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Celebrate Your Career Wins This Year

By Job Journey on Monday, December 12, 2016

Celebration can be a valuable communication and motivational tool in your career, so don’t hesitate to celebrate your career wins this year.

Commemorating those victories is about sharing milestones, setting sales records, acquiring new skills and achieving goals. Celebrating your career wins this year not only creates feelings of well-being and self-respect, but also encourages your company to continue to give you opportunities to succeed.

At the end of 2016, it’s time to look back on your achievements and take pride. Try these five tips to rejoice in your career wins:

1. Celebrate the Small Wins
Management and career experts agree that breaking down major goals into smaller, achievable milestones not only reduces fear, but increases the chances of successful outcomes. Small wins provide a boost in happiness in employees. A University of Warwick study confirms that happy people are roughly 12% more productive, while another study shows that employees are more creative when they are happy. So go ahead and celebrate even the smallest victory.

2. Share Your Plans and Milestones
Let your co-workers and supervisors know about the wins you had this year and thank those who played a part in achieving those milestones. It’s also a good time to reveal your plans, letting everyone know what you are working toward in the upcoming year. As an added bonus, this will let everyone celebrate milestones along the way.

3. Creates Bonds With Co-Workers
You don’t have to throw a party for each victory you’ve achieved this year, but having a get together of some sort has the added benefit of strengthening your business network and boosting relationships. As your accomplishments are listed, allow others to take part in the event by sharing their milestones as well. If you worked with a team, an end-of-the-year roundup of achievements leaves everyone with a renewed sense of accomplishment and motivation to create more successes in 2017.

4. Keep a Notebook of Career Wins
Success breeds success, so celebrating allows you to build on your momentum. In addition, publicly recognizing your wins creates the perception that you are a high-value employee who creates results for the company. Celebrations not only reinforce the positive opinion others have of you, but also create the impression that you are a desirable employee to know and trust.

5. Allow Yourself to Be Proud
Do not be embarrassed to be proud of yourself. Even if you only celebrate your wins this year by yourself, just knowing what you have accomplished and being proud of your achievements increases self-esteem and motivation. You’ve worked hard this year. You overcame challenges. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. You deserve it!

Celebrating the good work you’ve done is psychologically important to your career health. You can take a moment, a day, or even a week to feel good about what you’ve done and reflect on how you can do an even better job next year.

How will you celebrate your wins this year? What were your biggest victories? We’d love for you to share your stories with us in the comments section below!

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

Achieving Your Goals in 2014

By leidson on Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Now that 2014 is in full swing, it’s time to take a good look at your goals for the year. What are you doing to reach your goals this year? Are you working hard and setting a good pace to accomplish your goals and new year’s resolutions or have you already gotten off track? No matter what the case may be, you can still achieve the goals you’ve set to better yourself this year.

Goal setting is needed to succeed in everyday life especially if you’re searching for a job or working to advance your career. Without goals, you’re letting life push you around. It’s never too late to set goals and make positive changes in your life. Here are some tips and easy steps to follow to accomplish your goals in 2014.

Write Them Down
The secret to achieving your goals starts with writing them down. When you have to make decisions being able to see your goals will help you stay focused on what is most important. Make sure to write down your goals and post them around your house and workplace to help keep you focused. Regularly seeing the goals you’ve written will help motivate you to take action and help you become more successful. Try writing your short-term milestones on a poster board or dry erase board, so you can see them every day and check off each goal as you accomplish it.

Take Action
You could write down goals all day long, but until you take action, they amount to nothing; and you could possibly be right back where you are a year from now, still wishing you’d made a difference in your income, found a better job, or changed your eating habits. Writing down your goals is only the beginning. Next, you have to make a move! Be intentional by pursuing your goals daily and taking action to accomplish them.

Stay Positive
Forget the negative and dwell on the positive. Sometimes, you may feel like giving up, but you’ll eventually overcome if you stay positive and keep your eyes on the prize! Just remember every meaningful endeavor, dream, or goal will encounter resistance. Overcome the obstacles by focusing on the positive.

Celebrate Your Accomplishments
When you’re experiencing success, it’s easy to celebrate. But if you’re not seeing results, it’s difficult to see the silver lining. Think about how far you’ve come and what you still need to do to accomplish your goals. Remember to look at the goals you’ve written down. Think of those goals as mile markers on a highway. Don’t turn around if you make a mistake. Keep moving forward and take time to celebrate your accomplishments!

What steps are you taking to accomplish your goals? Share with us in the comments section below.

The Daily Grind Uncategorized Work/Life Balance

5 Things to Know This Month

By leidson on Wednesday, January 8, 2014

With each year comes new opportunities for improvement in your life, and what better time to make much needed changes than at the beginning of a new year. We all know making lifestyle changes can be difficult, but if you take one step at a time you’ll be on the road to a happier, better you in 2014. Check out these five things to know this month.

National Mentoring Month
Did you know January is National Mentoring month? There are many ways to make a difference through mentorship in your community. Spending time developing relationships with people can make a lasting impact in their life and yours. Check out Mentoring.org for opportunities to help make a difference and for information on how to start a mentoring program in your community. If you’re looking to be mentored, here are a few tips on how to pick the right mentor.

MLK Day – Jan. 20
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated on the third Monday in January. MLK Day was officially signed into law as a national holiday in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan, but was not observed by all 50 states until 2000. This day is all about honoring the achievements and life of pastor and civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. Let this day remind you of your achievements, and motivate you to see your dreams realized.

National Letter Writing Week
Traditionally, the second week of January is designated as National Letter Writing Week. During this week, take time away from your keyboard to write a handwritten letter to someone. Cards, letters, and notes are precious to those who receive them. If you can’t think of a way to start a letter begin by saying, “In honor of National Letter Writing Week, I wanted to write you.”

National Blood Donor Month
Blood donation is very low this time of year yet incredibly important during winter. Help change a life by giving blood during National Blood Donor month. You’ll feel good knowing that your donation helped save a life.

National Hobby Month
Whether or not you’re a creative person, you can find some way to celebrate National Hobby month. This month is a great time to expand your horizons. Ask yourself what you enjoy doing and what those interests mean to you. Taking up a new hobby is a good way to reenergize, inspire, and expand your mind. And, it could help you make some extra money or land a job.

January is full of holidays and reasons to celebrate, so there is plenty to experience and do during this beautiful winter month. What do you like to do in January? Let us know in the comments section below!

At Work The Daily Grind

Celebrate Have Fun at Work Day!

By Jared Cole on Monday, January 28, 2013

Get out your noise-makers and party hats, because Jan. 28 is National Have Fun at Work Day! It’s not a widely known holiday, but it can be a very important one. Employees can only take so much when it comes to long, intense work schedules, stressful deadlines, and little to no freedom of expression before morale and productivity start to slip.

I don’t know how many times I’ve quoted Willy Wonka, “A little nonsense now and then is treasured by the wisest men,” or Jack Nicholson, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” when discouraged from injecting some harmless fun in school or work. What most people don’t realize is that in most modern work settings, the more grueling a schedule or job is, generally the less productive people become.

Science Has Your Back!
There have been several scientific studies that connect fun with productivity. There are also reports of major companies like Google and LinkedIn shifting focus to their employees having fun by paying for activities like volleyball or bowling, or having rooms dedicated to foosball so employees can play a game when feeling stressed.

Use your imagination, and a little bit of best judgment, to come up with ideas to de-stress yourself and ease the tension among your co-workers and supervisors. It could be as small as bringing a festive game to share with co-workers to playing with a beach ball with fellow colleagues during a break if the weather is nice enough.

Laughter is The Best Medicine
A survey published by the professional development magazine “Training and Development” revealed that 84% of HR managers said employees with a sense of humor do better work. Since most adults spend a large part of their time at work, there should be more opportunities to have a laugh and enjoy yourself.

Despite what most people may think, laughing doesn’t always mean someone is goofing off. Having a good laugh can ease workplace tension, reduce conflict among your peers, and can fight lost work time caused by boredom. In many ways, laughter can lead to a more productive and meaningful work experience.

The famous inventor and businessman Thomas Edison said, “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun.” While you may not have as much fun as Mr. Edison, take some extra time this week to enjoy yourself. You’ll be surprised how much you’ll accomplish without realizing that work is actually getting done.

At Work Cube Life The Daily Grind

5 Ways to Say Happy Birthday at Work (Without Breaking Your Budget)

By tiffany monhollon on Monday, February 9, 2009

If you’ve ever felt that one day blends into another at work, then you know that any excuse to shake things up and break from the norm is a great way to lift spirits and help your team bond. While each workplace differs on the reasons why and how they celebrate, a popular trend is
celebrating employee birthdays. Though some people dislike the attention and others choose not to celebrate for religious reasons, most people in the workplace enjoy a small birthday party.

But in times like these, budgets are tight for businesses and employees alike. So, here are five ways to celebrate birthdays at work without going broke.

1. Sign a group birthday card. Depending on the size of your workplace or team, a card signed by your group can be a simple way to help everyone save a few bucks. Another idea is to create an electronic group greeting card that everyone can customize. GroupCard.com makes it easy to make sure everyone has a chance to sign an electronic card and will schedule the delivery date for you.

2. Bake, don’t order cake. Having a monthly cake to celebrate employee birthdays is a time-honored tradition in many workplaces, but the costs can add up fast. Employers may be looking to cut budgets on items like these, but that doesn’t mean birthdays can’t be sweet anymore. One idea is to have team members bake cupcakes, cookies, or other sweets to bring to celebrate co-worker birthdays.

3. Have a potluck picnic. Instead of catering in or going out for a restaurant meal to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday, a budget-friendly alternative is to have a potluck picnic or lunch. Having everyone bring a themed dish is a great way to build camaraderie within your team and celebrate while keeping budgets in check.

4. Throw a re-gift party. If your team has a tradition of buying gifts for each other but can’t afford to this year, try a unique spin on the popular “Dirty Santa” holiday gift exchange. Have a re-gift party in honor of your team member’s birthday and ask all team members to bring a white elephant gift to exchange (just make sure they don’t bring a gift they received from a co-worker!). Other variations of this idea include having a themed gift swap. Simply select a theme, like funny things under $1, your favorite candy, or a secret recipe. Then, use the gift exchange game rules to provide an inexpensive but fun party game that gets everyone involved and preserves the gift-giving spirit.

5. Host a tournament or game lunch. Another way to celebrate birthdays at work is to schedule a game hour or tournament. Playing cards, board games, or word games can be a fun way for your team to celebrate while not spending a lot of money.

To keep team morale high, especially in times like these, it’s important to make sure we don’t cut celebrating from the workplace when budgets get cut. So, try using some of these ideas to celebrate birthdays in your workplace, or suggest these ideas to your team the next time you’re looking for a much-needed morale boost on the job.