The warm weather is finally here and summer vacation beckons! After a long, cold Canadian winter and spring, a vacation in the summer sun is not only welcome, but well-earned! Many of us think we cannot afford to take time due to work demands, deadlines and financial concerns. But, vacations are good for us. Here’s… Read more »
When you are facing a crisis, do you know what your greatest resource is? In The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor presents research to suggest that it is the quality of our social support networks, i.e., our personal relationships, that are our greatest resource. How do we know relationships matter so much to our happiness and… Read more »
Our lives are constantly changing – getting married, moving to a new home, starting a new job, having a new baby, facing an empty nest, retiring – all of these changes happen to most of us. There are simple, normal, everyday changes that have to be faced – just getting older, or even, to a… Read more »
Fall is officially here, summer is a distant memory and we’re a couple months into the thick of things at work. For many in the working world, we’ve entered a time where demands have increased and time is limited. In addition, your working world may be presenting other challenges that add to your unease. Here… Read more »
Fall is the season of “back to school” and often means an exciting threshold for youth — new classes, new friends, new things to learn and do, and maybe new pencils, crayons, clothes and knapsacks. It brings a fresh start, the excitement of something different, room for self-reflection, and the potential for growth. As we… Read more »
“Volunteers want to be thanked and shown how they have made a difference – they want to know the impact of their contributions.” ~ Volunteer Canada 2013 Volunteer Recognition Study Although National Volunteer Week takes place every April, it is important that we provide ongoing recognition and appreciation of our volunteers throughout the year. We… Read more »
What doesn’t get said about our individual performance is sometimes the most valuable information in managing our career. The real opinions of bosses and co-workers matter when it comes to job assignments, promotions and opportunities. This is sometimes called the “invisible resume.” For your “spring tune-up,” ask for frank, honest feedback from those you trust…. Read more »
So much of our effectiveness at work is through the relationships we develop. How do we strengthen those connections and improve communication and understanding? And how do we do that in this busy world of work? The answer is “shift to listening” — really listening! We focus so much on telling, instructing, and conveying messages…. Read more »
The first step is to have some face-to-face communication! Email/chat has overwhelmed our workplace communication methods. We couldn’t work without the speed and immediacy that electronic communications provide. But — the big but — is that “e-mail,” by definition, is just words, making this form of communication much more easily misunderstood than face-to-face conversation. Over… Read more »
That’s the title of a new Pan-Canadian study that shows the enormous scope and impact of domestic violence on workers and workplaces. Of the more than 8,400 workers who responded to a 2014 survey conducted by the University of Western Ontario and the Canadian Labour Congress, a third report they have experienced domestic violence at… Read more »
We hope you find some of the these archived blog posts useful as we all look to manage and find the joy in daily living.