With the uncertainty of the nation’s economy looming over the heads of every American worker, many are planning to go back to school to expand their career opportunities.
According to a recent survey by Rutgers University, 61% of 1,000 Americans surveyed said they would like more education and training to be more efficient at their jobs.
But some might find it difficult to balance work life with school life. If you’re one of the many individuals wanting to hit the books while continuing your career, check out these tips to help you juggle both and come out on top.
Create a Schedule. Time management is essential to be successful in both your career and at school. Mark all your commitments down on a calendar and create a weekly routine that you will be able to stick to. For example, schedule time to study and schedule time to socialize. Having specific time slots each week for all your commitments will help you form healthy habits and stay on task.
Communicate with Others. Let others know the elements of your schedule. Include your family, friends, co-workers, and superiors. You want to make sure people are aware of your commitments so they can schedule around you if needed.
Be Organized. To help decrease the overwhelming feeling of having too much to do, create a weekly to-do list to help you prioritize and stay on top of your assignments. Along with the calendar you’ve made detailing your schedule and deadlines for work and class assignments, make a list of everything you want to accomplish for the week and make an effort to check something off every day.
It’s no easy task, but using these tips can help you successfully navigate through work and school and avoid becoming overwhelmed by having too much to do.
Quitting a job isn’t always easy. There are right – and wrong – ways to quit a job, and not everyone makes the most appropriate decision when it comes to giving notice. But, you can learn from the case studies we shared about what not to do. Instead, try using the three tips below to gracefully make your exit.
Make sure you have a plan. Currently, the average job search takes six months according to Tori Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire and workplace contributor for ABC’s Good Morning America, so don’t assume you’ll land a better, higher-paying job next week if you decide to quit today. Whether it’s living off your savings, having another job lined up, or heading down to your local staffing agency to find temporary work, have a plan in place before you quit your job. Being prepared will prevent undue financial stress and frustration when you can’t find work immediately following your departure.
Don’t rush your decision. When you’re angry, upset, or frustrated, you might make rash decisions that you’ll regret later, so don’t quit when you first find yourself feeling this way. Step back, take a breath, and evaluate what’s going on. Are you constantly feeling this way, or is this a one-time incident that you can overcome? A lot of anger and frustration comes from simple misunderstandings, so communicate with your supervisor and team, and try to work out any problem areas together. This may take a day, a week, or even a month. You’ll make a better decision about quitting when you’re thinking clearly.
Leave on a good note. Potential employers often call your previous employers for job references, so you never want to leave on bad terms. Give as much notice as possible, even if circumstances don’t allow for the standard of two weeks. And, always inform your supervisor if you won’t be returning to work. Regardless of your prior work history, how you leave will be what is top of mind to that employer if someone calls for a reference.
Leaving a job isn’t always easy, but you can avoid derailing your career or sinking yourself into debt if you prepare ahead of time, make a clear decision, and leave on a good note. So the next time you leave a job, think about how you can effectively handle the situation by learning from others’ mistakes and using these tips to give your notice.
Imagine you wake up late, sore, hot, and with a scratchy throat. It’s all you can do to drag yourself out of bed, brush your teeth, and make it to work on time. But should you?
As cold and flu season begins, the topic of whether or not to stay home from work doesn’t always get as much discussion as it should. Every person responds differently to illnesses, but it’s often a first impulse to push through the fatigue and discomfort illness can bring. That’s why many sick workers avoid taking a day off or using sick or PTO days for recovery.
But, physicians say that staying home when you’re really sick not only leads to a speedier recovery in most cases, it also helps keep illness from spreading. So, for the sake of yourself – and others! – check out these guidelines to find out if you’re too sick to go to work.
Curious if you’ve gone to work too sick for your own good? Check your answer here. Have a story about yourself or someone else working sick? Share your tales in the comments below.
Leaving a job can be stressful for anyone, whether you’re pursuing another opportunity or leaving for personal reasons. But, taking the right steps when you quit can make the transition from one job to another smoother for both you, your career, and your employer. Here are three real-life scenarios where individuals left their jobs in less than ideal conditions. How do you think they could have handled the situation better? We’ll provide you with tips on how to effectively handle quitting a job in part 2 of this series.
Leaving without a plan. Ray felt stuck in his job and had been searching for something else for months but to no avail. He didn’t enjoy his work, received little help from his co-workers, and was stressed to the max. After being away from the office for a few days due to a family emergency, he called in on the day he was to return and gave his notice. He decided not to go back to work but didn’t have any interviews lined up either. He’s still struggling to find a job months later, and he’s running out of money.
Jumping ship without notice. Jessie worked for an acquaintance for several years in a position with no room for advancement. When she found another opportunity that provided benefits, better pay, and career potential, she jumped at the chance. But as a conflict-avoider, she didn’t want to face her boss and tell him she was quitting. So, she simply never returned to work and ignored his phone calls. She already had another job and wasn’t worried about it.
Quitting out of anger. Greg was a strong performer at work, constantly completing projects early, helping others with their work, and moving up within the company. But he had a hot temper, and one day, a co-worker made a remark about his work that offended Greg, who didn’t give his co-worker the opportunity to clarify the comment. An argument began and quickly escalated. Greg was so angry he collected his things, told his supervisor he quit, and walked out the door.
Have you left a job in one of these ways? If so, what happened? How has it affected you or your job search? Did you jeopardize your career, ruin your chances at another opportunity, or lose a reference? Let us know in the comments section below. In part 2 of this series, we’ll discuss effective ways to give your notice.
We know what job burnout is and what causes it. So if you recognize that you’re in that state, you can finally address your situation. Try using these tips to help you break away from burnout.
Avoid boredom – Jobs and tasks can get boring after awhile if you let them. If a job offers little challenge or becomes incredibly uninteresting after a while, job burnout can set in. To combat this, talk to your boss about a possible role rotation or for new assignments and responsibilities. Also, put the monotonous tasks together and get them out of the way at the beginning of the day. This will free up the rest of the day for you to do things you enjoy working on, as well as prevent the constant dread of anticipating the unwanted tasks.
Don’t overwork – People who have a tough time saying “no” to anything work-related leave themselves exposed to the threat of job burnout. Although you try to project the sense that you’re a team player and take on others tasks, you can quickly begin to feel like a doormat being stepped on. It’s OK to help a colleague when the need arises, but learn to say “no” when you need to so your workload is manageable.
Leave work at the office – Bringing the stresses of work back home only compounds your problems. Take your time away from the office to recharge your mind and focus attaining on a great work-life balance – especially on the relationships closest to you. Joining a community organization or increasing your social life can help offset the constant worries at work.
Exercise and stay healthy – You may wonder why your health is a concern for your work-life, but a major sign of job burnout is chronic fatigue. Exercise and a healthy diet will help you keep your energy supply ample while making it through another day.
Take a vacation – Sometimes the best remedy is to just get away from the work scene for awhile, so remove yourself completely from it. Take a trip if you can afford it, or go on your own “stay-cation.” Everyone – from the president of a company to a secretary to someone who’s self-employed – needs a little time away from work.
Make a career change – If you are truly feeling miserable and everything that you’ve tried has only been quick fixes, realize it may be time for a change. You don’t have to be stuck in a rut at the same job. A career change – or simply switching departments within the same company – can infuse you with new vigor. If you simply don’t know where to start, try a staffing agency. Assignments aren’t permanent, and you can experience different fields of work. If you do find a job you like, many temporary positions lead to permanent work.
Though it may seem impossible to escape burnout, try using these tips and see what happens. Make the effort now to get out of job burnout, and you’ll be happier and healthier sooner than you think.
Do you know your burnout level or if you’re in danger of job burnout. The impact to job burnout can grow exponentially and burn you out well before you realize it. By knowing the signs and symptoms in advance of burnout, you can avoid or prevent further damage.
Stress vs. Burnout
While unrelenting stress can contribute to burnout, stress alone isn’t the same as burnout. To be able to tackle your misery head on, it’s important to be able to differentiate between the two to identify if you’re experiencing job burnout or just stress.
With stress, there is an overwhelming feeling and an inability to cope. Stress primarily deals with “too much” – too much piled on, too much to do, too much to handle. The effects of stress often lead to psychological and physical issues, such as heart problems and high blood pressure.
On the other hand, job burnout is about “not enough.” As a result of unrelenting stress, someone burned out feels empty, has little to no motivation, and simply doesn’t care. The effects of burnout translate to emotional issues, such as apathy and depression.
One important difference between job burnout and stress is that you’re usually aware of stressful situations, but job burnout can be present for weeks or months before you notice it. When experiencing workplace stress, you tend to care too much, but with burnout, there is a constant pessimistic attitude. This is usually how you can differentiate a few bad workdays from job burnout.
Causes of Professional Burnout
Constant stress isn’t the only attributing factor to job burnout. When you dealt with stress in school, friends were readily available and “the light at the end of the tunnel” (graduation) was always in sight. In the professional world, the next step is hard to visualize. Unrealistic goals – whether set by you or by others – and the inability to constantly achieve them can result in job burnout. Even if employees enjoy the work that they do, they’re at risk when they feel underappreciated and underpaid. Matters out of their control also cause professional burnout including – being pushed around by the office bully, undermined by co-workers, or micromanaged by your boss.
Though these factors can contribute to burnout, there’s no one combination. It’s different for everyone. However, there are some tried and true solutions for dealing with it. Don’t miss our next post to learn more.
Job burnout can be hard to handle. Not only is it emotionally exhausting, it can impact your health and performance as well. So, how do you know when it’s the real deal? Ask yourself the following questions to find out.
If you’ve answered yes to four or more of the questions, chances are, you’re bound for job burnout if you’re not already there. In our next blog, we’ll discuss tactics to avoid and deal with professional burnout.
When you first start a job, you may be anxious to prove that you’ve earned your spot and want to work hard to earn more responsibility. You might even find that you complete your initial tasks quickly and have a lot of spare time on your hands. When that happens, what should you do? Do you sit back and wait for your next project, slow down your pace so it takes you longer to finish, or ask for something new to do? If you ever find yourself in this situation, here are three ways you can effectively use your time at work and prove yourself at your new job.
Offer to help others. If you have some extra time here and there but aren’t consistently without work to do, start by asking if your teammates need help when you find yourself between assignments. You may not know all of the details of the project they’re working on, but you can help out with other tasks, such as filing, answering the phone, or assisting customers, which will give them more time to work on their bigger projects.
Ask for more responsibilities. If you constantly find yourself with extra time on your hands and you’re already comfortable with your initial projects, it may be time to ask for more responsibility. Talk to your supervisor about other tasks or assignments that you could take on as your own. Make sure to discuss how much time you could devote to a new project, what skills you could develop or improve on, and how the team could benefit from you taking on new projects.
Study up. If you’re not quite ready for a new responsibility and your co-workers don’t always have work to share, use your spare time to increase your knowledge of the company and industry you’re working in. If you have access to the internet, you can research the latest news on your company. You can also participate in training the company offers. Learn as much as you can, and pick up as many skills as possible that will help you in your day-to-day job and give you an edge over your competition.
Starting a new job is exciting, but the excitement can quickly wear off if you’re bored or not stimulated at work. Use your enthusiasm to help you improve your skills and further your knowledge by using the most of your downtime at your new job. Don’t waste your time – it will pay off when you earn the respect of your team.
Everyone has done or said something at work at one point that has either made them laugh out loud or turn red from embarrassment. Have you fallen down the stairs in front of your CEO, walked out of the bathroom with tissue stuck to your shoe, or accidentally eaten someone else’s lunch? Or know someone who has? How did you react? We want to hear your stories, so share your or your co-worker’s workplace blunders with us in the comments section below. Then, we’ll feature the top five comments in a future blog post with tips on how to handle the situation.