Adversity And The Importance Of Diversity In The Workplace

Over the years, I have been told by multiple new employees that I am always serious at work and often they do not feel comfortable approaching me. I would not characterize myself as always being serious but instead focused on the tasks that need my attention, adherence to schedule and a strong desire to meet deadlines. In order to improve upon my approachability I need to change a few habits that I have let fester and grow. (Yageneh, 2012) suggests several micro-actions that I could utilize such as smiling, asking questions and greeting individuals. I do a reasonably good job greeting people but as I replay my last several interactions, most are not accompanied with a smile or any additional verbiage other than hello. By greeting an employee with a smile and following it up with a question such as how was your weekend will encourage employees to have confidence …show more content…
Engaging in short casual conversations with employees can lead to a better understanding of the employee and encourage them to feel more comfortable sharing concerns, questions and ideas. I believe smiling more at work will give me the best results at changing the perception that I am always serious and unapproachable. Since my staff does not often see me smile I have no doubt that by improving upon this my staff will feel more optimism in the workplace. Another behavior that I would like to change is when I am in meetings that go for extended amounts of time or do not directly involve my departments I struggle to stay focused. I find myself checking emails, twirling my pen or shuffling around in my chair. My direct report has never mentioned this to me but I am confident that my behavior is not unnoticed. One meeting that I struggle