Employee Engagement Ideas For Remote Teams

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two focuses are Business/Entrepreneurship and Career Discussions. A great perk for many employees is being able to work remotely. Working remotely gives a lot of flexibility and can add to productivity. There’s a downside to it too, and management must consider how to get the most of teams of employees working remotely. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, Employee Engagement Ideas For Remote Teams.

* * *

Ensuring your employees are engaged is not always an easy task, yet it can become even more difficult when dealing with remote teams. Nonetheless, the following employment engagement ideas from Unum should give you a helping hand…

https://pixaby.com/photos/office-adult-computer-african-3370835

Frequent Communication

When dealing with a remote team you should never take the ‘no news is good news’ stance. This is likely to lead to disengagement, as the team members may feel you don’t value them enough to tell them what’s going on. It is definitely a case of the more communication, the better.

Embrace Instant Messaging

A lot of managers believe it is more efficient for them to be the only point of contact. However, you risk alienating the team in question, and this is extremely damaging. Why? Well, information won’t flow effectively and work relationships won’t develop. Instead, promote healthy communication via the use of internal instant messaging.

Consider Various Communication Tools

When engaging with a remote team you need to make sure you use the right tool in relation to the message you are giving. If you merely need to rely on a simple message, an email will suffice. However, when something is more elaborate, or complex, or requires brainstorming, it will be more effective to use an advanced video tool. You can easily find these on the Internet, and some are even free to download. However, managed solutions come highly recommend, as they will be developed to suit your business.

Better Scheduling

Why should those on the other side of the world always have to take a conference call whilst they should be sound asleep? A lot of businesses schedule in relation to what is convenient for their home office. However, if you consider your remote teams and schedule for their benefit in some instances, you show that they are just as important and this keeps them engaged.

Give An Explanation

This is a simple yet effective engagement idea for remote teams. Often, everyone in the home office will know what is going on and consequently their reason for performing a particular task. However, remote teams may be asked to do something and they have no clue why. This may interrupt their current workflow and thus cause irritation. Moreover, it may lead them to feel disengaged because they are working on something without purpose. Therefore, all you need to do is explain why.

Create Personal Connections

It doesn’t hurt to ask someone how he or she is and what is going on in their life. A lot of managers neglect to do this because they feel they are wasting time. However, creating a human connection is time well spent. If you can’t spare five minutes of your time to get to know an employee, no matter where they are located, they won’t feel valued. Instead, they will feel overlooked.

So there you have it, six easy yet highly effective employee engagement ideas for your remote teams. As soon as these practices are implemented you will immediately notice a difference. Start today by making a personal connection when you next communicate with someone in a remote team.

Promoting Better Mental Health in the Workplace

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key focus is Health and Wellness. Creating a healthy workplace for our employees is critical. Mental health is particularly important. The greater the better the mental health of your employees, the more productive they’ll be. The following contributed post is therefore entitled, Promoting Better Mental Health in the Workplace.

* * *

Image source

The way your employees feel when they are at work con Impact on your business. It can affect productivity, communications and safety issues. Promoting a good atmosphere for them to work in will help with a good mental attitude in the workplace, and as an employer, you should be taking steps to make sure this is the case for your staff.

If you fail to do so, depression and anxiety could mean a lot of extra sick days, which will make your business less successful and harder to run. Your employees can be your most valuable assets and investing in them is vitally important for the future of your business.

Create A Healthy Workplace

This is easy to do by sometimes making just a few simple adjustments to your workplace and the way you treat your employees. Make sure that the environment they are in is a healthy temperature and that the air is fresh, Just these two things are a great start to making them feel better about themselves.

Do not expect them to work all day in your workplace and then go home and do even more work. Most people spend about one-third of their life in work and that is long enough. Expecting them to work a 60-hour week or to deal with emails and queries from home is not only unfair, but it will also make them feel discontented and that their efforts while at work are not appreciated.

Make sure they take their breaks and have somewhere that they can socialize for them. Some social interaction is a great way of relieving stress and they will return to their workstations more alert and ready to work.

Some experts, including Cynthia Telles of Kaiser Permanente, have spent years researching and dealing with these matters, and their opinions are very highly respected. She has been involved in several programs that aimed to improve the mental health of employees in all walks of life.

Image source

Help Employees Identify Mental Health Problems

It is thought that in the US, one in four employees suffers from mental health problems to some degree and that most of them suffer in silence. This is in part because many of them do not recognize the cause of their problem and think it because of aging, the menopause or any one of a number of other things. Some workers think it is normal to feel this way and you need to help them identify when the way they are felling is not part of normal stress.

Helping them to recognize the symptoms and the triggers is one of the most effective things an employer can do for their workforce. You could invite a mental health expert to your business to give them a talk on what to look for and how to deal with it. There are confidential mental health screenings available and sometimes a questionnaire about their habits and symptoms can be very enlightening for someone that has been trained in these matters. There are also free online screening tools that you could encourage them to use.

The whole point is that a happy workforce will be more productive and produce a better quality of work. The time taken to ensure that none of your employees are suffering from mental health problems because of their job, or that none happen in the future, could save you a lot of time, effort and money ion the long run.

Assist Them With Their Treatments

Most mental health issues are very treatable, but they may need some time to seek the help they need. Letting them leave work for weekly therapy sessions that are during business hours for example, could prevent that employ from being off work long-term while they are treated.

Most employers would not have a qualm in calling for help if an employee becomes physically ill while they are at work, but those same bosses will totally ignore mental health issues. There is still something of a stigma attached to mental health problems, but many of them could have been prevented to start with. To the sufferer, they are just as bad and sometimes worse, than a physical illness and they deserve the same care and attention as someone who is having a heart attack while sitting at their desk.

If you any idea that a member of your staff may be becoming depressed or anxious while they are at work, speak with them or get someone else trusted to, and suggest that they seek treatment before it gets even worse.

Unhappy at Work? Here’s What to Do

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and a key area is Career Discussions. In some instances individuals can become unhappy in their careers and at work. Is the only option to quit? Not necessarily. The following contributed post is entitled, Unhappy at Work? Here’s What to Do.

* * *

Image Credit: Unsplash

Work takes up a significant amount of your time and if you are unhappy, you must make a change. There is no point in going through life feeling like things could be better and doing nothing about it!

Being unhappy at work can have a massive knock-on effect on the rest of your life. If you are anxious and stressed at work, you will almost certainly be anxious and stressed at home. If you are feeling bored and uninspired at work, you can guarantee that your home life will be boring too.

The good news is that there is a simple formula to find your way to happiness once again. In just 3 steps, you should be able to see a much brighter future ahead.

Isolate the Problem

There are all kinds of reasons that you might be unhappy at work. Perhaps you feel that you don’t have enough of a challenge or maybe you are feeling overworked. It may be that you don’t get on very well with your manager or colleagues or even that you are being overwhelmed by the social commitments expected of you. No matter what it is, you should try to isolate the specific problem before you do anything else.

Often, people who are unhappy at work begin to internalise their worries and feel that they are to blame. Employees who are stressed out and overworked often feel that they are bad at their jobs and don’t realise that they could do an excellent job elsewhere. Similarly, if you aren’t getting on with your colleagues, you may feel socially inept. By isolating the problems you are having at work, you will be able to see that the problem lies with the job and not you. When you come to go for a new job, you will be able to see the warning signs and make a better choice.

Isolating the problem or problems is the best way to start working on a plan to make things better. If you are just focusing on the feeling of being unhappy and not the cause, you aren’t going to make any progress. The best action plan is based on facts not feelings.

Decide on an Action Plan

Stress and anxiety quite often stand in the way of working out an action plan but this is no problem in the long run. You just need to shift your priorities. Instead of focusing on what you need to do to make your job better, you should start by thinking about what will make your mental health better. Happily, the two things often coincide.

Breathe deeply and close your eyes. Let your mind drift for a moment but try to prevent them going into a spiral – follow the thoughts that interest you. Letting your thoughts wander is a great way to give your brain space to come up with more creative ideas and solutions. As problems at work pop up at the forefront of your mind, think about the possible solutions. You might even like to make a list you can look at later.

Some problems are easier to work through than others. For example, if you aren’t getting on with your colleagues, you might be able to talk to them about the problems you are having and clear the air. Similarly, if you want a greater challenge, you could ask to go on courses, move departments and take on more responsibilities as part of your role.

But other issues are more difficult to resolve and you may need to ask for professional help. If you are unhappy because you believe your company is acting illegally and you are planning to become a whistleblower, you will certainly need some help and should ask a lawyer for more information.

When you have a few solutions to try, you should put your plan into action. So, let’s say you are unhappy because you don’t get on with your colleagues and you don’t have enough to do. Start by asking your manager for more responsibility and suggest areas that you are particularly interested in developing. This is a good idea for several reasons but most important are that you can build up your CV and you will have less time to worry about your social issues.

Next, you should go through the process again, what is it specifically that is impeding your relationship with your colleagues? Would it help if you were to speak more clearly? Do you need to tread more carefully when you talk? Perhaps you are misunderstanding each other and there actually isn’t really a problem! Social issues at work take time to resolve but a candid chat is always a good starting point. Whatever you do – don’t gossip!

Make Positive Changes

Making just a few positive changes at work can have a real impact on how you feel. Positive changes can be as small as having a picture on your desk or as big as quitting and starting up your own business. The most important thing is that you are making the decision for the positive rather than simply escaping the negative. One of the most important rules in finding a new job that will make you happy is that you should always run to a job not away from a job.

Getting a new job is often the end goal for most people who are unhappy at work. Though it might feel like climbing a mountain every day, this is the main reason that you shouldn’t completely give up on the job you currently have. Continue to do your best and find ways to develop yourself so that when it comes to the interview, you will have plenty to talk about and impress the new company with.

As difficult as it is, try to keep looking at the positives. You might feel stuck in a rut but writing and sending off your CV will help to show you that you have plenty of skills and experience to work with. You won’t be trapped in this job forever.

How To Create The Perfect Home Office Space

Two of the focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur working from home having quality office space is critical as it can help maximize your output. The following contributed post discusses creating the perfect home office space and in entitled, How To Create The Perfect Home Office Space.

* * *

Photo by Georgie Cobbs on Unsplash

If you’re an entrepreneur working from home then it is absolutely essential you have an office space that both inspires and motivates you to do your best work. Often people will work from whatever space they have available, but this can be damaging to your overall productivity and the level of work you produce.

With this in mind, here are 6 different ways to create the perfect home office space:

1. Use A Colour Scheme That You Like

If you’re able to decorate the room that you’re designating to be your office, decorating it in a colour scheme that you like will encourage you to spend more time there. There is nothing worse than sitting in a room that is poorly decorated, or that is designed in a way you absolutely hate. Not only does it have you worrying about if you’ll ever get around to renovating, but it puts a dampener on your whole mood.

2. Have Wall Art And Decorations That Inspire You

Accessorising your office is not a necessity, but it can definitely help inspire you on a day to day basis. The little touches you make will truly make the office yours, making it space you’re happy to be in for up to 8 hours a day. A popular way to decorate an office among entrepreneurs is to create a wall of different sized, motivational prints, something which looks incredible when done properly.

3. Ensure You Have A Large, Sturdy Desk

Having a desk is important in a home office, but ensuring its one that can take at least 8 hours of work each day is absolutely essential. There are lots of good desks available on the high street, but if you want to something that suits your working style, you could try creating your own our of various different materials including wood and steel.

For more information on using steel, you can visit Wasatch Steel online steel sales here.

4. Make Lots Of Space For Storage

Chances are that working from home will mean you’ll have lots of bits and pieces you’ll need to store. Whether they’re notes for conference calls, old invoices or stock and merchandise – storage space is incredibly important to the look and feel of your office as it means you’ll be able to keep everything neat and tidy. You know what they say, a tidy office makes for a tidy mind!

5. Have A White Board To Note Down Creative Ideas

You never know when inspiration may strike and although jotting down ideas in a notebook is perfect, having a whiteboard handy to plan out your ideas beforehand is a great way to encourage creativity. It can be used to put together lose plans that can in the future be turned into official notes in your notebooks, avoiding wasting paper and making your office an eco-friendly space!

Do you work from home? What key features do you have in your home office? Let me know in the comment section below?

Managing Your Employees’ Workflow

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and two key focuses are Business/Entrepreneurship and Career Discussions. When one transitions over employer/manager/supervisor, they now become responsible for managing the work of others. This is a skill and a task all. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Managing Your Employees’ Workflow.

* * *

Picture Source

When you become an employer, you take on a whole host of responsibility over your employers. At the end of the day, you are making money from their efforts and they are helping to build your dreams. So, the least that you can do is manage them effectively so that their working days are as comfortable and positive as possible! One area that tends to go relatively neglected when it comes to managing employees is monitoring and adjusting their work schedule. Here’s a little information on the subject!

The Importance of Workflow Management

Workflow management is extremely important for your business’ progression as well as your employees. It is essentially a means of ensuring that employees know what they need to do in order to keep your business moving forward and a means of ensuring that this happens. You should provide your employees with set projects so that they know what tasks they need to undertake and how long they have to do this. Most of us will do this anyway. However, you also need to remember to let employees know why they are working towards this objective and what they are likely to do once the project is completed. This gives them more of a sense of purpose. They will see where their work is heading and they will feel that they are working towards something rather than simply completing tasks and checking boxes. If you’d like to learn more about this, you can find out more on the subject through Umlaut.

Conducting Regular Check Ups

It is important to maintain regular contact with your staff. Try to arrange meetings part way through projects to ensure that everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing and to see how they are progressing. This will provide you with the opportunity to ensure all work is being carried out as you hoped and also gives employees the opportunity to raise any queries or concerns. If you fail to do this, problems will generally be kept quiet and you may come to the deadline of a project only to find that it needs to be extended or altered due to problems that could have been confronted and cleared up earlier.

Meeting Employees’ Personal Needs

It is also a good idea to have one to one meeting with employees to check whether their personal circumstances have changed. Health complaints or personal problems could mean that you may need to reduce particular employees’ workflow for their wellbeing. Improvements in personal conditions could mean you can increase their responsibilities.

These are just a few of the basics when it comes to managing your employees’ workflow. Make sure to look further into the subject to ensure that everyone is working effectively and comfortably!

3 Signs You Might Be A Workaholic

One of the focuses of my blog is Health/Wellness. No matter what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s important to maintain some semblance of health and balance in your life, and not overwork yourself. How do you know if you’ve become a workaholic? The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Signs You Might Be A Workaholic.

* * *

Entrepreneurship, endeavor, hard work. They’re all admirable qualities. They enable one to transcend the limitations of their career path and forge a new business and a new career on their own terms. Yet, while the path of entrepreneurship is a worthy pursuit with a range if personal and professional benefits, it is not without its pitfalls. Entrepreneurs are notoriously at risk of workaholism; their hours are long, their duties are many and various and their investment in their business is intensely personal. While dedication and diligence are essential ingredients for success, they must be carefully managed, lest they lead to burnout which benefits neither an entrepreneur nor their business.

Image by Flickr

The trouble with workaholism is that like any addiction it can creep on you unawares. Rarely do we know that it has begun to affect us until we are in its thrall. The only way we can break its hold over us is by recognizing the signs in our behavior and in how those around us react to us. If you value your work / life balance and your relationship with your employees, family and friends it’s in your interests to be wary of the following…

You have to do everything yourself

When you start your own business, it’s more than just another job or career step. Your business is your life. As such, you understand that every aspect of your enterprise reflects on you. Hence, you apply rigorous control over every aspect of your operations. While there’s certainly value in having a certain way of doing things that is allied with your brand, there’s a fine line between insisting that things are done your way and micromanagement.

If you refuse to lighten your load by outsourcing your Business IT Consulting, your digital marketing campaign or your HR function you could be spending needlessly and missing out on invaluable professional support. When you’re the kind of boss that hovers around doing everything for your employees instead of with them, you also stunt their professional growth.

You’re eating a lot of takeout

How often do you call your partner to let them know that you won’t be home for dinner? How many times have you come home to an empty refrigerator? How often do you get takeout delivered to the office rather than cook? Has your partner stopped bothering to leave you a plate of leftovers because you’re never home on time for dinner?

If you notice that you’re almost constantly dining on take out food this is most assuredly not great for your health, nor is it sustainable.

You’re more stressed in your down time than at work

In many ways a business is like a child. You worry about it constantly and you can become very reticent about the prospect of leaving it in the care of anyone but yourself. Thus, it’s not uncommon for entrepreneurs to become stressed and agitated in what is supposed to be their down time.

However, living like this is an express ticket to burning out. If you genuinely fear for your business when you’re not at the helm, you need to focus more of your efforts in training your employees so that they’re able to pick up the slack when you need to take some time off.

The better you know the signs, the easier it is to put measures in place to prevent your workaholism from impacting negatively on your business and your life.

Out Of The Office And Onto The Farm: A New Take On The Tech-Takeover

Three key focuses of my blog are Career Discussions, Business/Entrepreneurship and Technology. With today’s technology, working and generating and income doesn’t always have to happen in the traditional office setting. In many instances it can be done independently and remotely. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Out Of The Office And Onto The Farm: A New Take On The Tech-Takeover.

* * *

In case you hadn’t realized, business has gone to the tech dogs. Nowadays, more of us than ever are working on the cloud and staring at computer screens. But, this isn’t a lifestyle we’re all happy with. For some, this ever-encroaching tech takeover is encouragement to take a step towards careers out of doors.

Let’s say you’re at the stage where the mere thought of another day in the office drives you wild. It’s past time to quit your job because you need a total change of scenery. The trouble is, you can’t think of a single outdoor-based career you’d be suited to. Everything you’ve ever done has been office based. Could someone like you ever make a go of things out and about?

Of course! You don’t need to entirely retrain to do so, either. In reality, you may be more qualified for outdoors jobs than you think. Keep reading to find out which positions would give you the best of both worlds.

Image Source

Remote work

Okay, you got us; remote work may well mean doing the same job. But, the benefit with this is that you can choose where you complete those tasks. Forget sitting and staring at office walls; you could work in the garden as often as you fancy. Even better, you may find your current position allows for this. If you’ve already taken the plunge and quit, don’t panic. There are plenty of remote opportunities out there. All you need to do is search for them. The chances are that the ideal role is ready and waiting for an applicant just like you. All without a jot of retraining!

Sales

Sales are also a fantastic option here. While large portions of this work would be computer-based, most sales people have to travel to clients. As such, you’re sure to spend vast amounts of time out of the office. By embarking on a sales job in something like agriculture, you would even get to spend time outside on various country farms. Companies like Hansen Agri-placement advertise all manner of jobs like these, as you’ll see if you visit their website. Even if you fancy staying on a more familiar footing, you can bet there are plenty of sales positions going. Hey; you could even walk between clients to make the most of your floating post.

Real estate

Real estate is not what most people think when they consider outdoorsy jobs. Still, the possibilities here might surprise you. Think about it; rural real estate is a prime market. And, a realtor’s day mainly consists of hosting property viewings. Put the two together, and you’ve got at least some time outside. Plus, your experience with computer programs means you’re well qualified for the office side of things. You would need to consider where you applied of course. A city-based company would be as useless for fresh air as your office life. But, applying in the right area is sure to bring just the breath of fresh air you’re after.

Making More Of Yourself In The Working World

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Career Discussions. Once starting a career, all of us eventually have to reassess our positions, and figure out what directions to take in the future. The following contributed post shares some tips for doing such and is entitled; Making More Of Yourself In The Working World.

* * *

Once you’re settled in a job role, it’s easy to let your standards slip. However, as we’ll discuss in this post, you should always be aiming to make more of yourself in the working world. Otherwise, your job might become repetitive and you might find that you struggle to move on to better jobs or even different careers in the future. Here’s how to achieve more in the competitive business world.

Picture Source

Reassess your current job.
You could make more of yourself in the working world if you assessed your current job role. And we’re talking about more than the general job description; we’re talking about the actual work you do from day to day. Are you satisfied with your job role? Do you want more out of your career? It might be time to start stretching yourself, as suggested at workitdaily.com. The best way to achieve more in life is to push yourself beyond your usual boundaries. You can’t grow unless you break out of your repetitive pattern. Maybe you could offer to do a presentation at work or take on some other project that’s new for you. Make your job more exciting and push yourself to be better.

Of course, you might reassess your job and find that the problem extends beyond your workload. Maybe you’re actually happy with the industry in which you work but the problem is your specific company. You might have an apathetic boss or colleagues who cause issues for one another. Perhaps you’ve even been injured on the job. If that’s the case then you might want to check out HugheyLawFirm.com for compensation that you might be owed. It’s important to get the lost wages or general financial support you deserve after such an incident. Essentially, if the business for which you work is poorly managed then it might be time to move on. That way, you can make more of yourself in the working world.

Work on your social skills.
Another way to make more of yourself in the working world is to start socializing. Connect with the colleagues in your workplace. You might even want to use tools like social media to network, as we’ve suggested before. By connecting with others in your industry through social networks, you might learn things that help you to progress in your own career. You need to expand your horizons if you really want to flourish in your job. As we’ll discuss in the final point, you should never stop learning if you want to reach greater heights in your career.

Picture Source

Add things to your resume.
As suggested at lifehacker.com, you need to put together a captivating resume if you want to get a better job in the working world. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore your resume if you’re well settled in your current job. You never know what the future holds. You should keep working on your resume so that you’re prepared if you want to move on to a new job or even a new industry in the future. Keep learning. You might even want to get qualified in new areas so that you flesh out your CV and look more impressive in the eyes of employers. By bettering yourself, you’ll also be able to achieve more in your existing job role. Personal development is the best way to make more of yourself in the working world.

When Enough Is Enough: Knowing When It’s Time To Quit Your Job

Buffer

“Knowing when to quit your job isn’t always straightforward. You need the money, after all. But if your health is at risk, or if you know you aren’t where you are supposed to be, then you do need to consider the option. Life is too short to stay in a job that isn’t benefiting you.”

Buffer

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Career Discussions. In any job, it’s critical to know when to leave. The reasons vary and it’s different for everyone based upon: personal health, promotion potential, and whether or not it’s still a good mutual fit. How do you know when to quit your job? The following contributed post is entitled, When Enough Is Enough: Knowing When It’s Time To Quit Your Job.

* * *

(flickr)

Knowing when to quit your job isn’t always straightforward. You need the money, after all. But if your health is at risk, or if you know you aren’t where you are supposed to be, then you do need to consider the option. Life is too short to stay in a job that isn’t benefiting you.

If anything we say in this article relates to you, then start to plan a career move. It could be the best thing you do today, especially if you are reading this now, feeling utterly miserable because of the job you are currently in.

These are some of the reasons why you should say “enough is enough” and call it quits on your current position.

1. You wake up with a feeling of dread every morning

Most us resent the intrusion of the alarm clock at some point in our lives. The thought of going into work doesn’t always provoke happy feelings. But if you feel dread at going into work every morning, then something is clearly wrong. It could be for one of any number of reasons – your boss is an idiot, your colleagues are bullies, the job role holds no meaning for you – and if you can’t change the situation that is causing you to feel dread in the morning, then getting out of there could be the best thing you can do.

2. Your workplace is a health and safety nightmare

Your employer’s legal duty is to care for your safety and well-being while at work. But if that safety is compromised in any way, perhaps because you haven’t been given the correct training to handle a dangerous job role, or your employer is cutting costs and corners by not investing in quality air hoists, protective equipment, and other safety measures. If that happens, you need to think about your health and safety. You may have legal protection should an accident befall you at work – check here to find out more – but do you really want to work in a place where safety measures are not placed as a priority? It shows lack of care in you, as the employee, for starters. Moving into a new career could be a literal life-saver!

3. Your job role isn’t safe

If involuntary redundancies are common in your company, then it may be in your best interest to find another job before you find yourself on the unemployment line. This is especially true if the industry in which you work isn’t considered safe anymore. We are heading into a world without employees, where robots and machines are literally taking over some job roles, so if you work within a particular career type, such as any of those listed here, then a career move could well be in order before an autonomous drone shuffles into your position. There are other job types that will survive the robot invasion, including anything that is primarily people-oriented, such as teaching, healthcare, and social work, so consider your options if a career move is the right thing for you.

4) There’s no new opportunities for you

If there’s no career advancement available for you, it might be best to look elsewhere for your livelihood. Once upon a time this might have been your dream job, but now it’s a dead end position that doesn’t provide you with any benefits.

That’s not a desirable position to be in for multiple reasons. Say one day you have to enlist the aid of a criminal defense lawyer; your current salary may not allow you to afford one for more than a couple days. Without new opportunities in the form of a pay rise or promotion, this kind of uncertainty will always hang over your shoulders.

So, is it time to call it quits on your job? If your physical and mental health is in danger because of the role you are in, or if you are feeling insecure because of the threat of being made redundant, then yes, you are probably right to move on. Figure out your next move, do what you need to do to secure a new job role, and then say “enough is enough” to the position you are currently in.

Why You Should Think Carefully Before Accepting Overtime At Work

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Career Discussions. Not all careers and sectors are the same. Whether earing a salary or a wage, a key consideration to any career is working overtime. Some workplaces offer it, and some don’t, and there are often rules associated with it. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Why You Should Think Carefully Before Accepting Overtime At Work.

* * *

Pexels

Overtime at work is something of a double-edged sword. Sure, working extra means that you will benefit in more money in your pay packet at the end of the month. However, overtime isn’t always that simple, and there might be some jobs that don’t pay for their employees’ extra hours or won’t let them take any in the first place. So, if you are on the lookout for a job that will come with the option of plenty of overtime, you might need to take this into consideration. That’s not the only thing you will need to bear in mind when contemplating overtime – here are a few extra pointers to remember.

Not Every Job Will Come With Overtime

As I’ve already briefly mentioned, not every job will allow its employees to take overtime. More often than not, jobs that pay their workers in a salary often fall into this category. That’s because employees will receive the same payment each month. They are paid for the whole year, split into twelve payments. This is different to workers on a wage, as they will be paid according to the number of hours done. So, as you can see, it’s easier for an employer to work out overtime for staff who earn a wage, as they just need to add the extra hours to their paycheck.

Unauthorized Overtime Still Has To Be Paid

Most of the time, an employee will have to OK their overtime hours in advance with their manager or supervisor. However, in some cases, an employer can then turn around and try to argue that they never authorized the overtime hours in the first place, and could refuse to pay. This is an example of wage theft and is unacceptable. If this ever happens to you, you should speak to an employment lawyer for advice. In most cases, they will advise you to take your employer to an employment tribunal to sue them and claim these lost wages back along with compensation.

Pexels

On A Salary? You Can Still Take Overtime

I may have mentioned that it is unlikely for salaried employees to be offered any overtime, but there are some cases where it could happen. In fact, you need to look at your job responsibilities and current salary to see if you are entitled to extra overtime. Normally, it is offered to workers at the lower end of the payroll. Unfortunately, though, this still depends from company to company, and your employer might not be too keen to offer you extra hours if you are on a salary.

Don’t Overdo Overtime

The prospect of more work to earn more money might be too good to pass up on. However, you need to be careful that you don’t overdo it with the overtime. You need to make sure that you get plenty of rest between shifts or else you could end up exhausted and stressed. And that could have a very detrimental effect on your work!

So, are you ready for overtime?