Career Advice Blog

A good office prank lightens the office mood and unites coworkers. From hiding a coworker’s chair to decorating a manager’s office, pranks often elicit a hearty chuckle from instigators and their targets. However, how much is too much when playing jokes on coworkers? Have you or your coworkers pushed the unspoken limit and suffered repercussions? An office joke taken too far can offend coworkers and may lead to management intervention. While occasional jokes can keep everyone in the office in good spirits, the following are signals of when office pranking may have gone too far. Keep it Lighthearted Office pranks should never be mean spirited. If you feel the urge to mess with a coworker’s space or a manager’s desk, keep the joke lighthearted. Even a joke meant to be innocent played against a coworker you’ve had previous rifts with can come across as confrontational and passive aggressive. As such, only play pranks on coworkers you’ve known for a long … [Read more...] about Office Pranks: How Much is Too Much?

Be nicer to coworkers. Find a more challenging job. Earn an advanced degree. Many employees establish work resolutions with each New Year but very few actually achieve them. At times, New Year resolutions fail because of unforeseen obstacles. However, more often, work resolutions aren’t achieved because employees don’t fully understand the process needed to accomplish them. The following are steps to consider taking to set New Year work resolutions and actually achieve them. Create Attainable Goals While it’s important to push yourself with New Year work resolutions, you must also be realistic regarding what you can and can’t accomplish. For example, hoping to earn a management position within in the next year when you only just landed an entry level position likely isn’t realistic and will only leave you disheartened when the goal isn’t achieved. Just as setting overly ambitious goals can lead to failure, so too can creating simplistic resolutions. Make a list of the workplace … [Read more...] about How to Set New Year Work Resolutions and Actually Achieve Them

Many businesses are still keeping a heavy hand on their budgets, cutting out traditional holiday bonuses to weather the tough economic times. If you’re one of the few employees lucky enough to receive a bonus this holiday season, you may be tempted to use the extra funds for impulse spending. While you may be eager to blow the cash on the latest gadget or on a whirlwind holiday getaway, you’d be better off considering other options. The following are three suggestions to get more from this year’s holiday bonus. Pay Down Debt The holidays are often the season when people rack up credit card debt by charging holiday gifts. Turn the tide this year by paying down your debt rather than accumulating more of it. Even a small holiday bonus can bolster your debt repaying efforts, costing you less in interest and stress over time. If you have several forms of debt, direct the bonus towards the debt with the highest interest rate or the one that’s causing you the most stress. If you planned to … [Read more...] about Effective Uses for Your Holiday Bonus

How you start your work day can make a big difference to your experience and productivity for the rest of the day. How do you start your day? Is it usually a rush or do you have time to prepare and start the day well? Here are a few ideas of ways to help you start your work day well: 1. Eat Breakfast Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day so make sure you start the day with some nutritious and tasty food. I am a big fan of porridge for its slow energy release. Experiment and find foods that work well for you, both on the taste front and the health front! 2. Be Prepared It may seem obvious, but have everything you need ready the night before.  Iron your clothes, get your lunch ready and prepare anything that needs preparing.  Though it means spending some time the night before getting prepared, this will save you rushing around in the morning and enable you to start the day in a more positive state of mind. 3. Meditate Starting the day with meditation is a … [Read more...] about 6 Great Ways To Start Your Work Day!

Office work and fitness may not seem to be natural bedfellows but with a little discipline and creativity, it is possible to work in an office and stay fit throughout the day. 1. Stretch Taking the time to stretch is vital to staying fit in the office, particularly if your work involves being on your computer for long stretches of time. Experiment and see how you could incorporate some simple stretches into your work day. I sometimes take the opportunity to do a few stretches when I am making a cup of tea! 2. Move Around Make sure you are taking time out to just stand up and get away from the desk. When running errands, it is worth taking the stairs instead of the lift. There are usually many opportunities within the workday to move and walk if we take the time to find and do them. Incorporating some walking up stairs is a great way to get your heart pumping as a natural part of your day. Walking to the shops at lunchtime instead of jumping in the car can make a big difference to … [Read more...] about 6 Ways To Stay Fit in the Office

It's tough, truly tough, to get through the workday without inundating your glands with caffeine, but you'll find yourself better off if you do. Why? Caffeine gives you false energy. Drinking a bunch of coffee, for example, is like getting dressed up with nowhere to go. … [Read more...] about Getting Through The Workday Without Coffee

Stress and work seem to go hand in hand for many people these days, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Identify The Stressors There can be a variety of reasons for workplace stress so find out what it is that is stressing you out. Being clear about the root of the stress will help you to get some clarity about the situation and enable you to look at how you can handle things to the best effect. When we feel highly stressed it can be hard to get a handle on exactly what it is that is causing the problem so it is worth getting clear about the root of the problem. Manage Your Stress Levels Look at yourself and your role and see what could be done differently. Just because something has always been done one way, doesn’t mean that it has to be done that way for ever more. Take Responsibility What can you do differently that would make a difference in this situation? Though this can be a challenging question to ask yourself, it is empowering to see your part in a situation and also … [Read more...] about How To Decrease Your Workplace Stress Levels

Being a good boss can be a difficult job in itself. You need to get the job done and manage all the things that need to be done as part of your role as well as keeping your team happy and productive at the same time. If you are a boss or in a management position, here are ten suggestions about ways in which you can be a better boss: 1. Communicaten Listening to your team is vital. Being a good boss often means listening to what is unsaid as well as said. If you do not know about it already, Non Violent Communication is be a great tool that can be used to develop your communication skills. 2. Encourage Encouraging your employees goes a long way. We all like a bit of encouragement now and then so be aware of providing this for your employees. Just because someone has been doing their job for a long time doesn’t mean that they would not appreciate some positive feedback. Perhaps have your employees engage in learning management systems in order to improve their skills and … [Read more...] about 7 Ways To Be A Better Boss