Displaying All Posts in the Office Life category

The 10 Pillars of an Awesome Team Event

Planning an awesome team event is a great way to create and enhance team spirit and boost morale.  An awesome team event is an opportunity for people to spend time together outside of the normal confines of work and get to know each other better. It is also an opportunity to unwind, strengthen relationships, which will have a positive effect on the team and their work when back in the workplace.

In order for a team event to stand out, you’ll need to take several things to make that happen — pillars, if you will. Here are the 10 pillars of an awesome team event

1. Plan

Decide on the goal of the event, how many people will be attending and what your budget restrictions are. You may want to ask for opinions about what event to hold, depending on the size of your company. What time of year will you hold the event? Knowing this will allow you to decide on suitable venues and activities. If the event includes getting muddy or sweaty, make sure you have places arranged for people to change or shower so that they feel comfortable later on (or when they travel home).

2. Include People

Put some thought into what kind of event you want to hold and how to include everyone as much as possible. For example, if the event includes lots of physical activity, is that going to exclude anyone? Make sure that you plan the event so that as many people can attend as possible (and don’t plan it just before an important deadline!). If you are arranging refreshments, ensure there are different choices of food and drink available. It is not always possible to include everyone, but showing that you have put some thought into accommodating as many people as possible will make a difference. You can show this in your choice of activity, when you hold the event and how you accommodate different people at the event.
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9 Healthy Habits for the Workplace

Whether you work for yourself or for an employer, looking after your health is vital. If you work without any consideration for your health, at some point things will catch up with you in one way or another. Your health is one of your most important assets. Here are 9 healthy habits that can help you stay on top of your well-being at work:

1. Exercise

Finding time for exercise is important for our health and is a great way to manage stress. Exercise is often further down on the to-do list compared to other tasks, but it is something that you need to find time for — particularly if you work at a sedentary job that has you sitting at a desk all day. If you don’t currently exercise, start small and build up. Go for a walk and start getting your body moving. Even taking the stairs instead of the elevator can make a huge difference. You can find other ways to exercise as you get more comfortable with the new routine. Make it easy for yourself and find exercise that you enjoy.

2. Eat Well

Eating well is another important cornerstone of good health. Our work habits can make it hard to eat well but with some small changes, we can take control of what we eat and stay healthy. Plan your meals in advance each week and shop accordingly. Planning your meals will help you to eat well at home and have ingredients to prepare food for work. By making your own food you will be able to ensure you are eating healthy foods that enhance your health. Bring healthy snacks to work with you (like fruit and nuts) to stop the temptation of unhealthy stop gaps. Doing this is also very good for your bank balance.
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5 Smart Routes to Gain Respect in the Workplace

5 Smart Routes to Gain Respect in the Workplace

In the minefield of office politics, gaining the true respect of your colleagues, your subordinates and your boss is a true achievement. It can be difficult — but if you succeed — the benefits are numerous. Here are some tips for gaining more respect in the workplace (and in life in general).

1. The Only True Respect Is Mutual Respect

Take a moment and think of a few people that you have respect for. Are any of them people who don’t respect you in return? Or, if they’re people you haven’t actually met in person, are there any that you feel would not treat you with respect if you were to meet them? If you answered “no” (and I hope you did), then I’ll take that as point made. If you answered “yes”, then I want you to think about it again. It’s easy to confuse respect with admiration, envy, or even fear. If the respect isn’t mutual…then it’s one of them in disguise.

2. Practice What You Preach

I once had a job where I supervised 30 or so people in a retail business. My boss used to sit in his office all day, rarely showing his face on the sales floor. He also used to ride me constantly about making sure the staff were productive when it wasn’t busy, but when he made his infrequent jaunts out of his office, he acted like Steve Carell’s character on the TV show The Office (cracking jokes, goofing around and keeping people from their work). I think you can probably guess how much respect he had from his employees: very, very, little. The moral of this story is that if you are a leader, then leading by example builds respect.
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Dealing With a Difficult Co-Worker 101

Most jobs involve working with other people to some degree or another. I have met some wonderful people through my work. However, like most of us, there have been times where I have worked with people that I have found difficult. The difference with meeting difficult people at work than in other areas of life is that we don’t always get a choice about whether to spend time with that person. So how do we deal with co-workers we find difficult? Here are some of the things that I have found useful.

Set Boundaries

Be clear about how you deserve to be treated and how you want to treat others. Listen to your intuition and if you feel uncomfortable about something, try and address it. You train people how to treat you. Believe in yourself and show people that you know that you are someone worth treating with respect. Not everyone will have your best interests at heart, so look out for yourself and stand up for what you deserve.

If this is a difficult area for you, take one step at a time. Start saying what you really think, rather than trying to please everyone. Step by step, you can learn to set boundaries and be assertive.
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Beating Up Workplace Bullying: A Pacifist’s Guide

Did you have a bully in your school? Every school has at least one. Maybe you were the kid that wore a “Kick Me” sign on your back and wondered why other kids seemed to always gang up on you. I was that kid (the “Kick Me” sign kid, not the bully). I didn’t wear pocket protectors or tape on my glasses. But I was desperate to be liked, and I often felt like I failed. I had a hard time standing up for myself and I was targeted by bullies a lot as a result.

In my last post, How to Support Coworkers When Tragedy Strikes, I saw an unexpected but somewhat common thread in readers’ comments. People had experienced tragedies and returned to work environments that were –- for lack of a better word –- hostile.

Workplace bullies aren’t typically the focus of this blog, but they are a common issue that thousands of workers across this world deal with.

A workplace bully is someone who mistreats another employee or a group of employees for the sake of appearing superior or for a higher salary. According to studies like this one, there is an 80% likelihood that this bully is a manager or supervisor.
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Get a Life! 7 Ways to Have a Social Life When Home is Your Office

There’s no doubt about it. Working from home can be a pretty sweet setup, with an array of privileges and perks.  So sweet, in fact, that it would take an act of God or near-death emergency to claw some of us from our comfy confines and our daily “uniform” of bunny slippers and lounging pajamas. True?

Still, getting out is good for us — like eating vegetables. Though many of us might argue that we do “socialize” via daily Twitter updates, Facebook entries and other online outlets, it’s not the same.

Occasional face to face activities help to preserve our social skills, enhance our conversational skills, gain support, relieve stress, improve the creative process, and maintain optimal fitness.

Here’s how some of these factors factor into the “quality of life” equation:

Support

No matter how much your family or partner listens to your work-related woes and issues with clients, or how much they serve as your official cheer leading squad, no one quite “gets it” like a fellow entrepreneur, writer, or work at home mom. Connect with these like-minded individuals whether it’s at your local coffeehouse, neighborhood park, or bookstore. These in person gatherings can help give you insight into your problems, laughter when it’s needed, and moral support on a different level. Embrace it.
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How to Deal With an Obsessive Compulsive Co-worker

Oh boy!  It turns out I have something in common with one of my favorite authors, David Sedaris: he too was an obsessive-compulsive child. I would rather have in common with him a list of successful books but (for now) I’ll live with this.  As humorous as I find Sedaris’s accounts of his obsessive-compulsive behavior, the disorder can be difficult for the sufferer and those around him, such as co-workers.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) comes in different forms. There are times when the sufferer would like to change his habits but unlike a person who simply has poor manners, the person with OCD might in fact need therapy to change the undesirable habits.  Still, at work there are times when obsessive-compulsive habits might actually come in handy: imagine a co-worker who is, without fail, always on time for all work commitments, someone who always double checks everything so that errors become rare in your department and your boss loves it!
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Team Player Vs. Self-Starter

Team Player Vs. Self-Starter

Most of us fit into one of two productivity camps—team players and independent workers or “self-starters”. Some of us thrive on the camaraderie and brainstorming that occurs when a high-functioning workplace team gets together to work on a project, while others prefer the solitude and focus that working solo provides. Most people prefer one or the other, but managers like to see employees who can deliver the same results in either arrangement.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Your personality type has a huge influence on your preference. If you’re an extroverted people person, naturally you would prefer to work with others instead of solo. On the other hand, thoughtful, more introspective types commonly choose to work alone when possible.
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