Looking for a challenge? Volunteer!

 

Written by Jenny Catton

 

Stuck in a rut at work? Want to build your confidence and learn new skills? Interested in new career opportunities? If so, volunteering could be just what you are looking for.

 

Volunteering can be a great way to boost your career prospects. Whether you want to learn new skills to help you bag your next promotion or would like to find out about different careers without leaving your current job, volunteering provides a whole host of opportunities.

 

From helping on an archaeological dig to working back stage at your local theatre, there are hundreds of volunteering options within a wide range of different industries.

 

Think about the sort of thing you would like to learn. For example, if you’ve always wanted to work with animals but aren’t sure if it’s the career for you, find out if any local animal sanctuaries are looking for volunteers. It’s a great way to find out what you really enjoy and what is involved without going through the upheaval of a complete career change.

 

Volunteering is also a great way to boost your CV. For instance, if you are applying for management roles but don’t have any management career experience, you might find it hard to progress. But if you can find relevant volunteering opportunities, you might be able to refine your management skills in other ways and can then include this experience on your CV.

 

To find out more about volunteering opportunities in your area, search online or visit: www.do-it.org.uk

 

Categories: Career, management, nbsp, nbsp volunteering, opportunities, skills, Volunteering, volunteering opportunities

Waste food management for restaurants

In a nutshell, all that food going to waste from your restaurant is actually money. It’s not just garbage; it’s your investment going “sour”. Like you’re being mugged, but you’re doing it to yourself – in small doses, taking those crisp notes from your pocket and throwing them in a bin. Like tissues. It probably doesn’t end there. Oh, no. Then you’re going to pay some waste disposal company to get rid of your money, in garbage form, of course.

 

These days there are many good ways to reduce and control your food waste, or to call it by its proper name – Waste food management.

 

One thing I would start with is garbage audit. What it basically means is that you physically monitor your waste, food or otherwise. The benefits are pretty obvious, actually. When you know what food is being thrown away as leftover majority, you can, let’s say order those items in smaller quantities next time you talk to your suppliers.

 

That actually gave an introduction to my next recommendation –precycling. Precycling is a process of reducing waste at the source. In another words, there isn’t a better way of reducing waste than not making any in the first place!

 

Moving on, recycling itself. For a successful recycling campaign, there should be a separate, designated bin for recyclables. As well as compost and landfill, for that matter. You could build a system that would ensure that the most of the restaurant waste is recyclable or reusable. That would include packaging like cardboard, recyclable plastics and so on.

 

Composting is another great idea that could remove great amounts of waste. It is a process of separating your organic scraps, mainly vegetable trimmings (because they are preferred) from the rest of the food like dairy products, meat or oils. There are websites these days that can help you find a local composter, if you’re in a need of one.

 

How about changing the menu? You’ve pinpointed the items on your menu that are always, or in most cases, coming back with leftovers. So, besides having smaller portions (as another advice), you can freeze leftover, UNSERVED food and make it next day specials, for example. That would only involve ingredients that could endure the freezing process and be reused when thawed, naturally.  So, freezing surplus food is always a better option than throwing it away, but you have to make sure to abide by the health regulations and safety issues when freezing leftover food. Freezers offer the opportunity to preserve food. Use it! Vacuum pack it and freeze it for later, certainly a good way to minimize food waste.

 

Educating your staff is a very important part in this money – saving endeavor. They should go through a complete, thorough program so they could be properly guided and educated. Use multilingual signs, for example, if your employees are diverse nationalities.

 

Here’s another little “trick” you could use. Serve your portions in a smaller plate on top of a bigger plate. That way your portions will look bigger, if you decide to go with the option of reducing your portions. It will probably require an investment of a new set of plates, but in the long run, an investment that can worth your while.

 

Fruits and vegetables are very sensitive food. Make sure to properly store them for then you’ll extend their time of use. That would involve appropriate containers and storing temperatures. Follow those simple guidelines, and a little bit will go a long way.

 

Some people have even done the math and came to conclusion that 4-10% of food purchases wind up as waste never reaching the consumer. Be wise with your food management plan, rethink, reuse and buy recycled when possible.

 

Author bio:

 

Daniel Hirsch is a successful entrepreneur running a few successful companies, founder of icemachineclearance.com and several other thriving businesses. You can connect with Daniel on Google+.

 

 

Categories: Food, management, restaurants, Waste

How Can Tackling Workplace Stress Save Your Business Money?

Last year, work-related stress cost the economy a massive £6.5bn – clearly, something needs to be done. Whether your employees take days off for stress, or come to work disengaged, tired, unmotivated and too stressed to work, you could see the costs to your business rise if you don’t take action.

 

According to the Health and Safety Executive, there are six management standards that you should review in your business, in order to reduce the levels of work related stress amongst workers and cover the primary sources of stress in the workplace. These include demands (workload, work patterns and the work environment), control (how much input your employee has in his or her own work), relationships (identifying unacceptable behaviour and promoting positive working), change (how organisational change is communicated and managed), role (whether each employee understands his or her purpose, responsibility and place in the organisational structure) and support (core training for the job whilst allowing for factors unique to the individual.)

 

So what might tackling workplace stress look like within your business?

 

1. Train your managers to support employees, and identify, manage and minimise stress. Communication and awareness is vital in this process, as workers should feel comfortable approaching their line manager to talk though any stressful situations. Therefore, line managers need to be able to spot the signs of stress, develop their existing leadership and communication skills and to explore the importance of positive manager behaviours.

 

2. Take a look at your stress management policies. You may want to consider setting up staff consultation groups, or making your staff aware of who they can talk to if they have a problem, such as employee assistance programmes (EAPs), coaching services, occupational health, line managers and human resource managers. If an employee does tell a manager about work-related stress, the manager should then conduct a risk assessment and take action to reduce the impact of stress on your employee.

 

3. Create an environment of corporate wellness. Not only should you provide your employees with the tools and interventions they need to prevent and reduce workplace stress, but you also need to boost employee engagement, support management and leadership development and promote a culture of wellbeing.

Categories: culture, management, policies

Stress: How to Spot and Reduce the Signs and Symptoms

In small doses, stress can actually motivate you to do you best, but if you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mental and physical wellness will pay the price. You need to guard your wellbeing against stress by recognising its signs and symptoms and taking steps to reduce the harmful effects.

When you perceive a threat, your nervous system releases a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. This automatic process is known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction, or the stress response, which, when working properly, helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. This can save your life in an emergency, but too much of this response stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life.

There are common warning signs and symptoms of stress. There are cognitive symptoms such as memory problems, inability to concentrate, poor judgment, negativity, anxiety and worrying, and emotional symptoms like moodiness, irritability or short temper, agitation, depression and feeling overwhelmed, lonely, or unable to relax. When it comes to the physical side of stress, you can experience aches and pains, diarrhoea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, loss of sex drive and frequent colds, and you can also exhibit certain behaviours such as eating and sleeping more or less, isolating yourself from others, nervous habits, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities and using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, they may indicate an underlying psychological or medical problem, and so it’s important to see a doctor for a full evaluation and to determine whether or not your symptoms are stress-related. If stress is the culprit, there are many things you can do to reduce it and the symptoms stress produces. Stress management involves changing the stressful situation when you can, changing your reaction when you can’t, taking care of yourself, and making time for rest and relaxation. You can activate your body’s relaxation response with techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing, and sensory stress-busting techniques can help you to stay cool and in control in the middle of stressful situations.

Stress: How to Spot and Reduce the Signs and Symptoms

Categories: management, Relaxation Techniques, Symptoms

The Management Of Type Two Diabetes

Type two diabetes is a condition which is sweeping the globe. The largest risk factor for it is obesity, which makes sense as the world is currently suffering an obesity epidemic. Processed food is readily available, cheap and easy to cook. This food, when consumed daily for weeks on end does terrible things to your health and piles on the pounds like nothing else. Where being fat was once a badge of affluence it’s now much more likely for those less well-off to get bigger as they can’t afford to eat fresh unprocessed food. India has a massive issue with obesity and the poor in the USA have that same problem.

Beyond actually suffering a coronary arrest there’s very little obesity can throw at you which is worse than type two diabetes. The condition is chronic so if you do contract it you’re going to be stuck with it for the rest of your life.

As you get large your body builds up a resistance to insulin which is the hormone that transfers blood-sugar into energy which is used by all the cells in the body. As less and less of this blood-sugar is used, its levels build up in the bloodstream. This has the dual effect of damaging the smallest blood-vessels in the body and causing the kidneys to work over time to filter your kidneys. Overworking your kidneys eventually damages them beyond repair and micro-vascular damage can lead to blindness, amputation and ultimately death.

Studies have recently been completed into the use of health workers in the treatment of type two diabetes. They help patients learn to manage the condition and as such help prevent diabetes related deaths. Time and again this has been shown to be effective. The fact is that with so many people suffering from type two diabetes it’s difficult to get everyone educated on the disease. With access to this knowledge people could learn to manage and then live with their condition!

Google+
The Management Of Type Two Diabetes

Categories: management, obesity, Type Two Diabetes