Pantheon International discusses how they deal with change and in doing so eliminate stress

Oct. 1, 2013 - PRLog -- But for most people change and adversity are difficult paths to traverse, especially in our work settings where the challenges may abruptly alter the course of one’s career and lifestyle. Pantheon International appreciates that little control over workplace events triggers increased tension, uncertainty, anger, and other forms of job stress.

For Pantheon international effectively managing the workplace means not fearing or resisting change and challenges, but empowering management and employees with the necessary skills to effectively manage life changes. Strategically preparing managers and employees catalyzes better organisational performance, regardless of what changes you might face.

The interplay among individuals, their responsibilities and the corporate culture drives a business’ viability. Effectively managing the workplace within can help reduce counterproductive behavior, improve the organisation’s collaborative thinking, increase cooperation among colleagues, and enhance customer service, even in the midst of change and reorganisation.

Pantheon International share their strategies on how to embrace change:

Prepare Managers – Company leadership must assist managers in understanding the emotional landscape of change and provide them with tools to address issues. Who we are dictates how we perceive experiences, how we react to others, and how well we work together, and how we cope with change. Few companies offer managerial training in issues of change, leaving managers ill prepared and a target for blame.

Communicate Early and Often – Rumors and innuendo, if allowed to propagate randomly, are extremely harmful. Keep everyone updated on the most recent decisions directly or indirectly affecting everyone. This will make people feel that they are a part of the process. With healthy communication, people are more apt to remain with the company and often develop an even deeper bond during a time of change.

Acknowledge Emotions – An increased level of empathy and understanding is important and must be felt from the top down. People expect life to be easy and when it is not, they need assurances that you are concerned and will do as much as possible to assist them during unsettling times.

Increase “Emotional Intelligence” Companywide – At the same time, making everyone aware of their own feelings is just as important. Without a good grasp and understanding of our feelings, we often manifest anger in counterproductive behaviour.

Negotiating these changes and challenges effectively on the outside will require all of us to be

Remember the “Big Picture.”

Anything you need or want to do can be thought of in more than one way. For instance, “exercising” can be described in Big Picture terms, like “getting healthier” — the why of exercising — or it can be described in more concrete terms, like “running two miles” — the how of exercising. Thinking Big Picture about the work you do can be very energising in the face of stress and challenge, because you are linking one particular, often small action to a greater meaning or purpose. Something that may not seem important or valuable on its own gets cast in a whole new light. So when staying that extra hour at work at the end of an exhausting day is thought of as “helping my career” rather than “answering emails for 60 more minutes,” you’ll be much more likely to want to stay put and work hard.

3. Rely on routines.

The solution is to reduce the number of decisions you need to make by using routines. If there’s something you need to do every day, do it at the same time every day. Have a routine for preparing for your day in the morning, and packing up to go home at night. Simple routines can dramatically reduce your experience of stress.

Take five (or ten) minutes to do something you find interesting.

Keep these two very important points in mind: First, interesting is not the same thing as pleasant, fun, or relaxing (though they are certainly not mutually exclusive.) Taking a lunch break might be relaxing, and if the food is good it will probably be pleasant. But unless you are eating at the hot new molecular gastronomy restaurant, it probably won’t be interesting. So it won’t replenish your energy.Second, interesting does not have to mean effortless. The same studies that showed that interest replenished energy showed that it did so even when the interesting task was difficult and required effort. So you actually don’t have to “take it easy” to refill your tank.

See your work in terms of progress, not perfection

We all approach the goals we pursue with one of two mindsets, this is what Pantheon International call the Be-Good mindset, where the focus is on proving that you have a lot of ability and that you already know what you’re doing, and the Get-Better mindset, where the focus is on developing your ability and learning new skills. You can think of it as the difference between wanting to show that you are smart versus wanting to get smarter.When you have a Be-Good mindset, you expect to be able to do everything perfectly right out of the gate, and you constantly (often unconsciously) compare yourself to other people, to see how you “size up.” You quickly start to doubt your ability when things don’t go smoothly, and this creates a lot of stress and anxiety. Ironically, worrying about your ability makes you much more likely to ultimately fail.For Pantheon International “A Get-Better mindset”, on the other hand, leads instead to self-comparison and a concern with making progress — how well are you doing today, compared with how you did yesterday, last month, or last year? When you think about what you are doing in terms of learning and improving, accepting that you may make some mistakes along the way, you experience far less stress, and you stay motivated despite the setbacks that might occur.

Think about the progress that you’ve already made.

At Pantheon International of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.Psychologically, it’s often not whether we’ve reached our goal, but the rate at which we are closing the gap between where we are now and where we want to end up that determines how we feel.

Pantheon International accepts change and acknowledges that change will be continual, confronting us in waves. But being prepared should make the transition easier for all of us.