despite all those workplace coaching experts. That is because most of us know we are not safely in a position in our jobs to use this tactic.

Globalization Is Affecting the Workplace

With globalization, good jobs are going to get scarcer. Competition over position and pay will certainly become fiercer. Conflict will increase and most likely it will not be professional or civilized. When has it ever been? Already the higher level of aggressive language in the office is being discussed out there on the Internet. I have actually read advice at some professional coaching websites that counsel you to bang your fist and swear mightily a couple of times, the first week or two on the job. This will label you as someone to be afraid of and not to be messed with. (Believe it or not I have actually worked next to many people who did that.) I don’t know about you; I am not interested in cussing my fellow workers into submission let alone spending eight hours immersed in the stress created by highly charged language and behavior. It is deadly.

Those same professional coaching websites mention that the best way to handle agression from others is to be assertive. (Yes, I am not using the words assertive and aggressive behavior interchangeably.) The recommendation goes something like this: When you are confronted by someone who is highly aggressive, hold your hand up and say, “STOP!” Address the issue with the person you have a challenge with like this: “I don’t do my best work under high levels of stress.” In other words, stand your ground and use a direct manner. But, what if your boss is the one who is the extreme aggressor? Can you really be that direct with her if you do not have that sort of relationship with her? Most likely not.

Companies Now Demand Compliance in the Workplace

In the latest financially challenging environment, companies are expecting, no, demanding that you deal with the high levels of stress without complaining. If you ask that there be a reasonable change, you are often singled out as “a problem” and not able to handle the “tough” stuff. Certainly we have all experienced the retaliation of a difficult boss or co-worker who was less than pleased when they were clued in that their behavior was none too agreeable.

What does all of this stress cause? Illnesses such as depression, heart disease, high blood pressure, any number of ailments brought on by constant exposure to the toxic effects of aggression. The dirty little secret that most companies do not want us to know, is that the high levels of stress in the organization may be just as deadly as the toxic fallout from a Superfund site. Can you imagine the court suits if the correlation could definitely be made?

Not Many Choices

Realistically, you have very few choices here. One solution to an intolerable situation always has been to find a new job. Well, this is becoming more and more difficult as less job are there to be had. Even white collar jobs are being off-shored now. Remember the old days when your job required you to relocate from say, Virginia to upstate New York? Yes, you can continue in your position now if you are interested in moving to China, India, Russia or even Africa. Oh, and don’t expect your pay scale to stay the same. Even if you do find a new job, you will more than likely find more of the same agressive behavior there too.

The other solution has been to adopt a “Duck and Cover” approach to dealing with a challenging boss or coworker. We all have done the “keep your head down” strategy to cope. Avoid the problem and it might go away. Certainly, those of us who are interested in the idea of cooperation rather than competition within the workplace do not want to participate in stoking the flames of aggression. We also don’t relish the strategy of taking out our nearest cube mate to ensure we survive the next layoff. Protecting ourselves from coworker bent on making sure we are on the bottom of the pile and “ripe for the pickin’s” is stressful enough.

Give Working for Yourself a Chance

The one solution that many people still in the workforce rarely look at is to start their own business. The joys and freedoms of working for yourself are unimaginable, not to mention the health benefits brought on by not having to deal with the stress of working for someone else.

Unfortunately most people fear that they can’t be successful working for themself. They are afraid of going out and meeting lots of new people or – selling – their goods or services to others, activities crucial to growing a business. Many people believe that they have nothing of value to offer even if they have years and years of life experience and multiple degrees. Most people are totally sure that asking for money is a bad thing.

The problem is most people never even know what exactly keeps them afraid of starting their own company in the first place. Well, believe it or not, it is something called Business Shyness. Yet, Business Shyness is easy to conquer once you understand where it comes from, and then learn some fun and effective tactics and tricks to vanquish it. Sure, everyone quotes the statistics of high levels of new business failures as one reason not to give it a try. If you want the truth though; the real reason a great number of business fail is because the person starting them never addresses their Business Shyness issues when they first start. It’s not necessarily because they had a bad idea.

Nancy Knettell, The Money Queen and International Business Shyness Expert, along with her “Show Me the Money Success System,” helps solo entrepreneurs effectively eliminate their sales and marketing jitters to open up their business’s money stream. Find out more information at her website: http://www.themoneyqueen.com

Article Source: ArticleSpan

By articlespan.com
Yaab