Being part of the decision to terminate someone’s employment is without a doubt one of the hardest parts of HR

Unfortunately, this is something I have had to do a lot

It never gets easier 😖

If you’re like me and tend to overthink things, well this situation will certainly send your brain into overdrive

🙃As the words leave the managers mouth
🙃Immediately after the meeting
🙃As you are drafting the outcome letter
🙃Later that night whilst cooking dinner
🙃At 3am in bed mentally ticking boxes for the 73rd time
🙃Multiple times randomly in the following weeks

Overthinking sends you into replaying the past and worrying about the future

The truth is however, in HR overthinking can actually be a good thing

It is surely better than under-thinking right?

The key is using this to your advantage, and not to your detriment

🧠Overthinking leads to being proactive
🧠Overthinking means you have considered all possibilities
🧠Overthinking means you are prepared

But – to be advantageous, the overthinking should happen BEFORE action is taken, not after

Scrutinise every aspect of the situation prior to making a decision

Rehearsing it or playing it through multiple times in your mind will help you spot gaps, test your rationale, tick the boxes and form contingency plans

Even better, do this out loud to a trusted, safe person

(or come join us inside HRHQ) 🙋🏻‍♀️

If you do this well beforehand, you will be more comfortable with the outcome you reach, and hopefully it will stop or reduce the overthinking that comes after the fact

And if you cannot turn off your brain afterwards, remind yourself that it is done, you cannot change what was done, and to stop worrying about things that haven’t and most likely won’t happen

Feel safe in your skills and abilities, you got this! 🥰

Anyone else guilty of this? How do you try to switch it off?