Breathe Deeply Grasshopper Be One with your Stress
Just stopping to take a breath at the peak of a stressfull situation can make it bearable. We have a new fingerprint timeclock at our school that was intended to eliminate paperwork. Instead it created a stressfull daily event for some. As I see a co-worker madly punching their code in I ask them if they are having problems with the new technology. The answer is usually - YES. I have asked them to stop, take a deep breath, think about the clock, and be one with the clock. Then they can proceed without anger and stress. Calmly press the buttons and let the clock do the work. I always get a big smile back after a successfull
entry is accomplished.That smile in turn helps me cope better with my day. How do you share and help
with others to keep the stress down?
Yes, there is often much frustration with new procedures and new computer portals. It is maddening. The new processes seldom run smoothly and are multi-stepped processes..... much room for error. I try to assist the frustrated co-worker whenever I can with tips to make the processes more streamlined. Ultimately this stress could have been lessened with adequate training prior to rolling out the new processes. But you have to roll with what comes at ya.
Eric, Thanks for sharing. Sometimes technologies that are supposed to make life easier make life harder instead. Sometimes the challenges are temporary and can be worked through. I am hopefully this is the case with your time clock. Other times, we've got to carefully evaluate the changes that we've made and decide whether to keep them or whether old ways of doing things will work better.
Dr. Melissa Read
