Categories
Work Environment

How to Deal with Incompetent Coworkers in A Shared Workspace

Aside from the benefits that are part of a shared office space, there are also challenges that may arise such as dealing with incompetent coworkers. Below are a few tips to better handle this.

 

An unprofessional, annoying, or incompetent coworker is the bane of any professional workspace. But they aren’t avoidable, and many can slip into a professional setting without hinting at the problems they’re about to bring to your organization.

 

However, that doesn’t mean you should simply let their incompetence stand.

 

Whether you’re another worker or a team leader, there are a few things you should consider doing (and they don’t involve immediately tattling to the management or firing them on the spot).

 

Do Not Vent to Other Coworkers

 

First things first – maintain professional common sense in this kind of situation. Under no circumstances should you turn an incompetent coworker into a gossip topic.

 

While it might be really easy to succumb to this, and just blow off a little steam by badmouthing the one employee, it’s definitely not worth it.

 

Perpetuating an atmosphere that encourages gossip can be extremely toxic and does not make for a healthy work environment.

 

Document Everything You Can

 

The worst thing you can do when talking to someone a little higher up about what’s been going on is to come to them with pure hearsay. You need evidence, witnesses, and information. Gather as much of it as you can and keep it ready.

 

Most importantly, talk to them.

 

An annoying and incompetent coworker might be really difficult to work with, but there could be a good reason – not one that excuses incompetence, but one that might help you get them the time they need to sort out their problems before returning to work for a second chance.

 

Leave Emotions Out of It

 

Do not let things get out of hand, regardless of whether you’re the manager/leader of the group, or another fellow worker.

 

When an incompetent employee is being unreasonable in a professional setting, it’s not an excuse to drop all pretense and make things ugly.

 

Regardless of what words get flung around, do NOT resort to ad hominem attacks. Do NOT vent to other coworkers outside of the office.

 

If you find yourself close to a breaking point – take a break. It’s definitely not worth exploding and making a scene simply for the satisfaction of finally being able to say what you’ve been wanting to say all along.

 

Regardless of your position, do NOT let yourself get burned in the long-term for letting things get out of hand with someone who has dug themselves a professional grave.

 

 

Don’t Pick Up Their Slack

 

If you’re witnessing a coworker being sloppy with their work, your first instinct might be to ‘help’. But there’s a limit to how much help can actually do any good.

 

If it’s clear that your coworker is going through a genuinely tough time (or they mention it), then helping them is the right thing to do. It will be appreciated, and you know that their problems are temporary.

 

But if you decide to ‘help’ with a coworker who is refusing to do the work properly, all you’re doing is giving them even less of a reason to change or improve, while erasing any evidence of their incompetence.

 

If a coworker is unwilling to pull their weight, they shouldn’t count on others simply doing the work for them.

 

Furthermore, it sends a terrible message to the other workers in the group. They won’t be held accountable and won’t be as proud of their work as they should. They put in hard hours to see this business flourish while one person gets to take it easy without serious repercussions.

 

Yes, everyone has their limits, and there are variables in how much weight one person can pull. Some work harder and better than others, as expected. But when it’s clear that a coworker simply isn’t even doing their level best, that needs to stand on its own.

 

Unless it’s clear that they need help, and unless it’s an incredibly minor task, do not help. That’s where empathy stops, and manipulation (on their part) begins.

 

Be Prepared to Remove Them

 

If you’re the group leader or manager for an organization at a shared workspace, then it’s your responsibility to maintain a healthy work environment.

 

Even if you don’t own the rented office space and share it with other businesses and workers, your team is your responsibility – the workers under your command reflect on you, and the organization, and externally, that reflects on the entire space.

 

That means knowing when it’s time to remove someone from your group.

 

Firing a worker unjustly is the last thing a small organization should do, but when there’s no room for growth or improvement, and it’s clear that the relationship you have with your coworker is adversarial at best, having them removed would be the healthiest thing to do – and the health of the business comes first.

 

The last thing you may do is fragment your team, either as a member of the team itself or as its manager. But regardless of how you feel about potentially creating a wedge, it’s important to know where you believe your priorities should lie.

 

In most cases, it’s better to prioritize a healthy and productive creative office space and a business that can continue to do work for its clients, than to avoid a confrontation with an incompetent coworker, who is unwilling to change or adapt.

 

Conclusion

 

It’s not a matter of cruelty or empathy – the needs of the organization come before the needs of the individual, and a difficult coworker isn’t just a problem for your group or business, but for the entire coworking space, putting not only them in a bad light, but your business, and in turn, the space itself (which can definitely hurt your reputation with its owners).

 

If you’re a coworker, document your coworker’s shortcomings to maintain evidence of their incompetence. Also, ask why they’re not finishing tasks.

 

If you’re a manager, then know that this is part of the job. An effective leader knows when it’s time to give leeway and push, and when it’s time to cut someone out of the organization entirely. Take responsibility.

 

And if you’re in need of finding a quality shared coworking space, feel free to contact us here at The Collection located in downtown, Los Angeles. We’re happy to assist with your coworking needs.

 

Categories
Office Space

The Ideal Coworking Space Design for Success

A coworking space design is important, but it’s difficult to find the right one as there is a lot to consider. To assist, read below for ideal information to keep in mind.

 

Coworking spaces have been on the up and up for several years now, as businesses continue to seek more flexible, and more cost-effective alternatives to buying up additional commercial real estate for offices, while entrepreneurs and freelancers alike look to find a better way to work from anywhere but home

 

But what does the ideal coworking space design look like? And what metrics are most important when designing a space around collaboration, creativity, and flexibility

 

The Importance of Safety

 

While the coronavirus pandemic has landed a hefty blow on flexible working spaces everywhere, many have survived and even thrived by offering safe and sanitary workspaces, with mandated and enforced social distancing (through distanced desk spaces, isolated rooms, and outdoor ventilation), roving cleaning crews, and strict temperature checks and viral tests. 

 

As we enter the final stages of the pandemic, many of the lessons learned throughout the last year have been internalized by coworking spaces that are looking for ways to continue to provide a safe working environment, while providing the critical value proposition behind every coworking space: the networking and cooperative opportunities offered by hosting a slew of professionals and teams from different backgrounds.  

 

The ideal coworking space should continue to provide an environment where everyone can feel safe, even in a post-pandemic world, via ample hand sanitization, frequent desk and floor cleaning, open areas with ventilation, private conference rooms for tested teams, and outdoor spaces (such as balconies and terraces) for larger groups to collaborate, discuss, and brainstorm while minimizing the risk of transmission. 

 

What is Coworking Meant to Be? 

 

What is the core of a coworking space? Most people look to coworking spaces as:

 

      • Alternative workspaces for individuals and teams alike
      • Places for collaboration and networking
      • Workspaces that allow for a productive work process through quality furnishings, amenities, and infrastructure. 
      • An open and receptive staff and management
      • Places built with a flexible, open plan in mind. 
      • Workspaces designed to cater to multiple types of workers
      • Workspaces with an individual and creative flair
      • Spaces with a shared theme or philosophy at the center of their overall design

 

The ideal coworking space needs to embody these elements, first and foremost. 

 

Who is Coworking for? 

 

Coworking spaces can cater to specific types of people – creatives, tech experts, executives, entrepreneurs, writers, designers, women, men – or they can cater to multiple groups, or have no specific target. 

 

A coworking space’s target audience reflects in how it’s designed and built. 

 

If there is no specific target, then the philosophy behind a coworking space might have its origins in what the owner prioritizes in a workplace – be it in calming aesthetics, wacky art, a multitude of plants and greenery, or an emphasis on specific schools of architecture. 

 

Melding Wellbeing and Productivity

 

The ideal coworking space understands that the human brain functions best in waves – that there is a flow in which we do our best work, and that we subsequently need downtime. 

 

Coworking spaces that provide both stimulation and relaxation can help workers be more efficient in their transition from being productive to recuperating, and vice versa. 

 

Examples include a relaxing outdoor garden, elements of Zen design, nap rooms, colorful and ergonomic (i.e. comfortable) furniture, areas designed for concentrated work and areas designed for social activity, and so on. 

 

Many people choose to work in coworking spaces because they don’t have the means to do their best work from home, either due to the lack of a suitable workspace, too many distractions, or poor connectivity. Empowering workers to be able to do their best work should be at the heart of any successful coworking space. 

 

Creative Spaces for Creative Minds

 

The last thing a coworking space should be is drab. Color and creative design can go a long way towards stimulating us, in a positive way. A coworking space should ideally have a place where people can go seeking a little bit of inspiration or positive energy – as well as a space designed with limited distractions, both in design and environment. 

 

Access to the Outdoors

 

Even if it’s just a view of a park or a balcony filled to the brim with greenery, a touch of nature can go a long way towards calming the nerves, improving cognition and productivity, and reducing downtime and stress-related illnesses. 

 

Good Food and Good Ambience

 

Snacks are more than just a privilege. We run on good food, and good food is important for a properly working brain.

 

One of the biggest benefits of a well-stocked coworking space is that it comes with its own crucial amenities, including good quality coffee, coffee alternatives (for those who need a theanine fix instead), and a wide selection of snacks and, optionally, some light, nutritious meals. 

 

Setting up a coworking space near several good restaurants is a great idea as well – this gives coworking tenants an additional space to occupy whenever they need to take a break from work and want a moment to socialize or network, while fueling up on good food. 

 

Accommodations for Everyone 

 

Some people prefer working at a desk. Some people do their best work standing. And some people need a comfortable couch. 

 

Coworking spaces that offer a variety of seating options can give everyone the chance to find a spot that lets them do their best work – and choose whether to sit alone or in close (but safe) vicinity to others. 

 

Your Ideal Coworking Space Design

 

At the end of the day, the ideal coworking space design looks a little different for each and every one of us. Coworking as a concept exists to provide a space that appeals to both teams and freelancers, to managers and workers, to developers, writers, creatives, and executives alike. 

 

Some coworking spaces skew towards providing the ideal environment for coding. Others are built to appeal to designers and graphics artists. In most cases, you need to visit a few coworking spaces to find the one that best suits your needs, interests, and ideal networking opportunities. 

Categories
Business Trends Office Space

How to Start a Virtual Office Business?

How to start a virtual office business? This is an important question to answer as a virtual office provides many benefits and is simply a valuable option. Read more below.

 

Virtual offices exist to provide a minimum physical space (sometimes with a skeleton crew) for largely virtual companies to benefit from the advantages of a real-life address without necessarily having to occupy that address

 

Virtual offices are particularly beneficial for startups that otherwise cannot afford to finance, set up, manage, and occupy an entire commercial property on their own, but need a place to receive calls and packages, receive and host meetings with potential clients, and provide a greater sense of legitimacy.

 

How to Start a Virtual Office Business?

 

Virtual offices are, despite the name, real physical addresses. However, they are not designed to host a company’s workforce, or act as a workspace. Instead, these offices exist largely on paper, as addresses for other companies to send packages and correspondence, or for clients to call and check out. 

 

Another distinct benefit for a virtual office is that its address is usually in a commercial space, like a business park or an office building. This provides a business with much more legitimacy than if their own available address was a P.O. box or a garage in a residential area. Some clients and customers make a habit of checking a business’s physical location out on their own, even if only through Google Earth. 

 

The basic value proposition behind a virtual office is that it’s getting harder and more expensive to manage viable commercial real estate, especially for startups with employees spread thin over an entire region or country, or companies that operate largely remotely.

 

While having an office of your own has its distinct advantages, there are some benefits that you can spoof through a virtual office. 

 

Setting up a virtual office of your own doesn’t have to be a significant investment. You can create a virtual office for your business without owning a commercial workspace yourself, through coworking spaces

 

Benefits of a Virtual Office 

 

The distinct value proposition provided by a virtual office is that it gives smaller companies and entrepreneurs the advantage over the competition of benefitting from the trappings of a physical space without anywhere near the same overhead. 

 

When setting up a virtual office business, you can manage the same space for multiple different companies. It is not uncommon for multiple companies to share the same address. 

 

Some of the greater advantages of utilizing a virtual office for small businesses and entrepreneurs include: 

 

Having Your Own Mailbox

 

There are a few advantages to having a mailbox attached to an existing commercial space, and not just a regular P.O. box. These include: 

 

      • Being able to receive and forward physical mail from FedEx, UPS, and the USPS. PO boxes can only accept mail shipped through the USPS. 
      • Having a real address to mail things can improve your company’s legitimacy in the eyes of your clients. It is also safer. 
      • Having a physical address to ship to that is distinct from your own personal residential space. If you work largely from home, you may want to protect your privacy by separating your professional life from your personal life. This is especially important if your business may one day stand at the receiving end of some controversy. 

 

If you offer mail forwarding to the client of your virtual office business, then ensuring that their data is kept safe and encrypted and that all mail is processed on the same day it arrives can add an additional critical layer of security and convenience. 

 

You can utilize a virtual mailbox service to securely process your mail, forward it to an address of your choice confidentially, and continue to benefit from working at home or via a coworking space.  

 

A Space to Receive Clients

 

Perhaps the greatest benefit of setting up a virtual office for yourself is having the option of physically receiving clients, and meeting with them face-to-face when the occasion calls for it. 

 

A coworking space can act as an excellent and professional meeting room when it needs to, and most coworking spaces are designed with private meeting and conference rooms in mind. 

 

Sometimes, meeting solely over Zoom or Teams isn’t enough to gain a client’s trust. Face-to-face meetings may have been largely off the books during the pandemic, but as inoculation strategies unfold and a potential end to most restrictions is in sight, many businesses are considering how they might safely reintegrate in-person meetings and onboarding processes in safe, ventilated, or open spaces.  

 

Staff to Receive and Forward Calls

 

A successful virtual office consists of more than just space. It also requires a human element. This might be a virtual assistant outsourced to another corner of the planet, or a person present at your virtual office of choice, there to receive and host unexpected visits from clients, receive and forward important calls, and act as receptionists for your virtual business. 

 

In most cases, a single assistant or receptionist is often enough to handle the most basic administrative tasks, filtering through daily correspondence, taking calls, and notifying you whenever your presence might be needed at a physical location. 

 

To Summarize

 

      • The first thing you need when starting up a virtual office is the right location. 
      • You will also want a way to receive and process mail. 
      • Consider hiring staff to manage the receiving of calls and correspondence, and the occasional visiting client. 
      • Finally, consider coworking spaces for the benefits they provide as a nominal space for your business, whether it’s for meeting up with clients face-to-face, or facilitating the onboarding process for new hires

 

Tips for Entrepreneurs

 

Leverage a virtual space to make your life easier. A virtual office shouldn’t just be a placeholder to grant your business more legitimacy – consider taking full advantage of the benefits of having a coworking space of your own. 

 

Coworking spaces have provided a safe alternative for those struggling with feelings of isolation during the pandemic, enabling entrepreneurs and satellite teams to work from anywhere, coordinate virtually, and benefit from the amenities of a fully stocked office without the overhead of expanding the headquarters to comply with social distance rules, or buying up new commercial space. 

Categories
Work Environment

9 Ways to Practice Mindfulness in the Workplace

It’s very easy to overlook our mental health when we have a full list of tasks to do each day. But to prevent burnout and becoming overly stressed, below are 9 ways to practice mindfulness in the workplace.

 

Mindfulness is more than just a means of paying attention to your surroundings or attempting to be aware of what you’re doing. Mindfulness is a state of mind describing a sense of being in the moment, of being aware, and of embracing a healthier perspective. 

 

To be mindful is to calm yourself from a reactionary state, and instead choose to be attentive. It’s to focus your time and energy on a single thing, rather than go on autopilot. And to pull yourself out of a daydream and be productive. 

 

Mindfulness has its distinct advantages in life, especially as part of a mental exercise program to combat anxiety, irritability, and depression. Many mindfulness exercises are rooted in the ideas already established and researched through cognitive behavioral therapy, wherein patients are taught to be cognizant of how their disorder affects their thoughts and behaviors, and how they can recognize those errant thoughts and replace them. 

 

Patients are taught to be mindful above all else and recognize when they need to step out of their head and take in the moment around them. 

 

These lessons aren’t exclusive to people with serious mental health issues. Mindfulness can be a great protective tool for preventing burnout, reducing the long-term impact of stress, and being aware of your own mental health and your boundaries (and how your work might be affecting them).

 

Mindfulness in the Workplace

 

Research shows that mindfulness provides a number of benefits, including reduced aggression and stress, as well as improved productivity and sociability. By incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine at work, you can become more focused and improve the rate at which you get things done, and help you become open to opportunities for learning and growth – critical aspects of career-building that, when ignored, can lead to a sense of stagnation and dissatisfaction with one’s work. 

 

One of the key factors behind the effectiveness of mindful practices at work is that it decreases mental rumination or breaks from focused cognitive activities. 

 

It also helps boost what is normally referred to as your “working memory,” and allows for greater cognitive flexibility (the ability to adapt to situations and think on the fly), as well as much less emotional reactivity (learning to disengage from distractions and upsets, and focus on productive tasks and activities). 

 

Yet for many, implementing mindfulness in the workplace is far easier said than done. Most people feel they don’t have time to meditate in the mornings or begin doing mindfulness exercises at their desk. 

 

But practicing mindfulness doesn’t require a huge time commitment or drastic lifestyle overhauls. You can become more mindful in your daily life and reap those benefits in your professional life through a few simple ways. 

 

1. Start Your Day with a Task Journal

 

It might seem a tad simplistic or overdone to start this list with a journal, but this is not the same as writing a self-reflecting journal or starting a diary to keep track of your mental state. 

 

Think of this as a slightly expanded to-do list, meant to help give you the chance to start the day with a list you can work through step-by-step throughout the workday. 

 

A task journal also lets you time yourself, and review over the weeks how you spend your day, and where you might want to improve your efficiency or swap tasks around to make the most of your time. 

 

2. Take 5-Minute Mindfulness Breaks Regularly

 

A 30-minute meditative session is a utopian goal for most people with busy workdays. But a 5-minute break is easy to fit in. Even if you pride yourself on never taking breaks, the truth is that we don’t run well on fumes. There is a chance that if you never give yourself any room to breathe, you’re running your long-term productivity into the ground. 

 

Every hour or two, take five minutes to get up from your station and be mindful. Use the opportunity to get a glass of water and focus on each sip, make a cup of coffee and focus on the process of making it, or step out into the balcony and be mindful of the scenery around you. 

 

3. Set Reminders to Refocus Yourself

 

If you’re prone to daydreaming, sometimes all you need a reminder to snap out of it. You can set these reminders yourself with a simple vibrating phone alarm. 

 

Set it to vibrate every few hours and use that as your cue to take a break or snap back to the moment if you’ve caught yourself ruminating or drifting away. 

 

4. Grab Some Time in the Nap Room 

 

Sometimes, repeated distractions and poor cognitive function at work is a simple sign of sleep deprivation. Instead of grabbing yet another cup of coffee, just get some more rest. This can mean improving your sleep hygiene to grab extra ZZZs at home or getting a regular power nap in at the coworking place

 

5. Enjoy the Little Pleasures

 

Rather than rushing through the day like clockwork, stop and remind yourself to enjoy the pleasures of any given moment – whether it’s the first sip of coffee in the day, your first bite of food, the feeling you get when you complete your first task for the morning, or the satisfaction of a good stretch after an hour or more spent sitting down. 

 

6. Quit Multitasking

 

Multitasking is not as efficient as you might think. It is far more effective to pick a single task at a time and focus on it, than it is to try and complete two or three tasks at once.

 

7. Be Consistent

 

Mindfulness is not a panacea for productivity issues and stress, but it can make a major difference in your workplace – provided you are committed to implementing it on a daily basis

 

Being mindful for a week or two isn’t enough to see lasting change. Be consistent, and reap your rewards. 

 

8. There Will Always Be Slow Days

 

We should aim to be productive most days but cannot be productive all the time. There will always be slow days, when you’ve hit your creative and productive limits, and when you just need a break. 

 

One or two slow days is fine, and you have to learn to cut yourself slack for that. 

 

One or two slow weeks may be a sign that you need an extended break, or that something in your life is causing some serious issues that need to be addressed through more than mindfulness exercises. 

 

9. Consider Seeking Help 

 

There are certain states of mind that won’t always be improved with just a bit of mindfulness. 

 

Crunch time at work, an abusive or hostile work environment, serious financial trouble, or a mental health condition cannot always be thought away, or tackled alone. We all need support sometimes, whether it’s friends and family, the authorities, or healthcare professionals. 

 

Sometimes, the greatest act of mindfulness is to know when you’ve exhausted your own options, depleted your stores, and reached your boundaries. You need to know when to seek and accept help, and preserve yourself. 

 


Read More:

5 Ways to Reduce Anxiety at Work

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