4 Important reasons why women are more affected financially due to the COVID – 19 outbreak

Two focuses of my of my blog are Current Events and Financial Literacy/Money. There are so many layers to the Coronavirus/Covid-19 Crisis/Pandemic. In addition the human health issues, there have also been financial after effects in the area of jobs. Something that’s not being discussed in all circles is the effect of the pandemic on the finances of women. The following guest post is entitled, 4 Important reasons why women are more affected financially due to the COVID – 19 outbreak.

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The coronavirus outbreak has devastated the entire world economy and it has almost reached the middle of this year. But still, humankind is eagerly waiting for a cure to stop this pandemic. Till now, approx 2,941,218 active cases were found worldwide, and nearly 357,979 deaths were reported due to this pandemic. Doctors and healthcare providers are working day and night to provide good medical treatment to the infected people. Medical researchers and scientists are working hard to find an antidote to this virus infection. Unfortunately, we still need more time to get the results.

According to CNN, the COVID-19 pandemic has heavily affected health care associates worldwide more than common people. Most of those associates are young and among them 70% are women. Institute For Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Paul Johnson informed the BBC Today programme“There are those young people who are in those jobs at the moment or were in those jobs before COVID[-19] hit, and if they’re not able to get back into work then there may be longer-term consequences for them. We know that periods of unemployment when you’re young can have long-term effects. Traditionally you’re going to be looking to start work in September, [but] now couldn’t be a worse moment to be doing it.”

In China’s Hubei Province, about 90% of healthcare associates are women. In the U.S., that number is around 78%.

So, practically women are more exposed to the COVID – 19 virus than men. As a result, women are experiencing the impact of the pandemic more than men, on physical and mental grounds.

According to a report given by PayScale, financially women have faced the biggest hit from the COVID – 19 outbreaks within the last 6 months. Another report revealed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation And Development, new jobs are being created mostly considering the men, not women during this difficult economic situation. This might be a reason why women are financially getting down day by day. During the lockdown, it is also becoming difficult to find another income source.

In the UK, nearly 70% of the two million single parents are currently employed, but 3 out of 10 single parents working are living in poverty. Unfortunately, approx 90% of single parents are women.

These aren’t the only reasons women are experiencing hardship due to COVID – 19 pandemic. Check out the below-mentioned causes that should get your attention.

4 Important reasons why women are more affected financially due to the COVID – 19 outbreak

1. Women play a key role in family caregiving

After reviewing the above-given data, it is clear that women are the prime workers who saved time apart from their work, to provide care to their families. Due to the lockdown, most of the schools and workplaces are closed now. So, kids, elders, and other family members are at home 24-7. Due to this reason, most of the female workers have to be at home and away from work. They are attending family members who are ill or can’t take care of themselves.

When these female workers return to their work or try to rejoin, they’re being offered 7% less salary compared to male employees, who are working in the same designation. PayScale’s director of research, Sudarshan Sampath, verified this situation in PayScale’s 2020 State of the Gender Pay Gap report this way – “The coronavirus pandemic has exposed these cultural faults with our economic system. There is a strong likelihood they will not get rehired or they’ll come back on reduced terms.”

2. Unpaid sick leave creates a financial hardship

During the coronavirus outbreak, nearly 67% of private sector employees, and only 30% of low-wage workers who earn $10.80 or less/hour, may get the benefit of paid sick leave. Apart from that, only less than 50% of part-time workers may get the option of taking sick leave.

According to the report given by OECD.ORG“In some countries, sick-leave compensation only covers a small fraction of the previous wage and / or is shorter than the recommended period of self-isolation for people with COVID‑19 symptoms. For instance, Korea and the United States have no generally applicable statutory obligations for employers to continue wage payments in case of illness and also do not provide for statutory public sickness benefits (OECD, 2018[1]). Comprehensive spending data on employer-provided sick pay is not available for the United States, but a quarter of U.S. workers do not have access to paid sick leave at all (rising to one half for low-wage workers), and two thirds of workers who do accrue less than 10 days of paid sick leave per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019[2]). With the “Families First CoronaVirus Response Act”, the United States introduced two weeks of paid sick leave for workers impacted by the COVID‑19 virus, which will initially be paid by employers but be fully reimbursed by the federal government.”

Fortunately, from the very beginning of the COVID -19 outbreak, international organizations such as Facebook, Microsoft, and Salesforce, utilizing few problem solving tips for business and employees, agreed to provide help to their workers. The companies allowed their workers to get increased benefits during sick leave.

The American government has also worked hard on a bill that would help employees to get paid leave benefits. President Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The bill is focused on providing paid leave to employees who did not have it and extending paid leave for employees having only a few days. The benefits are applicable to the employees stuck at home due to the pandemic.

“The new law grants two weeks of paid sick leave at 100 percent of the person’s normal salary, up to $511 per day. It would also provide up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave at 67 percent of the person’s normal pay, up to $200 per day.”

*Data courtesy – the washington post

But there is a catch! According to the emergency legislation, only 20% of employees can avail paid leave benefits. Apart from that, small and midsize companies may provide these benefits for employees impacted by the coronavirus. Companies having 500 or more workers aren’t allowed to provide such benefits to their employees.

As per a calculation by the Center for American Progress, approximately 19.3 million U.S. employees (about 12% of 159 million workers) may face financial hardship without getting paid during sick leave.

3. The wage gap and job loss trigger monetary problems

62% of minimum-wage and lower-wage workers are female. These workers may experience a greater risk of job loss when businesses such as restaurants, departmental stores, hotels, and airports are shutting themselves down and firing their employees.

Even if women perform well in their designation, and maintain regularity, they may lose their jobs due to the business shutdown. Though women are less paid compared to the men, working in a similar job profile and designation, the effect will be quite harmful. This is also a reason that women are experiencing too much stress, and unfortunately, they don’t know how to remove that stress at work.

Women are affected more financially as a disproportionate number of women work in industries that are severely affected by the lockdown. These may include retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors. 17% of female employees are working in lockdown sectors, whereas mem workers are merely 13%.

In the country, 1.4 million citizens lost their jobs in March., with a 0.9% increase in female unemployment and a 0.7% increase for men.

If you analyze the controlled pay gap, the difference in payment will be seen clearly between men and women, having a similar job profile. Women earn 98 cents per $1 earned by men. According to PayScale, women are now getting 81 cents for every $1 earned by men (the ratio of median earnings).

During this outbreak, the wage gap is getting bigger than before. Female elementary school teachers earn 92 cents per $1, and women doctors earn 94 cents per $1, compared to men doctors. Female registered nurses earn 98 cents as usual. Unfortunately, black women earn 62 cents on the dollar and Hispanic women 54 cents for the same designation.

With such low income, women employees often experience difficult financial problems, such as unpaid credit card debts, medical bills, utility bills, kids’ education costs, housing costs, etc. As low-income earners, women may opt for help from non-profit credit counseling agencies and seek options to become debt free again.

Fortunately, the discrimination between genders and the wage gap has been gradually changing in a positive direction. As per PayScale’s survey – In 2018, women employees earned 78 cents per $1 earned by men. In 2019 the amount becomes 79 cents (+1), and in 2020, 81 cents (+3).

4. Unpaid caregivers are mostly women

Women around the world provide most of the unpaid caregiving work. As per the International Labour Organization (ILO), women employees normally render 76.2% of total hours of unpaid caregiving work, and it is more thrice as much as men employees.

Women employees are experiencing a shortage of paid caregiver policies. Currently, only 16% of private-industry female employees are allowed to receive paid caregiver leaves. Due to this reason, women taking too much sick leave for family members may trigger monetary problems in their lives.

● Approximately 43.5 million caregivers have provided unpaid care to an adult or child in the last 12 months. [National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2015). Caregiving in the U.S.]
● About 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the last 12 months. [National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2015). Caregiving in the U.S.]
● 65% of care recipients are female, with an average age of 69.4. The younger the care recipient, the more likely the recipient is to be male. 45% of recipients aged 18-45 are male, while 33% of recipients aged 50 or higher are male. [National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. (2015). Caregiving in the U.S.]
● Upwards of 75% of all caregivers are female, and may spend as much as 50% more time providing care than males. [Institute on Aging. (2016). Read How IOA Views Aging in America.]

Data courtesycaregiver.org

As health care services are getting unavailable day by day due to the increased number of infected patients, many COVID-19 positive cases need to be treated at home by women caregivers. This may also increase the possibility of becoming infected during such an awful time.

Endnote

So, these are the 4 prime reasons why women are getting the hit more than men. Women share a large chunk of employment in various industries such as healthcare, restaurants, social assistance jobs, preschool, kindergarten teaching, flights, etc. Due to the outbreak, most of these industries are shutting down their business. Due to this situation, women all over the world are experiencing huge financial difficulties to maintain their lives.

Author Bio- Patricia Sanders is a financial content writer. She is a regular contributor to debtconsolidationcare.com . Her passion for helping people who are stuck in financial problems has earned her recognition and honor in the industry. Besides writing, she loves to travel and read various books. To get in touch with her (or if you have any questions regarding this article) email her at sanderspatricia29@gmail.com.

How To Enjoy Your Job All The More

A key focus of my blog is Career Discussions. It isn’t a forgone conclusion that one will enjoy their job. As a matter of fact, a number of things go into job enjoyment/satisfaction. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Enjoy Your Job All The More.

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If you find there are times when you enjoy your job less, then you are not alone. This is what most people find with their work, no matter what the line of work is and how long they have actually been engaged in it. Even if it is what you really want to be doing with your life, there are still likely to be off days. If you are wondering how you might be able to enjoy your job all the more, then there are many ways to do so, and a lot of things that you might want to consider. In this article, we are going to take a look at some of the major things to bear in mind to ensure that you can enjoy your job all the more in no time.

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Bring A Good Attitude To Work

For many people, work is a kind of catalyst which helps them to get to the bottom of what they are in need of doing to improve themselves. If you are allowing yourself to get too moody and stressed at work, consider this a challenge to try and bring a better attitude to the workplace in future. When you do this, you are going to find that you have a much better chance of keeping the enjoyment of it alive, and that you will find yourself really loving what you do. Even if you find it challenging, just try to bring a better attitude to work and see what a difference it makes – to yourself and those around you.

Keep Safe & Healthy

You should never let your job damage your health or put you in great danger. If you find that this is happening a lot, then you need to think about what you can change. Of course, some jobs are inherently dangerous, such as being a paramedic. But for most jobs, you shouldn’t be put in a position where you are going to struggle to keep yourself basically safe and healthy. If you are hurt at work, that can cause a lot of problems in many ways, so do whatever you can to be safe. Follow all the guidelines for health and safety, and make sure that you are not doing anything considerably dangerous. That will help you to enjoy your work so much more in the process.

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Work Hard

If you are really not enjoying your job, it might be that you are simply not bringing to the table everything that you can or should be bringing to it. If you are not working as hard as possible, you might find that there is just not as much of an enjoyment to be had there. You should aim to work hard, even if you are not enjoying it, as that way you are much more likely to go through the other side and find what it is about the work that you like. Doing this is one of the most powerful ways to have a better approach to your job.

5 Jobs For Tough People

Two key focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and General Education. Some careers and jobs are more well suited for certain types of individuals. There some jobs that are well suited only for ‘tough’ individuals. The following contributed post is entitled, 5 Jobs For Tough People.

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To do some jobs well, you have to be tough. Whether you’re working in the public eye or handling difficult and emotionally-sensitive conversations, there are some roles you can only do if you’ve got thick skin and aren’t afraid to disagree with people. Here are five jobs for tough people you might want to consider if you’re feeling brave and looking for a career path to suit your personality.

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1. Process Server
A process server gives people sensitive legal documentation, like eviction notices, summons, subpoenas, and divorce decrees. They can also perform skip tracing to locate individuals that have ‘skipped town’ and undertake financial investigations. You have to be tough to succeed in this industry as let’s face it, people don’t enjoy receiving court summons or being tracked down. If you think you can do it, though, it’s a generally well-compensated way to enter the legal profession.

2. Mortician
Being a mortician was ranked in the top three of the most challenging jobs in 2017. You have to work face to face with death every day while supporting the deceased’s family. The hours are long, and you’re in a dark room, but on the positive side, at least you get to give the person a proper send-off by cleaning, embalming and dressing them ahead of their funeral. You’ll also be making their family happy and providing dignity to the person who has died.

3. Roofer
A roofer has to brave heights, scaffolding, and long periods of the year without work. If you’re a roofer by trade, you might find that you have to diversify over the winter months where work is scarce and could be canceled last minute. You also have to be prepared to walk over precarious surfaces and have to invest in many construction training courses to ensure you are safe and secure when working. It’s the perfect career for people that love working outdoors and aren’t afraid of heights.

4. Corrections (Correctional) Officer
At a potentially over-crowded, understaffed prison, you’ll need to keep calm in a tension-fuelled environment while maintaining control of a prison population. Corrections officers consider the job challenging but rewarding, as they can help individuals improve their lives as part of their rehabilitation. The career path and daily tasks of Corrections (or Correctional) Officers depend on the type of prison you go into. As a career, it’s excellent for training and development as you gain firsthand experience of everything from conflict resolution to self-defense.

5. CEO
As a CEO, you might be responsible for the morale and productivity of thousands of employees, as well as the company’s future as a whole. An unsuccessful CEO is often quickly identified and replaced, so the pressure is on to drive the company to success. Although you’re financially rewarded, the most stressful CEO positions are often considered as the heads of Finance, Tech, or FinTech giants. You also have to make unpopular decisions about company restructuring, as the only people above you are the board.

If you’re tough, one of these career paths may be for you. You might want to enter the legal profession or want a career that allows you to work outside, but choosing one of the above jobs might be the challenge that you need in your life.

Four Questions To Ask Before Changing Your Career

Two of the focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and General Education. Many people get to a point where they want to change their career path. It’s a life altering decision with long-term ramifications that must be well thought out. The following contributed post is entitled, Four Questions To Ask Before Changing Your Career.

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Are you thinking about changing your career path and perhaps pursuing a new role in a completely different sector? Well, then these are the questions that you need to keep in mind. It will help ensure you make the right decision.

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Should You Go Out On Your Own?

You might want to start by thinking about whether it’s time to cut ties with the job market completely. Instead, you can decide to go out on your own. If you do this – and it’s a big if – then there are benefits. Suddenly, you gain access to any and all your profits. You also don’t need to worry about someone constantly breathing down your neck. It’s an attractive option. However, you need to make sure that you are prepared for the risks. Don’t forget that most new businesses fail and the self-employed are looking at what could be a very risky future economy.

Are You More Stable Sticking With Your Current Position?

You might also want to think about whether it’s better to stand by your current position, whatever that may be. You should look at the economy and the job market right now. Perhaps your current sector or industry is stable. Better yet, it could be growing. If this is the case, then there is absolutely no point in switching gears right now. You have to think about your long term finances when you make a decision like this.

Is there Opportunities Available On The Market

It’s worth looking at the current options on the market. Are there sectors that are wide open? The easiest way to research this is to use a site like jobminister.ca. A tool like this provides you with an easy way to find out if employers are hiring in a particular industry or sector. There might be a talent crisis here and that’s always going to be great news. Or, at least it will be if you are in the right position to swoop in and claim one of the jobs that are currently up for grabs.

Do You Need To Learn New Skills?

That’s why the final question to consider is whether you are already in a situation where you are instantly hirable in a new sector or industry. It’s possible that you’re not and instead, you will need to think about signing up to learn the necessary skills and gain some additional knowledge. Luckily, you can do this online and you’ll be able to take a course in your spare time while you are completing your current job. So, you don’t have to worry about a window where you are learning new skills but not making any money. You can learn more about this possibility on studyonline.ca.

We hope this helps you determine whether switching careers right now is the correct move for you. Don’t forget, no one knows how hard the coronavirus is going to hit the economy. Regardless of whether the lockdowns and quarantines are lifted early or later on in the year, it could be a dicey road for the foreseeable future. So don’t make any rash decisions.

4 Issues That Can Ruin Your Chances Of Claiming A Dream Job

A key focus of my blog Career Discussions. Even when we are qualified for a job on paper, there are things we can do personally to prevent us from securing the position. Knowing what these are will increase the likelihood of getting that job. The following contributed post is entitled, 4 Issues That Can Ruin Your Chances Of Claiming A Dream Job.

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Are you wondering whether there are problems that can stop you from claiming that dream position? Here are some that you need to watch out for.

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Trouble On Social Media

Social media is a funny one because a lot of people seem to think that they can avoid the issue of social media by simply not having it. However, most employers these days want to hire someone with a social presence. It suggests that they will be a valuable person for their team who has a strong network. However, you do have to be careful there is nothing embarrassing or potentially even harmful to a brand.

Criminal Record

You might also want to think about your criminal record. Most people won’t have a criminal record but even a small issue could lead to a blotch on your record. If you do think there is something in your past that could stop you from getting a job, it’s important to handle this issue the right way. You should think about speaking to a criminal lawyer like https://benfieldlegal.com/. They will be able to inform you how long this is going to remain on your record and whether it is likely to impact whether you are considered for a job or not. In most cases, you can avoid problems here by fighting to get a small issue expunged from your criminal record. Particularly, if it happened several years ago.

Credit Rating

You might think that a credit rating isn’t going to be relevant to a job application and to an extent you would be right. However, information on your credit rating can be gained by an employer and it is more relevant to some positions than others. An accountant, for instance, will often be judged based on their credit rating. This relates to reliability. As well as this an employer might not want someone in debt as part of their business, whether this is fair or not. Something to consider here is how to fix your credit rating. Well, there are a few ways to do this. The best is to borrow money from a source that you know you can pay back on time. Do this and you will be able to fix your credit rating quickly and easily. You can learn more about your credit rating on https://swiftmoney.com/.

The Wrong Name

While the others are at least somewhat understandable this one reeks of prejudice. Unfortunately, there is research to show that your name can be enough to stop you from being considered for a job. There are variables that people can assume or predict based on your name. They can estimate your nationality, your age and of course your sex. Now, if an employer is ruling you out for these reasons, then you might want to reconsider working for them in the first place. However, sometimes you need to prove your worth and for that, you have to first get your foot in the door. This is why a lot of people choose to leave their full name off their resume or provide an alternate name. If you do this, make sure that your references will recognise you by this name when the call comes.

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How To Make Sure You Land The Job You Want

Three of the focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, General Education and Professional Skills/Development. The job hunt can be very competitive depending on your employment history, the current state of your field and location. If you can, you want to set yourself up to beat out the competition and have the best chance of getting the position you want. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Make Sure You Land The Job You Want.

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When it comes to our professional lives, it’s safe to say that we all want to work in a job that we’ll love. Not all of us get to have that luxury all of the time, unfortunately, but it’s certainly something that everyone looks for. Working takes up an awful lot of our time, after all.

It’s not just a case of picking a field and walking straight into it, as you probably know by now. There are all kinds of people with all kinds of skills looking to take your opportunity away from you. You have to, therefore, put the work in and show you’re better than those alongside you. It’s by no means a walk in the park, but it’s also not an impossible task.

If you’ve found something that you’d like to pursue and feel as though you need to up your game, then here are a few things you should probably do if you want to increase your chances of landing such a gig:

Do Your Research

If you know what you’re talking about, then you’re obviously going to have a better chance of getting the job. If you were to stumble into the interview with limited knowledge, then you’ll be laughed out of the room. You obviously know that you’ll need to know a thing or two about the job at hand, but you should probably go one further and research all kinds of finer details. Whether it’s regarding home building projects, or whether it’s to do with types of machine tools, learning more and more will only benefit you. Not only will it help during the interview, but it’s always nice to have those extra pieces of knowledge going forward.

Present Yourself Perfectly

We all know that there’s no such thing as perfection, but you can do your best to get darn near. If you want to impress potential employers, you’ll need to make sure you look the business! This means getting your resume spot-on and dressing to impress. If you get these initial steps right, then that stands you in good stead going forward.

In terms of the resume, you’ll obviously need to get all of the vital information written down. But you’ll also need to make sure that it’s attractive to the eyes, too. Many employers have been known to toss resumes in the trash if they look a little untidy! Be warned!

Practice Confidence

Yes, that’s right. In order to become a confident person, you need to drill it into your own head. Practice speaking in the mirror – this is a simple one, but it’s great if you want to get into the habit of confidently getting your words out. Constantly work, too. If you’re lounging around and doing very little, your overall confidence levels will drop. Your confidence in the field you’re looking towards will also dither.

Don’t Put One Place On A Pedestal

If you don’t get the job in the company that you were expecting, then that’s okay. There will have been lots of people vying for that role, too. Never put all your eggs into one basket – that’s a sure-fire way of being disappointed. If you have lots of different options with an equal amount of importance, then you’ll constantly be focused, and your chances of success will increase.

How To Be More Successful In Your Job Search

Two key focuses of my blog are Career Discussions and Professional Development and Skills. Searching for a job can be one of the more difficult things you can ever do. There are keys to increasing your chances of finding the job (s) you want. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Be More Successful In Your Job Search.

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Going back into the world of recruitment can be a process and so much so that many of us will remain in a job we’ve lost a passion for. The idea of going through the process that involves securing a job can be tiring to just think about, but it has to be done when you are no longer feeling the role is for you. Here are some tips on how to be more successful in your job search.

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Look Again At Your Resume

Your resume carries a lot of weight when it comes to the very beginning of your application. A job can have many individuals who will apply, and it’s usually someone’s job to filter through the resumes. It’s important that yours stands out, and you may find that the current state of it can be improved. Take a look at your resume again and try to make improvements where possible. It could be that there are a few grammatical errors that need fixing or that you’ve missed out some skills that are vital for the role that you’re applying for. Try to do what you can to sell yourself in the best way, and hopefully, you’ll secure yourself an interview.

Seek Professional Guidance

There are a lot of resources and avenues that you can explore and take advantage of in order to give yourself the best opportunities. Nowadays, you have plenty of websites like Cornerstone Medical who will help in doing a lot of the work for you. By grouping all types of jobs under one website, it makes for much easier navigation. When you’re exploring a new career path, it’s good to seek professional advice and guidance where you can. Those who are in the current role you’re applying for or have done it previously can let you know what was needed or what can be done to improve your chances.

Be Detailed In Your Applications

Applications are where it really counts, and although resumes are important to work on, the application as a whole needs detail. Sometimes you may be required to write a cover letter or answer some initial questions as part of the vetting process. These may be put in place to weed out individuals who are simply not right for the role or don’t have the experience to answer such questions.

Work On Your Interview Technique

Interviews can be a very nerve-racking process, but they are what’s standing between you and the potential job offer. If you find that your interview technique needs improving or sometimes you lack confidence in what you’re trying to get across, practice. Practice makes perfect after all, and if you can give yourself plenty of prep time, then you are likely to walk into that interview, feeling more confident.

Not every role that you apply for is something you’ll suit, and sometimes the company is not the right fit for you. Be detailed in your application process, ask for help, and always work on your conversational skills to give yourself the best chance.

Staying Safe When You Have A Dangerous Job

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success. Two key focuses are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. Not all jobs have the safety of working in an office setting with carpets, computers and cubicles. Some jobs require getting dirty and some degree of potential hazard. In the latter set of jobs, it’s important to think about your safety at all times. The following contributed post is entitled, Staying Safe When You Have A Dangerous Job.

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No one likes the idea of being hurt when they are doing their job. Governments, businesses, and individuals have all been working for a very long time to ensure that workplaces are safe and secure, though this is something which some jobs make almost impossible. Unfortunately, some people simply don’t have the luxury of doing something safe each day. Whether you work as an industrial diver or as a security guard, though, you can always take steps to make sure that you’re not putting yourself at unnecessary risk. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the steps which can be taken to make even the most dangerous jobs a little safer.

Following Policies

While a lot of the rules which you have to follow when you’re working may seem a little over the top, they are always there for a reason. Safety gear will protect your body from accidents, while policies which dictate how people are allowed to move around in dangerous environments will help to prevent them from happening in the first place, and this makes these rules well worth following. Of course, after a few years on the job, it will be easy to become complacent, and you may find that your employers have lost track of the policies they need to follow. In this case, researching the rules for yourself will be a good idea.

Working Together

Many of the world’s most dangerous jobs often end up being done by people on their own. This may not always increase the risk of an accident, but there are some roles which simply shouldn’t be done by people who are left to themselves. Truck driving is a great example of this, with a lot of accidents occurring when people are forced to drive for a long time without a proper chance to rest. Team truck driving jobs are considered much safer, as you will have someone with you as you drive, and this means that you won’t have to be focused for the whole journey.

Being Attentive

It’s not always easy for industries to put the right rules in place for their employees. While some companies manage to keep their teams safe, others will miss out on crucial areas, and this can often leave big gaps. Being attentive will give you the chance to spot these areas, and a little bit of creativity and initiative will help you to come up with ideas to make them safer. For example, if you have to work on wet floors all the time, it would make sense for your employer to provide you with shoes which are good for this environment. They can’t fire you for asking for this, with a lot of employers valuing this sort of input from their teams.

Keeping yourself safe should always be your priority when you’re at work. It doesn’t matter if you get your job done if you get hurt in the process, and the vast majority of employers will want to keep their team as safe as possible. To make this work, though, you have to keep your eyes open.

Don’t Put Your Job Before Your Health

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Career Discussions and Health/Wellness. A significant portion of the lives of employees is spent at their jobs, such that their jobs can almost become the basis for their lives. As such they can have adverse effects on the employee’s personal health. There must thus be a balance. The following contributed post is entitled, Don’t Put Your Job Before Your Health.

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Many of us work hard so that we may be able to enjoy a better quality of life. However, hard work can have the opposite effect and it can make our quality of life worse by damaging our health. Here are several ways in which you should you be putting your health first.

Don’t put off seeing a doctor

Many of us don’t take time off work to see a doctor. This can cause health concerns to get gradually worse. Whether you’ve got an employer or you happen to be your own boss, there’s no excuse not to see a doctor. You can schedule an appointment with a primary care doctor in advance allowing you to time to make arrangements or you can look into out-of-hours services. There are even doctors that you can call out to your workplace.

Pay attention to health and safety

Health and safety in the workplace is important. Make sure that you’re wearing the right equipment to protect yourself against injuries and follow safety protocols to minimize further injuries. If you’re self-employed, it’s your job to implement these health and safety measures. Consider talking to a health and safety adviser who can help you to introduce health and safety measures into your business.

Protect against RSIs

RSIs (repetitive strain injuries) often get overlooked because they’re long-term. However, these injuries are just as important to avoid, so that your quality of life isn’t negatively affected later on. If your job involves a repeated action such as typing, make sure that your posture and hand position is right as you type to avoid strain (ideally, your wrist should be the same level as your keyboard). Using specific equipment may also help to prevent RSIs in certain cases. For instance, power tools that don’t vibrate as much are less likely to lead to RSIs.

Know when to take a break

Everybody needs a break now and again. If you’ve recently sustained an injury, taking a break from work could be essential for helping it to heal, especially if certain job tasks are likely to aggravate the injury. Taking a break could also be important if you’re experiencing a lot of stress at work. As well as causing mental health problems, stress can take its toll on your physical health leading to high blood pressure and fatigue. In fact, stress is thought to be a leading cause of heart attacks. A break could not just allow you a chance to destress, but it could help you gain perspective as to whether your job is worth the stress.

A full-time income on part-time hours revisited part one: An exciting business opportunity for you!

“Remember to keep an open mind and get some new information!”

Two key focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. I originally published this series back in November of 2013 when I wrote for the Examiner. Of the businesses that the average working-class person can get involved in, none are more controversial than “Multi-Level Network Marketing” businesses (MLMs). I bought into a MLM when I first started my federal career which was a learning experience. It sounded like a good idea at the time but didn’t go quite as planned. This series talks about what I both experienced and learned during that little experiment.

* * *

This next series of articles will veer off the path of scholastic education and literacy, and venture into the world of financial literacy. This series will look at Multi-Level Network Marketing businesses (MLMs). It’s an subject area rarely explored in print, but one which we’ve all experienced through personal participation, being recruited or being sold a product or service by someone else.

These business models and the people involved with them are already highly scrutinized, thus the intent of this series is not to do more of the same. The goal will be to simply take an objective look at them from multiple perspectives: the business associate, their prospects, friends, relatives and coworkers. As a writer, my goal will be to be fair in my commentary.

This topic will potentially touch multiple people. It’s particularly relevant in this era of recessions, further potential government shutdowns and sequestrations where people are being forced to consider alternative ways of earning income. Again, the goal here is not to sway anyone to a particular side, but simply to educate readers curious enough to read this series.

“Hey man, I want to talk to you. I’ve been watching you. You look like a serious brother, and I have a business opportunity to turn you onto,” a bus driver told me at the beginning of my commute one morning. “I don’t want to drive this bus forever, and I want to make some real money! Take this brochure and if you text me your number, I’ll invite to one of our meetings so you can get some more information!”

I could hear some contempt in his voice, particularly about having to work his job which was interesting. It raised a couple of questions in my mind. Why would someone feel contempt about working their job? Why would someone feel contempt about working a job? Why would someone feel resentful about having a paycheck? Many would say that there’s dignity in working. We’ll revisit this later in one of the subsequent parts of this series.

Besides being surprised that one of the metro bus drivers ‘prospected’ me for recruitment into his business, it brought back memories of my own experiment with Multi-Level Network Marketing. Just briefly, Multi-level Marketing is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople they recruit.

What made this bus driver prospect me? And what made him consider me a “serious brother?” It could’ve been my regular ridership on his route most mornings. Perhaps it was my “serious” appearance and disposition that made me seem like someone who could effectively work in his business and help he and his colleagues achieve their financial and life dreams.

My thoughts reflected to the many network marketers encountered during my travels in person and on social media, and what their motivations were. My motivations at one time for participating in one were: becoming rich, taking advantage of business tax breaks, and being able to walk away from my job.

Since 2005, multiple opportunities have come across my path. The first was from an Indian man in his late 20s in a supermarket late one night just before I moved away from Michigan. After striking up a friendly conversation with me about my life and aspirations, he started talking about an ecommerce business he was involved in. He encouraged me to learn more about it and to, “keep an open mind and get some information,” common phrases used by prospectors. Have you ever experienced anything like this?

Since then there have been numerous offers to participate in businesses involved in ecommerce, financial counseling, travel services, weight loss/health products, legal advice, organic coffee, and health care services. The list goes on. You name it, and someone has gotten it covered.

At their informational meetings, most if not all the network marketing businesses had elaborate presentations, and marketed dreams of:

• Financial independence;
• Making multiple residual passive income streams;
• Walking away from 9-5 jobs;
• Taking vacations whenever desired;
• Making your own schedule and;
• Making a full-time income on part-time hours.

This topic will be examined in greater detail in the subsequent articles. People’s motivation for joining this type of enterprise will be examined in part two of this series.

Thank you for reading this blog post. If you enjoyed this piece, you might also enjoy:

Are you getting your Matching Contribution? A discussion on saving for retirement
A look at the Law of Compounding Interest and why you should care
Your Net Worth, your Gross Salary, and what they mean
Is there power in budgeting your money
I still don’t have a car in 2018: A story about playing financial chess
We should’ve bought Facebook and Bitcoin stock: An investing story

If you’ve found value here and think it would benefit others, please share it and or leave comments. To receive all the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the box in the right-hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add the link to my RSS feed to your feedreader. Please visit my YouTube channel entitled, Big Discussions76. Lastly follow me on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM, and Financial Literacy, there other blogs/sites I endorse which found on that particular page of my site.