Focusing on Collective Gain: Why Is It Important?

Collective gain for an organization is the most important part of their goals. An organization doesn’t really take into consideration your individual achievements if they have not been centred around the greater good of the organization that you’re working for. And more importantly, this shows how committed the organization is towards growth and that in itself is great for your own personal growth.

From competition to team initiatives, if done healthily, these make an organization thrive.

If you continue to simply focus on your own achievements and personal goals, you may be successful in creating an impressive resume, but that resume is incomplete without a good recommendation and a good image in front of the employers.

Every person has a distinct personality setup. While extroverts are great with interactions and rank high on energy while thriving in a group, introverts are instrumental in providing the necessary stability at the workplace.

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And the importance of team efforts cannot be downplayed ever. This is because the collective qualities of every unique individual bring something innovative to the table, and that is how you just ace at your projects.

It doesn’t matter how many awards or accreditations you earn at your own disposal. What really would work when your contribution is being assessed for an organization is how much you put yourself out there for ensuring that your company generates the maximum results and revenues.

And for achieving that, you have to sometimes be the underdog. So many employees tend to make it all about themselves, and that is exactly where they end up losing out on their coveted promotions.

Here’s the thing. The collective gain for an organization will always be more crucial. In a team, another person’s gifts can mask another person’s weakness, and that’s how organizations work. If it were about an individual’s performance, they wouldn’t spend so much on hiring so many people to have them work together.

And every single talent is required to navigate through the project and effectively troubleshoot because different people have different approaches for addressing a situation or a challenge.

How to Stay Focused at Work: A Complete Guide 2022

It happens to all of us! You’re driven to strike off all the tasks on your to-do list, and just then, in a twinkling, you find your mind wayfaring across beautiful plains and valleys in some corner of the world!

Here are seven effective ways to stop dawdling while staying on alert at work:

1. One task at a time 

Jot down your tasks for the day even before you begin work. Cross out the ones you’ve completed. Complete the task at hand before moving on to another one because otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to do justice to either of those tasks.

Single-tasking leads to better focus.

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2. Turn your incognito on 

A study found that cell phones, social media sites, and email account for about 60% of distractions at work.

Work out a system for only urgent messages to reach you. Turn your status invisible on instant messengers and social networking sites. Lock your phone away in the drawer. Don’t give in to temptations easily!

3. Get aboard the reward train 

Set short, realistic goals and reward yourself after completing each goal.

For example, buy yourself a cookie or watch a YouTube video of your choice after finishing the first five tasks on your list. You’ll be ticking things off the list sooner than you know.

4. Snack it away 

Certain foods/fluids like chocolate, citrus fruits, caffeine, and water help you to feel alerted and energized throughout the day at work. Whenever you feel distracted, reach out for healthy munchies.

This will prevent you from engaging in other unrelated activities.

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5. Music mollifies the mind 

Music is meditation, they say. It can be quite relaxing and inspiring at times. For many people, there isn’t a better way to help them push through the day without the right music.

It’s important to pick an appropriate genre so that your performance remains unaffected.

6. Put on those headphones 

Some external sources of stimuli like the chattering amongst colleagues, noisy carpentry work, sounds coming from outside the window tends to interrupt our work. Headphones are your solution to this problem.

It also gives an indication to others that you’re occupied with important work and don’t have time to chat.

7. Clean to concentrate 

With too many things in disarray, you are bound to get distracted.

Organize your stuff. Only keep what you really need within your reach.

Let’s face it, the distractions coming from our surroundings are not in our command. We can, however, discipline ourselves and use some of the methods mentioned above to keep our work at full throttle.

5 Tips to do Better at your Job

Are you aspiring to be the one who always stays in the limelight at their workplace for good reasons? Yes, we know you do. Who doesn’t want to be applauded and be part of the “be like them” example? Here are a few of those tips to do better at your job-

1. Organize yourself

Organization might seem like a boring thing to do but trust us on this- organization is the first key to unlock the door to stardom at your workplace. Better organization translates into better efficiency.

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2. Be the seeker

Literally, just be the seeker. Go seek a new opportunity. Talk to your seniors at your workplace. Seek a new skill. Whatever it is, just be the seeker.

3. Ask for reviews

Reviews, either good or bad, will only help you to spearhead towards your own betterment. Bad reviews will give you new leads to work upon yourself, and good reviews will build your morale. It’s a win-win situation either way.

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4. Be the whistleblower

When you witness something off at your workplace, don’t hesitate to be the whistleblower. Speak up. Reciprocate your ideas. Help your workplace and make it a better place to be.

5. Learn new skills

Well, learning new technical skills is a tough thing to do and takes a comparatively long time, but there are hardly any other methods out there that can help you climb the ladder as much as skill increment can do.

Improve your productivity and do more – and you are sure to get more out of it all!

4 Ways to Deal with Sexist Co-workers

When sexism seeps into the workplace despite years of progress, it does dishearten quite a bit. Women weren’t allowed to vote or drive or own the property once upon a time. 

And yet the old adage of, ‘women belong in the kitchen’ doesn’t seem to die out. This outlook needs to change. Now, even men are discriminated against unfairly. We all battle with casual sexism at the workplace, and it gets frustrating at times. 

Here are a few ways to handle sexist co-workers.

1. Take a stand

Whenever you encounter a co-worker making a highly sexist and offensive statement, even as a joke, make sure to voice your disapproval with the same. Point out the sexism. 

You may come across as salty and overly sensitive, but this will ensure that everyone knows you won’t tolerate this behavior. 

Taking a stand and raising a voice against sexism at the workplace goes a long way in preventing further trouble. The reason for most workplaces to report increased instances of sexism is because we all dismiss them as harmless banter.

2. Just leave

If you want to avoid any confrontation, just walk away. You don’t have to be a part of such toxic conversations. Your silence will go a long way in voicing your protest.

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3. Comebacks!

Sarcasm is the deadliest weapon to tear someone down. If you notice any of your co-workers making a sexist slur, just shut them down with a sarcastic comeback that they won’t be able to beat. 

This will avoid confrontation and will also leave everyone speechless, so they would think twice before making any degrading statement in front of you.

4. Take help of the law

You need to know that sexism at the workplace is not tolerated anywhere, so as soon as you bring this to the notice of HR when you feel you can’t take it anymore, necessary steps will be taken. 

Make sure to save any emails, text messages or recordings because you may find it difficult to find witnesses for your complaints. It is a part of your duty to make your workplace more sensitive and inclusive.

5 Reasons Why Team Work Is More Important than Office Politics.

Competition is a healthy attribute as long as it is not mixed with avarice and politics. As long as corporations benefit from competitive employees, competition has usually been a boon. 

But when competitive environments start hampering harmony between employees and polluting the office environment, it’s time to pause and think. 

Office politics is detrimental to an organization’s progress, and the resultant competition, if not based on performance, will just add to the negativity and hamper team efforts at the workplace. It is important to give priority to teamwork and eliminate office politics at all costs.

Teamwork makes an organization work:

An organization will benefit solely from teamwork. That is why it’s called an organization; otherwise, it would just be a one-man army. When hundreds of employees work under the same roof, there has to be a collective effort, and individual efforts don’t count.

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Office Politics decreases productivity:

Office politics simply lead to workplace conflicts which cause a dip in the productivity of an organization. No project can be completed without a team effort, and if the team members continue to harbor differences, there is no way you can achieve the company targets with perfection.

It’s We versus I:

There will be people in an organization who give more importance to their personal goals than the company’s progress. It’s not a bad thing. 

But when employees start disregarding the organization to make their ends meet and just causing bad blood between teammates, that’s where the problem begins. Such employees will never contribute to the success of a company.

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Creating a positive environment:

Office politics have been known to be the leading cause of workplace stress. And stressed employees will never be able to contribute to the success of an organization. 

For your projects to be successful, you need to keep everyone happy and motivated. That can only be possible when they stay away from the politics of the workplace.

More hands to work lead to better results:

Instead of one employee shining out and taking all the cake, the talents of every single employee need to be utilized to achieve success in a company. 

Suppose one employee is favored or tries to take away credits and hog the limelight by indulging in politics at the workplace while overshadowing others. In that case, an organization will never be able to function properly. 

Most projects will be about egos and personal vendetta and people will hold grudges against the organization; this is not a good sign for an organization.

5 Ways to Motivate Your Employees

An organization thrives on the efforts of its employees. If they are working to their best ability, then there’s nothing it can do to stop the organization from progressing. And that clearly depends on the working environment of the office and the relationship amongst the employees and their bosses.

You need to constantly keep motivating your employees intrinsically as well as extrinsically to achieve that kind of success.

Here are five ways you can actually drive your employees and achieve unprecedented success in the industry.

Perks Perks Perks!

There should be incentives for everyone. At every step and duty completed, employees should receive a hike, a bonus, or something additional! This is material evidence of your organization valuing the work of their employees, hence building trust and confidence with them.

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Be there

You need to be extremely close-knit with your employees with a bond of faith and allegiance and emerge as a family. Always make your clients feel that they have your back no matter what. With insurances, crisis support, and even emotional support in times of distress, and even counseling facilities, you can make a lot of difference.

Never be overly critical

Excessive criticism can severely put down the morale of your employees. So you need to be extremely encouraging and respectful even when you point out your employee’s errors in a task handed out to them. Motivate them to do better without being harsh. This will help your employees be even more determined to be better at work.

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Understand your employees

Your employees are as human as you are. And many times, your employees may be fighting some personal battles which may affect their performance at work. Always be empathetic to them, and offer your assistance whenever possible. And just push them to battle their demons and work on themselves.

Appreciation

Appreciating your employees in front of your team goes a long way in pushing them to do better. Applaud them when they successfully reach a target. This is a method of extrinsic motivation that helps boost the self-esteem of the employees, and the psychological pursuit for this appreciation in the form of a reward pushes them to do better.

6 Things to Know if You Work in Retail

The retail sector is booming with job opportunities and avenues. It is a great opportunity to learn a set of skills that would prove to be extremely useful for young people in the future and also offers a chance to earn a quick buck.

And the best part is that you don’t require experience to sign up for this sector. But yes, there are certain qualities you require like communication skills, emotional and social intelligence, digital literacy, knowledge of finances, and teamwork qualities. Here are some of them.

Reliability and Flexibility

There will be times when your manager requires you to put in an extra hour at work or work extra for a busy workday. You need to know that extra efforts never go futile. Extra allowance and a good impression in front of the manager is the bonus you get. Be ready for all kinds of tasks, even the tedious ones.

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Communication Skills

A job in retail might not be a permanent bet for you, but the skills you learn here will teach you a lot about people. The interpersonal and communication skills you learn here will be handy at any work setup, whether it’s a startup or a big corporate firm. Your speaking skills and confidence will get a boost.

Your financial prowess will also improve.

Apply at the right time

The holiday season has the maximum amount of customers coming in, so this is the best time for you to apply as you will be able to serve more people and learn much more. Also, vacancies are the maximum at this time.

Your personality is key

When you go for a walk-in and personalized interview, your colleagues and employers will get to know you through your body language and behavior. So you need to be well versed with the brand and also be culturally fit the workforce there. Everyone is looking at you the moment you step in.

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This is going to be laborious

The physical work and moving around is too much in retail. You have to be on your feet all day, unpacking boxes, sorting racks, cleaning shelves, hanging clothes, and hustling around trial rooms, shop front, and storerooms. So have comfortable shoes, take rest breaks in between, and be aware of your entitlements and fair pay guidelines.

Teamwork is important

Retail is all about being around people for your entire shift, and you need to be friendly, helpful, and focused at all times. A people-oriented and team-oriented approach are important. Be supportive of your team members and divide your responsibilities fairly. Don’t be too offended by criticism, and be easy to work with.

5 Tips to Decorate Your Office

You spend more than half of your day at the office. So your workplace environment has to be ideal and conducive to let the creative juices flow to generate maximum productivity for your organization.

Moreover, when clients visit, you’d like to have a classy, contemporary interior so as to create a good first impression. Follow these five tips for making your office look like a dream job destination. 

 1. Branding

Make every single article in your office a statement of your brand, from the napkins to the cutlery to the stationary and everything. 

Every single thing you use at work should serve as a billboard. This helps propagate your brand and also helps you make an easier choice when selecting office décor. 

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 2. Change your décor as per the season

Break the monotony. Change your office décor when the seasons change. You need to evolve the workplace as you spend the entire year there. This creates an exciting vibe for your employees, and they would look forward to coming to work every day.

3. Quirky designs steal the show

From catchy slogans, Grafitti to interesting pictures, cartoons, or caricatures, make your workplace your creative haven. You can also share the pictures of these creations on social media to create a brand image. 

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4. Culture is key

Infusion of a cultural vibe into your office creates uniqueness at the workplace. From designing murals at the conference room to creating a monotone scheme for the entrance will create an exclusive vibe at your workplace. 

5. Personalization

Just like everything else at your office is unique enough, even the workers at your office need to feel unique. 

Make your employees have an individualistic approach by giving them the freedom to decorate their cubicles according to their own tastes and an inclusive environment by introducing individual dress codes and freedom of expression. 

This makes for an excellent decoration choice as your employees are the biggest assets of your office. 

3 Ways to Set an Example in the Workplace

As a professional, even as a leader of your organization, you need to communicate the right message to your employees, business partners, customers, and colleagues. You need to understand that your colleagues, bosses, and owners look up to you as a figure. 

Work is not the only thing that the workers in the company consider. Your professional image and everyday demeanor reflect your principles and your potential to contribute to the workplace. 

We judge people on the basis of their habits, behavior, dressing, and body language. People will form assumptions about you the same way. So your intentions and actions need to be on the same page. So you need to follow the following things to ensure that your actions reflect your intentions. 

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 Come to work early.

If you’re always running late for work, your employees will feel it is okay if they do the same. And you should always practice what you preach. If you want your employees to be on time, you need to be on time yourself. 

This will set an example for them. And they will see a demonstration of your expectations from them in your behavior itself. This also impacts the work ethic of your employees, and they most likely end up emulating your behavior. 

 Embody your company’s brand.

You are a reflection of your brand, your company. When you represent your company, you need to adapt its image and incorporate it into your personality, and a major part of your personality is your social media presence. 

Update your blog, website, and social media profiles on a regular basis. You need to form a reflection of your company in all your profiles. And after that is accomplished, you need to motivate your employees to deliver this very image about the company’s brand. 

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 Dress the part.

You are what you wear. And your dressing starkly represents your value system, your work ethic, and your persona. This forms a part of non-verbal communication. Your dressing needs to imply that you are competent, knowledgeable, conscientious, and powerful.

Always invest in quality clothing and have a personal style that matches your business and industry well. 

So, these are three ways how you can set an example in the workplace. Follow it to make your way to the top.

 

5 Ways Impunctuality Will Hurt Your Career

Are you running late at all times? Can’t help it? 

You probably need a wake-up call if your answers to these questions were yes. 

You might not realize this, but punctuality is the most important thing for a professional to thrive. If you’re always running late to work, it can prove catastrophic for your career and job prospects. Tardiness at work is more lethal than you think. Here’s why. 

Lack of respect – 

Suppose if the CEO calls you for a meeting, would you run late? 

Not really? Why? Because the CEO is the most respected person in your organization, right? 

But you would be running late for the other meetings. This exactly shows that you don’t value those meetings and the employers at a lower level than the CEO. 

This shows that you don’t respect anybody’s time and effort, presence for a meeting, or even the goals you need to achieve. 

Photo by Christopher Luther on Unsplash /Copyright 2021

Not reliable –

Believe it or not, if you’re late to a meeting, people form the impression that you’re late for everything else, too, your projects, customer sales calls, and basically everything. 

Being late raises doubts about your reliability for responsibilities and trustworthiness. So obviously, you won’t be preferred for the valuable projects for the organization as people would just think you will mess it up. 

Lack of priorities –

Successful people know how to manage and prioritize things. Everybody is busy. But time management is the mantra for success. 

If you can manage to handle what’s on the table right now, you will be able to handle the future responsibilities in enhanced capacity too. But if you can’t handle what you’re already served with, this is bad news for the promotion seekers. 

Political posturing – 

There is always a hierarchy in the workplace, and usually, the highest-ranking person in the meeting is allowed to be a little late, whether it’s right or wrong. 

So if you manage to run late, everyone will just assume that you think you’re more important than your bosses, so what does that make you in their eyes?

Yes, you guessed it right. Arrogant.

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Wasting money – 

Each hour you spend at work is valuable. Meetings are at stake for hundreds of dollars, and wasting time means wasting the organization’s hard-earned money, and arriving late by even a few minutes costs a lot of your company time. 

So, knock yourself on the back of your head if you have been doing the same thing. 

You don’t realize how much impunctuality sets you on the slippery slope of failure. Every day you are getting closer and closer to becoming a failure, which is certainly not anyone’s goal.

So, wake up and start being punctual if you want your dreams to come into reality.