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Busy Executives Can Set An Example By Taking A Much Needed Break

August 21st, 2019 | Posted by ATS in Benefit Accruals | Career | Employee Productivity | Employee Self Service | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Canada | Fingerprint Time And Attendance Toronto | Labour Costs | Overtime | Talent Management | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Time and Attendance Canada | Time and Attendance Toronto - (Comments Off on Busy Executives Can Set An Example By Taking A Much Needed Break)

Whether you are the CEO, CFO, Chief Information or Chief People Officer running a busy company comes with many challenges including your health.  Afterall, if you don’t take care of your health, how can you lead a productive workforce? In fact, more often than not, a company’s employees tend to model the behaviours of their leader. So, for instance, if the boss habitually works 50-60 hours a week, employees will feel compelled to follow this pattern or risk being seen as not working hard enough.

Sue Pridham’s article written for the Globe and Mail titled Seven tips for busy executives to stay healthy is the perfect antidote for busy executives who overwork themselves and, as a result, struggle to find time for selfcare.

Those seven tips are as follows:

1. Get 7 to 8 hours sleep. If you are low on energy, gaining weight and grumpy, chances are you aren’t getting enough sleep. One night without sleep, or several nights with too few hours of sleep, leaves you driving as if you are legally drunk at a blood alcohol content of 0.08.

2. Eat breakfast daily. The purpose of eating breakfast is to give your body some much needed energy after a long night of sleep.

3. Manage stress. Take wellness breaks throughout the day to recharge and encourage your team to do the same. Leave work at a reasonable hour and let others know you have a life beyond work. They will take note and do the same. Take your well-deserved vacation and try to stay unplugged as much as possible.

4. Exercise daily. If your team sees you making fitness a priority, they will follow suit. That could mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator, going for a walk or run midday, encouraging your department to take a stretch break. Another way is to walk and talk. Get out of the boardroom and host a walking meeting. This will stimulate blood flow and get the creative juices flowing. Keep a pair of running shoes under your desk and walk after lunch or at break times. Go for a walk with the family after dinner to reduce screen time.

5. Eat 7 to 8 fruits and vegetables each day. People who eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables have a significantly lower risk for cancer, heart disease, obesity, hypertension and diabetes.

6. Practise gratitude. We can get so caught up in the thrill of the next deal and achieving targets that we forget to recognize the efforts of our team along the way. Take time to show thanks. No one has ever faulted their employer for giving too much praise.

7. Stay connected. Social connections can strengthen our immune systems, lower rates of anxiety and depression and improve our self-esteem. Connecting with people makes us happy, which in turn keeps us healthy. Get out from behind your desk and give your employees some face time.

Bottomline: In today’s ‘always on’ digital era, as an executive, you have information coming at you from every angle. And, after a long day of mind consuming tasks, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and exhausted. But you won’t be doing a good job at anything if you are not giving your brain a break, and at the same time, risking your health in the process.

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How To Alleviate Stress From Your Everyday Worklife

January 21st, 2019 | Posted by ATS in Absence Management | Benefit Accruals | Careers | Employee Productivity | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software - (Comments Off on How To Alleviate Stress From Your Everyday Worklife)

Eliminating stress from your work entirely is a nice goal, but of course, we all know that’s not really possible. Some stress is good because, it propels us to complete projects that might otherwise, go unfinished.

There are also a number of ways one can decrease stress at work, some of which might include; taking the occasional break, not working 10 hours or more a day, taking vacation time, and not responding to work emails after hours or on weekends.

Vikki Ledbetter article, article titled 3 steps to a work detoxoffers some tips on the importance of taking a break from the everyday grind. These steps include:

“1. Prepare: Look at your calendar and move meetings. Think about commitments the week following your time out and alert relevant people that you’ll be unavailable. And, of course, communicate your time off as early as possible so your team isn’t caught off guard.

Planning can also illuminate opportunities to train others and give them a chance to try something new, as well as highlight holes in documentation for how you do what you do. Developing tutorials or even one-pagers on your work processes can serve you and your team well long term.

2. Set boundaries: With a physical detox, there are some strict no-nos to your diet, right? Likewise, with a work detox you’ll have to ensure you’re not welcoming stimulants that cause you unrest. There aren’t a lot of occasions where you truly can’t be reached, despite what your out of office message may say. But that doesn’t mean you should be available at all times.

3. Take in the good stuff: Now it’s time to focus on what you can do during your break to kickstart your work detox and leave you feeling refreshed. Make time for hobbies and people that make you happy, and the earlier the better. If you love hiking, schedule it for the first half of your day so you are, in some ways, forced to disconnect from work. If you enjoy writing, set aside time to take yourself on a coffee date for just you and your journal.”

If you have included things like working less and not taking on too many projects as part your New Year goals, good for you. And, if not perhaps this might be something you can add to your list of goals. Hopefully, we still have not abandoned those New Year resolutions yet?

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You Are About To Start That New Job, But Those Jitters Just Won’t Go Away

December 1st, 2016 | Posted by Apex Time Solutions in Absence Management | Benefit Accruals | Employee Self Service | Time and Attendance Blog, Workforce Management Software | Workforce Management Solutions - (Comments Off on You Are About To Start That New Job, But Those Jitters Just Won’t Go Away)

Feeling nervous before starting that new job is common. It happens to people of all ages. But how do you combat this anxiety that’s eating away at you, and is rendering you seemingly helpless, before your big day? In addition, to making sure you get sufficient sleep the night before your event, psychologists Jamie Long, suggests some strategies to “Reduce Stress and Stop Anxiety.”  Jacquelyn Smith of Forbes penned a wonderful piece titled ‘7 Tips For Young Professionals Starting A New Job’ In no particular order here are some excerpts from the article.

You Are About To Start That New Job, But Those Jitters Just Won’t Go Away

Dress for success
Start by recreating your wardrobe and sprucing up your appearance. Dress appropriately for the job you’ve landed. Remember that first impressions can be lasting. If you’re dressed to impress, you probably will.

Be confident
Don’t be narcissistic, but show your colleagues that you deserve to be there. Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, and believe in your ability to succeed in your new position. One way to exhibit confidence: invite your colleagues to lunch.

 Separate your personal and professional lives
Once you’re settled in, avoid making personal calls, sending personal emails or taking long lunch breaks. Show that you are dedicated to your new job and that you want to be there. If you have nothing to do, offer to take on another task or help a colleague who looks overloaded. Not only will you impress the boss, but the days will fly by.

Wheter you are a young person, entering the workforce for the first time, or just moving from one job to another, we all experience jitters. Moving to a new job or travelling to a new country are both unknowns, and is partly the cause of those jitters.

 

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