It’s not everyday that you will want to know about online productivity because maybe it has nothing to do with you, but that’s not quite the right approach. The principles regarding productivity remain the same irrespective of whether you work online or onsite. It’s important that you have a correct approach to your working schedule. In most cases, online productivity becomes an important matter especially if you are working from home itself. This is because at work, you are constantly monitored so your productivity is in check. However if you’re working from home there are many distractions to keep you away from work.

photo by Paladin27
The other hindrance in terms of online productivity is that people tend to work longer because they think they will manage. Truth is we are human after all and you really won’t get away by pushing yourself beyond your personal limit. Once in a while it’s acceptable and may work for you, but if you continue to push yourself, you’ll burn yourself out.

PLAN

When you work online, don’t ever over stress yourself. It may seem very easy when you tell others you are working part time, freelance or full time from home itself. It paints a very flowery picture and gives the image of a very easy job, but the truth is very far from this. Yes you may find more comfort sitting on your favorite chairs surrounded by the comforts of your home, but that’s just about the only leeway. Your work is as hard as anyone else’s so plan it well. This is optimum. Know your day’s agenda and set targets. Make your work plans at the start of each work day or else you’ll be running late in a number of things.

HOLIDAY TIME

Just because you are sitting at home does not mean you continue to work without any holidays. Make sure you take the required amount of holidays. Keep your weekends off so you can do all your pending odd jobs and revitalize yourself for the subsequent week. If you work non-stop you’ll lose connection with yourself and will be a zombie at home. Do not sacrifice on your breaks and don’t push yourself and say you’ll work till your family members don’t come home each day. Take a break and call it quits for the day once you have worked for the amount of hours you have decided upon.

MANAGEABLE TARGETS

There’s times you’ll want to take on more work because it seems too attractive or the payout is great, but be realistic, you’d rather have regular freelance work for a fixed amount of hours each day to help you meet your monetary needs rather than overstress yourself on certain days. Don’t ever take on more than you can manage only because you think you can manage. This will cause you to lose clients in case you can’t live in accordance to your impulsive decisions.

BE REALISTIC

Don’t sit longer hours and do silly things like skip lunch or postpone meal times each day. It’s really not fair to yourself and honestly you really aren’t going to achieve anything great by doing so. This is because if you push beyond your limits, very soon lethargy will set in. your pace will slacken and you’ll actually be working longer hours with reduced productivity. Now that’s not worth it all so take preventive measures to avoid such unsuitable situations.

Online productivity has to be maintained each day so you reach all targets. This is possible only if you are attentive to your work needs. Make sure you take regular breaks each day. Eat on time and don’t stretch that hunger pang because soon you’ll start to loser your appetite. You really don’t want to take ill, do you? When working make sure you stretch adequately. Get up at regular breaks take a walk and rest your eyes. This is important so you don’t stress yourself and bring on fatigue. Make sure you get the right sitting furniture and not your favorite couch because that’s going to bring on a back ache that maybe chronic in time. Drink plenty of water during work hours and take a break every now and then to make sure you maintain continuity.

There are a few liberties you can take but don’t push that either. Don’t be lazy and keep postponing your work thinking you have lot of time to spare.

Online productivity needs self-monitoring so be disciplined and make the right decisions for yourself because you alone know the real story regarding your work abilities.

*** 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.

Working from home is not always as easy as it may seem. Many times people think that you’re not capable of having a real job just because you’re not doing what a regular corporation employee is doing. Wake up, dress up, coffee in the subway, morning talk with your colleagues, meetings and so on, this is what people expect from a responsible person.

However since I’ve seen so many stories with people earning lots of money doing it from home by combining business with pleasure, I can tell you a few tips you should take into consideration.

What should I do in the morning? This is a very good question and the answer is simple. Stay in pole-position and be the first to start.

1. Don’t oversleep. The human body, usually refreshes after 7-8 hours of sleep, that if you’re not losing your nights, going to sleep in the morning. Sleeping from 11 pm and waking up at 7 am always worked for me. I always wake up early in the morning just to breathe a less polluted air.
2. Exercise. You’re thinking how you can not properly exercise in the morning and decide not to do it, then you’re kidding yourself. I’m not talking about heavy lifting or a marathon, simple stretching positions, jogging or a dog walk will do.
3. Take a shower. Lots of people say that a shower in the morning ease their awakening and if you can alternate hot and cold water it will help strengthen and normalize the nervous, circulatory, endocrine and immune systems.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast. I’ve said it many times that it’s imperative to eat healthy so keep in mind that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The food you eat in the morning is what gives you the energy and power to work all day long.
5. Keep your room clean. Don’t think that after getting out of bed the room shouldn’t be cleaned. Make your bed and leave it in order, you’ll thank yourself when you get back to it for a nap or at night, to sleep. Make it a habit to keep everything clean from the beginning.
6. Change your clothes. You are starting a new day and you need all the energy you can get. Every day needs to be special, and you’ll give just about everything to “conquer the world”. Is this how you wanna do it, in your pajamas? Use comfortable clothes.
7. Head to your office. I am not sure how big your house or apartment is, or if you can afford to “sacrifice” a room for the office, but you may want to keep it away from your sleeping area (even from your eating area). You need fresh energy and you won’t get it in your bedroom. Just the idea of going to the office, be it at home or not, makes people think they are important and improves their focus.

How to improve your work day is just as important as the Formula1 start I was talking above, because it’s not enough to be the first, what’s more important is to keep your position.

1. Concentrate on your work. Being at home is most of the time associated with a combination of work and life at the same time. However, you should be aware that you should dedicate most of your attention to your business. Of course kids and house problem may occur from time to time, so solve, and get back to work.
2. Schedule your working hours. You’re ambitious and decided to work 9-10 hours a day. Sticking to it is the most important thing. Keep in mind that you need social life, too, make room for it.
3. Keep distractions away. You can put your cellphone on silent with visual alert only, disable any Instant Messaging programs and open your email every three hours. The days when I have email and IM on, are the least productive for me.
4. Prioritize. There you go, everything set and you see a bunch of papers on your table. First thing you should do is to prioritize everything, but make sure you have time to do get everything done by the end of the day. The things that need your immediate attention should be started first.
5. The one-hour break. If you’re doing great and feel like you shouldn’t stop in a million years, I advise you to do it. One hour for you to have lunch, some fun with your pet or a 20-minutes power nap could be an ideal break. Don’t worry you won’t lose your wave, you’ll just relax your muscles and your mind to have the power to sustain the flow.
6. Drink plenty of water. The body needs water to function just as it needs air. If you the air you breath as much as you need, same thing should apply for water and scientists have found that the human body needs 8 to 10 glasses of water each day. Don’t wait until you’re thirsty because, thirstiness is a sign that your body lost water and it needs it.
7. Keep your desk clean if you want to be productive during the day, and don’t if you want to search for your documents a few hours.
8. Find ways to relax. If you want my example then I tell you that I listen to music while I work, because it always gives me a more positive state of mind, and keeps stress away. I do have a habit of taking half a minute breaks when I lean back in my chair. Find yours!
9. Anger is useless. A business cannot be a real one if it won’t have negative points. One day you can lose a contract, and the next day you can get yourself a bigger one. The point is that anger won’t solve anything. No one will give your contract back just because you was angry, but persuading the person that you’re skills and your work are high quality might. Anger will only make you see the problem in low light and won’t get you any solutions.
10. Moderation. Being funny but also responsible is the key to a good business, therefore you should find the right recipe that suits you best.

I am not sure if you’re doing a few of those, all or none, but I know how it helped me so far. Now if you have anything to add to my small list then I would appreciate your comments below.

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If your boss tells you he wants you to “be more proactive”, s/he doesn’t want you to go out and buy acne treatment. You are being asked to be more aware of your work environment and anticipate problems.

Merriam-Webster defines proactive as: [2pro- + reactive] : acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes.

While the concept seems simple enough, being able to foresee those future problems, needs and changes are not.

Most employees are reactive. A problem arises and they seek out and implement solutions. A proactive employee is one who has a plan in case something goes wrong or who is prepared for a future event that is going to happen.

For example: You are in charge of a organizing a company workshop. Previous times employees have shown up without any means to take notes so you make sure that each employee is given a pad and pen upon entering the seminar.

Another example would be you have a large printing job to be done. You ensure, in advance, that there is enough ink and paper and warn other employees so that they can make alternate plans should they have printing jobs to be done.

Depending on the size of the project you may need to have a lot of back-up plans. You must constantly be asking yourself “What will I do if…” Obviously you cannot foresee every potential problem but the more prepared you are, the more likely that you can compensate should a situation occur.

In your day to day tasks, you should know it well enough to be able to predict potential problems. However, usually knowing your own job is not enough. You need to make the effort to be aware of how your job interacts with others and the flow of operations within your company.

Proactive employees are more efficient, they are less stressed and cause less stress. They are more appreciated than the employee who simply reacts to problems. However, there is a drawback. If you are good at foreseeing and preventing problems most people are not even aware of your efforts. The plus is that people will often remark, with admiration, that your tasks seem to always run smoothly and without major incident.

It is up to you to decide what kind of employee you want to be. Do you want to be the one reacting to situations? The one running around like a chicken with its head cut off solving problems after they happen? Or do you want to be the one that says to your boss, “I planned in case this happened, here’s what we can do instead”?

Are you constantly being criticized and put down, at work, for invalid reasons? If so you are most likely a victim of workplace bullying.

Workplace bullying is an abuse of power to undermine and intimidate an employee. It is persistent and, over time, can destroy the employee’s self-esteem. People bully because of a need to be in control. This need is based on insecurity of their own capabilities, or lack thereof. They feel “less-than” and boost their self-esteem through the humiliation and criticism of others. They need to push someone down to feel better about themselves.

Open bullying is exactly that. It is the public humiliation of an employee. It can manifest by the bully being verbally or physically abusive. It usually involves humiliating a person in front of co-workers or, conversely, completely ignoring them. Demeaning, unjustified comments about an employees work performance, jokes about the employee’s appearance, personal life or manner of expressing themselves or mocking the employee are just a few examples.

Hidden bullying can consist of persistent criticism, the setting of impossible standards (i.e.: giving deadlines that are impossible to meet), spreading mean, unfounded rumors, stealing ideas and taking credit for them, over-monitoring an employee’s work performance, over-ruling the employee’s authority and blocking promotions.

There are three choices on how to handle workplace bullying. Quit, ignore it or take action. If you decide to take action make sure to document everything. Keep record of every situation, no matter how trivial, where you felt bullied. Include dates, times, names of people who witnessed the occurrence. Keep all documentation where there instances of bullying such as memos, emails, chat logs or letters. Build your case and once done take it to someone higher up the management chain. If that does not produce results find the appropriate government agency to help you or take legal action.

Remember bullies are adept at spotting and exploiting weakness, so be assertive, even if you don’t feel it. Most bullies will back down when confronted. Do not let them get a reaction from you since your reaction is what they feed off of. In other words, “Never let them see you sweat!”

Have you been subjected to workplace bullying? We’d love to hear about how you chose to deal with it and the outcome.