Working from home- the good and the bad

I enjoyed working from home today. It was a rainy day and it was just a lovely treat to sit in my sweatpants and type away in the comfort of my own home.

Although my job is fairly flexible and my commute is easy, working from home is always a relief: I don't get interrupted, I have tea and coffee within arms reach, I can read articles on my comfy couch, and without a commute I can finish work and head out for a run pretty much straight away. A few days ago, a very good friend of mine who was a CEO in Asia during the 1970s commented about his surprise that so few people work from home these days. When he was in business and the first hints of our modern technologies were emerging everyone was convinced that soon everyone outside of direct customer service would be working from home. The advancements would mean less congestion on our roads, better life and work balance, and more flexibility for parents.

I don't know many employees who don't like working from home, at least every now and then. However, the employer take on it is very different. Many employers view working from home with a lot of cynicism. They think that if they aren't in the same building as their employees, then they'll slack off.

Some people don't work from home because they don't want to. I can understand that- interacting with my colleagues and students is one of the best parts of my job so I typically only work from home one day a fortnight. Some people don't work from home because it just isn't practical. However, some people don't work from home because their bosses don't trust them.

The strange thing is that the technologies that make is possible to work from home also make it incredibly easy to goof off at work. Trust me, I've walked into colleagues' lectures and seen from the back of the room all their student's screens glowing with the familiar blue and white of Facebook's newsfeed. If you don't trust your employees to stay on target, trying to watching over them isn't going to solve anything. Blocking Facebook isn't the key either- just google discussion boards for all those Twitter and Facebook control panels; not to mention the fact that everyone over the age of 13 seems to have a smartphone these days. Even if you do manage to outlaw all social media, you can't control your employees' "on target" behavior all the time. And maybe you don't want to, small and controlled breaks at work are generally fine.

Also, if you don't think your adult staff can be productive while unsupervised, why the hell did you employ them in the first place?

I have had some less-than-productive days working at the office and at home. Regardless of where I am, I hate them because the work is still there the next morning. Learning that lesson has been better for my overall motivation than anything else and it was a lesson I learnt without a "talking to" from my boss.

What do you think?
Do you work from home?
Does it work for you?
Maybe your a boss with a different take on things.

Working from home- the good and the bad

I enjoyed working from home today. It was a rainy day and it was just a lovely treat to sit in my sweatpants and type away in the comfort of my own home.

Although my job is fairly flexible and my commute is easy, working from home is always a relief: I don't get interrupted, I have tea and coffee within arms reach, I can read articles on my comfy couch, and without a commute I can finish work and head out for a run pretty much straight away. A few days ago, a very good friend of mine who was a CEO in Asia during the 1970s commented about his surprise that so few people work from home these days. When he was in business and the first hints of our modern technologies were emerging everyone was convinced that soon everyone outside of direct customer service would be working from home. The advancements would mean less congestion on our roads, better life and work balance, and more flexibility for parents.

I don't know many employees who don't like working from home, at least every now and then. However, the employer take on it is very different. Many employers view working from home with a lot of cynicism. They think that if they aren't in the same building as their employees, then they'll slack off.

Some people don't work from home because they don't want to. I can understand that- interacting with my colleagues and students is one of the best parts of my job so I typically only work from home one day a fortnight. Some people don't work from home because it just isn't practical. However, some people don't work from home because their bosses don't trust them.

The strange thing is that the technologies that make is possible to work from home also make it incredibly easy to goof off at work. Trust me, I've walked into colleagues' lectures and seen from the back of the room all their student's screens glowing with the familiar blue and white of Facebook's newsfeed. If you don't trust your employees to stay on target, trying to watching over them isn't going to solve anything. Blocking Facebook isn't the key either- just google discussion boards for all those Twitter and Facebook control panels; not to mention the fact that everyone over the age of 13 seems to have a smartphone these days. Even if you do manage to outlaw all social media, you can't control your employees' "on target" behavior all the time. And maybe you don't want to, small and controlled breaks at work are generally fine.

Also, if you don't think your adult staff can be productive while unsupervised, why the hell did you employ them in the first place?

I have had some less-than-productive days working at the office and at home. Regardless of where I am, I hate them because the work is still there the next morning. Learning that lesson has been better for my overall motivation than anything else and it was a lesson I learnt without a "talking to" from my boss.

What do you think?
Do you work from home?
Does it work for you?
Maybe your a boss with a different take on things.

Video crush

Love this. Wish I had unlimited time to do these.

Helping and staying out of the way

Inspired by some great talks at Tedx at Macquarie university in October, I have started to explore options for helping people without getting in their way. The focus of this for me is doing things that empower people to make their own decisions, rather than being disempowered. Related to this is an idea that I'm embarrased to say i only hear about earlier in the year: seeing the person in need as the person who is an expert in what they need. This idea of recognizing the experience of those we want to help is actually something we talk about a lot in therapies. Most modern therapies acknowledge that the client is actually a wealth of important information about how to help themselves; the therapist is often seen as a facilitator or guide who can help you discover new tools, but itsn't necessarily there to be the expert. I'm always surprised how many people start their first session thinking that the therapist will be the main speaker during sessions, that the therapists knowledge will rule supreme. When I explain to people that I consider them important experts, the reactions on their faces are mostly relief, surprise, and often, pride. So I probably should have thought of this approach long before the speakers at Tedx MacU helped me see the light. My adventures in this area are new, but here are my initial discoveries. these ideas have made it onto my christams shopping list for my family! KIVA.COM http://www.kiva.org/about Microfinancing to help individuals in developing regions (you loan a small amount of $ to a person who wants to start their own business or venture but who doesn't have the capital to see start up themselves. They pay it back to you in managable installments once their venture is off the ground. PROJECT FUTUTRES INTERNATIONAL AND AUSTRALIA http://projectfutures.com/ Project futures, in partnership with the Somlay Mam Foundation, sell products to support the rescue of children and women from sex trafficking. The silk beads are my favorite and they are made by some of the women themselves! Somlay Mam makes sure that women are given business classes and sewing/ craft classes so that they have viable occupational opportunities to support themselves. What do you think? Who else is doing good work? I haven't done all my Christmas shopping, so I'd love to hear your ideas.

I went to the Australian Psychological Society's 2011 conference and this is what I saw...

I am tired to my core but very happy with the week I've had.  I want to write more completely about it, but here are some of the highlights, for now:

 

Presenting with James Cook University and Griffith University about our survey of first year psychology students' expectations.

Reporting some evaluative data from my first year professional unit (you can see the slides below).

APS_2011_final.pptx Download this file

A mindfulness workshop with the wonderful Bob Rich

Learning that there are other psychologists who also think that there is opportunity for us to volunteer and make a difference in our communities

Hearing more from the lovely Lynne Cohen (ECU) about her leadership program - our psychology students at QUT participated this year and it was a fantastic experience.

Learning about Kelly Brownell's (Yale Rudd Center for Health) view of obesity and how psychologists can make a difference not through individual interventions but via social and political change.

Seeing Les Posen present...his work makes me feel ashamed of my presentations but hopeful that I can be reformed.  His descriptions of how to introduce clients to exposure-based approaches to anxiety was inspiring and I wish everyone at the Higher Education sessions had also come to his presentation!

 

There's so much more I could write but I'll save it for a less sleep-deprived moment.

 

Oh and I have been selected as one of the 100 lucky people who were invited to attend the TEDx event in Sydney on the 16th of October. Very exciting.

"Looking for tears? Not going to happen." Making the most of things.

I'm a runner.

I'm a runner, but a latecomer to the sport. I was never sporty as a child, it is all new to me, so that makes me a huge fan of everyone that runs well. I can be caught grinning like an idiot at the gazelle-like folk who effortlessly stride around at the track sessions at my running club (OK, I've only been to one session so far but there were gazelles, I swear).  I'm not jealous, not frustrated, by their amazing talent...I'm just in awe and so happy to see them.

Anyway, all this running and crazy grinning means that means that I've been staying up each night to see the highlights of the World Athletics Championship. I'm really enjoying the event and I was like a kid on Christmas eve on the night of the 100 meters men's final.  I had this amazing feeling that Usain Bolt was going to set the world on fire.  What do I know? Clearly, I'm an uninformed idiot.

If you're not into sport or you've been out of touch with society for a while, here's what happened:

Usain Bolt 100 m Final 2011

The thing that has stuck with me...apart from the embarrasing sulky feeling I felt for the rest of the evening...is the response from Bolt.  He is rumoured to have said to Blake, his training partner (and subsequent winner of the race) "Looking for tears? Not going to happen. I'm OK.".  I'm not sure how we get from this quote to "furious" but that's how the UK newspaper the mirror reported it (see here) maybe they just assumed that's how he'd feel. He looked dissappointed and very unhappy for a while, but furious? I think they just reported the story they wanted to. In other papers, we see different quotes from Bolt: 

On the 29th of August, Bolt's website released this statement “Firstly I would like to congratulate my team mate Yohan Blake and the other athletes who won the medals. 

 

Of course I am extremely disappointed not to have had the chance to defend my title due to the false start.  I was feeling great through the rounds and was ready to run fast in the final.  I worked very hard to get ready for this Championships and things were looking good. 

However I have to move on now as there is no point to dwell on the past.  I have a few days to refocus and get ready for the 200m on Friday.  After this I have the 4x100m and a few other races before the end of the season.  I know that I am now in good shape and will focus on running well in the 200m.        

 

Thanks to all the people who sent me good wishes and I will try my best to make you proud in the 200m.” you can read it here: http://www.usainbolt.com/article/48

I think Bolt made some good choices with the statements he made. Also, they seem to walk the fine line between two concepts that interest me at the moment - both of which are important in psychology and one of which is the focus of a lot of attention in higher ed and training at the moment: reflection and mindfulness.

Reflection

Reflection is something we all do, to some extent, but many of us do it poorly and don't get the full benefit from our effort.  Reflection is part of the adult learning process and involves reviewing our actions, learning, emotions, cognitions, and the results of outcomes of these actions. Surface level reflection might just involve us noticing that something has happened or that we've had a certain thought. You might notice that a friend seemed distant in conversation, or that a family member seemed to respond unexpectidly to your latest news.  Deeper reflection involves drawing links between our current and past experiences; considering the meaning or reasons for patterns in our behaviours, thoughts or emotions; evaluating where we are going well, where we can improve and why; and some form of restructuring or developing plans for the future.  That's my idea of reflection in a nutshell.

I believe reflection is what gives some adults the edge over others. Knowing when and how to reflect and developing the best plans out of reflection can be of great benefit for super gazelles like Bolt, but also for regular plodders like me. I believe reflection can be used in our professional lifes, in our relationships, and in the areas of life in between. Certainly, Bolt can probably benefit from delaying further reflection on this race - especially as he prepares for his next event - but his statements do indicate some level of review, evaluation of the outcome, and plans to move forward in the championships.

There's a whole range of models to help guide reflection and to describe where reflection fits in adult learning processes. There's also many other ways to describe reflection - maybe someone will correct my description. :) Nice little summaries have been posted here and here. I'm consious that many models actually just show us where researchers think reflection happens in the adult learning process. They don't help guide us through a process of how to reflect. Often, when trying to do consious reflections for the first time, we need some help with the steps or process, rather than ideas about when this happens in the learning process. The model I've been using is the 4R model and you can read a description here.  I've trialled it with some 3rd year and 1st year cohorts and it seems to be fairly useful in guiding people through the process of academic and professional reflections.  Although I'm still a little concerned that it focuses a lot on critical incidents and problems, it has worked well (any ideas for helping students reflect on what they are doing well would be most appreciated!).

Mindfulness

The concept that Bolt's quotes reminded me of was mindfulness.  Mindfulness is often linked with Buhdisim but it has historical origins that are far broader and go further back in time. Looking at some of the modern mindfullness, we can think of mindfulness as an ability to be in the present moment: attentive, aleart, and focused. In his statement, he refocuses on the task at hand and preparing for his next race.  Watching the athletes perform this week, espcially in the sprints and also in the events like javlin and high jump, you can see that they are focused on the moment. Much of sport psychology is based around focusing on each point, each stage of an event, without letting a mistake at any moment distract you for too long.  

What does this mean for us mere mortals? How does mindfulness translate to everyday life? Mindfulness aims to help people live their life fully. To listen 100% when a loved one asks for your ear. To focus on each moment - to identify and take things in when you feel uncomfortable, when you're happy, when you're relaxed.  To appreciate the good and notice, without getting too caught up in the bad. You can find some more information about mindfulness and some basic activities here.  Mindfulness is also used in psychology and is a major component of ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy). You can find out more about mindfulness and therapy here.

To some, it might sound like these to concepts, mindfulness and reflection, are polar opposites of one another. However, I tend to believe that things are more complicated than that. Call it the old "two sides of the same coin" trick but I think that without mindfulness, reflection is often clouded by hindsight bias. We reflect back, knowing how things turned out and start to believe things about our motivations or insight that simply wasn't the case at the time. Further, without reflection, mindfulness doesn't reach its full potential...it doesn't give us the deepest understanding that it is capable of.

This is something I'm exploring more with my teaching and my research. I'd love to know what other people think - is this too airy fairy for you or does it strike a chord?

Reflecting back, Bolt's false start is something I'll remember for a long time but I'm mindful that there's more athletics to watch tonight :)

Journey into online scenarios - Part 2

Ok so here's the second video. It shows you how to take your wonderful linked up powerpoints and turn it into an online module:

Now, just like Spiderman's uncle said (kidding!) "with great power comes great responsibility". You need to use these modules to create great learning experiences.  The version I've used in the demonstration videos is pretty basic and doesn't do this well but here's some of the key aspects:

1. Don't just use the powerpoint headings and bulletpoints - zzzzz!
2. Create a story that is quirky, interesting, or will appeal to your audience
3. The story has to create the need for the learning. It should illustrate why your learner is going to bother to do the activity"give them a burning for learning" (sorry, I couldn't help myself).
4. Spend some time thinking about the look and useability. Often, university lecturers outside of design or the creative industries forget how important this is. I'm just as guilty as anyone, but I'm trying to get better.

Hopefully, what you end up with is engaging for the learner, works well to develop the learner towards the intended learning outcomes, and adds a bit of spark to your units.

Enjoy!