Employee preferences reshape return-to-office policies

It may be difficult to control emotions when we get triggered, writes Mira Brancu, the CEO of Towerscope, who offers five ways to regulate feelings before we get upset, including knowing your triggers and the fears and motivations of others who may set you off and setting the intention to remain calm and assertive. "If you can recognize your feelings, especially when stressed or triggered, you can create more options for how you might want to respond," Brancu notes.

Put it into practice: When you feel frustration rising during an interaction, avoid making direct statements about how an idea won't work and stick to open-ended ones such as, "What other options have we considered?" Brancu recommends. "This approach buys you a few moments to collect your thoughts, diffuses tension and encourages collaboration."

The narrative of a widespread return to the office is often driven by cherry-picked stories focusing on a few companies' mandates, writes Gleb Tsipursky, the CEO of Disaster Avoidance Experts. However, objective data reveals a trend towards more flexible work arrangements, with many organizations quietly adapting to employee preferences for remote and hybrid work, Tsipursky notes.

Put it into practice: Insisting on your teams to return to the office could cost your company in the long run, Tsipursky notes, and recommends finding ways to be flexible. "Companies that recognize this reality and adapt their policies accordingly will likely find themselves in a stronger position to attract and retain top talent."

Vulnerability can be a powerful tool for leaders, fostering trust and authenticity among teams, which can prove valuable when challenging decisions must be made. "You should open yourself up to others and be willing to get analytical and emotional feedback -- ideally from people with multiple perspectives -- before making those tough decisions," according to authors from McKinsey.

Put it into practice: Vulnerability can be uncomfortable for you as a leader, especially if you take criticism personally. Former Novartis CEO Dan Vasella says to remember that criticism is not necessarily about you but the institution because "The CEO is the office, not an individual."

One of the best ways Karthik Ramanna, a professor at the University of Oxford, found to manage during "the age of rage" and division within society and companies was to invite her antagonist to talk over a piece of cake from a nearby shop. Ramanna would hear their case and ask to check in with them the next day, "And then they come back with maybe a more structured sense of what it is you can address about the problem."

Stress, fear and anxiety affect dairy cows' milk production, cows remember people and settings that have caused stress and research has found correlations between farm managers' mental health and herd fertility and longevity, says cows can remember people and settings that have caused stress, says dairy management specialist Amber Adams Progar. Farm workers should remember that cows walk slowly, can't see directly in front of or behind themselves and prefer to be guided gently without the use of a prod or stick, say Progar and dairy extension educator Jim Salfer.

With the offshore wind industry navigating some choppy seas as of late, Oliver Metcalfe, head of wind research at BloombergNEF, details the current state of the industry and what it can do to chart a course for sustained growth. On the global front, Metcalfe predicts Chinese manufacturers will expand into more markets. In the US, Metcalfe sees growth along the Atlantic Coast, but believes the industry will struggle in the Gulf of Mexico and on the West Coast.

As leaders, we (ideally) work to keep ourselves on an even emotional keel so we can be clear-headed and make the decisions that are best for everyone involved. Sometimes, though, our safeguards may fail us, and we end up in a situation where we feel triggered. We may land in one of those zones Mira Brancu writes about: Flight, fight, freeze or fawn.

To avoid allowing our triggers to rule us, Brancu recommends doing our work ahead of time, rooting out what triggers us emotionally. We can do that by journaling about experiences where we've been triggered in the past, practicing mindfulness and using breathing exercises that can calm our nerves.

Suppose you know you may be in a triggering situation. In that case, Brancu recommends scheduling difficult conversations when you're in a calmer state and using open-ended questions to buy yourself time to stay calm and perhaps uncover ways to collaborate more effectively with the person who triggers you.

I have used these tactics in the past and found they worked well. I recall being triggered during a conversation with a friend a few years ago, and as I felt my anger rise, I got curious, not just about why I was angry but about why he said what he said. I gently asked the open-ended questions, and within minutes, I was back to a calmer state because I had a deeper understanding of where he was coming from.

If you blow past your guardrails, though, the best thing you can do afterward is have compassion for yourself, apologize if need be, reflect and learn from the situation and set boundaries with those who seem to push your buttons constantly.

"Do not let your valuable time and energy be sucked up by energy drainers if you can avoid it," Brancu advises.

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