This year, both managers and employees began returning to the office after a long time of working remotely. While many people crave the return to normal entirely, not everything has to return to pre-pandemic ways. Now may be the best time to reinvent yourself in ways you never felt you could before so you can take steps towards professional growth.
If you’ve experienced what Stanford University researchers call Zoom fatigue, rest assured, it’s not just in your imagination. The fact is, some virtual meetings cause exhaustion and contribute to burnout. However, they won’t be phased out anytime soon. So, it’s up to you to understand why this happens and how to mitigate it in order to stay healthy and productive.
The tech industry has been on a bumpy ride ever since the pandemic began more than 3 years ago. 2021 kicked off the Great Resignation, a period where employees across hundreds of industries—not just in technology—took steps to leave their jobs. When that wave turned, a new term was coined, The Great Regret. Next, towards the end of 2022, the job market was hit by The Great Layoff. In a nutshell, it has been wild, both for recruiting teams and for employees.
You might be surprised at how powerful a positive attitude can be in the workplace. Studies have shown that positive employees are more productive, more energetic, and less likely to need sick time than their unhappy counterparts. A positive outlook on life helps with stress management, makes you a better collaborator, and enables you to build a strong support circle in the workplace.
Internships are increasingly popular among college students and recent grads. According to the National Survey of College Internships (NSCI), 21.5 percent of students complete internships before they graduate. This type of opportunity is perfect for learning and experiencing the jobs you think you want to do before you get out into the working world. Yet, only hands-on internships are the best.
Employee turnover can have a significant impact on your bottom line. Employment professionals estimate that turnover costs between 1.5 to 2 times an employee’s salary. For every employee that quits who earned $100,000, your company could spend $200,000 in hiring and training costs—not to mention the lost productivity from other employees who need to pick up the slack.
Have you heard a 20-something coworker shout “Slay!” to celebrate a job well done? Or would you admit to exclaiming this, or something similar, yourself? If so, you’ve encountered Gen Z slang in the workplace. This style of communication is ubiquitous in today’s social media culture, but is it suitable for a professional setting? Or should we keep following a minimal communication etiquette?
Poor sound quality can be a significant distraction for your conference calls. If participants sound far away, have crackling associated with their line, or cut in and out, it’s hard for attendees to focus on what’s actually being said. With meeting productivity in thin air—you don’t need any other issues.
In today’s hybrid workplace, any organization needs an efficient, seamless, cohesive strategy that makes it possible to collaborate from anywhere. With team members scattered across various locations—some at home, others in the office, and even some in different time zones—poor virtual collaboration can affect the overall work performance. Strong communication and teamworking have, once again, become mission-critical.
Love is in the air. February is the month of love and our work environments stand no chance in trying to escape Cupid’s arrows 😉 Yet, at work, love means different things than in our every-day life. A collaborative culture, efficient communication, psychological safety, teamwork—all these make for a better life at the workplace.
