Tag: #workingmom

Watch Your Tone: Considering the audience when virtually communicating with remote employees

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By: Stephanie Diana Eubank

Tone in emails and other written platforms such as Skype, Slack, or Teams can be a tricky thing.  Where onsite employees may be able to understand or be able to ask in the background with management to see if an aggressive tone was intentional or not.  Remote teams have a harder time identifying if harsh tones in writing if it may be intentional or not from management.

There are concepts for remote workers called social isolation and professional isolation.  To break it down:

  • Social Isolation: we often forget business is a social activity and social science.  And socializing at work is a big part of working in business.  Believe it or not water cooler talks and social interaction with coworkers is a draw to onsite work and can be good for mental health.  Also, this sort of social 
  • Professional isolation: is where the employee doesn’t get a lot of collaboration time with management or other interactions with management.

There are also concepts that remote workers have as stress causing aspects of working remote.  Such as statistically speaking remote people are often the first people to be laid off during mass layoffs.  This is statistically common because remote people don’t get to interact with management or coworkers due to social and professional isolation.   This isolation also may lead to missed opportunities for remote workers.

Now, now these concepts have been known to be issues for remote teams.  However, since COVID-19 with everyone who can work remote.  With Remote work becoming mainstream this means management must adapt to these pitfalls because it now affects them too.  There is also the fact that with COVID-19 new pitfalls arise.  Such as the dreaded kids interruption if they are not back to in person schooling, the state being on fire and evacuations being needed (like here in California), cats jumping on the desk, dogs barking, or my personal annoyance is cars with too much base shaking the whole neighborhood. 

Although there are added benefits for all when working from home that need to be accounted for and embraced. Such as taking breaks when one is supposed to and using them to go outside or other mental health/ self-care need.  There is also flexibility to manage a work/ life balance.   However, none of this positive move for the economy to healthy business practices until better communication practices are realized and common place.

One big step many managers need to work on to realize the best remote environments and most productive ones is the skills within electronic communication.  

Here are a few tips for management and communicating with teams effectively in this new remote environment:

  • First ask each team member what their preferred method of communication is.  I know it seems easy enough, but some people may like the constant teams or skype typed quick notes and others might get an anxiety attack from that.  And then there are those who rather just have a quick phone call. 
  • Make both one on one time with team for status and business but also just to ask, “how are you doing”.  Showing a little empathy goes a long way towards building strong trust and employee retention.  It also helps prevent professional isolation making employees feel more like people and less like numbers. 
  • Take time to just have a nice virtual lunch together with your whole team and staff.  Bonding regularly with a team helps everyone not only keep work focus but, reminds us all that we are people.
  • Managers need to encourage their team to communicate with each other not just about work but just to take 10 minutes to talk about the weather.  Business being a social science needs to be emphasized socially and understood some people like remote for the lack of social interaction. 
  • Managers when emailing need to watch for tone in emails so that no one feels provoked.  Firmness can still be conveyed but, there are tricks for making the tone calmer:
    • Use We instead of me or I.  This unifies the team and company as one and comes off less combative.
    • Note in the written communication that all work around options were considered but, don’t note that they can escalate the issue. That comes off as a challenge. 
    • Write clinically.  Not putting too much emotion into the writing.  It shows neutrality so there is no favoritism or anger to be derived from an email.  
    • While writing do open with a friendly salutation and at thank everyone for their help with the info.  Again, show a united front.
    • Before getting to the heart of the issue write something positive. 
    • Clearly define changes showing rather than pointing fingers we are moving forward with lessons learned.  Be sure to also state what the sought results are.  Goals need to be clear. 
    • Close these emails by asking if you can help or clarify or answer any questions.  Make sure that you make sure to note you are available and welcome questions.  Also, that everyone has your contact info. 
  • Never send emails when angry!  That’s how you end up in HR because you have made a hostile work environment. 
  • Draft your emails in word.  It helps make sure that everything is spelled and grammatically correct showing your professionalism.  It also helps if writing when angry to re-read your work and edit, and edit, and edit till the result works.  Also, this stops the accidental email that wasn’t polished yet. 

These tips should help learn how to communicate with remote teams and help with comfort of though remote can make us far away we are still on the same team.  

If you liked this article remember sharing is caring. 

Why Go Backwards? : An article on missed opportunities of remote learning.

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By: Stephanie Diana Wilson-Eubank

First I want to go on the record as going through dysfunction of COVID in the form of balancing work and being the stay at home parent now delegated to being the in-home teacher.   I am blessed to have changed jobs to a position that allows more of a dynamic role that is flexibility to balance my family and career goals remotely.  Further I am blessed that this company values my goals towards my Doctorate degree in Business Administration.  And I needed to be able to work to provide for my family like most Americans.

All this said I have to say I have preferred my kids going to school remotely and how we have been safe.  Honestly it has been easier for my boys especially when dealing with their disabilities.  Such as we get to do more positive morning activities together before school starts with no traveling, last minute wardrobe changes, no dealing with the school giving my son milk when he is lactose intolerant.  

Not to mention other parents I am friends with who have disabled children and those who are minorities are pushing to wait to send their kids back to school when as a nation we have reached closer to heard immunity and 80% and up vaccination rates nationally.  Many schools are pushing to open ASAP when we are nationally only at 10% vaccination rates.  

Which, is a bit hasty in my personal opinion, however, my mother sent me an article from the local KTVU news at https://www.ktvu.com/news/california-law-does-not-allow-for-virtual-learning-waiver-expires-at-end-of-june , (Fernandez, 2021); which speaks to laws about remote learning and push back rather than embracing the practice.  Also, that the state is not budgeting for remote learning.  Which, is not just short cited from the fact current attitudes nationally about COVID make the variants a real potential threat to go back to lockdown just as we got COVID-19 to some semblance of under control.  However, to stay in my lane of business and the economy as those are the focuses of my doctoral program and the topic of remote work being my thesis focus I was inspired to focus on who school is being set up for an out dated economic thinking and needs to be changed.

Specifically what I am referencing is the topic of what is academically referred to as “Factory Model Schools”.  Here is a list of articles on the topic:

In lay terms the setup of public schools is formatted to familiarize students to a work life within a factory. Which, makes no economic logic since based on the monthly article put out by the US Department of Labor and Statistics at https://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1984/04/art2full.pdf, (URQUHART, 1984); the US has been shifting out of an economy comprised primarily factory workforce to a service industry since 1984.  With this in mind we need to redevelop the public school system to do two things.  

One prepare those not on a university level life long quest to be competitive in the work scape that is now our economy.  To do this online learning and hybrid learning need to become normalized.  Not normalizing and making remote or hybrid learning a quintessential part of the educational formatting is a missed opportunity.  This especially needs to become fundamental in the education process in California where we are the epicenter of the tech sector and the home of the tech Meca being Silicon Valley.  Think about it one of the main issues noted in my dissertation on remote employment has been push back of companies and management.  Even though remote employment not only saves the bottom line and adds to the diversity and organizational structure of a company there is still push back.  What I hear most from management personally working remote for over seven years say things like, “remote work is difficult to manage”, and “I have always had face to face interaction and remote is just so foreign”.   However, teaching kids to normalize remote work allows learning needed skills in project management (nothing prepares you for business like knowing how to organize people remotely), social networking, technology, data collection and data integrity, along with remote customer service skills among a myriad of other skills.  

The second task of schools is to set children who want to go on the academic journey of college and advanced degrees and research to prepare those students and that involves remote learning as this is a normative practice in college level education.  (Also, do not think I am saying any one or group shouldn’t go to college.  College is not for everyone and I believe that academic advancement is a life path not a make shift destination.  It is a journey.  With that said it should be a different paper to pick apart reformatting colleges.   With a remote paradigm there should be a reformation to make junior/ community and state college have more programs available for people to get careers that is logical for our current economy not an economy almost forty years go.  Trade schools are needed but targeted towards understanding engineering tasks and robotics. I firmly believe education is a key for success and not sharing all the forms of education is wrong and economically damaging).  This all said many programs for college prep leave out a lot of kids.  The groups who are especially vulnerable to this are the economically disadvantaged kids and those who are disabled.  There is a level of questioning in public schools about inclusion.  To that I say to remember that diversity matters and remote work and school place allows platform for these sorts of kids to flourish.  Same with the kids trying hard to fit in remote schooling gives an opening for success on their own developmental terms.

There is another economic opportunity that being over looked by schools not pushing for remote and hybrid learning and instead fixating on a status quo.  If students who are special needs can get paraprofessionals or one on one aide from the school to come to the home and help this would be a game changer.  This solution which allows for the government creation of more jobs to stimulate the economy while investing in education.   Per research on Salary.com and Indeed.com the average aide makes in California between $25k and $35k per year.  It is not a high paying job but, it would still be job stimulation.  Also, these jobs come with training and tend to only require a two year college degree or a specific amount of Early Childhood Education units of study.  

Not to mention how teachers can benefit from a remote or hybrid class model.  Teachers can afford to live where they want and maximize their spending.  Also, with less facility expenses more materials can be purchased and doled out to students for use towards education.  Making it so students in lower income families can afford to keep up with the academic Jones if you will.  

There are so many upsides to implementing remote and hybrid school models to benefit all parties and encourage economic growth on the front and back end.  It makes the article from KTVU that inspired me to write on this blog post aligning with my own academic research seem that the government is being short sighted.  We need to plan to make a healthier and more creative economy.  This planning starts with pushing back on old outdated design models that were meant for an economy that disappeared almost forty years ago rather than everyone trying so hard to go back to our previous so called, “normal” school and work life.  Normal keeps our economy idolizing of days long gone of people working in factories and making American strong goods.  The shift has happened and we need to embrace the idea of people working at home, in the library, local Starbucks or where ever they like creating Strong American services and technology.  This is the idealism that will empower our economy and it starts with the restructuring of the educational system to give all students an even upward mobility into a more productive economy.

Work Cited

Fernandez, L. (2021, March 12). California law does not allow for virtual learning, waiver expires at end of June. KTVU FOX 2. https://www.ktvu.com/news/california-law-does-not-allow-for-virtual-learning-waiver-expires-at-end-of-june. 

Strauss, V. (2019, April 18). American schools are modeled after factories and treat students like widgets. Right? Wrong. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/10/10/american-schools-are-modeled-after-factories-and-treat-students-like-widgets-right-wrong/. 

Shaw, A. (2016, August 22). Factory Model vs 21st Century Model of Education. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/factory-model-vs-21st-century-education-anne-shaw. 

Serafini, F. W. (2002). DISMANTLING THE FACTORY MODEL OF ASSESSMENT. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 18(1), 67–85. https://doi.org/10.1080/105735602753386342 

Found online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247498643_Dismantling_the_factory_model_of_assessment

Carl, J. (2009). Industrialization and Public Education: Social Cohesion and Social Stratification. International Handbook of Comparative Education, 503–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6403-6_32 

Accessed online at https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-6403-6_32

URQUHART, M. I. C. H. A. E. (1984, April). The employment shift to services : where did it come from? US Department of Labor and Statistics . https://stats.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1984/04/art2full.pdf. 

MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW April 1984 9 Employment Shift to Services

Indeed.com. Home. Paraprofessional Salary in California. https://www.indeed.com/career/paraprofessional/salaries/CA. 

Teacher Aide Salary in California. Salary.com. https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/teacher-aide-salary/ca. 

To All the Those Working from Home During the Pandemic as a Parent (AKA Super Mom/Dad/Parent)

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By: Stephanie Diana Wilson- Eubank

It is understandable that we are all stressed during COVID-19 and how it has changed work and life for all of us.  Arguably COVID has changed the playing field in the business and economic sectors for the foreseeable future.  However, there are many of us who have been working remotely or in a hybrid capacity for years.  Like myself I have been working remotely for over seven years.  So, I like to tell people when asked how I am handling lockdowns and everything being remote that I have been rocking the COVID chic look before it is in style. 

However, regarding my researching for my dissertation on remote employment I firmly believe the changes caused by COVID have created some big opportunities with regards to bringing more diversity and jobs for caregivers to the business world.  There are numerous news reports during COVID regarding the hardship of on women having to take on so much of the so called, “domestic work”.  Such as helping children with online school, housework, and over all care giving.  This is coupled with being like me a working mom where we must do all that while working at the same time.  There are also those also like me who are doing all this while going to school.   Those juggling so much may be able to lament with me when people look at you and complement you on how impressive it that we juggle all this we want to sound like it was nothing and make it look easy.  But truthfully, we sigh because we can’t honestly say how we managed it.  We are surprised at ourselves that I was able to be done at all. 

There is an article from the New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/04/parenting/covid-pandemic-mothers-primal-scream.html where they go over how the COVID Pandemic is setting women and feminism back in the US. And to be fair I am up at 1:30 AM to write this article just so I can let out some of my creative juices after getting ahead in my work and homework once my husband came home to give me a little break from being “Super Mommy”.  My boys both have ADHD and are very high energy.  I have worked remote for over seven years, so all this is normal for me.  Sort of… I used to get a break to go out to brunch some times taking my boys in the jogging stroller and the dog and hang out at our favorite mom and pop restaurants after talking to my BFF while she is shuttling her girls and on her way to work. Oh, and singing along to the alternative music of the early 2000’s I love to run to while my boys sing along.  Oh, and I really miss periodically when I must travel locally for work taking my kids to Kid Park for a few hours as I go up to San Francisco for a in person meeting or seminar.  Ah and Flying on business trips while my husband and the baby sister are coordinated so the boys are cared for.  All this pre COVID flexibility in my work and life. 

However, just focusing on this narrative of women who are having a hard adjustment is a narrow view.  The conversation needs to pivot on how remote work can pushed and encouraged so that we bring diversity of more than just working moms to the business table? One way that comes to mind is governmental incentivization of businesses to convert as many positions as possible to remote employment.  This would not just bring working moms like myself to the table, but fellow people of color, caregivers of all gender identification, LGBTQ, and the disabled (or the preferred title of differently abled community).  I have personally been inspired by several people who work remotely so they can balance life and have a fair shake to embrace their differences and the benefits of an alternative perspective.  Which can be helpful in the business world.  

There are several studies in business administration and other business science aspects on how diversity adds to team/ organizational creativity and advanced problem solving also preventing group think.  However, the Forbes article, https://www.forbes.com/sites/tendayiviki/2016/12/06/why-diverse-teams-are-more-creative/?sh=55bfe61d7262 sums it up well for easy reading.  

Remote work offers a unique opportunity to help slow the curve long term and allow for more diversity, (not to mention lower traffic) and allow for more work life balance in times of serious national pandemonium.  When there are national emergencies having remote work allows for business to keep the world spinning.  This also keeps families strong when childcare is understandably done at home while working.  (We all have had a kid, cat, dog, or all the above try to be part of our background in a zoom call let us embrace it.)

However, this may potentially make some new business avenues for educators and child development workers.  The possibilities are endless to make opportunity for the economy with the use of remote work.  So, fellow Super Moms and all those out there reading late at night to have a break from the COVID Crazy in the world.  Hold on.  The world is not adapting as quickly as you but, this post COVID world will change and get better.  We all just got to stay strong and use the academic research to make this world work for all of us.

Sticking to the super hero theme my boys and I as super heros 2018-2019

Is it Authentic Leadership or an Excuse?

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By: Stephanie Diana Wilson- Eubank

There is a movement in trends of leadership called authentic leadership and in both on site and in remote workplaces authentic leadership as a skill is being perverted as an excuse for poor people skills and aggressive management behavior.  First let us define what authentic leadership is.  In layman’s terms it is a leader who is honest to all and is just genuinely themselves.  Not seeking approval from others so that the goals are the focus.

First off how is authentic leadership defined in professional capacity versus layman terms?  Forbes has a great article titled “What is Authentic Leadership” that you can check out for further clarification.  The link for that is, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/12/what-is-authentic-leadership/amp/  However, to sum up the article an authentic leader is someone who is able to be themselves and are results driven with a brand of personal honesty.  If interested there is also a great Harvard Business Review article, https://hbr.org/amp/2005/12/managing-authenticity-the-paradox-of-great-leadership for more info on authentic leadership. 

Now this article is not to disparage different learning or performance types.  Everyone has a type of manager they work best with, but this article is specifically for those in leadership roles who act badly to their employees and argue they are using authentic leadership tactics.  This article is to bring the topic of abusive managers.  Where my focus topic of my research is regarding remote employees these sorts of bad players also do more emotional harm for remote employees.  Forbes also has a great article on what is detailed as professional isolation which is a normative pitfall for remote employees as they don’t get to interact with management face to face as often.  Which can put remote people at a disadvantage at the start.  Which means managers must do a little more collaboration to help ease that issue so that it does not create a constant revolving door of hiring.  You can check out the Forbes article at https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurelfarrer/2019/02/15/beware-professional-isolation-is-more-than-loneliness/?sh=17a736712723. 

First off how is authentic leadership defined?  Forbes has a great article titled “What is Authentic Leadership” that you can check out for further clarification.  The link for that is, https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/05/12/what-is-authentic-leadership/amp/  However, to sum up the article an authentic leader is someone who is able to be themselves and are results driven with a brand of personal honesty.  If interested there is also a great Harvard Business Review article, https://hbr.org/amp/2005/12/managing-authenticity-the-paradox-of-great-leadership for more info on authentic leadership. 

Many of us have had the boss like the meme from the office with the power object watch and the coffee mug saying, “Yeaaaaaa, I am going to need to you do this project in less time than we agreed”.  Or the manager that when you ask a legitimate question says, “you got to be f***ing kidding me” and starts to berate an employee for a simple question.   Or the manager who always says exactly what they are thinking with no filters.  My personal favorite has been a manager who throws items off desks and screams at people to get his way and HR explains away his behavior because he is a high producer and is, “passionate about his work”.  Yeah… someone’s “passion” should not require me to play dodgeball at work because he cannot accept federal agency guidelines for compliance.

However, Doctor Ramani who has been featured on several Youtube psychology channels, her own channel, and has lead Ted Talks on Narcissists and the abuses in all its forms.  This includes cases of narcissistic abuse within employment.  Here is a link to her interview at MedCircle titled, “Is Your Boss A Narcissist?” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2P-5q0C31m4&feature=youtu.be .  In this the doctor analyzes she talks about how some managers have work place enablers who allow for managers to have all around bad or inappropriate behavior because they explain away the behavior as, “hey they get results” and/ or “hey they are mean but, you always can trust them to tell the truth”.  The truth is this is a perverted form of enabling narcissistic abuse and using the concept of authentic leadership as the excuse.    

In summary authentic leadership is not about who can be more of a jerk boss and call it honesty and result driven management.  That just perverts the concept of authentic leadership which is being one’s self enough to focus on tasks while still being a human.  When it comes to authentic leadership especially where remote employment is concerned.  Remembering in these COVID lockdowns as it reshapes our economy, we as leaders need to remember a little humanity and caring goes a long way.  And that humanity is the true sign of authentic leadership.