The reed.co.uk 2013 Happiness at Work Survey

The reed.co.uk 2013 Happiness at Work Survey by Michael Cheary How happy are you?Or, more specifically, how happy are you at work? Its a question that on the surface could be seen to have a simple answer. But delve deeper, and there are a multitude of factors which can impact your morale, some of which you may not have even previously considered.To save you countless hours spent soul-searching, we conducted a study of over 4,000 jobseekers to find out what impacts our happiness in the workplace. These are just some of the things we found:Its all about progression84% of those surveyed stated that the opportunity for career advancement is either essential or very important when it comes to working life.Further reinforcing this idea is the importance placed on professional development and job-specific training, all of which contribute to making career growth the number one factor employees identify as being vital to their happiness at work.So, rather than an immediate monetary gain, the ability to demonstrate or encourage staff through training and provide them with the opportunity to take their career to the next level, should never be overlooked.Good communicationFollowing on from career progression, 83% of people identified a high level of communication between employees and senior management as having a huge impact on their happiness levels.Whilst good communication is seldom overlooked by any business, the amount of importance placed on it, and the fact that many rank it above starting salary (which 72% identify as vital or very important), may come as something of a surprise.Social aspectSometimes your happiness within a job can be most greatly affected by your colleagues, and 77% say the people they work with will affect their morale significantly affects their happiness.Even if the jobs we do are more individual in nature or if day-to-day interaction between co-workers is fairly infrequent, having the right mix of personalities in the office and a maintaining a good company culture will usual ly pay dividends. But having to work with someone we dont get on with makes many dread their working day.And, with 72% of us socialising with our colleagues outside of work, its little wonder that many of those surveyed give the social factor precedence.Keep an eye on the Career Advice section in the next few weeks for more information about our employee happiness surveyFind a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features

The Beginners Guide to Using Airbnb - Classy Career Girl

The Beginners Guide to Using Airbnb Airbnb is one of the largest accommodation providers in the world. Founded in 2008, this San Francisco-based company has properties in more than 34,000 cities in 190 countries. The popular website offers a wide range of choices that include rooms, apartments, houses, villas, and castles. I started using Airbnb a few years ago when looking for family stays of one week or longer in Australia. I found a number of things about Airbnb to be quite appealing: payment by credit card; a choice of cancel policies that are clearly defined; a 24-hour resolution policy for unexpected issues upon arrival. In addition, each property follows the same listing format that defines the space, amenities, prices, and a general description. I just recently made a two-week reservation for an apartment overlooking the Douro River in Porto, Portugal. This is our twelfth stay using Airbnb. So far we have been satisfied with our choices, however, there is always some risk involved. Here are a few things that I have learned along the way: The Beginners Guide to Using Airbnb 1. It works best for stays of at least one week or when traveling with a larger group. It can definitely save you money, make you feel like a local and provide the extra space and cooking facilities that will provide that “at home” feeling. However, it takes time and patience to use, and there is always, at a minimum, the Airbnb service fee if you cancel. 2. Decide on your parameters (ours always include free WiFi and a private apartment) and then be ready to spend many hours perusing the website for just the right place. 3. Once you find something of interest, pay particular attention to the total number of reviews and ratingsâ€"the more the better; 50 or more is good. Then read them to get a feel for the place and pay attention to anything negative for follow-up. The owner and renter both conduct reviews separately after each stay. 4. Add the price of cleaning and the booking fee into the nightly rate, so you are making an accurate comparison when looking at other sites. 5. Once I decide that I like a property, I have my husband do a review to see if I missed anything. Hes good at deciding if the location is convenient and is partial to large windows with expansive views. A second opinion is always a good idea. 6. There is a convenient place on the website for inquiries and introductions to the owner. I like to do this, and the owner will typically hold it for 24 hours after you express an interest. 7. Look for locations with a lot of photos and study them carefully. Many properties offer a dozen or moreâ€"if there are just a few, I pass on the property. Pictures can be deceptive, but you can also learn a lot from them. 8. Cancellation policies vary: strict, moderate and flexible. I try to avoid strict, but I feel that the other two are fair. When I make Airbnb reservations, my plans are firm, barring an emergency. For hotel stays and reservations that are easily changed, I typically go to Booking.com or direct to the hotel website. 9. Start your search as early as possible, especially, if you are traveling during peak travel season. Having said all this, I have not always followed my own advice. The Top 4 Airbnb Locations You Have to Add To Your Bucket List 1. One of our favorite Airbnb finds was a chalet in the mountains of Switzerland overlooking the Thunersee. There were only two reviews (good ones), and it was perched above the town on a mountain that could mean a very steep hike to get there. However, the view was spectacular, and the owner answered every question to my satisfaction (we could ride the local bus and avoid the uphill walk). It was still a risk, but one we were glad we took.  Here is the website to “Studio mit Blick auf See und Berge.” 2. Another excellent place was in Sydney, Australia; it had a balcony, pleasant view, and great host. It was kind of a no-brainer  because it had more than one-hundred reviews with a five-star (best) average. Here is the website to “Central+Surrey Hills+Views.” 3. In Melbourne, Australia we rented a comfortable two-bedroom apartment with a great view of the city. “Beautiful City + Park Views + Pool” with its 80+ five-star reviews can be found here. 4. One of the more unusual places we rented was a studio apartment at the edge of Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. It overlooked colorful canyons and ridges that dated back 65 million years. We even had a lesson in Triassic paleontology from our delightful host, Bob. Here  is the website. What are your experiences with Airbnb? Any favorite places to recommend? Related Post: The Top 6 Travel Destinations That Are Calling Me Back

Top 7 Social Media Fails - at Work!

Top 7 Social Media Fails - at Work! Social media is a very dangerous tool to have, especially at work. Here are the top social media fails to stop you doing the same! 1. The over-eager tweeter: Does this look familiar to you? Sometimes, you don’t even wait for the job offer just the interview is enough to make you hit the social networks. Of course, there is a caution to this tale after Cisco saw her dilemma they promptly offered the job to someone else. Connor Riley was fired before even starting the role thanks to it going viral pretty quickly, which although is probably some sort of world record, it’s not one you’d be happy to be remembered for! Want to tweet your good news? Go for it, just always check it and think: would I be happy for my new boss to read this? If in doubt, don’t send! 2. The too-close-to-home gossiper: Nicole Crowther was apparently an extra on Glee, appearing on the show quite a few times. Not any more… We’ve all accidentally passed on the office gossip, but plot spoilers for one of America’s biggest shows with an infamous cult following really is something else. Apparently, this tweet spelled the end of her acting career, as commented by Brad Falchuck (the writer/director/what he says goes). Although maybe she could make it as a gossip journalist as this little mishap really got a lot of people riled up and she definitely made a name for herself through this blunder. 3. The revenge of the rant attack: It’s always great when you’re working in customer service and the customer is an actual, real life celebrity. Most us have a story about pulling a pint for a glamorous actress, seeing a TV personality in the sale section or watching a singer go for the early bird menu. However, when waiter Jon-Barrett Ingels spotted actress Jane Adams walk out without paying her bill he couldn’t help himself, and took to Twitter. He also pointed out the lack of a tip. However, a PR company paid the check the next day, the tip came the following month, yet unfortunately; Jon was out of a job. Of course, embarrassment and humiliation is never the best way to get you what you want, no matter how tempting it is, and especially on such a huge, un-regulated scale. 4. The mother of all oops: How many times have you accidentally sent a message to the wrong person? There have probably been a few times you’ve sent, or very nearly sent, the wrong message to the completely wrong person at work. It’s followed by an absolutely deafening silence, a heart that sinks as heavily as the Titanic and the unmistakable rise of vomit. Know it well? Imagine it was this… Scott Bartosiewicz was a social media strategist for a social media agency. Was. He accidentally used Chrysler’s social account for his own personal rant about trying to get home. Oops. Not only did he lose his job, his company also lost the Chrysler account. Double oops. 5. The over-adder of Facebook friends: Classic. It’s the modern day equivalent of gossiping about someone only to realise they’re behind you, heard everything and will never forgive you. Well, this poor girl had a good old rant about her boss; only to find out she’d already added him on Facebook. She found out by his corker of a response, which just takes the biscuit that little bit more. This is a prime example of ‘don’t talk about colleagues on social profiles’, and ‘be very careful who you add online.’ It can seem a great idea to add new friends at the office onto Facebook in the first few weeks, but it can be a difficult task to juggle work friends, real friends, old friends, family and those people you don’t really know, especially when you’re prone to outbursts of this magnitude. 6. The social craze that got you sacked: Here we have proof that the lines between social media, real life and work have become a little bit blurred. This game shop employee decided to try out the planking craze; only problem is, he did it at work and then tweeted it online. His bosses were not happy. Working for the company for four years didn’t save him from the sack, as his actions were deemed too unsafe for the shop. We think the moral of this one is never mix business, pleasure and planking, and be very careful what pranks you decide to post online. 7. Political faux pas: In the UK especially, banter is well appreciated and due to its heavy influence on daily activities, it’s usually well received. The problem is, is that banter is often not taken the right way; especially when you’re providing a little bit of banter of a really rather massive and controversial topic, and especially if you’re a politician. What was probably assumed as a ‘funny’ turned into the defining moment of one man’s career (not for the better), and had a whole manner of implications on the Labour party. Lesson? Well, quite an obvious one, when you’re in a powerful position in the leadership of a country, don’t make ‘funnies’. Author:  Stephen Thompson? ?is a managing director of  forwardrolerecruitment.co.uk    the first choice for Marketing jobs, Creative jobs,  E-Commerce jobs and Analytical jobs in Manchester, the North West and Yorkshire. You can find him on  Google+  .

Tips for negotiating with a liar

Tips for negotiating with a liar I told this guy, Brendan, that I would write about his baby bottles on my blog. Well, first I told him he had to pay me. Then he sent the bottles  to me, and I liked them, so writing about them on the blog didnt seem like it would be that difficult. Also, Brendan has been reading my blog for a long time.  It felt good to tell him yes. I told him that  six months ago. During the past six months, I have told him probably fifteen times that Ill post about his bottles the next day. I had this idea that Id send the bottles  to my friend Caitlin to try. She has a newborn. Except that she is having a breakdown. Not a total breakdown, but the kind of  breakdown that every mom with a toddler and a new baby has when she realizes that two kids is not like 1 + 1 its more like 1 + 10. It took  me a while to realize  that I would  be testing these bottles myself. Most of us lie at some point during negotiations. Did you know that? It made me feel better to know that. Sometimes Id wonder: Did Brendan  go to my blog and look for the post? Or did he know I was probably not going to follow through?  Sometimes Id feel sorry for Brendan that he had to deal with me. Other times, Id think maybe he reads articles on how to negotiate with a liar, because he followed all the rules with me. Like, you are supposed to keep being nice. Which he always was. When Id write: Just one more day. Hed write back: Great! At one point he asked me if I wanted to give him a refund. And of course I said no. And then I said, Ill do it this week. Thats another thing to do with a dishonest negotiator give  alternatives. To be clear, I always thought Id do the post. Its not like I set out to be a horrible person. It just sort of happened that way. During World War II the  CIA published  a Simple Sabotage Field Manual. And it turns out Im a natural saboteur. Like, I was really slow  responding to emails, which, in World War II terms is at the telephone switchboard, delay putting calls through. I  think the manual was  written just to make me feel like Im CIA material: Work slowly. Think of ways to increase the number of movements needed to do your job: use a light hammer instead of a heavy one; try to make a small wrench do instead of a big one. One time Brendan  sent an email to me that said his co-workers think he was stupid to pay me ahead of time. They think Ill never post. That really killed me. He was giving me a vote of confidence even after his co-workers ridiculed him.  This is a great tactic to use with people who lie in negotiations:  Reveal a little about yourself to establish rapport. I felt like he was my friend. He probably doesnt think we are friends, because friends dont make friends wait ten months for blog posts. But the New York Times says  that only about half of our perceived friendships are mutual, so I guess this means we really are friends. That piece in the New York Times talks about how friendships are layered. And each layer is a different type of friendship. So probably Brendan and I have the sort of friendship that happens between a mercenary and someone who wants to save the world. Brendan wants to save the world with his company, mimijumi. I can tell by the bottles. They are meant to feel like the breast so that mothers can go back and forth between breast and bottle without making a breast feeding fiasco. (Bottles are much easier for babies than breasts. They are the street-corner crack dealer in the breast milk neighborhood.) The hardest thing for me about lying to Brendan so many times is that it feels lonely. The more you lie the more disconnected  you feel. From yourself, or other people, or both. Its incremental. Small lies and small disconnects. But they add up to a picture of despair. If I had been given these bottles when I was breast feeding, I would have felt less lonely. Its very lonely to be a new mom. Its very lonely to be a feeding machine. And its scary to think you have to go months and months without a break. Brendan has had faith in me this whole time. Im not sure why, but its done for me what the bottles are meant to do for mothers: I felt like someone believed in me even when I didnt think I could do it. Thank you, Brendan.

Introverts, Have You Scheduled Your Restorative Niches [Updated] - Career Pivot

Introverts, Have You Scheduled Your Restorative Niches [Updated] - Career Pivot Restorative Niches I learned about restorative niches from the bookQuiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. Many people who know me find it hard to believe, but I am very much a closet introvert. I appear to be very extroverted because I am a public speaker and can work a networking event with the best of them. However, when I’m done, I am toast! Done. Exhausted. Susan Cain gave me a name for how I help my introverted clients and myself: restorative niches. The term was created by Professor Little who, like me, is a closet introvert. Susan Cain writes: “Restorative niche” is Professor Little’s term for the place you go when you want to return to your true self. It can be a physical place, like the path beside the Richelieu River, or a temporal one, like the quiet breaks you plan between sales calls. It can mean canceling your social plans on the weekend before a big meeting at work, practicing yoga or meditation, or choosing e-mail over an in-person meeting. (Even Victorian ladies, whose job effectively was to be available to friends and family, were expected to withdraw for a rest each afternoon.) You choose a restorative niche when you close the door to your private office (if you’re lucky enough to have one) in between meetings. You can even create a restorative niche during a meeting, by carefully selecting where you sit, and when and how you participate. The concept of a restorative niche is to find an activity or environment that recharges you and schedule that into your day. It is especially important to schedule these activities or environments before and after any time you will be doing something that “sucks the life out of you”. Note: This post was originally published in October 2015 and was updated in May of 2019 Scheduling Restorative Niches to Recharge Most of my clients who are square pegs need to schedule restorative niches into their day. Another way of saying this is that they must schedule a time to recharge. Whenever I have a presentation scheduled during a day, I block out time prior to and after the presentation to be alone. I look for activities that recharge my batteries like taking a walk outdoors. Listen to the most recent episode A good example of this was in 2018 I gave my Multi-Generational Workplace workshop toa bank based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. They wanted me there for an 11-12:30-time slot on a Saturday. It was a three-hour drive from Austin and a straight shot up I-35 to the venue. I got up early, ate breakfast and left around 6:30 AM with my coffee in hand. My iPhone was loaded with 7-8 hours of podcast episodes that I would listen to on the trip there and back. The drive up was very quiet and restorative. I gave the workshop, had lunch with the attendees and left. The drive back was very quiet and restorative. I love giving the workshop but it “sucks the life out of me”. I need a restorative niche both before and after giving the workshop to maintain my well being. Introversion and the Workplace Most of us have learned to act like an extrovert. You would not believe the number of sales people I have worked with who are quite introverted. They have learned to behave like extroverts, but it saps their energy. They are closet introverts. Almost all of the introverts I know are required to attend functions where they will be around people for long extended periods. This could be attending a conference, company events, teaching or attending a class. What to do when the workplace demands you behave like an extrovert? You schedule restorative niches. Example #1 Laura is very artistic and is very introverted. She loves to knit which we used as a restorative niche. As a tech executive, she has to periodically runall day team meetings, which exhausts her. The solution is scheduled short breaks during the day, get away from everyone for 15 minutes and she knits. She has to get away from people for short periods of time and do something that restores her. As the leader, she feels compelled to eat lunch with her teambut she sneaks away to find a quiet place to knit at the end of the lunch period. Example #2 Steve’s restorative niche is to read novels. When he has the time he loves to curl up with a good book, and he always feels better when he makes time for it. He had to present four or five times over a couple of days at a conference. Which he knew from past experience would “suck the life out of him”. In the past, he has always felt compelled to attend sessions when he was not presenting. This time rather than sitting in the room listening to other presenters, he would go back to his room and read his favorite novel for 30-45 minutes after each presentation. This had a tremendous restorative effect. He was still tired after the conference was over but he was not exhausted as he expected. Example #3 Larry loves the outdoors. He is a sales guy who works out of his house and spends a lot of time on the phone. He has learned to schedule short walks in his neighborhood three times a day. When he gets stressed, he takes his phone and laptop out on his back deck. The walks in his neighborhood help him manage his stress, and moving his work environment outside during these times has proven invaluable. Example #4 Sarah is an account representative for a major advertising agency. She is quite artistic and blends her creative side with a good bit of business sense to make her quite successful. However, as a creative, she leans towards the introverted side of the personality spectrum. In her job, she has to be around people much of the day, which depending on how many breaks she gets, can wear her out. What Sarah does is to set an alarm on her phone to ring twice a day. At those times, she takes out her drawing pad to draw. Draw what, you might ask? Anything she likes. In each of these cases, we identified something the client loves to do and scheduled it into their day. It was not until I read Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking that I discovered it had a name for it: restorative niches. Are you an introvert? Do you schedule restorative niches into your day? If so, tell us about them by making a comment. Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...

Why features dont matter anymore - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Why features dont matter anymore - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The success of the Apple iPod should serve us all as a reminder of this fact: Simple is good. And in case we forget, theres this excellent article by Andreas Pfeiffer who formulates it very succinctly using 10 simple rules. Here are some examples: 10 fundamental rules for the age of user experience technology: 1) More features isnt better, its worse. Feature overload is becoming a real issue. The last thing a customer wants is confusion-and whats more confusing than comparing technical specifications, unless you are en expert? Only nerds get a kick out of reading feature lists. (I know Im one of them.) 2) You cant make things easier by adding to them. Simplicity means getting something done in a minimum number of simple steps. Practically anything could be simpler but you dont get there by adding features. 3) Confusion is the ultimate deal-breaker. Confuse a customer, and you lose him. And nothing confuses more easily than complex features and unintuitive functionalities. Which reminds me of the time Mark Twain wrote a letter saying: I apologize for writing you a long letter but I didnt have time to write a short one. And then theres this wonderful quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes: I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for for the simplicity on the other side of complexity. And that is what we must seek in business: We must seek complexity and then try to discover the simplicity beyond complexity. If you only know enough about your product to present it in a complicated way one that makes everybody think you must be really clever then youre not ready to sell it. When you can present it in a way that makes everybody realize theyre as clever as you are, then youre good to go. And thats when you can create breakaway hits like the iPod. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Customer Service Job Description Resume - A Quick Overview

Customer Service Job Description Resume - A Quick OverviewThe one thing you have to remember when thinking about a customer service job description resume is that you have to do it the right way. Yes, this is just what you want. That is what you need to remember as you put together your resume.A customer service job description resume is not as simple as it sounds. There are a lot of variables that you have to take into consideration before you write anything down. You have to think carefully about these things so that you make the most of your application.What you need to be thinking about when creating a customer service job description resume is that you have to make sure that it is customized for the company you are applying for. You need to think about the role of the manager you are applying for. Do they specialize in customer service?Does the job description include job duties that show you are the right person for the position? Or is the job description written for someone el se who will actually do the work? Maybe the position is specific and the company only needs help with the customer service tasks.It doesn't matter what the company is looking for when it comes to a customer service resume. What matters is that you do a good job of putting together a resume that is specific to the job you are applying for.You also need to take into consideration that a customer service job description resume is not something that you want to be faxed off to the company. If you use this type of resume, they will probably take the time to read it over and see if it is something they would hire you for.In order to be sent the proper information you should prepare a detailed job description. This will give them a better idea of what you can do for them. If you don't know much about the job they are looking for, they will just think that you are not the right fit for the job.So now you have the knowledge that a customer service job description resume is not a simple thing to put together. The first thing you have to do is do the proper research on the company. Then you have to do your homework so that you are prepared when you send in your resume.