Mastering the mindset shift in the face of work challenges

The world is lurching from one crisis to the other which has thrown many people and organizations out of their comfort zones, - many have lost jobs and many are still living in the fear of losing one; Economic Instability and fluctuating economy has increased financial struggles, conditions of living have worsened.

Political and social turmoil is creating fear and social disconnects among people and natural disasters have left people to live in survival mode. Not forgetting personal traumas of un and under employments, high rate of family separations and divorce, declining health and loss of loved ones among others. 

The only way to survive amidst all these is to change our mindset to enable us sail smooth through the rough waters in today’s world of work.

Leading and striving in the future of work requires having a growth mindset that foster innovations, growth and learning in order to become better and lead the change. human resource professionals need to move away from just documentation of what one is good at and not good at. Talent alone doesn’t bring success but commitment, hard work and putting efforts in the talent do. Things have changed, and the key to surviving in today’s work environment is by having a winning mindset that believes that it is possible to beat any odd.  

As professionals we need to show up like life students rather than experts, we need to be creative in finding solutions to workplace challenges not only looking out for them. We need to look for opportunities to innovate and be creative. 

Positive mindset; In such a time full of stress and mental health issues, having positive mindset cultivates the spirit of gratitude, empathy, appreciation and compassion as coping strategies and motivation to ourselves and employees rather than instilling fear and sense of inferiority.  We need to redirect our energies into improving employees’ weak areas and celebrating wins however small they may be. 

Entrepreneurial mindset; Due to high competition in the global market place, organizations are expanding and diversifying their talent pipelines to add strategic values and control costs. The emphasis on having self-driven workforce, virtual teams, internal mobility and the use of technology – Al is increasing.

Organizations are focusing on how business can be managed ethically amidst risks by skilled people who have positive attitude to drive businesses, people who can forge meaningful collaborations, people with future orientation, mental agility and desire to lean and strategically think. As professionals, we therefore, need to shift our mindset from just being people’s managers to business partners and change agents. 

Shift from circle of influence to circle of concerns ; While building on our circle of influence and creating relationships is important, in the new world of work there is also need to shift our focus on how we can influence our “circle of concerns”. Both physical and mental health issues are becoming a growing concern. Whether it’s customers, clients, patients, or employees, as change agents, we need to start thinking beyond our business model by investing in self-care and wellbeing of employees in order foster productivity and a healthy work force. Example; introduction of wellness programs at work, time off from work to relax, off time for working mothers and fathers among others. 

Shift from work week to work done. Work-life balance presents a whole new set of challenges in the new world of work. However, if we want to improve employees experience and increase productivity, we need to shift our mindset from the “Monday to Friday and Eight hours” work approach to investing in flexible work schedules and types where employees can get work still done irrespective of what work gets done from where and when. 

Juliet Aweko is a talent management specialist and human resource professional. [email protected]