How to be productive when working from home

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”

Walt Disney

Flexible working has not only become a top priority for employers, it is also a desirable for job candidates. As a result, working from home is continuing to grow in popularity, from saving money on your daily commute and no office interruptions, it can be a really effective way to handle those admin or project days.

It does however come with some challenges and the main concern from employers when allowing their employees to work from home is measuring how productive working from home can be, so there is a big emphasis upon trust on both sides of the employment relationship.

If like me, working from home is something you are able to do on occasion, it can be difficult to keep focused, so here are some easy ways that you can be your most productive self at home:

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How kindness can create sustainability at work #HRactsofkindness

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If you’ve picked up a newspaper or seen the news recently, it seems to be all doom and gloom in the headlines, some even going as far as “naming and shaming” particular employers which has created a workplace minefield. We’ve seen cases of bullying, racism, homophobia and sexual harassment, and whilst none of this is new, we live in a time where people are starting to speak more openly about these really important topics. The question for employers and employees alike – what can, and what should we do about it?

As humans, we always have a choice on how we act and respond to events that go on around us, it is our actions that make a huge impact. When I created HR acts of kindness in 2016, my aim was to create kinder workplaces and inspire others to create their own versions of  kindness to spread within their workplaces as well as the wider community.

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Succeeding through failure

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As many of you already know, I have recently taken my CIPD Level 7 examinations in January and have recently received my results; I passed one but sadly the one I worked really hard on, I failed.

That F on that piece of paper was devastating, I’ve been in HR for 13 years, worked really hard, know my stuff and usually have a thick skin but that F really hurt!

I am writing this about a month after receiving that F, and I have had a chance to step back and reflect on it and that F really isn’t that bad, in fact, it has taught me a lot of things which can be taken as a positive through my career journey; after all, if life isn’t lived like you’re on a rollercoaster, it’s not living, it’s existing.

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Why you should do a job you love

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Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

I thought that on today of all days it would be a perfect opportunity to talk about why it is important to love what we do every day.

Work may be seen as a typical 9-5 necessity, but it is, in fact, a big part of our lives, with 1/3 of your life is spent at work, that’s 90,000 hours over the course of a lifetime! With that in mind, can you really afford to spend all of that time in a career you simply don’t enjoy?

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Is Blue Monday really that bad?

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It has been branded the worst day of the entire year (I know, tough crowd, huh?!) but is Blue Monday really that bad?

Blue Monday was actually a gimmick created by a travel company in an attempt to convince people to book a holiday, and it worked! Blue Monday is actually a big day for retailers, and with the early dark nights, the grey cold weather, the passing of the jolly Christmas festivities and the tight finances can all contribute to feeling a bit blue at this time of year.

It is safe to say that we can all pretty much agree that Monday is not the most exciting day of a week, and it is always hard to get back into the swing of things at work after a nice relaxing weekend. But aren’t we being a little bit harsh on the third Monday of January? Can we really assume it to be the most depressing day of the year? Personally I do not think so, but as with everything, it is a matter of perspective, but one thing is for sure, the media channels love to bring it to our attention every year, however, it is almost always in a negative light.

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