Latest news with #officeenvironment
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Four Signs of a Man-Child In Plain Sight
From a former man-child. Immature men are insufferable. I used to be one—but I can at least chalk some of it up to youthful naivete and bravado. I had to be knocked down a few times to learn. There are many iterations of the man-child. The worst is the 40-year-old who still brags about his dank blue-lightning weed and how many shots he can take. Coincidentally, he's also the same dude who brags about getting laid the night before. These guys exist. Perhaps all need a reminder of conduct to rise above. Drawing perspective There is a direct correlation between the amount of time someone spends complaining about drama — and them causing the drama. They don't know when to stop. They feed energy into every problem. While a mature person moves past the issue, the man-brat digs into the issue. He 'Says what needs to be said.' My dad works in a big office environment. When there is a high-stress situation, he calms his team down by saying, 'Hey. Nobody is bleeding. We aren't being shot at. Nothing is on fire.' He speaks from experience. He fought in multiple wars as a SEAL, including the bloody Bosnian war. He lost soldiers in combat. It completely changed how he views the world. A mature person knows that at the end of the day, these aren't major problems. We'll all be able to go home. We'll still be able to see our mother or children. We'll live to fight another day. A voice for one set of ears Franz Kafka wrote, 'Most men are not wicked. Men become bad and guilty because they speak and act without foreseeing the results of their words and their deeds. They are sleepwalkers, not evildoers.' This perfectly describes the immature man. Just as a toddler innocently comments about how fat someone is, the man-child litters the world with his remarks. He gives no consideration to feelings besides his own. The hallmark is callous impulsiveness. He acts like a child snatching candy from someone else's Halloween bowl. Maturity means choosing restraint in the face of an easy chance to hurt someone's feelings. A kind person speaks difficult truths with love and caring. The man-child does not grasp that some words should remain unspoken. He is a fool. He does not see a world containing people with differing needs and vulnerabilities. Those that do, show character. They cement themself as being worthy of being in your life. Can you actually talk to this person? I've known people who saunter through life like a walking powder-keg. Even the softest and most well-intended feedback is liable to ignite a screaming match. One friend became a former friend for this very reason. If you quietly whispered that his fly was down, he reacted as if you'd announced he was a felon on the local news. Your ability to utilize criticism is the most effective performance-enhancing skill you can embrace. It can help you learn, grow, and become the opposite of the immature adult. I've found that my strongest reactions to criticism happen when a deep and buried part of me recognizes the criticism as being true. That — is the part of me that wanted to lash out. The trick is to step outside of yourself. Take a third-person view. Have a detached and welcoming curiosity about feedback. It will help pull you out of the kiddie pool of immaturity. It's just two simple words Humility and gratitude were important lessons in my childhood. If we made a mistake, we were held accountable. If you were wrong, you were expected to apologize. As I ventured into adulthood, I was struck by how many friends and girlfriends were totally incapable of apologizing. They just pointed fingers and deflected blame. When they did try to apologize, their lips quivered as if they were about to have a stroke, 's-s-sorr" and couldn't do it. For example, my ex had an anger problem. She broke one of my expensive Bluetooth speakers during a crazy fit. She literally spiked it like a football. Later, after things cooled down, I said, 'So, don't you think you owe me an apology? That was a bit over the top.' 'No.' I said, 'That's not fair. I have always apologized when I did something wrong.' 'That's you. Not me. I'm not apologizing.' I gave up. We didn't last. Thankfully. Sometimes people get halfway to an apology. Then they layer in, 'I'm sorry but—". The aforementioned girlfriend also hurt a family member's feelings and finally realized she needed to apologize. She wrote an email apology. I wish I'd never read it. It was the most backhanded apology you've ever read. The email was a lecture full of veiled insults. It made things worse. Their relationship was never the same. An inability to apologize is a sign of a number of things — but it's the signature attribute of an adult child. And based on how many articles I've read about narcissist ex-boyfriends, I suspect this is common in men too. Saying sorry isn't a display of weakness. It is an expression of strength through humility. There is nothing on this list that makes me crazier than non-apologizers. After that relationship, I vowed never to date another one. Recap for your memory: signs of a man child They spin a revolving list of complaints. They cause drama and feed into it. Yet turn around and complain about 'all the drama'. They can't take criticism of any type without blowing up. Everything is a reaction. Apologies are rare and when they arrive, it is done kicking and screaming. Any apology that includes a 'but' isn't a true apology. Solve the daily Crossword
Fast Company
28-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
The hidden impact of sunny days on office productivity
The days are getting longer, sunnier, and warmer in the western hemisphere. Those bright summer days have a bigger impact on the workforce and the physical office than you may think. The obvious ones are longer lunches and fewer people in the office due to vacations. Yet when everybody is in the office, there is one common human habit happening during the summer that is often overlooked. One that undermines employee productivity and increases a building's carbon emissions. The productivity killer? Sunshine. Not that anybody is against it, but when the sun is at its highest and hottest, sun glare and heat penetrating the glass panes in office buildings prompts employees to leave their desks. They either spill over into another area of the office, disrupting colleagues, or they leave. Meanwhile, the air conditioning continues to blast, cooling unoccupied areas, wasting energy, increasing operational costs, and elevating the building's CO2 emissions. Office insight reduces carbon emissions Since buildings account for almost 40% of the world's carbon emissions, with heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems being among the largest contributors, having insight into human behavior in the office can help reduce those emissions. This issue is not new, but the data to prove its impact on the workforce and planet has only been recently uncovered. For example, a global, well known Silicon Valley tech company took a closer look at how their workforce is using the office. Their goals were to improve collaboration, productivity, and energy efficiency. The company installed sensors that combine AI and body heat sensing technology to understand anonymous human movements in the office. At the large tech company, they aggregated 3-months' worth of office data and identified human occupancy patterns. The analysis led to specific recommendations to improve the company's office energy efficiency. Below are actual recommendations from the report: Weekday early mornings and evenings: Reduce HVAC setpoints before 8:00 a.m. and after 6:00 p.m., when saturation rates are consistently low. Midweek daytime control: Reduce airflow to 50% capacity outside of the following high-demand periods: Monday at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday and Wednesday between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., and Thursday between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. This data can also be used to make decisions about window shades, insulation, and lighting. Office layout impacts productivity Going beyond an understanding of how employees move around the office, the tech company was also able to infer actions and interactions among employees. Being able to visually depict human movements without identifying individuals provides genuine data into corporate culture and employee engagement. The actions are far more insightful than any feedback an employee survey could offer. For example, the frequency of impromptu meetings based on chair rollbacks. Also, seeing a cluster of humans congregating in the hallway for a short period of time, especially when the gathering is not held at the top of the hour or at the half hour. From a workforce perspective, office layouts also impact productivity and energy efficiency. This reality is not lost on employers and property managers as the latest JLL Global Office Fit Out Cost Guide 2025 reveals. The report cites an increased focus on in-office attendance, employee experience, and sustainability performance on investing in high quality workspaces. This explains why the average global office fit-out cost is increasing. Understand the workforce needs However, the latest design trends may not align with the workforce needs and/or reflect the corporate culture. For example, another insight the tech company gained from the sensors was that individuals were reserving conference rooms for themselves. This ties up meeting space for others and puts unnecessary demands on the HVAC system that is set to accommodate large groups. It is also an indicator that the open office layout increases noise levels and is not conducive to supporting focused work. You can gain a better understanding of how the workforce uses the office without compromising privacy. Aggregated data on occupancy, foot traffic, human interactions, and their impact on energy consumption can lead to more comfortable, productive, and energy-efficient offices. And having that knowledge before undertaking a costly office renovation can make a big difference in ensuring the building aligns with the needs of the workforce as opposed to making employees adjust to the confines of the office.
