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I recently read an article in Fast Company that took a thought-provoking approach to time off.
Most people are familiar with the concept and importance of a work ethic. One source defines work ethic as,
“An attitude of determination and dedication toward one’s job. Those with a strong work ethic place a high value on their professional success. They exhibit moral principles that make them outstanding employees in any position. If you have a strong work ethic, you believe in the importance of your job and typically feel that hard work is essential to maintaining a strong character.”
Work ethic is deeply ingrained in many people’s view of professional performance, character and ultimately their value. However, the drive to consistently go above and beyond to prove ourselves often leads us to burn out and feel unsatisfied with our work-life balance. Too much focus on work ethic and not enough on rest ethic has numerous negative side effects.
The article introduces the concept of a rest ethic by comparing it to breathing:
“Think of your work ethic as the inhale (it is, in a way, as essential to your career as air is to your body). With a good work ethic, we make, execute, coordinate, manage, fulfill, and get things done. Task list – inhale. Project execution – inhale. Making our ideas come to life – inhale. But we can’t keep inhaling forever. Eventually we have to exhale. This exhale is your rest ethic, and it is just as essential.”
I found this visual description particularly enlightening. If we inhale breath after breath without the release of an exhale, eventually we will explode. Consistent and productive “exhales” can help us avoid such a consequence.
Outlined below are three takeaways about what a rest ethic is and how to cultivate one:
Rest is a skill that needs to be learned
According to the article, rest should not simply be a result of free time. Rather, it should be something we schedule and protect. We should create time and space for resting the same way we create time and space for an important meeting. Rest is most beneficial when we’ve made it possible to maximize our time, rather than rushing, delaying or squeezing it in when we have a spare 15 minutes. Rest should be viewed as an activity all its own, rather than an activity we do in order to keep working.
Resting also takes practice. If we haven’t been in the habit of “exhaling,” then doing so can feel tedious, stressful or unproductive. This is also why it’s good to ensure that rest is active. Some may think of rest as idle or sedentary, when resting can include an array of activities. The article states that “good rest requires full detachment from work and our often frantic and anxious mind.” Whether that’s completing a puzzle, planting a garden, cooking in the kitchen or rock climbing, rest is best when it requires our full attention.
Introspection is key
Use your time off to check in with yourself. Often, we navigate our professional lives without realizing how busy and anxious we are, and it’s not until we take a step back that we see it. When we take time to reflect, we can take action to reset and find solutions. A few ways to reflect as outlined in the article are:
- Journaling
- Meditation
- Ask yourself: “What (or who) gives me the most sense of meaning in my life?”
- Ask yourself: “Am I giving the things I care about most the time they deserve?”
It’s also a good practice to balance self-reflection with light-hearted fun, as introspection can sometimes be emotionally taxing.
Try a ‘tech shabbat’
Inspired by Tiffany Shlain, author of 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week, a “tech shabbat” is switching off all screens and connected devices for 24 hours. Shlain recommends doing this on a weekly basis. While it may seem daunting, a digital detox can be a perfect way to recharge and create distance between us and work, especially when so many of us are working and living under the same roof. If a full 24 hours seems like too much, a good first step is to try disconnecting for an afternoon or morning.
Perhaps the next Saturday hike you take, you’ll leave your phone at home and instead print your maps beforehand and truly connect with the world around you. Or instead of catching up on a show on Sunday, you’ll print out that new recipe you’ve been wanting to try and get your hands dirty in the kitchen.
However you choose to exhale, I hope it helps you feel refreshed and balanced against your work ethic.
Before the pandemic, many of us led or participated in many meetings a week. In fact, according to an organizational psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, in the U.S. alone, it’s estimated that there are 55 million meetings a day. That is a staggering number, and the higher up in an organization you climb, the more meetings you’re likely to be required to attend.
Now with the pandemic many of these have become virtual meetings. Often this means sitting in front of your computer on Zoom or Microsoft Teams for many hours a day. One of my clients, for instance, had 48 meetings or appointments in one week.
All of this makes me wonder if the amount of time spent in meetings is contributing to workplace burnout, which the World Health Organization classified in 2019 as an occupational hazard. Moreover, research increasingly shows that sitting for long periods of time isn’t good for one’s health, perhaps contributing to higher rates of cancer or other ailments.
Fortunately, Freakonomics recently re-broadcast, “How to Make Meetings Less Terrible,” by Stephen J. Dubner and produced by Matt Franssica. It contained some great reminders surrounding best practices for meetings, some of which I’ve summarized below.
Tip 1: Don’t drain the life and meaning out of meetings.
Often people call meetings without clarity of purpose or objective. Before you schedule a meeting make sure you have an actual problem to discuss or a decision to make. If the issue can be resolved or decided over email, you probably don’t need a meeting.
Tip 2: Have an agenda, don’t recycle it, and invite the right people to attend.
Frame things on your agenda as questions. This will ensure that you’re honing in on the items that need to be discussed and decided upon. Once that is done, you can more easily determine who needs to be in attendance. Remember, the more specific the agenda, the easier it will be to issue purpose-driven invitations.
You can also think of categorizing attendees as core or secondary participants. For instance, you might decide to solicit input from the secondary participants and offer to share the minutes with them, as opposed to requiring them to attend the meeting. This can be an effective way to make sure people feel included, without taking up their valuable time.
Tip 3: Decide in advance how much time is needed for the discussion.
Don’t just default to an hour. This is the average meeting length, perhaps due to calendaring software, but often meetings can be much shorter. And, according to experts, the tighter the timeframe, the better. Limited time for discussion and debate creates pressure to keep things moving, and because time is a precious resource, this can be helpful.
Tip 4: If you’re leading, your experience is going to be more positive than the attendees.
Remember, when you call a meeting, you are creating an imposition on others. Be on time, don’t dominate the discussion, and be sure to end your meeting on time.
These are just a few of the tips that were shared. For more insight, please listen to the full interview or consider reading the following:
- The Surprising Science of Meetings: How You Can Lead Your Team to Peak Performance, by Steven Rogelberg. (90 ratings, 75% five star on Amazon)
- The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, by Priya Parker. (227 ratings, 74% five star)
- The Meeting: Gatherings in Organizations and Communities, by Helen Schwartzman.
- Death by Meeting, by Patrick Lencioni. (504 ratings, 67% five star)
On June 26, the PR Council hosted a session called “Groundwater: An Intro to Racial Equity,” led by Monica Walker and Stephanie Baker from The Racial Equity Institute. As members of the PR Council, we had the privilege of participating in this eye-opening session. The current attention to racial inequities and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement has led many of us to take a hard look at our lives, industries and institutions, to better understand the depth of systemic racism and the varying challenges it creates for Black individuals and people of color.
The presentation provided an in-depth look at racial inequities across five systems including, education, healthcare, child welfare, juvenile justice and economic development. Monica and Stephanie used extensive data and strong metaphors to articulate the extent of racial inequalities across these systems. This session was incredibly helpful, educational and insightful.
Below I’ve outlined a handful of key points and takeaways from the session, but before diving into these, I want to emphasize this is a small overview of the information shared in this session. I highly recommend visiting Racial Equity Institute’s website and looking into the sessions the organization offers.
Change the Narrative
When the session started, participants were asked to keep an open mind because the information we were going to learn was likely going to challenge our existing narrative. As a PR professional this resonated with me. We are often crafting and telling stories on behalf of our clients, but in this case, it was critical to step back and reevaluate stories that we may have been hearing and subconsciously practicing since our childhood.
To emphasize this point, the leaders proposed an impactful metaphor about a fish and a lake. When someone passes by a fish washed up on the shoreline, they may wonder if the fish was sick or swallowed plastic. However, if you pass a shoreline filled with thousands of fish, you’ll likely ask a different question: What is wrong with the water?
This metaphor calls attention to the fact that we need to reconsider the narrative as we investigate inequality and systemic problems. It’s important we reframe questions and ask new questions that challenge the narrative we already know.
Discrimination Starts with a Name
Another example of an existing narrative discussed in the presentation is that education is the way out of hardship or that education levels the playing field in the professional world. However, there are countless examples across multiple systems demonstrating this is not the case.
As a part of an experiment, fake resumes were submitted to job openings. The experiment leaders used a “white sounding” name for a male and female resume and created the exact same resumes with a “Black sounding” name for a male and female. The applicants with “white sounding” names were 1.5X more likely to get a call back than the applicants with “Black sounding” names, despite the resumes being exactly the same.
As said in the presentation, “You can’t solve a problem from a distance.” This data, while surprising and disappointing, is critical in addressing inequality and discrimination across our industry. Instead of assuming individuals aren’t qualified or don’t have the right education, we should be conscious of how preexisting biases may be leading to the challenges and discrimination Black individuals are facing. In order to begin addressing the problem, we need to be aware of it and understand it.
Be Aware of Assumptions
Monica shared a personal anecdote with us, noting that she has a grandson that often leaves the lights on throughout the house. When she finds lights on, she almost always assumes he’s left them on. When she approaches him about it and it turns out it wasn’t him who left the lights on, he reminds Monica how unfair it is that she automatically assumes it was him.
This is a simple, everyday example, but a strong reminder that no one wants to face assumptions about who they are, what they are (or are not) capable of, or what they may or may not do. The presenters shared a variety of sources and studies that illustrate how preexisting assumptions about Black individuals impact their lives across a number of environments including healthcare, law enforcement, professional environments and more. These assumptions and discrimination lead to more deaths from preventable health conditions, increasing economic divide and higher incarceration rates.
As we all work to drive change and call for action in addressing systemic racism and racial inequality, it’s critical we have an understanding of its roots and how it is impacting the lives of Black individuals and people of color across all major systems.
Again, I highly recommend visiting The Racial Equity Institute’s website for resources. Additionally, the PR Council has shared information about how to improve Black representation in PR agencies and across the industry and one of our colleagues recently shared his findings on how leaders can combat systemic racism within companies.
The May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked ongoing demonstrations and social unrest across the U.S., bringing racial inequality back to the forefront of our collective conscious. Many difficult questions have since emerged regarding how our country must address systemic racism and identify the areas where more work needs to be done.
Earlier this month, GeekWire released a podcast on “Race and Tech: Where Can We Go From Here?” The podcast – hosted by Marilyn Strickland, former CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce – featured a panel discussion between local business leaders Adriane Brown, venture partner with Flying Fish Partners and a board member for Axon and eBay; Dave Cotter, Leafly chief product officer; and Matt Oppenheimer, Remitly CEO.
The podcast explored the steps that tech and business leaders can take toward building equity and dismantling systemic racism, with an aim to answer the question, “What can those in the tech industry do to address some of the disparities around race and inclusion?”
Take Ownership of Company Culture
A recurring theme among the podcast speakers was that change “has to start at the top” of any company. Brown said she was “heartened” by the outpouring of messages and personal statements from CEOs across the country and around the world. She said the attention to the killing of Floyd helped usher in a response that “really honed in the broad acceptance that we have a crisis in America.”
She said business leaders looking to make a difference must take ownership for the culture of their companies, which requires conversation and a culture where a lack of diversity must be called out. This includes evaluating what your company is buying and from where. Neglecting to keep diversity top of mind and examining these areas, she said, only leads to a shortcoming of products and offerings to customers.
“Study after study has shown that diverse teams, diverse boards [and] diverse groups produce better results consistently,” Brown said. “But when you don’t insist upon that as a leader, then you’re holding your company back and allowing excuses to get in the way of better performance.”
Listen, Learn and Keep Diversity In-House
Cotter highlighted the importance of listening and learning among tech leaders and CEOs. He said that in his experience, diversity measures within the tech industry are often outsourced to a chief diversity officer or a consulting firm. A commitment to diversity, he said, requires CEOs and C-Suite executives to determine how to incorporate diversity measures into their company’s daily practices and overall culture.
“This is not a moment in time. This is something that’s been escalating for 400 years,” Cotter said. “You shouldn’t outsource [diversity]. You can’t treat this as an objective or as an initiative. This has to be met with the same intensity and depth by which it traverses backward, which is 400 years.”
Cotter said that going through the exercises of asking questions like “Have I really learned?” and “Am I really listening?” will help create nuances and specifics around what actions a company must take. He cautioned against acting too quickly to launch initiatives around diversity, stating that the absence of making a concerted effort to listen and learn will hinder the impact of diversity initiatives, reducing them to merely activities.
Provide Anti-Racism Resources to Employees
Oppenheimer referred to the recent focus on dismantling systemic racism as a “wake-up call for many companies across the board to do more.” While he stated that diversity, equity and inclusiveness is deeply embedded in the DNA of Remitly, which is a digital remittance service that helps people send money abroad and serves immigrant customers, Oppenheimer acknowledged that there is room for more work to be done at the company. He said one of the main actions that Remitly employees are taking right now is to better understand how to listen, as well as how to better understand themselves.
Prior to the recent demonstrations, Remitly invested in promoting diversity by hiring a director of diversity, equity and inclusiveness, who has established affinity groups at Remitly for listening and engagement opportunities. Also, to promote anti-racism awareness and education, the company tabled a teambuilding event and gave employees a half-day to do their own anti-racism work or advocacy, with the company providing a list of resources. Oppenheimer started a book club with several employees to read “So You Want to Talk about Race” by Ijeoma Oluo.
“I’m really grateful. Because we’re a mission-driven company, we have a team that really cares about this issue and really wants to invest that time,” Oppenheimer said.
Learn the History and Don’t Be Afraid to Talk About Racism
Strickland asked each of the speakers to give their input on what individuals and organizations can do to combat systemic racism. Brown emphasized the importance of inspiring people to vote in local, state and national elections. Oppenheimer spoke to the importance of listening, learning and translating sentiments into engagement. He acknowledged that combatting racism can be a lifelong journey and requires a sustained effort, and that moving forward with an open mind is necessary.
Cotter encouraged people to strive for empathy. He said the sooner someone feels a sense of empathy, the more powerful and impactful they will be. He also encouraged tech companies to do what they’ve always done well: Get after finding a solution.
“What tech companies have demonstrated is that we know how to solve problems. Whether they’re for corporate customers, consumer customers, we know how to unlock experiences,” Cotter said. “I think as we start to get into the learning and the empathetic state, let’s go solve problems. That’s what we do, let’s just get after it.”
Strickland concluded with two important suggestions for people looking to make a difference: Learn the history of racism and don’t be afraid to talk about it.
“For folks who are not Black, talking about anti-Blackness does not make you anti-white or anti- anything else,” she said. “This is about trying to address the problem. Don’t be afraid to talk about it.”
To listen to the 18-minute podcast, visit https://www.geekwire.com/2020/us-dismantle-racism-10-steps-tech-business-leaders-can-take-toward-equity/.
Traditionally, the common best practice among PR professionals suggests that Friday is the worst day to pitch media. Journalists have one foot out the door into the weekend and are likely catching up on the remaining deliverables for the work week. However, data released by Propel Media in its Media Engagement Barometer report tells a different story.
Surprisingly, Friday is the most likely date to get a response to a pitch!
The best practice of avoiding Fridays and Mondays for major announcements still stands true. That said, don’t be afraid to pitch on a Friday. The data suggest pitches sent on Friday have the highest response rate of any weekday, with Monday coming in a close second.
Perhaps counter to our common assumption that inboxes are crowded that day, journalists have filed most of their stories for the week by the end of day Thursday – which provides some breathing room on Friday for engaging with new pitches.
Other key takeaways in the Media Engagement Barometer include data illustrating the average response time on pitches, open rates and the importance of follow ups.
The report suggests that journalists report to pitches rapidly, when they are interested – 23% of responses happen within 10 minutes of the pitch being sent, and nearly half of responses occur within the first hour. Nearly two thirds of replies happen within four hours of the pitch being sent, with 86% of replies happening by the next day. This means that only 14% of responses happen two or more days after the pitch was sent.
Another shocking takeaway from the report indicates that a quarter of all pitch opens happen in the first 15 seconds, with 41% of opens within the first minute and 85% of opens within the first four hours of the pitch being sent.
This emphasizes the importance of timely follow-ups. Follow-ups are key. With the response rate diminishing over time, follow-ups are the one action that can be taken to reset the response likelihood. It’s important not to bombard journalists with follow-ups but balance that with the appropriate level of proactiveness to appropriate targets. In my experience, that varies based on multiple factors including the type of media you’re pitching, current events, and most of all your existing relationship and experience with the journalist.
While the data is informative, the customization and surgical approach to each pitch is vital to success. Anecdotally, our team has seen an increase in responses on Fridays and we have been increasingly testing out the waters to increase our chances of enticing interest. You never know unless you try.
Setting aside work time to take breaks is something we know to be important, but especially hard to do while working remotely. I was thankful to have “What to Do on 15-, 30-, and 60-Minute Breaks to Boost Productivity” shared with me to engage with strategies to take the most impactful work breaks.
As Stephanie Vozza notes in her article, when completed correctly, there are many benefits to taking breaks such as increased focus, energy, creativity and innovation. However, we often fall prey to sitting down for a break only to continue to check emails while we lunch away. During this age of remote work, taking breaks may be more challenging when the comfy sofa is sitting in the other room, the kids plead for your attention, or your sourdough starter is getting hungry. The consequences of failing to complete productive breaks are depleted energy, mental blocks and burnout which will negatively impact your work.
Below are strategies to taking breaks of various lengths in order to maximize their benefits to your mental and physical endurance.
5-15-Minute Breaks
Short breaks allow for a brief reprieve from sitting at your desk and staring at a screen. The most important goal of a 5-15-minute break is increased blood flow through exercise. This means getting out of your chair to walk up and down a flight of stairs, going for a walk around the block, or playing fetch with your dog in the backyard. It is also a great opportunity to practice mindfulness and let your brain rest. Challenge yourself to let your brain think about nothing or let yourself daydream while looking out the window.
30-Minute Breaks
On a mid-length break think about reinvigorating your blood flow through a walk around the block or brief stretching exercises. If you live in a hilly place like us in Seattle, walking up and down the neighborhood hill is another great option. On a 30-minute break it is a great opportunity to check in with friends, family and coworkers (as long as it is about something other than work). Whether in person, over the phone or through videocall, talking with your friends is shown to increase sense of purpose, self-confidence, happiness and reduce stress.
60-Minute Breaks
An hour-long break offers an opportunity to take a step back and reflect on your work. If you are feeling overwhelmed by a looming deadline, a “brain dump” will offer you time to organize your mind and alleviate stress and anxiety. Brain dumps encourage you to write down everything on your mind and then sort out your ideas on the physical paper. According to a study by the University of Sussex, reading a book is shown to decrease heart rate and reduce muscle tension. Listening to music, enjoying a cup of coffee or streaming TV are also beneficial but do not have the same physical health benefits.
In sum, breaks are a great tool to offer your mind and body a rest from the strenuous workday. This guide to productive breaks should help in the process of falling back into a healthy work/break routine during remote work. When practiced correctly breaks have the ability to increase productivity in employees as well as enhance quality of work. Taking time to remind ourselves to rest will continue to be important as we work within this modified livelihood.