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work-life, balance, family, happiness, career
Finally Attainable? Research Shows How to Achieve a Work-Life Balance
 Finally Attainable? Research Shows How to Achieve a Work-Life Balance 960 640 Emilie
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The ever unattainable work-life balance: we all search for it, but finding it is a different story. The more that happens in our lives: becoming married, having children, receiving promotions, the more we worry we will be unable to balance all that is on our plate. But, believe it or not, research demonstrates no correlation between marital status, presence of children, or even age of children on typical perceived work-life balance. With this in mind, we can know that even with a busy family life, we can still attain harmony: we just have to know how.

Try mindfulness exercises. Studies have shown that increased mindfulness correlates with a better work-life balance. Mindfulness refers to the ancient Buddhist idea of being present in the moment: paying attention to the sounds, feelings, smells, and sights within the present moment. Whether washing the dishes or taking a shower, mindfulness focuses on the beauty and senses within each moment. Luckily, the internet contains many suggestions for methods to improve your mindfulness. We particularly like the articles and methods from Tiny Buddha and Della Terra Wellness.

Focus on your sleep. It also has been demonstrated that sleep quality mediates the relationship between mindfulness and work-life balance. We all know that sleep is important, and the last thing a busy person wants to be told is to spend more time sleeping. But here is yet another reason why it is so important, so remember to get your 7-8 hours a night! Additionally, pay attention to the quality of your sleep. Nowadays, there is a lot of technology at your fingertips to track how well you are actually sleeping. Take a look at your Fitbit’s sleep data, or try  apps from the Apple Store like SleepCycle or SleepBot.

Talk to Your Partner. Support from your partner is crucial in being able to maintain that work-life balance. Keep the communication open and frequent with your partner. Admit challenges you are having at work or at home. Being honest about the struggles you have in both aspects of your life, as well as any difficulties you have balancing the two, will allow you to more easily handle the challenges of your hectic life.

Turn to your Coworkers. Not only is partner support incredibly important, but so is coworker support. As the only people who truly know what you are going through at work, make sure you are choosing to befriend coworkers who are supportive and caring. As much as you can, try to work alongside coworkers that you can rely on when it comes to work crises, it will make your life less stressful if you don’t have to worry about every crisis that arises.

Be aware of your workplace environment. Whether or not we want to admit it, sometimes the workplace we are in will prevent us from achieving this balance. Research shows that employees have the best work-life balance when they are with a company that has a positive organizational structure. This includes the following factors: 1) allowing employees enough freedom so that they do not feel like they always have to check or receive approval for their actions, 2) motivating employees through reward instead of punishment, 3) consistently being open to many different opinions, and 4) embracing employees as part of the identity of the company.

Let go of control. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the more you try to control both your work and family life, the more it leads to conflict between the two. A recent study from the European Management Journal shows that seemingly positive traits, such as self-direction and achievement, are actually associated with a decrease in work-life balance. When we attempt to keep both our work life and family life perfect, we get stressed out when there are issues in either one. We then perform less well in both parts of our life, resulting in a damaging, cyclical pattern. Instead, we must remember that neither our work life or family life will be perfect. In fact, even if we devoted our time solely to one of these parts of our lives, problems would still arise. It is not until we stop trying to will our control over everything that we will achieve a more harmonious balance between the two.

Panisoara, Georgeta, and Mihaela Serban. "Marital Status and Work-life Balance." Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences 38 (2013): n. pag. Web.
Chernyak-Hai, Lily, and Aharon Tziner. "The “I Believe” and the “I Invest” of Work-Family Balance: The Indirect Influences of Personal Values and Work Engagement via Perceived Organizational Climate and Workplace Burnout." Revista De Psicología Del Trabajo Y De Las Organizaciones32.1 (2016): n. pag. Web.
Allen, Tammy D., and Kaitlin M. Kiburz. "Trait Mindfulness and Work–family Balance among Working Parents: The Mediating Effects of Vitality and Sleep Quality." Journal of Vocational Behavior 80.2 (2012): n. pag. Web.
Ferguson, Merideth, Dawn Carlson, Suzanne Zivnuska, and Dwayne Whitten. "Support at Work and Home: The Path to Satisfaction through Balance." Journal of Vocational Behavior 80.2 (2012): n. pag. Web.

 

Ted Talk, Shawn Achor, Happiness, Work, Success
How to Find Happiness in Your Work
 How to Find Happiness in Your Work 1024 543 Emilie
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Here at United Eventures, we are all about promoting teamwork and camaraderie, so that going into work each day is something you love to do. We think it’s important for everyone to enjoy the work that they do, and appreciate the successes they have made. For this reason, we wanted to share researcher and bestselling author Shawn Achor’s inspiring Ted Talk with you. Achor discusses a major mistake we make by assuming that we will attain happiness if only we gain the success we are looking for. He says that every time succeed at one goal, we raise that goal so that we once again have to work for success. In this way, if happiness is on the other side of success, we will never reach it.

Achor lists several ways that we can find happiness that helps us achieve success, instead of success helping us achieve happiness:

  1. 3 Gratitudes: Each day, write three new things that you are thankful for.
  2. Journaling: Each day, write about one positive thing that has happened over the last 24 hours.
  3. Exercise
  4. Meditation
  5. Random Acts of Kindness: Write one positive email or text each day saying something kind to someone you know.

Achor offers each of these suggestions so that we can find happiness to improve our work, instead of creating an endless cyclical relationship between success and un-fulfillment. Comment below with your thoughts about Achor’s talk!

 

 

business, collaboration, soft skills, teamwork
6 Soft Skills Every Leader Needs
 6 Soft Skills Every Leader Needs 960 677 Emilie
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We all know the importance of technical skills and experience, but what may be even more important is those “soft skills” that make up the person behind resume. It is easy to underestimate the importance of these personality based skills, but it is these skills that allow for harmonious collaboration amongst team members. Possessing technical abilities is just a small piece of the puzzle, which cannot be employed without the proper soft skills. Below we composed a list of the most effective and useful soft skills that everyone, from new employee to CEO, should learn the value of. Each one reflects a way to turn ideas into actionable steps which will get the most out of your employees.

1. Understand values and atmosphere. Every company has its own vibe, ethics, priorities, goals and atmosphere. Often we don’t think about how our priorities, values, etc. align with those of our company. When our feelings unknowingly do not line up with those of our company, it results in tension and frustration when we feel like an outsider within our own place of work. Spend some time devising a list of these key attributes. What values do you prioritize in a workplace? What goals do you believe a company should emphasize? What type of atmosphere should a company have? Casual? Professional? Then devise a list answering the same questions on behalf of your company. Devise a list of ways your employees might answer these questions. By being aware of these differences in point of view between you, your company, and fellow employees, you will more easily understand the frustrations of you and your employees. In order to work on this incongruity, try adapting your company’s goals, priorities or atmosphere to be more accommodating for your employees. If you are an employee yourself, try to find tasks and goals to work on which better mesh with your priorities.

2. Know how to convey your message. Years ago, studies by Albert Mehrabian developed the classic 7%-38%-55% rule.  The rule explains what people actually pay attention to when you talk: concluding that they put 38% importance in the tonality of your comment, 55% in the body language you use, and only 7% in what you are actually saying. It is thus important to remember that what you are saying to people is far less important than the way you are saying it. An employee will actually be left with a more positive experience if you give them constructive criticism with positive tonality and body language, than if you compliment them using a flat affect. Thus, it is important to remember how your comments are actually being interpreted. Work on your tonality and body language when providing constructive criticism, and your employees will be far more receptive and eager to improve.

3. Know what questions and topics to discuss. Whether you are in a meeting or writing an email, know how to pose questions and topics in the most positive way. Each question should be geared towards finding areas of commonality and collaboration amongst your team. For instance, let’s say you are trying to reformulate your company’s webpage. There are multiple ways you could pose this to your team.

Example 1: I’ve decided to change the header of our website to a larger font. Is everyone okay with this?

Example 2: I’m working on ways to improve our website’s homepage. For instance, I think it would be useful to increase the font of our header. What are your thoughts? What other ideas do people have?

Example 3: I’ve decided to change the header of our website to a larger font. What does everyone think about that idea?

The first version, while still attempting to be inclusive, does not truly aim at collaboration. It is posed as a yes/no question, and seeks for a quick resolution. The second version attempts to engage the group, genuinely valuing each person’s suggestion, making the second example better than the first. The third example is less optimal than the second; however, it is still an improvement over the first example. This third version elicits a less lengthy group conversation than the second example. Thus, it still aims for a quick resolution, but is more inclusive than the yes/no question in example one. By learning to optimally phrase questions, avoiding yes/no phrasing, your team will feel more comfortable voicing concerns and questions. This will overall create a more positive and effective workplace, in which your team can more easily reach agreement on new ideas.

4. Self Management. Be efficient with the time you have, set clear and concise goals. Each of us are given the same amount of time in a day, and often it is easy to be overwhelmed with the amount you have to do. When we become exhausted by our amount of work, it is easy to coast through, accomplishing the bare minimum and using time ineffectively. By setting goals for yourself, you will work more productively and feel more rewarded at the end of the day. By transforming your job into goals you set for yourself instead of goals your company sets for you, you will end up feeling more accomplished at the end of each day. Incidentally, taking this initiative will lead to greater success for your company.

5. Be a “Big Thinker.” Stop focusing on small errors, and start focusing on the big picture goals and accomplishments for your company and team. If your project hits a bump in the road, focus on the ways your end goals or timelines have changed, not the error that caused it. If you have an employee that is continuously making errors, work on coaching them through these challenges. By setting an example for your team that it is more important to focus on the big picture than smaller mistakes, it will lead to an increase in professionalism throughout the workplace and change the way people innately react to a seemingly negative situation.

6. Negotiation Skills. Often times when one party begins to negotiate, it results in conflict as the other party resists. The first party feels like they are not being heard, and that no one is trying to accommodate their concerns. When negotiating with employees, try to actually understand and care about what they are saying. Listen to each point they make, getting to the heart of the problem, not just the requests they are making. Make sure your employee knows you want to help, even if you can’t. And remember, that negotiations require compromise on both sides.

Luo, Tracy. "The Negotiation Skills of Workplace Professionals." Morgan McKinley. N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web.

Calder, Alan. Selling Information Security to the Board: A Primer. 2nd ed. Cambridgeshire: ITGovernance, n.d. Print.

Ducey, Ariel. Never Good Enough: Health Care Workers and the False Promises of Job Training. Ithaca: Cornell UP, n.d. Print.

Reddy, B. Rathan, and B. Supraja Reddy. "Soft Skills for Professional Excellence (Basic Concepts, Instruments and Cases: 3 Modules) Personality Development (Module - I)." Indian Journal of Industrial Relations 42.1 (2006): n. pag. Web.
5 Amazing Ways to Motivate Your Team, According to Research
 5 Amazing Ways to Motivate Your Team, According to Research 1024 683 Emilie
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When it comes to being a successful leader, one of the most important skill-sets is learning how best to motivate your team. Luckily for you, we scoured the internet to find some of the best advice out there. Below are 5 surefire methods for motivating your team, as according to research.

1. Show Interest in Your Team’s Career Advancement. According to Payscale.com, the number one reason people quit their jobs (45% of quitters) is because they feel like they had no mobility within their former job. Speak with your team members about the possibilities they have for personal and professional growth, making sure clear paths exist for them to work harder and achieve these goals.

2. Make the Work Challenging. Another top reason for people quitting their previous job is because they did not find the work challenging enough. It is important to provide work which is difficult enough to keep workers interested, preventing them from falling into the tedium of repetition.

3. Utilize Objective Based Team Training. In addition to providing challenging work, it is important to provide workers with clear, outlined goals. According to research from the Changzhou Institute of Technology, objective based team training should include two main components: clear individual goals, and company/team goals and visions. It is important that each worker understands both the company objectives on a grander scale, as well as their role in this goal. Providing training in this way will increase team spirit and motivation by outlining the importance of each individual’s role within the larger context of the company.

4. Emphasize the Unique Contributions of Each Member. According to research by Albert Bandura, team members work less effectively when they believe that someone else on the team is a “weak link.” Even if this belief is not accurate, misconceptions that someone else on the team is not pulling their weight leads to team members working unproductively. By emphasizing the successes and unique skill-sets of each team member, this will make each member of the team feel like everyone is a useful, necessary member. Furthermore, it will allow newer members a safe environment to to grow and learn without judgement.

5. Create Distinct Tasks for Each Person. The term social loafing was coined in the 1900s as a result of a rope-pulling experiment. In this study, participants were asked to pull against a rope either alone or with the help of another. Participants put in less effort when they were pulling the rope alongside someone else as compared to when they were pulling the rope only by themselves. Team leaders should thus avoid assigning one general task to multiple team members, because it allows each member to put in less effort when another person is there to pick up the slack. Instead, assign each person a more specific task within the larger task, holding each person accountable to their portion of the objective.

Thoughts or comments? Comment below! We love to hear from you.

Clark, Richard. "Research-Tested Team Motivation Strategies." Performance Improvement 44.1 (2005): 13-16. Web. 
Holub, Anne. "Why Most People Quit Their Jobs." Payscale. 30 Sept. 2015. Web.
Jiang, Xin. "How to Motivate People Working in Teams." International Journal of Business and Management 5.10 (2010): 223-29. Web.

 

olympics, olympics games, first modern olympics, athens, rio, olympic games
Where did the Olympics Start?
 Where did the Olympics Start? 855 900 Emilie
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With the Rio Summer Olympics rapidly approaching, we are sure some of you are wondering where and how the Olympics began. Interestingly enough, the Olympics date all the way back to the summer of 1896 and, unsurprisingly, was located in Athens, Greece. The 1896 Olympics brought back the Olympic games after it was banned for over a thousand years. It was also the first Olympics to be held in modern times. Participants came from many countries, and events included many sports we still compete in today, including gymnastics, fencing, cycling, and tennis.

Looking for a taste of Olympic fame yourself? You’re in luck! United EVENTures can create and individualize an Olympic Games specific for you and your group. Contact us for more information!

work, workplace, career, career satisfaction, fulfillment, happiness
Work or Happiness? Do we have to choose?
 Work or Happiness? Do we have to choose? 561 440 Emilie
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In modern day America, we have been taught time and time again to find something we are passionate about. We are taught that a career is a place to find challenge and fulfillment in life. But this hasn’t always been the case. In fact, many cultures still consider work a necessary means to an end; a task that needs to be completed before you can enjoy the true passions in your life. Instead, the United States has fallen into an era in which we are driven by achieving passion in our work-life, and thus we become more absorbed with demanding jobs that tend to seep into our lives past 9 AM to 5 PM.

In an article by Forbes, several techniques are suggested for finding happiness in the workplace. Overall, it suggests that emotional intelligence is the ultimate tool for finding joy in work. It reminds us to take charge of our life and our desires, while still remembering to let go of things we can’t control. For the whole article, click here.

So what do you think? How should we find joy in our work? Should we find passion in the workplace, or start looking elsewhere? Where does the balance lie between time we devote to work and finding happiness? Share your thoughts below.

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