Archives for November 2022

Work/Life Balance: How To Approach It In A Healthy Way

November 28, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

As we all know, a lot of stress comes from a bad work/life balance. But when you’re in this kind of hole, it’s hard to get out of it. It’s hard to make a change that you really need without rocking the boat in all other areas of your life, and you’re just way too tired at this point.

When this all adds up, how are you supposed to even approach trying to reschedule your days and make them better for you? Well, it’s not as impossible as it might sound. Indeed, we’ve got some great tips below that could help out right now. In our mind, it’s not about the result – it’s about the way you approach it, and that needs to be as healthy as possible!

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Work isn’t Everything in Your Life

You have more than just work to get on with. You’ve got a whole personal life to dedicate time and energy to as well. And when you lump all of your effort into just the working hours you go through each day, your relationships can really suffer. Not only that, but your own personal ambitions may take a back bench, and that’s never good for a satisfied mindset.

Each Responsibility Deserves Fair Time

It’s always best to remember that each one of your responsibilities deserves their fair share of time. Say you’re in the middle of earning a preschool teacher certification – this course can’t take a backburner for too long! You’re trying to work towards your own betterment (always a worthy goal) and your professional schedule shouldn’t prevent you from giving at least an hour each day.

Take this approach in hand and apply it liberally. You may have a family to raise, or a load of house chores to finish; putting these off isn’t beneficial to anyone except that punishing work schedule. Fair time means putting the ‘work’ in as and when you need to, so if your job gets 8 hours, the rest of your life should get the other 8!

You Still Need (and deserve) a Social Life!

A social life has many benefits to it. Number one, being on your own is bad for both your mental and physical health. You need to be around others to stay stimulated, and feel like you’re living a life filled with love. And if you have any medical concerns, someone else being around takes the pressure off!

But more than that, once you do away with your social life, you allow more work to creep in. If you can’t make time now for the people you love and laugh with, you’re unlikely to be able to again. So set a hard date in your diary every week. You can work around this time, but never on it, because this is when you’re going out or having dinner with your friends and family.

Having a healthy approach to your work/life balance is all about setting boundaries. You deserve a balance!

Ways to Show Appreciation for Employees This Christmas Season

November 27, 2022 by Nina Simons Leave a Comment

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Holliday season is rapidly approaching, and with it comes jolly times. People always remember the start and end of anything, so taking some time and going the extra mile to finish this 2022 year with a bang can go a long way. Your employees have stuck with the company thru thick and thin, making it possible to celebrate the end-of-year results.

Acts of appreciation and kindness are wonderful for morale, retention and company brand reputation. One gift can separate you from the rest and show your employees exactly how much you value them. In the end, no company can exist without its dedicated staff, so improving any relationship on that end can secure a healthy atmosphere, at least until next year! We’ve prepared some reliable suggestions and tips for you to start with!

1. The human factor

Attention costs next to nothing but is priceless to others. Words alone cannot hold up if they are not backed up with actions or concrete signs of affection. Taking the time to talk to your teams or team member individually and going thru all the adventures you had during the work year is a great way of catching up and reminiscing. Celebrating the ups and downs goes hand in hand with all business actions that have led to this moment.

Thanking them for their work and contributions in person is vastly superior compared to a gift card or a company email. Not that you should ignore those traditions, but you should supplement them with direct, human contact. Publicly praising employees boosts retention and employee relationship, bringing that holiday spirit, love and magic to your company. All the information you get this way helps you build up that employee profile and cater to their specific needs. Getting to know someone is also a great chance to make business friends and adapt your work environment for them.

2. Throw an office party

We know it’s still crunch time overall, and there are deadlines to be had, but those are dwindling and coming to an end. As the year grinds to a halt, so too do production and orders, which leads to a bit more breathing room and time. Picking a good date to throw a company event is the perfect way to celebrate and unite with your workforce. Throwing off steam, mingling, celebrating achievements you’ve all had during the year and making memories together will build your collective.

Becoming more than coworkers and transitioning into friends will create a strong work collective and positive work environment. Make sure not to go overboard with alcohol and food and to keep it moderate. One more aspect to consider is the date. People with families will want to spend the holidays with them, so try to pick a perfect date that everyone can adhere to. Consulting with your workforce and working together towards finding the ideal time is the biggest item on the checklist. Everything else comes naturally, and the celebration can begin!

3. Presents!

It’s the season of gifting and, after all, no Christmas period is complete without gifts. From simple to lavish, it is always the thought that counts, and are remembered for days to come. Any gift is better than ignoring your employees, and you don’t have to go overboard with presents. While monetary incentives in form of Christmas bonuses, 13th pay and gift cards all go a long way, the other side is presented. You can wrap or stack your presents in neat and beautiful Christmas hampers, which can be placed on everyone’s desks!

Filling them with envelopes, delights treats, and decorations gets everyone in the Christmas mood! You can style them to go hand-in-hand with your overall office decoration, or you can put them all under a Christmas tree in your office. Whatever your choice may be, you can’t go wrong by sticking to traditions. By putting a few modern twists and sparkling in some magic, you will make the memories last longer! Evoking our earliest memories of presents and excitement to find something new under the Christmas tree is always a fun little nostalgia trip.

4. Improvements for everyone

Santa’s little elves don’t only make gadgets, Christmas cards and bonuses. Your company can surely use some new equipment for your employees, which can show commitment, compassion and dedication to long-term plans. The holiday season will come and go, but people working for you will still work there tomorrow. When you take the time to listen to their advice and feedback during your interviews, you can also learn about their professional opinions about work.

When you go out of your way to purchase or modernise your work surroundings, you are letting them know you care. Making someone’s work easier or bringing it in compliance with modern-age standards, sends a powerful message that dreams can become a reality. People will appreciate the gesture, and the feeling of a new year and a new beginning will be in the air. Breaking the monotony of the workplace is easy during the holidays, but keeping that fresh spirit afterwards requires some effort. Any effort you make, will be appreciated and worthwhile.

Consider employee investments made into your workplace as a two-way street. You are investing in modernising your workplace and you give your employees a chance to shine. With greater means come greater results which will offer a chance for a greater year to come. The affection and acts of kindness will also not go unnoticed by your employees who value anything you do for them. Employee retention is a commodity measured in gold, so any investment you make to keep them for the next year’s Christmas party will return tenfold.

5. Year-long celebration

Keep the energy and motion of the Christmas period throughout the year by doting your calendar with various other holidays. The Christmas spirit is eternal, as its principles are universal. Appreciation, affection and love are the core principles of the upcoming Christmas holidays. One that can be distilled down and spread for future events for years to come.

People love parties at work as it breaks the usual monotony and infuses everyone with fresh energy. Each holiday is a perfect opportunity to cover and celebrate someone’s favourite season. Christmas, Saint Patric’s day, Labour Day, whatever the cause may be, it unites all under the banner of celebration. Christmas parties are often considered required and most employees expect them. But by going out of your way to spread the Christmas joy through the year, you will be subverting their expectations and creating a positive work environment.

Celebrating what’s common for all of us, under different holidays, shows that all are equal and create an atmosphere of equal representation in the workplace. And when each holiday has a chance to shine, so do workers celebrating it.

6. Ways to learn and grow

By celebrating Christmas, we celebrate what brought us to that day and for what we have to be thankful. An entire business year is ripe with learning and chances for knowledge, but it does not need to stop with Christmas. You can use all that experience and see how you can make the best of it. Thinking ahead about the year 2023 and the possible challenges it could entrail, can lead you to realise what employee courses you can get.

Investing in your workforce shows you value their work and does wonder for retention. All human beings love affection, and when you show someone you notice and want to advance their professional career, you, are also saying there is a future for them in your company. Training programs for your employees can be a great addition to the mentioned Christmas hampers.

7. Include the families

No man is an island and the Christmas season is all about the family. While your workforce is one big family at the workplace or factory, all of your employees also have families you can include in the celebration. If you don’t feel like inviting them over or think that would be too forward, you can always write them a sincere company letter. In which you can showcase all the great achievements and moment your employee in question achieved throughout the year.

Companies in Japan practice such personal activities and tight work communities. Personal employee achievements are presented to a wider community and they gain wider recognition. When you show your employees just how much you care and the impact of their actions, they can dedicate themselves further to personal advancements and bask in the glory of a job well done.

Taking any steps towards a positive outcome is noteworthy. Ignorance is not bliss when you are dealing with people working for you. Taking the time and patience to spread the holiday cheer becomes a perpetual mobile at one point. Once the positive energy is in, it will generate more and more until your entire company is engulfed in it. Treat every employee equally and you will see the joy in their eyes. Once your employees feel valuable, they will associate themselves with your company. After which, you can plan a continuous Christmas party for all and for years to come. We wish you all the best!

The Hospitality Industry: How To Promote Employee Engagement

November 27, 2022 by Keith Coppersmith Leave a Comment

The hospitality industry is inherently fast-moving and often hectic, factors that have affected job satisfaction for decades. But with the recent COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in business closures, layoffs, and similar difficult decisions, employee happiness levels have hit new lows. Keeping your hospitality staff engaged, motivated, and satisfied with their roles has truly never been so important to retaining the best workers and reaching business success. With that in mind, here are some simple yet effective ways you could promote employee engagement in the hospitality sector:

Offer Recognition And Rewards

It’s a well-known fact that recognition and rewards are quite effective at boosting employee engagement and overall job satisfaction levels. However, hospitality workers might have different preferences in terms of the most effective acknowledgment tactics. You have to consider a more balanced but flexible framework that encourages employees to reach the main business objectives while meeting their own needs as well. This can include awards for the most packages sold each season, better office parking spots, free lunches for the most successful teams, tickets to festivals and events, a couple of afternoons off, and similar attractive rewards.

Provide Some Interesting Freebies

It’s vital to remember employees at all levels of the organization when it comes to the hospitality sector. From the front desk to the housekeeping staff, it’s important to make everyone feel special if you’d like to promote engagement. Consider providing all workers with interesting freebies such as coffee, soft drinks, fresh fruit, and healthy snacks throughout the workday. This is quite an efficient and inexpensive idea that could aid in keeping your employees refreshed and energized. Freebies can also be a good incentive. For example, you can make an appealing travel package a reward for your most successful team member, turning this exciting vacation into a brilliant motivator.

Give Them Compensatory Time

The hospitality industry typically depends on the free time and the disposable income of its customers. Customer satisfaction is always the main priority for businesses in the sector. While this does support business success, it also means that hospitality workers have to work constantly, even when everyone else is resting and relaxing. These busy schedules can negatively affect employees’ lives, increasing stress and reducing their engagement levels. That is why paid time off is one of the best benefits you can offer to hospitality staff, especially when it comes to restaurants, hotels, and similar services. Long hours and fast-paced work will become much more bearable when employees can look forward to a much-deserved break.

Follow The Latest Industry Trends

Following the most important travel trends for 2022 and beyond can also be a great strategy. When you design your operations according to the latest industry tendencies, you can enjoy wonderful benefits in terms of attracting more consumers and boosting revenue. Your employees will quickly notice that business is booming, which will reflect an increase in overall job satisfaction and happiness. A successful business also means more engaged employees. But following travel trends could have additional benefits as well, such as motivating your staff to be more productive and innovative in an effort to keep up with industry changes.

Foster Friendly Competition

Competition among employees won’t only benefit the company’s sales and revenue; it can be quite advantageous in terms of increasing productivity and engagement among employees as well. But to achieve the best possible results, competition has to be healthy and friendly. This means setting up company-wide contests, organizing team-based activities, providing opportunities to display talents, encouraging peer recognition and praise, offering awards or badges, tracking progress effectively, etc. Incentivize your staff for reaching their targets or at times simply for doing their best.

Provide Development Options

Personal and professional growth opportunities are crucial to employee engagement. They represent a great motivator for workers to keep learning and improving while increasing retention rates as well. And the hospitality sector is truly the best industry for providing these opportunities since most employees here start from the bottom and then work their way up. Focus on employee development and training, consider mentoring options, make promotions easier to get, and ensure you have a strong company culture that supports growth. Train everyone from restaurant servers and cleaning staff to clerks and managers to see the greatest results.

Support Good Communication

Efficient communication is vital in the hospitality industry, helping to build good relationships with customers and maintain smooth day-to-day operations. And while you likely already have good communication systems in place to support these processes, what many hospitality businesses are lacking is staff and team communication channels. Consider investing in software solutions and other tools that will make team collaboration easier and more streamlined. This will help to support your daily operations and benefit the business greatly. However, it will also create a sense of connectivity between staff members, thus promoting employee engagement in the process.

Employee engagement isn’t difficult to promote, even in the hospitality sector. With enhanced processes, good communication, development opportunities, and some attractive rewards, you can motivate your staff to give their all and thus support business success.

Making Your Office Fire Safe

November 25, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

As an employer it is vital that you are doing everything possible to keep your employees safe at work. You have to ensure their safety in the workplace at all times and that includes making sure that the office building is safe from fire. Fire safety is not a joke, and it’s not something that you should be relaxed about.
There are plenty of simple ways that you can fire proof the office and it doesn’t have to be too difficult to make sure that your office isn’t known to catch alight. From practicing preventative measures to ensuring that you are installing fire safe devices and axial fans to keep things ventilated, it pays to be ready at all times. Preventing your business from Catching Fire it’s just one more way that you could ensure the safety of the people who work with you. With this in mind, we’ve got plenty of suggestions below that you will need to ensure that your business and your employees are as safe as possible.

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Keep an eye on your appliances. If your business has a kitchen then you will know the importance of keeping an eye on your business appliances. Kettles, toasters, microwaves anmore don’t last forever, so where possible you need to be ensuring but these are kept as up to date as can be. When these are kept up to date, you can guarantee that they are not only going to last longer, but that they will be less of a fire risk for the people that work in your building. If electronic appliances spark, the best thing that you can do is dispose of it as soon as you can. This way, you won’t have to worry about things going wrong.
Call an electrician. If you don’t have enough space for certain plug sockets, stop overloading the ones that you’ve got and start calling an electrician to make more room. It’s always better to install new plug sockets than it is to try and force any plugs into extension cables. It’s never a good idea to overload your sockets. The good news is that avoiding that is quite simple and a helper electrician will really ensure that you are doing things properly.
Get rid of the clutter. You should be encouraging your employees to keep a clear workstation at all times. Too much paperwork or cloth or any other flammable items near appliances like an electric heater or the back of the computer is a big no no. If you have an office that is free from clutter, you can ensure that you let go of any potential fire risks. If something does catch alight, there is less of a risk of a spread.
Talk to the fire department. Investing in fire alarms is so important, but it’s the fire department that you need to talk to to make sure that you are getting this right. When you speak to the fire department, they will be able to book a time with you so that you can have your fire alarms properly installed and the ones that you have, checked. Make sure that you call them promptly though, because if you don’t have fire alarms currently in your business you could be non compliant and that’s never a good thing.
Provide fire extinguishers across the office. Extinguishers throughout the office, but you have to ensure that there are people there who know how to use them. The fire department will help you out with the fire extinguishers that you need, but the people who work with you will be able to ensure that you trade them. Having a flier officer on site keeps your employees safe. While we’re on the subject of fire extinguishers, don’t forget about fire blankets and how much of these you need.
Instal fire sprinklers. If a fire breaks out sprinklers can take care of most of the blaze before it gets any bigger. Talking to a local firefighter will help you to understand exactly where you should place the sprinklers and they may even be able to do it for you. Firefighters can also vouch for the effectiveness of this fire safety device. They should be placed in key locations around your business so that at any point if a fire does break out it can be fixed and stamped out before it spreads too far.

Fire safety is no joke so you need to treat it the way it should be treated: with respect!

4 Tips for Reducing E-Waste at Your Business

November 24, 2022 by Contributed Post Leave a Comment

When it comes to being a business owner, you must work towards being eco-conscious. It’s essentially a requirement and even the new norm, as consumers want to help support businesses that help the earth rather than harm it. Many businesses don’t seem to realize it, but their electronics can produce a lot of waste. Creating a system to reduce e-waste at your business is one of the best ways to protect the environment. So, here are some tips for doing that!

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Donate older products

Whether you are a business owner or a consumer, donating older products is an easy way to reduce e-waste. It also allows you to reduce your carbon footprint. E-waste, also known as electronic waste, is a form of toxic waste that is a major contributor to environmental pollution. If you are interested in donating older products, you may want to consult a professional e-waste recycling company.

These companies accept donated items, and some also provide tax benefits. Using a registered and certified e-waste recycling company will ensure that your items are disposed of safely. Your business could even create a solid project, such as reaching out to organizations that can refurbish the electronics for resale and can donate the electronics to local nonprofits and schools.

Sort e-waste by type and material

Using proper e-waste disposal methods can reduce the risks of hazardous waste release into the environment. Aside from the obvious waste disposal methods, such as landfills, there are many alternative means of disposal for electronic devices. One of these is e-waste recycling.

This recycling is done systematically to ensure that the best possible material is recovered and used in producing new electronic devices. The most basic e-waste recycling process involves the sorting of e-waste. It is important to sort e-waste by type, material, and weight. This will ensure that the material and the waste are properly sorted and that the waste is disposed of in an environmentally compatible manner.

Rent equipment

Have you ever needed to use a tool but knew you only needed it for a short time? Renting is one of the best eco-friendly options for you! The most cost-effective solution may involve renting equipment. This is a concept that has been introduced previously for any business. Its advantages include cost savings and flexibility.

The cost of renting can rival the cost of purchasing a brand-new system. The cost, as mentioned earlier, savings are accompanied by the ability to divert funds towards more productive uses. The aforementioned benefits are further augmented by the fact that you are not stuck with a piece of equipment that may no longer be used. This can be a big win for any small business.

Hire an e-waste disposal company

Using a certified e-waste disposal company such as https://ewaste.com/our-services/data-destruction/ is one of the best ways to keep your business environmentally safe and productive. Electronic waste contains toxic materials identified as hazardous to human health. A professional e-waste recycling company can handle all aspects of your e-waste disposal. This means that you can focus on other aspects of your business. You can also rest assured that your waste will be disposed of properly.

This also includes handling data destruction too. An e-waste disposal company has the equipment to ensure that your electronics are safely recycled. The equipment includes advanced technology that ensures that no sensitive data is accessible. So you can have peace of mind knowing that everything is okay.