Author: Allison H.

Should You Get Your Boss A Christmas Gift?

If you are thinking to yourself, should I get my boss a Christmas gift?  The answer is no, no and, I repeat, a big fat no! Except that sometimes the answer is a maybe and sometimes it can even be a yes.

Ok, let me ‘splain Lucy.  Let’s face it; no one really wants to buy their boss a Christmas gift.  You don’t really like your boss all that much because, well, he’s the one that just keeps piling the work on you.  And then you’re supposed to spend your hard-earned cash on a gift for him?  I don’t think so.  In my opinion, if anyone is going to buy gifts, it should be the bosses buying for the employees.  I really think gift-giving in general is way over the top in most organizations and mostly unnecessary.  However, it can be a nice way for a boss to show appreciation for his employees.  Preferable the gift is a nice, big cash bonus but smaller gifts are certainly nice too.

There are times though when you do have a great relationship with your boss and you do want to show some extra appreciation to him with a Christmas gift.  Heck, you may even love your boss!  In these cases, you may want to spring for a Christmas gift as a gesture.  If you are part of team that works under the same boss, it’s usually best to stick to group gifts from all of you.  You don’t want to appear to be trying to score brownie points or be a brown-nose.  Even if it is a group gift, keep it on the small side and preferably something that the boss can use at the office.

In the end, I guess what I am saying is anything goes but you should bear in mind both the culture of the organization and the relationship you have with your boss before you decide Christmas gift or no Christmas gift?

Happy shopping, or not!

Celebrating New Year’s Eve at the Office

Celebrating New Year’s Eve at the office may be the biggest oxymoron going. Let’s face it, New Year’s Eve is all about partying and celebrating and being at the office working is well… not. But if you are stuck at work on this celebratory holiday, make the best of it and celebrate office style:

New_Years_Eve

Break out the sparkling cider. Personally, I’ll take it straight from the bottle but it does look nice and pretty in a champagne flute, even if you only score the plastic ones.

Have some fun appetizers. New Year’s Eve is all about hors d’oeuvres. Ask your co-workers to make something at home to bring in or if you are really stuck grabbing something at the office, make the best of the tuna salad and crackers from the vending machine, yikes!

Make your own New Year’s Eve falling ball and decorate your desk like Times Square so you can count down like Ryan Seacrest. Here are several ways to do it: http://www.ehow.com/info_12196863_make-new-years-eve-falling-ball.html Bonus: once constructed, you can use the same ball for all those disco parties you’ll have in the future.

Kiss your co-worker! Everyone needs some to kiss someone when the new year rings in, right? On second thought, let’s scratch that. Face time or Skype your spouse or significant other to wish them a Happy New Year and tell them how much you miss him/her. Of course, if you don’t miss him/her and would just rather be at work anyway, you may have bigger problems to tackle.

Either way, you’ll have fun however you celebrate but let’s hope the boss appreciates you working on this holiday and gives you a day off soon! Happy New Year!

Best Workouts to Lose Weight at Work

Over the years, I’ve found that the best workouts to lose weight at work (or anywhere for that matter) are really the ones that you feel you will enjoy. If you don’t find something that works for you, you won’t be motivated to do it. For example, running really burns calories fast and is something I enjoy but if you loathe it, you won’t be likely to actually do it.

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Something that people always complain about is not having time to workout because they work long hours. It’s true we are all busy with our own daily grind so why not try to incorporate some of those workouts right into your workday. Come happy hour, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

  1. Try parking your car further away from work and getting a short walk in to start your day. If you have a parking garage, park on a different level and walk to level the level you work on, take the stairs or better yet, do a combination of the two.
  2. Skip the elevator and take the stairs to your floor. It may be unrealistic to do this if you work on say the 40th floor but you can still do a few flights and then take the elevator the rest of the way. Try to keep increasing how many flights you can do as you build up your endurance.
  3. Walk, walk, walk! Walking requires no equipment, can be done almost anywhere and really is one of the best workouts. Even a very short walk around the office if you are pressed for time can dramatically increase the circulation in your legs and make you more productive as you go through your day.
  4. Speaking of not needing any equipment…those good old calisthenics exercises also provide a great workout without having to bring in any workout gear. Feel free to do those sit-ups, jumping jacks, push-ups, squats and lunges.
  5. Have some fun with your co-workers by planking around the office. Have them join in the fun and ask them to do it with you. (Make sure you work in a place in which the boss doesn’t disapprove of said planking practices.)
  6. Sit on a stability ball instead of a desk chair or try standing whenever possible to do your work. Any small change that you can make in this area so that you aren’t sedentary for so many hours can make a big difference.
  7. Many employees like to do an intense workout or run during their lunch hour especially if your company offers facilities for doing so. Take advantage of anything offered to you.
  8. Don’t have such facilities? Learn some basic yoga or tai chi techniques or pull up a video on your phone that you can do on your break or lunch hour. While these workouts are effective, you won’t have sweat pouring off you and stinking up the joint in those afternoon meetings.
  9. Stand up and just stretch at least every hour or so to loosen up stiff muscles and get the blood flowing. Reach up to the ceiling and then down to your toes or any combination of stretches that you feel like doing.
  10.  And the last best workout to lose weight at work is…..wait for it….closing your mouth! OK, so the act of closing your mouth won’t actually burn too many calories and can hardly be called a “workout” but it’s really hard to get that birthday cupcake in your mouth when it’s actually closed, you get what I’m putting out there?

 

Be a Boy Scout with Sympathy Cards

We all love good old American boy scouts, right? And why is that? Because they are prepared. “Be prepared” is their actual motto. Everyone likes to be prepared. Does anyone ever say, oh I’d prefer to be unprepared for that meeting, no! So if you like to be prepared, why would it be any different when it comes to sympathy cards.

Sympathy Cards

Actually, if you think about it for a moment, different than with birthdays and anniversaries which you know the date of ahead of time, it is extremely rare to know when someone will meet the end of their lifetime. It also is a part of life and inevitable that we will have to express our sympathy to our friends and family as their loved ones pass whether suddenly or of natural causes, at times even while grieving ourselves. So it makes even more sense to make sure that you have sympathy cards on hand so you can use them or mail them out when needed. It is suggested that business sympathy cards especially should be sent within a few days of learning of a person’s passing so that too much time does not go by before you express your condolences. Remember to keep it simple especially if you didn’t know the person too well. You just want to be able to acknowledge their mourning and let the recipient know you are thinking about them.

An Assorted Birthday Cards Bonanza

I’m not talking about that crazy TV western that spanned the 60s and 70s starring Lorne Greene, Michael Landon and Pernell Roberts. (By the way, did you know that Bonanza is the second longest running western series of all time? You’ll have to go look up what number one is, or perhaps you’ve already guessed it.) I’m talking about birthday cards. The Gallery Collection has so many birthday designs that it is a literal bonanza of cards. Offering everything you can imagine…balloons, cupcakes, presents, corporate cards that highlight your company name and so much more.

Assorted Birthday Cards

You can’t go wrong keeping assorted birthday cards on hand. The assortment gives you everything you need to stay on top of all the family, friend and office birthdays that you want to be sure to celebrate. Nothing makes a person feel more special than receiving a birthday card. They may say they don’t want any fuss or muss on their birthday but deep down, it gives them a warm fuzzy feeling to know that you thought of them on the anniversary of their birth. So be sure to pick out your favorite amongst the bonanza of birthday cards available. You’ll be sure to find something you like as much as that western TV show that so many of us enjoyed growing up. Whoops, I think I may have just inadvertently revealed my age!