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How to Create a Stress-Free Work Environment

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Unfortunately, in today’s society, jobs are becoming more and more difficult to come by. Maybe that’s why some companies are starting to put pressure on their employees. Being stressed at work can come with many disadvantages, but some of the main ones include lack of productivity, constant pressure between employees, lack of professional growth and development, long and inflexible work hours, job insecurity and many more.

Regardless of the workspace or type of work that employees need to perform, it is important to create a more relaxing and chilled environment. In order to do so, it is vital to think about a great variety of aspects.

What are the main reasons for that certain pressure? Is stress generated because the office is too cluttered? Or is it because of the lack of communication? Either way, both the employer and the employees need to discuss these aspects and make some changes. At the end of the day, the employees are going to use all of their energy and skills to improve production and adopt a positive attitude that is of great help for any workspace.

Create a Room for Relaxation

These days more and more companies are starting to think about their employees and are providing them with a room where they can meditate, relax and put their thoughts in order. Having a room for relaxation should be a compulsory aspect for every company. Humans need to take breaks and relax as many times as they need in order to be able to give 100%. It has been proven that the human brain can be a lot more productive after even after a short break between two tasks.

The human brain needs a break so that it can recharge after performing different tiring operations. The room for relaxation doesn’t necessarily have to be a fancy one. Even a very simple space that is decorated accordingly can be a great help that will bring a lot of advantages over time. Once you find out what are the needs of your employees, it is quite easy to create that certain space. You could add a nice corner sofa and some beanbags, a table where they are going to have lunch together and why not a few plants or a small garden space that brings peace and fresh air to the “zen space”.

Communication is Key

Even though many people might not be aware of it, communication is a very important aspect that makes people who they are. People need to communicate in order to survive. So why would they stop communicating at work? These days more and more individuals suffer from physical or emotional stress because of the lack of communication and disorganization at work. A disorganized office usually leads to wasting time of finding important papers, missing deadlines, decreasing the level of productivity and even slowing down the mental energy. In order to be able to create a stress-free work environment employers are advised to encourage their employees to express their ideas and opinions as often as they feel that they could be beneficial for the office atmosphere and not only. Moreover, an employer who is able to communicate well with the team will most likely eliminate misunderstandings, creating a healthy work environment. Efficient communication with the employees is the main aspect that leads to getting the work done quickly, in a much professional manner.

Make the most of the Online World

Every employer aims to create a workplace where the team is able to innovate and come up with the best ideas to increase the productivity. In order to do so, it is important to make the most of every resource that is close to us. These days one can find so many useful applications and websites in the online world. One can find apps that are meant to create a peaceful environment at work, one can find posters that they can print out and frame in order to create a very relaxed and positive atmosphere and last but not least, one has tools that help them facilitate their day to day work. Meteor Forms is essentially a technology that helps its clients build customized forms. This company fills out your forms while you relax and enjoy high security of your data.

Employees need to work in a relaxing environment to be more innovative and maximize their productivity. A Custom Poster Printing initiative can help you to create a positive work environment for your employees. You can opt to print out motivational quotes, postcards, save the date magnets, or hang tags to help maintain an orderly workplace based on your employees’ preferences. Customization ensures that the information printed aligns with the organizational culture and meets the specific objectives that your employees are meant to achieve. It will also ensure that the posters are personalized to reach your employees. Consider having professional and eye-catching posters to gain your employees’ attention. These posters will remind the employees what they need to do, enhancing order and peace at the workplace.

Keep Active

Doctors and experts inform us that in order to live a healthy life both mentally and physically, it is important to keep active each day. They advise us to walk at least 10,000 steps a day, which is not always possible when working in a sedentary office job. However, there are a few tips and tricks that every team can do so that they eliminate the sedentary way of life, enjoy a nice activity together and create a less stressful work environment.

A simple but very effective way of keeping active at work is by taking the stairs as opposed to the elevator. Stretching is also a good way of relieving the tension in the muscles and preventing eventual back problems that might appear over time. Even though most of the time corporate jobs imply the idea of wearing formal attire, employees can always opt for a comfortable option that will allow them to move freely all day long. Another great activity that every team of office workers could do would be taking a walk in the park while on lunch break. This kind of activity prevents a sedentary lifestyle, adds to the daily amount of walking steps, burns calories and helps build a more relaxed work atmosphere.

Learn to Be Tolerant

Everyone needs to remember that every individual is different and they might have personal issues that don’t allow them to be the best version of themselves. A lack of tolerance gets in the way of making personal connections with people around us. Moreover, it can also create unprofessional behavior and misunderstandings. In a workplace, just like in our day to day life, people should be treated with respect. Building tolerance and learning to accept different cultures are great aspects that help eliminate pressures or stress in the work ambience.

Relieve the Workload

Some smaller companies often require one person to do many jobs. This can give them valuable experience for their later career, but other problems could arise. Maybe they aren’t fairly compensated for the extra effort they put in; perhaps they feel overwhelmed with too much work and their primary duties are suffering as a result.

Managers must recognize the signs of stress, anxiety, and burnout from employees who are doing too much. Rather than immediately scold an employee for not hitting their targets, think about why this is happening. If possible, look at outsourcing roles for IT Support and finances to take the load off some employees. You’ll soon see a stressful cloud lifted, and they will be back to their best.

How To Be A More Effective Leader At Your Company

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Being a leader is hard enough, but then you have to worry about being an effective one on top of it, which can, in turn, be incredibly stressful. Your company is counting on you to deliver your best results and you can’t be caught dragging your feet on the job. Being a good leader means you’re willing to step up and put yourself out there with the purpose of benefiting the group.

Always be brushing up on your leadership skills and thinking about what you could be doing better. The minute you start to get comfortable is when you’re going to lose your edge, which may cause you to lose some of your pull too. Your first step is to learn a few tips that will help you be more effective in your leadership position.

Always Make Time for you

Where some professionals get it wrong is that they’re always focusing on their tasks and other people. Remember that being a strong leader comes from inside you. This is why it’s important to put yourself first and take care of yourself. You can’t lead if you don’t feel your best and have the energy to do so. It also includes you taking the time to educate and train yourself on what you need to know to be more effective in your role.

Speak up

Leadership is all about having the courage to speak up and ignite change. If you notice a process that’s in place that’s holding everyone up then address it with the relevant parties. For example, if payroll is failing to provide pay stubs efficiently then tell them to use a company who can provide the service at a low cost and avoid fake paystub maker. Although it’s not your job to implement this change, you’re speaking up and being a leader to help the greater good.

Expand your Circle

To be a good leader you have to step outside your circle and get to know other people from different departments. There’s no room for having clicks and being secretive if you want to take charge at your company. Make time to get to know people in all positions and ask for their feedback regarding how it’s going for them. Have an open door policy and let everyone know they’re always welcome to step in and chat about anything that’s on their minds.

Delegate Wisely

First, you have to know how to delegate, and then you have to do it wisely. This means assigning appropriate responsibilities to others and people seeing you as an authority figure, so the work gets done on time. You must be clear and assertive in your delivery. To be an effective leader you have to be viewed as someone who means business, but also as someone who is easily approachable if there are questions or concerns.

Conclusion

Being a leader is crucial to the inner workings of your company. There’s always room for improving your skills and becoming more effective. The best way to learn is to start practicing new behaviors and getting more experience.

Crucial Investing Tips for 2018

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In the early days of 2018, it’s a good time to consider what’s the same and what’s new as the new year unfolds. With investing specifically, some basic principles remain unchanged, but there are some new kids on the block to pay attention to as well.

Let’s dive right in with a few investing tips for 2018.

Crypto Currencies

Everyone is curious about crypto currencies right now. With the sudden rise in Bitcoin during 2017 and other digital currencies being discussed like Ethereum and LiteCoin, there’s certainly good speculative money to be made. The old idea of “buying on the dips” is likely to prove useful to handle the ups and downs of these internet currencies.

Just be careful about the fees involved with each purchase as small batch sizes sometimes, especially in the case of Bitcoin, become quite expensive to complete. Be aware of how you’re buying the bitcoin and where it’s being stored too.

While it’s common to use an intermediary to make the purchase, it’s possible to hold a balance in a digital wallet like Electrum which is open-source and cross-platform (they have multiple desktop client and mobile apps too). This way, it’s not tied to a digital wallet provider and not at risk from the digital currency robberies that have taken place previously; this is the way Bitcoin was originally intended and set up where an intermediate was not required.

Fast-moving NASDAQ Technology Stocks

NASDAQ stocks are primarily technology based. They’re often quite expensive, but they go through periodic price adjustments where there’s often good opportunities to pick up bargains. At stateschronicle.com, they cover NASDAQ stocks that have recently fallen in price and are worth researching ahead of a possible purchase. Obviously, always perform your own due diligence before diving in.

Re-balancing a Portfolio

When setting up a portfolio, you create allocations for each planned asset class. These are based on your level of equity exposure that you’re comfortable with along with a sensible mix of non-correlated assets where some zig when others zag in the markets. Balancing a portfolio in this manner helps to mitigate steep moves upwards (or downwards) and smooths out the bumps.

For instance, in 2017 U.S. stocks had a banner year having risen over 21 percent. However, investors who put an equal amount into international stocks would have enjoyed over 27 percent return on their foreign investments. A 50/50 split would have achieved 24.5 percent return pre-costs.

 

Rebalancing a portfolio is a semi-regular action that sells down investments that have risen in price and buys more of what has been in the doldrums. While it may seem counterintuitive to sell your winners, the idea is to keep reasonably close to your planned asset allocation while avoiding any whipsaw with inflated investments coming crashing down. By rebalancing, the accepted risk levels of a portfolio are maintained too.

Investing in 2018 isn’t much different to other years except there are more opportunities for smaller investors to buy different types of alternative investments including dabbling in digital currencies. Keeping a sensible eye on maintaining a proper balance to your portfolio avoids overdoing things.

There Are More Ways To Reach The Top Than You Think

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You might be at a point in life where you are unsure how to progress in your career and how to reach success. This could be at the beginning of college, just before leaving school or even at a time later on in your life. At one point or another, we are all stuck with how to proceed. You may even feel pressure to make the right decision because you don’t want to be in the situation where a few years later you feel like you made the wrong choice.

We have a few options on how to proceed here.

Find A Basic Job

You can complete this part-time or full time depending on your situation. This is also a smart move if, for whatever reason, you find yourself out of work. People are often wary of taking a basic job because they think that it means a low level of pay. On occasion, it can, but a basic job can also be seen as the first stepping stone. Slowly but surely, you can rise through the ranks to the point where you will be able to grow your paycheck, your responsibilities and indeed, your position in a company or sector. This is a smart move if you are completely unsure of what direction to take. For the time being it does set you on a path that with hard work will lead to great success.

Choosing A Degree

You might be in a situation where you are choosing a degree. This could be a post grad or your first time in college. It is important to understand which degrees open what doors and the type of thing you can expect. For instance, a law degree doesn’t just open up the possibility of working as a lawyer. Most people with law degrees can find a job operating in human resources. Human resources can be another high paying position that could prove to be a useful backup. While an online social work degree is something that can indeed help you find a position in social services or even in the health industry. By knowing you have more than one route available to you, you’ll find the right path.

Get Yourself Out There

Of course, if you take the necessary steps, you can make sure that the right career finds you and avoid searching for it yourself. You can let a business owner or business headhunt you for a role that you would love. Doing this is all about making sure that you are active on social media. Make sure that you have a Linkedin Page and that you are staying active across social media. You don’t have to use this for personal use. Instead, use it purely as a way to build up your own personal brand. In other words, who you are and what type of business interests you have.

Do this and as well as the possibility of being headhunted, you could find yourself getting far more job offers when you send out your CV and attend interviews.

We hope you see now that there are more ways than it seems to reach the top with any career path.

How to Get a Work-Life Balance When Working at Home

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Although there are many advantages to working from home, there can also be problems associated with trying to work in the same place you live. Not only do you need to make sure you get all your work completed, but you also want to spend time with your family. Here are some of the ways you can try to achieve a better work/life balance.

Set Yourself a Schedule

When you are working from home, it can be easy to just pop into the office room and answer a few emails. However, if you do that, you will find yourself doing it more often, with opening a couple of emails to replying to them and then working a few extra hours – just because. It is important that you stick to a schedule, so create one that sets out your day carefully and includes an end to your work. Allow yourself time to work, but also make sure that you only spend set hours in the office. If you are working for someone else, then it is important that you are honest and clear about the hours you work from the beginning of your employment.

Give Yourself Space You Need

While you can set up your office area anywhere in your house, it can make a lot of difference if you need peace and quiet. Ideally, you need a room to yourself that you can use as an office, then you can close the door, and the others in the house will know you’re working. Alternatively, you can always look at mobile offices that you can set up in the garden. It will give you a dedicated space, and it won’t take up a room in your home.

Work Smarter Not Harder

There are some that believe you have to work all the hours you can to be successful. While you need to put in the hours to do a good job, you don’t have to spend the whole day and night in the office. By doing the things you need to do efficiently, you can get far more work completed in less time. If you have a lot of jobs to do, consider taking on a virtual assistant that can help you with the routine tasks.

Learn to Say No

It can be easy just to continue to do a thing for your clients or your boss without thinking about what it means to your family. You are not obliged to work 24 hours a day, so you should learn to say no when they are asking things that are unreasonable. If you have set hours of work, then it makes it easier to say you are not available. If you have a mobile phone for your work, then you need to make sure you turn it off when you are not available. People can leave you a message, and you can get back to them later.

There are many people who love working from home and still manage to fit both home and work life into their day. All you need is a little planning and to learn to say no when you aren’t available.