Men & Flexible Working Hours

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flexible work hours, Work Life Balance

What seems to matter is not where you work from or when you work but what you eventually contribute to your job. Organisations are coming forward more readily to provide employees with more flexible working arrangements.

A recent article in the Times of India says that men are opting for flexible working hours in increasing number. HR managers in firms that offer flexi-timings, say they have seen a rise in the number of men opting for it. “At IBM an equal number of men and women ask for flexi-timings,” says Kalpana Veeraraghavan, Asia Pacific leader for IBM Global Work Life Fund. At SunGard Offshore Services in Bangalore, nearly 90% employees have opted for it. Of these 70% are men.

Interestingly, unlike women, when men opt for flexi-timings they prefer to come in late and stay back late. They like to be at home in the day and come towards the evening. “And as businesses go global, many prefer to take calls from home as well,” says Jayantika Dave, director HR, Agilent Technologies.

They feel if they take the calls from home, at least they are physically present at home. And that makes a difference to the family. HR managers say it helps them save valuable office space and cut on HR costs.

As Akila Krishnakumar, CEO, SunGard Offshore Services sums up, “With increased accountability and a positive view to the organisation’s flexible policies, flexi-timings have only proven to increase productivity through engaged and happy employees.”

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Walk Faster to Live Longer

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, Walking

Do you amble along or do you walk fast? Here’s some news for those who amble along. Walking faster may actually help you live longer!

A study presented at a conference of the Gerontological Society of America found that those who walked more quickly were less likely to die over the course of the study. Researchers had followed the health of nearly 500 older people for almost a decade.

They added that gait speed may be a good predictor of long-term survival, even in people who otherwise appear basically healthy.

In a related study, in the November issue of The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the researchers found that people whose walking speed had improved, reduced their risk of death.

To calculate your walking speed, all you need to do is count the number of steps you walk per minute. The motive for walking differs from person to person. Some people go about walking, so as to ensure health fitness. For them, the right walking pace would be 3 miles per hour, which means about 120 steps in a minute.

But if you are walking, to shape up your body, then walking 120 steps won’t be adequate. You need to increase it to 135 steps per minute. You would need to walk 4 miles per hour to ensure good results in weight loss program. The target walking speed for aerobic fitness is about 150 steps per minute.

Depending on your goal, work on your walking speed to achieve the desired results. In any case, it’s faster the better.

Critical for Success factors.

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A Step A Day, job success

“I have to master so many skills. There is so much to do. I don’t have time” complained the young manager.

“I am facing flak from every corner” he said.” I think I should work on my presentations, last time I was embarrassed in a presentation for a client. I should sharpen my analytical skills, and work on my business perspective. And track new trends in technology. And develop an understanding of new processes. My boss was shocked when I could not identify the root cause of a recent problem. Looking at it in hindsight I am amazed I didn’t see it myself. And oh yeah! I need to understand my team members better. When ever I try one way to motivate them, they seem to want something else. I also should get better at dealing with numbers”

“Man, this job is a handful” he concluded.” Do I need to be Superman to survive? I some times feel I should have stayed on in my last role.”

As the conversation continued, I noticed that the manager had fallen into the age old trap. Of trying to excel at everything. He had forgotten that there are some factors in his job which are Critical for Success. He need not be expert in everything but he has to be very, very good in the few factors critical for success.

Let me explain. There is little point in being terrific in programming in many languages if you do not need that skill in your current job. You may be great in Greek and Malay but what use if your clients speak in French or German? Likewise, if your job requires you to be very innovative can you afford to be poor in creativity? If your job demands meticulous documentation, can you afford to be a “I-have-everything-in-my-head Maverick kind of guy”?

We have so much to do. There’s no point trying to be best at everything. Identify those factors which are crucial for success in your job.

How do we do this? Look at superior performers in same/similar jobs. What are the skills they are great at? On what parameters is your performance evaluated? What matters most to your customer ( internal or external) ? What are the few key parts of your job in which you simply must excel.

Work to master those skills. “And no, you don’t have to be Superman” I told him “ you just need to be a smart man.”

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