IS ARGUMENTATION WELCOMED AT THE WORKPLACE?

Arguing is very much in the human nature. Almost everyone does it. But everybody should understand that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Some people do it overtly by yelling while some others do it covertly without much hue and cry. You may think that the former is the right way and the latter is the wrong one. But the fact is that the method actually does not make any difference. This is because in any case the end result is almost the same - hurt feelings for the people involved and loss of productivity for the organisation. This does not mean that one should not argue at all. In fact, constructive arguments are welcome and this can be beneficial to both the participants and the organisation in many ways. Healthy arguments can help solve many problems leading to improved profits and growth. Here are a few tips to help you argue better in a constructive manner:

1. Understand that you don't need to be furious to express your anger when you are not happy with something or someone. If you are angry, you don't need to throw things or break them or shout at people or end valuable relationships. This is regretful behaviour and hence not acceptable in a professional organisation.

2. Most of the time, you get into an argument when your colleagues and associates do not understand your feelings. Therefore, the best way to avoid an argument is to talk to your colleagues about what you feel before you lose your temper. The advantage here is that you and your colleagues are aware of the impending situation and are therefore in a better position to handle it safely without allowing it to get to the point of an argument.

3. Don't yell and scream. Keep your voice at a low pitch. The results of talking at a low voice are amazing. Many differences can be resolved easily when you communicate in a low voice. Chances are very rare that you lose your temper when you communicate with a whisper.

4. Relying on anger and intimidation is not the way to get your views accepted. Hence, don't threaten your own team-mates and in the same way don't take every argument as a threat to your job. This is a type of emotional blackmailing and the other person may get in a panic. Sometimes such an act can devastate your colleague and he may even go into depression and become incapable of doing his work.

5. Always avoid digging out issues of the past to use as a weapon against your colleague while talking about a present problem. Deal with the current issue first and if you have pent-up feelings from the past, put them off to be taken at an appropriate time in future.

6. Don't suppress your anger. If you do it and keep your hurt feelings close to your chest for long, one day you will explode and do things that you will regret later on.

7. Understand that it is not necessary that you are always able to resolve all the issues in your first attempt. What is required is creating a new process to resolve the problems without getting angry. Take a brief break of 15/20 minutes to think about the issue and come back with an idea about how to deal with the problem. This process, if followed, can take you away from sudden anger.

8. Always avoid abusive language. Abuse includes any type of violent reaction like throwing things, breaking cups and plates, hitting the table etc. If things move towards this kind of a situation, it is better to leave the office for a short while. In the case of physical attack, a police complaint has to be lodged and an appointment with a therapist is also essential.

9. Don't get involved in unnecessary arguments initiated by attention seekers. There are people who like to argue because it gives them a feeling of being powerful. Such people normally drag others into unwanted arguments just for sake of getting some attention. Don't fall into their trap. Stay away from such people and save yourself from negative attention.

10. Anger is harmful to your body as well. When you get angry, your body releases certain chemicals. These chemicals are not harmless. These can make you react in ways that can be dangerous not only to you but also to your colleagues and the organisation also. Try to understand your feelings very well and how your angry reactions affect you physically and emotionally. Researches have shown that people in the habit of arguing for more than 20 per cent of the time are not likely to survive for long. Thus a major issue involved is your very survival in the organisation. Therefore, conscious efforts should be made to control your emotions and reduce the level of negative energy around you. If this does not seem possible, it is time for you to think of seeking some special training in issue resolution. This is probably the only way to keep the organisation in good shape.

MAKE YOUR WORK A FUN & ENJOY IT

How can we get rid of work related stress? Probably, we have to learn how to make work a fun and enjoy it.

A few days ago, I had a discussion with one of my colleagues about work and stress. Suddenly it came to my mind that, of late, the two have become so integrated that they cannot be separated. Work does not come alone and is always accompanied by certain amount of stress as if it is a package deal.

This is an accepted reality in today's world. If somebody is not stressed at work, the general perception is that either he/she is not working sincerely or not working at all. Psychologists are of the view that stress can have both positive and negative effects. If work stress motivates people to perform better, it is considered as good stress. On the other hand, if work related stress disrupts our performance, then that is bad stress which can be counter- productive.

It is an unfortunate reality that people have started accepting bad stress as part of work these days. The situation has changed drastically over the last twenty years or so. There has been a three-fold increase in the number of people complaining about negative impact of workplace stress.

Being a common problem experienced by almost everybody, nobody takes it seriously. But there is a need to understand how stress and our health are related. Bad stress often turns us vulnerable to all sorts of diseases including not so serious common cold to more serious problems like BP, cardiac disorders and strokes. Further unbearable stress can lead to many unacceptable behavioural problems like alcoholism, drug-addiction, smoking and over- eating.

What is surprising is that despite all these bad effects, people generally accept this as a price they are supposed to pay for survival and success. Does it mean that stress is inevitable?

After all will it be possible to have a stress free workplace? Will we be able to enjoy whatever we do at our workplace and experience the joy of being under zero-stress? My answer to all these questions is an emphatic YES.

For our physical and mental well being, we have to separate our work from stress. Probably, the only way to do this is to start enjoying our work.

It is obvious that if we are asked to do something that we do not enjoy for most part of our day, then we will definitely come under a lot of stress.

Elizabeth Scott, a renowned trainer who trains people on effective stress management, says that it is important for all of us to spend time on something really challenging where our positive strengths are utilized to the full extent. Without these cushions, you would be at the serious risk of getting over-fatigued.

Therefore, if you feel overstressed at work, it is time for you to introspect. Ask yourself if you are enjoying what you are doing or not.

If the answer is in the negative, admit with grace that you need a change. The change could be a change in your working style or a change in the way you are utilizing your time or it could even be a change in your job altogether. Whatever be that, the ultimate aim is to make your job more enjoyable.

TSUNAMI

Tsunami is a Japanese word that means “harbor wave” and is actually a series of waves created when a body of water such as an ocean is rapidly displaced. It is called “harbor wave” because it is in harbors that tsunamis do the most damage. There can be various factors like earthquakes, mass movements above or below water, volcanic eruptions, underwater explosions, landslides, meteorite impacts and nuclear weapons which can generate a tsunami.

Not all tsunamis are large or destructive. One can easily feel a tsunami passing under your boat, if you are in the sea, as a mild wave. This is so because the ocean bottom is very deep, but as the wave gets closer to the land, the ocean becomes shallower and begins to cause the wave to turn into crest. Some tsunamis may reach the height of 30 meters, at the shore. The largest tsunami ever measured was of 65 meters height.

Can we have an advance warning of an approaching tsunami? Well the answer is both yes and no. As we all know that earthquakes are often a cause of tsunami so earthquakes felt near a body of water is often considered an indication that a tsunami will shortly follow.

As the first part of an approaching tsunami is a trough rather than a crest, so receding down of water along the shores may be a warning sign but this may not be the concrete warning sign as it arrives only seconds before the crest or may not be visible or noticeable at all.

Next, comes the prevention point of view to escape from tsunami. Regions with a high risk of tsunami may use tsunami warning systems to detect them and warn the general public to displace in the safe direction, if they sense an approaching tsunami.

With the help of computers, one can roughly predict the tsunami arrival, the probable event which may have triggered it, the shape of seafloor and topography of the land etc. Moreover, there is some evidence that confirms that nearly all animals can sense danger and flee to higher ground before the water arrives. Scientists speculate that some animals like elephants may have ability to sense Subsonic Rayleigh wave coming from the Earth. This ability helps them to go in the direction opposite of the noise, and thus go inland.

Tsunami causes a widespread damage of humanitarian, economic and environmental interests, as there is enormous loss of infrastructure, shortage of food and water, rise in outbreak of epidemics (cholera diphtheria, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis A & B etc). The impact on coastal fishing communities and fisher fork is devastating with high losses on income earners as well as boats and fishing gear. The tourism sector is also greatly affected as tourists are fearful to go to the coastal regions because of psychological fear and lack of sound infrastructure.

Environmental impact is also very huge, which affects the regions for many years to come. Severe damage is reported on ecosystems such as mangroves, coral reefs, forests, coastal areas, vegetation, san dunes and rock formation, animal and plant biodiversity and ground water. Besides this, the spread of solid and liquid waste and industrial chemicals causing severe water pollution and destruction of sewage collectors and treatment plant threaten the environment in a more dangerous way.

Some tsunami prone countries like Japan have implemented an extensive program of building Tsunami walls of up to 4.5 m height and other countries have tried to build floodgates and channels to redirect the water from incoming tsunami. But the effectiveness of such measures is in question as tsunami waves are higher than these barriers.

The effect of a tsunami can be mitigated by natural factors such as a dense tree cover on the shoreline. These dense belt of trees have sapped the effects of the tsunami’s unabashed energy. Environmentalists are suggesting extensive tree planting along the stretches of the seacoast, which are prone to tsunami risks. While it would take some years for the tree to grow to a useful size, such plantations can offer a much cheaper and long lasting means of tsunami mitigation than the costly and environmentally destructive methods of erecting artificial barriers.