Displaying All Posts in the Office Life category

Paying Your Dues As An Entry-Level Employee

“Entry-level” work often consists of the mundane, tedious tasks that managers and veterans just won’t do anymore. The term itself makes it quite clear that entry-level positions are at the bottom of the office rankings. Being the “new guy” or the “rookie” at work can seem like a raw deal, but the right outlook can help you pay your dues as painlessly as possible. It’s a rite of passage that almost every one of your co-workers survived at the start of their career. If you do your entry-level work right the first time, you’ll never have to revisit the bottom of the totem pole. But, if you approach it with a poor attitude and a shaky work ethic, you might find yourself a permanent position in entry-level limbo. Click Here to Read Article …

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To Thrive or Survive – Working Under Pressure

Have you ever heard someone say that they “work best under pressure”? It sounds like such a positive thing to say about your work habits. But, what if instead of “working best under pressure” they mean that they work only when under pressure, or that they even require pressure to get any work done at all?

Suddenly, it doesn’t sound like such a great way to describe yourself. Do you want people to get the impression that they need to pressure you in order to get you to increase your productivity? If so, get ready for an unnecessarily stressful work experience.

Instead of claiming to “work best under pressure”, consider the opposite: Present yourself as a “self-starter” who needs no pressure, prodding, babysitting, or queuing of any kind to get their work done. The term “self-starter” is just as clichéd, but at least it’s not suggesting to your peers that they have to nag you nonstop to get your best efforts.

Now if you truly do thrive under pressure, then by all means seek it out. But if not, do yourself a favor and find a tactful way to say, “I can handle pressure, but I don’t require it to excel.” Click Here to Read Article …

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How to Ask Your Boss to Work From Home

I’m writing this article from home – where I’d love to do all of my work.  Much of my writing is done here, but my day job doesn’t afford me the ability to enjoy the same “luxury.”  That’s not to say I don’t do some of my work for my day job at home – that does happen from time to time.  Actually, the separation of the two pursuits makes not only for a clear set of responsibilities depending on where I am (for example, I can leave my work at the office should I choose), but it makes for more productivity on the whole.

But many of you have one job.  One that you could do just as easily from home.  One that you know you could do better from home.  So why not do that?  How can you go from working at the office to working at home?  Here’s a step by step method to get your boss to say “yes” to your request to work from home… Click Here to Read Article …

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Dealing With “The Impossible” At Work

The novel Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is a “satirical critique of bureaucratic operation and reasoning.” The book is famous, unique and hilarious, but the term “Catch-22″ itself has become more popular than the book it came from. The phrase may seem old and obscure, but it’s still part of the English lexicon, and it’s been used most recently in popular TV shows like Lost and The Office. Click Here to Read Article …

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Habits That Annoy Your Cubicle Mates

There are certain habits that one has at home that should not be brought into Cube Land.  We all have our habits and though we may disagree on what’s acceptable in our personal lives, the workplace is a different story as there are certain things that just do not belong in it at all.  There is always the problem with the exposed belly for example (or the butt cleavage!).  Then there are those things that I had thought were even more obvious but obviously they weren’t. Click Here to Read Article …

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5 Ways You Can Go Wrong with Social Media at Work

Social media is the greatest thing for the working class since the water cooler.

In a 10-minute break we can update our Facebook status, comment on our cousin’s photos and share links to new Muppet videos. But there are professional uses too. You can research solutions to problems, make new connections in your field and keep up with industry developments. There is a case to be made for using social media at work.

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Handling Interruptions Realistically

You’ve read the usual advice on career, productivity and self-development  blogs when it comes to handling interruptions at work. Firewall your attention. Don’t check email. Stay off of Facebook and Twitter. All good suggestions, but they’re tautologies equivalent to saying that the best way to avoid distractions is to be undistractable. We’ve read that the typical office worker is interrupted every three minutes, that it takes 15 minutes to recover from each interruption, that interruptions cost the country $12 trillion in lost productivity (the number fluctuates radically). We get it: interruptions are not welcome. Click Here to Read Article …

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What Goes in Your Mouth Comes out in Your Reports

Many people don’t take into account the importance of a balanced diet let alone when it’s related to work. Employees often put work before health, drinking multiple cups of coffee or skipping lunch or dinner in exchange for more time to do those reports, never wondering about the effects these habits have on their health. I turned to an expert for advice.

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