Is your team addicted to work - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Viewpoint careers advice blog

Is your team addicted to work - Viewpoint - careers advice blog Do you put more time and effort into your work life than your personal life? Are you always the first to arrive at the office and the last to leave? Do you work every weekend, and never seem to quite manage to take your full quota of holiday entitlement? Do you compulsively check your work emails at all hours of the day and night? Do you take pride in out-working others? If so, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve crossed the line between simply being a hard worker, to being addicted to your work. It’s time to face facts: you’re a workaholic. Still not convinced? Perhaps this quote from psychotherapist Bryan Robinson will help you see things a little more clearly: “A workaholic is someone whos on the ski slopes dreaming about being back at work. A healthy worker is at work, dreaming about being on the ski slopes.” In the latter case, whilst their work is important to them, and something they derive fulfilment and purpose from, it doesn’t completely define who they are as a person. They work to live, not vice versa. The good and bad sides of workaholism For some of you reading this, you may wonder what all the fuss is about. Surely, we want people working in our businesses who are one hundred per cent committed and focused on helping us achieve great things? Of course we do, but there are other ways to achieve this than encouraging our employees to believe that work is everything. In the short term, some would argue that a degree of workaholism is a good thing â€" after all, employees are engaged, productive and are helping you achieve your goals. But, in the long run, this kind of obsession is unsustainable and destructive, leading to ‘over commitment and under achievement’, and an increased likelihood that burnout will rear its ugly head. Is the world of work facilitating workaholism? Even if you consider yourself to have a balanced, healthy approach to work, it’s becoming more likely than ever that a significant proportion of your team don’t. And that’s a problem both for them, and for you. We all know that workaholism is nothing new, however some would argue that it is becoming more common â€" it’s even been labelled the  21st century addiction. In fact, recent studies have found that one in 10 employees in both the  UK  and the  US  are addicted to work.  These statistics aren’t surprising at all to me, and I’m sure they’re aren’t to you either. What is leading us to become obsessed with work? Simply put, I think it’s the world we live and work in. In my mind, it facilitates and feeds our addiction in many different, but relatable ways: Being insanely busy is seen as a badge of honour:  I’m willing to bet that the last time someone asked you how you are, you answered with “I’m great thanks, just very busy”. In today’s world of work, being busy is almost perceived as a badge of honour, a state of being that somehow proves our worth to the world. After all, if you’re not busy, surely, you’re not in demand? This mindset leads us to put unrealistic demands on ourselves, and our time. Technology means we can work, all the time, from anywhere:  This naturally causes us to develop an unhealthy relationship to our work, meaning it’s taking up more and more of our precious ‘leisure’ time  three in 10 employees  work whilst on holiday,  26 per cent of work  is done outside of normal working hours,  33 per cent of salaried workers  say they work at the weekend. The culmination of this means that the lines between our work and personal lives are becoming increasingly blurred and our work is starting to form a larger proportion of our identities. A growing fear of being replaced:  In today’s world of work, the fear of being replaced (either by a robot or by a human who we perceive to be more talented and harder working than us) is all too real. To counteract this feeling of insecurity, we feel we need to work longer than anyone else, be more committed than anyone else and achieve more than anyone else. If we manage to do all of these things, surely, the risk that we will be replaced will be significantly diminished? But the problem is, the need to do all of these things never stops and neither does the pressure we place on ourselves. We live our lives at one hundred miles an hour:  As journalist Carl Hornore says in his  TED Talk, “…we live in a world stuck in fast-forward, a world obsessed with speed.” Everything we do at work can sometimes feel like a race against time. Every time we achieve something, we have very little time to revel in the glory before it’s on to the next project. It’s like we’re on a relentless hamster wheel â€" one we can’t (and often refuse to) get off. For many, life has turned into a never-ending to do list, and one we need to complete at lightning speed. Are younger generations more at risk of workaholism? No one is immune to the impact that these forces have on us â€" workaholism and the burnout that follows doesn’t discriminate between roles, seniority or personal circumstances. However, many commentators argue that it could in fact be the ‘younger’ generations, those aged between 23 and 38, who are most at risk of developing an addiction to work, and thus are more prone to burning out. Some commentators argue that this is because they have other, unique forces to contend with, forces that are further facilitating and feeding their addiction to work. Aside from factors such as mounting student debt, and pressure from parents (and themselves) to overachieve, which I believe are playing a part, other commentators have uncovered a few other interesting forces: An enforced #ThankGodIt’sMonday mentality:  In her New York Times article,  â€˜Why are young people pretending to love work?’, Journalist Erin Griffith says that this generation have let their lifestyles be dictated by what she calls ‘performative workaholism’ and are victims to the ‘hustle culture’. As such, they feel an innate pressure not just to work long hours, but also to love what they do â€" and, also to constantly promote this love across their personal social media channels. They feel they need to be seen to look forward to coming into work after the weekend, hence the trending hashtag, #ThankGodIt’sMonday. This type of enforced expectation only serves to feed an unhealthy, unbalanced approach to work. Griffith says: “In the new work culture, enduring or even merely liking one’s job is not enough. Workers should love what they do, and then promote that love on social media, thus fusing their identities to that of their employers.” The need to make a difference in the world:  Research  shows that this generation wants to make a difference in the world somehow, and they want to work for organisations that will help them do that. In fact, according to this  World Economic Forum article, “40% of young people think sense of purpose/impact on society is one of the most important criteria when considering a career opportunity.” Whilst this generation undoubtedly strive to find purpose in their work, it could be argued that this level of commitment could mean they are more likely to put unnecessary pressure on themselves. As a result, they worker longer and longer hours â€" self-reinforcing obsessive thoughts and behaviours in their minds. In fact, one  London Evening Standard  article stated that, “Young Londoners are increasingly finding community and purpose in their jobs while fewer are identifying as religious.” Is work becoming the new religion for this generation of workers? The pressure of social media:  In her Buzzfeed article, ‘How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation’, Reporter Anne Helen Petersen states, “ I find that millennials are far less jealous of objects or belongings on social media than the holistic experiences represented there, the sort of thing that prompts people to comment, I want your life… The social media feed â€" and Instagram in particular â€" is thus evidence of the fruits of hard, rewarding labour and the labour itself.” Social media makes it easier than ever to compare your life to the lives of your peers, and if you perceive your life doesn’t compare, surely you need to work harder to get to where you want to be? Whilst these points are all valid, I would argue that some of them have the potential to negatively impact all of us, regardless of our age. And, as the world of work evolves further, many more will inevitably be created â€" feeding the work addictions of future generations to come. So, for the sake of both parties, we, as leaders, need to start restoring some sense of balance. So, what can we do to help our employees develop a more positive, balanced and healthy relationship with their work, and ultimately play our part in stopping this worrying trend in its tracks? Six ways to help your employees keep their workaholic tendencies in check Research by  Deloitte  found that a staggering 70 per cent of employees felt their employers weren’t doing enough to tackle burnout. Why is this the case? I think a lot of it has to do with a lack of awareness many of us have surrounding the impact of our actions and environments in reinforcing workaholic behaviours in our employees. This  Psychology Today article  puts it nicely, “work addiction, unlike addictions involving alcohol or other substances, is rewarded by our culture with promotions, bonuses, praise, and awards.” Whilst I don’t, on any level, proclaim to be an expert in this area, from my own experience, I think there are a few simple things we as leaders can do to help our employees keep their workaholic tendencies in check: Think about the impact of your actions:  This links back to my point above around the importance of self-awareness. Sometimes it’s inevitable, you will have to work late or over the weekend. But as a leader, you shouldn’t set that expectation in your team through your actions. For instance, if you’re working late, try scheduling your emails to be sent during working hours if you can. This will limit the risk of employees feeling obligated to answer or work during their personal time. Reward quality of work, not quantity of hours worked:  Review how you measure success and assess candidates for promotion â€" are your long-standing processes rewarding the right things? If not, it’s time for a rethink. Similarly, try to openly and publicly praise the productive and engaged non-workaholics on your team. Stop being so judgemental:  Let your team set their own boundaries, and don’t judge them for doing so. For example, if a member of your team can’t stay late to finish a project due to personal commitments, try to resist the temptation to somehow silently put a black mark against their name in your mind. Change your perspective and understand that it’s not about the quantity of hours worked, it’s about the quality of the work produced. Encourage your team to take time out:  More than half of US workers  didn’t take their full vacation allowance in 2017. Encourage your team members to use their full quota of leave â€" talk to them about how they’re going to spend it, and importantly, reiterate that you don’t want to be receiving any emails from them while they’re off. Encourage regular breaks and discourage eating lunch in front of their computers. Simple things like this will have a big impact over time. Don’t let the workaholic’s habits permeate to the rest of the team:  As organisational psychologist,  Woody Woodward  says, “It’s important not to punish your more productive and balanced team members with added timelines and burdens purely created by your wayward workaholic.” Keep your team culture in check and educate yourself on the signs of workaholism to look out for in your other team members. The American Psychological Association have put together  three guidelines  which may be helpful here in educating yourself. Be a role model:  As I said earlier, no generation is immune to workaholism. We are all at risk, including you. As leaders at the forefront of our businesses, potentially leading thousands of burgeoning workaholics, I think it’s important that we role model healthy behaviour and attitudes from the top. So, start today by consciously setting boundaries and communicating these with your team (and importantly, sticking to them). Also, make a concerted effort to establish more of a balance in your life by prioritising your physical and mental health. These small changes to how you operate won’t go unnoticed by your wider workforce. Of course, as leaders we will from time to time face inevitable issues with long hours, last minute emergency travel, weekends on the email at home or in the office etc. Business doesn’t stop just because the sun has set or its the weekend after all, and stuff happens that needs to be dealt with. My point though is to look to strike the right balance. Ha ving something else that you feel identifies you, as opposed to your work identifying you, is important in my view and it helps to turn the mental switch into your alternative world. There’s a very fine line between working hard, and working obsessively hard to the detriment of your productivity and success at work, but more importantly, to the detriment of your health and personal relationships. As leaders, it is important that we are aware of the risks both from a personal perspective, but also for our team members and wider businesses. I wanted to write this blog because I believe that as leaders, we have a key role to play in stopping this vicious cycle before it becomes an epidemic. I’m sure many of you reading this would openly admit that you’re a workaholic, or have been in the past, and have experienced some degree of burnout as a result. Others may say they love their work so much they blend it into every aspect of their lives and get huge satisfaction from doing so, so what’s the problem? Still, others may feel so overburdened that they simply can’t see a way of getting it all done without putting in the crazy hours and potentially losing other things in their life. So, please do feel free to share your experiences and advice in the comments below (both in terms of how you’ve dealt with this personally, and how you’ve helped your teams) â€" after all, the first step to tackling this issue is to educate and learn from each other through open dialogue and debate. You can find more workplace advice and insight from  Hays CEO, Alistair Cox, below: Why you need to start hiring people who are better than you What do you do outside of your 9-5? Think your job is meaningless? Think again Does the 100 year life equal a 100 year CV? It’s time to break the taboo around quitting

How to Prepare a Well-Written Entry Level Resume Summary

<h1>How to Prepare a Well-Written Entry Level Resume Summary</h1><p>If you're searching for work, you might be thinking about how to set up an elegantly composed passage level resume. The primary thing you ought to do is think about your aptitudes and capacities. In case you're acceptable at playing an instrument, expound on how you figured out how to play the instrument and find out about the instrument.</p><p></p><p>You can expound on your accomplishments and depict how you built up a salesman's aptitudes and client relationship the board capacities. Expound on how you landed your position and how you got the situation in the first place.</p><p></p><p>Show that you have solid relational abilities. You might need to remember an area for your resume where you list the organizations you were as of late utilized with and show your achievements before. You can incorporate anecdotes about when you were given a raise or tol d that you were advanced. This shows you are sure and are somebody who is eager to work hard.</p><p></p><p>Another key point for an elegantly composed section level resume synopsis is that you should list everything that you accomplished for your last business. Your duties, and achievements, and how you are getting along your activity now.</p><p></p><p>After posting your abilities and achievements, you ought to expound on your profession objectives. These ought to be written similarly that you composed your resume summary.</p><p></p><p>When you're composing a section level resume synopsis, recall that the supervisor will take a gander at the resume. Be certain that your resume and synopses are liberated from blunders and spelling botches. In the event that you are an ongoing college alumni, be certain that your resume is written such that it is anything but difficult to peruse and that you don't overpower the re ader.</p><p></p><p>Overall, an elegantly composed passage level resume synopsis will assist you with getting your fantasy work. It will likewise be perhaps the best thing that you can accomplish for yourself as it can rouse different workers to do the same.</p>

Why You Need to Start Networking for Jobs in College

Why You Need to Start Networking for Jobs in College When propelling a vocation, numerous understudies hear the expression: It's not what you know, it's who you know. It doesn't imply that you will construct your profession through the associations as it were. In any case, a solid system is major for the fruitful start of your business venture. There are a few explanations behind that. Why Students Should Network? As a matter of first importance, organizing raises opportunities to win work rivalry. For the most part, graduates don't have a lot of professional training, and 'rich' resumes to draw in businesses. In the interim, the opposition is immense, and there are a great deal of candidates with for all intents and purposes same abilities and training recognitions. At that point how might you stand apart among different representatives? The associations with individuals who can give you positive proposals just as exhort you on request for employment. Also, heaps of bosses today depend on their systems to fill the empty position. Having wide system of the correct associations you get an opportunity to learn first about alluring opening for work, be educated on organization necessities and be in front of different candidates. Thus, the correct system can make the ways for the fantasy organization. The exploration shows that today organizing outcomes in 60%-80% of all bids for employment. In this manner, understudies who go through years in school concentrating exclusively on considers are losing the immense chances of building solid associations. Luckily, systems administration can be learnt as some other expertise and is accessible for everybody. How about we investigate the most accommodating systems administration tips. The most effective method to Network through Social Media: In spite of the fact that there are a great deal of occupation assets today, understudies ought not overlook web based life as a pursuit of employment instrument. Web based life has opened up new systems administration entryways. Presently, you can contact individuals anyplace, not exactly at profession fairs and industry occasions. To organize by means of web based life effectively, observe a few straightforward guidelines. Utilize distinctive online life channels. Despite the fact that LinkedIn is intended to set up proficient associations, you should utilize other social profiles like Facebook and Twitter to arrange effectively. The thing is individuals have distinctive online networking inclinations, so utilizing diverse web-based social networking you raise your odds to contact the individuals you need. In the event that you need to add somebody to your companions arrange, standard 'please include me' message or 'include companion' button isn't sufficient. Compose individual messages presenting yourself and disclosing why you need to interface with an individual. Make sure to be proficient. As of not long ago, internet based life may have been an apparatus to keep in contact with loved ones, yet now it ought to be considered as a ground-breaking quest for new employment device. As per an ongoing overview, almost 95% of employing experts check web based life during enrollment. Utilize internet based life to explore your forthcoming manager. You'll increase much more important data than the official site gives. This will prove to be useful during a meeting. Online life Don'ts: Try not to mark yourself as a jobseeker or jobless. You are an expertâ€"regardless of what your present work status is. When you've graduated, have a go at something like money graduate with an enthusiasm for global banking. Don't simply visit with individuals you definitely know. In spite of the fact that associations must be upheld, you ought to expand your system and construct new connections. Build up new associations without exacting weight. Try not to anticipate quick answer, and don't trouble your possible associations with day by day follow up messages Instructions to Network by means of Email: Sending messages is an incredible method to discover new associates, examine openings or catch up with associations made via web-based networking media. Once more, there are things you should remember. Utilize an eye-getting title. Getting likely contacts to open your message will be the greatest obstacle of the systems administration process. As indicated by email specialists, a headline that consolidates an individual touch with the ramifications of snappy activity yields a 93% open rate. Have a go at something like, Following up from Thursday's vocation reasonable, or, John Doe from Iowa State University looking for an occupation shadow. Be quick and painless. Quickly portray yourself and express your solicitation. Make your message simple to skim. Incorporate a 'source of inspiration' with the goal that your relations could create. Explicit solicitation or proposal will be more gainful than only a basic letter. Propose to mastermind a telephone meet or a gathering to examine certain inquiries. Email Networking Don'ts: Remember to present yourself. It appear to be effective to come to the heart of the matter, yet take a couple of lines to tell what your identity is. Remember to support the recipient's inner self a piece. Notice why you chose to contact an individual, which achievements you appreciate, or feature something that dazzled you. Try not to begin your email with, To Whom it May Concern. Networking requires individual methodology and may not allude to whoever is eager to answer to your conventional request. Where to Find Contacts: Realizing who to converse with is similarly as significant as comprehending what to state. Here are a few hints and deceives for finding the perfect systems administration contacts. Search for non-customary approaches to arrange. Volunteer at occasions, join understudy social orders, go to talks, or look at nearby business person clubs. Utilize your current contacts. Approach individuals you know for presentations. Set up associations with school staff. There are approaches to make associations with educators without breaking the chain of importance. Educators legitimate significance can be unquestionably useful with regards to employment or entry level position proposals. Last Networking Don'ts: Try not to accept all systems are fabricated a similar way. Everybody has a favored technique for correspondence. Make sense of the most ideal approach to connect. Try not to fear face to face meet-ups. Systems administration isn't bound to the web in spite of what our computerized world has persuade. Try not to transform get-togethers into a conference. Only one out of every odd presentation is the prime time for broad systems administration. Get the presentation and afterward associate on a more profound level later. Writer: Haley Osborne is an independent essayist, giving materials to different online assets. She is right now a blogger and composing master at EssayTigers.com, an organization giving custom composing administrations.

Candidate Forgiveness

Applicant Forgiveness Applicant Forgiveness At current paces of joblessness, being without an occupation bears less shame. It's classified applicant absolution, and organizations are in the state of mind to rehearse it.Where do you locate the silver covering in the darkest financial cloud since the Great Depression?It's difficult to consider positives. As far as anyone knows, the streets are less packed as less suburbanites advance toward and from work. (Despite the fact that that unquestionably doesn't appear to be the situation here in Los Angeles!) Those of us who are utilized may have a superior determination of office furniture and supplies to look over since the opposition is lessened. Yet, with everything taken into account, there is next to no to celebrate when in excess of 15 million Americans are unemployed.There is one upside for present place of employment searchers: Being jobless has become so basic that scouts and recruiting administrators are more averse to think of it as a negative. We call it competitor pardon ing; while it's generally simpler to get a new line of work when you have one enrollment specialists today are all the more ready to disregard the way that an applicant is jobless when he applies for a position.As a spotter, I can bear witness to the trouble I have had offering a jobless possibility to a first rate organization when business numbers are increasingly vigorous. In a solid economy, selection representatives lean toward latent up-and-comers - the individuals who were utilized and not looking. I've attracted a ton of analogies to dating my articles about the pursuit of employment ; this situation would take after the person who as of now has a sweetheart and appears the ideal beau. In the event that you missed a year ago's move, you need not make a difference for prom king.But conditions have changed, thus have the assumptions of selection representatives. With so much incredible ability in the city, finding the correct applicant is progressively about finding the correc t range of abilities and less about whether the up-and-comer utilized or jobless. Truth be told, it's harder than at any other time to poach an utilized up-and-comer away from apparently stable employment.But this time of competitor absolution won't keep going forever, and a portion of the conditions of joblessness are more pardonable than others. Exploit applicant pardoning while you can by encircling your work in the most ideal manner for the recruiter.Some key focuses: Clarify that it was a vast cutback. It's far better to know the numbers - 50 percent of the staff or more than 1,500 individuals. Have solid references arranged (ideally managers) who can back up your story. Acquire their own email addresses before you go separate ways so you can keep in contact not far off. Contact your references with the goal that they realize who may be calling and the position you are thinking about. Get their authorization to utilize them as references. (On the off chance that you are employed, make certain to catch up with a card to say thanks.) Be set up to settle. Choose what advantages or working conditions are essential to you and which are unnecessary. Set norms where you believe they're significant, however be reasonable, as well. It's not 2007 any longer. While it is generally critical to return to work, on the off chance that you have a decision, pick the activity that will keep on improving your abilities. This will be of an incentive in your next quest for new employment or in the event that you are ever laid off again. Indeed, this downturn has made everything fair for jobless competitors, however you should utilize this for your potential benefit while you can â€" before the economy recuperates. We should trust that is soon.