4 Reasons SMEs Need a Workplace Wellbeing Strategy

4 Reasons SMEs Need a Workplace Wellbeing Strategy Many SMEs think that well-being strategies are confined to big corporates. They are wrong. A study commissioned by private medical insurer AXA PPP Healthcare found that eight out of ten of the UK’s SMEs have no health and wellbeing strategy in place. But, nearly half of 1,500 SME employees polled in the survey said they did not have time to look after their well-being and felt reluctant to take a rest for fear of letting the team down. In fact, the survey also revealed that a whopping 67 percent of employees experience work-related stress or anxiety. AXA PPP healthcare CEO Tracy Garrad said: “Burnout is now recognized by the World Health Organisation as an occupational phenomenon. It’s becoming a workplace epidemic that poses significant risks for small businesses.” There are many reasons SMEs need a workplace well-being strategy. Here are the most poignant ones: 1. The UK economy According to Business Statistics released by Parliament UK, there were 5.7 million SMEs in the UK in 2018, which was over 99 percent of all businesses. If the World Health Organisation’s concerns about employee well-being in SMEs are true, a lack of investment in workplace health could not only be hampering the success of individual businesses, it also poses a significant risk to the economy too. The workplace well-being agenda is growing in importance and government is equally invested in resolving the issues around burnout and absenteeism. With Brexit on the horizon (whatever form it takes), we could be facing turbulent times. Businesses have a role to play in ensuring the British economy thrives and society flourishes. 2. The Digital age Last year, HR Magazine reported that SMEs are close to breaking point because of an ‘always-on’ culture. Research from CV-Library reveals that a staggering 72.4 percent of Brits reply to work-related emails or make work-related calls in their own free time. This ‘always-on’ culture is a direct result of our digital age. It is undoubtedly having a negative effect on work-life balance and employee health. Working with the charity, Healthy Working Futures, the government body Public Health Matters co-produced a  Workplace Health Needs Assessment toolkit  to support employers to gather more information on their workplace health. Public Health England is working closely with the Business Community to offer advice, tips, case studies and promote simple actions every business can take to improve workplace well-being. Workplace well-being strategies are needed now more than ever before to counteract our ‘always-on’ culture and preserve employee health. 3. Productivity and business success Personnel Today report that significant evidence exists to support the link between well-being at work and productivity. The case is presented as such: “There is a business case for action (improving the bottom line), a moral case (the ‘right thing to do’) and a taxation case (lost productivity and long-term sickness absence mean lower corporate tax returns and higher spend on long-term health-care and disability benefits). Small business owner and advocate of The Workplace Well-being Charter Mike Knivett said: “Without our best people in optimum health we are nothing. Businesses must recognise the importance of employee well-being in relation to productivity and business success. “At Artemis Marketing we have set up a number of committees under our Pride and Belonging umbrella to support employee development and well-being strategies. We want our employees to thrive, glow and grow. “Fostering employee well-being is a big part of our strategy to create a positive working environment. We rely on our employees for innovation and success so it makes perfect sense to cultivate a healthy workplace.” 4. The cost of absence and presenteeism A huge proportion of the UK’s SMEs are micro-businesses employing less than 10 people. While sickness absence is a challenge for any business, larger organisations can usually cover or weather absenteeism much more easily than a small business. In fact, in a micro business, the absence of a key member of staff can have a seriously big impact. While sickness absence isn’t completely unavoidable, a well-being policy can help to prevent employee ill-health occurring, especially instances as a result of workplace stress. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals the number of working days lost through sickness absence per worker in the UK has fallen from 178 million to 131 million over the last 24 years. However, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), 15.4 million working days were lost in 2017/18 as a result of work-related stress, anxiety or depression. In an interview with The Telegraph, General secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Frances OGrady said: Work-related stress is a growing epidemic,  its time employers and the Government took it more seriously. The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) also writes of a rising epidemic of presenteeism (people coming into work when they are ill). If employees are turning up to work when they are not fully fit, they won’t be working at their best and this is likely to have a negative impact on colleagues around them. The IES suggests that while absenteeism may be down, “UK productivity remains stubbornly low.” SMEs are not too small to have a well-being strategy. The benefits are clear. If you are an SME leader, ignore them at your peril. About the author:  Mike James  is an experienced business writer specializing in HR, tech, and cybersecurity. On the latter, he has contributed to many of the leading publications both online and in print â€" such as StaySafeOnline, GlobalSign, Tech London and more.

Interview Thank You Email vs. Letter vs. Note

Interview Thank You Email vs. Letter vs. Note The debate over an interview thank you email, versus a letter or note, probably started about a minute after the first email went out. Well, maybe not. I just checked. The first email hit cyberspace in 1971.Wow! Email is 46 years old, and we still wonder if its OK to use it to thank someone for an interview.OK, to be fair, CompuServe didnt get going until 1989, so commercial email is only 26 years old. Wow! Commercial email is 28 years old, and we still wonder if its OK to use it to thank someone for an interview.Technology AdoptionTake a look at the technology adoption curve â€" Ill be referencing it below:The Interview Thank You Email â€" Pros ConsPros:Lets you demonstrate good writing and follow up skills.Provides enough space to express yourself.Fast. Proves you can be responsive. Right now.Can be spell and grammar checked.Used by 65% of successful job seekers (innovators, early adopters, the early majority, and a big chunk of the late majority) in this study.Cons:Lets you demon strate poor writing skills.Laggards (look closely at the Innovation Adoption Curve; theyre out there on the end of the bell curve) might find your thank you email a tad informal.Sample Interview Thank You Email:You will find an awesome interview thank you email here.The Interview Thank You Letter â€" Pros ConsPros:Lets you demonstrate good writing and follow up skills.Provides enough space to express yourself.Can be spell and grammar checked.It makes you feel all proper and formal.Cons:Lets you demonstrate poor writing skills.Less likely to be read. Asks your reader to click an attachment to an email or open an envelope. You lose readers with every call to action you make.Innovators, early adopters, the early majority, and much of the late majority think youre a laggard.You might have to find/buy nice paper and a matching envelope.You might will almost certainly breach proper business letter protocol.You might have to remember how, or learn, to address an envelope using your comput er.You might have to remember how, or learn, to feed the envelope into your printer. Flap facing up? Flap facing down? Who knows?You might have to google the current rate for first-class mail. I have no idea what it is. If I did, I would tell you.You might have to find or buy a postage stamp. Or you could FedEx it.The competition will be engaged in productive job search activities while youre doing all of this.Used by fewer than 17% of successful job seekers laggards in the study referenced above.Sample Interview Thank You Letter:You will find the best interview thank you letter I ever received here. It was awhile ago.The Interview Thank You Note â€" Pros ConsPros:Lets you demonstrate good writing and follow up skills.Makes you feel all personable and mannerly.Cons:Lets you demonstrate poor writing skills.Slow. Will arrive a few dog years after the interview in the life of your interviewer.Confirms your laggard status.Cant be spell and grammar checked.Has to be proofread by a human .Has to be discarded if theres an error. Do-over(s).Limited space to express yourself.You have to strike the right tone (because a note is more personal than an email or a letter).You have to find the right note card.You have to find a pen â€" with black or blue ink.People might have trouble reading your handwriting.You have to find or buy a stamp.The competition will be engaged in productive job search activities while youre doing all of this.Sample Interview Thank You Note:I havent received a handwritten interview thank you note compelling enough to save. The limited space works against you in this regard.How Extreme Will Your Laggard Status Be?You know how career experts tell you to get rid of your AOL email address and get a Gmail account because an AOL address makes you look outdated (i.e., old)?Well, AOL email has been around since 1992. Thus, when you insist on using a letter or note, youre using technology thats older than an AOL email address.If you want a chronological ref erence point, Bill Clinton started his first term as U.S. President in January 1993.As we move into a world of pervasive artificial intelligence, where the odds are high you will have to work with technology to even have a job, do you want to be a laggard?ConclusionBecause very few people send any thank you to an interviewer, sending an email makes you stand out as a well-mannered person.You dont have to write a letter or note. You get manners cred just by showing up with a thank you in your interviewers email inbox.Make it easy for everyone. Use email. Then get after the rest of your job search!I write executive resumes and LinkedIn profiles. Save time. Get hired. Email me at [emailprotected]  for more information.Featured by: SmartBrief on Your Career. Image: Fotolia/PhilipGordB Updated June 2017 2015 2019, Donna Svei. All rights reserved.Donna SveiDonna Svei, an executive resume writer and former C-level executive, retained search consultant, and CPA, writes all of AvidCareerist s posts. She has written for and been quoted by leading business, general, and career media outlets, including Forbes, Mashable, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Lifehacker, Ask.com, Social Media Today, IT World, SmartBrief, Payscale, Business News Daily, and the Muse. Let her background and experience inform your job search strategy and decision making.Learn more about Donnas executive resume writing service or email Donna for more information. Interviews â€" Thank You Emails (5 Posts)

How to Score a Professional Resume, When You Cant Afford a Pro Career Coach JobJenny

How to Score a Professional Resume, When You Cant Afford a Pro Career Coach JobJenny I joke often that I need a life manager. And it's really only halfway a joke. If money were no object, I'd bring in a hyper-organized, personable, proactive and incredibly versatile professional to help me keep my family and household running on all cylinders.I fantasize about having a live-in right-hand resource at the ready to help me with shopping, meal planning, organizing, dog walking, getting kids from point A to B at the precise moments they're supposed to be at point A or B, homework, you name it.Unfortunately, that's not an option I can budget for quite yet, so I do my best to piecemeal my way through my personal affairs, with here and there help, extreme creativity and endless energy exerted.It's not ideal, but I do my best to make it all work.Do you have a similar challenge when it comes to your resume or job search?Do you wish you had the budget to lob the whole darned thing over the fence and have a professional take over from there?Do you have questions that you need an swered?Do you wish you had a good template you could work from?Do you wonder if you're saying it right, doing it right or formatting it right?Do you dread the assignment entirely?If this sounds at all like you, this is one deal you want want to miss.For the first time since we launched our Weekend Resume Course, we're offering it publicly for just $129.00.This is $100 off our regular price of $229.The self-paced course is designed to walk you step-by-step through the same process our team uses when creating professional resumes for our clients -- at a fraction of the cost. It includes worksheets, sample resumes, templates that you may wish to use, and a Q A session that'll answer all the questions we hear most often about resumes.Better yet -- It's designed to not just be survivable, but even moderately enjoyable. (Because that is how we roll at JobJenny.com. This doesn't all have to be torture, sheesh!)If you're interested, you can check out a couple of preview modules of the cour se, or enroll right HERE.Just be sure and use promo code RESUMETHANKS at checkout, which will take $100 off. You'l have immediate access from there.The deal's on through Sunday, 11/27.If you're planning to re-do your current resume or create one from scratch over the next couple of weeks or months, be sure and take advantage of this $100 off deal. Take me to the Weekend Resume Makeover COURSE! And, for those who celebrate the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, have a wonderful, warm week and we'll see you back here on Monday!(Looking for a lower-cost solution? Check out our Ridiculously Awesome Resume Kit.)

Next phase of your career design

Next phase of your career design The future of the Internet is design: from fine art galleries to the size of the box you type in name. So start figuring out how to rejigger things to make your career relevant. Heres how I know whats coming: First, a flurry of emails arrive in my in-box each day touting free infographics. After sniffing around, I discovered that infographics garner so many clicks that SEO mavens publish quick, cheesy infographics to hand out for free in exchange for links back to publisher sites. The infographics suck so much that Im not even going to show you one, but theres a lesson here: people love pictures. This means that you will be more valuable and more relevant if you can think in terms of visuals. This makes sense. Its clear that in the last twenty years, as emails became the norm, if you were great at communicating via text, you had an advantage. Not that everything can be reduced to an infographic, but what can be reduced is made more interesting. Short is good, and concise is fun, and in a world where we have too many facts, we appreciate a quick picture that synthesizes facts into something meaningful rather than a summary of disjointed facts. In the design world there is a sense that design is not so much about product or endpoint but rather the interaction one has with another person. Davin Stowell, of Smart Design says, Companies used to come to us asking for products. More recently they have been asking us to help them understand their customers. Its almost as if our role has transcended from design experts to relationship consultants. I just received the book Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little. I did not read it. I skimmed it. Because, as the author, Christopher Johnson writes, We have a collective obsession with brevity in all media. Im not going to argue here if this is good or bad (although I think its good). Im going to tell you that if you dont get on the brevity bandwagon, no one will listen. And presenting information visually is one of the most reliable ways to present it with brevity. A list does that as well, by the way. Its sort of the stepping stone between text and infographic. Which is why lists are so popular onlineyou can skim them. So, heres a list of things you can do to start thinking more visually: 1. Read Tufte. Hes the king of information design. Every big thinker you admire has read Edward Tufte, trust me. The last time I read Tufte was in Seth Godins bathroom. No kidding. He keeps a Tufte book there. 2. Think short. Short writing already rules the Internet. You get noticed with short big-ideas, 140-character quips, and a 20 minute summary of a careers worth of research. Infographics take bunches of very short ideas, and create a single, consise idea on top of them. A good infographic is like a poem that ends at just the right time. 3. Demand more meaning. Its not enough to stack pictures of missiles to show an arms race. The information you put together needs to amount to something new. Statistics should not surprise people so much as the conclusion the infographic draws from the statistics. Check out the arms race infographic in the book Diagrams: Innovative Solutions for Graphic Designers. It blew my mind how quickly it allowed me to synthesize tons of arms race data and feel smart about it. And then I realized that a good infographic is the visual of a good blog post with lots of links a fresh and solid argument on the surface, and lots of small pieces of evidence underneath. 4. Consider not only text-to-visual but also verbal-to-visual. Alexis Finch creates graphic renditions of speeches. She is able to go beyond a speakers outline to capture the most interesting ideas and how they relate to each other. Finch creates, in effect, her own version of the topic. Here is a sketch she did of a speech I gave at Tech Week. 5. Market yourself visually. The limitations of a text-based resume are clear. Solutions are not so clear. But Vizualize.me has a good start on solutions with their chart-based resume service. For example, text is too linear to describe todays non-linear careers. But a chart-based resume shows time in a more useful way to an employer: 6. Steer your career visually. If you have a text-based resume, you need to always think in terms of bullets â€" is your project leading to a bullet on your resume, and if not, why are you doing it? With resumes going visual, you will need to think in terms of visual accomplishments. Brazen Careerist (my company) just launched a visual self-assessment tool that combines thousands of details about your activity on Facebook and LinkedIn to show a simple graphic of your strengths and weaknesses as a job candidate. 7. Use photos with more intention. The number of photos we take is incredible. And Im starting to think that the next generation will laugh at how many photos we have taken. What is the point? Who will look at them all? At some point, when we are just clicking to clickwith no visual intentionthen the photo serves to put a wall between us and the experience rather than a window. What are you doing behind the lens all the time? Raise the bar for yourself; allow only good photos. Melissa forced me to learn about good photos when she started taking them for my blog. Her photos are fantastic. Which served to show me how bad my own were. So she gave me lessons, and she edited. She rejects 90% of the photos I send her. But I learn a lot that way. See the photo at the top? I took 20 photos in the art gallery to get one good one. But for most of us, photos are a good entry point to the next version of the Internet. Because if you force yourself to publish only good photos, you force yourself to think more about images and what they communicate to the viewer. Its the first step in transitioning your career to the visual Internet.

Workplace vigilantes are ruining your company culture - Debut

Workplace vigilantes are ruining your company culture - Debut Company culture is a delicate balance. Its the difference between feeling disengaged at work and feeling as if youre part of something bigger than yourself. Its an important one to get right if you hope to fit in at a new workplace. SO important, in fact, that some people are sworn to protect it. This people operate in the shadows. They stalk the night, apprehending the common scoundrel who doesnt wash their coffee mug or gets back from their lunch break 10 minutes late. Theyre called workplace vigilantes and they walk in our midst. Theyre the heroes company culture deserves, but not the ones it need right now. Vigilantes are blowing up your companys culture A workplace vigilante (see also: Office Batman, Desk Deadpool, WeWork Wonder Woman) is a nuisance at best, a toxic employee at worst. After a while, the constant nagging, confronting and informing of minor office infractions can create a hostile work environment. Much like Henry Cavills Superman left an unforgivable path of destruction behind him, vigilantes are a menace. And youre way more likely to run into one than you are to run into Captain America. A team of researchers in Canada interviewed 2,000 US workers, asking whether they had come across colleagues who were willing to report or confront them for moral or company policy violations. Nearly 60% people surveyed had experienced at least one such person, with average being as many as 4. 18% said they still worked with one. The effects are pretty harsh too. The survey confirmed an increased amount of stress and frustration around vigilantes, with people aiming to avoid them as much as possible. In serious cases, the vigilantes’ targets were reprimanded, fired, or quit their jobs under pressure of scrutiny. What to do in case of an office Batman Dont worry or complain about it too much, though. You might be able to do what the Joker could never do and actually beat the Batman. Just remember, freezing up around a suspect colleague contributes just as much to a hostile environment as the behaviour that caused it initially. At the same time, you dont want drag down your own reputation by calling out the caller-outer. The key here, as with any office dispute is a mix of directness, resilience and tact. Do not be afraid to shatter the illusion of collaboration in your office. Employees are going to disagree. Thats a reality of life in the workplace. But be fair they probably dont even realise what theyre doing is a problem. Provide possible solutions and try to work with them. Because its not just up to the heroes to save the workplace, its up to all of us. After all, with great company culture comes great responsibility. Connect with Debut on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for more careers insights.

Work Janitor Lessons on Why Yours Matters - Hire Imaging

Work Janitor Lessons on Why Yours Matters - Hire Imaging What is your work? Whatever your answerâ€"whether you’re a CEO of a company or its janitor, the work you do does matter! Work: Why does it matter? I don’t care if you’re selling things, number crunching, moving boxes, sweeping floors or leading a Fortune company, what you do matters. What you’re doing is impacting other people. Just three of countless examples: Salesperson. Someone relies on you for quality service and a product that solves a problem or meets their needs. Accountant. Someone depends on you for accurate information to help them navigate personal or business financial decisions. Janitor. Someone has confidence in the fact that you will keep the workplace clean. If you can think of one type of work that affects no one, I’d like to hear it. Work: Two janitor tales that moved me My firsthand inspiration: When I was about 16, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. To say it was a big deal is an understatement. Like others, I was glued to the television. It was prolonged coverage, and included a series of interviews with NASA employees. One of these had a journalist talking to a NASA custodian. She stood behind her clean-up cart in full jumpsuit uniform. When she was asked by the broadcaster, “What do you do at NASA?” Her answer without hesitation, “I am putting a man on the moon!” Many years ago, I heard a story that has resonated with me to this day. It goes like this: John, a conscientious college freshman was taking a pop quiz. He sailed through the questions; then halted at the last one. “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” The student thought this a joke question. He had seen the woman many times. She was tall, dark-haired and probably 50ish. How in the world would he know her name though? He handed in his quiz with the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would be counted toward the grade. “Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They each deserve your attention and care; even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello’.” John never forgot that lesson. He also learned her name was Dorothy. Work: How it might look Though you may not always observe firsthand the impact your work has on others, here are some lenses to help you see: Straight. This one’s usually easy to spot. You teach, advise, present or coach. Direct interaction is the simplest way to see your impact. You see others flourish from your influence. Resolutions. Your work produces solutions. You make products better, fix clogged drains or computer glitches. You are a solver of problems. Roundabout. A little bit tougher to visualize and this work is often overlooked. Back to our janitor example, with related workâ€"that of hotel maid. The maid sweeps, dusts and vacuums. She puts out little soaps and coffee packets. There may be no direct interaction between that maid and the guests. But that weary business traveler or family of five arrives. The room is organized, spotless and inviting. Of course there was a positive impact from that work. It’s easy to get pulled away from your purpose in work by thinking you have no impact, no voice, no choices. Yes you do. Yes, your work matters. The NASA custodianâ€"regardless of her position in the organizational chainâ€"was instilled with that sense of purpose. Whether you’re chief executive officer of a grocery chain, cleaning its stores and offices, or carrying bags out for one of its thousands of customers, never underestimate your work. True story: My young client, just graduating from high school, was a carryout boy who helped an elderly woman transport her bags to her car. He commented on the weather; he opened her door; he said thanks with a big grin. That customer happened to be a well-respected philanthropist in town. It was her first visit to that store. She told many people of her experience; they became customers well, you get the gist. The work you do matters; oh yes! Do you have questions about the work you do? I can help! Photo:   ttarasiuk

A Career Resource

A Career ResourceWhen you are looking for an employment resource, a university resume writing center can provide you with much needed help. Many college graduates may be overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to compile in order to get a job.The process of putting together a successful career takes some effort and time. You should prepare yourself to spend your time when you are searching for jobs. If you have not taken the time to write a successful resume, you may find that you miss out on a great career opportunity because of a bad one.There are many good employers located around the country that have positions available in the state of Massachusetts, so you should look for a university that will provide you with some assistance. A resume writing center will be able to assist you in coming up with a solid resume that will help you get hired. Your new employer may even need a resume that is in regards to the area of employment that you are applying for.Sometimes a state university has specific needs, but the staff at the university resume writing center is trained to handle any situation that you might come across. If you are able to find someone that will work with you to put together a job application for your new position, you will be better able to take care of yourself while you are searching for employment. The resume is something that will most likely remain on file for some time after you are in your position, so you should make sure that you are prepared to market yourself for an upcoming position.A solid resume is what you need in order to get the interview with a place of employment in the state of Massachusetts. If you do not already have a high school diploma, you should consider taking the appropriate course. Then your resume will be able to show the employer that you are a serious candidate for the position that you want. Employers like people that are dedicated to their jobs, and this will indicate that you are a valuable employee. If you would like to be prepared for any type of employment opportunities, it is important to research all of the potential employment resources that are available to you. A resume writing center can help you begin that process, and you should make sure that you get the job that you want. There are many different fields that you may want to try in, and being prepared is important.You may be worried about your ability to make a decent resume, but with the professional skills of an experienced resume writer, you should be able to create an attractive, quality resume that will attract the attention of your potential employer. When you are ready to search for employment, remember that the state university resume writing center can help you get prepared for all of the different types of job positions. You will need the most current skills that you can acquire, and this can be provided by a resume writing center.The employment resources are designed to help people who are looking for empl oyment, and this is something that everyone needs to know about. The services that they offer are there to help you meet the needs of any job that you apply for. They will be able to help you prepare for all of the various types of employment that you could encounter.