PTSD in the Workplace

by Thomas Harpley, Ph.D.

When most people think of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD), they think of combat veterans running for cover during thunderstorms. In reality, combat veterans only account for a fraction of those who experience PTSD. The American Psychiatric Association estimates that as much as 14% of the general population may experience PTSD during their lifetime.

Do you think PTSD is irrelevant in your workplace?

The U.S. Dept. of Justice just revealed that one out of six violent crimes occurs in the workplace.

Approximately twenty four million workers, or nearly one out of every four U.S. employees, were threatened, harassed, or attacked on the job, during 1992.

Homicide is the second leading cause of death in the workplace, and the number one cause of death on the job for women.

The essential feature of PTSD is distress or impairment after experiencing a traumatic stressor. Such a stressor might include a person experiencing, witnessing, or confronting an event that involves: a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others the actual serious injury or death of others.

As people, we are all made up of three primary psychological components: the cognitive - what we think; the emotional - what we feel; and, the behavioral - what we do.

Most people's jobs involve thoughts and actions, and relatively speaking, little feelings or emotions.But when a trauma or crisis occurs, our feelings are thrust to the forefront, and our thoughts and actions become impaired. Common posttraumatic stress reactions include impairment of attention, concentration, and memory.

Trauma victims, for example, may have great difficulty paying attention or concentrating on even the most familiar or simple of tasks. For this reason, they may be at risk operating machinery, or driving an automobile, for a period of time after a traumatic event. They may also be unable to remember information which previously had been "second nature" to them.

Trauma victims may also feel a sense of detachment or estrangement from others, especially those "who were not there, and can't know what it was like". This sense of detachment may translate into lessened interest or participation in significant activities, personally or vocationally.

A word of caution to loved ones of trauma victims: be careful about inflicting "secondary injury" on the trauma victim. "Secondary injury", like the name implies, is an additional injury, after-the-fact, most often caused unintentionally and unknowingly, by insensitive or critical comments from others, who "were not there and (who) cannot know what it was really like".

What to do about PTSD? Two responses, one on an individual level, the other on a corporate level. First, realize that posttraumatic stress reactions are NORMAL reactions to abnormal events, it is not the person who is abnormal. Second, research has shown that people who talk about traumas tend to recover more quickly and completely, than do others who do not talk. So, talking to friends or family, or especially to professional counselors who are trained to help people process feelings, can be most beneficial.

On a corporate level, it is important for employers or organizations have a trauma response plan intact beforehand, rather than trying to respond, perhaps literally, "amidst the smoke and ashes". Research has shown that a prompt and efficient response to trauma can mitigate the employees' emotional distress, work interruption, and possible corporate liability.

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I am married to a workaholic

by Annemarie Infantino Murphy, Ph.D.

Question: I am married to a workaholic. He works seven days a week. I have had to schedule our marriage counseling appointments as late as 9p.m. Even then, he calls and cancels the appointments over half of the time. I have decided to leave this marriage. Do you have any advice?

Your husband may be "addicted" to work. A marriage counselor is in the position to assess this, however. Work addiction is the exclusive devotion to work at the expense of any family or social life in the absence of clear financial need (i.e. wanting to buy a new luxury car is not a clear financial need). Work "addicts" often cling to the safe organized world of work with its clear goals, rather than involve themselves in relationships where the boundaries and goals are less clear.

Individuals married to work "addicts" may want to obtain some individual counseling around the issues of being married to an addict. There may even be support groups in their local area. Spouses of "work addicts" have to accept the fact that they cannot change the "addict."

The "work addict's" "addiction" to work is probably related to inner needs and conflicts, which the spouse cannot solve. In counseling, the spouse can then decide if they wish to remain in the marriage and cope, even though the "addict" may never change, or if they are better off looking for another relationship that may better meet their emotional needs.

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4 Ways to Work from Home Now: Ditch Your 9-to-5 Gig

By Kristina Cowan, Senior Writer for PayScale.com

Are you tired of the 9-to-5 shuffle? It doesn't take much to build a case for working from home. Maybe your daily commute time is hours long, you can't find enough time to spend with your family, or you're fed up with your boss's 24-7 work schedule.

The good news is that there's help for people who find their 9-5 boring. And, the possibilities to work from home now are as interesting as they are diverse.

If you want to work from home now, you might consider exploring one of the following work from home paths-flexible work from home gigs that don't require a bachelor's degree and, sources say, generally pay between $10-$50/hour, some more, depending on experience, skills and location.

1. Virtual assistant. These jobs run the gamut, from work from home typing jobs, bookkeeping, transcription, proofing, editing, writing and distributing press releases, to Web design. Diana Ennen, author of Virtual Assistant, The Series: Become a Highly Successful, Sought After VA and president of Virtual Word Publishing, said the industry is exploding thanks to technology and the Internet, enabling VAs to not only work from home now, but work from anywhere. "More VAs are coming along, but even more important, the businesses are seeing how vital we are and how we can grow their business. We take over so many aspects of things they don't want to do. Our expertise helps them make more money because we offer specialties and things they need," Ennen said.

2. Virtual concierge. As a work from home virtual concierge, you help people with their to-do lists. "It could be anything from finding someone a movie time and buying them movie tickets to planning family vacations anywhere in the world to making appointments. Really just about anything that's legal," explained Lindsay Gibson, director of training for VIPdesk, which offers virtual concierge and customer service.

3. Pet-care franchisee. The business of caring for Fido and Fluffy is booming. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association estimates that America in 2007 will spend $41 billion on pets, including $2.9 billion on pet services. So if you love animals and have an entrepreneurial spirit, this work from home job might be for you. Franchisees for FETCH! Pet Care serve as general managers for local pet-care operations, hiring staff, handling clients, overseeing billing, payroll and marketing, and sometimes taking care of animals.

FETCH! CEO Paul Mann says work from home franchisees must meet certain requirements: "They need business acumen, to be passionate and dedicated to the business. If we see they have those skills, we are less concerned about their education. If someone has been working in sales, marketing, staffing-those are much stronger attributes than whether or not they got a doctorate in psychology. We look for practical experience."

4. Medical transcriptionist. Work from home medical transcriptionists (MT) transcribe dictation from doctors and healthcare professionals, creating medical reports, correspondence and other administrative materials for patients' files. They must understand medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, pharmacology and how to translate medical jargon, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read the full details of a medical transcriptionist job.

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Mengelola Kemarahan di Tempat Kerja

by RO

Banyak alasan pekerjaan yang bisa membuat Anda kehilangan kontrol akan emosi Anda dan �meledak� di tempat kerja. Tekanan pekerjaan, stress yang berkepanjangan, rekan kerja yang tidak kooperatif adalah sedikit dari banyak sebab yang bisa memicu kemarahan Anda.

Marah mungkin adalah reaksi awal yang paling mungkin timbul ketika Anda menemukan hal yang tidak sesuai dengan standar atau harapan Anda terhadap hasil kerja tim atau rekan kerja bahkan atasan Anda sendiri. Gejala yang muncul ketika Anda marah adalah detak jantung yang meningkat naik, wajah terasa panas dan rahang menjadi tegang. Beberapa orang melampiaskan kemarahan dengan memukul meja, membanting pintu. Ada juga yang menuliskan angry email yang isinya unek-unek kepada yang bersangkutan atau bahkan sangat mungkin mengkonfrontasi langsung kemarahan kepada orang tersebut.

Apapun trigger dan bentuk pelampiasan kemarahan Anda, hal pertama yang harus Anda sadari adalah bahwa kemarahan tidak akan menyelesaikan masalah yang sudah ada. Malah cenderung menciptakan masalah yang baru karena tanpa disadari Anda bisa saja mengeluarkan kata-kata tidak sepatutnya.

Marah, sama dengan bentuk emosi lainnya bisa dan sebaiknya dikontrol. Apalagi bila emosi ini yang berkaitan dengan lingkungan dan rekan kerja. Selain timbulnya masalah baru yang muncul, marah juga menimbulkan stress yang pada akhirnya berdampak pada produktifitas dan performa kerja Anda.

Tips apa yang bisa membantu mengelola kemarahan Anda?

1. Breathing technique

Ketika Anda merasa dorongan untuk marah, jangan segera bereaksi atau defensif terhadap pemicu kemarahan. Cobalah untuk diam dan bernafaslah perlahan-lahan. Rasakan setiap tarikan nafas Anda dan hitung perlahan-lahan. Cobalah untuk merilekskan tubuh dan pikiran Anda sebelum menganalisa masalah yang ada. Tekhnik ini memberikan kesempatan untuk meminimalisir dampak dari kemarahan yang mungkin timbul nantinya.

2. Dalam pikiran cobalah visualisasikan tempat yang bisa menenangkan.

Seperti tepi pantai yang tenang, padang rumput yang luas. Setiap orang umumnya mempunyai visualisasi yang berbeda tentang tempat dan situasi yang menenangkan.

3. Analisa pemicu kemarahan Anda dengan mengajukan pertanyaan ini; apakah kesalahan ini memang disengaja untuk membuat saya marah? Kemungkinan besar jawabannya adalah tidak. Masalah yang ditimbulkan biasanya karena ketidaksengajaan atau kecerobohan. Daripada menghabiskan energi untuk melampiaskan amarah, lebih baik Anda menggunakan energi Anda untuk memperbaiki dampak dari kesalahan tersebut.

4. Bayangkan jika Anda yang berada di posisi orang yang telah membuat Anda marah.

Apakah Anda akan marah kepada diri Anda sebesar kemarahan Anda pada orang tersebut?

5. Pikirkan konsekuensi terburuk yang Anda terima jika Anda melampiaskan kemarahan Anda sekarang.

Jika ternyata membahayakan posisi dan kredibilitas Anda, maka pikir masak-masak sebelum Anda �memuntahkan� amarah Anda.

Marah adalah hal yang manusiawi, tapi kalau Anda selalu marah, atau gampang marah bahkan selalu marah dan seringkali tips diatas gagal untuk mengendalikan kemarahan Anda, maka sudah saatnya Anda melihat ke dalam diri Anda sendiri dan mempertimbangkan untuk berkonsultasi dengan ahlinya.

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Employe Retention Tip

by Charlie O. Trevor, Barry Gerhart, Ph.D. & John W. Boudreau, Ph.D.

The voluntary departure of a high-performing employee, in whom the company has invested considerable training and who would be difficult and expensive to replace, can cause serious problems.
Not only does the company lose a key player in the company's current success, the talent pool from which future company leaders will emerge has been reduced. According to a study, one key to keeping high-performing employees is quite simple: pay them what they are worth.
Cornell University researchers Charlie O. Trevor, a doctoral candidate, Barry Gerhart, Ph.D, (now at Vanderbilt University) and John Boudreau, Ph.D., examined the employment records of more than 5,000 employees of a single company in the petroleum industry who had been hired between 1983 and 1988 and who were either still employed or had voluntarily resigned as of January 1, 1990.
They were interested in the relationships and interactions among employee performance ratings, salary growth, promotions and tenure, specifically which of those factors make it easier or more desirable for employees to stay with the company or leave it.
Promotions, they found, increased turnover likelihood for low performers, presumably by providing them with much-needed visibility and legitimacy in the external job market. However, promotions had no effect on the turnover of high performers.
Because top performers already enjoy high marketability, this suggests, the researchers say, that promotions alone do little to reduce high performers' desire to take advantage of other offers.
High salary growth, on the other hand, while helping to retain all performers, most helped the company hold onto high performers. Because these top performers can more easily find alternative employment, their turnover is more highly dependent on satisfaction with their employment situation, which depends in part on salary growth.
Thus, the authors note, traditional merit pay systems, which are frequently criticized as insufficiently motivating top performers, may also be problematic by contributing to high performer turnover.
The bottom line, the researchers say, is clear: "Tomorrow's stars and perhaps even franchise players may be among today's few top performers; their retention, at least in part, appears to depend on paying them according to their performance."

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Choosing a Career Path

by Beverly Baskin, Ed.S, MA, LPC, MCC, NCCC

How Do I Choose a Career?

Since a person's career is a very personal choice and reflects his or her personality, creativity, interests, and goals, it is sometimes beneficial if one begins by choosing a career path, instead of a career.
Often career counselors conduct career pathing sessions with their clients to assist in matching innate skills and abilities with short and long term goals.
For example, if a person demonstrates an interest in the field of biology and also enjoys dealing with people, the following is an example of a sample career path he or she might consider: if the person wanted to enter the work force immediately upon graduating from college, he or she may explore the areas of pharmaceutical or medical sales, working for a medical or scientific publishing company in which there are research, copy writing, or editing positions, or he/she may seek an alternate route as a biology teacher. All of these positions would serve as rungs on his/her career ladder.
As the person continues to climb the ladder to a successful career, the prospect of additional promotions within or outside his company, continued educational opportunities, and the eventual possibility of starting his or her own business are also career pathing options.

Now, for Another Scenario.

If the same person who demonstrated an interest in biology decides to become a medical doctor or research biologist immediately after graduation, that person will need to obtain an advanced degree in order to complete his or her chosen career path.
After the required post graduate education is completed, there are a number of options within the specialty for the person to climb the ladder of success. He or she can go into private practice as a physician, become a senior research biologist, a professional manager within a research or scientific environment, or work for a state or federal government. These are only a few examples of career pathing. With the help of a career counselor, one can explore many more career paths.
The career counselor often talks with the person at length to explore the subjects the individual liked in school, what he or she considers to be personal strengths and abilities, as well as what other people have said through evaluations at work or volunteer activities. The counselor will ask about the person's daydreams, his or her ideal job, and aspirations. Clients often feel that the time spent with the counselor leads to more insight and investigation regarding several possible career paths.

Matching Interests with Careers

There are several instruments that counselors utilize to match interests with careers. One of the most popular career/interest inventories is the self-directed search by Dr. John Holland, a noted psychologist and career theorist. His research concludes that people with the same interests often seek similar work environments.
One can think of the metaphor "birds of a feather flock together" and how it applies to different work environments. If we think of employees working in a particular occupation, they usually have similar vocational and outside interests.
Dr. Holland says that people can be loosely classified into six different groups or personality types labeled realistic, investigative, artistic, social, enterprising and conventional. After a client completes the self directed search inventory (it takes approximately 30 minutes), he or she will have a three letter code corresponding to the three highest interests.
For instance, if a person receives a score with the code SAE, his or her strongest vocational personality type is social (s), then artistic (a) and then enterprising (e). The counselor and client then review the code and its variations in the Holland occupations finder for the purpose of investigating careers that correspond with the client's interests.
The point is that change is a constant, and people are always forming career paths. What they really do is they take some aspects of the job that they presently hold or some aspects of their college coursework and parlay those favorite work functions into their new or anticipated job.
Some people can market themselves to employers and communicate their skills and abilities so effectively they eventually wind up creating their "ultimate job."

Career Paths

Now, getting back to the question of "how do I choose a career? The answer is -- today, people do not choose one career. They choose career paths that can twist and turn to meet the changing economy. Statistics show that in recent years people change careers at least three to four times in their life times, and they hold an average of seven jobs. Remember, when we say average, that also means that 50 per cent of the people hold more than seven jobs.
Building career paths and practicing the art of personal marketing will be an invaluable tool in choosing flexible career options in the 21st century. In addition, becoming a generalist in one's field, keeping a flexible outlook regarding the workplace, and taking advantage of the continuing learning opportunities will be critical to one's survival in the workforce.

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Blueprinting the Future: Using Job Loss as an Opportunity for Change

by Phil Rich, Ed.D., MSW.

Sometimes things happen that can change our lives, if we let them. A life "shattering" event can also be a life "changing" event.
For some people losing a job is an inconvenience or an interruption. For others, it's a disaster that starts a downward spiral. For still others, however, it's a transforming experience that leads to the most positive changes in their lives. The best possible outcome of job loss is that it can be turned into a positive and transforming experience.

The "Future"

The future isn't a pre-determined "thing." Instead, it's a container of possibilities. Trying to understand and plan for the future is always difficult, but essential. It means making informed guesses about different industries and job sectors, and looking at changes in society as we move from the industrial age into the information age.
Although predictions about the future are often wrong, thinking about the future is crucial because a future orientation helps people move from the past and present into the future.

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats

As people plan for their future, it's useful to conduct a SWOT analysis -- Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. But each element of the SWOT is not to be treated independently. Instead, each is tied together in an evaluation of self and market place, and as a means for setting direction. The SWOT analysis is often thought of a "strategic" tool, because it helps people (and organizations) to see themselves and their work environment clearly in order to plan specific ways (strategies) to get where they want to be. The SWOT analysis asks:

• What are your Strengths? How do these match with the field? Where do you want to be, and how will your strengths help you to get there?
• What are your Weaknesses and limitations? Where do you fall short in the current, changing, and developing job market? What personal or professional limitations must you overcome?
• What Opportunities are there out there? What does the field have to offer, and where is the market going? What allies and advantages exist out there that can help you to meet opportunities and accomplish goals?
• What are the Threats to your career and your decisions? What sort of competition exists, and where do you fall short of being able to meet those challenges? What might disrupt or interfere with your ability to recognize, seize and build upon opportunities?

The message here is clear: people who want to take more control of their career must get to know themselves and their field, and know the environment and climate in which they and their profession meet. This simple model offers important direction and guidelines to help people blueprint their own future:

• Take personal charge of your career. Don't wait for someone else to change the course of your life, either by firing you or creating new opportunities for you.
• Recognize your weaknesses and limitations. Understand the sort of skills that your field needs, and clearly spot where your current skills, attitudes, and knowledge fall short, not only with respect to your own profession but neighboring professions as well.
• Build new skills and expand your capacity. Identify the range of specific and general skills that fit both your own profession and extend to other relevant professions as well.
• Sharpen your people skills and your communication skills. These are those interpersonal skills that help you to understand and be understood, and will always help you because virtually every endeavor involves interpersonal communication.
• Look at what's out there, and train yourself to spot opportunities. Research your field or others that interest you, and keep a close eye on other market place and social changes that might affect your field.
• Recognize change. Some people don't see change coming, until they trip over it. Recognizing change is one of the keys that allows you to make the changes in yourself that will keep you in the game.
• Be Flexible. You can't stay in a changing game without being flexible and having the ability to adapt to change. This is a simple, but often difficult, task, requiring the ability to roll with the punches.
• Understand and befriend new technologies. Although people think of technology as electronic "high tech," technology extends to virtually anything that helps you to do your job. A pencil was once a technological breakthrough. Find ways to understand the technologies that affect your work, and not be intimidated, frustrated, or fearful of them.
• Don't Limit Yourself. Don't limit yourself to what you do now. Spread in new directions, stretching yourself further, or even going entirely outside of your current profession. Expand your horizon, and become a "futurist." Think about where this is all going, and how you can fit into and take advantage of it. Enlarge yourself. 

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Avoiding Workaholism

by Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D.

QUESTION: I just got a substantial promotion at work, and have been in a relationship for the last three years. While I'm excited about the promotion, especially in these economic times, I'm worried about my relationship suffering because of the time I'll be spending at work. I'm already getting complaints about being a "workaholic" and my putting the "relationship on the back burner" while I advance in my career.

ANSWER: Thank you for your question about workaholism. Many people in the workforce are faced with similar dilemmas between work and love. Balancing career and personal demands can be a major challenge. Like work, relationships significant amounts of time and attention to keep them alive.

Let me start by giving you a bit of informastion about the term, and then we'll discuss a few of the possible solutions to your problem. The term "workaholism" is not technically recognized as a psychological disorder. However, it is commonly understood as a psychological issue.

Someone is struggling with workaholism when s/he has a focused relationship with work that excludes time for self-nurturing, friends and love relationships. Workaholism becomes a relationship with work that competes with other important relationships.

Here are some warning signs of workaholism:

Your home is just another office.
You are hard-driving, competitive, and overly committed to your work.
You take office equipment with you wherever you go, even on vacations.
Work makes you happier than anything else in your life.
Sleep and playtime seem like a waste.
You believe that if you get the chance to do it again, you'll do it right.
You get restless on vacation (if you even take them) and sometimes cut them short.
You frequently are "problem solving" work situations in your mind, even during your "time off."
Friends either don't call anymore, or you can't wait to get off the phone when they do call.
People who love you tell you that "you have a lot of energy," are "manic," or are a "workhorse."
You are tired, irritable, socially isolated, and might even have physical stress symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, shortness of breath, racing heart, muscle tension, or ulcers.

Ok, so now what do you do?

Schedule time for your primary relationship.

Most relationships require at least 20-30 minutes of "connect time" every day, not including time to discuss bills, children, phone calls, etc. This time is spent simply checking in with, and catching up with one another. You might ask about one's day, make future plans, dream together and enjoy each other's company.

When you're on the road, make sure you call home regularly, and leave a phone number where you can most easily be reached. When you get home, take extra time for re-connecting. Usually an hour is the minimum requirement. Take occasional time off together (a morning, an evening, a two-or-three day weekend) with unplanned time to allow for spontaneity and creativity.

Plan a "date" out on the town at least every few months. Leave messages. Leave notes for one another, and messages on voicemails. If you tend to these little things, you'll avoid the feeling of being torn, and benefit from the warmth of your relationship as well.

Make Time for Your Friendships

Make sure you pick people who are fun. The best way to avoid giving in to workaholism is to "red line" time for nurturing relationships in your appointment calendar.

Take Care of Your Body

Get a physical exam to rule out other problems. Take care of the three basics: eating, sleeping, exercising. Pay a little extra attention to all three categories. Take 4-5 minute "breaks" at your desk. Allow yourself to close your eyes, breathe rhythmically, and focus your mind's eye on a relaxing place. If you get distracted, gently bring yourself back to the relaxing scene.

Re-examine Your Long-term Goals

Are you doing what you want to be doing with your life? From the vantage point of your deathbed, what do you want to be able to say about how you spent these years?

Re-examine Your Short-term Goals

Remind yourself of the things you have already accomplished rather than just those you still need to accomplish. Do this daily. A moment of reflection when sitting down at your desk can help keep things in perspective.

If you just can't do it on your own, get counseling and do what the counselor suggests.

Following someone else's instructions can be tough, but try it for at least a month before you go back to your old ways.

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Successful Change Starts With a Shift in Perspective

Like so many in corporate America today, Susan needed more balance in her life - but she did not know how to get it. Faced with a 60-hour work week and a lengthy daily commute, Susan was left with little time for outside interests. Her job was literally draining her of energy, and her attitude at work was changing, especially within her business unit.

Who is Susan? Susan is a composite of thousands of executives who are pushed to the brink by trying to juggle demands on the job with demands at home. Susan could be you.

At work, Susan was accepting extra work and projects and was not able to say 'no' to her boss. She became frustrated and drained. By accepting everything and not speaking up for herself, Susan became increasingly frustrated and angry. She became more demanding and less flexible with her own team. Her usual encouragement to 'think outside the box' was replaced by a controlling 'do as I say' attitude.

Micromanagement became her style. As a result, her staff appeared less involved in their work. They began to distance themselves from her.

On the social front, Susan was also making unhealthy choices - spending time with friends and family that were draining and burdensome and then keeping silent and angry about it. She did not have anybody to talk with about her experiences and frustration, so there was no one who could help her develop the perspective necessary to propel her toward greater personal fulfillment.

Like so many other executives, Susan believed that if she increased her hours and worked harder, life at work would get better. Are you just like Susan? Do you think that if you become more demanding and micro-manage your employees, the job will get done? Do you think keeping silent makes the problems go away?

To anyone who still believes this way, this is your wake up call. It does not work. Change is the answer - change coupled with a shift in perspective.

But sustaining meaningful change is never easy. It takes desire, intention, a clear vision, a good plan . . . and commitment. Change also takes time. In our increasingly busy lives we often get overwhelmed with demands on our time. Complacency sets in, and we lose the ability to overcome inertia - the tendency of a body at rest to stay at rest or of a body in motion along a certain path to stay in motion along that path.

To change, we must create structure that encourages and supports change, and it begins with an all-important shift in perspective. Instead of living in silence and hiding - or being overly controlling in our work relationships-or feeling that we need to leave our job - we can start by considering a more fulfilling alternative.

In Susan's case, she looked at what energized her, what she was good at, and what gave her joy. She put limits on the amount of work she was willing to take on and began speaking up to make sure her needs were heard and met. She shifted from being a controlling team leader to one that encouraged risk-taking and 'thinking outside the box.'

The result? Greater group cohesion and less stress for everyone involved. Group members felt less restricted and more empowered. Susan added greater value to her company and the results were visible and rewarded. More opportunities-the kind of opportunities Susan wanted-started coming her way.

At the same time, Susan developed criteria for what she wanted in her relationships. She evaluated her current relationships and determined which ones needed to be addressed. She began to speak up to make her needs known, and in some cases she ended unfulfilling relationships. As she revised her standards and set limits, she gained more energy to try new activities outside of work-re-awakening areas of interest that she had long ago left behind.

Susan's success story can be your success story, too. And it starts with four simple steps.

You must . . .

1. Be clear about your intentions to make a change;

2. Be willing to experiment and to try new strategies to achieve the changes you want;

3. Be willing to learn what works and what does not, and to make adjustments;

4. Not let fear stop you from making these significant changes.

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Expect Success to Stay Self-Motivated and Get Great Results

By Caterina Rando, MA, MCC

If you called my office you will hear my voice mail message that ends with the words Expect Success.

Theres a important intent behind that. What if every time we made a phone call or personal request or met with a potential new customer, you expected you would be successful? Do you think your behavior would be different?

If we truly expected success we would make more phone calls, make more requests and schedule more appointments. And that would result in more business, more income, more ease in our workday, and more overall success.

When we call people or meet with them, we have to hold the attitude that we are offering them an opportunity. An important opportunity, and maybe even the perfect opportunity for them. If they do not go for it, thats fine. Our responsibility to ourselves is to make the offer. It doesnt matter what the thoughts and actions of the other person are; it doesnt matter whether they agree to what you are offering or not. What matters is that you go for what you want all the time, every time, and are as proactive and confident as you would be if you knew you could not miss.

As you well know success is not a destination we arrive at; it is an attitude we hold along the way. All the joy of our professional lives is not in the outcome, but in the process. Do not rob yourself of the satisfaction that lies on the path along the wayenjoy every call you place, every order you take, every presentation you make. Revel in the process of being a successtoday.

To expect more success, more of the time, follow these steps:

- Acknowledge all the small successes in the process. Count your wins daily. Wins are all those things that go your way in a given daythe letter you wrote, the VIP you finally got hold of, the parking ticket you eluded, the compliment you received.

- Smile. Both psychologically and physiologically, this simple, easy action improves our well-being, which improves our outlook, which prepares us for all the great things we are expecting to happen to us. To become fit and healthy from a success standpoint, give your smile muscles a workout just like the rest of your body.

- Hold your success attitude in your body. Stand up straight, raise your chin up, keep your shoulders back and feet firmly planted. Feel the power of personal success in every cell in your body.

- Create a compelling success image in your mind. Once you expect your success, see it. Imagine it vividly and in colorwhat are you doing, where are you, what are you wearing, how does it feel like in your body? Make your success as real as possible in your mind, so your expectancy is even stronger and, as a result, your actions even bigger.

- Use an affirmation or set an intentions. State to yourself over and over what you intend to create today. State your intentions verbally, out loud to yourself; state them silently, in your mind; and record them on a cassette tape so that you can listen to yourself stating what you expect to create in your life.

- Beyond Affirming, Feel It. Do not stop at the mental part of expecting success. Also feel it in your body. You have felt the good feeling of connecting, achieving, realizing what you want.

- Be bold. Do all those things today that you know you will do when you are more successful. That is how you will create the success you strive for in your business and life.

You will never be more successful than you expect you can be. Greet every day with the belief that good things are going to happen to you. Expect to be successful with your calls, appointments and projects. Your work life will be enriched; you will take more risks, make more requests, and seize more opportunities. That will result in a better life, and that is what success is all about. I say that people who expect success not only think they are more successful, they actually are more successful. I urge you to vigorously and fully prove this theory in your own life.

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Preparing for the future of work

Abridged: Guardian Careers

NEW YORK, NY -- Over the past 20 years the shape of the workforce has changed beyond recognition. It's obvious that technology is moving as fast as ever -- and the workplace must keep up. A recently produced list of future professions suggests that by 2030 workers might be training for careers as diverse as space pilots, tour guides and educational avatar moderators. Another recent survey suggests that, by 2017, there will also be an 883% rise in employment for other business services -- for instance accountancy, law, consultancy, advertising and public relations.

An example of a thriving, emergent sector is the digital economy, with many more people expected to work in areas such as IT and broadcasting in the coming years. For those already classed as digital workers, changing technology and expectations will mean an increased demand for people to work across a number of platforms.

We're entering a new age of sustainability, meaning we will need to change our entire system of production and consumption, get more efficient with our use of resources and recognize that new sectors are going to emerge as a result. Finally, as the population ages, the number of people employed as care workers will increase. In turn, there will be a rise in informal care, with more employees caring for children or elderly relatives themselves, meaning employers offering flexible working will have the edge over competitors.

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Work and Heart

by Johannes Siegrist, Ph.D.

Work gives people opportunities to receive many rewards. Some rewards include job satisfaction, whereas others are outward societal rewards, i.e., money, esteem, and status. There is, or should be, reciprocity between the effort expended to accomplish work and all the gains realized.

It has long been recognized, however, that a discrepancy exists between work and reward. That discrepancy leads to psychological stress that frequently finds expression in somatic symptoms, including heart risk and cariac health.

In an exhaustive review discussing the links between psychosocial occupational stress and health, Johannes Siegrist, Ph.D., concludes that high-cost/low gain employment must be considered a risk factor for cardiovascular health.

In his review, Siegrist measures high cost by extrinsic forces such as the demands of the job and intrinsic sources such as the motivations of the worker in a demanding situation.

He measures low-gain conditions by salary, the workers perceived esteem of colleagues and supervisors as well as availability of help from those sources and degree of status control the worker perceives as having relative to the work, i.e., control over the type of work done, whether or not relocation was required, prospects for promotion.

The review addresses three relevant questions concerning the links between psychosocial occupational stress and health:

1) How to identify those components within the global psychosocial occupational environment that are of critical importance to health.

2) How chronically stressful experience is maintained in individuals who are exposed to the psychosocial stressors identified in theoretical models.

3) The relationship between adverse health effects of chronically stressful experience in terms of high effort and low reward.

Although Dr. Siegrist concludes that high cost/low gain conditions at work must be considered a risk constellation for cardiovascular health, he defines some of the numerous questions that still remain and should be addressed in future research.

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Want to Succed in your Career?

by Mark Goulston, M.D.

People who have addiction problem with drugs or alcohol have a much greater chance of success in beating the habit when they recognize, admit, accept, and correct their self-defeating behavior. You can't move forward or achieve your goals, if you become sidetracked by self-defeating behavior. Any repetitive behaviors that block your efforts to accomplish your long-term objectives are self-defeating. You also lose your competitive edge if you're always meeting your challenges in a self-defeating fashion, while your competition confronts and masters stressful situations head-on.

By definition, any repetitive behaviors that block your efforts to accomplish your long-term objectives are self-defeating. Here are other common behaviors that may not be as self-destructive as an addiction, but are every bit as self-defeating if you don't overcome them:

1. Procrastinating.
   A perfectionist graphic designer kept turning his work in late, not appreciating that his timeliness was every bit as important as the quality of his work product. One person's work sometimes cannot begin until someone else gets his or her job done first. If you're always late on completing things, people stop relying on you, start resenting you and begin to bypass you.
2. Not preparing well enough.
   The belief that what you want to sell is what people want to buy is a sure road to disaster unless you've thoroughly researched the market. A well-made buggy whip is a thing of beauty, and it sure is nice to hang in your den. Just don't hang your hat on it, if your customers don't share your love for a horse and carriage.
3. Not following through.
   A manager of a moderately successful fitness club told me he no longer goes to seminars on managing. He said that the information is always great, but implementing the suggestions and trying to convert his employees to the new approach seldom works. If something new is important enough to learn, it's important enough to schedule company time devoted to the purpose of planning how to implement it.
4. Not learning from your mistakes.
   Successful people don't make fewer mistakes than unsuccessful people -- they repeat fewer mistakes. Truth be told, we learn more from mistakes than our successes, and it's a shame to miss out on this valuable education by not owning up to your errors. Unfortunately, you need to admit you have made a mistake before you can learn from it.
5. Being competent, but uncharming.
   Know-it-alls who don't know what they're talking about are jerks, whereas know-it-alls who do know what they're talking about are merely asses. As people get older, they prefer to deal with capable but affable people, rather than brilliant but obnoxious people. One of the brightest management consultants I know was resentful that his poor interpersonal skills had cost him so much success. He kept ranting and raving, "Judge me by my results, not by my bedside manner. I'm not one of those brown-nosing game-players." He missed the point that charm is more about putting people at ease than it is about being phony and obsequious. He also missed the boat when it came to the success his competence and talent truly did deserve.
6. Saying yes when you want to say no.
   If you sacrifice respect in order to be liked by saying yes all the time, you won't be respected or liked. It's difficult to continue to like someone when you lose respect for him or her. At times, commanding respect starts with saying no to something that you disagree with, and then being flexible enough to work through the issue with the other person. I know a headhunter who says no to prospective job applicants, because finding out how they respond to "no" reveals so about their ability to cooperate and be a team player.
7. Having unrealistic expectations.
   When you confuse what is reasonable with what is realistic, you set yourself up to fail. It's reasonable to re-engineer your business; it's unrealistic to do it all at once. A stationary supply store in Los Angeles decided to revamp its sales, operations, and compensation policies (all of which were in need of modification) all at the same time. In six months, it filed for Chapter 11.
8. Getting involved with the wrong people.
   A "nice guy" chief executive of a hardware chain hired a chief operating officer he thought was strong and tough. His grave error was to confuse stubbornness and rigidity for strength. By the time the timid CEO galvanized enough courage to remove the difficult COO, it cost him several valued employees. Yes, there are bad people in the world. If you keep giving them the bene fit of the doubt, you'll be the one who has to clean up the mess.

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Bosses Behaving Badly

by Meghan Casserly 

"She threw her computer monitor at me."
"She said she wanted a mentee, but she really wanted a slave."
"I drove an hour across town to get her sushi. When I gave it to her, she threw it out and told me she'd changed her mind."
You don't have to watch "The Office" to know bad boss behavior when you see it. Sure, Steve Carrell's character is a textbook example of just about every boss "don't": passive-aggressive, micromanaging, insanely inane requests. But the premise of Michael Scott is real enough, and can be found in nearly every office.
No one has a better handle on bad bosses than their employees. Just ask them. We did, and we have nightmare boss scenarios from men and women who were eager to share their personal stories (provided we kept their names anonymous). We boiled down the most frequent offenses and asked executive coach Anna Marie Valerio, Ph.D., for her official stamp of (dis)approval and pointers for turning a bad work relationship around.

The Problem: Micromanaging
Our first case is a manager in the publishing industry who insisted upon being cc'd on every one of her employees' email correspondences. "She would routinely respond to our e-mails correcting wording or chastising us for the smallest grammatical mistakes," an employee shares.
Resistance to TMS (too much supervision) is normal. While you have a responsibility to your boss, there are times when people ask too much from you without cause.
"The problem may be that she is paying too much attention to small details because she either has blinders on to the bigger scope of the company, or is being kept in the dark by her own supervisors, which can create insecurity and bad behavior," says Valerio, author of "Developing Women Leaders."

The Solution
If you think your boss is asking for more information than you think is necessary, there is no inherent harm in asking why. In a proactive and positive way, that is, because there may be a legitimate reason she needs, in the example of one real estate broker's boss, "every detail about every client meeting she doesn't feel like attending."
Before you talk to your supervisor, though, ask a trusted colleague on another team if this micromanaging behavior is endemic to the company. Also, strategize some open-ended questions for your boss, such as "I'd like to talk about all the information you need from me. I'm wondering how you see it fits into your vision and the big picture of the company."
"It is a gentle yet proactive way to alert the manager to back off and it can drive the manager to seek out the big picture, which will ultimately help them to be a better supervisor," says Valerio.

The Problem: Liar, Liar
Lying is hard to tolerate in any circumstance, but when your boss is a liar, it's sure to foul the workplace dynamic. One professional shares her tale of the time her boss's lies caught up with him: "He told me I could not take my approved vacation because his own supervisor had planned a retreat for the company during the same week. But my vacation had been approved months in advance and was paid for--and non-refundable." The worker was told the supervisor expected her to attend the retreat.
Not only was it infuriating, but it wasn't true. "He had never explicitly asked his supervisor," she says. In a show of boldness, she asked her boss's boss herself and was told, of course, that she could go on her vacation as planned.

The Solution
This lied-to employee did precisely the right thing, says Valerio. "Lying is a symptom of unfair treatment in the workplace," she says, pointing out other similar types of unfair behaviors, such as favoritism and ignoring certain employees, or rewarding the work of some and not others.
Her advice in tackling unfairness is to work around the supervisor, and create your own networks at work. As a result, you won't have to rely on any one person, precisely what the vacationing worker did by circumventing her manager and heading directly to his boss.
"It's very difficult to confront a boss directly about fairness since it can easily come across as combative or accusatory," says Valerio. "Instead, look around to coworkers. If you're not receiving truthful information from your manager, you may be able to get it elsewhere if you've built a good network of peers within the company."

The Problem: Aggression (Active and Passive)
"It was my first day on the job, and it was particularly stressful," shares a junior professional then based in Texas. "We were working hard to get a last-minute event ready, and by 6 p.m. I had finished the paperwork I was responsible for. I decided it would be best for me to get out of everyone's way and leave the office for the day. When I stopped by my boss's office to say goodnight, her response was to pick up her computer monitor and throw it at me. It hit the wall, but she threw a computer at me!"
Lucky for the crazed boss, no suits were filed, and the young employee reported for work the next morning. Tail between her legs, the supervisor apologized for "unprofessional behavior," but the relationship between the two was never completely mended.
Workplace aggression appears in more insidious and more frequent ways than flying computers, as evidenced by this story from an advertising sales coordinator. "I'd send my boss an e-mail in the morning with a question or pressing issue that I knew was time-sensitive, and then spend all day waiting for a response," she begins. "I'd go to lunch, and come back. Nothing."
Her boss, she says, was in the office, and the two would exchange small-talk, but the e-mail would go unresolved. "She'd even e-mail me about other things, like lunch reservations or orders tracked. But it wouldn't be until 4:59 that I'd get a response--too late for me to do anything about it but just early enough to catch me before I left the office. It really was infuriating."

The Solution
Here again, says Valerio, that's just plain bad form. "Bosses behaving badly would do well to remember that their reputation will get around," she says. Employees are quicker to gossip about bad bosses than good ones, and a reputation as a bad leader or a passive-aggressive supervisor could ultimately cost a manager top-notch employees who either leave or do B- or C-level work for them.
"A manager's ultimate responsibility is to manage talent within their team to better the company as a whole, a win-win," says Valerio. "When someone loses sight of that mission, that's most often when we see bad behavior. It's a losing situation for everyone involved--the employee, the manager, and most importantly, the entire organization."

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Recovering from Job Loss

by Phil Rich, Ed.D., MSW, DCSW

The New Reality of Job Loss

We've seen many changes in the work environment over the past decade and beyond, with multiple layoffs as companies have "down sized" and "right sized." Jobs once secure for life now rarely exist, and people entering the work force today are likely to experience multiple job changes during their careers.

The Impact of Job Loss

Much of the material on job loss and getting back into the work force touches upon the need to "re-mount," instructing the reader to design a plan and get back into the action. Appropriately, they direct the reader to not fall into despair, self pity, or anger. Many friends and family members will also urge the reader to find a way to move on.

But all the pep talks in the world can't necessarily overcome the real and deep reaching impact of job loss. It's important for newly fired people to not feel that there's something wrong with them just because they can't follow the advice of family, friends, and books and simply move on.

The Consequences of Job Loss

There are at least two primary aspects to job loss: "practical" reality, and "emotional" reality. In the first case, job loss also means loss of income and benefits. In the second, there are equally real emotional consequences: effect upon self image, emotional difficulties, fears about the future, and perhaps concerns about how we may be seen by others.

The Work of Recovery and Rebuilding

The chances are that people will find a new job. It may not be their first choice, but it will resolve the practical realities. But a new job doesn't necessarily lead to a satisfactory outcome, financially or emotionally. Regardless of the new job, emotional issues may not be at all resolved.

Unresolved issues may significantly affect the way in which people see themselves. In turn, this will directly influence the way they approach finding a new job, what they will accept for employment, and how they settle into their new job and life style. Accordingly, part of the work in job loss recovery is dealing with the emotional consequences. Seeking and finding a job without recognizing, understanding, and addressing emotional consequences may undermine successful recovery.

Recovering and Rebuilding After Job Loss

"Recovery" describes the ability to work through a challenging time without becoming overcome by circumstances, swept away by emotions, or feeling defeated. It means coming through intact and solvent, and finding yourself, not just back in the saddle, but emotionally satisfied and perhaps stronger and wiser.

The Stages of Recovery and Rebuilding

Viewing recovery as a series of stages, each with a goal and tasks, is useful. It helps people understand their experience as a process that develops and changes over time, and can help them to maintain their composure even when they may feel anxious and insecure. It also helps to know that their experiences are probably quite "normal."

Stage One: Coping.

However it comes, job loss is often quite shocking. This stage begins with a sense of disorientation as people are thrown off balance by this turn of events. The broad goal of this stage is to survive this initial period without doing anything damaging to self, future options, or relationships. Tasks of the stages include:

• Adjusting to this new reality
• Handling immediate emotional responses
• Dealing with issues of self esteem and humiliation
• Coping with family issues

Stage Two: Surviving.

As people enter this second stage, disillusionment begins to fade. They begin to deal with issues of survival and emotional and financial stability. This stage involves laying the foundation upon which people will re-build their lives, and includes emotional, practical, and financial tasks.

• Stabilizing immediate life
• Building support
• Managing emotions and behaviors
• Maintaining perspective.

Stage Three: Assessment and Planning.

Building on the stable base created during stage two, the primary goal of this stage is the assessment of needs, skills, and dreams, and primary tasks include:

• Taking stock of life
• Assessing choices
• Developing plans
• Re-building self image.

Stage Four. Decision Making and Self Renewal.

The work of this stage represents the end of this journey; from basic recovery to self-renewal and self-determination, and involves the active implementation of plans.

• Implementing decisions
• Accepting personal responsibility
• Taking emotional risks
• Re-gaining self confidence.

Passage to Recovery

There's no "right" pace for this journey, no "correct" length of time spent in each stage. Some may quickly move from one stage to the next; others will have a more difficult time, and may get stuck. But rebuilding after job loss is a process that takes place only over time. How much time will depend on the personality of the individual, his or her approach to life, resilience, and support system.

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Growing your business to another level

"Tall oaks from little acorns grow" - David Everett

When you start or buy a business, growth can happen organically or be planned, nurtured and driven.

A worthwhile question to ask yourself is; should I grow this business or not? Think about the goals you have for the business and for yourself and your family; do you want to make a comfortable living or become a major competitor in the market? Ask yourself what would happen if you strategically grew the business or if you didn't? Sometimes not risking is the biggest risk of all (as the Chinese proverb says; Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid of standing still.)

The challenge of growth could be right up your alley.
On the other hand you may have grown your business to a point where it runs fairly smoothly and you've achieved your desired income level and market share. Now that you've done the hard graft you're free to channel time and energy elsewhere, so the thought of growing your business, employing staff, exporting and the accompanying headaches and stress is just not an option.

Bigger isn't always better You can't grow your way out of problems – if you're having trouble coping with mistakes and errors with 20 customers, then how will you cope with 200 customers?

Growth doesn't necessarily mean more profits either; it's not the sales that matter, it's what you keep, your profits, that are important.

And if you're focussed on being the fastest growing company, you're focussing inwards rather than being customer focussed – and being a fast growing company isn't a customer benefit.

Roadblocks to growth The skills and resources that got your business off the ground may not be the same skills and resources required to grow your business to the next level.

You, as leader, could be an obstacle to growth. If the thought of going bust keeps you awake at night, or the idea of being responsible for your employees' livelihood gives you a knot in your stomach, or you worry about the impact of your success on your family and friends, or you're scared of hiring professional managers and advisors, then you may be limiting the growth of your business.

With growth comes change. Current employees may not be skilled enough for the new phase of your business, while adding new employees to your company brings about a whole new set of challenges, from hiring, retaining to motivating and training them.

Financially, you need more capital to expand. Management systems need to be in place and you'll probably need professional help in new areas.

While all this is happening, you have to learn to share responsibility and avoid burning out.

Growing your business There are a number of ways you can grow your business. You can grow your client base (locally, nationally and internationally), you can grow the frequency of customer purchases and you can grow your profit (by better management of costs and/or increasing prices).

Can your business grow?
Give your business a growth reality check by asking yourself;

- How full is the market place already, is there a real opportunity to grow?

- Where is my business in the product life cycle; is it in the introduction, growth, maturity or decline stage?

- Growth takes cash; how will I fund the growth I'm planning?

- The rewards for growth may take a while to be realised; can the business wait for the payoff?

- Growth takes a company into unfamiliar operational territory; do we have the staff and systems to blaze the trail?

- Being a business owner should be a source of happiness; will I be happy with a larger business?

Growth strategies
Having systems in place allows your business to function smoothly and allows you to get on with managing and providing meaningful leadership.

Start documenting procedures and work instructions from the outset. Prepare step by step checklists of each process in the business from marketing to handling customer complaints. Keep your systems simple and in point form.

Leading the growth When you're the person driving the growth in your business you have to grow and develop yourself personally as you move from being self-employed to being a manager to being the owner/leader/entrepreneur.

Appraise yourself honestly so you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses. Get open, candid feedback from your employees and address any arising issues.

Be a continual learner and use mentors, coaches and peers for counsel and advice.

Most of all, have fun and enjoy the ride by learning how to ride the tiger rather than being eaten by it.

Fiona Powell 

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A lifestyle job versus building a business

A lifestyle job versus a business
By Rana Jewell
So what is so wrong with creating a job versus creating a business? Everywhere I go today, these two scenarios are compared and contrasted with the former being given all bad press and publicity and no saving virtues. But a lifestyle job has lots of merits!

Do you understand the difference between them? Put simply, buying yourself a job means that your business returns to you no extra profit over and above a salary to yourself, including superannuation contributions. Of course, it may even give you less than this.

Whereas buying yourself a business means that there is excess profit over and above owners’ salary and superannuation contributions. This means that there is enough profit for you to choose between working in the business yourself, or to decide to employ a manager to run the business for you, and still receive a return on your investment (similar to earning interest on a bank account). With the latter scenario you could be removed from the day-to-day running, and have time to work on the business. This is not only ideal, but inordinately sensible and logical. Also, the hidden meaning in all this is that when it comes time to retire, or resign, from your business, these owners are more likely to have something valuable to sell, whereas the buying-yourself-a-job owners may not. Why? The investor may not want to invest in a business where there is insufficient profits to enable her/him to choose whether or not to work in the business.

But how many small businesses return a profit over and above owners’ salary and superannuation contributions? Some, but in my 20plus years in small business and public practice, I know that the majority do not. So does that mean that these owners are stupid and silly and wasting their time and efforts? Certainly the perception and press for buying yourself a job would suggest so.
I would like to propose a third option. What about buying yourself a lifestyle? How about accepting at the outset that you may not have something highly valuable to sell at the end of all your years of hard work? Is there then a way to work smarter, and are there any other redeeming features of this option? I believe there are many.

Let’s tackle the financial aspect first, as it receives the most publicity. Simply save 10 percent of your gross earnings each year and only invest this money in assets that increase in value.
Example
Tina is a landscape gardener and earns $20,000 gross per year for her labour, excluding reimbursement for client materials. If she saved 10 percent of $20,000 each year for five years, and lived on the balance, she would accumulate $10,000. 
If Tina was able to employ this strategy, it saves her the constant stress of always looking to expand, get bigger, employ more staff, and allows her to really focus in on her current profitability, and the lifestyle that she desires to go along with running her business. Also, it’s possible that Tina’s gross income may increase over the five year period, eg more profitable clientele, increase in her hourly rate, etc.

At this point, let me remind you that whilst this concept is simple, usually simple things are very hard to do. Some of you may be shuddering and thinking that “I could never live on $18,000 (before tax) per year, I need more.” Well this concept works just the same for large incomes too.

 Example
Sandra and Tom run their business through a company and the company pays them a salary, plus the nine percent compulsory superannuation each month. Their gross fees are $850,000 per year. Their plan is to retire in seven years time. If they saved 10 percent of gross fees each year from now until they retire, they would accumulate $595,000.

It so happens that at present Sandra and Tom are at a cross-roads and trying to decide: “do we stay this manageable size with a staff of eight key people, and continue to specialise in providing the highest quality and personalised service to our clients?” or “do we grow the business, get larger, try to increase its value to a potential future investor, and at the same time hope that we can maintain our high quality and personalised service standards?”

Incidentally, $595,000 would be considered a healthy price if Sandra and Tom decided to sell their business today. If they proceed to build up the business, would they really sell it for more than this anyway? Perhaps the size becomes unmanageable… perhaps key staff don’t like the larger framework, and leave... perhaps standards drop…

Another option for Sandra and Tom is to employ the 10 percent savings plan, look within their business and fine-tune their client base to increase the number of the more profitable and more likeable clientele. At the same time, they could increase the number of weeks holiday they take each from two to four, and they could look to work half a day less each per week so that yoga, music, gardening, weekends away could be re-introduced to their lifestyle.

Are there any other redeeming features of buying yourself a lifestyle? I believe there are many:
• We have already mentioned increasing your annual holidays. Many small business owners’ take none! Some of my clients plan for 7 – 8 weeks per year. 
• What if this small business is something that you have always really wanted to do, but been too afraid? By all means you need to plan financially before giving up your day job – this is essential in any business venture. However, what if it unleashes untapped creativity in you and pushes and stretches you to grow on many levels – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually? Surely this has a value, even though it cannot always be expressed in monetary terms.
• Perhaps this new venture requires you to utilise all of your skills, whereas some employed positions use only a small portion of what we are capable of.
• Maybe it would allow you to carve out the hours that suit your lifestyle. For example, some owners are night owls and enjoy sleeping in but working later into the evening. Others may want to reclaim their nights and weekends for leisure, and still others may want to work part-time, or some nights and have a couple of weekdays free.

Patricia’s Story
For Patricia, these concepts are not just theory. She has consistently saved not just 10 percent, but 40 percent of her gross fees from day one of her business. The balance of 60 percent is to cover her business and personal expenses. The 40 percent is roughly broken up as: 10 percent for investment, 10 percent for GST and 20 percent for income tax. This means that she always has the cash available for her GST and income tax liabilities.

In fact, in the early years, 20 percent was over and above her income needs. Consequently, in the three and half years since she commenced her business, she has accumulated not just the $15,200 (10 percent of gross fees), but also has a further $3,900 sitting in an asset replacement account for her business needs, eg computer upgrade, or replacement. Of course, in the beginning she had little left for personal items but this has continued to increase each year.

From the outset, Patricia set in place a template for a sustainable personal lifestyle, ie 40 hour working week (including one day for professional reading) and seven weeks holiday per year, and has rigorously stuck to a financial model that would lead to her having choices in life. The $15,200 is now available for investment either in herself, eg a three month sabbatical, or renovations to a residential property that she owns, or public company shares, or a combination of these options. 

By saving wealth as she goes, Patricia is able to lessen the pressure on herself and her staff to get big and to do it quick. She is building a valuable practice with high technical and personalised standards for her clients, and at the same time building a nourishing lifestyle for herself.

The possibilities for creativity are endless. The mix is personal and for each individual it will be different.

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8 Bad Work Habits (And How to Break Them)

When you're considering goals for yourself, don't forget to examine your work life. What changes could you make to become a more productive and pleasant colleague?

Experts offer this list of common bad habits at work -- and how to break them:

* Planning poorly. Do you spend your first hour at work wondering what you should work on today? "So many people, when they leave their office at 4 to 6 p.m., really have no clue what they're going to do first thing the following morning," said Glenn Davis, president of the Next Step Group, which recruits sales and sales management professionals for software and other companies. It's more efficient to plan your next day before you leave work.

* Spending the day in "email reaction mode." Answering every email message as it comes in may make you seem responsive, but it's not productive. "You feel like you're being a hero because you're dealing with all your email," said Valerie Frederickson, CEO & founder of Valerie Frederickson & Co., an HR executive search and consulting firm. "But it has nothing to do with achieving your goals."

* Abusing work-from-home privileges. Yes, you save time when you work from home by not commuting. But too many people are easily sidetracked by the laundry, their kids, a quick errand. "People like to say, 'I get so much more done'" working from home, Davis said. And some do -- but not everyone. If you work from home, make sure you're putting in a full day's work -- and that you're accessible to your colleagues during the workday.

* Putting personal life before work. Everyone has emergencies from time to time. But it's annoying to have to repeatedly fill in for the colleague who is late every morning because he's checking on his home remodeling project, or who misses an entire afternoon because she scheduled a routine dentist appointment for 1:30 p.m.

* Being late for meetings. People who show up 5 or 10 minutes late for a meeting cause a "domino effect," Davis said. Meetings later that day may be thrown off schedule because the earlier ones ran late. And people who show up on time feel their time is being wasted.

* Not taking care of health and hygiene. Leslie G. Griffen, an HR consultant and career coach, is sometimes hired by companies to approach an employee who doesn't bathe and ask them to improve their hygiene. The problem is twofold, said Griffen, principal of The Griffen Group. A sloppy appearance will cause a poor first impression. Also, "if your hygiene is bad, your health is probably bad," Griffen said. An added benefit of eating well and exercising: You'll have more energy.

* Using inappropriate humor. Your coworkers may not appreciate your sense of humor. Skip the off-color or "racially targeted" jokes, Griffen said. And be careful about sensitive subjects such as politics and religion.

* Not caring about your work. People like coworkers who are enthusiastic about what they do. Show that you take pride in your job by presenting yourself well, communicating clearly and doing your best work.

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How to Create a Vision for Your Career

by Caroline M.L. Potter

Was last year cruel or kind to you, professionally speaking? Even if your career didn't take a hit, the tumult of the last few months may have you quaking in your boots over the future.

Career coach Deborah Brown-Volkman reminds fearful workers, "Your career is long! Some people work for 40, 50, or 60 years. Don't get stuck in the here and now when what is happening at this moment is just a small span in a long career. Instead, create a vision to help you move forward."

Claim What You Want...

Deciding what you want to do doesn't happen overnight, but, according to Brown-Volkman, founder of a members-only coaching group to help people reinvent themselves professionally, the process can be simple. She says, "All of life's journeys begin with the phrase, 'I want... .' It's a very powerful phrase, and without it, it's hard to go very far." The career coach likens your professional journey to a trip, revealing that if you didn't decide where you wanted to go on vacation, you'd likely wind up at a destination you don't enjoy.

...Or What You Don't Want

It's hard to say what you want when you're not sure of it. She points out, "The reason certain people can't answer that question is it that it's too overwhelming. But most folks can say what they DON'T want. They can say, 'I don't want to work for a large company,' or 'I don't want a lengthy commute.' The flip side of what you don't want is what you do want."

Fight the Fear...

If creating a vision is so simple, why don't more people do it? Brown-Volkman reveals, "People are lost and afraid now, and they're scared to say what they want because they're afraid of not getting it. When it comes to vision, sometimes people won't even say what they want unless they know they will get there or how to get there. But you have to create what you want first and then live into it. It's like a declaration. It takes courage -- and a bit of faith."

Ask Yourself...

Are you ready to build a vision for your desired professional destination? Begin by getting it down on paper. She advises, "I believe if you write down your vision and look at it on a daily basis, it's more likely it will happen. Either consciously or subconsciously, you'll take steps to make it a reality." Start with the following 10 questions. Adds the New York-based career expert, "Don't forget to allow yourself to dream a little bit; it's OK to do that!"

1. If anything were possible, what would I want to be different in my career?

2. What type of job would I want?

3. What would I want to be responsible for?

4. What type of boss/coworkers/team would I want?

5. What kind of hours would I want to work?

6. What type of company would I want work for?

7. What sort of culture would I want the company have?

8. What city would I want to live in?

9. What salary would I want to earn?

10. What would I want my approach to stress, my workload, and deadlines be?

Get in the Game...

Once you have a vision, start acting on it. Brown-Volkman urges professionals, "Everybody needs a game to play. If you don't have a game, you get stuck in the day to day. The only way out is to say, 'This is what I want next.' You need momentum and action to move ahead this year!"

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