India’s unemployment numbers cross 120 million in April

According to the new CIME data, India's unemployment figures are four times that of the US.

India's unemployment rate is now at a record high of 27.1 percent, according to the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE).

The new data shows India's unemployment figures are four times that of the US.

The country has been in lockdown since 25 March to curb Covid-19 infections, causing mass layoffs and heavy job losses.

Unemployment hit 23.5 percent in April, a sharp spike from 8.7 percent in March. This is attributed to the lockdown, which brought most economic activity - except essential services such as hospitals, pharmacies and food supplies - to a standstill. 

Large companies across various sectors - media, aviation, retail, hospitality, automobiles - have announced massive layoffs in recent weeks. And experts predict that many small and medium businesses are likely to shut shop altogether.

 A closer look at CMIE’s data shows the devastating effect the lockdown has had on India's organized economy.

Of the 122 million who have lost their jobs, 91.3 MN were small traders and laborers. But a fairly significant number of salaried workers - 17.8 million - and self-employed people - 18.2 million - have also lost work.

As of the end of April, Puducherry in South India had the highest unemployment at 75.8 percent, followed by neighboring Tamil Nadu 49.8 percent, Jharkhand 47.1 percent and Bihar 46.6 percent.

Maharashtra’s unemployment rate was pegged at 20.9 percent by the CMIE, while the same for Haryana stood at 43.2 percent, Uttar Pradesh at 21.5 percent and Karnataka at 29.8 percent.

Hilly States had the lowest incidence of unemployment as of April, the think tank said, pointing out that the rate in Himachal Pradesh stood at 2.2 percent, Sikkim at 2.3% and Uttarakhand at 6.5 percent.

The lockdown is slated to end on 17 May but some states have extended it further, with no clear indication as to when the country as a whole might emerge from the lockdown.

Experts are also worried because India had entered the lockdown with already high unemployment levels. At 8.7 percent, the rate was already at a 43-month high, up from just 3.4 percent in July 2017, according to CMIE.

Source: People Matters 07 May, 2020

Starting a New Job — Remotely

Despite the unprecedented numbers of people filing for unemployment, the job market hasn’t come to a complete halt. There are companies who are still hiring and many who were in the process of interviewing when social distancing measures went into effect.

If you’re lucky enough to be starting a job during this time, you face an interesting challenge. You may find yourself starting your new job from home. And the chances are good that your new employer’s onboarding process was not designed for that situation and adapting that process is unlikely to be their top priority during this crisis.

You should always be proactive in getting acclimated to a new role but when you won’t work side-by-side your new colleagues for the foreseeable future, it’s especially imperative that you take an active approach to getting up to speed. Here are five things you can do to fill the gaps and minimize the bumps as you transition into the new job.

Schedule a lot of brief check-ins with colleagues

One of the hardest things about starting with a new company is that each organization has a culture of its own. And that culture is often made up of unspoken goals and norms and is often wrapped up in a unique language that members of your new team have already learned to speak with ease. In my consulting work, I’ve often been baffled by terms that employees regularly use inside companies but have no meaning outside it.

You learn these subtle aspects of the workplace through everyday interactions with colleagues, hearing conversations and having discussions about what other people are working on. You pick up on workplace jargon and you surmise from these conversations what activities are valued and what styles of work are appreciated.

Under normal circumstances, these interactions are a natural part of being in the office. Now, you’re going to have to manufacture them. Reach out to your new colleagues and set up quick 10- to 15-minute one-on-one discussions. These can be by phone or video and shouldn’t be one-offs. Try to meet with your colleagues regularly to mimic the short, informal interactions you’d have in person. Use these conversations as a chance to ask questions you may have about your current projects, but make sure to ask people what they are working on too so they have a chance to describe their work. Pay attention to any implicit statements about what they think is most important.

Rapidly assemble your mentoring team

Throughout your career, you need a team of people who will mentor you. There are two types of mentors who are particularly important inside your current company. The first is someone who knows how things get done in the firm and who can help you to navigate the variety of procedures that you have to go through to do everything from getting reimbursed for expenses to accessing equipment. The second is a person who is well connected throughout the organization and can introduce you to people you need to know.

Ordinarily, you can afford to develop these relationships slowly. When you start working for a company remotely, though, you want to identify initial candidates to play these roles for you as quickly as possible. You can’t just make your way around the office finding colleagues you know who might point you in the right direction. Instead, your requests are likely to involve emails or queries on Slack, and those responses can be slow. If you put some good mentors in place quickly you make it easier to be productive quickly.

However, don’t feel like you have to commit to having these people as mentors throughout your tenure at the company. The downside to choosing quickly is that you may settle on someone who is available but not the perfect fit. As you get to know the organization better, you may choose to reach out to other people to be your guides. But, having someone early on is better than having nobody.

Announce yourself as new

When you start a job in an office, people tend to notice when they see a new face around. And under normal circumstances, you can expect people to introduce themselves and even offer help.

That is not going to happen when you’re the new person in the virtual office. Ideally, your new manager will introduce you but you’ll likely “meet” many of your new colleagues as one of a sea of faces in a virtual meeting. That means you need to be more explicit about announcing yourself as the new person in the office. If there is a team meeting, see if you can get a moment to introduce yourself. But, also let people know you’re the new person in forums like Slack and by sending some brief emails to other people in your unit. That may be hard if you don’t like to call attention to yourself. But, you want to let folks know that you’re new and that you would appreciate their help in getting settled. Many of your colleagues would like to welcome you, they just need more explicit reminders to do so than they might otherwise.

Ask for help

In the office, colleagues often pick up on a quizzical facial expression or tone of voice and may offer assistance in they think you need it. On video and phone meetings, it’ll be hard for people to see if you are confused or not keeping up. As a rule, when there is something you need, say so.

You might be worried that your colleagues won’t want to help. After all, everyone has a lot already going on. Quite a bit of research by Vanessa Bohns and her colleagues suggests that people are often much more willing to help than you believe they will be. So, don’t wait for offers of assistance. Ask for what you need.

Keep a daily diary

When you’re in the office, it’s easy to take care of problems as they arise. You can often just get up from your desk and find someone to help you solve it. When you’re working at home, if you dash off an email or a note on Slack asking for an answer, your request may get lost in the noise. And if it’s a small issue, you may even forget to follow up.

So end each day by going back through your schedule and making some notes about how things went. Write down the tasks you accomplished and also the obstacles you faced. If there are particular issues that are still unresolved, highlight them. Then when you have your next meeting with a supervisor or colleague, raise those issues and ask for their perspective.

Your memory for what happens each day is strongest around things that are compatible with your general script about how work is supposed to go. That means that you are least likely to remember the novel aspects of your new workplace — which are precisely the elements that you need the most help with. Writing down the events of your day while they are still fresh in your mind is a great way to overcome this bias.

It’s never easy being the new person on a team and the current situation certainly makes it tougher. But by being proactive you can more smoothly acclimate to the new team and organization and prove your value more quickly.

Source: HBR 04 May, 2020

 

10 Success-Boosting Motivation Tips From Millionaire Entrepreneurs

Motivation is a daily struggle for entrepreneurs, so I’ve put together these motivation-boosting tips from 10 of today’s successful entrepreneurs.

1. Fear of failure.

In an article that he wrote for Bloomberg, Mark Cuban stated that he uses the fear of failure for self-motivation.

“No matter what business you’re in, you’re always at risk -- particularly in technology, where it changes so rapidly you’ve got to put in the effort to keep up,” writes the Shark Tank panel member. “There’s always the opportunity for some 18-year-old to come out of nowhere and crush you—that motivates the hell out of me.”

“Every one of my companies, whether something I started or something I invested in, is a scoreboard. How am I doing? A lot of investors or advisers play it as a numbers game.”

“If they invest in 20 companies, as long as one success covers 19 losses, they did OK. I look at every loss as a huge failure. I had an investment go bad recently. I lost $1.5 million on it. It pisses me off to no end."

Failed at something? Ask these Mark Cuban questions.

"You can also use it as motivation. What did I do wrong? Who did I trust that I shouldn’t trust? What can I learn from this situation so I can avoid it next time?”

2. Do what you’re passionate for.

This is the key. However, as Chalmers Brown, co-founder and CTO of Due writes, “We want to not only make a lot of money but enjoy what we do as well. We are willing to take on the risk of unstable pay in exchange for following our dreams.”

“Unfortunately, your dream job may not always be the best decision financially. Sometimes your hobbies are best kept as projects in your spare time for fun (which is great!). If you do want to try to turn your passion into a full-time job, these tips can help you get started the right way.”

Brown gives the tips below:

Improve something that you’re already doing.

Figuring out where market.

Sharing your passion with others.

Stay happy and motivated by assigning tasks that you’re not a fan of to someone else.

3. Keep affirmations where you can see them.

“It’s so easy as an entrepreneur to get sucked into feeling exhausted or frustrated, and often the blame is yours alone,” writes Murray Newlands, founder of online invoicing company Sighted. “But a negative mindset sucks up mental bandwidth and energy that you need to stay focused and successful.

"It is crucial to maintain an optimistic attitude in the face of setbacks. Whenever you see a quote or a picture that helps you stay positive, place it front and center so you can remember what this journey is all about.”

4. Leverage the power of rejection.

“On June 26, 2008, our friend Michael Seibel introduced us to seven prominent investors in Silicon Valley. We were attempting to raise $150,000 at a $1.5M valuation. That means for $150,000 you could have bought 10 percent of Airbnb."

"Below you will see five rejections. The other two did not reply,” writes Airbnb Co-Founder Brian Chesky on Medium. “The investors that rejected us were smart people, and I am sure we didn’t look very impressive at the time.”

Today Airbnb is valued at just under $30 billion.

5. Surround yourself with highly successful and motivated people.

"No one does it alone," said Mark Zuckerberg during a Q&A in 2016. "When you look at most big things that get done in the world, they're not done by one person, so you're going to need to build a team."

When building your All-Star team, seek out people who excel in the areas where you’re not strong or have less experience. "You're going to need people that have complementary skills," Zuckerberg emphasized. "No matter how talented you are, there are just going to be things that you don't bring to the table."

6. Never feel sorry yourself.

“All of my best successes came on the heels of a failure, so I’ve learned to look at each belly flop as the beginning of something good,” said Barbara Corcoran, founder of The Corcoran Group and Shark on Shark Tank.

“If you just hang in there, you’ll find that something is right around the corner. It’s that belief that keeps me motivated. I’ve learned not to feel sorry for myself, ever. Just five minutes of feeling sorry for yourself takes your power away and makes you unable to see the next opportunity.”

7. Look for inspiration.

Inspiration is a driving force that you can use to motivate you. Lyft Co-Founder Jordan Zimmerman said that, “Right now, my daughter is a huge inspiration. Thinking about the future of our cities, the world and what environment she’s going to grow up in.”

“Also, the driver and passenger stories we hear every day. In a past team meeting, we had a mother come in and tell the story herself. She is a Lyft driver living in New York and her daughter is in Los Angeles.

"The daughter was going through a rough living situation with a roommate and had to leave and move into a new place. The mother called a Lyft for her daughter, had a quick conversation with the driver and the driver took care of her daughter in this tough situation.”

“These stories inspire us to think how we can make things more efficient and create a platform for two people to have a really positive interaction?”

8. Don’t obsess over your vision.

Yes. Think about your vision. But don’t spend too much time over it or it will bog you down. Elon Musk, for example, only spends around 30 minutes a week on his vision of SpaceX colonizing Mars. Besides those 30 minutes, Musk spends a majority of his time focused on the milestones that are the most immediate and critical.

9. Be grateful.

“Most of the time when people ask me about motivation, 80 percent of the time I attribute it to gratitude. If you want real fuel to win, be grateful,” writes Gary Vaynerchuk.

“Gratitude is what has gotten me through my toughest moments in business. Whenever I have lost a deal to a competitor, or an incredible employee, or millions of dollars in revenue, I default to gratitude. It’s impossible not to stay motivated or get too down when you’re feeling grateful.”

10. Forget about motivation.

“So many people wait to feel ‘motivated’ before they do anything. Here’s a newsflash: happy productive people do not wait for motivation, they just get on with it,'' said Marie Forleo. I suggest that you watch the entire video where Marie shares her tips for motivation. It’s spot-on.

Source: Entrepreneur India

The Difference Between Inspiration and Motivation

When it comes to getting employees to do their best work, good managers often adopt the role of a coach. They know that achieving the best results from their team members requires having someone who leads by example and provides the resources to help them do their best. As a result, many managers focus on inspiring and motivating their employees. There’s just one problem with this: Far too many assume that inspiration and motivation are essentially the same thing. Well, they aren’t. And knowing which how to leverage what makes them distinct can lead to a better chance of achieving long-term successful outcomes for your team.

Should You Master Motivation?

Motivation is consistently cited as one of the most important tools managers have for improving employee productivity. Providing external forces that encourage employees to give their best effort can make a significant difference in the workplace. Many motivating factors rely on some sort of reward. For example, a survey from Leadership Management Australia found that 79 percent of employees felt that training and career development opportunities were either “quite” or “very” important in motivating them to stay with their current company. In this case, the potential for career advancement was a powerful external motivating factor. Similarly, reward systems and recognition are often used to encourage greater productivity, while also improving retention and workplace happiness.

As Kristen Hamlin notes in a blog post for Chron, “Employers are better served to focus on rewarding employees for their actions rather than threatening punishment if they want to motivate them. Promising rewards for specific actions triggers the ‘go’ response that gets people to act. Trying to scare people into action via threats about the bad things that are going to happen if they don’t act is likely to create more fear and anxiety, which can thwart action.”

Innovation With Inspiration

While using external motivation can improve productivity and retention, quite often, these bonuses are only temporary. As soon as an employee feels they have advanced their career as far as possible within your organization, they become likelier to jump ship. To foster lasting engagement, you must do more than motivate. You must inspire.

So how does inspiration differ from motivation? A recent email conversation with Sam Taggart, founder of The D2D Experts, went a long way in clarifying the crucial differences for me. “Motivation is a push factor," he explained. "It’s an outside force that is compelling you to take action, even if you don’t necessarily want to. Inspiration, on the other hand, is more of a pull or driving force. It’s something that comes from within that gets us to proactively give our best effort. When someone is inspired, they’re with you for the long haul.”

Inspirational leadership focuses on each individual employee, while also placing great emphasis on the company’s mission and values. Inspiring managers communicate and live the company values in each interaction with an employee. They emphasize how the team’s work is making a positive impact in the world. Inspiring leaders clearly communicate expectations and pay attention to the needs of their employees. They get to know their team members on a more personal level so that their words and actions carry greater weight for those they lead. A focus on inspirational leadership helps change an employee’s internal mindset. Motivation starts to come from within as they understand how their contribution makes a difference.

Research from the American Psychological Association reveals that finding meaning in one’s work is ultimately a far greater predictor of engagement, satisfaction, career growth and decreased absenteeism than any other factor. This was even true of “undesirable” industries, such as sanitation.

Where Do Managers Need to Focus?

In reality, your greatest leadership successes won’t come by focusing exclusively on inspiration or motivation. You will need to use both to foster a successful team environment. For example, a survey from LinkedIn identified both motivating and inspirational factors as being extremely important in creating a sense of belonging among employees. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed wanted to be recognized for their accomplishments, while 46 percent wanted to feel like their company cared about them as an individual.

Ultimately, both motivation and inspiration will help your employees be happier and more satisfied with their work environment. A study by the Social Market Foundation and the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy found that happy workers enjoyed productivity rates 12 to 20 percent greater than a control group.

In an economy where even single-digit percentage boosts in revenue or productivity are considered a big deal, it’s clear that creating a workplace where your employees can truly thrive will have a lasting impact on your company’s profitability. Which motivating and inspirational factors you should use will likely vary from person to person. Some people respond better to motivating factors, while others will buy in completely with inspirational leadership. You must get to know your team as individuals to effectively motivate and inspire based on their individual needs.

While motivation is a good start, the most effective way to lead your team is when motivation is combined with inspiration. When you’re able to help support internal change, your team will become more driven to give their best effort and buy into your company’s vision and mission. It’s time to start inspiring and motivating your team. 

Source: Entrepreneur India