Tag: deal with it

Categories
Deal with it

A helpline for frazzled parents in Mumbai

This unique initiative aims to provide counselling for parents of 2 to 12-year-old children and discuss solutions to behavioural issues.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Raising children in today’s world is nothing short of a challenge. With children more and more entranced by technology and drifting away from their parents, it is becoming impossible to find out if one’s child is battling some private issues or if he needs help in any way.

That’s where a new pilot project aimed at helping such harried parents in Mumbai comes in.

Parisar Asha is a 33 year non-profit registered public trust committed to serve children through a unique learning approach ‘ESAL’- The Environmental Studies Approach to Learning. It was founded by the late Gloria de Souza, an Ashoka fellow with a mission to provide a joyful, holistic and child-centric environment-based quality education to empower children to be creative, sensitive and successful global citizens.

After working in the field of education for the past 33 years, Parisar Asha has realised that parents are also an integral part of the school space and it is also important to look into their well-being for the sustainability of the mission. Numerous close encounters with the parents have helped certain common problems come to the fore, oftne expressed in such terms as “I don’t know how to handle my child”, “I get a lot of complaints from the teacher about his non-performance in the class”, “It is always a tussle to meet our needs but still understanding the importance of education, I somehow manage my resources to send him to a good tuition class”.

These are few of the examples of parental woes that Parisar Asha’s CEO Aarati Savur talks about. She says the list is endless. “So we decided to extend support for these troubled parents by providing them with a helping friend who is always a call away. This will help resolve their problems and provide them with solutions. This unique initiative is known as ‘Positive Parent Helpline’. This is a pilot project, in which Parisar Asha’s expert counsellors provide free and confidential telephonic solutions to all child related issues between 2 to 12 years.

Abnormal behaviour has become a common phenomenon among children who are reared in normal family conditions and this is causing panic among parents. Continuous interaction with children and parents have led counsellors to deduce that often parents’ behaviour towards their children determine the children’s behaviour.   Additionally, environment plays an important part in moulding an individual’s behaviour and one’s personality gets carved based on his/her interaction with his/her physical, social and emotional environment.

The ‘ Positive Parenting Helpline’ is a free and confidential online and telephonic service which can be availed by parents to seek help for their children between age group 2 to 12 years. This service is available between Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm. Parents can call or send an sms at 8828233443. All queries will be resolved by expert counsellors. Parents can also email their queries at info@parisarasha.org / pahelpline@gmail.com

(Picture courtesy ldforumforschools.in. Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Deal with it

How to be a good colleague

Being a good colleague at office has a positive effect on everyone around you, and by extension, the higher ups.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

We have all experienced the effects of obnoxious colleagues. They are rude, brash, uncivilised, miserly and rarely say a good word about anyone. In contrast, we also hold a special place in our hearts for those who are the exact opposite – sincere, affectionate, humorous, and compassionate. Everybody wants to have a good office colleague who can, in time, even become a good friend. But how many of us are able to achieve this level of ‘goodness’?

It is not that difficult to be a good office colleague; fundamentally, it is possible only if you are a decent human being to be a decent colleague, or else you will just come off as insincere and pretentious. Here’s how you start:

Be a team player. We are all employed to do a certain job and earn our salaries. However, it doesn’t help to be so rigid in our thinking at work. We must certainly finish our daily tasks first, but isn’t it nice if somebody asks if we need help when we are lagging behind? Be sincere in offering assistance or taking on someone’s workload if you have finished your own work and have time to kill. If nothing else, help a team that is racing to finish work against a deadline by getting them coffee and snacks at their desks so that they don’t have to interrupt their work. It is nice to help others without an ulterior motive – it puts you in a good frame of mind and your colleagues will love you for being supportive in times of need.

Be generous with your time and resources. Nobody likes a stingy colleague, who doesn’t contribute money for a common cause (such as helping out a colleague who has met with an accident or to get a present for somebody). People also hate those who never pitch in to buy the occasional treat for the office, but who line up to partake of the feast. If you are unable to contribute money for some reason, contribute your time. Volunteer to put up the decorations, or write out messages, or coordinate a small party. The key is to become a part of the team, not remain aloof.

Don’t claim credit for a team project. It may happen that you pitched an idea or gave an input that ultimately helped a project get on the right track. When the project finally succeeds, you should never remind anyone that it was your good idea that helped the process. Be modest when others compliment you on your talent and skills, but don’t jump in and agree with what the others say. The less you say about your own achievements, the more people will appreciate you for your modesty.

Plan new things for the group to do. We all lead very stressed lives, with most of us spending a majority of our waking hours in the office. In this situation, it is very important for each of us de-stress. If not daily, there should at least be a weekly activity that helps the office relax and laugh. If the office doesn’t follow a policy of regular team lunches or movie outings, initiate an activity that everybody will appreciate. Plan a film outing on a Friday evening, or an impromptu snacks and soft drinks party. If nothing else, keep an hour aside after lunch and play some really silly games that everybody will love participating in. People naturally gravitate towards bonding activities, and they will appreciate you for bringing a much needed stress-buster in the office.

Always take the high road. This is easier said than done, but it has huge long-term implications. If your boss yells at you in front of everyone, don’t argue but don’t be apologetic about his or her bad behaviour. Tell them calmly that you would like to revisit the issue once he or she has calmed down, and not before. This may shame the person into behaving better next time, and they might grudgingly even admit that you handled the situation with poise and maturity. The same applies to fights with colleagues. Sometimes, you may even argue with your best friend at work, but don’t engage in shouting matches and arguments in front of the others; but take it outside in a neutral environment. If somebody sends you a string of nasty or threatening messages or emails, do not respond to them till you are certain you can handle the situation in a mature way. Think twice before reporting somebody to the management – remember that obnoxious behaviour is sometimes just a cry for attention and can be swiftly tackled with understanding and firmness.

(Picture courtesy www.pamper.co.in. Image is used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Deal with it

City police chief unveils security gadget for women journos

Zicom has created an alert that the user can press, generating real time location info and photos that will be immediately analysed.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Women journalists face many threats in the line of duty. Added to the list of late nights, rounds of courts and police stations, going to unsafe places to report a news item is the threat of predators. In the recent past, there have been incidents of women journalists in Mumbai being targeted and attacked while on duty.

The electronics security company Zicom has now launched a security alert system, Ziman, that acts like a ‘personal bodyguard’. The device was launched at the hands of Mumbai Police chief Javed Ahmed in the city yesterday.

Explaining the need for the device, Zicom’s Managing Director Pramoud Rao said, “The job of a journalist is really commendable. They accept great risk to unravel the truth and get the story for people. But they need to travel at odd hours and go to unsafe places to cover a story, which puts their life at risk. There have been several unfortunate incidents of attacks on in the recent past. The device gets to work when there is a risk. All the journalist needs to do is trigger the alert installed in her mobile phone and our response team gets in action.”

When the trigger is activated, the mobile phone starts sending pictures and videos to the Zicom Command Centre which is immediately analysed. “We alert the family at once and even contact the authorities and the emergency services if needed,” Rao adds.

Javed Ahmed added, “On several occasions, even if we catch the culprits, there is no proof against them. With this device, the pictures and videos of the attack taking place are immediately captured. Not only can the attack be prevented but immediate action can also be taken.

Categories
Deal with it

Resolution for Diwali: Stop preparing for imaginary guests

We have so many items stashed away for ‘when guests will come’ that we have forgotten to enjoy our own possessions.
Pooja Birwatkarby Dr Pooja Birwatkar

The pre Diwali mood has already set in all over the city. Everyone is busy sprucing up their homes, cleaning out their wardrobes, throwing out broken items and washing their curtains.

Cleaning is therapeutic for many of us. It is an amusing activity that makes us see how much stuff we have hoarded all year, how many items we had misplaced and overlooked. Diwali cleaning is especially disturbing to those who are compulsive hoarders. Most of us cannot resist sales and bargains, where we buy things in bulk and never even use them.

We also have a strange habit of buying things and then packing them away for ‘future use’. Be it beautiful crockery, bed sheets, towels, carpets, glassware, perfumes, silverware…we don’t use them, but preserve them. Rooted deep in our psyche is the philosophy that all expensive items must be used only for special occasions, when guests arrive. This means that we wait our entire lives for ‘important guests’ to arrive and give us the chance to use our cherished possessions. In the meantime, we sleep on ragged linen, eat in old plates, drink juice in steel containers and use threadbare towels…despite all the excellent stuff we have hidden away, unused.

Then Diwali comes and we realise that our expensive leather bags have wrinkled away, we are too large to fit into that costly dress, mould has gotten into the bedsheets we bought. Life has passed us by while we waited for people to show up.

Our desire to show off to our guests stops us from living for ourselves. We spend all our lives working hard – what stops us from enjoying the fruit of our labour? We base our entire lives on how people will perceive us, and so our material possessions define our reality. If you think about it, our houses in Mumbai are not even large enough to accommodate guests. The guests themselves are too busy to notice that they are wiping their faces on expensive towels or sleeping on silk sheets.

This Diwali, let’s pledge to use all the things we have stacked away. Give away the things that you have not used for over six months. The next time your child wants juice, unpack that beautiful glass tumbler. If you want, unwrap those new sheets when you make your bed today.

Let’s celebrate Diwali for ourselves first.

(Picture courtesy blog.at-home.co.in. Image is used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Deal with it

How to make a good impression at work

You don’t need to suck up to the boss. Healthy work habits, promptness and good manners will get you far.
by Reyna Mathur

Shashwati Agarwal (33) vividly remembers her first job at a magazine office in Bangalore. “As an editorial assistant, I had to ensure that all functions in the office happened smoothly, nobody’s work got held up due to scheduling mistakes, all advertisement dummies came in at the right time. I was also in charge of ensuring smooth production.” She says the biggest compliment came from her boss, who called her when Shashwati was on a month-long break owing to an illness. “My boss said, ‘We can’t handle this without you. Please come back soon!’” she laughs.

All of us crave for approval and confirmation that we are doing our jobs so right that the office will suffer if we are not there. But the practical reality is that nobody is indispensable at the workplace – if you quit today, the office will simply replace you and work will go on as before. However, there are always a few employees who are so impressive at the office that when they decide to quit, the management normally tries to talk them out of it. Contrast this with other employees, whose resignations are accepted at once. This means that the former are doing something that the latter are not.

Here’s how you can come close to being indispensable at the office:

Always be ahead of schedule. If you are in charge of a certain task which has to be completed in a week, start on it the moment the assignment is given to you. People make the mistake of starting work at the last minute and then handing in shoddy work. If you give yourself enough time to work out your assignment, your focus will be greater and the quality will be top notch – a sure way to get noticed. If you are in charge of a regular task, ensure that you are ready with the final product before deadline.

Cultivate good manners. Always be ready with a smile and a genuine compliment for colleagues and your immediate seniors. Your composure will be tested in times of stressful high-pressure situations, so handle yourself with dignity and calmness. If you find a colleague panicking over an issue, try to calm them down and offer assistance. If you see your boss looking tired or stressed, tell him or her in a polite, non-intrusive way that you have noticed them looking worried, and that they should let you know if you can help in any way. Extending a helping hand always works, but be genuine in your interactions.

Display initiative. If you have a solution to a problem, don’t be afraid to offer it. Many employees don’t offer solutions fearing that others will think they are showing off, or that it will annoy the boss if they speak out of turn. Unless you are being brash and arrogant about it, there is no harm in revealing that you have something to say. Make your point and don’t gloat if your suggestions are taken on board, and don’t sulk if they are not. You are not there to display one-upmanship; you are there to work with a team. Don’t try to stand out in a group and never claim credit for the group’s success even if it was your hard work and ideas that won them the success.

Be organised. Understand how the office operates on projects, and follow that system religiously. If necessary, add your own tips and tricks to the system to optimise it further. If you are left to work out your own system, start by making progress charts of an ongoing project, and if necessary, tack them on to the soft board at your work station. This brings a semblance of order to the job, especially if it helps you to keep track of all deadlines and summarise the project satisfactorily. Your seniors might adopt this system and you will be credited with introducing it to the office.

Don’t badmouth anyone in the office. Even if your immediate colleague is highly irritating or your boss is irrational, refrain from speaking ill about anybody in the office. Since everybody gossips, the person who doesn’t immediately sticks out and gets noticed by the seniors. Your office management will understand that you are discreet, mature and capable of not giving in to the temptation to gossip.

(Picture courtesy www.morganmckinley.com. Images used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Deal with it

Mumbai gets registry of organ donors

IMA Kalyan ties up with LH Hiranandani Hospital to compile data about voluntary organ donors and also record their consent letters.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

This one’s a great initiative to increase the numbers of organ donors in the city.

Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kalyan has come up with a plan with LH Hiranandani Hospital to create a voluntary registry of organ donors with details of people who are willing to donate their organs and their consent letters. The registry will contain the consent letters of those willing to donate their organs and their health status along with other details.

At the moment, about 7 kidney donations happen every month, and about 4 liver donations. These numbers need to be much higher – for this, more awareness is essential. During a recent programme at the hospital, around 350 doctors and more than 500 people came forward from various walks of life to give their consent letters to join the registry, said Dr Anjum Syed, President, IMA Kalyan and gynaecologist attached with various hospitals in the region.

Traffic police, volunteers and others signed up to donate organs for the initiative

Heart Transplant surgeon Dr Anvay Mule said “There are thousands of patients who are waiting with hope. Such activities are required to create awareness and increase organ donation.”

Elaborating on the organ donation scenario in India, Dr Syed, said, “Figures show that India’s current organ donation is 0.05 per million populations (about 50 cadaver donors per year). The number of transplants per year is in the range of 3,000 to 3,500 with barely 5% coming from brain dead patients. The annual requirement is about 1, 50,000 donations. However, if we can improve it even to 1 per million donations, we could take care of some of the organ shortages in India. At 1 per million donation rate, we would have 1,100 organ donors which could take care of almost all current demands for organs in India.”

“The rate of renal transplants in our country is actually quite dismal, as more than 1,00,000 patients are waiting for renal transplants, and less than 5,000 happen every year. It is much worse for cadaver transplants as less than 1,000 happen per year. In comparison, Mumbai city does less than 300 renal transplants every year, of which only 30 to 40 will be cadaver donations. So the people requiring dialysis has steadily gone up, putting a lot of strain on the infrastructure to accommodate all these patients,” added Dr Syed.

ORGAN DONATION KIDNEY LIVER LUNGS CORNEA HEART
LIVE ORGAN DONATIONS FROM 1995-2015 8,061 202 – – NA
CADAVERIC (FROM BRAIN DEAD PATIENT) 546 150 2 19,285 (from June 2006 to June 2015 3

 Requirement in Mumbai and Thane

KIDNEY LIVER LUNGS CORNEA HEART
2800 210 – – 10

Source: Maha Arogya Seva Mandal, Thane

“Aiming at increasing the number of donors by creating awareness on organ donation is required. From increasing the current 5,000 to lakhs and more, IMA Kalyan has joined hands with many private hospitals to spread awareness on importance of organ donation. This is the first step to reach among the educative society,” says Dr Syed.

Dr Pravin Shingare, ZTCC committee member, added, “Our aim is to remove misunderstandings among public regarding organ donation.”

(Featured image courtesy zeenews.india.com)

Exit mobile version