SMILE – PEOPLE WILL REMEMBER YOU

When paying at the counter for my car parking last week I was fumbling in my handbag to find the discount card. To my suprise the gentleman behind the counter said ‘Don’t worry I know you and I know you have a card’.  So what?

Well the reason I was suprised is that I am not a regular user of this car park and hadn’t been there for at least 4 months yet the man remembered me.  Why?

Am I the most stunning looking women in Leeds?  – No
Have I some obvious disfigurement?    – No

He said ‘ I remember you because you always SMILE’.

I must admit it made me feel good to know that someone remembered me for being nice and what is more he reduced the parking charge because I was only 5 minutes over the change over time so I saved money too!  Another reason to SMILE

I know that at times there may not seem much to smile about but looking miserable will not make things any better either.  I am sure many of us have worked with a ‘Moaning Minnie’ who sees everything in a negative way. These people can very quickly lower the  morale of the workplace.

Someone with a cheery smile can lighten up a room, change the mood of others and make the whole place a much more pleasant environment to work in.

So get out there and SMILE – Hopefully people will smile back and we can all feel much better!

41% of workers say personal problems have an impact at work

There is much talk about work-related stress and the impact that it has on businesses but a recent survey by Canada Life indicates  that workers’ personal problems can also have an impact at work.  You may feel that an employee’s personal problems are nothing to do with you but if their problems affect the way in which they do their work then the business could be affected.

As an employer you are not responsible for an employee’s personal problems but if you already have health and well-being initiatives in place these will go a long way in helping them deal with any personal issues they may be having.

If you don’t have any systems in place at the moment why not consider running some short stress management sessions which give employees simple tools to help them deal with stress and other health and well-being issues.

Stress – Coping Strategies

Coping with stress is an on-going process, but the more you address stress the more you learn your preferred methods of coping.

Some people turn to destructive behaviours to deal with stress, such as smoking, drinking, doing drugs, engaging in disordered eating and self-harming.

Other people turn to productive behaviours such as taking light exercise, improve their diet, consulting with others and allowing their creativity to shine through in writing, painting, drawing, music or other hobbies.

Recognising the productive behaviours that can help you work through stress, while at the same time avoiding destructive behaviours, should allow you to become more efficient at stress relief in the future.

We can not get rid of all the stress in our lives but we can take steps to manage it

What simple measures can you take to reduce stress?

How often do we put ourselves in a stressful situation, which, if we had just been a little more organised could have been avoided?

A few days ago I switched on my laptop , all was well then suddenly – NOTHING! – totally blank screen.  Now technology and I do not always get on well so I was somewhat stressed out by this turn of events! All my work was on my laptop and if the problem was not fixable I would have lost hours and hours of work.  My colleague told me not to panic because if the worst had happened I could always retrieve my work from the backup.  And there of course lay the problem.  I had not backed up my work for ages because I had got out of the routine of doing so. By forgetting to do this simple task I was heading for a potential major problem.

Fortunately after fiddling about for a little while normal service was resumed but I had put myself under unnecessary stress which was totally avoidable.

So take a look at some of the things that could potentially cause you stress and see if you can put a simple system in place to reduce the stress risk.

If you wish to know more about how Small Changes can make a Big Difference call us for details of our workshop.

Think you can’t afford employee health and well-being initiatives?

Think again.

In challenging economic times businesses can benefit more than ever by investing in employee health and well-being. The health and well-being of people working within a business or organisation, at any level, directly affects its performance and inevitably the all important ‘bottom line’. We know that stressed employees are more likely to be inefficient, disengaged, absent, resign or subject to disciplinary measures. Their negativity can also impact on other members of staff. These factors add cost by way of sick pay, overtime, recruitment, training, poor accuracy, dismissal procedures and potential loss of clients. SME’S can be particularly badly affected as roles tend to be more defined with less scope to cope with unplanned absences.

It has to be said that not all stress is bad. A certain amount of stress is necessary to motivate us and too little stress can actually make us bored and disinterested. It is the difference between the stress that motivates and the stress which causes ineffectiveness or illness that needs to be addressed.

It can be forgotten that factors outside the workplace, such as money worries, employment or illness issues within the family can adversely affect a person’s performance at work and impact on even the best run businesses. As an employer or manager you may not be able to help directly, but it does pay to be aware of such a situation so as to be able to monitor that person and minimize risk to the business.

Stress related problems can have both physical and mental causes and equally can manifest themselves both physically and mentally; illness, aches and pains, RSI, tiredness right through to time off work with a note from the doctor saying ‘work related stress’.

In times when it can be difficult to justify ‘across the board’ salary increases measures directed at staff well-being can be doubly beneficial. You are not only showing that you care, but you are helping to retain key staff for the time when business picks up, as well as ticking a number of Health and Safety boxes.

Soft Benefits

Soft Benefits – employee benefits that are not financial in nature
Over the last few years the workload of many employees has increased yet, due to tights budgets, their pay has remained frozen or increases have been small.  This un-rewarded extra work can lead to low morale and discontent.

Companies who wish to show their staff that they are valued are looking to introduce ‘soft benefits’ which are not only appreciated by the employees but can offer substantial benefits to the business at a comparatively low cost.

Not all employees’ wish to take advantage of these ‘soft benefits’ but in many cases the fact that they are available means that they feel valued.

Companies who offer benefits to their employees often attract high calibre employees who are productive, motivated and loyal.

Soft benefits provided by companies include :-

• Workplace massage
• Health and Well-being sessions
• Gym membership
• Zumba classes
• Yoga
• Tai chi
• Giving employee a day off for their birthday

The importance of hydration

This week is National Nutrition and Hydration Week launched by the National Patient Safety Agency and is focusing on the importance of good nutrition and hydration for hospital patients.  Poor nutrition and hydration leads to poor health, increased and prolonged hospital admissions, and increased costs to the NHS.  The consequences of poor nutrition and hydration  include increased risk of infection, poor skin integrity and delayed wound healing, decreased muscle strength, depression and, sadly, premature death.

Keeping hydrated is very important for us all.

Two thirds of our body is made up of water and it is essential that we drink enough fluid to maintain a healthy balance.  We become dehydrated when we don’t drink enough fluid or we don’t replace lost fluid.  You can judge whether you’re drinking enough by the colour of your urine. If it’s a pale straw colour then your fluid intake is probably fine. If your urine is dark yellow, you probably need to drink more.

There is an increased risk of dehydration if you

• Have a high temperature
• Have had Diarrhoea/vomiting
• Taken part in strenuous physical activities
• Perspire excessively during hot weather

Some of the signs of dehydration are

• Feeling thirsty
• Dark urine
• Headaches
• Tiredness
• Lack of concentration
• Dry/cracked lips
• Dry Skin
• Constipation

Dehydration can cause feelings of hunger so before reaching for a snack  have a glass of water/juice and you may find that its thirst rather than hunger .  Just think how many calories you may cut out!

The recommended daily  fluid intake for an adult is between two and three litres each day – 8 medium glasses. Most fluids, juice, tea, coffee and milk count  towards your daily intake although water is preferable. Spread your fluid intake out over the day – it has been know for people to drink the whole lot in one go!

Alcohol is not included and can in fact cause dehydration.  If you are out drinking try having a soft drink occasionally just to boost the hydration levels.  It can be very refreshing and also may help prevent a headache the following day!

Would you eat you lunch off the toilet seat?

Research has shown that some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat!  Not a nice thought at all!

Take a lunch break – the days of the lunch hour are probably long gone for most people but do try whenever possible not to eat at your desk.  When eating at their desk people often continue working which means that they are not concentrating on their food so they tend to eat more than they need and can’t understand why they are gaining weight!
If possible try and take the opportunity to go for a short 5-10 minutes walk just to get a little fresh air to help refresh you for the afternoon.

Are you always ill at Christmas?

A friend of mine was recently bemoaning the fact that whilst she loves Christmas and New Year she has spent the last four huddled under the duvet with a hot lemon cold remedy feeling dreadful.

At this time of year we tend to get so involved with preparing for Christmas and New Year that we  neglect ourselves and become stressed. Christmas shopping, attending school concerts, late nights at Christmas parties eating and drinking more than usual, trying to clear our desks so that we can put work behind us and focus on the holiday ahead. All this is in addition to our normal busy schedules.

When we get stressed or overdo things our immune system becomes compromised and our bodies find it more difficult to fight off the germs and viruses.  Whilst we are rushing around adrenalin keeps us going but as soon as we start relaxing we find that we fall foul of these germs and become ill. What we need to do is to just take a little time out to look after ourselves and hopefully  boost the body’s immune system inorder to keep illness at bay or at least enable us to fight it more effectively.

So in the build up to Christmas a few suggestions:-

Eat sensibly and at regular intervals – include some fruit and vegetables.

Get plenty of rest – If you are expecting to have lots of late nights go to bed earlier than usual on the nights you are not going out.

Keep Hydrated – Even if you are at a party  have a glass of water/soft drink occasionally. It can actually be quite refreshing!

Prioritise  – Whilst it would be great to clear your desk before Christmas  that may just  not be realistic.  Sort out what must be done, what would be good to get out of the way and what can wait.  Work in that order and you may find that by having a plan you achieve  far more than you thought.

Ask for help – whether at work or at home.  If you find that you just haven’t time to do everything ask someone to help out. People often don’t offer to help because they believe that you have everything under control and are concerned that you may be offended if they ask.

10 minute relaxation time!  A little  longer would be better but 10 minutes will help.
Lie down for 10 minutes relax your limbs, close your eyes, breathe calmly and try to clear your mind. You will be surprised at how effective this is.

Remember Christmas is for you to enjoy too so take action to give yourself a better chance of staying healthy this year!