Free Donuts For The Office

Does your company offer great benefits?

We're not talking about the basic, core plans that most companies give you like Pensions, Life Assurance and Health Care.

We're talking about the extra perks. The kind of benefits that would attract you to a job, the kind of benefits that you brag about to your friends and the kind of benefits that may just stop you leaving that company.

The gym and yoga workouts and other wellness services we offer out clients always go down well but take a look at some of the other perks we've come across over the years.

The Indulgent
Bacon sandwiches on Fridays
Weekly Donuts / Bagels
Cakes on your birthday
Beers All Round on Friday afternoons

The Downright Useful
Subsidised Car Parking
Language Courses
Advanced Driving Lessons
Lifestyle Management services
Executive Coaching (could save on therapy bills)
Duvet Days

The Unusual
Subsidised pole dancing classes (this is real -a TV company I know paid for their PA's to go along to these classes)
Padded room for staff brainstorming

Does your company offer anything that can beat these?


Photograph by François @ Edito.qc.ca (Flickr)

Read more on this article...

How Do You Cope With Work Related Stress?

Stress is a very broad term and heavily used especially when it comes to talking about work. But what is stress and how can you recognise it and most importantly, how can you get rid of it quickly?

The most common symptoms of stress include:
*depression
*exhaustion
*frequent headaches and aches in the neck and shoulders
*aggression
*paranoia
*apathy
*increased absenteeism
*restless sleep or insomnia
*increased alcohol intake after work.

Sound familiar?

Naturally, these could also be symptoms for other things but if you feel these things whilst you're in the office or when you think about the office, here are some tips that will help you manage your stress and get rid of it.

1. Change The Situation
Identify what it is that causes you the most stress and do something quickly to avoid it.
If it's another employee, avoid spending anytime with them or near them if you can. Limit how much you have to deal with them. Change your daily habits in work and perhaps go out at lunch time to have a break from the office.

2. Change Your Attitude and Approach
If you are stressed, whatever you are doing now is NOT WORKING so something has to change. If your issue is with your lack of assertiveness, practice standing up for yourself every day and try saying 'No' sometimes. You can always be polite but firm. Find a colleague who is good at doing this and mimic the way they do it. Don't worry that people will be offended - if you think you are being reasonable, then go ahead. If you tend to get upset at situations in the office, stop. Find a way to react differently and don't allow yourself to keep feeling bad. This sounds impossible but it can be done if you develop a zero tolerance rule on yourself about feeling upset.

3. Write a Journal
It only has to be short but everytime something happens that make you feel stressed, note it down. After a week, you should be able to see a pattern and spot what your stress triggers are. Now you know what you need to work on and what you can cut out of your life by avoiding. If you find the office gossips bring you down, make an excuse to leave the room when they start.

4. Start Regular Exercise
Many clients I work with always reach the same conclusion after they start running regularly. They all reckon it's natures anti-depressant. Going for a regular jog or run will not only make you fitter and healthier but it's an excellent way to forget office stress and focus on positive thoughts. You're not only looking after yourself but you are adopting a great new habit that will help you bansih stress. Try a short jog and build up from there rather than just say 'Oh I can't run' and then shutting the door to it.

5. Eat Better and Sleep Better
When you are stressed, you tend to let your healthy diet slip and eat foods that ironically enough make you feel even more stressed. Whether you forget to eat or you binge on coffees and fast food, you're making it impossible for your body to function well and wind down sufficiently in the evening to help you get a decent nights sleep. Stop. Here are some tips on how to to eat better to help you sleep better.

6. Book a Trip Away
Having something in the diary in a couple of months time to look forward to can really help you get through dark days. Don't wish your life away but filling your diary with great things to look forward to is such a boost and when you get back from the holiday, book another weekend away or a trip. It's a very healthy cycle to get into.

7. Corporate Health and Wellbeing Programmes
Find out what your company offers in this area. Some companies offer great staff benefits that could include discounted massage treatments, yoga classes, Gym membership discounts, Fit Days. Its worth checking with your HR department.
I think that the role of the company is to help employess to rid themselves of work related stress. Its fine to expect employees to deliver 100% all the time but if you're going to pile on the pressure, you are obliged to help staff get rid of it where you can.

8. Is This The Job For You?
Sometimes, no smount of stress busting can help because perhaps you are not in the right type of position for your personality type. Its a hard admission to make but one that will make you so much happier once you have made it. Again, writing a journal should throw up some home truths for you to think about.

Good Luck.


Photograph by rick (Flickr)

Read more on this article...

3 Things to Avoid in the office on a Friday

1. Don't Ask For a Pay Rise
An absolute no no for a Friday. Not only will your boss' mind not be focused on that - its Friday for him or her too remember and they are mentally gearing up for the weekend, but it means you have given them something 'difficult' to think about just as they start their weekend and they may resent you for that. All in all, you always want the answer to be favourable so give yourself better odds and leave it till a weekday. Wednesday is recommended as the best day to ask if you want your employer to be receptive to a pay request. Make sure you've done your homework and you are clear why you deserve it and what you are willing to do should the answer be no.


2. Don't Go Into Weekend Mode At Lunch Time
That Friday feeling is universal with many workers 'slacking off' on a Friday afternoon is not uncommon however, if you are strategic about Friday afternoons, you can get lots of work done that will make your Monday morning much easier and more manageable. Do the awkward little jobs that you know you'll dread doing next week and get them out the way. the satisfaction from doing them will kickstart your weekend and make Monday so much easier. try doing a to do list for Monday so you don't think about Monday on Sunday. Then have a little fun...


3. Don't book important meetings after 2pm
As above, many people mentally switch off on Friday afternoon and so relying on the same level of efficiency is a bit of a tall order. Work around this and try and arrange the most important meetings for the first half of the day if you have to do them on Friday or save them for a weekday when people are more focused. Its much more efficient.





Photograph by sfllaw (Flickr)

Read more on this article...

How Can You Keep Your Employees Happy?

Weekly bonuses and 60 days paid leave!

No seriously, how can you give employees a benefit that will actually make them more motivated, focused and ultimately, loyal to the company? As part of the research that we do as an organisation we witness businesses spending an enormous amount of time and energy trying to tackle this and many times, they get it wrong. Sometimes, giving people more 'stuff' doesn't motivate them. It has to be the right sort of 'stuff'.

We use various methods but here's 3 ways you can get started:

1. Speak to your employees. Ask them what will make them happier. Make sure your benefits really are benefits. A carefully designed process (smart questionnaires, one-to-one chats) to get the right information from staff can lead to a targeted initiative achieving fantastic results.

2. Give staff access to the resources they need to achieve success. Don’t leave them any reason or excuse to think that what they've told you they need has fallen on deaf ears. Our expertise is in wellbeing so when we run corporate fitness programs, we make sure that our clients have access to everything they need to take instant and ongoing action by providing experts on site, fully developed programs and regular guidance and motivation.

3. Measure progress. You’ve got to know that what you’re doing works so regular measurement is vital and helps to keep staff happy on two levels. Firstly, by consulting them they feel involved in what’s going on and take a degree of ownership in the project. Secondly, assessing progress helps you to evolve the most effective initiatives over time and ditch what isn't working.



Photograph by juicystyle (Flickr)

Read more on this article...

How to Stop Worrying About Work on Sundays

Do you regularly lose a nights sleep on Sunday fretting about going
into work on Monday? Does the thought of dealing with certain
colleagues or projects leave you lying awake all night?

Well you're not alone. A whopping 84% of people toss and turn for most of
the night anxious about the week ahead. Depressing isn't it? A bit like
being at school again except this time, we're grown up and we're
getting paid. But what can you do to stop it?


A survey conducted by Monster.com showed that the UK and US
workers were the most likely to skip a nights sleep because of office
related stress. Envy the Italians, it seems they rarely let thoughts of Monday ruin a Sunday
night.

To help workers reduce workplace stress and get the good nights sleep they deserve, Monster recommends:

1. Focus on the good stuff and the highlights. Think about what goes well each
day, rather than workplace problems.

2. Create a to-do list. Managing a to-do list can help you maximise your
time and sleep better.

3. If it has been a while since your last holiday, consider
taking some time off to de-stress.

I agree with a couple of those points but I think the formality of doing to-do lists before bed only reminds you of what lies ahead when you should be focused on relaxing and winding down.

Try this instead - write you to-do list on Friday afternoon before you sign off for the weekend. On Sunday, focus instead on enjoying your weekend knowing that you have a plan in place for Monday and what you need to do.

Hire a DVD to distract and entertain you, or plan something nice to do that evening - a family meal, quick drink with friends etc. Its really important to remind yourself that work isn't the enemy. It's your opportunity to progress in life so rest assured that quality time out at the weekend will lead to better results in the week.

Let yourself off the hook and enjoy your weekend. They wont know what's hit them on Monday morning!


Photograph by Meredith_Farmer (Flickr)

Read more on this article...