Category: The Workplace

Top 5 Mistakes New Employees Make

Let’s face it, being the new kid sucks. It sucks even more when you are the new employee. As you walk into your new job awkwardly and try to look as if you’ve been here for years, you try your hardest to seem unphased. That was your first mistake, of course you are phased by the new environment. There are 5 HUGE mistakes that all new employees make and I’m going to help you identify them and never let it happen again.

1.Not taking training seriously

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new employee. You sit through countless hours of training and look over tons of paperwork. While sitting in your chair and jotting down notes you get the sense of, “Do I even need to know this once I start working?”. All too many of times do new employees come out of training knowing just as much as they did going into training. You MUST take your training seriously if you want to keep your job and understand your responsibilities.

2.Not navigating a RELIABLE travel route for work

Whether it be by car, bus, train or bike you need a reliable travel route for work. The endless excuses of traffic, transit delays and car troubles are just that EXCUSES. It is your responsibility and yours alone to get to work in a timely fashion. Your excuses only show your new superiors that you are unreliable.

3.Buying cafeteria food

Buying cafeteria food is one of the overlooked mistakes. You don’t know how much anything costs. You don’t know how long it takes to prepare, which can cause your break to possibly overlap. I think the best option is to wait one week before ordering cafeteria food. By the second week you have become acquainted with the travel route, office layout and time blocks. It is also more cost efficient to bring your own lunch.

4.Getting too comfortable too fast

This is a terrible mistake to make as a new employee. You should never ever get too comfortable. I say this because you are on a test drive, you haven’t bought the car yet. You may have been hired but you are still walking on thin ice. You are on a 90 day probation period with every new job you start. That means that if you mess up badly in those first 90 days you will be fired. Your boss is still deciding if it was a good decision to even hire you.

5.Making friends

This is the BIGGEST mistake to make as a new employee. You are at work to work and earn a living not make friends. Now that doesn’t mean you are going to be a hermit at work, just professional. Sometimes being professional gets confused as being an introvert at times. I just feel that you should always protect your work environment with your life. Having small talk isn’t a crime but don’t forget the main reason you are here.

Appropriate April Fool’s Day Pranks in the Office

April Fool’s day has a bad reputation because some people take their pranks a bit too far. Here are harmless pranks that’ll put a smile on anyone’s face:

  1. Unattended mice. Putting tape over the bottom of the mouse’s laser tracker will stop it from working. This’ll drive some people nuts, but it’s a classic prank that’s completely harmless. Wait until your victim gets up for something and do the prank. If after a couple of minutes they can’t figure out they’ve been pranked, let them know about the tape.
  2. Turn on the radio. This prank requires you to work in an area where there are many filing cabinets. Turn on the radio (or other device with music/sound) and situate the volume so that you can hear a low enough sound but still loud enough to hear something. When someone asks “Can you hear that?” just keep saying no.
  3. Post it notes. This is another classic. Wait until your victim leaves (for lunch or a break) and cover their cubicle with post-it notes. You can leave them blank or write something funny on them. One funny idea is to label everything on someone’s desk with post-it notes. This is a fun prank because it’s easy to clean up.

As always, it’s important to remember to not let pranks go on for too long, especially if it hinders on someone’s ability to get work done. The best rule of thumb here is: if it disrupts work for more than a couple of minutes, don’t perform the prank.

Advantages of Having Diversity at the Workplace

Let’s face it. We can look at the list of top executives in almost any company, and the majority of them have similar backgrounds.  Not just in areas such as education, but more than likely, they share the same race, gender, and religious beliefs. Now more than ever, we live in a country that is becoming more diverse each day. From people arriving here to make a better life for themselves, to others who have made the decision to openly live their lives, embracing their identities. Shouldn’t our workplace reflect the world outside of the building where we spend the majority of our lives? The very core of diversity is inclusion.  The inclusion of people from all walks of life tends to bring a multitude of ideas, which can have a great effect on the company’s performance. This is just common sense. But not necessarily common practice. What company wouldn’t want more ideas to choose from? As humans, we have the tendency to be drawn towards people that are similar to ourselves. But how can we grow by only staying in our comfort zones? How much more in business, as the potential to draw from people different from ourselves is enormous. Left untapped, we are just existing in the everyday rat race. The goal of any business is to grow, continuously taking it to the next level.  Imagine that growth from the seeds of diversity watered by inclusion, cultural awareness, and traveling outside of our comfort zones. Isn’t it time to make the rhetoric of “thinking outside of the box” a reality?

Be Unique – Ideas To Decorate Your Cubicle

When you are feeling stressed or unhappy at work you might not think of how to get out of the doldrums.  You might just be in need of a change in you workspace. It might be time for some new visuals or decorations. You can place things on your cubicle wall that will make you take a second or a deep breath and remember a moment. Giving you pause to change your mindset and take a mental break.   Maybe a holiday is coming or the seasons are changing. It really picks me up when I make a few changes to my workspace.  Some favorite things can become ideas to decorate your cubicle. There are pictures of family, friends and neighbors that bring you to a happy space. It doesn’t matter whether they are nearby or far away.  Some pictures taken during a holiday celebration, or a very special wedding perhaps!  Some of the best pictures are those where you catch someone off guard.  One of my favorite all time fun decorations are drawings by my children, and the children of some of my co-workers. It really is adorable and funny for office co-workers and also anyone visiting the office to see such colorful items tacked to the walls and given such a prominent spot.  What can you think of to break the spell of a dull day???

Tips on Goal Setting in the Work Place

I think the first tip on setting goals in the work place actually works in any environment and it’s to make the goal realistic.  Nothing is more demoralizing than to see a goal as so unattainable you don’t even want to try and reach it.

Assess the situation carefully and set a goal that people have to work hard to achieve, but is still doable.  A good manager doesn’t set people up to fail.  I’ve worked in an environment where we had a daily shipping goal and you could hear the cheers at the end of each day when that goal was met.  And since it was a team effort, everyone worked to make it happen and everyone could take pride in the success.

When setting a goal you want to be certain all parties involved in attaining the goal have all the tools they need to make success possible.  Also, be certain communication is clear and concise so there is no confusion as to what that goal should be.  When employees are involved and knowledgeable, they are more likely to give their best effort.

Lastly, reward employees when they reach the goal you’ve set.  It doesn’t have to be monumental, but acknowledging hard word and determination go a long way in building a satisfying work environment for everyone.

Retirement Party Themes For A Coworker

There are many stops along the trail leading to the end of a career.  Whether those forays were from one occupation to another or simply from one desk to another, the final destination of this journey is always the same – retirement.  This is often a happy occasion as concluding a career will offer an individual the freedom to invest more energy in their hobbies and passions, to spend more time with the ones they love, and to bask in the feeling of a lifelong job well done.  At the same time, retirement has the potential to engender a sense of loss and finality as an individual is permanently leaving work they may have felt strongly about and coworkers whose company they’ve come to appreciate and enjoy over the years.  Therefore, it is usually a good idea to keep retirement parties fun and light both to celebrate the positive aspects of retirement and mitigate any sadness associated with it.  A few retirement party theme ideas found below aim to accomplish just that.

Retirement Party Themes

  • Gag gifts – In addition to any actual gifts the retiree may receive, make a point to throw in at least one or two gag gifts to put a smile on his or her face. For example, you may wish to wrap up an alarm clock set to 5:00am and a shiny, new hammer and welcome the retiree to make good use of that hammer.
  • Mock Award Show – The red carpet could literally be rolled out for the retiree as coworkers pepper him or her with fun award show-type questions as he or she arrives at work. A video montage of work accomplishments could be shown as background narration is provided by someone impersonating an overly dramatic movie trailer announcer (In a world where budgets are always balanced…).  A silly award (maybe a “Linda” if the retiree is named Linda) could be presented amidst thunderous applause.
  • Retirement Interview – Easy “yes or no” questions could be fired in rapid succession at the retiree much like those asked during a job interview, but the questions would be instead attempting to evaluate if he or she is the right candidate for retirement.  For example, “Do you have any experience relaxing on the beach?” “Are you up to date on the latest television shows?,” “Is your greatest strength spending time with your family?”  Of course, no matter the answers given, the interviewer must say, “I’m sorry, Joe, but I just don’t think you’re the right fit for retirement.  We’ll see you at your desk on Monday.”

Jan 28th – National Fun at Work Day: 5 Ways to Celebrate It!

Showing your coworkers and employees that you appreciate them is a wonderful way to boost morale and keep everybody happy and comfortable with their work environment. And what better time to show them you appreciate them than January 28th, National Fun at Work Day? Here are just some of the many ways you can celebrate, make your coworkers/employees feel appreciated, and have fun at the same time!

  • Ice cream and pizza social

The notion of the ice cream and pizza social is somewhat of a cliché in the office world, but that’s because it works. Nothing is more relaxing than coming from a long morning of hectic work to find ice cream and pizza waiting for you on your lunch break. It not only fills workers’ stomachs; it warms their hearts, because they are able to see just how valued they truly are. Being able to celebrate with everyone over good food is also a great stress reliever, so they will return to work feeling refreshed and ready to face the rest of the day.

  • Throw a meeting that is unrelated to work

Although meetings are necessary for many different positions in many different jobs, they can incite feelings of apprehension in employees who stress about saying the wrong thing, making a bad impression, or otherwise messing up in some way during the meeting. So throwing a meeting unrelated to work is both a great way to distress during National Fun at Work Day, and a good way to ease some of the trepidation generally associated with meetings. All you have to do is gather everyone in a meeting room, similar to how you would during any other meeting, and keep the conversation lighthearted. Ask everyone to talk about themselves. Talk about your plans for the weekend. Discuss possible vacations people are thinking about taking. Any conversation that doesn’t relate to the job or work-related responsibilities works great; the goal is to help employees relax and have fun for a few minutes, and also make them feel valued, because you are having a meeting centered around them. It also has the extra benefit of easing some of the nervousness they will feel towards future meetings, because they will remember how valued they are, and worry less about doing the wrong thing!

  • Introduce some fun activities to keep work interesting

It may be National Fun at Work Day, but the work doesn’t just stop. All employees still have to fulfill their duties; the goal is to make their typical duties fun and exciting. A good way to do that is by introducing fun activities they can participate in even while working. Anything that doesn’t interfere with their job responsibilities works great. Some suggestions include dressing up in costume (and maybe giving away rewards for the best costumes), playing music (at a low volume so those working on the phone can hear!), and drawing raffles to win some fun prizes. Anything creative that keeps work exciting works great!

  • Have a scavenger hunt

Hide little surprises and prizes around the office for people to find. This keeps things exciting because people never know what they are going to find, or where! If you want to make sure it is fair, you could hide things in random spots on people’s desks, so that you ensure everyone walks away feeling like a winner. This still keeps things exciting because people don’t know where on their desk they are going to find their prize, or what they are going to find. Then once it’s over, the fun will continue as people compare prizes and discuss how hard/easy it was to find their prize.

  • Get everyone involved in the celebration process!

Nothing makes people feel more valued than knowing they are being heard. So why not have coworkers get involved in planning for National Fun at Work Day? This way, you can learn what they find fun, and cater the activities to suit their own interests. Implementing some sort of incentive is a good way to excite coworkers as well, and make them eager to contribute their ideas. It doesn’t have to be anything excessive; awards, certificates, and even small, simple prizes go a long way towards building excitement and getting people eager to participate! After all – it is a day for them!

Office Etiquette Rules That Should Be Followed In Every Workplace

Most office settings today have cubicles instead of the open concept or individual offices of years ago. The cubicle culture adds a unique dimension to the concept of etiquette in office culture today. Although, the walls do not reach the ceiling and there are no doors there is no reason to assume that you can invade a person’s individual work area. Many people become very sensitive when you enter their space without asking their permission. By the same token, if you are in a cubicle you cannot have an expectation of complete privacy. Whether in a private office, a cubicle or an open concept office, these office etiquette rules should be followed in every workplace.

Be punctual-coming to work late or returning from lunch late will have an impact on your co-workers.      They may be picking up the slack for your tardiness.

Dress appropriate-wearing revealing, dirty, ripped or smelly clothing gives the impression that you have neither pride in yourself, nor pride in your job. Your co-workers will certainly see you in a less than appealing light and therefore believe that your work is subpar also.

Perfume-should be light and inoffensive. The person in the next cubicle could be allergic to strong scents or have asthma which will affect their breathing. That is not to say you shouldn’t wear perfume, but that you should be aware that if the scent is strong you should wear less.

Noise-Talking over the walls of a cubicle should be done quietly. Other people in nearby cubicles may not be taking part in your conversation, but they surely hear you. You should keep in mind that making loud noises or talking loudly can be very distracting when you are working.

Impromptu Meetings- should be held in meeting rooms and not gathered around a cubicle. Not only is that distracting to other workers, but you may be overheard talking about matters that do not include other employees.

Computer Reading-just because you can see over the cubicle walls doesn’t mean that you should be reading what is on your neighbor’s computer. They may be working on something sensitive so make it a point to look away from their computer screen.

Borrowing – should not be done without the permission of the owner. When a person has a stapler on their desk it is not public property. It is always proper to ask permission before borrowing anything from another employee.

Private Space– your cubicle may be your space at work but you should remember that you are in an office. It is offensive to others if your space is messy and crowded with personal belongings. There are occasions when coworkers have to visit your cubicle or have occasion to pass it. Remember this is not a room in your home but part of a larger office. As such it should be kept neat and professional.

There are no hard and fast rules to etiquette, but a general rule is if it is annoying or offensive to you then you can rest assured someone else will feel the same way. Being part of an office your cubicle or work space should be a comfortable space that is conducive to doing your job well. If you just follow a few simple rules of etiquette your coworkers will appreciate your effort.

How To Make Every Monday A Productive One

Mondays, everyone’s favorite day of the week, I know, I love it too.  On a serious note, the dreading that comes with the beginning of the week really isn’t based on the actual work of the week starting.  For most workplaces Monday is a slow day as nothing has been set into motion yet.  Mondays can actually be utilized to make your whole week a lot better.  For starters you can use this time to plan out your week as a whole.  Organizing your week from the start can help you work more efficiently, getting more done in less time.  You can prepare and setup everything you need beforehand so it’s ready for each day.  It can also save you a lot of stress later on so surprise tasks given to you don’t become overwhelming.

Something else you can do to make your Mondays more productive is to review the past week’s work for the company.  This way you can catch any mistakes that may have been made to save company resources.  Even if none were made you could look at everything and see if there was anything you would change for the work process in the future.

Last and probably the most appealing out of the three, is saying thank you to your workers or coworkers for the previous week and getting them ready for the upcoming new one.  Our Distinctive Thank You Card is the perfect card for this purpose simple but to the point, and you can fill the interior with whatever message you’d like.  Or if the purpose is more of an informative one, our Correspondence Note Cards are free of any default artwork and can be used for whatever purpose you desire.  Whether it’s recognizing employees’ accomplishments or passing along information for the week it’s another effective way to spend a Monday in the office.

These are just some ways you can make those Mondays less of a drag and more productive. Enjoy!

New Year’s Resolutions For Your Business

It’s the fourth quarter of another business year and it’s coming to a close.  As such the respective parties in your business are probably reviewing and planning for the New Year, and if not should be!  In modern day business New Year’s resolutions are crucial to the success of a company.  New companies are starting up overnight, current businesses are competing for the position at the top.  To make sure your business stays on top, here are some resolutions that will definitely help ensure that spot.

  • New Year, New You

Has your company hit a dry spell?  If so, step outside your everyday perspective and take an overall look at the company, are there any outdated policies or methods you are still using?  Speak with your employees, make sure they have the tools to compete in the present day business world.  How effective is your marketing and advertising? Even rebranding just to freshen things up can help get your business back on the map.

  • Revisiting and Reviewing

The only way you can figure out what’s wrong is looking at what you’ve done.  Find out where you went wrong in a deal, or maybe just how you could’ve handled it better.  Look at your list of clients or customer base and analyze who makes up this group and why they choose you then capitalize on it.  Start a loyalty program for those clients who have revisited you to let them know you appreciate them.  Even small things like greeting cards wishing them a happy new years can be what keeps that relationship going.

  • Evolution and Commitment

Punctuality, efficiency, customer satisfaction, etc., all of these practices you may take on in this upcoming year only matter if you dedicate yourself to them.  Commitment to the new you is all it takes to transforming your company into a more successful one so come up with those New Year’s resolutions and stick to them!