Fall Back in Love with Your Job

The word ‘love’ is not a word most of us associate with ‘work’, as work is about function, purpose and necessity, while love is a blissful emotion associated with immense happiness. But like the personal relationships we have in our lives, our relationship with our job can often present the same challenges and play the same role in influencing our day-to-day happiness.

Fiona Webster, Head of Career Coaching & Outplacement at recruitment & HR services company, Randstad, believes we need to treat work more like a relationship to see its positive benefits.

If you were asked to rate ‘love’ and ‘work’ on life’s happiness barometer, it would be rare to find them on the same scale, but think about the 168 hours there are in a week and how many of those you spend working. So learning to love your day job is vital to achieving a happy balance both at and away from the office.

It takes two
Like love, work is a two-way street, if you don’t feel satisfied about what you’re getting out of your role, then it might pay to give more to your day-to-day activities. Sometimes, ‘you only get out what you put in’ and thinking of ways to improve your basic daily tasks can give you more satisfaction and provide more value to those around you. In the same way, contributing more to your team or getting involved in social activities at work might hold the key to a healthier two-way relationship in 2010. Read more

Employers will not hire mature workers

Hi There, I always enjoy the AWO magazine and feel it offers intelligent articles for intelligent women,and I thank you.On reading the articles on jobs and vacancies I wanted to make this comment…

The government in its wisdom has raised the retirement age, I am retired already so it does not affect me. However, I have many friends over 60, competent women and men who cannot get jobs! It does not matter what the government says, employers will NOT employ older staff – its just a fact of life!

They will not hire older workers and yet they complain about the young ones not working correctly while they do not even give an older worker the opportunity to work. If older people cannot get work then they may as well have left the retirement age at 60, as those who of that age – and there are 100’s – are surviving on New Start and working 15hrs a week in op shops! They may as well be on a pension and put our employment figures where they should really be.

Submitted by: Barbara-Louisa Walker

Please submit your ‘letters to the editor’ by email to editor@australianwomenonline.com

How to work the office Christmas party to get ahead

While the office Christmas party is the time of the year when companies keep their promise of making work fun, the mix of Baby Boomers, Gen X and Y can create a formula for disaster for young up-and-comers, says a leading authority on Gen Y.

For the young and ambitious, the office Christmas party provides the perfect opportunity to network with those who can give you a leg up on the corporate ladder. But whether you’re there to work the room, or just want to have fun, never forget you’re still at work and as such, all the usual rules still apply.

Dominic Thurbon, leading authority on Gen Y from the Centre for Skills Development and a Gen Y himself, has 10 tips for his peers on how to make a Christmas party work for them.

Dominic Thurbon’s Ten Tips for Gen Y to work the Christmas party to get ahead are:

1. Have a plan and make it work
There are two main objectives. One is to have a good time and celebrate – let’s not forget it is a party! The
second is to meet people and network in a relaxed environment.

2. Work the room
Do it like you’re not working it at all. In organisations where senior management is dominated by Xers and
Boomers, there can sometimes be unfair perceptions about younger people at work. You do yourself no favours if you’re fake. Stick to genuine conversation and show interest in other people. Read more

Australians leading the way in a return to Global Financial Optimism

As we emerge from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) relatively unscathed, Australians are looking differently at life and leading the way in a return to Global Financial Optimism (GFO). An international study commissioned by American Express, has shed some light on this trend and identifies the rise of the ‘Potentialists’, a resilient group who are looking for a more well-rounded and enriching life in the wake of the GFC.

Social researcher Mark McCrindle explains, “Potentialists are the one in five Australians who demonstrate a clear ambition to live a rounder life – one that mixes traditional career success with a refreshing appetite for new experiences. They are looking to make more of what they have, rather than always wanting more and display an optimistic attitude that has previously been most associated with Generation Y.” Read more

Australia’s Women Friendly Workplaces 2009

Australia’s outstanding organisations for supporting women at work have been shortlisted in the lead-up to the 2009 Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) Annual Business Achievement Awards (BAAs).

The EOWA’s Business Achievement Awards recognises those organisations that provide excellent workplace initiatives and conditions, as well as individual leaders who are setting the scene for diversity and the advancement of women in their workplaces.

Initiatives from the organisations shortlisted for a 2009 BAA include the following: Read more

Adjusting to a New Boss

The market is changing, many companies are reassessing headcount and as a result we’ve seen mass redundancies in recent months.

With redundancy comes opportunity, many professionals will secure new work and will need to learn once again how to shine as the ‘new recruit’. James Nicholson, Managing Director of Robert Walters Australia offers some advice on how to survive a new job and inevitably, a new boss.

One of the most exciting challenges in a professional’s career is starting a new job but this can also be a very stressful and demanding time. Professionals must realise that the job will never be exactly as they expected although if you anticipate the challenges ahead, your transition can be much smoother. A new job means new relationships, new ways of doing things and new expectations.

Not only has your workplace changed but so has your boss. Many professionals will say that adjusting to a new boss is the hardest part about starting a new job; others will feel it to be the easiest. In order to ensure your new role starts well, it’s important that you let go of your old boss and accept that your new boss will have new priorities, a new focus and almost certainly, a new way of doing things.

It is important to figure out the communication style of your new boss, find out how they like to work and how they like things done. Be proactive and initiate a meeting with your new boss to discuss how they like to work and then adapt. This will help you get an understanding of what is expected of you and help set clear expectations.

Working under a new boss can be challenging, however it is an experience that should be embraced. Learn everything you can from the experience, try and empathise with the boss’ situation, this will ease the transition for you both. Ultimately it is just as important for you to manage your new boss, as it is for them to manage you. And remember – it’s up to the both of you to make the relationship work.

Robert Walters is a leading global recruitment consultancy, specialising in placing high calibre professionals into permanent, contract and temporary positions at all levels. For more information visit the website www.robertwalters.com.au

Source: Robert Walters

Where to from here for Today’s Working Mother

On Budget night women’s groups applauded the Rudd Government’s decision to introduce a paid parental leave scheme. It was an historic victory thirty years in the making and yet, the announcement barely registered with an electorate more concerned about the government’s decision to increase the retirement age to 67 years in order to pay for it. So what does this tell us about the current workplace? It’s obvious most of us are not happy – we are working longer hours and in the absence of more flexibility in how we structure our working lives, the best we can hope for is to retire at an age where we are still fit and healthy enough to enjoy it.

New Zealand journalist and author of the new book, Because We’re Worth It: A ‘where to from here’ for today’s working mother, Gill South (pictured), says in the current economic climate, nobody wants to be seen as a ‘problem worker’, especially those who have families to support. Read more

Bullying and Sexual Harrassment in the Workplace

According to the latest CareerOne.com.au survey, Australians being bullied and sexually harassed in the workplace are not reporting the incidents because they fear ruining their career.

Of the 788 respondents surveyed, 62 per cent had been bullied and 29 per cent had been sexually harassed. Most of the respondents who had been bullied (59 per cent) or sexually harassed (74 per cent) didn’t report the incident.

Kate Southam, editor of CareerOne.com.au said workers could find themselves more vulnerable in this cost cutting climate. Read more

Give your career a boost with personal branding

Where does your Personal Brand begin and your Employer’s Brand end?

“Some traditionalist bosses see the Brand You notion as institutionalized disloyalty. In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. Brand You is about people profoundly committed to personal growth — and it goes without saying [I think] that people committed to growth are by far the most engaged and valuable employees.” ~ Tom Peters

Referencing Daniel Pink, we live in the information age and are moving into the conceptual age, where we transition in and out of new jobs and careers more readily than ever before. As technology continues to evolve, offering us new media and social networking sites to promote ourselves and our expertise, not everyone is embracing this at the executive and senior professional levels – yet!

What is Personal Branding?
Tom Peters is the founder of Personal Branding, which I believe should form a part of every working person’s career strategy, including executives and senior professionals. If you have not read Tom’s article ‘Brand You’ I highly recommend it – it is an old one but a good one!

Our personal brand is about how we are seen by those who know us and how we are remembered by those we meet. It is how we package ourselves up online and offline to be viewed and remembered by the world. We have the ability to control what and how our personal brand is remembered. Our alternative is to let others create it for us and/or to rely on our employer to define it. Read more

What Type of Social Networking Butterfly Are You?

Digital strategist Laurel Papworth has 20 years experience in the use of social networks and digital communities. Laurel has identified the seven different types of social networking butterflies. So what type of social networking butterfly are you? Try it Just for Fun!

Camoufly…changes colour depending on the environment
In social networks, the Camoufly keeps their profile separate for each network. Reading the social situation and behaving appropriately is their greatest gift, a place and time for everything. Facebook is strictly for friends and family – forget them adding the boss or popping online at work to poke friends! The Camoufly screens their calls too, pushing personal calls to voicemail at work – privacy is paramount to the vanishing Camoufly. Read more

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