Robert works as an AI engineer at Silo, and he has been with the fast-growing company for three years now. His tasks include software development and programming.
Due to the company’s rapid growth and the nature of the work, there is always a lot on my plate, says Robert. “I think that’s a fact that is unlikely to change. It’s a matter of prioritisation. If you learn to prioritise, you can reduce stress and learn to cope with it in a constructive way. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have transitioned to remote work and our days tend to be less organised and longer. Auntie provided concrete tools to tackle these challenges.”
When they started to offer Auntie as an employee benefit at Silo, Robert first got to know the service at Check-in sessions offered to all employees of Aunties Plus service customers. The check-in session is held as a remote video meeting and serves as a status check. How am I feeling right now? What kind of challenges do I face in my personal life and professional life? Do I have any issues that could benefit from discussing and processing them with someone? If during the Check-in sessions you come to the conclusion that it is worth continuing with the package, the sessions will continue with another five video meetings under a certain theme.
In Robert’s case, the Check-in session led him to start with a Leading Me package. The key issues in the Leading Me package are the questions of how to manage your time and how to set goals to yourself. These two questions are closely related. Once you have set your goals, it will be easier to prioritise your time. Robert says that it is always helpful to learn how to prioritise your time. Knowing how to prioritise will lead to lower stress levels and increased productivity in your daily life. During the ongoing pandemic, being able to set your own goals is more important than ever. It is more difficult to see your progress when you are working remotely instead of going to the office, and everything may start to feel monotonous.
During the Leading Me sessions, it is possible to take time to reflect your own personal values and their meaning in your own life. It is also possible to deal with questions such as follows: “Do you know your goals for work?” During the sessions, the chosen theme is addressed from various viewpoints and at as concrete a level as possible to arrive at an insight that the most important thing is to concentrate on doing the right things instead of multitasking or doing everything perfectly.
The focusing on concrete measures that pervades the entire Leading Me package was the thing that really appealed to Robert. “It’s more than just asking “How do you feel” because the package also provides concrete exercises and strategies which is something that I really appreciate. You will get some concrete tips right away, but the sessions will benefit you most if you prepare for them a little in advance and take a look at the material that is sent to you before each session”, states Robert.
“The themes of the package were relevant to me, and it was also possible to move quite freely between different themes. The exercises of the package were meaningful, and we even did some that were tailored with a view to my work assignments.”
Robert also points out that it can take a while before you can get to the topics you want or need to discuss, so it may take a bit longer than just the Check-in session to address your topics in depth. The issues that need to be discussed become clearer over time.
Robert was surprised at how easy it was to use the service. “Now that we have to do almost everything while working remotely, it is very convenient to be able to use the service from home without the need to go anywhere. This will save you a lot of time. Starting to use the service was much easier than I had imagined”, Robert says.
He also wants to emphasise how important it is to be able to use your own language and the value of expressing yourself freely. Robert describes how using the Auntie service was like having a sounding board, because the other person has not known you before and thereby can offer a possibility for a discussion that is free from any preconceived attitudes or ideas. Robert was so pleased with his first package that he later continued with a package that focuses on managing change – Lost in Transition.
When thinking about how the packages have affected him, Robert has noticed a change in his time management after using the service. “I have become more aware of how I spend my time and I can now better identify the situations where my time management is not effective.”
Robert is happy to recommend Auntie to everybody and points out that you have nothing to lose by trying it once. “If you are trapped by your own thoughts, need a little coaching or would benefit from talking to someone just to get more clarity in any situation, Auntie may be just right for you. The whole experience was much more relaxed than I had thought.”