Karpa Newsletter December2020

NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2020 Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good. - Elizabeth Edwards Perception is key to resilience: Do you conceptualize an event as traumatic, or as a chance to learn and grow? -Maria Konnikova

Karpa’s continuous Knowledge Work effort Remain focused on the fact that at Karpa, we are Knowledge Workers First... Karpa Knowledge Work First meeting is Zoran's ongoing attempt to remain committed to both of the following values: - Remain focused on the fact that at Karpa, we are Knowledge Workers First. - Only add to everyone’s Knowledge Work schedule, by removing something else first. KKWF is held once per month, on the First Wednesday of every month, starting from October 2020. “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them” David Allen - Getting Things Done, is a system for getting organized and staying productive. - Use the Karpa GTD Trello board model for your daily work organization - enhance it but do not ignore it. -Do not use a single Trello card for work which spans more than a day. - Break your tasks into individual Trello cards/checklists which define work that can be completed within 90 minutes. - Know: how many Trello cards are waiting for your attention, how many you will plan on addressing today, and how many you completed at the end of today. - Use Trello, Google docs, and Google Sites for your process and role documentation.



TOP 10 VIRT Can one be an expert in having fun? You just have to be a part of the Karpa Virtual Team Activities games and you’ll have your answer ( hint : It’s a YES). These are the top 10 memorable and most popular virtual games so far. 10. Hangman - This was the first virtual game and we weren’t ready for the fun. 9. Great minds think alike - To see if all Karpartians think alike. 8. 3 facts about me - Guess the co-worker, a fun game to see how much we know about each other. 7. Karpa’s interesting pictures - Our most interesting moments from Karpa’s hangouts, which seems simple, but we had fun with a trip down memory lane. 6. WFH pictures - share your work environment, it was fun to see the personal spaces of our co-workers and a fun way to get to know our entire virtual team better. 5. 2 truths, 1 lie - Guess the lie about the co-worker. When it comes to telling truths, you'll want to tell the truth in such a way that others think you're lying even though you're not. 4. Find the differences - Spot the differences in photos. 3. Childhood photos - Guess your co- worker based on their childhood image. 2. Drawasaurus ( Pictionary ) - Get to see everyone’s artistic talent and guess the drawings in an hilarious way. 1. Trivia Quiz - Test your knowledge Written by: Olgica Bosevska

TUAL GAMES



STORY OF RESILENCE, PASSION, SAFETY AND TEAMWORK DURING COVID-19 It’s a challenging time right now - no question. But it’s also an opportunity to change work- places for the better, for good. The often-quoted saying ‘You never know how strong you are until you have to be’ is espe- cially true in times of global or national difficulties, such as wars, economic recessions, and pandemics like the coronavirus. At Karpa, we place a strong focus week. We need to have a positive attitude- on our people and culture across what we need to do so we can help to the globe, and our core values make things better. Working from home, are at the heart of everything we do! As reading a book, going for a walk, spending COVID-19 began to affect teams around time with loved ones; all those things the world, we encouraged the Karpa happen right now. And we need to use family to stay positive and connected that to make our life and behavior better. during these unprecedented times. Passion - During this time our teams Acrucial part of the leader’s role, have provided great support to especially in the emotional, tense everyone at the team, both those environment that characterizes a who they work with and the customer crisis, is promoting psychological safety too. And of course, we can’t forget those so people can openly discuss ideas, Karpa team members working in the questions, and concerns without fear background to make sure their fellow of repercussions. This allows the teams employees have what they need to to make sense of the situation, and how succeed to support each other and our to handle it, through healthy debate. customers during the pandemic. They’ve been pivotal in ensuring our teams are Resilience is the ability to adapt in the well-equipped to work from home from face of challenging circumstances, both a technical and mental standpoint. and it is a crucial characteristic of high-performing leaders. When things Teamwork- we’ve continued to see get complicated it can somehow be Karpa employees wear multiple easier to just stay “in” work and think hats in their day-to-day to help that it will all come good if I just keep their co-workers succeed. The influence working – but this is counterproductive. team members have on each other At this moment we need to keep in during this time is vital. Whether it be contact, as we do at our company, by working together to virtually onboard having weekly meetings, virtual team a new team member or share ideas games, and keep doing that so people do and viewpoints with members of the not feel alone in these situations. During team that have been with them for the summer we had some weddings years, community and positivity are at our team, and even though we can’t lifelines during these uncertain times. celebrate in person with all of them, the company prepares some symbolic Communications shouldn’t stop gifts for every couple so they can feel the once the crisis has passed. Offering attention of the company and colleagues. an optimistic, realistic outlook can have a powerful effect on employees Safety - employees need to feel safe and other stakeholders, inspiring them at the company and be willing to to support the company’s recovery. take action in any situation. It is unpredictable and everyday leaders need Finally, we must stay balanced and trust to make new plans. What made sense last ourselves... week could be totally wrong the following Written by: Ljubinka Cavdarovska

NEW-WHAT DO O R M A L Covid - 19 changed our lives in a way we life helps to stop the spread of COVID-19 could only read about in the dystopian and the spread of other germs and illnesses. books, like “1984”. Our generation has never before experienced such a dramatic So, when we say that we can’t wait for our change to our way of life, health and freedom. lives to be back to normal, we should Our current lifestyles are dramatically changing, know that NORMAL now has a different and may never return. But, what does “normal” meaning. Normal will be that we are more really mean? First, we should face the fact serious about our health from now on. And that the world in which we were living before that we appreciate the freedoms that we have the pandemic has changed in such a way that as human beings. Who says that the new it can never be returned to what it looked like normal can not be a better world for all of before. Our future will change. We all face the us? For example, while we all wear masks same changes, and change is uncomfortable. in our daily activities, have you noticed that Will all these bleak questions I ask make us we look at each other’s eyes more? Have you think about our new normal? The ‘new normal’ noticed that WE LOOK AT EACH OTHERS has become our new way of living with the EYES WITH MORE AFFECTION? We should continuous risk of a COVID-19 outbreak. In the make sure that the new normal is a world new normal, we need to remember behaviours where we care more, not just for our health, we’ve learnt to make sure we’re healthy and but for the people around us. We should be safe into the future. Living this new normal more patient and empathetic, and more kind.

OES IT MEAN Below are some practical tips for you to keep your distance from others on a train. and your loved ones to help you get the hang of living in the new normal 6. You should continue doing some kind world. This will help to keep you safe and of physical activity whenever you can to healthy now and into the future. You should: help your mental and physical well being. 1. Continue to check in on your friends and family 7. Keeping a balanced diet will also help nearandfar,throughvideochatsandphonecalls. with your mental and physical wellbeing. 2. Practice alternative handshake which will 8. Try to think about the positive things in your help you when you go to greet people. life, rather than listening and hearing all the negative things happening in the world, 3. Remember to keep up your hand and remember to take some time away from the media, social media and your devices. hygiene by washing or sanitising Written by: Irena Jovanovska your hands as often as possible. 4. Get into the habit of washing your fresh produce (fruits and vegetables) before eating or cooking 5. Make sure to keep some space between yourself and other people while out and about – this could be keeping two steps away from the person in front of you in a queue or standing

The rise of the 'fake commute' Those Office workers can't stop working from home may find mingling Offices are the line between their working cautiously reopening and hours and their leisure time has become increasingly blurred. To combat this, workers are being welcomed back some are adopting a 'fake commute' to create a clearer division. One advocate — but how to get them to stay apart of the practice suggests it has done wonders for her mental health, and it's when the urge to mingle is human? something Paula McLeod, founder of an At various workplaces, sensors executive-coaching company, has been suggesting to her clients. Some choose are being repurposed to measure to take a morning stroll to pick up a coffee, while others commit to a regular room occupancy; smartphone apps yoga session or even a short drive. send workers health and safety Netflix chills on subscribers As pandemic restrictions have alerts, while one company has eased around the world, so too have Netflix's subscription numbers. In sold 10,000 vibrating wristbands earnings released this week, the streaming giant reported better-than-expected that warn co-workers when they’re revenue, but fell short on global paid net subscriber additions. Netflix attributed standing too close to each other. the slowdown to its \"record first half results,\" which saw millions in lockdown Ready for the 'robot revolution'? looking for in-home entertainment. Around 50% of work tasks will be done by machines by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum, with data entry, administration and factory assembly jobs most at risk. However, while the rise of the machines will eliminate 85 million jobs, it is expected to create 87 million new ones particularly in care, big data and the green economy. The research, spanning 300 of the world's biggest companies, also warns the pandemic has hastened automation and half of all employees will need to upskill or retrain in the next five years.

Technostress is on the rise Remote An idea to lead you through the workers are constantly navigating month: Humility doesn’t mean a between different forms of lack of confidence or credibility. technology throughout the day, whether Having the self-awareness to know what answering emails, joining video calls you know and don’t know is a skill we can or turning to a streaming service to develop. relax after work. Constant technological stimulation and feeling the pressure to be Source for the article : LinkedIn Daily accessible 24/7 is leading to rising levels Rundown of \"technostress\", particularly among Written by: Ana Dajovska those who feel they need to be seen at work, or those doing creative work who find technology disruptive. Has the crisis killed ambition? Faced with a global pandemic, stay-at-home orders and a 24/7 stream of seemingly dire news, our professional and personal ambitions feel almost futile or even decadent. Shrinking our career ambitions, spending less time in front of a screen and in airport terminals, while focusing on adapting to change and acting more for the benefit of others and our local communities could be the answers to surviving and thriving in this moment of uncertainty, argues journalist Rosie Spinks.



Assessment. • Do I need to adjust something that I am It’s a constant loop: action, outcome, assess, doing so I can be successful tomorrow? improve. • Will I have the same tools tomorrow? One area where I can assess my daily outcomes • Do I need to ask for something to enable me quickly is the Knowledge Work Poll. to work more productively? Do you complete the daily KW poll? • When I did not answer ‘Yes’ today, do I know Yes, I know it’s optional, but it can benefit you why? - Was it due to internal factors? to make that daily self-assessment. • External factors? Once I answer the poll, I then use my response • Is there anything I can do about those to make further assessments about my ability factors tomorrow? to function as a KW today. These are some of the questions that I typically ask myself: • Is there anyone I can talk to if I do not feel like I can address those factors on my own? • What did I base my response on today? If you haven’t been engaging in this poll, I would • Was it a ‘gut feeling’? strongly encourage you to start completing it daily. And be honest with yourself. Also, since • Was it based on tangible evidence? the mechanism does not track individuals, we cannot request a summary of our own • What did my results tell me today? responses, so I also encourage you to write • Can I rely on the same processes tomorrow? down your responses somewhere else so that you can track your own data over time. Then go further with the assessment by asking yourself some of the questions above, or some of your own questions that will help you determine reasons that affect your ability to function as a KW. This should help you get started on the path to improvement. Tracking tip: Since we all have Gmail accounts for work, you might consider tracking this data on the calendar so that you can export the data to a Google sheet and make a chart to be able to visualize your data and spot trends. Written by: Robin Wiggins

Emerald team's story Maja, Martina, Olgica, Boris, David & Aneta What’s the story behind the team’s name? • We wrote down potential team names on our office board. Mostly we suggested imaginary town names from movies and cartoons and that’s how we came up with the name - Emerald. The Emerald City is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Which song should be played as an intro to every team meeting? • The Rembrandts- I'll be there for you. If team Emerald hosts a party, please name 5 items that will be on the menu. • Tulumbi, Cedevita, peanuts, coffee & Doritos. If you had to challenge another Karpa team to any sport, which team would you choose, and which sport would you play? • We would choose Shire and challenge them in an eating contest in Manaki.

What’s the story behind the team’s name? • As we work below the earth's surface it was natural to name our office with this name. Which song should be played as an intro to every team meeting? • We don't have an intro song but we have background ambience music during the meeting: Wayne Manor - Batcave (Batman Background Ambience). If team Batcave hosts a party, please name 5 items that will be on the menu. • Bat-wings, Poison Ivy Pasta salad, Catwoman Claws, Deviled Robin’s eggs & Joker Juice. If you had to challenge another Karpa team to any sport, which team would you choose, and which sport would you play? • We would probably choose Asgard and about which sport we would let the other team choose because we are superior in every sport! Angela, Erhan, Kristian & Miso BTAEATM,CS SATOVRYE

NEWSLETTER DECEMBER 2020 DESIGNED BY KRISTIAN STOJANI