More Blog Posts

Mark your calendar (or, better yet, clear your calendar) for the second annual SOS to Stress Day this Saturday, June 30. We all know that stress impacts our bodies, relationships, productivity, and well-being, but oftentimes we don’t take time to evaluate the factors that are causing the problem and what we can do to deal with them. This occasion offers a good opportunity for a tune-up.

According to stress and wellness expert Beverly Beuermann-King of WorkSmartLiveSmart.com, participants should work on finding the right strategies in the three main areas of coping with stress – situation, ourselves, and support (SOS). Stressors as well as coping mechanisms...

How do you determine career success? Do you have a benchmark that you use to measure your own success, or a goal that you are striving for?

Some people measure success purely as a matter of financial terms. And while it is nice to want to earn a good salary, of course, there are many other (and some people might say more important) ways to measure success—things like personal satisfaction, facing and overcoming challenges, mastering new skills, etc. Many people also consider themselves successful when they have reached a position where they are able to mentor others or assist younger workers with their own career journey.

There are some dangers with evaluating career success based on income. For one, many people find that money alone doesn’t make them as happy as they...

Sure, the senders may mean well, but an inbox filled with good-luck chain letters, pictures of cute puppies, jokes, or inspirational quotes can make it difficult to find the messages that deal with important matters. Is there a polite way to tell co-workers to please stop sending them?

Yes, according to certified workplace productivity coach Marsha Egan of InboxDetox.com (a division of The Egan Group, Inc.) – but don’t ask via email. “It should be done face to face. That way, you can avoid misunderstandings and get your point across in a friendly way.”

If your company has a policy against personal emails, you can reference that. If not, Egan suggests giving authentic reasons why you’d prefer not to receive them, such...

It is tough enough to balance a busy schedule of work and family obligations under normal circumstances. But it can be much more of a challenge when you work for someone who seems to spend every waking moment at the office—and possibly thinks you should, too.

If your boss is a workaholic, it can make you feel like a slacker even if you are already going above and beyond your job description. Working for someone who camps out in the office all night may make you feel guilty if you leave the office at 5 (or even later).

So how can you handle this? The first thing you must do is remember that your boss’ obsession with work isn’t your problem. This shouldn’t affect how you feel about your job performance. If you are doing your very best at work and giving 100% or more, you...