Majority of work stress is coming from your terrible coworkers

Majority of work stress is coming from your terrible coworkers Majority of work stress is coming from your terrible coworkers If your team gets on your nerves more than anything, you are not alone in this frustration. A report from the American Institute of Stress found that our team dynamics directly affect more than 90% of what is stressing us out at work. Those petty feuds and disagreements with coworkers take a toll on our minds and bodies. One in four of us said we wanted to scream over this job stress. Our heavy workload, people issues, and our failure to balance our work and personal lives were the top three stressors.Why your team drama stresses you outTeam drama gets under our skin because it reminds us that we do not have control and autonomy over our careers. You cannot get that lazy coworker to work harder or stop a mercurial manager’s bad mood. When we feel out of control at work, we feel helpless, which in turn, causes us unhealthy stress. “Increased levels of job stress as assessed by the perception of having little control but lots of demands have been demonstrated to be associated with increased rates of heart attack, hypertension, and other disorders,” the report warned.In “Happy Brain: Where Happiness Comes From,” writer Dean Burnett said that a sense of control and a sense of competence were the top two predictors to feeling happy at work. “Jobs that strip you of autonomy with strict rules/policies (dress codes, micromanagement, etc.) and/or make you constantly beholden to others (telesales, retail, etc.) are widely regarded as unpleasant and a source of stress,” he wrote. When you have an overbearing boss breathing down your neck over deadlines, you feel less in control over how your day is going to go. It increases your risk of burnout.To reduce burnout, managers must help employees feel in control of their work. That starts with meeting with them one-on-one and asking them how they are doing so that they feel less isolated. “The very act of soliciting team members’ input reduces stress levels, giving them the feeling that they are, at the very least, heard. This also leads to team buy-in, proprietorship, and the feeling of responsibility for team performance and well-being,” leadership consultant Andrew D. Wittman wrote about the report.

Service Dog Trainer

Service Dog Trainer Service Dog Trainer Service dog trainers condition dogs to perform a variety of specialized behaviors that assist individuals who face physical challenges. Duties Service dog trainers are responsible for teaching dogs to perform behaviors that assist disabled individuals with daily tasks.   The required behaviors can vary widely based on the type of disability for which they will be providing assistance. As is the case for all canine career professionals, service dog trainers must possess the requisite skill set  for working with dogs.   These traits include excellent communication skills, patience, a strong background in canine behavior, and a solid grasp of obedience training techniques.   They must also take care to ensure that all dogs are properly cared for while under their supervision and are only trained using humane methods. Service dog trainers must be comfortable working with both people and dogs.   They are responsible for selecting dogs for the training program, evaluating their temperament and suitability, and tracking their progress as they complete training exercises.   They must also screen applicants to be sure that they pair each individual with the correct dog.   After making the match, they must help the client and dog establish a partnership so that they can work together to achieve a variety of goals.   This can involve travel to provide in-home training while the client and dog establish their bond for the first few weeks.   They may also offer additional lessons several months after placement to address any issues that have arisen or to teach the dog additional desired behaviors. Career Options Service dog trainers can specialize in training dogs to assist with a variety of challenges including visual or auditory impairments, physical handicaps, or conditions like Autism.   Many service dog trainers focus on training dogs for just one specific disability.   Service dog trainers can readily transfer their skills to other career paths such as dog trainer or animal behaviorist. Education Training Many individuals begin their journey to this specialty career by becoming dog trainers before transitioning into the service dog industry.   This is frequently achieved through a combination of professional dog trainer certification programs and gaining extensive practical experience.   Many candidates also have a background in dog showing, grooming, or an animal health field. There are also certification programs devoted specifically to service dog training.   The Assistance Dog International (ADI) Instructor Certification is one of the most respected certification programs for service dog trainers.   The initial comprehensive testing fee is $50.   The certification must be renewed every two years by submitting proof of at least 16 continuing education hours and paying a $25 renewal fee. Many service dog organizations offer two to three-year apprentice programs for aspiring trainers.   For example, Guide Dogs of America offers a 3-year apprentice program through its member organizations.   Guide dog instructors in a few states (such as California) must pass a mandatory test to become licensed after completing their apprenticeships. Salary According to Guide Dogs of America, licensed guide dog trainers have starting salaries comparable to those earned by school teachers.   A recent position posted by Dogs for the Deaf quoted starting salary in the range of $16 to $21 per hour, plus a full benefits package and signing bonus.   The number of paying service dog positions, however, is fairly small. While salary data specifically for dog trainers is not readily available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are several websites that provide dog trainer salary information.  PayScale.com  cites an average earning rate for dog trainers around $44,000 per year.  SimplyHired.com  quotes an average dog trainer salary of $38,000 per year.   These numbers are pretty much in line with the rates quoted by Dogs for the Deaf and Guide Dogs of America. There are also many unpaid service dog volunteer positions, as well as opportunities to raise puppies to the training age (1 to 2 years old, depending on the specific requirements of the program). Career Outlook Many positions in the service dog field are volunteer opportunities, and salaried positions have many more applicants than there are spaces available.   This is a canine career path that attracts a significant amount of interest, but paid opportunities are quite limited.   Candidates with extensive experience and professional certifications will enjoy the best job prospects in this field.

5 Signs You Were Meant to be a CEO

5 Signs You Were Meant to be a CEO 5 Signs You Were Meant to be a CEO You are not only interested in becoming a CEO one day, you believe you are a CEO today! Employers just need to wake up and realize it. But everyone who wants to be a CEO is not CEO material. Here are 5 signs you were meant to be CEO whether you know it or not. First things first There is no such thing as, “Becoming a successful CEO without doing any work”. Many people tried in the past and many learned buying business cards does not make you a CEO. Even if you agree with this list below and think, “Hey! That’s me!” the hustle is still required and very real. You have to put the time in. And when you do, you will have a greater appreciation for your successand career longevity. 1. You can execute plans and get results Whether it be a lemonade stand, selling cookies for charity, running a fantasy football league, or your first job managing a retail store...the only thing you have ever know is getting results. You know how to create and achieve realistic goals with impressive financial results. 2. Motivating people comes easy to you Not everyone has the power to motivate others. Some are great at bossing others around, assigning blame and threatening, but motivating others through fear is a short-lived strategy for success. For some reason, you naturally motivate others in a positive way that keeps people working whether you are present or absent. People are excited to work for you and feel passionate about it. They work hard to make you happy and achieve great results. 3. Your curiosity knows no bounds Even though your formal education ended years ago that has not stopped you from learning. You earned certifications, earned a Masters in something, learned a language when you needed toand took a few leadership programs. Why not? Oh...and you traveled, painted, took photography lessons and learned how to sew. True story: The previous paragraph references a real-life CEO. Just like the CEO mentioned, you understand that if you want to do something in your career, then new knowledge must be learned. And you do not mind learning it at all. You will never call yourself a “genius”. You are just curious and determined. 4. You are as confident as you are humble You are confident enough to admit: No one knows everything. It is a fact, so you keep an open-mind and possess the drive to find the best answers even when the answers are not yours. You are humble enough to admit mistakes and confident people will rise to the occasion, always showing up to do their best work as a result. You are aware that leaders with humility are engaging and give others a sense of identity and purpose. 5. You are empathetic and a great communicator As a great communicator, you know how to connect and relate to others as human beings, not just a “boss”. Whether it be an entry-level mailroom clerk or a CFO, you know how to communicate with everyone and clearly communicate without generating confusion. You can manage any department at any time and it does not matter how little you know. You can communicate and relate to others. Why everyone cannot be a CEO It is said there are three types of CEO: The Small Company CEO who loves the trenches, being hands-on, and establishing identity The Medium Company CEO who focuses on processes and new priorities for growth The Large Company CEO who strategizes, develops and maintains corporate culture At the end of the day, there are people who are none of the three above. They are neither small team leaders who get their hands dirty nor corporate developers and strategists. Some become CEO simply because they do not like having a boss. Ultimately, as time goes on, those that remain their own boss longer realize it takes more than just “wanting to be your own boss” to be a CEO.

Not doing this dramatically decreases your chance at landing an interview

Not doing this dramatically decreases your chance at landing an interview Not doing this dramatically decreases your chance at landing an interview Young professionals seeking to distinguish themselves in a sea of peers boasting similar assets might do well to consider boosting their visibility online-specifically via the massive business and employment-oriented service, known as Linkedin.A  new resume study conducted by ResumeGo posits that job applicants with comprehensive Linkedin profiles can increase their chances of scoring an interview by a shocking 71%.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!What does a comprehensive profile look  like?ResumeGo began with a field experiment that compiled 24,570 fictitious resumes between October 9, 2018, and March 8, 2019. These resumes were sent to job openings found on  various recruiter sites, namely ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Glassdoor.One-third of these fake resumes contained no Linkedin profile what’s so ever, another third featured bare-bones Linkedin profiles and the final thi rd contained a link to a detailed Linkedin profile. Callback rates were then recorded based on these precursors.The authors defined a bare-bone Linkedin profile as one that featured a bio under 500 characters, five connections or less, no descriptions filled out for any of the work experiences listed, and no profile picture.Conversely, a comprehensive Linkedin profile was defined as one that contained summaries over 1,000 characters, 300 connections or more, dense bullet-point or paragraph based descriptions for every work experience section list and a professional headshot.These applicants sent their resumes off to 8,190 jobs in a wide range of industries, including finance, marketing, accounting, human resources, technology, science, engineering, education, retail, and healthcare.“Based on the results of the field experiment, job applicants who included a link to a comprehensive LinkedIn profile on their resumes received a callback rate of 13.5%, which is 71% higher than the 7.9 % callback rate of job applicants who didn’t have a LinkedIn profile at all,” the authors of the study report.Interestingly enough, not only did having a bare-bones Linkedin profile offer no discernible boosts to callback rates, these resumes actually were slightly less likely to receive a callback than resumes that didn’t have a Linkedin profile at all.The researchers noted how their data affected different job levels. Employers seeking employees for higher level positions were not as affected by comprehensive LinkedIn profiles as employers seeking workers for low-level positions. The authors explain, “The findings showed that as job level increased, the gap in callback rates decreased between job applicants with a comprehensive LinkedIn profile and job applicants with no LinkedIn profile at all.”All in all, if you’re going to have a Linkedin profile at all, be sure to put time and effort into it; otherwise, it can only hurt you.The study believes this is the case becau se employers, on some level, associate bare-bones Linkedin profiles with low-quality work. The authors continue, “They’d rather see no LinkedIn profile at all than see one that lacks any effort put into it. This is, of course, just conjecture, and more research and professional input would be required before drawing any strong conclusions.”You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people

7 working moms on what its like to pump breast milk at the office

7 working moms on what it's like to pump breast milk at the office 7 working moms on what it's like to pump breast milk at the office First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby, then comes . . . the breast pump. Even as families take on more shapes and forms, many employers still don’t offer comfortable, beneficial, and respectful solutions for working women to pump their breast milk at the office. Depending on milk production, most new moms can expect to pump for 30 minutes to an hour at least twice a day during traditional office hours. While federal law currently does not require companies to provide breaks for nursing mothers, they may be required by state law, and the Department of Labor  encourages  employers to provide these breaks.Between scheduling meetings, filing reports, completing projects, and filtering emails, those precious moments to escape can offer uninterrupted quiet to think clearly or relax from the rollercoaster of emotions and changes that are happening in your body, mind, and life. But when you’re shoved into a closet, asked to pump in your car, or stuck in a meeting unt il your breasts  are painful, your stress level will reach an even higher high.Here, moms who pumped on the job share their good and bad experiences, as well as offer their best advice to employers and working mothers.“I used my boss’s office”When Lisa Munjack, now the president of her new company, Munjack Marketing, was a new mom, she worked at  a newspaper in New York. At the time, the company  didn’t offer many places for her to pump. Her cubicle had no door and a window that faced the street.Her solution? She asked her boss to use his private corner office.  The move didn’t come without blunders, though.“If you’ve ever breastfed, you know how urgent it can be to express milk,” she said. “If you don’t, then we’re talking leakage. So I’d run in with my breast pump and tell him he had to clear out quickly. He was an older man, so he’d always be embarrassed but would gather up whatever he was working on and go to my desk.”A better option would be for empl oyers to offer a small, private, dimly-lit room for this purpose, Munjack said.  â€œI was upfront about the needs I would have”Lisa Wright, now the executive director at Complex Care Texas, said she was pleasantly surprised by the offerings of her company when she had her first child. Not only did the company provide individual rooms for moms who valued privacy, but it also created a larger room where working moms could pump together and store their breast milk in lockers. While the accommodations for new moms were impressive, scheduling proved to be a more difficult task, Wright said. She said she set an alarm clock and sometimes had to leave meetings to pump.  Wright’s advice to working moms is to never make excuses for why you’re late or need to exit a meeting earlier, since your body - and your baby’s health - is your top priority in the newborn months. “You have to ensure you communicate in advance to all meeting organizers if you are going to be late, need to leave early, or will have to step out of the meeting for a bit,” she said. “You have to be confident to speak up.”“I struggled with getting comfortable without my baby”When Carrie Aulenbacher, an executive administrator and author, had her first child, she said her company was gracious and patient with her experience. “I was allowed to lock myself in the upstairs conference room for privacy and space to set up my pump,” she said. “This gave me more room than the bathroom and a desk to set up the pump, plug it in and more. No-one interrupted with calls or messages, and I was able to plan my break about halfway through my workday when I would normally have fed my baby. It was a bit awkward at first, but knowing I had privacy made it easy.”However, getting the breast milk engines rolling was a taller order. Her body wasn’t responding on demand, and sometimes it took longer, she said.Her advice? Keep pumping breaks fluid. “New moms can’t always milk on command like a dairy cow, and it takes a bit of transitioning from work mode to mommy mode to get started,” she said. “Just know that the more leniency and privacy you can give a pumping mom, the more she appreciates it. We already feel guilty for being away from our baby and giving us the trust and space to pump helps lower that anxiety.”“Sometimes I would have to drive home fast because I was in so much pain”Sophia Eng, a growth advisor for large enterprise companies, pumped at work from the time her baby was three months until 19 months. During that period, she had to come up with many solutions to make her routine manageable.  â€œThere were many days that I would take meetings in the mother’s room with the pump in the background,” she said. “And there were days that the rooms were all booked during lunch, and that was the only free time I had. I would have to wait until my meetings were over for the day  and would be in so much pain until I could drive quickly home to feed the baby instead of pumping at the office. There were days that I would have to take my hospital grade pump to conferences into San Francisco in heels and pump in the bathrooms.” Though she made it work, she advised moms to be easier on themselves, especially during this huge lifestyle shift. “I taped paper over windows for privacy”When Wei-Shin Lai, now the CEO of SleepPhones,  was a full-time doctor, she breastfed her son until he was 2-years-old, which required her to pump up to four times a day. Luckily, another new mom was in the same predicament. They figured out a way to time-manage their pumps - but not without chaos. “Scheduling the alternating pumping while seeing patients on time was sometimes challenging since we couldn’t control how much time a patient needed,” she said. “We had a vertical window in the door, so we taped paper along the window for privacy. The blinds had to be pulled down when we pumped too, especially in the winter at 5 p.m. when it would be dark outside already. With a box of tissues and the pumping equipment, it was actually pretty smooth.”She said she hopes other employers will be flexible with new moms and their needs, too, especially since it’s not just a physical approach that’s important, but also an emotional one. “If we’re relaxed, it’s easier to pump than if we are upset about something,” she said. “So it’s really hard to schedule precisely to the minute. Having a private office with a desk and computer allows us to be productive while we are pumping. A bathroom is no place to make food for a baby - that’s just gross.”“Management announced I was pumping to the whole team”Eighteen years ago, Jennine Leale, now the CEO of HRPRO Consulting Series LLC, was working as a human resources manager  at another company  when she became a mom. She shared an office with an assistant, and her manager thought it would be “inappropriate” to ask the assistant to leave twice a day. Instead, Leale was permitted to use the computer room, a large space with the air conditioning on high to cool the large servers.   “In amongst the servers, on a folding chair balancing an electric pump on my lap, I pumped and stored my baby’s milk in a portable cooler,” she said. “I was not only uncomfortable but very embarrassed. Then I would commute home, by subway and train with the pump and cooler.”To make matters worse, her management team announced she would be pumping, calling unwanted attention to a very personal matter, she said.“Aside from the cold and the embarrassment, my expressing milk lead to comments from others about how I should be home with my baby, that they better not see any issues with my work because of the time I am taking away from work and the resentment from coworkers for being allowed to take ‘breaks,’” she said.Her advice to employers? Remember the age-old rule: happy employees are better employees. “I pumped while on the pot”When Dr. Shruti Ta nnan, a board-certified plastic surgeon, had her first baby, she went into labor while operating. She finished the case, scrubbed out, and delivered her baby. This multitasking attitude would extend far into her first year of motherhood, too. Worried that her career would suffer if she didn’t return back to work in a timely manner, she was back in action six weeks to the day of her delivery. She recalled one time she was faced with a tough decision. She hadn’t had time to eat, drink, or pump, and was needed in an emergency surgery.“I am about to scrub into a 12+ hour case to reconnect the blood vessels, bones, nerves and tendons in this patient’s hand,” she said. “I can pump now, in the bathroom, while I am eating a Cliff bar and well, using the facilities. Or I can wait 12 hours and then basically let my milk supply dwindle from 18 hours of disuse. I chose to pump while on the pot.”Not all careers - especially those that deal with life-or-death situations - are alwa ys conducive to a pumping schedule, so goal-oriented mamas have to make their own time, Tannan said. Even so, she said she hopes conditions improve. “My hope is that five years later things are different for women,” she said. “I hope women everywhere receive support in the workplace. No one should have to decide between job security or breast milk for their newborn.”

11 Tips for Dealing with a Prolonged Job Search

11 Tips for Dealing with a Prolonged Job Search 11 Tips for Dealing with a Prolonged Job Search Every job seeker hopes their dream position is right around the corner, but sometimes a hunt lasts longer than expected. And while job satisfaction is worth the wait, a lengthy search can be quite frustrating. The good news is, there are some ways to help yourself deal with the stress and impatience you might be feeling during a prolonged job search. Here’s a look at some of the issues that commonly arise during a prolonged job search and tips for dealing with them: Avoiding Negativity The enthusiasm that permeated the early stages of your job search can dwindle with the passing of time. But nobody wants to hire a downer, so take measures to keep up your spirits and confidence. Exercise, eat right, and get sufficient sleep. These actions will help you to look and feel better. “Try to celebrate small successes along your journey,” says Kelly Donovan, principal of Kelly Donovan Associates. “If someone replies to a networking note you sent, or an HR representative contacts you for a phone screening after you applied for a position, you should pat yourself on the back. Dont be so focused on your ultimate goal of a new position that you consider yourself to be a failure every day you dont have a new job yet.” “Create a care team,” suggests job search strategist Sarah Johnston, founder of the Briefcase Coach. “Unemployment can really mess with your psyche, and you need people to pour truth into you about your worth and advocate for you. Team members might include professional mentors, positive friends who have seen you in good times, religious leaders, and your financial adviser.” Similarly, feel free to decline invitations from pessimistic friends who always see the glass as half empty. Combatting Boredom Feeling stagnant? Weeks of hunkering down in a home office scanning job boards and sending out resumes gets old. Shake things up both professionally and personally to fight monotony. Volunteer. You’ll gain skills, meet new people, and feel good about making a difference in the world. Throw effort into networking. Connections remain a top way to find a job, and lunch with an old college friend beats another afternoon parked in front of the computer. Take a class or learn a new skill. You’ll enrich your resume and develop something fresh to talk about in interviews. And conquering a new challenge stimulates the brain. Maintaining Momentum The job search may have started with a meticulous agenda in which you accomplished defined objectives. After awhile, however, job seekers often get sloppy about sticking to a plan. Instead of feeling guilty, find new ways to encourage productivity. “Join a job search work team,” Johnston suggests. “I really love the job search book by Orville Pierson called Team Up!  His research shows that job seekers who are on job search teams find work 20% faster.” Seek professional advice. You’d go to a doctor if your physical condition didn’t improve over time, so why not see a job coach to figure out what might be causing obstacles to career well-being? Handling Money Problems Finally, a longer-than-expected job hunt can bring financial distress. Before “settling” for an undesirable job that might soon lead you back to hunting, consider other options. Take on a part-time or temporary job. You’ll bring in money while still having time to conduct searches and go on interviews. Use your talents to freelance, consult, or take on gig work. Besides the earnings, you’ll enhance your resume and portfolio. And people impressed with your work may be able to put you in touch with others interested in offering full-time employment. Find a job that fits your lifestyle   Browse Open Flexible Jobs

4 essential skills for careers of the future

4 essential skills for careers of the future 4 essential skills for careers of the future Eighty-five percent of the jobs our current students will have in 2030 don’t exist yet, according to  a report  from Institute for the Future. How are we, as teachers, supposed to prepare students for jobs that don’t exist yet?I address this question as a Kâ€"5 media specialist by focusing on the four C’s: creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication. A robot may be able to check your items out at the grocery store, but it can’t think critically for you. Here are four skills that are preparing my students not just for middle school, but for their future careers.Follow Ladders on Flipboard!Follow Ladders’ magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and more!  1) TypingTyping may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of skills for the jobs of the future, but it is fundamental. Whether they graduate with degrees in engineering, business, computer programming or education, students will spend hour s using a keyboard for both professional and personal reasons.The sooner students memorize a keyboard, the more useful this skill will be as they go through school. Coding and programming require good typing skills. It’s hard for students to pick up that next digital literacy skill if they aren’t proficient with a keyboard. For instance, the teachers and coaches of our all-girls Upper School robotics team say that not being able to type is a big challenge in learning to code.Our students use technology to showcase their learning, and students as early as fourth and fifth grade type their class notes. Recently, I heard a student say they weren’t fast enough to type out their notes. I want to make sure that’s not true for my students going forward.Students can choose to type or write by hand. I want to make sure that typing is a comfortable option for whatever project they’re working on, be it a website, designing a game, a blog post, a podcast or a script for a movie.I use TypeTastic with my students. My kindergartners love it, and I love it for them because even though their hands are too small to learn fingering, they can still learn where the keys are on the keyboard. Our kindergartners begin by using tablets, and by the time their hands are big enough to use a real keyboard, the location of keys should come naturally to them. They also think it’s fun because it’s game-based. They’re always asking me if they can play.2) CollaborationOur school’s motto is “Non Scholae, Sed Vitae: Not for School, but for Life.” Collaboration is a skill that will be used for life. As a project-based school, collaboration is essential. To facilitate collaboration, we use Google Classroom and the full G Suite for Education, along with the Smart Notebook collaborative platform. All our curriculum materials are focused on students working together.3) Problem-solvingLike collaboration, problem-solving is a skill that all people need not just to be successful in their careers, but to be successful in life. In a project-based school, problem-solving can happen anywhere, but we do have specific rooms and resources set aside for facilitating problem-solving. We have a STEM center with a wood shop, three 3D printers, a LEGO room and a maker cart that help any classroom become a temporary makerspace. Our maker cart is an art cart stocked by donations of crafting supplies, paper, cardboard, wood, bubble wrap and scissors, among other supplies. This ensures that problem-solving can happen in any classroom, at any grade.4) CodingLike many schools, we are increasing STEM education. We have several tools specifically aimed at helping students learn to code. In addition to using Code Studio through Code.org, our after-school First LEGO League uses EV3 kits. During school I use LEGO WeDo kits with kindergarteners as well as mice robots with my younger elementary students. Students use drag-and-drop block programming with Sphero Sprk+s   robots. We als o use Ozobots.No matter what tool I’m using, my ultimate goal is to help my students communicate, work together, think critically and problem solve. My vision is to have my students learn how to learn and to adapt to the constant evolution of technology they will have in the workforce.This article originally appeared on SmartBrief.You might also enjoy… New neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happy Strangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds 10 lessons from Benjamin Franklin’s daily schedule that will double your productivity The worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs 10 habits of mentally strong people