Working Outside Your Comfort Zone

Posted On 23 Sep 2020

Working Outside Your Comfort Zone

23 Sep 2020
Your comfort zone?

Candidate Resource, Employer Resource, News & Events

Your comfort zone?

When working from the most ‘comfortable place’, needs to become pleasantly uncomfortable.
This is an interesting topic; one that many of us are facing lately and are likely not even aware of…yet.
Our workplaces, as well as our general social interactions, have become, more than ever, virtual, digital and hybrid, and so our sense of what our real comfort is has changed accordingly.
Our flexibility, discipline, priorities, and most importantly – our ability to self-motivate seems to be becoming the norm and the measure of how well we have been adjusting and performing.
What is the comfort zone?

According to British theorist Alasdair A. K. White, “The comfort zone is a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance.” I note the word ‘limited’ immediately. In my opinion, offering the most compelling reason to embrace stepping outside your comfort zone. I think it is also important to add our ‘physical’ state to this statement – considering the uniqueness of our current situation.

What happens outside the comfort zone?
You take risks; you push boundaries; you explore unchartered territory and experiment with new ideas. When we do this, we open ourselves to the possibility of something great or the chance to learn from failure. I wonder how this applies now, in the absence either partly or entirely of our colleagues and managers – all while physically being in our most comfortable place – home?
The usual minute by minute interaction in our offices as well as the ability to quickly share opinions and compare our performance with others is missing. We are also not receiving as many ‘reality’ checks on our daily interactions and attitudes. This coupled with the perceived feeling that we are having more ‘independence’ and even ‘autonomy’ may present an additional challenge.
Could it be possible there is the danger of becoming too comfortable and stunting our development?
Our experience
We recently conducted our EST10 Survey, where we asked how people’s lives and beliefs may have changed with COVID-19. (If you are interested to hear about our survey, please call our office on 02 9002 0210.) Amongst this data, what stood out for us, is whilst there is still a considerable number of people working from home or hybrid (42%), over 20% didn’t like their jobs and would consider leaving, and over 50% would consider leaving their jobs regardless.
This is a concerning statistic in knowing how best to inspire, motivate and retain employees when not in a physical office environment. We can’t help but wonder, how much of that dissatisfaction might be connected to an employee’s inability or difficulty to perform in the place of over comfort, i.e. their own home?
So where is the catch?
I think that the best description about what is happening here was nicely described by Daniel H. Pink, who wrote the book “Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us”. He said: “We need a place of productive discomfort. If you’re too comfortable, you’re not productive. And if you’re too uncomfortable, you’re not productive. Like Goldilocks, we can’t be too hot or too cold.”
In other words, our place of work needs to be pleasantly uncomfortable for us to be motivated and to perform well.
Now, the jury is out on this curiosity of mine, as time will be the real judge. However, I flag to Managers who have teams at home or operating from a hybrid model. Continual monitoring of engagement of your employees is paramount and will ensure they stay with you during these unpredictable times.
This is also a gentle reminder if you are an employee in this situation – be conscious and ensure you take deliberate steps to be outside while ‘inside’ your comfort zone.
Learning how to push your boundaries is essential to personal and professional growth. This is not going to be a natural feeling, but it is vital to embrace slight feelings of discomfort or anxiety in order to grow and develop in our new world.
“The more you seek the uncomfortable, the more you will become comfortable.” – Conor McGregor
About the Author

Roxanne Calder

As Founder and Managing Director at EST10, Roxanne has an all-encompassing role that includes building and growing the business, as well as actively recruiting and consulting.

After completing a Bachelor’s Degree at Monash University, Roxanne began her recruitment career with renowned recruiter Julia Ross. From there, Roxanne worked in HR and recruitment with a number of global players and boutique businesses throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong for over 20 years. She has been responsible for managing large teams and projects, implementing RPO models, managing and assisting businesses to an IPO and assisting companies in setting up their recruitment teams and processes.

Following completion of her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management, Roxanne launched EST10 in July 2010. In doing so, she hoped to combine the flexibility and high touch service levels of boutique agencies with the structure and strategy afforded to larger firms. Roxanne believes in high-touch, high-care consulting and is always on the lookout for consultants that share this vision of recruitment.

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About the author
Roxanne Calder
Managing Director

As Founder and Managing Director at EST10, Roxanne has an all-encompassing role that includes building and growing the business, as well as actively recruiting and consulting.

After completing a Bachelor’s Degree at Monash University, Roxanne began her recruitment career with renowned recruiter Julia Ross. From there, Roxanne worked in HR and recruitment with a number of global players and boutique businesses throughout Australia, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong for over 20 years. She has been responsible for managing large teams and projects, implementing RPO models, managing and assisting businesses to an IPO and assisting companies in setting up their recruitment teams and processes.

Following completion of her MBA at the Australian Graduate School of Management, Roxanne launched EST10 in July 2010. In doing so, she hoped to combine the flexibility and high touch service levels of boutique agencies with the structure and strategy afforded to larger firms. Roxanne believes in high-touch, high-care consulting and is always on the lookout for consultants that share this vision of recruitment.

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