Can We Solve the Productivity Puzzle With a Shorter Working Week

Can We Solve the Productivity Puzzle With a Shorter Working Week For over a century, the five-day working week has been a pillar of the business world. Employees reported to a desk in an allocated building and worked allocated hours. However, technology has allowed employee expectations to change rapidly, as the modern workforce demands a more flexible approach. With traditional views on how to tackle the productivity puzzle seemingly outdated, it’s inevitable that the conventional working week will be disrupted. In fact, forward-thinking organizations have already introduced a four-day week. Unsurprisingly, employees are in favor. Research commissioned by Ricoh Europe found that more than half of European workers (57%) believed that technology will be key to bringing about a four-day working week in the near future as it improves their productivity and efficiency. Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services company, switched its 240 staff from a five-day to a four-day week last November and maintained their pay. A study of the trial  revealed productivity increased in the four days they worked. Among the Perpetual Guardian staff, they found scores given by workers about leadership, stimulation, empowerment, and commitment all increased compared with a 2017 survey. This demonstrates that the answer to improving productivity doesn’t lie in pushing employees to work harder or longer hours. Instead, understanding how best to accommodate their needs is key to bringing forward significant business development and growth. Shared workspaces, shared values Although the desire to achieve a better work/life balance seems like a recent development, it isn’t specific to the young. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, generations are coming together over shared values. Factors such as wanting to perform at the highest level possible, well-being programs, mobile working and a sense of autonomy are all equally popular among different generations. Improving employee skills and enjoyment The move to a four-day working week may not be a widespread reality yet. However, the majority of employees, regardless of their age group, are keen to increase their productivity through training and technology. Over half (51%) of workers agree that smart applications of technology help them in their role. Meanwhile, 69% would like to use tech to be more efficient by speeding up processes, facilitating collaboration, and making routine tasks easier. A united vision These findings paint an encouraging picture. Employees are united by their desire to make an impact at work and achieve more. This shows that businesses are not alone in their desire to tackle the productivity puzzle. As a result, leaders should look at fresh, innovative ideas to help encourage this. The arrival of Gen Z in the workplace offers a new perspective to the hard-earned experience. The key to improving productivity lies in supporting and motivating a united workforce. Leaders need to demonstrate trust by giving employees the flexibility to operate in a way that allows them to achieve their potential without negatively impacting other areas of their life. About the author:   Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, communication services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2019, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,013 billion yen (approx. 18.1 billion USD).

Corporate Idealist An Interview with Christine Bader - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Corporate Idealist An Interview with Christine Bader - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Recently, I sat down with Christine Bader, author of the new book,  The Evolution of a Corporate Idealist: When Girl Meets Oil. Corporate Idealists are an invisible army of people located inside the worlds biggest and most well-known organizations that push for safer and more culpable practices. As a corporate idealist at BP for nearly a decade, Christine was responsible for managing the impact of large projects on communities around the world. We discussed the obstacles she faced while pushing for change, what aspiring corporate idealists can learn from her experience, and how you can drive change in your organization, no matter where you are in your career. How would you define a Corporate Idealist? A Corporate Idealist believes that business can be a force for good in the world: by innovating to meet peoples’ needs, by creating jobs and value, by reaching corners of the world that others can’t. But Corporate Idealists also know full well the risks that companies can present to people and planet: environmental and social damage where natural resources are pulled out of the ground; poor working conditions in factories; threats to privacy and free expression on the internet, just to name a few. The Corporate Idealist is focused on minimizing those risks so that those benefits can be maximized. What obstacles did you face as a corporate idealist during your time working for BP? My first full-time posting with BP was in Indonesia in 2000; I worked on a liquefied natural gas project at the remote eastern end of the country. The first time I went out there taking an overnight commercial flight, then an eighteen-seat turboprop plane, then a helicopter I imagined the sketches of the plant imposed on this relatively pristine environment, and felt physically ill.   But at the time I didn’t think that any other company would put as much effort into protecting people and planet: John Browne, BP’s CEO at the time, made it very clear that we were going to do whatever it took to make this project a good thing for local people. I was out there with a lot of other high-paid help to make that happen. So for me the first obstacle with discomfort with the fact that I was on the inside of an inherently disruptive business; but I believed that from the inside was where I could do the most good. Then the challenges I faced were similar to what many Corporate Idealists face: for example, time and budget pressures interfering with the patient process of building local relationships; and concern from colleagues in Legal and Communications about taking too much responsibility for problems that aren’t entirely in the company’s control. I had left BP by the time of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, but that sent me back to the first obstacle, of understanding what it means to choose to work on the inside. It means that your work is incremental, and bad things might still happen, but you have to have faith that the small steps you’re taking are making a difference. For someone who is more junior and doesnt have the decision-making ability, how can you drive change within an organization? Everyone may not be able to decide where the money goes, but everyone can ask good questions and come up with solutions. Junior staff can ask the question that challenges the status quo; spot opportunities for change and innovation that more entrenched staff have developed blinders to; and bring in great ideas from outside organizations. Most importantly, we should all show up the way that we want our colleagues and our organizations to behave: It’s amazing how infectious one person’s attitude can be, for good or for ill! Has social media and the ever-connected society we live in changed the way corporate idealists operate? Made it easier or more difficult? Social media has made the work of Corporate Idealists easier, because there’s much more proof that they aren’t the only ones who believe that a particular issue be it conflict minerals, or water usage, or indigenous communities’ rights is important.   One Corporate Idealist told me that from time to time he asked one of his NGO or SRI [socially responsible investment] contacts to write a letter to one of his managers on a particular issue to help him move the ball internally. But now we don’t need one letter: a campaign is as easy to start as a hashtag. Of course, some campaigners are more credible than others but even if a person or organization hasn’t established credibility, the issue they raise might still be a legitimate one. If someone is seeing a problem in their organization, but isnt sure what to do, how do you recommend they get started as a corporate idealist? For the Corporate Idealists I interviewed, community was really important to them. Being the lone champion of sustainability in a company can be isolating work, so having a network of peers in other companies is critical for moral support, but also to get advice on specific challenges: how did you overcome this concern from your lawyers? How did you get your communications people to be more comfortable talking about your company’s challenges? How did you make the case to your manager that this was something you needed to dedicate resources to? There are programs specifically designed to build those sorts of communities, like the Aspen Institute’s First Movers Program. But informal gatherings like CSR Meetups enable those relationships too. Or just reach out to someone else on LinkedIn who seems to be in a similar role; many of the Corporate Idealists I spoke with said they’re always happy to help, since they’ve benefited so much from the support and kindness of others. Thank you to Christine for taking the time with me, check out her new book available now!

How to Be Consistent in Your Career

How to Be Consistent in Your Career When people talk about having a successful career, they often say that productivity and motivation are the two most important factors â€" but few people talk about how important consistency is. The most successful business owners and entrepreneurs are consistent every single day, and over time this produces fantastic results, but how exactly does someone become consistent? Thankfully it isn’t as difficult as it sounds; you just need to adjust your mind-set and set specific goals. Here are five tips to help you be more consistent in your career. Identify Any Issues The first thing you should do is identify any issues that could be affecting your consistency at work. Is there anything you avoid doing because you find it challenging or unpleasant? Do you have a negative relationship with any of your daily tasks? What do you think is your most damaging inconsistency at work? Once you identify an issue, sit down and take some time to think about how you can get rid of it. For example, if you hate responding to emails you could do it first thing in the morning (every morning). This means that you don’t have to spend the day worrying about when you will complete the job, so you will feel happier and less stressed. You will also feel more proactive and motivated as the hard work is done (so you can spend the rest of the day focusing on more important tasks). Aim for Incremental Improvements When it comes to making big changes, very little happens overnight. Our brains can’t change in an instant (sadly); in fact, research has found that it can take months for people to break bad habits. So, don’t set huge goals on the first day of trying to be more consistent â€" instead be patient and focus on making incremental improvements. This will be less mentally overwhelming, and it will also be easier for you to achieve small goals (such as getting up at 7AM every morning). If you try this tip, remember to celebrate every little goal. Changing life-long habits can be very difficult, and your hard work should be celebrated. Segment Your Day It can also be useful to segment your day into chunks. This makes it easier for you to prepare for different tasks throughout the day, so you will feel less overwhelmed â€" and the preparation means you are more likely to have a productive, successful day. Start the day by separating your work into small chunks, and then focus on accomplishing each small goal. Remember that this isn’t about getting everything done every day; there will still be days where tasks are unfinished. The goal is to have a consistent routine every day so that you feel on top of things, rather than stressed or overwhelmed. Use Support Tools It can also be useful to use support tools to help you at work. There are lots of useful business apps and websites that can benefit you, from task trackers to automation systems that complete admin tasks for you. For instance, if you work as a home inspector, you can use an ISN to help you complete home inspection reports. It is also possible to use time trackers to measure how much time you spend on each task, which is ideal for people who send monthly invoices. And don’t worry about support tools being a big expense, as most tools are free or affordable. This is perfect for small business owners with a tight budget (especially if they are already feeling overworked or overwhelmed). Be Accountable Finally, it is important to hold yourself accountable. And no, this doesn’t mean mentally beating yourself up for failing to do a task; everyone plateaus sometimes, and it is a normal (but admittedly frustrating) part of life. However, it is important to be aware of the issue, and how you can prevent it from happening again in the future. So, if you ever feel unhappy with your actions at work, take some time to sit down and think about why. Could you have prevented the issue? If so, what can you do now to reduce the chance of it happening again? Being consistent can seem like an impossible task, especially if you are easily distracted, but in reality, you just need to make small daily changes to feel more consistent and productive. Remember that anyone can achieve consistency with just a little bit of effort, time, and practice.

Careering Should You Stay or Should You Go

Careering Should You Stay or Should You Go Whether you’re working in a skyscraper with severe vertigo or have a burning desire to spend more time with your dog whatever the urge if it’s affecting your day-to-day performance, you might be considering leaving. But how do you deal with these issues without effectively giving your boss an ultimatum? The things that matter most to you probably won’t mean much to your company, and probably never will not directly anyway. Instead, you can indirectly make your interests important to your boss by becoming an invaluable resource yourself. If you’re in demand, your needs are in demand: no one will want to wave you goodbye if you’ve brought in oodles of business. Performing well is a fantastic way of getting those things you personally care about to be indirectly reflected in your boss’ decision making. Commandeer your career Even if you think discussing the overall situation with your boss is unlikely to make a difference, finding a way to approach your boss to find out more about opportunities to work from home, to work Flexitime, or shuffle and refresh your workload are great ways to leverage the fact you’ve supported the company for a while. However, not knowing what you can bring to the company, or what your company can do for you, can cause you to languish at work without engagement or enjoyment. Quite often the issue lie in a lack of a clear plan: establish clear personal goals and see where meeting them takes you. The Elephant in the Room Money. If you’re not being paid enough, you won’t be happy in your job. If you know the guy opposite is on three grand more than you for doing the same job, you’ll want to be paid more or move on. Ultimately, the option to leave a company always exists. If parting ways could only take place within a finite window only open every other year, for instance part of the situation would be resolved. However, with boundless freedom to leave and start afresh somewhere new, encouraged by a constant tide of messages from recruiters, having a bit of discipline when it comes to sticking it out can go a long way. Most important is to establish your own personal boundaries: what you’re happy with, unhappy with, where you’d like to improve. Salary should be thought of as a foundation from which these less tangible needs are met. Ultimately, success in business is about working with the right team: do your best to buck trends in recruitment and decide for yourself where and with whom your time would be best spent. [Image Credit: Shutterstock]

What Is a Resume Writing Service?

What Is a Resume Writing Service?One of the most important elements of a career and professional development program is the resume writing service that the company can offer. The resume writing service can help you create a resume that will be able to showcase your knowledge and skills for the prospective employer.A professional resume can be created by a resume writing service, which includes your LinkedIn profile. The LinkedIn profile is considered to be one of the most important components of your professional career and educational goals. By having a profile on the social networking site, your career objectives can be easily achieved by sharing your experiences and achievements with others.The service that you have chosen can help you create a professional resume that will highlight your skills, education and professional achievements with a link that will enable you to connect with the prospective employer. A resume that includes the links to your professional LinkedIn profile w ill allow you to create a customized resume that will enable you to stand out from the crowd. In addition, the content of your profile will be able to give you an insight into what employers are looking for in a potential employee.You can also use your professional resume as a way to boost your status and to build your professional career. Having a professional resume will allow you to write your own opportunity letter and to also include a link to your LinkedIn profile so that other people will be able to read about your educational achievements and how you can help them. Your professional career development program can be made a lot easier with a professionally designed resume.The next step in a career and professional development program is to present a resume that shows a person's knowledge and skills. It is crucial that this process is easy and that it is very easy to use a resume. This is where a resume writing service can come in.When you choose a resume writing service, they will be able to use the skills and knowledge that you have in order to generate a resume that will appeal to a specific employer. This is something that a resume writer will be able to do without the help of your profile on LinkedIn. Your resume writing service will be able to create a custom resume that will be designed specifically for the specific employer that you are targeting.In order to get the most out of your career and professional development program, it is crucial that you engage in the right type of activities. By doing so, you will be able to achieve your goals in life much quicker and in a more efficient manner. When you select a resume writing service that is used to creating professional resumes, you can be assured that you will receive the same attention that is given to every single resume that is written.With a well-crafted professional resume that includes all of the information that is relevant to the career goals of the employer, you will be able to stand out from the crowd. Employers and job hunters are always looking for new and fresh talent. When you choose a resume writing service that specializes in creating professional resumes, you will be able to maximize your chances of getting a job by producing a resume that will help you stand out from the crowd.

How to handle a laggard - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

How to handle a laggard - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog What do you do about co-workers or employees who dont pull their weight? Sheila Norman-Culp has taken a look at that situation and interviewed a few experts, including yours truly. In the American workplace these days, teams are the hot commodity. And where theres a team, theres always one person whom others feel is not pulling their own weight. So should the lazy worker be put on notice? Get more training? Be promoted? Be fired? Dont laugh experts say every one of those solutions could work. Im quoted as saying that the only cure for lazy employees is to fire a few of them, to put the fear of God into the rest. Or something like that its been a while I since I talked to Sheila, I honestly cant remember. Read Sheilas article here. Related posts: How to procrastinate effectively The cult of overwork The cult of overwork revisited Book review: The Lazy Way to Success by Fred Gratzon My lazy life how laziness made me a better student, developer and leader Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related

Would You Take This Dream Job

Would You Take This Dream Job The following situation (or something substantially similar) actually exists in real life.   How close is this to your dream job, or is it pretty much the opposite? The Job: Congratulations.   You have been chosen to start work at our organization. You get to pretty much design your own job; it just has to fit within the broader mission of the organization and produce mutually agreed results, which we call outcomes. The outcomes need to be visible, scalable and have a tangibly positive impact on our organization and the broader community. We expect you to devote an agreed upon chunk of your professional time to this role, but we will not clock you in and out.   Where, when and how you do the work is up to you.   What we care about are outcomes, and all you have to do is deliver.   When you show up for work, come prepared to “go big, or go home”. No one is going to tell you what to do or how to do it.   If you have a great idea, test it out on a few of us and then if you still think it’s a great idea, figure out how to make it happen. It’s up to you to go for it. While we are 70,000 strong across five locations, it doesn’t always feel so large because we are really a collection of many many smaller groups, each performing their part of the broader vision.   There’s not a lot of structure or hierarchy, so you will have to build your own bridges and relationships to get things done across the organization.   And since each of these smaller groups has its own mini-culture, adaptability is important. You will get paid fairly for the role and you will have the chance to accomplish great things, but you won’t get rich. Outstanding or Overwhelming? There is no one-size-fits-all answer.   Clearly, not every job is for every one, and as the song says, “one man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.”   It’s all about finding a good match between the work environment and one’s own characteristics and qualities. So, are you in (or heading toward) a role that is aligned with your own strengths and qualities?     If so, congratulations.   If not, then is this the time to do something about it? P.S. â€" I start in two weeks.   Will let you know how it goes!