Managers Lack Training on Managing Mental Health Problems

Managers Lack Training on Managing Mental Health Problems It’s not uncommon for those suffering from mental health issues to remain silent about how they feel and what they’re going through; within businesses, it’s no different. To this day, employees are still reluctant to share mental health information with their managers or bosses, while research reviews that 50% of managers have never received any training in managing mental health problems. As April is Stress Awareness Month, Instant Offices wants to tackle this ongoing issue within the workplace and encourage businesses to support their teams to speak about and prioritize, mental health that causes 300,000 people in the UK to lose their jobs every year. Mental Health and the Workplace Only 53% of employees feel comfortable talking about mental health issues like depression and anxiety at work seemingly for a good reason, as the stigma associated with mental health, becoming the subject of office gossip or compromising their employment terms are all legitimate fears. While smart employers place workplace wellness at the core of their business by recognizing the importance of their staff, ensuring individuals feel valued and supported, an alarming number of companies are still avoiding the topic of mental health in the workplace. Of the 5 million people being signed off from work every year, data from NHS showed an alarming 31% are taking time out due to mental health, with a shocking 14% rise in doctor’s notes relating to anxiety and stress in one year. Moreover, a report by the Centre for Mental Health revealed that absence due to mental health cost the UK economy £34.9 billion last year. Additionally, the economy lost: £21.2 billion in reduced productivity £10.6 billion in sick leave £3.1 billion in staff turnover What Can Employers Do to Help Break the Cycle of Perpetual Silence? Minimize the stigma and encourage conversations: A study from Business in the Community shows, only 53% of employees feel comfortable talking about mental health issues like depression and anxiety at work. Pay attention and monitor employees stress: Around 91% of managers agree that their actions affect their staff’s wellbeing, however, only 24% of managers have received any training in mental health, which sadly perpetuates a culture of silence around mental health and wellbeing at work. Introduce mental health initiatives and increase awareness: Wellness and workplace health initiatives are varied but include everything from interventions and counseling services to mindfulness training, flexible working and even options like massages at work. Strategies ought to be tailor-made to suit each business and its needs. Be more flexible with how and where employees work: Around 70% of employees want a say in when and how they work, and growth in flexible working shows more businesses are responding. Nearly half of employees advocate for flexible working hours to reduce workplace stress and anxiety, increase productivity, and to improve morale and engagement. Manage via a coaching approach and create a sense of trust between managers and employees: Modern managers who focus on the growth and development of their team, personally and professionally, will see greater results and engagement. Getting this balance right enables employees to speak about their levels of stress, their worries about their role. Placing health and wellbeing at the heart of the business can help employers attract and retain talent, improve productivity and happiness, and positively impact the bottom line. About the author:  Established in 1999,  The Instant Group  is a global flexible workspace specialist. Underpinned by unrivaled expertise, Instant tailors unique solutions to help businesses of all sizes to grow, drive savings or gain invaluable insight.   With offices in London, Berlin, Dallas, New York, Hong Kong,  and  Sydney, The Instant Group employs more than 100 experts and has clients in 113 countries.

The Tri-Fecta of Opportunity Personal Branding, Social Media and Inbound Marketing - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Tri-Fecta of Opportunity Personal Branding, Social Media and Inbound Marketing - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Lately, Ive had some interesting conversations on Personal Branding, Social Media and Inbound Marketing. I really enjoy writing and speaking about these topics because they are the new frontier of the Web 2.0 marketplace. And when combined properly they can create massive opportunity where it would not have existed before. Once upon a success story Lets take a look at a success story on how one savvy Personal Brand had opportunity find them because of the combination of their Personal Brand, Social Media, and Inbound Marketing. Savvy Sue had been out of school for a few years and was working a steady job at a good company. She was a good employee, worked hard and was dependable. Despite these qualities she realized she did not have anything that truly differentiated herself from others. That was until she created her Personal Brand. Savvy Sue began promoting her Personal Brand on social media sites like Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and her blog. She joined some forums in topics of interest to her in Yahoo Answers, she joined groups, participated in discussions and answered questions on Linkedin. She tweeted useful links and spread the word about her new blog posts. She was constantly making new digital relationships. Then it happened to Savvy Sue she got the offer of a lifetime. She was asked to join the social media group at her company and be a thought leader in developing the companys social media strategy and take it to market. She gladly accepted the offer. How did Savvy Sue do it? She took a chance. Savvy Sue received this offer because she created visibility and credibility for herself. She put herself in the way of opportunity and it found her. This is just one of the many success stories I have heard over the years and it drives home a very interesting point. Visibility and credibility = Memorability Combine the forces of your Personal Brand with Social Media and you will begin to receive inbound opportunities that can change your career and life. It takes time, patience and persistence but it can happen. It happens everyday, to everyday people and it can happen to you too. Have a great weekend! Author: Chad Levitt is the author of the New Sales Economy blog, which focuses on how Sales 2.0 Social Media can help you connect, create more opportunities and increase your business. Chad is also the featured Sales 2.0 blogger at SalesGravy.com, the number one web portal for sales pros, the professional athletes of the business world. Make sure to connect with him on Twitter @chadalevitt.

What are you doing with your time

What are you doing with your time In economics, the  principle of scarcity says we have a limited amount of time and resources.   What are you doing with yours?   Consider Person 1 and Person 2.   Both work at the same day job that they dont love.   Both claim to want  to own  their own business some day. Person 1s Typical Week Day 8-5: Work 5-6 PM: Happy Hour 6ish-7.30:Catching up on Twitter, Facebook and Gchat 7.30-8.30: Gym 8.30-10: Favorite shows 10.30: Read magazines 11.00: Bed Person 2s Typical Week Day 5.30 AM: Post article you wrote last night, check google alerts, read and comment on relevant articles in your niche,  read Peter Shankmans HARO  and respond to relevant PR leads, check and respond to overnight  Tweets, update blogs Facebook fan page, respond to emails you may have missed yesterday, check out search.twitter.com, make sure you are following people back that started following you. 7.15 AM: Walk dog. Work 8-5 (while monitoring the  online world and listening to podcasts in your niche while doing your work) 5.30-6: Dog Park. 6.30-7.30: Mandatory work out or networking event. 7.30: Put favorite show on in  background while doing a few things things in bullet point one, schedule weekend consulting/speaking gigs, write a guest posts and/or  article for your blog. 9.00pm: Have a meeting with another blogger, author or entrepreneur to see how you can  collaborate on projects  and grow your businesses,  via Skype. 9.30pm: Get really excited and work some more. 11pm: Format and schedule posts, send emails, repeat relevant steps in bullet one. Midnight: Reluctantly get some zzzs. Person 1 is content.   Person 2 is really really happy. Fast foward 5 years.   What are your predictions for Person 1 and Person 2? Time flies- even when you are not having fun. Make the best of yours.

The Fundamentals of Employee Advocacy

The Fundamentals of Employee Advocacy Employee advocacy is a hot topic; its the  form of workforce marketing that really gives the power to the people. Think, straight form the horses mouth as an underlying principle here. Instead of relying solely on official, corporate messages as the means to marketing the business, employee advocacy is all about embracing the individuality of current employees and getting them to promote their company in their own way on social media. Sure, there needs to be guidelines in place, but the idea is to let the people closest to the business sell it passively. To help me delve deeper into the nityy-gritty of the methodology, I’ve spoken to Elizabeth Jurewicz of the the managed cloud computing company that is Rackspace. Have a listen on iTunes, Soundcloud or keep reading for a summary of our  conversation. What is Rackspace and what do you do there? Absolutely, so Rackspace is the number one managed cloud provider and we offer expertise and support across all the worlds leading clouds. Were based on six core values including things like passion for our work and treating others like friends and family.  I always jokingly refer to myself as The Social Enablement Strategist because Im the only one. So I am responsible for our global employee advocacy program. What prompted Rackspace to launch an employee advocacy program and what were the primary goals? There were two initial challenges that we were having on the social team. The first one is that, you know and this is sort of 2013, it was really easy for people to dismiss the social team as just watching Twitter all day. I think there was just a need to sort of educate about the potential and the value that the social team was bringing to the business as a whole. And then the second part of that was as the social team, we were in charge of enforcing social guidelines and policy. And that kind of gave us a bad reputation as the social police. So at the time we did have a social policy but it was a piece of paper that a lot of employees signed on their first day of work, you know, with hundreds of other pieces of paper. And so when it came to actually using social media, there was a lot of, we called them coaching opportunities. So we really thought, gosh, theres an opportunity to really help give some context around the policy and guidelines so that employees not only understand what they mean and why we need to be cautious about them, but also understand what that means when theyre about to hit post or tweet. What problems did you hope employee advocacy would solve for the organisation? What I did is I actually had to take a step back and say, Wait a second. All of our employees really need to have the same foundation before we can kind of get into those specific use cases. One of our challenges that we saw is if I say social media to you and youre thinking about Twitter and somebody else is thinking about LinkedIn, were going be having very different conversations and expectations. And so a lot of what we had to do was just create a baseline of, Hey, the value of social media is the ability to connect, share, get feedback, network in real time. So that was really the strategy that we took and we found it to be working really well as in employees, once they have that foundation, we find them reaching out and making connections across different orgs, you know, thinking more strategically and holistically about social media and really building up into those use cases such as social selling and social recruiting in a much stronger way. What have the benefits of social advocacy been to the company and to employees? One of the interesting pieces that Ive learned from talking with other people that occupy an employee advocacy role in their company is that I actually get to kind of enjoy in the employee engagement piece of this as well because Im not so focused on demand gen or driving content. I think that one of the biggest transformations has been in employees attitudes around social. So, again, the way we built the program out, we were really able to create a positive discussion around how to use social media. Employees really felt that the company supported them in doing this. And so I think that thats one of those unexpected fringe benefits of a program like this is having employees really feel like were helping them put their best foot forward. And I think that its one of those very hard ones to measure and again it wasnt something that we anticipated as part of this program. Do you find that employees in this program are more engaged in their jobs? Yes, absolutely. And Im excited to add an anecdote from this morning. So one of the teams that Im working with right now is one of our technical storage teams, and so intuitively you wouldnt naturally think like, Well, their storage team its very internal, theyre very direct customer focused. You might not instinctively think that social media could have an impact on them but their manager came through training. We had a really fantastic conversation and we started to realize that these storage experts are just a wealth of information that theyre not necessarily documenting and sharing. Whats next for social employee advocacy at Rackspace? Yeah, so I will say that our next step will be to launch an employee advocacy tool. So were already vetting options. And Im honestly really excited at this point because again as I mentioned I think weve really built the foundation and I think its going to be an easier transition. If we had done it the other way, I think it would have been a little bit more challenging, like starting with the tool instead of the training. So Im actually excited to launch this. Then theres  social listening, having those meaningful one-on-one conversations, networking, listening to industry insights, these are all pieces of our social media training that have been there from the beginning. And Im actually starting to hear from other companies that theyre starting to make that shift that as well like they had that initial focus on sharing the content and now they want to kind of expand to a deeper strategy. Follow Elizabeth on Twitter @CreatingLiz. More on this topic at  Employee Advocacy: The Ultimate Handbook.

How to Make Your Business Safer More Sustainable CareerMetis.com

How to Make Your Business Safer More Sustainable â€" CareerMetis.com Safe and sustainable businesses are more ethical, more profitable and more likely to last. Too often in business, safety and sustainability are seen as afterthoughts. Rather than investing money in making their businesses safer or more sustainable, businesses try to cut corners by being wasteful or by pushing the limits of employee safety.Introducing a safer and more sustainable business model could help to greatly increase your profits, as well as make you a better company in other ways.evalLet’s take a look at 4 ways in particular that you can do so.1) Recognize the Benefits of a Safer More Sustainable WorkplaceA safe and sustainable business is not only a good thing from a moral standpoint; it’s good from a business standpoint, too.US businesses lose $225.8 billion due to workplace injury and ill health each year. Recouping the expenses lost by a lack of workplace safety could save businesses billions.As for sustainability, there are countless reports extolling the business b enefits of sustainable water use, sustainable attitudes towards deforestation and countless other sustainable practices.All of this is probably why businesses who are actively reducing their carbon emissions have an 18% higher ROI than businesses who aren’t.Finally, it’s worth remembering that customers care about how and where their products are made or their services are provided. It’s not just price and quality that affect if someone will buy from you. If a business is known to be unsafe or unsustainable, people may choose to go elsewhere â€" even if it costs more.2) Invest in Training to Create a Safer More Sustainable Workplace CultureYour staff is your number one investment. As Richard Branson once put it, “staff comes first”. With that in mind, if you want to create a safer and more sustainable business, you should start with your employee training.evalBy investing in employee training, you are telling your staff two things. Firstly, by paying them to attend a cour se which will make them more employable in the future, you are telling them that they matter. This will make them a lot more receptive to the fact that safety and sustainability are important, which is the second thing you are telling them.3) Get An Outsider’s OpinionHave you ever visited another business and immediately spotted a problem? You sit there looking at lazy staff, bad products, and wasted expenditures, wondering why these things aren’t fixed. All the while, you might be ignorant of all of the issues with your business; issues which, to a disinterested observer, are just as obvious.This is why inspections from a third party are so important. In fact, with regards to safety, it’s often the law. In the UK, the US and many other countries, workplace safety inspections are a legal requirement.Sometimes, the law requires staff-led inspections, sometimes the law requires inspections from a government-approved private organization and, sometimes, the government may perform the inspections themselves.evalWhile an employee or a friend might worry about offending you, a professional stranger will be objective. As such, they can tell you exactly what’s unsafe or wasteful about your current business model. If you’re able to take on board proper criticism, you stand to learn a lot.4) Value Long-term Efficiency Over Short-term ShortcutsAn efficient business is not a synonym for a business that takes shortcuts. If you skip a safety inspection for your warehouse one month or buy plastic cutlery in bulk for your restaurant, this shortcut could save you money and effort in the short term. In the long term, your missed safety inspection could lead to a fine and your plastic cutlery will break or be thrown away.Efficiency means believing that your business will have a future. You make sure that your staff performs the safety inspection your warehouse needs because â€" even if it means paying them to stay later â€" you are thinking of further down the line.You invest in quality, reusable cutlery for your restaurant because â€" even if it means paying more than the price of a pack of plastic forks â€" you are once again thinking of further down the line.

Better Blogging with Tips and Resources from the Pros

Better Blogging with Tips and Resources from the Pros Bloggers usually start because they have something to say! Congrats if you have embarked on this journey! Now, you need tips, ideas and tools to keep your blog fresh and engaging. Tools the Pros Recommend I came across this visual by Pauline Cabrera of Twelveskip. There are 26 tools in all, but you probably wont need them allyet. If you want more detail on how the pros use these tools, just click through to her post. FYI, I wrote my own post of 26 tools my business couldnt do without. Check it out if you are a solopreneur trying to grow your business. Visuals Are Super Important First, note that Paulines post had a visual summary of the blogging tips. This made it even more sharable! Some of the tools mentioned by the pros include free photo editors. Ive been using PicMonkey and Canva to create featured images for my posts. I just wish I were better educated in graphic design principles! Blog Titles and Key Words Are A Big Deal- Choose Wisely This seems obvious, but I didnt figure this rule out early enough, so take time to craft the title of your blog posts. Using key words your audience would search for is really important. Distribute Your Post Across Different Social Media Platforms You want people to know about your blog so you have to share it to places where they can find it. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ are the big ones, right?! Be sure you share your posts on each of them. But be aware, each platform has slightly different best practices, for example you only have 140 characters on Twitter, but Facebook and Google+ give you many characters to introduce your post. Cross sharing the same status update across each platform sounds like the easiest method, but it may not get you the results you are looking for.  If you want to maximize the potential for your post getting read and shared, update your status on each platform and be sure your visual is included. Gary Vaynerchucks book, Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook shows you what works best on each social network. I wrote a brief review here. (The post links to videos and other free resources by Gary) If you are looking for more blogging help, you can find my favorite websites for keeping up with blogging trends here. The fun and excitement of blogging (and social media) is that there is always something new to learn! If this was helpful, please share! Got a blogging question? Ask!

The Importance of Using Science As Part of Your Resume Writing Process

The Importance of Using Science As Part of Your Resume Writing ProcessIn recent years, science has become an important aspect of the entire job search process. Resume writing is becoming a science as researchers create more complex algorithms that will be used to help individuals find the best jobs.Because of this, resume science and writing can take on a whole new meaning. Writing a resume has been around for many years, but now it also takes on a scientific quality as more computer programs are being created to help people find the best jobs in the world. Scientists are even using their knowledge to develop better tools and software that will make finding the right job much easier.Computer technology has changed the way the world works. It has also changed the way people communicate and locate the information they need. As the internet and other forms of communication have evolved, so has the way people approach the entire process of finding employment. Before, everyone still found a job by using personal experience, word of mouth, and referrals.Today, more people rely on the internet and social media to get the job they want. This has created a completely different way of finding work that often times is more scientific. Today, many jobs can be found online because the algorithm being used is designed to help people find the best jobs for them.Resume writing is becoming a science because scientists are taking steps to ensure that their algorithms are used correctly. These algorithms will be used to look at every detail of the applicant's qualifications and then match them up with the right jobs that require those specific skills. Finding a job that has a good quality of work will be much easier for an individual today because these algorithms are being used to help match candidates up.Another aspect of science applies to many other forms of work. Research and development also undergo changes as well. Scientists often use computer programs to test new product s, write papers about different topics, and even to help create new drugs. Since their work is becoming increasingly scientific, there are many ways that a person can research and develop scientific skills in their field of work.The ability to work with human interaction is also an important part of science. The types of conversations that take place in office meetings, in doctor's offices, and in the board room are all affected by what type of science has been used. In other words, if scientists are creating technology that helps to ease the burden of office stress, the scientific aspects of the job will be greatly impacted.Science has played a large role in the world of jobs. Writing a resume can become a science in the eyes of the scientists who developed the program. It is only logical that the next step of the process would be to include science as part of the entire process of finding the best job in the world.