How to Handle Office Politics

Office politics can get really ugly. The worst part is you can't stay completely out of it when you're a part of the office. It has a way of getting into any organisation - a small or big one. Though you try your best to avoid it, you're bound to get into the trap sooner or later. Here's how to deal with office politics when you're caught in the middle.

1. Don't abuse your position.

Don't let your position of power go to your head and definitely do not use it to your own advantage. This will only attract brickbats from your colleagues and you are bound to be the centre of office politics. 

"While handling your team, avoid using your position to walk over subordinates. Your attitude towards them will fuel office politics," says Adarsh Shetty, an HR consultant.

2. Be a team player.

As a team player, you must understand that the company and team come before you. 

"You can't be selfish and think only about yourself. Being a team player increases your chances of a promotion and makes you look like a better person," says Kavitha Krishnan, an HR consultant. So though you may have an opinion (and a negative one at that) about every one of your colleagues, put it aside when you are at work.

3. Be professional. 

You can't burst into a song when a meeting is in progress. Maintain a professional attitude at all the times. It won't help to cry at the drop of a hat either. "If you're viewed as a professional, people know you are there to work and will involve you less in office politics and dirty gossip," says Shetty.

Another tip is to adopt the company culture. So refrain from wearing mini skirts and party make-up to work if you don't want to be the talk of the office.

4. Steer away from gossips.

If you give gossip and expect to get some, you'll be part of office politics. Krishnan says, "Gossip can get malicious if you're the type that asks for it and provides it. You'll lose respect of the people around you. No one talks well of a gossip monger."

5. Keep yourself busy.

Stay Idle or bored long enough and you will start gossiping. Keep yourself occupied and away from people who try to involve you in gossip. Shetty says, "If you're occupied and keep to yourself most of the time, no one has a chance to badmouth you. This also keeps you from talking ill about others."

Staying away from office politics helps you maintain good mental health and make your working relationships last. So though you can't eliminate politics from your workplace, you certainly can steer away from it!

How to Be the Perfect Boss

Being the boss is never easy but going from being a team member to being a team leader is even tougher. After all, how can you expect your teammates to see you as 'boss' overnight? Belting out orders and cracking the whip on your team is not going to work unless you are looking for the 'dragon boss' title.

So how do you go from taking orders to giving orders? How do you get your team to co-operate with you and respect your authority? Follow these simple rules and being the boss could actually be easy.

1) Listen to your teammates.

While you may be right most often, it’s a good idea to be open to feedback. Keep the communication lines open. Have an open door policy that allows your team-mates to meet you whenever they want (provided you aren’t busy of course). 

"My boss' cabin is just next to my desk so I can pop in any time. I can be honest with her if I'm having trouble with a deadline or I'm facing any issues with the office infrastructure. She cannot always fix everything but she helps us find alternative solutions," says Smita Diwan, a PR professional.

 2) Don't play divide-and-rule.

There is competition everywhere. Your job is to see that that competition remains healthy at all times. Promote unity and encourage teamwork. And make it a point to discourage gossip and backbiting at any cost.

While praising one person you don’t have to pull down another. Instead identify each one’s strengths and make the most of them.

3) Provide incentives.

Work satisfaction is too small an incentive these days. Set up challenges for the team and promise a reward for the one who meets them. Movie tickets or a meal at a fancy restaurant can go a long way in boosting motivation of your team.

"In my old company, I used to really look forward to the monthly team lunches and the half yearly outing organised by my boss," says Aparna Menon, a BPO executive. It’s a great way to build team spirit and make work all the more fun.

4) Don't steal credit.

When you have a team under you, it’s easy to get them to do all the work and then take credit for it. So here’s what you do instead – Once a target is completed well, send out an email making mention of each one’s contribution to your entire team and mark your seniors on it. This way everyone gets their rightful due.

Also make sure to recommend your subordinates to the management and help them get ahead in their careers.

5) Set the rules and stick by them.

It's easy to make rules but do you yourself obey them? If not, then you might want to start leading by example.

"We have to be in office by 10:00 am but the great part is my boss is always there on time too," says Josh Davidson, a media consultant. "Also, he's never too rigid. Once we are done with work, we can leave for the day."

If you’ve set a rule that no one seems to obey (not even you), then you might be going overboard. Be willing to reconsider the rulebook.

And that’s how you can be the perfect boss. Trust us, your team will love working with you.

Making your memory work

Tips on how to make your memory work during exams

You are sitting in front of your examination question paper and all you can hear around you is the frantic scribbling of pens and the ticking of the clock. You worked very hard for the test, you even ‘put a night out' for it. And yet you cannot recall the correct formula to solve the problem. You remember studying it and making efforts to remember it but your mind just seems to go blank every time you try to recall it. This is a scenario almost all of us have been through. Why does our memory fail us sometimes and, more importantly, how can we ensure that our memory is trustworthy for that important test? While the first question goes to the realms of scientific research, a few simple techniques can ensure that your memory works extra hard in making you look great.

Tests and feedback

The first step in ensuring that your memory works is to check if it is really working. There is no better way of doing this than constant checks, tests and feedback. With the help of the feedback, you can identify problem areas and gain confidence from areas of strength. Recitation, quick tests, quizzes are great ways of getting feedback about your learning progress.

Recitation

There is a reason why all of us still remember the nursery rhymes we learnt years ago. Recitation is an excellent way of ensuring that you remember what you learnt for a long time. It consists of summarising aloud whatever you learnt. Since the purpose of learning something is to retrieve the information later, recitation helps you practice this. So, while reading anything new, you should ideally stop periodically to summarise aloud what you have learnt so far. This is the principle behind learning by rote or ‘learning by heart' where constantly repeating aloud your learning material will ensure that you remember it.

Building a structure

You should ideally think of remembering any information as a form of building a structure. The structure is only going to stand when everything is properly connected. When you are learning, you should ideally try to connect the new material to facts and information you already know. Thinking about connections to existing knowledge will ensure that you process the information at a deep level while connecting it to the existing database will solidify the new facts in your memory.

Selection

When most of us are enthusiastically studying new chapters, we tend to underline important sections. More often than not, you will find that about 80 per cent of the lines on the page are underlined. If you are underlining too much, you are not being selective. And if you are not being selective, you are probably not going to remember the important parts. While reading new material, you should look for one or two key ideas per paragraph. You could underline these aspects or make notes on the margin to highlight them. This will ensure that your recall of the material is better.

Organisation

Try memorising this random list of letters: F,S,B,U,E,B,S,A,I,I. Now consider the same list of letters: F,B,I; S,E,B,I;U,S,A. Is the second list easier to remember? Organising information helps in improving memory and recall significantly. You should summarise your class chapters and make a note of the key ideas of the chapter and how they are interconnected. Drawing diagrams, flowcharts and graphs are excellent instances of organising information.

Break it down

When you are confronted by a large section of information (like, say, a new chapter) you should ideally break it into small parts and study each individually. You should aim at studying the largest meaningful chunk of information you can at a time. As you read new material you should connect it to the older material you just learnt.

If you have information you have broken down into sections A, B, C, you should ideally study section A first. After you have mastered it, study section A and B; once that is mastered move on to studying sections A, B and C. This way you are learning new material while connecting it to information you already know.

Over-learning and revision

After school, very few of us have stuck to the concept of revision. Most of us are usually learning new material on the day of the exam, at least in the case of class tests. However, revision plays an important role in making sure that the information you learnt is indelibly etched in your memory. When you revise, you over-learn, thus guaranteeing that the facts are easily available for recall. Ideally you should revise daily whatever you learnt the previous day and revise weekly what you learnt the previous week and so on.

Taking breaks

One of the most common assumptions about learning is that the time you spend studying quantifies the amount you learnt and retained. The actual truth is the number of breaks you take while studying decides how much information you retain. It is better to split a one-hour study session into three sessions of 20 minutes each than to study continuously for an hour.

You could take a five-minute break between each session where you do not indulge in distracting activities like watching TV, talking on the phone or checking your e-mail. Ideally you should stretch your legs while you think about the information you just learnt in order to ensure that it is encoded in your memory better.

Eating and sleeping

Although we have been told that we need to eat and sleep properly for a test since the time we first started taking tests in first standard, we tend to forget this simple truth. People who are hungry or poorly rested tend to have relatively poorer recollection, so it is important to eat and sleep well before your exam.

During your preparation, it is important to sleep at least seven hours a day in order to ensure that you are retaining all that you study properly.

Know more about job interviews

There are various types and styles of job-related interviews. Apart from the usual one-to-one or one-to-panel face to face interview, there is the telephone interview in which there is a great saving in time and energy spent for travel.

Often the telephone interview would be the first stage, to be followed by a face-to-face interview of the candidates selected at the first stage. We discussed in some detail the stress interview and the behavioural interview during the past weeks. Let us now have a quick look at some of the other interview styles followed by employers.

Screening interview

This has the limited objective of confirming the claims of the candidates in respect of their qualifications and professional attainments. There would be questions based on the data furnished in the resume submitted by the candidates. Comparison of attainments of different candidates would be easy if the data are gathered in a digital format. Candidates who do not fall in line with the prescribed norms would be eliminated, thereby saving further efforts at the next stages of evaluation and assessment. Often, the screening may be done over the phone.

You should pay attention to ensure that there is no inconsistency or mismatch in the information you provide in your resume. Long gaps or periods of inactivity in your resume may not be to your advantage. This emphasises the need for your engaging yourself in some creative or useful work, and not remaining idle for long spells. Further, employers are likely to assess the value of your service in relation to your cost.

You should present all relevant information about yourself with clarity in a straightforward manner. Your expressions should be simple and direct. You should not try to cover up any weakness or drawback through vague expressions. The interviewer would be interested in gathering specific details about yourself in the shortest possible time. The questions would be direct; so the answers should also be the same way.

Group interview

There may not be total unanimity in the definitions of group discussion, group interview, and panel interview. The same phrase may mean different things to different people.

A group discussion usually involves 10-12 candidates sitting around a table and discussing the diverse aspects of a controversial topic for 25-30 minutes. The judges will observe and assess their performance, but may not interfere with the proceedings. In a panel interview, a number of interviewers sit together and interview a candidate. The members of the panel may be drawn from different departments of the organisation.

The ‘group interview' involves a situation wherein a number of candidates meet simultaneously one or more interviewers in a small assembly. A company official who is an interviewer may make a quick presentation on the company. It would be followed by a question and answer session, where the candidates can participate effectively if they have already made appropriate preparation. Remember that a person can be assessed from the quality of his questions. The style of interaction, the quality of ideas and expressions, and the overall approach of each candidate would be observed and judged carefully.

Sometimes the candidates may be split into smaller groups and asked to perform some task with a bearing on the job. Each team will then make a presentation on its work. The interviewers would assess attributes such as interpersonal skills, leadership qualities, team spirit, knowledge, insight, ease in communication, and problem-solving ability.

A well-groomed candidate who can introduce himself well in a few words will generate a fine first impression. You should be prepared to do it. You may indicate your favourite area of work and your most important passion, without blowing your own trumpet. Admiring innovative ideas in others, participating actively in the proceedings in a pleasant manner, and not jumping into arguments are positive points. Never be aggressive. Be courteous to all. Control your body language. Remain confident.

Informational interview

This style of interview does not aim at securing an immediate appointment. The purpose is limited to gathering information about a specific career and the various opportunities it offers. The candidate interacts with experienced hands in the line, as part of job-hunting through planned networking. There would be no reference to any specific job opening. However, talking to people working in your chosen field will help you to gain a better understanding of the concerned industry, and to refine your career path. Further, it will develop your confidence in facing job interviews.

Sometimes the informational interview may lead to your appointment in a job position. The chances for such appointments are not few, since many vacancies are not advertised. Selection may be from candidates who come in contact with the employers. This stresses the reason for giving your best presentation and creating a fine impression, although you initiate a meeting with the limited objective of gathering information. Some employers would be maintaining a database of available talent for appointment on a later occasion. If you make a good impression in the meeting, you may be blessed with an appointment afterwards. Do not forget to give the interviewer your card or contact information. So also, sending a thank-you note after the interview is important.

Before you go for the interview, plan your questions well. Anyone would feel flattered if he is given an opportunity to describe the intricacies and prospects of his profession. Listen carefully to what the interviewer tells you. You have to acknowledge his comment with an admiring node or positive expression. Your intellectual curiosity should be transparent. You may explain your background and interests as briefly as possible. Give him more time, so that you gather the finer points of the profession. You should never to try to dominate the discussion. Your manners should be pleasing.

Tag-team interview

In this you may be interviewed by two or more interviewers. Each interviewer would view from his special angle. This style will give the employer insights of different people on your skills and personality.

The members of the interviewing team will have a clear understanding of the specific goal of the exercise. They work with a spirit of total co-operation.

The interviewers may take turns and interact with you one after the other in a series. Alternatively, a few of them may ask you questions simultaneously as in a one-to-panel interview. Remember that each interviewer has his own separate agenda. So you have to pay special attention to each one of them with care. The interviewers may be holding various responsible positions in the company. It is a good idea to know each member of the interview team by name and job positions. You should make each interviewer feel that you give profound importance to him. Be constantly alert. Prepare well on basics as for any conventional interview.

Second interview

When the interview board has problems in making a final choice from the short-listed candidates, it may summon the candidates once again and hold a second interview. You have to maintain consistency in your approach. You can confirm the picture you first presented, and furnish useful additional information if any. In any case, you get an opportunity to cement the rapport you have already built. The second interview may be a routine follow-up interview in certain companies.

Exit interview

In this, you meet an executive of the company which you are leaving. Perhaps, the company wants to study the causes of your leaving and make corrective measures in the company for better employee retention, It is not essential that you attend it. But it is advisable that you attend and depart with no malice or ill feeling. It is indeed a good thing if you can leave a good impression even as you depart. The possibility of your re-joining the company on a later occasion cannot be ruled out.

Sound sleep insures against obesity among kids

Sound sleep very early in life is the best insurance against obesity, a research has found.

Babies, toddlers and pre-school children sleeping less than 10 hours a night are more likely to be overweight as they age.

Experts believe that lack of sleep causes one to feel hunger and crave calorie-rich snacks during the day, reports Daily Mail.

Previous research has linked sleep deprivation with obesity in adults and teenagers, but this is one of the first to look at very small children, says the journal Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Researchers from the Universities of Washington and California examined sleeping habits of almost 1,000 children less than five years old.

They found that those who sleep less than 10 hours were twice as likely to be overweight five years later with some even clinically obese.

The study also looked at children aged five to 13 but did not find any significant trends.

And around 10 percent of six year olds are obese -- with rates predicted to rise significantly over the next few years.

Last year, Chinese researchers looked at more than 5,000 youngsters and found that those who were able to catch up on sleep at the weekend were far less likely to pile on the pounds.

Scientists have also found a link between lack of sleep and Type-2 diabetes.