Self-regulation can affect an employee’s workplace experience, as it directly impacts the ability to focus and overall productivity.
Workplace self-regulation is the development of skills and strategies that help manage one’s behaviour in the working environment, with the goal of ensuring productivity and long-term success.
Characteristics of workplace self-regulation include acknowledging your feelings, setting aside distractions, and establishing goals. Working on self-regulation skills enables employees to better focus, meet deadlines and manage stress, even in high-pressure situations.
So, how can you work on your self-regulation skills, for personal and professional development?
Be mindful
If you find yourself distracted at work by feelings of anxiety, worry, sadness or just general boredom, it can be difficult to persevere with the task at hand and you may even respond disproportionately to workplace stressors.
Shoving negative feelings into the back of your mind, without dealing with or acknowledging them, can cause you to be more reactive than you would like. Research suggests breathing exercises and personal mantras can help give you a sense of clarity.
So, next time you find yourself struggling to get on top of your feelings in the workplace, just pause, take a minute to ask yourself why you are feeling this way and what can be done. After your breather, once your mind feels clearer, refocus your attention to your work.
By being mindful of your feelings, acknowledging them and accepting that they are there, you may find that you are better able to respond to workplace situations.
Stress management
Building up self-regulatory skills can embolden employees, making them resilient and better able to tackle workplace challenges. Stress in the workplace can be the death of productivity as it can render individuals and entire teams redundant.
Adopting strong stress management skills as part of your self-regulation journey is crucial. This starts with recognising that a project or task is likely to be stress-inducing and should therefore be broken down into segments. Make sure you communicate effectively with your team and clarify that you are there to offer, as well as accept, support.
Much like the aforementioned mindfulness requirement, the key to managing stress is acknowledging its existence and putting in place the internal and external structures needed to navigate it successfully.
Team building
Emotional intelligence is strongly linked with self-regulation as the process depends on an ability to identify and tailor emotional reactions to the scenario that you are in. Working on soft skills such as active listening, conflict resolution, communication and problem-solving can help you navigate awkward workplace dynamics, as well as further establish yourself within a team.
Self-regulation is a set of strategies designed not only to set you up as a reliable and professional employee, but also to empower you to meet your personal targets and progress career-wise. Team building and the cultivation of a connected network of peers is crucial to this.
Establish a routine
Creating a daily routine and sticking to it is a great way of structuring your time and your thoughts, as you move from point A to point B with a singular goal in mind. By establishing a routine, you lessen the risk of becoming overwhelmed by work and you may find that you are less distracted and more productive.
By working on being consistent, predictable, accountable and organised, employees can further develop the skills that lend themselves to improved self-regulation. Building a routine and sticking to it takes discipline and practice, so keep at it and don’t be too hard on yourself if you deviate now and then.
You should also try and incorporate exercise into your workday schedule, as it has been known to have positive effects such as increased social activity, improved quality of sleep, better memory and a range of physical and mental health benefits.
Ultimately, workplace self-regulation is a system that requires you to acknowledge your feelings and behaviours, evaluate the results and reinforce the positive outcomes to ensure the same response next time around.
It’s not about overly controlling, restricting or monitoring your actions, rather, it is the building of strategies and skills to help you further align yourself with your own goals, ensuring you are on the right career track and what better place to practise and develop your self-regulation skills than in the workplace?
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