*** This is a guest article by Hazel Mawdsley.

‘Bullying’ is a term often applied to many types of inappropriate behavior. In a workplace setting ‘bullying’ (alternatively referred to as workplace aggression or harassment) can be hard to define. The context is all important. Behavior which may be seen as harmless, bonding banter in one workplace may be felt as a humiliating and isolating experience in another. However, there is general agreement amongst researchers of workplace bullying that it involves four key characteristics.

photo by DonBaird

Workplace aggression involves some form of negative behavior on the part of the perpetrator. Only rarely does this manifest itself as actual or threatened physical harm. More typically, bullying takes the form of verbal abuse or more ‘subtle’ acts which rob individuals of the ability to perform their jobs effectively and of their dignity. Withholding information which affects an individual’s performance, having opinions ignored and being exposed to unmanageable workloads are some frequently experienced examples.

Second, researchers agree that bullying is not a ‘one-off’ event but a relentless and persistent pattern of negative behavior.

Researchers also agree that workplace harassment only occurs between parties of equal power. Victims of bullying are not in a position to defend themselves. In the UK bullying is typically a ‘top down’ phenomenon, where superiors bully subordinates. However, the inequality may be informal such as membership of a clique, where bullying occurs between peers.

Finally, bullying has a detrimental impact on the recipient. It erodes a person’s self-worth and gives rise to a range of physiological and psychological ailments. The Chartered Management Institute (2005) reported that bullying accounted for one third to a half of all stress-related illness. Some researchers have even found Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms in targets of workplace aggression.

CONSEQUENCES

The adverse consequences of workplace bullying extend beyond the target to the wider organization. The costs of litigation, settlements and damaged reputations are just the start. Bullying is associated with higher absenteeism and staff turnover and lowered productivity of victims, perpetrators, witnesses, managers and investigators. The Chartered Management Institute (2005) estimated that £12.8 million working days are lost to stress.

Despite its destructive effects, harassment is prevalent in British workplaces. The DTI Fair Treatment at Work (2005) survey found 3.8% of respondents – representing about one million employees – had experienced bullying within a two year period. The existence of workplace bullying has been borne out by the perceptions of non-bullied colleagues in a number of studies.

AND CAUSES

It is therefore important to understand the causes of workplace aggression. Much research has been devoted to the role of personality and/or organizational factors in triggering bullying. Scandinavian research suggests that whilst a ‘victim personality’ may account for a minority of cases, it does not explain most reports of bullying. However, the working environment appears to be a significant factor. The struggle for ever greater profits and efficiency; unchallenging work; unclear roles; a lack of control over one’s work; unsupportive colleagues and weak leadership have all been associated with bullying. Managers tend to adopt a non-interventionist approach towards claims of bullying.

In a recent court case (Helen Green v Deutsche Bank) Helen Green was awarded considerable damages after it was held that her employers did not take reasonable steps to protect her from bullying by colleagues, despite being aware of the situation. This is consistent with the Chartered Management Institute (2005) survey which found that 60% of managers had received no training in how to tackle bullying. A picture is emerging of a need to develop strategies for preventing and intervening in incidents of workplace bullying to make our workplaces fairer and more productive places.

Hazel Mawdsley is researching the role of trade unions in addressing workplace bullying for her PhD at the Glamorgan Business School. The School is launching a new research centre for workplace behaviours in 2008 under the directorship of Professor Duncan Lewis and Professor Michael Sheehan who have established an international reputation in researching workplace bullying.

Are you the type of person that takes you a long while to fall asleep? Does your mind wander keeping you from those well deserved and much needed hours of sleep? Following some of the next following tips might just help you get the rest you need and help you perform better the next day!

1. Sensory deprivation!

Make your bedroom as noiseless and as dark as possible. That means, turn off your computer, pull the blinds and do not sleep with a night light. This will not only help you get a better sleep but this affects many levels of functioning from reductions of epinephrine, norepinephrine and stress hormones, to better memory retrieval. It helps, of course, with recovering from mental and physical wounds from the day, and boosts creativity. It helps reduce tension, anger, depression and confusion. There is a reason they say to “sleep on” an important decision!

2. Are you a thinker?

Does pondering the course of your life keep you up at night? Worry, stress, anxiety keep you from getting those precious hours of sleep? Well, going to bed 30-60 minutes before your intended bedtime might reduce the side effects of your troubled mind keeping you up late at night.

3. Make your bedroom your sleep haven.

Do not watch television or movies in bed and do not play video games or make your den in your bedroom. Your brain will start associating your bed with ‘playtime’ making it that much more difficult to fall asleep.

4. Do not sleep during the day if you are having trouble at night!

My teacher, a therapist, once had this man come in saying that he needed help sleeping! That he suffered from extreme insomnia at nights. After a few sessions it was revealed that the man took naps during the day! So, my teacher simply suggested not sleeping during the day. The man came back a week later saying that he could finally fall asleep at night that he never thought that sleeping during the day was connected to sleeping at night. A silly example, but sometimes people do not make the necessary behavioral connections.

5. Avoid drinking a few hours before bedtime.

If this is impossible, drink as little as possible. I’ve had the experience of drinking a lot and getting up to go to the bathroom several times during the night. I felt like I had been hit by a steam roller the next day, having probably spent more time up and getting back to sleep than actually sleeping.

6. Finally, are you restless?

Warm up your blanket or sheet in the dryer for 10 minutes. Even try a microwave heating pad under your blanket. The warmth will relax your muscles, make you feel cozy and give you an all around better sleep.

So add these new nuggets to the 9 Steps to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep already posted on the site and you should be snoozing your way to a good night’s sleep and be chock full of productivity the entire next day.

[Photo Source: JanesDead]

I must admit that this is in no way, shape or form my idea but it was so good I just had to put into action here on SocialPacks.

Fred Peters over at NewestOnTheNet borrowed an idea from Mohsin from BlogginBits and made it better. The idea started as a simple backlink giveaway but Fred added a twist. He decided to make “The Ulitmate List of StumbleUpon Articles” and has had a great response so far.

I’ve decided to add my own spin on the idea so here it is:

We’ve just redesigned the site and would love to add some quality links to our blogroll. So make a comment and add a link to your best Stumble article, one that you feel best represents your site. Then add a link to your favorite Stumble article written by someone else. We are looking for links to sites that mesh with our own so: Personal Improvement, Health, Fitness, Career Advice, Money Advice and other sites in that genre.

As great as some of the articles are, please leave the “Best Way to Get Stumble Results” articles out. We are really looking for sites that we can refer our readers to that are in keeping with our “Feel Better, Be Better” slogan. (so that means no article ABOUT StumbleUpon or any social networking site)

We will go through the comments and choose the two sites that we feel best fit in with ours and add each to our blog roll.

What To Do:

• Add a link to your best StumbleUpon article that fits with our self-improvement theme.
• Add a link to your favorite site you’ve StumbledUpon that fits with our self-improvement theme

Benefits to You:

• A free backlink to your articles and people with the same interests viewing your site.
• A great list of articles that covers topics of interest similar to your own blog
• The potential to have a link on our blogroll.

We will delete any spam posts and any that don’t fit in with the theme of our blog so don’t waste your time posting if you know your blog, no matter how good it may be, isn’t what we are looking for. On Nov 1, 2007 we will make a post with all the links we’ve received to make it easier for you to access them. Feel free to add links after that date but be aware that they won’t be added to the article that will contain only links.

While you’re here be sure to check out links in previous comments and give them a Stumble if you feel they deserve it.

Alright! Let’s get “commenting”!!!

You’ve made lists of your life goals and we’ve given career and financial goals a closer look. Now let’s give your Personal goals a little more attention.

Personal Goals

Personal goals are a little harder for me to write about simply because they are personal. They are as unique and varied as each person.

You need to decide what is important to you. Maybe it’s taking up a sport or hobby, losing weight, community service, family, getting in shape, traveling…The list is endless.

Here’s an example of what your plan could look like:

1-month plan

• Goal #1: lose 10 lbs.
• Goal #2: have Sunday dinner with parents every 2 weeks.
• Goal #3: read a book

1-year plan

• Goal #1: achieve desired weight
• Goal #2: join Tai-Chi class
• Goal #3: volunteer in community

3-year plan

• Goal #1: Get married
• Goal #2: Move to desired location
• Goal #3: take trip to Cuba

5-year plan

• Goal #1: Own home
• Goal #2: Have a child
• Goal #3: Trip to Europe

10-year plan

• Goal #1: Own dream home
• Goal #2: Foster children
• Goal #3: Mediterranean cruise for 1 month

Whatever your personal goals are, they are your own. What may be insane and unimportant to one person is what gets someone else up in the morning. Without perosnal goals there’s no reason to have career and financial goals. There’s nothing to work towards, nothing rewarding at the end of the struggle. This is also an area where you can be a little unrealisitic. You can set your goals high and aim for them. If they are truly important to you, you will find a way to achieve them. After analyzing your goals you may realize that you will have to sacrifice a lot now to be able to reach them but only you can decide if that sacrifice is worth it. For example, you’ve decided you want to take a year off work when you turn 40 and sail around the world. That might mean you have to severely limit your luxury spending until then. No new cars, no annual vacations abroad. Take some time to research what it would cost you to do that if you decided to do it now. What would it cost to sail around the world? Document it and then you have a financial goal to aim for, something solid, not just something you’re dreaming about.

You may never achieve the goal, may even decide it’s something you no longer want. That’s ok. It’s the fact of having something to strive for, something to look forward to that’s important. It’s also that fact that without the plan you probably won’t be able to accomplish the goal should you still choose to.

You are now pretty much set. You’ve taken all three areas: Career, Financial and Personal , you’ve given them a lot of thought and you now have the basics of a solid life plan. Next time we will pull all of your hard work together and organize it a bit more so that you have a better was of seeing the whole picture and not just isolated parts of it.

[Picture Source: Flickr: Tenerife]

You have your lists of goals that you’d like to achieve and last time we broke down career aspirations and looked at steps you might need to accomplish them. Now let’s take a closer look at your Financial Goals.

Financial Goals

Financial goals are difficult! I’m sure we would all like to have a few million dollars by the time we are 25. The most important part of any plans is making the goals realistic. If you are 24 and working at McDonald’s, being a millionaire at 25 is unrealistic unless you happen to have a winning lottery ticket.

Start with your 1-month goals. Those are usually simple and consist of paying up your monthly bills. See if you are earning enough to cover those bills. If not make changes. Spend less or earn more.

Then add in your 1-year goals. Maybe you have a small debt to pay off or want to take a vacation in the coming year. Plan it out. Take the total amount you will need and divide it out over your pays. Force yourself to save the money so you can achieve that goal.

Your 3-year goals could include things like paying off a larger debt or saving for a new car. Again plan it out.

A 5-year plan could include putting a down payment on your own home or starting an investment fund.

By the time you are writing your 10-year plan it should include bigger goals. Things like having paid off 50% of your mortgage, having 50K in investments or having 20K in your children’s education fund.

Remember you have to adapt the plan to your unique situation. You may have no debt or no interest in a car and can start saving for a house in year 1. Your 10-year plan could be to have a net worth of $10M. Whatever the case, just make sure your plan is realistic. What’s the point of having a plan that you have no hope of accomplishing.

You’ve made your lists and we’ve broken done Career Goals and Financial Goals. Next up is taking a closer look at Personal Goals.

[Photo Source: Noah Wesley]

In the last part of “Do You Have a Life Plan” I had you write out lists based on Career, Financial and Personal Goals. Before moving on to the next step, I want to take a closer look at each category to be sure you’ve thought each one through completely.

Career Goals

Obviously, step 1 is deciding on a career. Once you’ve done that you need to evaluate if you have the necessary education and skills for that career choice. If you don’t, you will need to include in your plan what steps you will need to accomplish them. What classes will you need, where are they offered, what will be the cost, is there the possibility of an apprenticeship… I have a friend who decided he wanted his MBA but after looking into it realized he would not be able to afford it. After weighing many options he decided to join the military. He researched and set up his plan so that he could accomplish his goal by having the military pay for his schooling in exchange for his future service.

Let’s assume you already have the education and skills needed. Now you need a plan to get the job you want. Include things like talking to people in that job and researching companies in that field. You may realize that you will have to start at a lower salary or in a department, or even a location, that you don’t want in order to get experience or connections to eventually advance to your dream career. Another friend took a 1-year posting in Nigeria to get experience. He still says it was the worst year of his life but when he came home he had his pick of companies to work for.

Look back over the Career list of goals you’ve previously made. Does the list cover everything? If not add to it.

You’ve made your original lists and now you’ve given the category of Career a lot more thought. Next time we’ll expand on your Financial goals to make sure you’ve got them covered.

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~Don Marquis

Are you one of those people that will put off doing something until the very last minute and then wait 30 more seconds before doing it? Do you have trouble keeping up with last week much less yesterday? You are not alone. Many people suffer from the same problem but we have some advice to help you beat procrastination once and for all.

Steps to Beat Procrastination

1. Organize. One of the best ways to beat procrastination is to organize your tasks. Organization leads to you knowing what you have to do at all time. This can be a nice buffer between you and your anxiety about finishing the project at hand.Organize your project into smaller chunks. That way not only will the task seem less daunting, when you finish a section you will have achieved a sense of accomplishment. This reinforcement is important for it will make you look forward to doing another chunk of the task. Also, waiting until the end for your sense of accomplishment can lead to negative effects. One being that the reinforcement will not be psychologically related to the task that you completed. You will be exhausted after having finished such a huge task. Finally, you might not even finish the task that you have set forward to finish.
2. Have a task room. Do not play in the room where you do your work and do not work in the room you play in. This will increase the urge to play! The room will have become associated with playing making it impossible to focus on the well organized plan in front of you. Play does not have a deadline, but work does.
3. Reward. The reward of accomplishment after having finished a section can only carry a person so far. Suddenly, focus will shy away from what was completed, to what is left to be completed. This can get overwhelming, depending on the size of the task. A simple way to negate this effect is to reward yourself at the end of each section that you complete. Relax, grab a coffee or tea, sit in front of the television for 20 minutes. Even have some sort of special reward, for example, special foods that you only get once completing sections of your project. Do not, however, eat it whenever, for then the reward will become unassociated with the completion of the task.
4. It isn’t all or nothing. Do not think that these tips are a “change everything in a second” tool. People like quick fixes, and that is why they do not work. If you have a pattern of procrastinating chances are it has been ingrained into your pattern of behavior for a very long time. You will not wake up tomorrow and have beaten procrastination. This is just as likely as you wanting to lose 50 pounds and waking up the next morning and, surprise! You are now 50 pounds lighter without having put in any effort at all. If you think there are quick fixes in life, you will only cause yourself more anxiety when you fail.
5. Don’t fret, it’s not over. Organizing and rewarding will seem to work some days and not others. Some days you will fail to finish a section of a project because your favorite television show was doing a six hour marathon of reruns! Or people came over! Or…The best way to handle these situations is to not blame yourself, do not stress. Stress and anxiety will hinder your ability to catch up and finish the project.

Don’t fret, just reorganize your schedule.

Last week I covered choosing adaptability and why it’s an important trait for a leader to have. Being able to recognize that change is inevitable and that you are going to have to adapt to is it paramount in a leader’s skill set. Another trait that ties in with adaptability is your level of competence, or in a lot of cases incompetence.

Choosing your level of incompetence is something that only you can do. Nobody can make you incompetent nor can anybody make you competent. That decision, and responsibility for it, lands squarely on your shoulders. So what do I mean “Choose Your Level of Incompetence”. Who would ever choose to be incompetent at their job? The answer is: pretty much everyone. You have been promoted or hired to do a specific job. Based on your education and past work experience it is assumed that you know what you are doing. You are comfortable doing your tasks and have a base of knowledge that will get you through every day situations. Why bother to learn more? Because things change. Every job grows and changes and so you too need to adapt and grow.

You have to make a conscious decision to never stop learning your craft. You must decide to take courses, attend seminars and read books to constantly update your skill set. You may also have to constantly upgrade your knowledge in the field you are managing. For example, a bank manager can’t just take management seminars. S/He also has to learn changes to banking regulations, changes to bank policies and even changes to tax laws.

The fact remains that you decide your level of competence, or incompetence. Your choice to learn, or not learn, will be one of the main factors in determining whether you are able to perform your duties to the best of your abilities or if you are just skating through on what you already know.

Check back next time when I’ll throw another Leadership tool into your Arsenal to help improve your managerial skills and help you to avoid achieving your level of incompetence.

Recently I had the opportunity of judging someone’s actions and see if that someone did a good job or not, if the tasks have been completed and how. I am talking about a small legend in my country, an ethical person with high spirits that had to run a team.

It’s not easy to be “almost perfect” in your niche and to be forced to work with common people because you will ask them to perform just like you. They won’t be able to do it and the team will be drawn back.

Reasons why you shouldn’t do it

If someone experienced, is asking me to deliver something that I can’t or that I never did before, chances are for the job to remain undone and I could develop a bad sentiment of inferiority. This is what makes your team members to lose faith in their own powers or lose interest in doing something they consider not to be suited for. This is a no-return point from where you cannot motivate your team further to listening to you.

What should be done?

1. First thing to do in such a problem is to make a realistic assessment of the team. Unless you know what each member is capable to do, you won’t know what to ask from them and you may ask either too much or too less.
2. This is something I learned from my father since I was a little boy, if he doesn’t know, teach him. We learn things until the very last seconds of our lives. Teach your crew the best you can.
3. Another thing you should consider is winning the trust of the person, by maintaining a warm discussion. A low and calm tone in the voice tells a lot about a person and people tend to listen. You need to make sure your ideas are being heard and making them believe in your tactics and experience is a big step in reaching your goals as a team.
4. Be progressive. For this one I will use an example from fitness or sports in general. Do you know why you start slow when you go for the first time at the gym? The body needs to become aware of what’s going to happen, it needs to understand to send more energy to your arms to support weight lifting or into your legs if you’re running, but you need to do it gradually or you may get a big REJECT, translated in pains. Train your people one step at a time, because they need to be confident of what they can deliver.

Even if you managed to improve your team, don’t expect them to be as good as you are. Only ask things that are “askable” and start over with point #1 if needed.

No one cares if it’s Tuesday or Wednesday because we all want the weekend to come sooner so that we can take some time off from work and relax, but many times people don’t know what to do during the weekend and they stay at home, over-sleeping or not doing anything fun.So if you’re thinking “what do I do this weekend” I will give you a few hints.

1. A long breakfast. If you cannot afford staying 30-40 minutes during week days now is the time to relax, enjoy the morning sun and eat the most important meal of the day. You don’t need to hurry now.
2. Sports. Be it 2 hours of playing tennis, an hour at the pool or just 30 minutes at home stretching, don’t forget to do it.
3. Quick cleanup. A clean house will always make you feel like you’re starting a good weekend. Take a few minutes to do your dishes, clean the dust or vacuum.
4. Buy flowers, fresh season flowers which are cheaper and will bring a good amount of energy in your home.
5. Walk in the park for a few hours if the weather allows it. Take your dog with you if you have one.
6. Shopping. Meet someone at the mall an go tour the shops. If you like something and you can afford it, go ahead and buy it. It’s not a secret anymore, that shopping therapy always help.
7. Cook something you never did so far. I’m not talking about something that you throw in your microwave and gives you plate, fork and meat. Open Google and search for a weekend recipe; you’ll be amazed what you found. How about a Japanese lunch?
8. Make a small trip. Find a lodge or a hotel in the mountains or at the seaside and disconnect yourself from your daily routine.
9. Treat your hair. Do you know that your hair needs some kind of a revive after a long week. You can try aromatherapy products or maybe get a new haircut.
10. Read a good book.
11. Don’t forget your hobby. During the week you’re probably too busy or too tired to collect your stamps or play some volleyball that’s why I suggest you to remember your hobbies during the weekend.
12. An hour of massage. Your boy/girl-friend will massage your neck, shoulders and your back unless you have an appointment with some professional help. Keep in mind that massage is a great way of relieving tension from your body.
13. Be a traveler in a big city. If you’re from the country then I suggest you go visit a big city nearby. If you live in this big city, I am also sure, you will be able to find new things that you miss during your work days when you cannot focus on buildings, trees or birds. Seeing new things, open your horizon to other levels.
14. Listen to music. If you’re staying home or driving don’t forget to listen to some quality music. Play your favorite tracks to relax.
15. Hang out with your friends. When is a better time to meet with your best friends, if not during the weekend? Go out for a coffee or tea and relax watching people passing by.
16. Wash your car if you have one.
17. Choose a theme for your party. If you’re thinking of throwing a party with your friends then I suggest you to choose a theme. What about a Mexican party, a beach or pool party or maybe just a barbecue?
18. Talk to your family and friends. For those that don’t live with their parents or have a very close friend they haven’t talked to in a while, I suggest you to give them a call. Hearing their voice will be sweet and will make you feel happy.
19. Laugh as much as you can. Laughing will lower your stress levels.
20. Go to a museum.
21. Try bowling. If you know how to bowl then you’ll just become better. If not, there’s always a start for anything. Bowling is fun.
22. Take dancing lessons. At a wedding and you don’t know how to dance? Why not go try some cha cha lessons, it’s fun, keeps you in shape and will keep tension away.
23. Forget your car. If people think you’ve been born in your car then I suggest you forget it just for these 2 days. Use public transportation, buy a bike or walk to the places you need to get to. It’s more fun if you do it with somebody else.
24. Try new things. Bungee jumping, roller skating or skiing. Anything you haven’t experienced so far.
25. Wash your clothes. Do it at home to save some money and do it now when you have the time.

These are the 25 things I could think of for my weekend, but I am sure other people could do different. If you can add to the list, make the count and comment bellow. Hope it helped you if you didn’t know what to do this weekend.

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