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Author Archive for Sherri Rossi

The “Art” of Dealing with Stress – Part Deux

By Sherri Rossi · Comments (7)
Wednesday, October 24th, 2012

The last time we talked in my blog entitled “The Art of Dealing with Stress in a Stressful Time” I had mentioned that I had written the NKE Exam on May 5. Let’s fast forward to July 5, 2012 at 11:30am. The results of the NKE would be emailed to me in exactly 30 minutes. Talk about stress with a capital “STRESS”.  I was trying desperately to remain calm, work hard and forget that my fate for the upcoming months would be decided in exactly 30 minutes, 29, 28… Oh who am I kidding, I wanted to vomit! So instead, I kept my cookies down and took my own advice.

  1. I went for a walk outside, around the office building.
  2. I deeply breathed in the fresh air, looked at the beautiful greenery around me and,
  3. probably the most important of all, left my cell phone in my office.

When I got back to my office the email was awaiting me on my Blackberry. The results of which would decide if I a) could celebrate and enjoy my summer with my beautiful family or b) hunker down and start the long process of studying to re-write the NKE exam in October. So I bit the bullet and read the email. And re-read the email. And read it again. Wait a minute, did that say I passed? I PASSED! When the realization sunk in I did three things:

  1. I yelled “YAHOO!!!” in my office.
  2. Then I yelled “I PASSED!!!”, while jumping up and down, my arms in the air, also while still in my office.
  3. Then I called my amazing hubby (@rossimichael) and cried my eyes out.

In those tears was the release of knowing I didn’t have to study again. But also in those tears was the celebration of knowing I had achieved my goal! I had worked hard, managed my stress, my family and my work and had been successful. The outpouring of celebration I received from those around me was wonderful. But best of all was the celebration I had with my family and the fact that they were proud of me.  I had been a role model to my kids in proving that working hard and believing in yourself helps you to successfully achieve your goals.

I have since been able to use what I have learned in so many ways.  The way I see and deal with stress at work is different. The way I try to deal with stress at home is equally different. I have also been taking more time to smell the roses and enjoy every minute with my friends and family. I have also used my time wisely in preparing my Validation of Experience portion of the CHRP certification. It has taken me a while as I have been repeating all steps for four HR positions. I submitted the information as I was typing this. Stay tuned…I will update you on the progress and if I was successful in 6-8 weeks. Let another waiting game begin…

On October 15 of this year I sent up a little prayer to those who were writing the exam. That they remembered what they had studied, that the questions made sense. That they felt they had accomplished a huge feat. Most of all that, when they finished they took a deep breath and were met with a huge hug from someone they care about (or a fellow exam writer, whichever is closer!). I hope they all did well and I also hope they have learned that they can accomplish anything they set their mind to.

Please take a moment and let me know what you have done to deal with your stress today. What are you grateful for today? What have you learned today? Oh, and take a moment to smell the roses (or your kids’ stinky feet, if you wish). This moment will never happen again.

Comments (7)
Categories : CHRP, Guest Contributors, HRPA, Human Resources, Stress Management

The “ART” of Dealing with Stress in a Stressful Time!

By Sherri Rossi · Comments (5)
Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Let’s get something straight, I am not a talented artist. Don’t get me wrong, I can draw a mean stick figure but that’s about it. So let’s relate that to how successful I have been with the “ART” of dealing with stress in a stressful time.

I should start off by telling you about my life over the last year. At the end of August 2011, Bonni Titgemeyer and I thought it would be a great idea for me to pursue the CHRP designation. Due to the fact that I earned my Human Resources Management certificate in California (Ahhh, the beaches, the palm trees, but I digress), I had to take some additional courses at Sheridan College. The total number of courses I completed between September and April….drum roll please… 6!!! That’s right, I said 6 courses. Each semester I took one in class, one online and completed a challenge exam at the HRPA. Plus I worked 3 days a week. Plus I have 2 kids (one of which is a competitive dancer) and a loving husband. (Thank you for your support Mike. And Bonni is happy that you still like her!). All the while I was trying to maintain my sanity amidst the assignments, textbooks, exams and, finally the NKE exam which I wrote on May 5. (That, my friends, was the exact opposite of FUN!).

During all this, Bonni and I were extremely busy with multiple projects which forced me to squeeze in the required reading and studying when I could manage it. My hubby helped a lot by providing me with some time to study and finish my assignments. There were a lot of late nights and, I’m not gonna lie, a few tears.

I found these next 10 techniques useful in managing my stress:

  1. Set realistic goals – if they are unrealistic your stress becomes multiplied.
  2. Delegate tasks to others (like house cleaning!)
  3. Take a break when you need it.
  4. Go for a walk and enjoy nature.
  5. Write your worries down and scratch off the ones you cannot control.
  6. Do some deep breathing.
  7. Meditate – who am I kidding – I couldn’t stop THINKING!!!
  8. Do something totally unexpected.
  9. LAUGH!
  10. Take Control!

Over the last year I have also learned a few things:

  1. When all else is said and done, family and friends count the most.
  2. It is ok to say “no” to things I cannot manage.
  3. Although I thought my schedule was super busy before, I managed to squeeze everything else in and still get everything done (and maintain an A average!). We are stronger than we think!
  4. Children bring a smile and a happy heart – most of the time, anyways.
  5. In my situation, balance in life seemed unachievable, but with practice I figured it out.
  6. When school ended, I felt that my accomplishment was much bigger than I originally thought it would be!
  7. Flexibility in life is just as important as organization.
  8. Although I have always been a bit of a book nerd, my approach to studying has matured over the years and I am very grateful for that! But don’t ask me to do it over right now…or ever again.
  9. Life is great, especially when you appreciate everyone in it!

What would I do differently next time? Knowing me like I do, probably nothing! I deal with stress how I deal with it and I think, overall, I did ok.

What are some techniques you have used to deal with stress? Take a minute to jot them down (and feel free to leave a comment!)

Remember, when life hands you a bowl of lemons, make lemonade. Just remember to share it with your family and friends because they will always be right by your side waiting for a cup.

 

 

Comments (5)
Categories : Certification, Guest Contributors, Human Resources, Life, Stress
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Social Media and Mobile Boundaries – A Fine Line Between Right and Not-So-Right

By Sherri Rossi · Comments (0)
Thursday, April 12th, 2012

About a week ago I was using the public restroom at our office and the lady in the stall beside me was talking on her cell phone while using the restroom. I was so confused, I didn’t know if I was allowed to flush the toilet or wait in there until she was finished her conversation. (So, just for fun, I flushed about 6 times, but that’s beside the point).

People have allowed their boundaries of acceptable mobile behavior to be blurred. Just because your phone is “mobile” doesn’t mean it must go everywhere with you (the bathroom, under your pillow, etc.) And people don’t want to carry on a conversation with you while you are in the bathroom so let’s go back to the times before social media and smart phones were prevalent in the workplace and the world at large. This may take some effort…

I started working with Social Media for business purposes in 2009 and oh what a different social time it was! For a long time, I heard employers express the fact that Social Media was not going to exist for long so it was nothing to worry about in the workplace. The progression then became that Social Media was nothing but a deterrent from work and must be banned from the workplace. Currently, employers are becoming aware of the fact that Social Media will most likely live a long life in business and if you can’t beat it, join it (mostly because your employees are using social media on their mobile devices whether you like it or not!).

But when social media is available in the workplace, one must carefully develop a Social Media Policy that takes into account the methods in which employees can use social media, as well as a list of topics they can and cannot discuss online. Care must also be taken in deciding who manages your social reputation – interns need not apply! Although we think common sense should reign supreme, we have seen many instances in which stupidity was far superior. What is said on the web, stays on the web FOREVER (do me a favor and click here – I am sure Nicholas Cage expected these commercials to be seen only in Japan ). So, although we could talk safety and smarts regarding what we put out there on the web, sometimes emotions take over and our fingers type faster than our brains can tell us to STOP AND THINK!

Recently in the news there has been much talk about employers in States such as Illinois and Maryland who have requested Facebook passwords from their applicants in the interview process. Luckily, in Canada, we have privacy laws and privacy commissioners that stand between our privacy rights and our interviewers. Although employers are more than welcome to surf the web for information that exists publicly on the web, they cannot ask us to hand over the keys to our house, so to speak.

That being said, employees must also step back and take a clear look at when using Social Media and mobile devices in the workplace become an infringement on your working time. Texting with your hunny all day is not a good use of company time, and neither is Facebooking about the party last weekend at which you got plastered. Although workplaces are allowing us to be more digitally social in the workplace, we must still use ethical judgment in regards to workplace behavior in every instance.

And for goodness sake, please stop and think before you bring your cell phone into the bathroom. It’s just gross and, if the toilet beside you flushes 6 times, it was probably me!

 

Comments (0)
Categories : Guest Contributors, Human Resources, Humour, Mobile Devices, Policies, Social Media

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