Member Article

How To Be A Woman In The Workplace

Annette Greenwood is a successfully established life coach. She works with women from all walks of life, and conducts the sessions face to face; on the phone or over Skype meaning her reach is far and wide.

In this column, Annette looks at the issues working women face, how they can be a woman in the workplace and what employers can do to support that.

“So, we’ve all been watching the news lately? Sexual harassment, especially in the work place, is really taking a front seat in the headlines.

“I say workplace because even if these things happened in the bright lights of Hollywood, the BBC studios, a financial office or a local bakery store, it is all one and the same – the women affected were just trying to do their jobs.

“Hashtags are also springing up causing controversy. #MeToo had men and women in bits all over the internet confessing experiences they had bottled up for years.

“As a life coach it is natural for me to look at this and ascertain what it is doing to society and how people, particularly women, should deal with this…. especially in the workplace. And it got me thinking that women need a guide on How To Be A Woman In the Workplace. Which made me think of my own branded hashtag #WOA (Women Overcoming Adversity) – it is much more positive and supportive, without women having to question if their experience is valid enough.

“This recent furore in the news has undoubtedly created a divide – like it or not, whilst all people (not just women) deserve to be treated with respect at home and where they work, men now understandably have a fear factor of checking appropriateness. And that’s as much an issue for women as men.

“Make no mistake men are feeling the heat in the workplace too. Many are frightened to be over friendly, make the lightest of touch or even pass natural jokes with female colleagues incase it is taken as a form of harassment. Women are now, understandably, questioning the validity of everything and over analysing incase they are being subjected to harassment.

“So we are all on a knife edge. It’s a real pickle and it is a very familiar case of everything being over heightened because of over awareness.

“So as a life coach I have two sets of advice – how to be a female employee; and what employers can do to be helping women in the workplace. The answer to both of these situations comes from one word: Acknowledgement.

“As a woman you need acknowledge your right to be there in the workplace, acknowledge it should not be a battle, acknowledge the great job you do and acknowledge, that as hard as you work and as good at your job you are, you will often be the one who the school calls if the child is ill. That’s life.

“Acknowledge and create your boundaries – with colleagues and at home. Acknowledge you are one person and a brilliant one at that. Talk. Breathe. And don’t think you have to be superwoman or suck it up. You certainly don’t have to smile through being uncomfortable with gritted teeth, but nor should you look for issues. Be yourself and acknowledge that you deserve to be treated in the best possible way a human can treat another. Then treat others that same way.

“As an employer, be you male or female, you have a great role to play in the positioning of the women in your business and employ. Acknowledgement is the greatest form of support and mutual respect, it creates the biggest form of equality you can imagine. Acknowledge all team members as individuals, not men and women. We all have warts and all have badges of honour, so acknowledge those too. Play to strengths and support individual’s areas needing improvement.

“The biggest acknowledgement you can make as an employer that will lead to success in the workplace is….. drum roll please …. to acknowledge that we all need help and support, a haven to turn to and an independent sounding board and it is, as an employer, your duty to provide that.

“This step, combined with positive action to back it up, will create an environment where the dark side of harassment and battle of the sexes simply can’t exist.

“A valued investment in a life coach to work with your team is always going to be a win-win situation. Life coaches are not there to hear complaints and moaning – they are there to allow employees to explore their emotions caused by work situations and create strategies to overcome issues. It is such a positive move in creating a strong team, as you are allowing people to be individual in what they feel.

“Life coaches in the workplace also help employees, particularly women, deal with issues outside of work too, such as menopausal issues or conflict in their home life, both of which affect performance.

“Last month was spent highlighting the levels of domestic violence in the UK – imagine if women had someone to turn to, somewhere as easy as work, to help. Not only would it reduce the incidents of harassment in the workplace, it would reduce domestic abuse, and create a feeling of loyalty from the team. Loyalty to each other and to you as an employer.

“As part of my advice columns, I am also encouraging as many employers and employees to use the hashtag #WOA, so they can publicly demonstrate their support in helping Women OverCome Adversity. Let’s join as one, close those divides and eradicate the question of How To Be A Woman In The Workplace!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Isobel .