Obama defends health reform plan

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday strongly defended his ambitious plan, calling it vital for recovering from the worst recession to hit the U.S. since the great depression.

“Even as we rescue this economy from a full-blown crisis, we must rebuild it stronger than before. And health insurance reform is central to that effort,” said Mr.Obama at a prime time news conference at White House, aimed at taking his case for health reforms to the people.

Mr. Obama’s nationally televised press conference comes as he has been facing criticism from the opposition Republicans for his decision to overhaul the health care system.

“This is not just about the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job,” said Mr.Obama.

“It’s about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage because it became too expensive. And it’s about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid,” he asserted. Mr. Obama warned that if the spiralling health care costs are controlled, the U.S. will not be able to control its deficit.

“If we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. If we do not act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. These are the consequences of inaction. These are the stakes of the debate we’re having right now,” he said.

Criticism:

Referring to the growing criticism against him, which has also pulled down his approval rating, Mr. Obama said: “I realise that with all the charges and criticisms being thrown around in Washington, many Americans may be wondering, what’s in this for me? How does my family stand to benefit from health insurance reform?”

Responding to his critics including Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who has come out on a series of news channels in the past two days, the President said: “Tonight I want to answer those questions.”

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Work stress can ‘break down’ your career too

As a young working professional, if you haven’t wept buckets, or fought back your tears, or stopped yourself from moving out of the pressure zone. You are blessed by being on an eternal chill pill. The increasing stress levels in offices, often unfold scenes where you can see young girls cracking up or boys losing their cool faster.

Most often they fail to realize that these emotional overhauls could have an adverse effect on their career. A research conducted by a British journal suggests that executive success can be attributed to 2/3 emotional competence and 1/3 of technical capability. This can imply that most employees, who break down due to personal problems or work pressure, are viewed as emotionally unstable.

Mini Sivasan, senior manager of Keltron Finishing School is in agreement and says, “If the breakdown is due to personal problems or work pressure, it could be viewed as a career-limiting event. What’s important is to keep your calm because true professionals don’t crumble under pressure. They just try to sail through it without letting anyone know.”

But for most young girls, breaking down seems to be an easy options as it helps them get through the sticky situations. Radhika K, an ad professional says, “The fact we spend one-third of our life at work, during which we’re constantly put under pressure makes me succumb to tears easily. There are times, when I just crack up, because there seems to be no other way out.”

So the big question is how does one cope and keep one’s head up in these situations? Guruvayurappan, AVP-HR with Omega Health Care answers, “Making friends in your work place and handling situations with diplomacy could be a couple of ways to cope with such outbursts. When there is a nervous build-up, one should step away from the situation. Probably take a brisk walk or opt for a coffee break and come back’

Ajay S, CEO of Colleseum Firm says, “First of all you need to have a clear agenda about your job role and a focused approach about what you want to achieve in your Organisation. One can avoid pitfall when you know what lies ahead and need not succumb to knee jerk habits or a negative attitude which do tend to add to the stress element.” Getting a life is the best bet according to counselors. Sarasawati, a corporate counselor says, “Building a personal network of friends to hang around with and family support helps one cope with and family support helps one cope with a stressful work environment.”

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Employees prefer managers with real commitment

Whenever the business world goes through a crisis the most debated topic is the issue of leadership. There is discussion on the kind of leadership that bring about such situation and the ideal leadership style that can solve the crisis or pre-empt it. Leadership is relevant to the present crisis because part of it was perpetrated by faults in leadership style at some companies in the centre of the crisis.

Clichéd phrases like ‘tough times call for tough leaders’, ‘competent leadership’, ‘emotionally intelligent leaders’ and the like do the rounds as the topic is debated and discussed in meeting,forums,websites and blogs. This brings us to the question as to what actually constitutes good leadership? And is there any answer at all to this question or it as complex as the issue of leadership itself.

The focus in the recent times has shifted to a ‘soft’ style in leadership thanks to denial goleman and his ‘emotionally intelligent’ leader. The ideal leader is someone who is charming, likeable, empathetic and has a high degree of self-control and self-awareness.

A leader is someone who leads rather than conteols; he motivates his staff to follow a vision or claims to have the charisma to lead his team to greater heights. Yet none of these definitions emphasise on the competency factor in leaders. The focus is more on the likeability factor.

So what is good leadership about and who better to answer them the employees themselves. A study carried out by the UK institute of leadership & management (ILM) in 2007 has found that people would rather work for a tough boss who delivers results rather than a lenient one. In a poll conducted on 1500 managers, the study discovered that while teamwork and focusing on people those who took tough and resolute measures to achieve results.

These results were echoed in another study done by the University of Chicago in the same year where people responded positively to a leader who was persistent and efficient than someone who was just approachable or flexible. As the ILM study found, employees prefer managers who have a real commitment to deliver rather than someone who places priority on being liked by employee at the cost of missing targets.

The top traits in a leader according to the surveys quoted above are perseverance, attention to detail, efficiency, analytical skills and setting high standards. The central finding of the study-employees preferred managers who got things done. Less importance was given to aspects like teamwork, soft skills, enthusiasm or flexibility. An empathetic or flexible leader can be effective but he also runs the risk of favouritism or indecisiveness if he displays these traits to the extreme.

A study by the Hay Group, a global management-consulting firm on management styles concludes, “…too much concern with relationships and popularity damages team productivity. Leaders become overly concerned with maintaining popularity and good relationships and fail to address under performance and make tough decisions.” “To maximize team performance, leaders must ask themselves: do my relationship support or detract from the direction of the team?”

This is not to undermine qualities like charisma or the like ability factor because they play a significant role in motivating followers to achieve goals. Building positive relations with the team cannot be totally negated while defining leadership. During uncertain times like now where emotions like anxiety and fear rule the roost in both leaders and the led, some amount of emotional intelligence on the part of leaders is imperative.

This will help them connect with their employees and counter the lower morale, disengagement, stress or resentment the workers might be experiencing. People skills are important and also a certain level of emotional maturity. This will help to foster cooperation and compromise between the leader and his team to jointly tide over the crisis. Tenacity and competence are important traits in a leader but equally critical is emotional maturity and self-awareness.

A true leader is someone who displays a judicious mix of these two sets of qualities cannot be used in isolation as the yardstick for assessing or choosing a leader. Today’s changing times calls for a leader who is efficient and conducts his business with an open and compassionate attitude.

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Night work dangers

Night work is very dangerous and more deadly when compared to the labor working during daylight hours. Doctor’s view is that working odd hours can make people fat and increase their risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Working night shift may also enhance a person’s risk for Obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Scientists suspect that overnight work is dangerous because it disrupts the circadian rhythm, the body’s biological clock. Not getting enough sleep makes your immune system vulnerable to attack, and less able to fight off potentially cancerous cells.

There is no security especially for girls. But now a day’s several studies have found that women working at night over many years were in fact more prone to breast cancer. people feel tired when taking up the night shift as they do not get quality sleep during day-time. People usually take a routine life such as getting up at 7.00 am having breakfast at 10.00 am, working, having lunch at 1.00 pm, taking a brief rest, working and socializing after 6.00 pm.This type of pattern would be disturbed.

Night work is one of the few reasons for the workers being murdered on the job. On the other hand, installing video cameras to record crimes, storing cash in safes, and even having security guards don’t appear to protect employees from deadly violence. Many times guards do more harm than good by mounting on the situations that might be defused with calm. The other disadvantages relates to the amount, time, and quality of sleep. People working in night shift seem to find 5 to 6 hours sleep. These people are out of touch with friends and daytime world. Another problem with shift work is that employees have little contact with human resources to resolve employment issues.

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Change management skills help excel in new role

Moving up the corporate ladder is always exciting but somewhere along you also experience a tinge of nervousness as you step into a new role. These mixed feelings are only natural because a new role implies new responsibilities, new expectations and requires you to prove your mettle once again.

Not just upcoming professionals but even seasoned executives find it hared to take on new roles and need time to settle down. More than technical and managerial expertise you need change management skills to help you transit smoothly into the new role. Your ability to effectively manage the changes that accompany your ascent to the next level defines your future success.

A palpable pressure to garner some quick success no doubt exists, but you must understand that there are no short cuts to success in a new role except to learn on the job. Among other things your new appointment brings about changes in your network comprising of your superiors, peers and direct reports. Enlisting the support of this new network is crucial for your success. When you step in as the new manager, your team too goes through a phase of transition. Understanding their apprehensions is an integral part of change management. Here are some insights that help you as well as your team to cope with changes:

Seek cooperation: Focus on pulling everyone together during the settling in period. Real success can be achieved only through collective effort. In your attempts to succeed in the new role seek active cooperation and endorsement of the team and not just passive compliance. Build constructive relationships with your team by practicing empathy.

Address their concerns promptly to win their trust. Instead of pursuing your own personal success agenda, develop goals with common interest in mind.

Communicate these goals with clarity. Let everyone understand what is in it for him or her. When everybody in the team works towards these goals with complete involvement, success rate is bound to be high. Ready to learn: Approach a new role with confidence but never get carried away by past success. Demonstrate a willingness to learn the finer aspects of the new job on hand. Seek inputs and guidance from the team while formulating targets to post an early win. Being well informed helps you take sound decisions.

You also give a boost to the team morale by showing respect to their capabilities.

Study team dynamic: Before you set goals for your team study the dynamics of your group. Understand their strengths, weaknesses and also find out what motivates them.

This knowledge will certainly help you to overcome initial hiccups and lead in a better way. Get feedback: As you start working on your new assignment actively seek feedback from your superiors, colleagues as well as subordinates.

Learn to take criticism in the right spirit. It will help you to improve in areas of relative weakness. By listening to feedback and paying attention to warning signs you can easily avert failures. Though you must prove yourself in a new role to enhance your credibility you must not be in hurry to do so. In spite of an excellent track record in the past. People fail to excel in a new role because of associated changes. Instead of jumping to hasty conclusions you must devote the initial days to assess the team dynamics, understand the project subtleties and analyse the opportunities and threats that are likely to impact your success in future.

Change management alone holds the key to success in a new role. Good change management skills help you avoid hidden pitfalls in the transition process and assist you in gaining command over the new assignment. Focus on change management whenever you embark on new terrains. Add change management skills to your tool kit and you can be sure of extending your winning streak to all your new endeavors.

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Showcase actual potential in interview, land first job

As a fresh-out-of-college graduate, you are ready, able and quite eager to begin work. But, no employer will touch you with a barge pole unless you have the all qualifying ‘work experience’.

Newly minted college students never had the going so tough. While novices who have just completed their education always get the short end of the stick as companies favour experienced candidates, some were cherry-picked by hiring companies right off the campus. But with the recession spreading, employers now prefer to ‘play it safe’ and clamour for experience.

And the irony is that how can you gain experience when no one is willing to hire you? It’s quite a vicious circle find themselves sinking into despair. The despondent cry rings loud and clear, “where do we start?” Times are rough, but there still are some tactics by which you can do well in interviews and actually land yourself a job.

The all-important resume:

Spend adequate time on crafting a polished and impressive resume. Some experts advise using a functional resume format, as it will highlight yours skills and abilities while subtly taking the focus off your lack of work experience.

Here, you can and actually should draw on any scraps of summer jobs, internships and part-time or even voluntary work to build a semblance of work experience. Else, keep the limelight on your subjects, achievements and projects.

Scour for interviews:

Use all possible means to land yourself a couple of interviews with decent companies. You can apply on job boards, answer classifieds and attend job fairs or other networking events to find employers. Always practice well by yourself, with friends or in mock-interviews before attending the real ones.

Rules apply:

Carefully abide by normal interviewing rules that any other candidate (whether experienced or not) would follow before attending an interview. Research the potential employer, job and industry to show that you have done your homework.

Prepare intelligent answers to likely questions beforehand (especially behavioural ones) so that you don’t end up mumbling or being stuck. These can range from your strengths, weaknesses or choice of profession/organization to dealing with a difficult decision.

Also ensure that you dress well, speak clearly and ask some intelligent questions to reaffirm your interest in the job. Also, remain confident in your ability to do well.

Be your own advocate:

Try to find out what the employer is actually looking for and accordingly display desirable professional behaviour like dedication, motivation, flexibility and initiative while you are answering the interviewer’s questions.

Be on the lookout for examples that will demonstrate that you are responsible, organized, willing to learn, can follow instructions and will get things done on time.

Here, you can talk about how you used to effectively priorities study tasks, set and achieved learning goals, resolved a classroom conflict, influenced a classmate’s opinion or built enthusiasm in the class. Speak about how you led a group discussion or team project to highlight your leadership skills.

Be Positive:

Try to put a positive spin on even small events without resorting to outright lies. You can show the interviewer your grades or professors’ comments to showcase your abilities. Or, carry sample materials like any projects or case you have worked on and discuss the experiences or what you learn from it.

You should also draw on any voluntary or part-time work experience to show that you can handle the work environment and relate skills pertaining to the job like customer service or salesmanship.

In short, the trick is to impress the interviewer by talking positively and displaying your enthusiasm and real personality. Concentrate on showing your potential and what you have to offer in a bid to convince him that you would be very successful for the company rather than why ‘you’ need the job.

And last but not the least; do not shy away from expressing that all you want is a chance to prove yourself, an opportunity to work for the esteemed company!

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Walk out with Dignity

There comes a time in everyone’s career when they have to call it quits to a job due to many reasons.

These reasons can be either for a better job opportunity or due to the job stagnancy or for some personal issues and also as in most of the cases, because of the bosses being a pain in their professional lives.

No matter what causes you to put your papers, you must remember to not burn the bridges. It is of utmost importance that one must acknowledge that relations or contacts at work can be of some help when needed for personal or professional needs at any time in the future.

Do’s for a resignation Letter:

• Keep the resignation letter simple and short. It should follow relatively straight forward format. State your intentions clearly.
• Send the letter to your supervisor and mark a copy to the human resources person.
• Indicate the necessary things: If your experience has been great and if you have performed well in that company then the letter can go on a high note and you would want to let your employer know that you have appreciated the opportunity to work with the company.
• Mention things that you would want them to consider or things that you would want to negotiate such as the due bonuses, pending payouts etc, which you are supposed to get.
• You must proof read your resignation letter to avoid any typos, spelling and grammatical errors.
• Ensure you do a proper hand over to your replacement before leaving the job.
• On the last day at work you light want to send out some farewell mails to your colleagues at work. The farewell mails can be simple and you can thank them for their support and you could also provide your contact details such as personal email ID, phone number etc to keep in touch.

Dont’s for a resignation Letter:

• Do not insult your boss, or blame others in the team for any reason or become too emotional and do not forget to mention your last day info, etc.
• During your notice period ensure you, don’t make any statements or get into unnecessary gossip by expressing any opinions that you may later regret.
• Do stay as a productive member of the team. Don’t disappear during your last weeks on the job.
• Don’t brag about that great job opportunity that you are going ahead to pursue.
• Don’t make promises that you can’t keep and won’t be able to deliver on the current projects. That are due to finish by you.

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