How To Enjoy Your Job...
    Or Find A New One!

Some days at work are just not great! Here are 15 ways to life your mood.

1. Get some exercise, even if it is just a walk. You may feel like slumping in front of the TV, but the best thing to do is get moving. Exercise will release endorphins and make you feel better.

2. Go to bed early. Sometimes it’s just better to finish the day early and get some sleep. Have a warm drink, snuggle up and make sure it’s very dark. Tomorrow will be a better day.

3. Get hugged. Whether it is your partner or a friend, get some physical contact. A hug will always help. If there are no people around, love your pet. I’ll bet they will love you back.

4. Buy some expensive, high quality, yummy food and eat it with relish (and no guilt!). If you buy a small amount of luxury, it will make you feel good – as opposed to truckloads of cheap, sugar-loaded food. I am a fan of Green & Black’s organic Darker then Milk chocolate which you can buy in 30g bars.

5. Have a bath. Fill it with bubble bath or aromatic oil and relax.

6. Get a massage. Pay for a professional and you won’t regret it. During the massage, concentrate only on the physical sensations and forget all the troubles of the day

7. Talk yourself up. We all have inner self-talk and a lot of it is negative and can bring us down. Notice what you say to yourself, and be kinder. Write down some positive affirmations and carry them with you. Look at them when you feel down.

8. Go dancing, either with friends or go along to a club. There are all kinds of dancing classes available now and you will find you relax more and can groove your cares away.

9. Sing. It helps – really! Karaoke is a fantastic way to feel better. Belt out some early Madonna, or thrash your head to some rock. You may need a drink to loosen the vocal cords first.

10. Laugh. See the dance class above. You can’t help but smile when attempting to salsa! Get a funny movie out.

11. Phone a friend and catch up. Don’t moan and don’t focus on the bad things. Just catch up and be grateful for the friendship.

12. Plan your next holiday. Dream it and Google all the things you would do with unlimited money.

13. Breathe deeply. Sometimes your stress will be so high, you forget to breathe which holds in all the tension. Let it out with long, slow breaths.

14. Thrash a punch-bag at a boxing class. If you can exhaust your body and get all your frustrations out on the bag, you will feel a whole lot better!

15. Listen to happy music. Make a song list on your ipod for when you really feel down. Make it happy and uplifting, positive music. Cheesy is sometimes best in these situations. Some of my favourites: Christina Aguilera – Soar, Wilson Phillips – Hold On, Survivor – Eye of the Tiger, Chumbawumba – I get knocked down

If this day keeps repeating itself, ask yourself why and write down 5 things you can change so you are not still repeating this day in 6 months time. Take massive action and make sure this situation changes.

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons David Nikonvscanon

Thinking uses more calories?

Why is it that we feel so exhausted at the end of a day sitting down at the computer thinking?
Surely it means our brain is using up all those calories to do mental acrobatics and we can justify the extra sugar because we need the energy?

Unfortunately this is not true. A recent study published in Psychosomatic Medicine shows that mental work uses only 3 more calories than sitting around doing nothing (per 45 minute stint).
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/09/being-smart-wil.html

The people in the study were then given access to an eat all you like buffet. After doing ”mental work”, people ate over 200 calories more than when they sat doing nothing.

So we must perceive we are using more energy and therefore feel the need to eat more.

Or, we feel we have done some work, so we need to reward ourselves for being good.
Both of these would ring true for me during the working day.

The main author of the study noted “Caloric overcompensation following intellectual work, combined with the fact that we are less physically active when doing intellectual tasks, could contribute to the obesity epidemic currently observed in industrialized countries”.

Translated this means that office work and little exercise is making us fat!
Not a surprise to most of us.

Yes, it does, in the following ways. This is social comment, not judgement….

• People meet their partners at work – both life partners and sexual partners so it is an important place for relationships. Do you work somewhere you think you could meet this person?

• Extra-marital affairs often start at work, happen at work and end at work

• Online dating website RSVP has shown that 23% of people surveyed have lied about their jobs online. 48% of people believed what job they do makes a difference on a date. Women wanted CEOs, tradespeople, musicians or pro-sportsmen. Men wanted actresses, nurses, musicians or personal trainers.

• Job anxiety can affect your sex life – this study in Italy links job stress to premature ejaculation http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/CultureAndMedia/?id=1.0.2161429848

• Self confidence and a positive attitude are attractive to everyone. If you love your job and are enthusiastic about it, people will find you more attractive and enjoy being with you. Do you talk enthusiastically about your job?

Animals are great – I love my cat Shmi and he makes working at my desk a joy. He comes and sits on my lap while I am typing and loves the printer.

It turns out there are actually benefits to having pets in the workplace.

An American Pet Products Manufacturers Association survey of businesses allowing pets in the workplace confirmed the benefits http://www.sfspca.org/advocacy/pets_at_work.shtml:

· 73% of the companies surveyed said pets create a more productive work environment.

· 27% reported a decrease in employee absenteeism.

· 73% indicated pets led to a more productive work environment.

· 96 % said pets created positive work relations.

· 58% of employees stayed late with pets in the office.

This site also outlines “petiquette” (for dogs) including:

· Make sure your dog is socialized to people and other dogs before he goes to work.

· Make sure your personal workspace can comfortably accommodate your dog.

· Avoid squeaky toys and collars that jangle.

· Keep your dog clean and well-groomed.

If you can’t take your pet to work, they can lower your stress levels at home by:

· Pets improve your mood and make you smile

· Pet owners have lower blood pressure

· Dogs encourage you to exercise

· Watching fish swim can be a form of meditation and help you sleep

· Having a pet gives you something to talk about with like-minded people so can help build social networks

· Pets are great listeners and some are very empathetic. Crying will usually elicit a lot of sympathy from your pet.

http://stress.about.com/od/lowstresslifestyle/a/petsandstress.htm

A new study in Australia has shown that nearly one in five working women with depression can attribute it to their job and one in eight depressed working men have problems because of work stress.

One key contributor is high demands and low control within a job, with people in lower paid roles particularly at risk.

This is nothing new. Studies like this come out every week. But the attitude of the VicHealth organisation is encouraging. Todd Harper (CEO) states “I think one of the things that we can do is to actually convince workplaces that this information is important, that they actually stand to benefit out of this because in a time of workforce shortage, the most valuable employees are the ones that you already have, keeping them healthy is the priority,” he said.
“Simply increasing the demands on staff comes with consequences and I think workplaces are aware of that, they can start to design their work in a more efficient and productive way.”

Here are some ideas for making the change to efficiency and productivity in the workplace. These will provide more control to employees which should reduce stress levels.

· Make teams self managing and autonomous. Adults are self organising and will achieve given deadlines and clear roles and responsibilities.

· Trust people to do the job without micromanagement. Managers do not need to go to all meetings. Delegate responsibility and make people feel they are valued.

· Back up your team members. Don’t overturn decisions made by others if delegation of authority has occurred. This undermines confidence and displays a lack of trust.

· Give people the opportunity and encouragement to act creatively without fear of recrimination or blame in case of failure.

· Embrace new ideas and reward people for submitting them

· Treat people well and respect individuals for their skills. Don’t try to put people in boxes. Their job description is not the end of who that person is. Give people an opportunity to shine.

Office workers are getting fatter!

34% of IT workers have gained more than 10lbs in their current jobs, and 17% have gained twice that.

53% of financial services and 52% of government workers have also put on weight.

Eating out , lack of portion control, sedentary jobs and the need for reward all add to the difficulty of staying slim at work. Here are 5 ways you can eat more healthily at the office.

a. Have nutritious snacks around so that when you make a grab for a snack you reach a healthy one. Some great snacks to have around the office include fresh fruit, nuts, whole wheat biscuits or crackers, low-fat energy bars, and hummus with pita bread.

b. Keep your own set of snacks nearby or in a locked drawer so when the hunger pangs strike you don’t start running to the vending machine! The key is to be prepared so that you don’t give in to impulse eating—something you are likely to do when the work pressure is on and there isn’t any time to think or prepare food.

c. Choose low-fat versions, diet versions, and sugar-less versions of things you consume such as yoghurt, ice cream, soda, milk and various snacks.

d. Screen for trans-fats in popular items such as popcorn and chips. Try to avoid them completely and substitute with healthier options such as cottage cheese, crackers, granola bars, etc.

e. Have a drink of icy cold water both before and after meals. The drink before the meal will mean reduced appetite for food and the drink after the meal will help you to burn more calories while digesting the food.

The lunch hour seems to have disappeared in the modern office world. People rush from one meeting to the next and spend every spare minute trawling their in-boxes. Coffee or cigarette breaks are more common than the lunch break which is often spent wolfing down a quick meal at the desk. A study by KFC Corp found that 60% of workers in corporate America consider the lunch hour to be “biggest myth of office life”.

But the demise of the lunch break is having an adverse effect on the office workers of today. Employers should take note of the benefits that a break can provide in terms of productivity and employee happiness.

Here are 6 options for the lunch break that could benefit you and the company.

1. Give your brain a break. Concentrating hard on work tasks all the time makes it difficult for the brain to rest. In a resting state, or doing something different, the brain can often come up with the answers that are sought. If somewhere is available, take a nap. A study with NASA pilots showed that a 26 minute nap improved mental performance by 34%. A 45 minute nap boosted performance for up to 6 hours later.

2. Give your body a break from the computer. Office workers suffer from posture issues, eye strain and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). Workplaces may encourage stretching and mini-breaks but these are often forgotten in the rush of trying to get everything done. Get out of the chair and go for a walk. Give your mouse hand a rest, change posture and stretch in the lunch break. The majority of offices are also air conditioned which dries the air and recycles fumes, spores and other people’s germs. Dehydration and inactivity can cause headaches. A walk in the fresh air and drinking more water can help combat these issues.

3. Get some sunlight. Sunlight improves mood and lifts happiness. People spend so much time under fluorescent lighting which has been linked in some studies to health problems and inability to concentrate. In winter, people may arrive and leave in the dark and get no natural light in the office. Make sure you get some sun in the daytime hours by going outside even just to walk around the block.

4. Get some exercise. Exercise has been proven to improve brain function and productivity. It reduces stress and improves blood flow to the brain and the muscles. Aerobic exercise in particular improves executive functions like problem solving, planning and attention which are critical to office jobs.

5. Eat a proper meal slowly. Focus on eating when you take your lunch break rather than multi-tasking on the computer. Take your time and make the most of it and you will feel less hungry in the afternoon. Eating the right food can also modulate mood and enable more effective concentration in the afternoon.

6. Social support reduces stress, improves job satisfaction and retention. Meet up with colleagues and friends to spend your lunch hour catching up and discussing issues. Get it all out of your system in one go instead of going round to people’s desks to have a chat at other times which may disrupt a productive day.

These options will improve productivity in the afternoon, as well as job satisfaction resulting in benefits for the company as well as for individuals. So put a recurring meeting in your diary every day for the lunch break and make a decision to improve your day. If you are a Manager, tell your employees to have a lunch break every day and see how the office improves.

Photo: Flickr Creative Commons Steve Grosbois