Today’s business environment is both energy and time intensive. If you’re part of a small company, you likely wear many hats. If you’re part of a large company, odds are you’re involved in global business development. Whatever business you’re in, time is at a premium. Throw in the responsibilities of family and caring for a home, and that leaves precious little time to think about things like fitness. Fortunately, a few simple tweaks to your day can go a long way toward fitting fitness into our busy lives. Fitness Lunches Studies have shown time and again that eating lunch at your desk contributes to weight gain. Even worse is the ubiquitous business lunch, which generally consists of an over-abundance of wasteful calories. Break the mold. Pack your lunch and fit in a quick workout instead. Sure you’ll miss out on the latest gossip, but its a small price to pay. If your employer has a locker room/shower, a 30-minute walk, run, or bike ride is very manageable on a one-hour … [Read more...] about Living Fit In Today's Business World
8 Best Employee Incentive Programs
Best perks to offer aside from salary, raises, and health benefits. Employee retention is especially important when the economy is down because sourcing, interviewing, hiring and training replacements drain valuable time and money resources. In order to promote employee job satisfaction, you as a manager or HR professional need to focus on making some of the top preferred perks available to your workers, in addition to base pay and insurance. Employee morale surveys from Infosurv can help you determine what incentives are best for your employees. To find out more about some of the best employee incentives, read on. 1. Flex hours and/or telecommuting Flexible hours and telecommuting are two different perks, but they both offer the same thing: flexibility and freedom for the employee to choose when and where he or she works. This is one of the most sought after employee incentive programs. There are a number of ways to offer flex hours to employees who earn it. One option may be … [Read more...] about 8 Best Employee Incentive Programs
7 Careers for Green-Hearted Creative Types
If you have a creative streak and a passion for the environment, then you are in luck career-wise. Sustainability centers are popping up around the world, and eco-tourism is really taking off. This give syou the chance to use your powers of creativity to educate others on the importance of saving the planet. Musicians Use the power of music to promote a green message. Think Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" and Cake's "Too Much Carbon Monoxide." Not only can you put the importance of saving the planet in your lyrics, but you can also model a green lifestyle as you travel. Singer and songwriter Jack Johnson is a perfect example of a creative environmental activist. When he does his concert tours, he travels in bio-fuel buses. He also sells eco-friendly merchandise. Graphic Artists If you have a talent for design and want to support environmental preservation, then you have several options at your fingertips. You can specialize in art that promote environmental messages. You can design … [Read more...] about 7 Careers for Green-Hearted Creative Types
How to Work When Your Personal Life is Falling Apart
We often have to show up at the office even when there's a serious issue unfolding at home. Death, divorce, fights, and a myriad of other unfortunate life situations might stop your life in its tracks, but the harsh reality is that work must go on. To maintain your work-life balance and keep your job, here are several tactics employees can use to make a tough time a bit easier:1. If you trust your supervisor, tell them what’s going on. Be aware of your company's Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy before you do this, as unpaid leave may not be a viable option for you. Bosses may be more understanding than they’re given credit for, and proper work-life balance is an asset to both you and the organization.But revealing a personal problem to your boss can have unintended consequences. Though against the law, your issue could hold you back from future advancement. On the flip side, telling your boss could build your trust quotient, raising your stock as an employee. The … [Read more...] about How to Work When Your Personal Life is Falling Apart
State of Jobs
Source: eBay Classifieds … [Read more...] about State of Jobs
5 Careers That Allow You To Drive Very Fast
If you’ve always had a hankering in your heart to drive down the road like a speed devil, you don’t necessarily have to dismiss this desire. There are several ways to fulfill this desire while still staying within the boundaries of the law. For example, there are many careers that allow you to drive very fast. It may not be 100 percent safe, but at least it’s legal and you’re doing something worthwhile while getting your speed kicks. Here are five careers where your need for speed will come in handy and some tips on how to enter said careers. 1. Race Car Driver Watching a car race is a very exciting event. The only thing more exciting is to the one on the racetrack. By the very nature of their jobs, race car drivers need to drive as fast as possible. If you’re interested in this career path, you first need to decide what kind of car racing you want to do. Some types of car racing include NASCAR racing, drag racing or open wheel racing. Once you’re learned the basics of racing, it’s a … [Read more...] about 5 Careers That Allow You To Drive Very Fast
20 Years of Service and All I Got Was This Lame Pin!
When Andrew suggested the post idea of corporate "years of service" awards, I had no clue it was such a hot-button topic. When I put out the call for people to share their company gift stories, several common themes emerged: * My company is CHEAP! * Why bother? * Who wears LAPEL pins? * They provide comic relief.So, Corporate American, listen up. Here’s what your employees think.Cheapies“IBM offers a fine selection of landfill worthy items - any one of these fine items can be yours for just TEN YEARS of service! * A "Henkel’s" Knife Set (Made in China not Germany) and usually on special at Bed Bath N Beyond for $69.99 or less (Someone needs to tell them it's bad luck to give knives as a gift.) * A truly hideous Cut Glass and Brass … [Read more...] about 20 Years of Service and All I Got Was This Lame Pin!
Top 7 iPhone Apps for Working While Abroad
It’s 2011 and everyone does everything on their mobile phones. Alexander Graham Bell is rolling over in his grave…hey, maybe there’s an app for that. There might as well be because if you have an iPhone, there’s an app for just about everything. Some are free, some are not; regardless, there are 7 iPhone apps that are invaluable to those working abroad. Let’s take a look at the free iPhone apps where functionality and fun meets. 1) Google Maps I’m happy to report that this is one of the free iPhone apps. Sooner or later while traveling in a foreign town, you are going to get lost. Face it. Since asking for directions may be an exercise in futility, being able to just jump onto your iPhone and find not only your location but where you need to go is an invaluable asset. This is something no self-respecting iPhone carrying traveler should be without. 2) TripIt You can pull up your itinerary by emailing it to ‘TripIt’ and it will be saved and synced to your iPhone. Even if … [Read more...] about Top 7 iPhone Apps for Working While Abroad
Being a Manager Sucks
Recent graduates and entry-level employees often step into the workforce with an eye on moving into management. The thinking is that with a management title comes more money, respect, and power—but that’s not always the case. Being a middle manager comes with its own set of frustrations. Before setting your sights on the corner office, keep the following things about management in mind. 1. You realize how little power you really have. The majority of ideas that you wish to implement must be approved by your managers. An inordinate amount of time is spent selling top management on changes. This major hierarchical stumbling block sets you up with all of the responsibility without any of the authority. Plus, it’s a time drainer that takes you away from the work that has to get done. 2. You realize you still need to do your old job too. Many people push for a promotion so that they can earn more money, show advancement on their resume, and ultimately have more … [Read more...] about Being a Manager Sucks
Stop Wasting Your Time at Work
March and April are two of the most difficult months to work through because there tends to be a lack of motivation; everyone wants time to fly so summer arrives and PTO’s happen every other week. However, it’s actually crucial for professionals to be productive during these two months because vacation season is fast approaching. The only way you are going to reach your work goals is if you use your time efficiently. This means avoiding unnecessary phone calls, distracting conversations, and chores around the office. If you let yourself get distracted every minute, then before you know it, its 7:00pm and you are still at the office finishing up work. Stay in "work mode" by applying these solutions to the following three common problems: The phone that never stops ringing You aren’t going to be able to get a lot of work done if your phone is constantly ringing. Aside from being annoying, your phone ringing every 2 seconds is also very distracting for you and your coworkers. … [Read more...] about Stop Wasting Your Time at Work