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06/23/11

“Kids These Days!”. Preparing At-Risk Youth for Workplace Success Dr. Steve Parese Danbury, NC. “Kids These Days!”. 06/23/11. Part 1. Soft Skills What soft skills do employers demand? Why do some young people fail to use them?. 06/23/11. Part 2. Cognitive Conflicts.

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06/23/11

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  1. “Kids These Days!” Preparing At-Risk Youth for Workplace Success Dr. Steve Parese Danbury, NC • “Kids These Days!” 06/23/11

  2. Part 1 • Soft Skills • What soft skills do employers demand? • Why do some young people fail to use them? 06/23/11

  3. Part 2 • Cognitive Conflicts Why are so many youth unable to fit in with the workplace culture? 06/23/11

  4. Part 3 • Successful Interventions • How can we help youth adapt to the workplace? 06/23/11

  5. Let’s Workin' It Out Let’s Play Teen Lingo! 06/23/11

  6. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out • “BAKED” = • Stoned “His eyes are all messed up, man… I think he got baked last period!” 06/23/11

  7. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 2. “CHEDDAR” = Money “She hit it big on the slots last night! She got phat CHEDDAR now!” 06/23/11

  8. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 3. “FLOSSIN” = Showing off wealth “That fool got a new ride… now he be FLOSSIN’ all the time!” 06/23/11

  9. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 4. “GEL” = Get along with “Me and her… we really GEL, y’know?” 06/23/11

  10. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 5. “GRILL” = Your smile or mouth “Shut up or I’ll bust you in your GRILL.” 06/23/11

  11. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 6. “KRUNK” = Wild & exhilarating “That party tonight is supposed to be totally KRUNK, man!” 06/23/11

  12. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 7. “NINE” = 9mm pistol “I got my NINE tonight… nobody’s gonna mess with me!” 06/23/11

  13. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 8. “PUNKED” = Stolen “Ronnie’s car got PUNKED last night, and he’s is kirkin’ out!” 06/23/11

  14. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 9. “PIMPIN” = Trying to pick up girls “Look at him over there PIMPIN’ on Tessa. Isn’t he goin’ with Jamie?” 06/23/11

  15. Teen Lingo Workin' It Out 10. “SPRUNG” = Obsessed with “It’s sad. Vanessa is so SPRUNG on Todd, she’d do anything…” 06/23/11

  16. Part 1 • Soft Skills • What soft skills do employers demand? 06/23/11

  17. Defining “soft skills” Workin' It Out • Workplace Soft Skills: • “The personal and interpersonal skills needed to successfully adjust to the SOCIAL environment of the workplace.” 06/23/11

  18. Team Activity Workin' It Out Work with your partner to brainstorm5 SOFT SKILLSNEEDED TO SUCCEED AT WORK.E.g., Time management 06/23/11

  19. Work-related “soft skills” Workin' It Out • Self-control skills: • √ Handling stress • √ Managing anger • √ Controlling body language 06/23/11

  20. Work-related “soft skills” Workin' It Out • Communication skills: • √ Listening effectively • √ Expressing a complaint • √ Dealing with criticism 06/23/11

  21. Work-related “soft skills” Workin' It Out • Social skills: • √ Interrupting a conversation • √ Joining social activities • √ Empathizing with others 06/23/11

  22. Work-related “soft skills” Workin' It Out • Problem solving skills: • √ Prioritizing problems • √ Avoiding assumptions • √ Predicting outcomes 06/23/11

  23. KEY POINT #1 Workin' It Out • Workplace success requires not only strong vocational skills, but mastery of a range of social skills as well. • Many at-risk youth have serious difficulties with these vital skills. 06/23/11

  24. Part 2 • Cognitive Conflicts Why are so many young people unable to fit in with the workplace culture? 06/23/11

  25. Workin' It Out Why do so many youth fail to use important soft skills? • SKILL DEFICIT • MOTIVATION DEFICIT • COGNITIVE INCOMPATIBILITY 06/23/11

  26. Sweeeeeet! Imagine you are a teenager who’s been hired at a clothing shop (Abercrombie & Fitch) in the mall. Workin' It Out 06/23/11

  27. How about running down to Starbucks and grabbing me a latte on your next break… I need you to pick up my son from daycare and spend an hour at the park with him… Would you mind hanging up these new dresses for me, please? Workin' It Out 06/23/11

  28. @#$% this!! Enough is enough! Workin' It Out You’ve reached “COGNITIVE INCOMPATIBILITY!” 06/23/11

  29. Workin' It Out What beliefs drive youth behavior in their PERSONAL LIVES? 06/23/11

  30. Personal Beliefs Survey Workin' It Out In our personal lives, we use our personal beliefs to judge the appropriateness of our actions. • 1. Life should be fun! • 2. Family comes first. • 3. It’s okay to take a break when you’ve worked hard. 06/23/11

  31. Personal Beliefs Survey Workin' It Out In our personal lives, we use our personal beliefs to judge the appropriateness of our actions. • 4. Friends should help each other out with problems. • 5. Personal appearance is a personal decision. • 6. No one has the right to boss you around. 06/23/11

  32. Thomas’Home Situation Workin' It Out • Thomas has a fight with his parents when they criticize his choice of clothes. 06/23/11

  33. Thomas’Home Situation Workin' It Out • “Pull your pants up! Change that shirt! Take out that earring! WHY CAN’T YOU GUYS JUST LET ME DRESS MYSELF?” • 5. Personal appearance is a personal decision. 06/23/11

  34. Lori’sHome Situation Workin' It Out • One night. Lori decides to have a few drinks with her friends and stays out past her 11PM curfew. • When she gets home, her aunt is furious with her, but Lori blows her off. 06/23/11

  35. Lori’sHome Situation Workin' It Out • “It’s MY life. I’m old enough to make up my own mind about what I can and can’t do!” • 6. No one has the right to boss you around. 06/23/11

  36. Workin' It Out What beliefs drive employers’ expectations of behavior in our WORK LIVES? What are their “UNSPOKEN RULES?” 06/23/11

  37. Workin' It Out “UNSPOKEN RULES”You hire a babysitter for the evening to watch your two young children. • What expectations are so “common sense” you wouldn’t bother to state them out loud? 06/23/11

  38. Unspoken Rules of Work Workin' It Out At work, employers use unspoken professional expectations to judge our actions. • a. Work comes first. Don’t let home issues get in the way. • b. Do what you are asked to do, even if you don’t want to. • c.Do your best to fit in. Don’t act or dress TOO different. 06/23/11

  39. Unspoken Rules of Work Workin' It Out At work, employers use unspoken professional expectations to judge our actions. • d. Always stay busy, or at least LOOK busy! • e. Work is work. Don’t expect it to be fun. • f. Stay out of other people’s problems. 06/23/11

  40. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. Compare the lists on pages 4 and 5 to find the opposing rules. 06/23/11

  41. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out 1 The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. Life should be fun! Work is work. Don’t expect it to always be fun. 06/23/11

  42. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out 2 The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. Family comes first. Work comes first. Don’t let personal issues get in the way. 06/23/11

  43. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out 3 The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. It’s okay to take a break when you’ve worked hard. Always stay busy, or at least LOOK busy! 06/23/11

  44. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out 4 The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. Friends should help each other out with problems. Stay out of other people’s problems. 06/23/11

  45. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out 5 The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. Personal appearance is a personal decision. Do your best to fit in. Don’t act or dress too different. 06/23/11

  46. Conflicting Rules of HomeversusWork Workin' It Out 6 The rules which guide our PERSONAL LIVES often conflict with employers’ UNSPOKEN RULES. No one has the right to boss you around. Do what you are asked to do, even if you don’t want to. 06/23/11

  47. KEY POINT #2 Workin' It Out • Most employers have unspoken expectations which they seldom explain directly to new employees. • These often conflict with the beliefs young workers use in their personal social lives. 06/23/11

  48. Part 3 • Successful Interventions • How can we help youth adapt to the workplace culture? 06/23/11

  49. Workin' It Out COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS CBI focuses on promoting positive self-change by developing: 1. Awareness of the thinking and beliefs which drive one’s unproductive behavior (cognitive); and 2. Stronger interpersonal and intrapersonal skills for managing difficult situations (behavioral). 06/23/11

  50. Stephen Covey, author of “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”: “Seek first to UNDERSTAND, Then to be UNDERSTOOD.” 06/23/11

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