Starting from Friday, workplace productivity is likely to take a knock
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Starting from Friday, workplace productivity is likely to take a knock as South Africans across the country focus on the Soccer World Cup, which lasts a month. So, what can employers expect and what measures should they take to ensure that some work still gets done, and they don’t break the law with illegal gambling. To answer all that, I’m joined by Eva Mudely, an attorney at commercial law firm Bowman Gilfillan.
Duration : 0:5:55
Communication: Workplace Leadership
Effective workplace leadership can be the difference between getting your next promotion or your workplace hiring someone outside to fill that new promotion. Communication will be key.
Work promotions can offer lots of competition right now with unemployment so high. There are lots of options for your boss or human resources to hire someone outside to fill a position. Unless they promote you from within because you have demonstrated that you are the person for the job.
Right now because there are so many people looking for jobs, you must give yourself the extra edge. You must learn what it is that your boss is looking for. Often what leadership is looking for is workplace leadership, someone who is a self-starter with a good attitude. Your boss wants a team player.
Attitude is very big in the workplace environment right now. People have become stressed out about their mortgages, bills, and cost of living. This can be toxic to the workplace environment and bring the whole office down, lowering productivity and the workplace attitude. If you are looking to make a promotion happen in 2009 then be sure to implement these 3 secret tips to help you get your next promotion.
Become a possibility thinker
Workplace leaders who look for opportunities and possibilities that will help the company save money, time, and jobs or help create more sales become priceless and important. It shows your boss that you are looking to improve the company and help him stay competitive. You may be the only one in your office looking for ways to help. This helps you become part of the team. Possibility thinking is an amazing advantage to have and a great skill set.
Communicate positively
People like people who are fun to be around and have a pleasant attitude. People like begin around upbeat happy people. Are you happy even when times are tough? People who are like this have self-command. They don’t let anyone tell them how they are going to feel, they choose how they are going to feel. Your boss will like to work with you because you are an upbeat, happy person vs. a fearful, angry or depressed person. This one communication tip will separate you in a positive light from the masses.
Demonstrate workplace leadership
You set the beat. You set your attitude. You lead when no one else wants to. You become priceless and important. You become the possibility thinker. You manage your attitude. You do not let anyone else determine how you are going to feel. You demonstrate self-command. These are the fundamentals of getting that next promotion. Workplace leadership is when you do these things without anyone having to tell you, just because you want to stand out and excel in times when others fold.
Vickie Jimenez
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/communication-workplace-leadership-730925.html
Stress In The Workplace – How To Cope With It
Most of us readily acknowledge that stress is an inescapable part of life in our modern society. It’s in the home, the schools, and the workplace.
Workplace stress management is becoming a buzz word of sorts, as more companies seek ways to cope with workplace stressors. But what is it?
Defining Workplace Stress
“Stress is the reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them.” (Managing stress at work: Discussion document, United Kingdom Health and Safety Commission, London, 1999)
Stress in the workplace can be either positive stress that results in greater productivity, or negative stress that cuts productivity. Our definition does not say that stress in the workplace is a reaction to pressure, but to excessive pressure. It is when stressors are too demanding, exerting too much pressure on us, that they become negative.
Workplace stress of a harmful nature is intense, continued, or repeated.
Who Is Affected by Workplace Stress?
Everyone is affected at some time or other. As the world tries to increase output and limit time required, workplace stress hits both blue and white-collar workers. Evidence indicates that work that was once considered non-stressful is now approaching high-stress ratings.
On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, increasing numbers of occupations are inching up toward the scale’s top. A recent table prepared by the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology lists law enforcement officers at the 7.7 level. Airline pilots are close behind at 7.5. And while they may seem to cause patients stress, dentists are rated 7.3. Even teachers have a high stress level of 6.2.
Adolescents and older workers often have more trouble coping with workplace stress – women may have more trouble than men. People who have high levels of stress in the family will be more affected by workplace stress.
Family Stress Increases Workplace Stress
When a balance between work and family is missing, workplace stress is increased. Two-income families and single parent families are especially affected. Time-sensitive work can make greater demands than the worker can handle. Work schedules may change, creating stress in handling children. Harsh or bullying treatment at work can cycle into family stress, and back to workplace stress.
Health Impacts of Stress
It is well accepted that stress produces a “fight-or-flight” response in humans. The heartbeat picks up speed. Breathing rhythm changes. Blood is sent to muscles and other vital organs. Adrenaline and noradrenaline is released into the blood, raising levels of energy-providing nutrients. Our bodies are ready to fight the enemy or run from him.
The trouble is, we cannot easily fight workplace stress. We might want to land a punch on the nose of the boss that makes unreasonable demands, but we cannot. We might want to quit on the spot, but we need the income, so we are not able to carry through on our “fight-or-flight” response.
Frustrated body systems trying to cope with this dilemma may give in to consequences such as chronic fatigue, depression, anxiety, migraine, insomnia, hypertension, heart disease, substance abuse, and a host of other problems.
Some employers have instituted workplace stress management programs, with more or less success. In many cases, though, a program of self-help for workplace stress, without individual research, might be more effective.
Self-Help for Workplace Stress
If you were to take a self-help course entitled, as this article is, “Stress in the Workplace – How to Cope with It”, you would expect to learn practical things you could do to cope with workplace stress. Reports and research aside, you would want specific self-help. You would want steps that could help you begin to cope today.
The following practical steps will get you started. Write your answers.
1. Analyze your job. Do you have a clear job description that tells what is expected of you? Are you sufficiently qualified for the work expected? Do you have the tools you need? Does the job use your talent?
2. Analyze your workplace. Is it clean and safe? Is it attractive and laid out well? Are things easy to find? Is it quiet enough for work? Is there a quiet room where you can take a break? Can you take a 5-minute break every hour or so? Are your work hours reasonable?
3. Analyze your feelings. Do you feel that your job is meaningful? Do you think you get enough feedback from others as to whether or not you are doing well? Do you feel as though people see you as an individual rather than a resource? Do you feel that you have the right to say “no” when the workload becomes too heavy?
Once you have answered every question, decide what action you will take to change unwanted situations.
You can, for example, request a clear job description if you don’t have one. You can ask to discuss job expectations. You can request missing tools that would reduce stress.
You can often clean or rearrange a workplace. You can make ergonomic changes for physical safety. With thought, you can create better work flow, or relocate needed tools.
If your job seems meaningless, be creative. Look around for new ways of doing the job, of cutting costs or increasing production. A challenge can make a big difference in coping with workplace stress.
Finally, learn to say “no” to unnecessary demands. Were you asked to “help” a habitual-long-lunch co-worker by adding part of her work to your own? Agree to do it once, but explain respectfully why the practice is unfair to both of you. Are you expected to remain at work until the last person leaves, even though you arrive an hour before anyone else? Ask respectfully if consideration can be given, since your work is done early.
You will best cope with workplace stress when you learn which “monkeys” are yours to feed, and decline to feed anyone else’s “monkey”.
Anna Hart
http://www.articlesbase.com/self-help-articles/stress-in-the-workplace-how-to-cope-with-it-110999.html
What is the law of diminishing marginal productivity? Provide an example from your workplace of the law of di?
The IRS audits returns in descending order of expected taxes collected. The more audits they do, the fewer taxes are collected from each audit. At some point the cost of the audit exceeds the taxes collected.
Thank God It’s Monday- Roxanne Emmerich Interview with Terry Brock of Acheivement Systems Inc.
An interview with Roxanne Emmerich on her new book, Thank God It’s Monday! How to Create a Workplace You and Your Customers Love by marketing coach Terry Brock.
Roxanne discusses workplace productivity, how to eliminate whining, excuses, and gossiping, and how to bring fun back to work to increase the top and bottom-line results!
______________
http://www.ThankGodItsMonday.com/
http://www.RoxanneEmmerich.com/
Duration : 0:7:11
Workplace Wellness Programs
Workplace wellness programs benefit both employer and employee. For many companies, workplace wellness programs have become a valuable asset by lowering costs in absenteeism and work related injuries as well as disability management costs and worker’s compensation claims.
Studies have found that employee absenteeism is directly related to four primary factors. Depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders topped the list at 66% while stress came in a close second at 60%. Negative relationship with a supervisor or manager yielded 44% and co worker conflict in the workplace was at 28%. These factors can be effectively combated by employing workplace wellness programs. Conflict resolution programs, mental health programs and stress management courses have not only become popular, but have proven to be very effective.
Research spanning more than a decade has consistently shown workplace wellness programs to be financially effective and that every dollar invested on a corporate wellness program can return $2.30 and $10.10 by reducing absenteeism, sick day usage and by lowering insurance costs. Additionally it is noted that there are marked improvements in employee performance and productivity in organizations that implement a workplace wellness program.
Healthy organizations enjoy increased employee morale and an improved ability to attract and retain key people. Additionally, employees are more alert and productive. For instance, Coca Cola reports that they save an estimated $500 a year per employee once they implemented a fitness program in which 60% of their employees participate. Coors Brewing Company reported that employees who participated in their workplace wellness programs reduced their absentee rate by 18%.
Employees enjoy their share of benefits from workplace wellness programs too. A healthy lifestyle affects every part of a person’s life, including their work environment. Workplace wellness programs result in fewer injuries, less human error and a work environment that is more harmonious and relaxed. Additionally, employees who work at a company that implements a workplace wellness program know that their organization is concerned about their health and wellness. Employees often report a reduction in their stress levels due to workplace wellness programs.
As employees feel better, more relaxed, more valued and more human to their company; they enjoy an increase in productivity. This increase in productivity, while beneficial to the company, is also essential to the employee as it increases their own sense of self worth and confidence levels. Employees who feel successful and who feel that they accomplish goals are overall happier and in a better frame of mind.
The benefits of workplace wellness programs, both tangible and intangible, are evident. It is a wise move for a corporation to implement a workplace wellness program, particularly when they incorporate some form of mental health aspect into it. This also has social benefits as domestic violence and child abuse is shown to be decreased in areas where wellness programs are implemented. These days, an organization can almost not afford to have some sort of wellness program to offer to their employees.
John Payton
http://www.articlesbase.com/wellness-articles/workplace-wellness-programs-126460.html
How to productivity in the workplace
http://www.LIFECOACHBUSINESS.INFO Improving labor utilization costs with these productivity tools
Duration : 0:1:14
How to productivity in the workplace
http://www.LIFECOACHBUSINESS.INFO Improving labor utilization costs with these productivity tools
Duration : 0:1:14
The DOT By JointWinWin
http://jointwinwin.com/DownloadTheDOT-YouTube The DOT By JointWinWin is a productivity tool which will help keep you focused and maximize your results. It can be used for workplace productivity, home activities or leisure activities. Time management keeping you on track using visual representations of your goals. Available for free download on August 1st
Duration : 0:2:36
Pets Bring Smiles & Productivity To Workplace
Bringing pets to work is also considered a huge perk. Employers say workers enjoy it so much, it actually helps with hiring and keeping workers.
Duration : 0:3:5