How to Make Your Workplace Happier and Healthier

Most of us are interested in our own wellness and wellbeing. This doesn’t stop just because we are in a corporate environment – in fact it can compound the necessity. When you start to think about health, and all of the issues that surround it, it can actually be easy to become a little obsessed with the whole thing. Once you are reaching your own health goals, you start to notice those of the people around you – and co-workers are no exception to this rule.

 

The interesting thing about co-workers is that we spend more time with them than we do with our own families sometimes. We start to care about them, and part of caring means that we are interested in their health and want to improve their long-term outcomes.

 

You do have to be careful about how you tackle the health of your colleagues, however, as it is very easy to be branded as a ‘health nut’ if you start to blab on about your new healthy lifestyle or diet. There’s also no point in telling people that they are unhealthy or doing it all wrong, as they will simply feel defensive. Nobody likes to feel criticised.

 

Instead, there are some small, unobtrusive things that you can do to help encourage a healthier workplace.

 

For example, one thing that you can do is to encourage walking meetings. Meetings are dull and boring at the best of times, often cramped inside a lifeless meeting room. Instead, why not invite your colleague out for a walk. You can walk and talk at the same time, getting in some vital exercise, fresh air and hopefully even some sun. Being outside in the fresh air can also spur on creative thinking. This doesn’t’ mean that you need to discard all notion of sit-down meetings, but when you get the chance, a walk outside (or even through the hallways if you can’t get outside) can do wonders.

Categories: colleague, employee, fresh, fresh air, health, Meetings, nbsp, walk

Bringing Your Work Home: How Job Stress Follows You

One of the worst things you can do to your health and your home life is carry the stresses of work in your front door. The stress can damage the way you feel about yourself and those around you. You may even go as far as to not want to participate or enjoy many other things in your life because you feel so bad.

 

Is this an over-exaggeration? Sadly, no. Many people come home each day feeling worse than when they left for work.

 

Common Reasons For Stress At Work

 

1. Overworked. Many people are overwhelmed with the amount of work that is placed before them each day. Many employers have cut back on personnel and have increased workloads on the people that remain. This can be frustrating and very tiring.

 

2. Employee Issues. Many employees find that “office politics” are very hard to deal with and it causes them undue stress. This could be from poor management, bad HR, or employee relations. This can easily turn into a very stressful situation when the employee being affected knows they have to return to work each day to the same thing.

 

3. Illegal Activity. There are times when an employee has access to information that they know is illegal and these actions bother them. These employees ear for their job, but their moral standards cause them to suffer much stress at the knowledge.

 

 

Coping With These Three Situations

 

1. When you are overworked, the best thing that you can do is become more organized. While it would be more pleasant to think that your employer could decrease your work load, at this time it may not be possible. Organizing your tasks will help you accomplish more and de-stress.

 

2. Employee Issues. Businesses are run much like the government with a system of checks and balances. If there is an issue with one department, one manager, or an employee, there is another manager, department, or employee that can correct this issue for you.

 

3. Illegal Activity. If the illegal activity is violent in nature, report it to the police – it is that simple. If the activity is one of fraud, which is most common, you have options to correct this issue also. Under the Whistleblowers Act, an employee that reports fraudulent actions is protected by the law and will not be held accountable for the actions of the company. If the act is against the government, the employee may also receive a reward for reporting this crime. If you feel that you are in this situation, you can also find resources at www.whistleblowersattorneys.com .

 

Your home life and your “down” time is much too important to allow it to be ruined by stress from work. You want to do whatever it takes to correct the issues at work, and then take advantage of relationship techniques at home. Slip into a hot bath, go for a nice long walk, or spend the day at the spa, whatever helps you feel better.

 

 

Writer Melanie Fleury knows how work stress can affect other aspects of your life. If you are in a stressful situation at work and feel like the law needs to get involved, visit the website of www.whistleblowersattorneys.com to see if you have a case to pursue against your company.

 

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/williambrawley/4045524560/

Categories: employee, employee issues, Home, home life, illegal activity, nbsp, nbsp nbsp, Stress, stressful situation, work, work nbsp

How to Fire Your Employees with Compassion

Getting fired isn’t fun for anyone, but sometimes it’s a necessary act. There are ways to make the situation worse or better though, and for the sake of both the employer and the employee, the latter is preferred. It helps take a difficult situation and make it amiable and sympathetic, even if it isn’t what either party wants to say or hear. The first thing any person planning on firing someone should do is give the individual as much notice or warning as possible – no-one wants to find out they’ve lost their job and then have no time to plan around the news. The second is to give them as much understanding as you can – this helps the individual to know what to say when looking for a new position, and also helps them to understand why they’ve lost their job and others in the company have not.

 

Experts agree that you shouldn’t ever fire someone on a Friday. While it may seem like a less awkward way of doing things, it actually gives the fired employee the entire weekend to feel miserable during a period of time where no businesses will be working, so they can’t even feel productive in looking for a new position. Firing someone during the week at least gives them chance to seek out resources and find help where they need it.  Monday or Tuesdays are the best days to do the deed, as it gives them a launchpad from which to make plans and act on them. Don’t schedule a meeting with remaining staff to inform them about what has happened, as this will only lead to unwanted questions and also promotes a slightly morbid atmosphere. You don’t want to make the loss of someone’s job gossip worthy, so if you need to inform colleagues then do so individually and quietly. Don’t broadcast the information to people who don’t really need to know, though. Depending on the office culture, keep it to office managers, direct supervisors, human resources and IT, if necessary.

One of the most important things to remember is that the situation should be thought through and planned – don’t try and wing it, in the hope that it will work out when the time comes. This situation is difficult enough and must follow a legally sound practice in order to give the individual everything they need, resource-wise. Some companies or occupations have disclosure requirements which determine what is necessary to reveal to the employee, and ad-libbing could put you at risk of a lawsuit if they haven’t received the information they really need. On a less serious note, it could simply open you both up to miscommunication, which isn’t fair on either side. The chances are they will only hear that they’ve been fired and very little else, but it pays to be concise and fair them regardless. On that note, put everything that you’ve said in writing – this is important for both parties. No doubt the fired employee will have many questions later when the news has had chance to sink in, and having the information to hand can come in handy when this happens. It will also help if there are any discrepancies later on, as you can confirm what information was actually provided.  Lastly, offer help to them should they require it – this may be in the form of a reference when they get a new job, resources to help them look for a new job, or help with their CV if they need it. The most vital thing to remember is to be professional throughout – though it is difficult, there is no reason that professionalism needs to go out of the window.

Categories: employee, employees, fired, fired employee, firing, Information, situation, time, ve lost, work

How to Fire Your Employees with Compassion

Getting fired isn’t fun for anyone, but sometimes it’s a necessary act. There are ways to make the situation worse or better though, and for the sake of both the employer and the employee, the latter is preferred. It helps take a difficult situation and make it amiable and sympathetic, even if it isn’t what either party wants to say or hear. The first thing any person planning on firing someone should do is give the individual as much notice or warning as possible – no-one wants to find out they’ve lost their job and then have no time to plan around the news. The second is to give them as much understanding as you can – this helps the individual to know what to say when looking for a new position, and also helps them to understand why they’ve lost their job and others in the company have not.

 

Experts agree that you shouldn’t ever fire someone on a Friday. While it may seem like a less awkward way of doing things, it actually gives the fired employee the entire weekend to feel miserable during a period of time where no businesses will be working, so they can’t even feel productive in looking for a new position. Firing someone during the week at least gives them chance to seek out resources and find help where they need it.  Monday or Tuesdays are the best days to do the deed, as it gives them a launchpad from which to make plans and act on them. Don’t schedule a meeting with remaining staff to inform them about what has happened, as this will only lead to unwanted questions and also promotes a slightly morbid atmosphere. You don’t want to make the loss of someone’s job gossip worthy, so if you need to inform colleagues then do so individually and quietly. Don’t broadcast the information to people who don’t really need to know, though. Depending on the office culture, keep it to office managers, direct supervisors, human resources and IT, if necessary.

One of the most important things to remember is that the situation should be thought through and planned – don’t try and wing it, in the hope that it will work out when the time comes. This situation is difficult enough and must follow a legally sound practice in order to give the individual everything they need, resource-wise. Some companies or occupations have disclosure requirements which determine what is necessary to reveal to the employee, and ad-libbing could put you at risk of a lawsuit if they haven’t received the information they really need. On a less serious note, it could simply open you both up to miscommunication, which isn’t fair on either side. The chances are they will only hear that they’ve been fired and very little else, but it pays to be concise and fair them regardless. On that note, put everything that you’ve said in writing – this is important for both parties. No doubt the fired employee will have many questions later when the news has had chance to sink in, and having the information to hand can come in handy when this happens. It will also help if there are any discrepancies later on, as you can confirm what information was actually provided.  Lastly, offer help to them should they require it – this may be in the form of a reference when they get a new job, resources to help them look for a new job, or help with their CV if they need it. The most vital thing to remember is to be professional throughout – though it is difficult, there is no reason that professionalism needs to go out of the window.

Categories: employee, employees, fired, fired employee, firing, Information, situation, time, ve lost, work