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A publication of Mutual of Omaha’s Employee Assistance Program A publication of Mutual of Omaha’s Employee Assistance Program The Workplace Switch T he world of work often is full of changes – sometimes up, sometimes down and sometimes sideways. These changes can affect your relationships both at work and at home, but you must remember to maintain balance in your life. Change can cause strain whether you’re being promoted or reorganized. The dynamics of change can create stumbling blocks, but it can be helpful if you look at these challenges from different perspectives. For example, maybe you’ve finally landed a promotion you really wanted, but now your excitement is tempered with concern, because you’re managing your old team. Now what? How are you ever going to pull this off? How do you go from being team player to team leader? Pulling Off the Workplace Switch Going from friend and co-worker to manager isn’t easy. Face it, you’re going to have to adjust to a new set of relationships. Certain aspects of your old friendships may fall away. But you don’t have to give up those friends; in fact, you shouldn’t. Instead, you need to learn how to adjust to your new responsibilities, gain the respect of your team and establish yourself among your new peers. Here are a few tips to get you started: Find new social space. Relationships will change. In most instances, your new direct reports will adjust the social space with you on their own. You also can prevent any awkwardness by having honest, upfront, one-on-one conversations with your direct reports about wanting to maintain friendships but also needing to have professional employee-manager relationships. This can be stressful for you and your team. Be prudent with information. The free flow of information is critical to any team and any organization. Feeling free enough to ask questions is also extremely important at any level. In your new role, be aware of how rumors affect those around you. Be careful not to feed the rumor mill. But do keep some ties with your work friends. Time spent with your direct reports can build trust. Have a team lunch every month or look for other organized activities that allow you to socialize in a group setting. We all have our own style, but being visible, and having informal, but meaningful, contact with your team can be beneficial. Also – don’t forget to have fun. Avoid treating everyone the same. You might be tempted to prove your fairness by treating everyone the same. But they’re not the same. You’re managing individuals, each with a unique set of strengths and weaknesses. And each with their own expectations and career goals. Develop each individual’s unique strengths and encourage professional development. You’ll end up with a stronger team. MUGC7992_0906 (continued on back) (continued from front) Learn to delegate. It is not always easy to let go of your old work (or your old ways of doing things). Just because you know how to do something – and can perhaps do it better than those on your team – doesn’t mean you should do it. Someone on your team may have a different way of doing something that will make your whole team function better. Remember that as a manager your job now is to provide resources, motivation and direction for your team. Change gives us the opportunity to learn and grow. New job duties, new relationships at work, longer hours all can detract from your time and focus at home. Remember that your family is along for the ride with you and that your changes at work affect them directly. Priorities and time may need to be adjusted at home as well as at work. Kid’s Corner Children gain security from consistent family patterns and often become stressed or emotionally anxious when such routines change. Effective communication is the most important thing to establish in helping a child transition through a change. So, although you will be busy with details of your new responsibilities at work, it’s important to inform them of the changes the new job will bring in a realistic manner that focuses on a positive outcome. Let them express their feelings. Acknowledge dissatisfaction. You can say you’re not happy with losing the shared activity, too, but that you can look together for some other activity to share. Some other suggestions that may be helpful in dealing with transition: Be honest. Children want information, and the truth. Describe the change in a way your child will understand, and explain how it impacts the whole family. Give them a perspective of the “big picture” and help them put the changes in context. Helping Children Adjust to Change in Family Routine Keep lines of communication open. Take the initiative to encourage your kids to openly share ideas and opinions. When questions are raised, give honest answers. Through open communication, children and young adults develop self-worth and feel their opinions are valid. So what happens at home when Mom or Dad undergo changes at work? There may be unpleasant realities to face up to in terms of the impact new job commitments can make on quality time with the kids. Focus on the positive. Demonstrate how a positive attitude can help heading into a time of change. This will help keep their sense of security intact so they can go about being kids without added anxiety. The new job may mean more travel, or extra hours that may eat into time once spent with the kids. Coaching a child’s soccer team, for example, may become the downside of the new job, and that may cause hurt feelings at home. Recognize achievements. Be on the outlook for positive, short-term family accomplishments. Make an effort to reward accomplishments related to the change – this will foster your child’s adjustment and acceptance of the change.