How do you develop better relationships when you work from home?
“Relationships end too soon because people stop putting in the same effort to keep you, as they did to win you.”
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This quote may originally have been about a romantic relationship but I believe it applies to any, especially a work relationship. Why do people leave jobs and why do people join companies? Often, it’s down to the people. A positive culture is created when teams trust and communicate effectively. Leaders are the drivers of a good culture, and ultimately high performance.
Our relationships outside of work are also crucial to how productive and healthy we are. They impact on our mood, thoughts, and behaviours. Healthy relationships and boundaries enhance our creativity and wellbeing and they also prevent us from feeling exhausted, resentful and confused.
With relationships being fundamental to our success, we tackle this theme looking at the relationships with your colleagues and clients, with your friends and family, and importantly, yourself.
We also explore what your relationship with time says about you and how to develop a healthier relationship with money.
Boundaries
A word often used in the context of relationships is boundaries. We use them to protect our time, energy and sanity. They are there so that everybody involved in a relationship understands where the lines are drawn.
We speak with award-winning executive coach and author, Sarah Sparks about recognising the signs you need to establish better boundaries, and how to implement them in a way that everyone feels included and understood.
Sarah shares her story of how poor boundaries affected her health and ultimately led to burnout. Some very personal insights and valuable wisdom to help you forge and maintain stronger and fulfilling relationships personally and professionally.
For working parents, some of the boundaries we need to monitor closely are those with our children.
Parenting expert, educator and author, Joy Marchese talks through some really valuable questions you can ask your children when you’re trying to work during holiday time.
This timely article is a highly practical guide to how to engage your children to understand and appreciate your needs while also fulfilling theirs.
Productivity
Time management is often thought of as simply a productivity tool. In our new column: About Time, best-selling author and entrepreneur, Abigail Barnes explores what your relationship with time also says about your self-worth.
Answering the question why other people always seem to have more time than you, and diving into your beliefs about time, it is an article that will have you questioning and reassessing how you spend your time.
Self-awareness
Jo Love has been in and out of therapy for years and on this journey she has experienced what good therapy can do for your self-worth and coping with life. In our interview, she gives us glimpses of what therapy is like as well as the lessons she has learned about defining the relationship with yourself.
NLP master practitioner, and wellbeing coach, Tasha also adds her insights into how to rediscover yourself when you can feel swamped by work and other people’s demands and priorities.
A fascinating article on casting off what doesn’t belong and embracing the real you.
As the Great Resignation continues to bite, and employers struggle to attract the right talent, Della Judd looks at what you need to do to make sure you’re going for the right roles.
Many people are talking of it being an ’employees market’ yet she warns not to jump straight into roles, seduced by a higher salary. Her advice, taken from her new book, encourages you to get real clarity over why you want to move roles or make a change.
With a deeper level of awareness and asking the right questions, you are more likely to find a job you enjoy and want to stay in.
Remote working
As many organisations and business owners adjust to a more permanent remote or hybrid setup, we look at how you can still drive high performance. Leaders often tout engagement as one of the challenges with a dispersed team.
In this article, people and performance consultant, best-selling author, and founder of Modern Mind Group, Melissa Curran challenges you to think about your communication style to unite a team behind a common goal and whether you recognise what a highly engaged team looks like.
This article is full of brilliant advice from Melissa on fostering high engagement, high performance, and a thriving remote culture.
Global relationships
Global marketing agency owner, Anna Jones shares her story on how she has grown her business with clients around the world while working from home.
If going global is one of your aspirations or you already have clients and customers across different time zones and cultures, she offers practical advice on what you can do to deliver great service.
The full relationships issue also includes our regular sections on wellbeing, interiors, and recommendations that will enhance and complement your work from home lifestyle.
Our Design Brief column this quarter looks at creating child-friendly workspaces. Helping parents create a sanctuary for their children or a space where both can work alongside happily together, Steve Hird of Edward Thomas Interiors provides lots of inspiration and ideas for a more harmonious home!
Be informed, inspired, and reassured.
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