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BUSINESS NEWS THE CONGRESS COMPANIES TO BREAK GROUND ON $60 MILLION WHITE PLAINS INSTITUTE FOR REHABILITATION & HEALTHCARE, WHITE PLAINS, NY White Plains Healthcare Properties I, LLC selected the Congress Companies as developer and the joint venture Congress/ Consigli JV as the construction manager for its 110,000 square foot rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility. Design for the facility is by The Architectural Team , Chelsea, Massachusetts. The $60 million dollar facility consists of 160 beds of skilled nursing, including 76 specialized rehabilitation beds, 42 Alzheimer’s secure beds, and 42 long-term care beds, each on specially designed nursing units. Congress’ strong track record in the rehabilitation and skilled nursing sectors

includes more than 100 SNF and AL projects. Over the past 45 years, Congress has completed more than 9,000 beds and 5 million square feet of health care and long- term care construction throughout the eastern United States. Congress’ recent senior living and health care projects include a 110-unit assisted living facility in Hillsborough, New Jersey; a 120-bed SNF in Hope, New Jersey; a 74-unit, 86,000 square foot assisted living facility in Easton, Massachusetts; a 45-bed, 45,000 square foot assisted living and memory care facility in Windsor, Vermont; and an 83- bed, 76,000 square foot assisted living facility in Ipswich, Massachusetts. William Nicholson, CEO of Congress, said, “We are excited to have completed our work with the NY Department of Health,

our construction financing, and our work with the city of White Plains for this project. Congress’ unique design/build/turnkey delivery method was perfectly suited for the tenant, EPIC Healthcare. EPIC CEO Lizer Jozefovic and his team are committed to the future of rehabilitation and skilled nursing. We are also pleased to continue our relationship and collaboration with TAT, which has been successful for more than three decades and 30 projects.” Congress/Consigli JV worked with TAT and EPIC to bring the project through preconstruction to the construction phase, providing scheduling, line item budgeting, value engineering, cost estimating, and evaluations of alternative building system options.

MICHELLE JOY and JODY FOSTER, from page 9

While each difficult person might be different, there tends to be general types. And once you figure out what they’re strug- gling to cover up, you can approach them with more empathy and specific techniques that minimize their anxiety. At the end of the day, even if you’re the one doing the legwork, this will make your job and your workday more pleasant. “Instead of just hoping that the difficult person changes, each of us has the ability – and responsibility – to improve the office. Committing to the steps of identifying patterns of behavior, harnessing empathy, and looking at our own contributions can all help to improve our time at work.” 3)What am I contributing? The last step is figuring out why the person’s pattern of behavior bothers you so much. As much as the disruptive co-worker is labelled as a “jerk” or “schmuck” it is just as important to figure out why we are bothered by the behavior. Why do you hate being blamed? Does the individual remind you of someone else in your life? Is there a reason that certain demands rub you the wrong way? By assessing your own contribution to the problem, you are more likely to be able to take a step back and diffuse some negative feelings for the disruptive person that you are carry- ing with you throughout the day. While certain people at work can be extremely frustrating, we can take solace in knowing that there is a way forward. Instead of just hoping that the difficult person changes, each of us has the ability – and responsibility – to improve the office. Committing to the steps of identifying patterns of behavior, harnessing empathy, and looking at our own contributions can all help to improve our time at work. DR. MICHELLE JOY and DR. JODY FOSTER are the authors of The Schmuck in My Office: How to Deal Effectively with Difficult People at Work . For more information, please visit, schmuckinmyoffice.com.

threatened. Some difficult workers frustrate us by cutting cor- ners and always falling short on tasks – and then lying about it! Yet others are a pain with their need for perfection, orderli- ness, and control. Whatever it may be, the task is to figure out just what the pat- tern of behavior is. What is the action that bothers you and in what settings does it occur? Only by having a clear sense of the problem can you find a solution. 2)Empathy and understanding. The key here is thinking about why the person might be acting so disruptively. Much like a child throwing a tantrum, the goal is not necessarily to be bad but the difficult person often doesn’t know another way to handle stressful situations. In understanding their behavior, we can have empathy for their situation, and figure out ways to engage them rather than merely complaining about how frustrating they are. Begin by asking what you know about this person? What is her life like? What is the office like for her? What is she wor- ried about that she covers up by being difficult? Because that’s what is usually going on: The bad actor has some internal struggle that is causing the inappropriate behavior. Even acknowledging that general conclusion can be incredibly comforting. The person that is making your life a living hell is actually insecure and taking it out on you. The arrogant, condescending person is often covering up their own feelings of inadequacy. Once you understand this, you can acknowl- edge that little compliments might avoid a blowout. The inflexible micromanager is only controlling you because she is out of control and overwhelmed. Recognizing this can pro- vide for the technique of avoiding challenges over details and expressing appreciation for their dedication (while emphasiz- ing yours!). “When we look at what might be driving disruptive individuals to act the way they do, we can begin to understand them, empathize with them, and even begin to work better together.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER November 27, 2017, ISSUE 1225

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