Knee Deep in Water Chloe
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Post by Knee Deep in Water Chloe on Mar 31, 2015 20:28:45 GMT -5
And see Beth, if they were really all just 30 seconds, that would be different. But they're NOT!!! What does "building morale" mean for you (or if it's not building, insert office, worksite, whatever). Do you like "gatherings"? We have a 15 minute Happy Hour (sugar, not alcohol) every Friday at 3:45. About 65% attend. I'm bringing in a massage therapist on Friday for people to pay $1/minute for massages. Some are excited; others don't ever want to be touched. Are those good for you or annoying?
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chen35
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Post by chen35 on Apr 1, 2015 10:38:14 GMT -5
Stuff like that I think is fine. Where it's optional. Most people enjoy treats, and I think the massage idea is great! If you don't like it, you don't have to do it. No problem there!
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flamingo
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Post by flamingo on Apr 1, 2015 10:42:11 GMT -5
Knee Deep in Water Chloe: We are working on office morale where I work. In theory, my staff/the division would like what you are proposing. In practice, however, they feel very different. They want the "bosses" to offer activities like this to help boost morale. But when we do offer the activities, usually less than half participate. And the ones that participate are the ones that weren't clamoring for it in the first place.
When we do activities like that, we try to do them on work time. So no one has to give up their personal time for what feels like forced team building.
And, in my office, things like only seem to work when everyone is happy about everything. When things are contentious for whatever reason, no matter what we offer in the way of fun, non-stressful activities, fail big time. Yep, some days it feels like a no-win situation!
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Apr 1, 2015 12:54:05 GMT -5
The engineering firm I work for is big on the motto work hard, play h.a.rd and g.iv.e ba.ck. Most of what you described we do or have done. It's never 100% participation, but it generally makes people happy and appreciative. We have happy hours (with alcohol) generally at least once a month - generally just beer, plus sodas and water, and the snacks, but last week's also had a margarita machine.
We have a chair massage person come in once per month, and you can either do a 10 or 20-minute massage for $10 or $20.
Other fun things we've done include Bubble Soccer, volunteering (food bank, adult special Ed place, etc), Chris Cakes (annual event that is so fun - they come cook pancakes and sausage for breakfast in the parking lot), picnics at a local park with burgers and hot dogs and stuff, baseball game tickets (they cover the employee ticket and you can get extra tickets for spouse/kids at discounted rates), and cook off contests (chili, salsa, dessert, queso, etc). We also have a ping pong table, pool table, and a couple of arcade game machines we can use.
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chen35
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Post by chen35 on Apr 1, 2015 12:56:54 GMT -5
I think the key is to make it optional, and not get upset when people don't participate (keeping in mind that if no one is participating, it might not be the best morale booster). We used to do activities like tcu2003 mentioned, but I could never please everyone. Someone always complained. So we stopped. And people complain about that. But it's a lot less work for me for the same amount of complaining, so I'll take it!
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Apr 1, 2015 13:35:10 GMT -5
And see Beth, if they were really all just 30 seconds, that would be different. But they're NOT!!! What does "building morale" mean for you (or if it's not building, insert office, worksite, whatever). Do you like "gatherings"? We have a 15 minute Happy Hour (sugar, not alcohol) every Friday at 3:45. About 65% attend. I'm bringing in a massage therapist on Friday for people to pay $1/minute for massages. Some are excited; others don't ever want to be touched. Are those good for you or annoying? DH's boss brought someone in to do basic yoga/stretching on Thursdays from 5-6pm. Attendance is about 12-15 people every week out of an office of around 60-75 - I'm not completely sure what the office headcount is anymore, it ebbs and flows. On Monday nights, someone comes in to instruct in Zumba. The boss/owner is covering the instructor costs so it's free to DH. He won't touch the Zumba but he seems to be enjoying the yoga. He missed 1 class so far. Boss/owner often seems to bring in fresh fruit and muffins/cookies too. Those are left out in the kitchen area though. And I think they had a chair massage thing brought in last month. Like $10 for 15 minutes or something. As long as any cost to the employees is voluntary, I don't see an issue with any of those things. And no one is basing bonuses/raises on attending them.
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justme
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Post by justme on Apr 1, 2015 16:53:02 GMT -5
I went from a company that basically did nothing to one that does a lot. Birthday gathering once a month. Dept lunch out (paid for) when someone comes or goes. Several all hands optional informational meetings that has either breakfast or lunch provided. Free company swag/product. I think they said they have a massage person come through too. A 15 min afternoon break to read.
Personally I love where I work. Though I've only been there four months and my pay raise for sure has something to do with it.
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tcu2003
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Post by tcu2003 on Apr 1, 2015 20:03:27 GMT -5
Breakfast is a good one. My company provides breakfast the first and third Wednesday of every month. They bring in a variety of donuts, bagels and cream cheese, local bread (whole wheat and cinnamon), plus oats, almonds, PB and almond butter, and seasonal fruit. Definitely one of my favorite perks.
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chen35
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Post by chen35 on Apr 28, 2015 18:08:31 GMT -5
How do you stay focused at work? My current situation has changed drastically in the last 12 months. My old boss left. She really motivated me professionally. My new boss is the CFO of the company, works across the country, and isn't that involved in my day to day. I am fine with that, just missing the leadership the old boss provided. I also had a co-worker who really challenged me and pushed me to be better leave for another job. At this point, I am pretty much the site manager. I am having a hard time staying motivated. I meet all of my deadlines and don't have any issues there, but I used to go above and beyond. I'm kind of treading water at this point. Any suggestions?
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steph08
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Post by steph08 on Apr 29, 2015 7:46:46 GMT -5
If you find any motivation, please send me some. Personally, I do my job and when I feel unchallenged at work, I turn to something outside of work. (Not saying that I do non-work items at work, just that I put in my 8-9 hours, then go home and challenge myself in other ways). For me, first it was grad school, then it was running, then it was having a baby, now it is running again (and still taking care of the baby - obviously ). Maybe that makes me a bad person, but for me, my boss doesn't seem to notice if I go above and beyond or if I am working myself to the bone or just doing what I am supposed to. When you don't get the recognition, you turn to outside interests to provide you with some joy and sense of accomplishment. This place is pretty much beating the "get up and go" out of me.
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chen35
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Post by chen35 on Apr 29, 2015 9:22:18 GMT -5
I do get recognition, so it's not that. That would get super annoying.
I think the problem is I am depressed. I just can't find motivation in any part of my life. I've gained weight since the beginning of the year, and I just feel lazy all of the time.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 1, 2015 9:35:53 GMT -5
I do get recognition, so it's not that. That would get super annoying. I think the problem is I am depressed. I just can't find motivation in any part of my life. I've gained weight since the beginning of the year, and I just feel lazy all of the time. As far as work stuff goes, I think fake it till you feel it is about as good as you can do. Set some goals, put on good music in your office and just work towards checking them off even if you aren't feeling the internal motivation you normally would. The other stuff is harder. You have had quite a year and hormones can really do a number on you (general you there). Is there something new you could try to focus your free time on? If your outdoorsy something like hiking each weekend, or taking piano lessons, new language, etc? I don't think those things fix depression, but for me it gives the part of my brain that likes to spiral and keeps me from moving forward something else to focus on.
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chen35
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Post by chen35 on May 1, 2015 10:40:15 GMT -5
The last 12 - 18 months have just been hard. Work was absolutely, make me cry at my desk, crazy for about 12 months. It seems to have calmed down. Then everything with the kids little brother was just super stressful/emotional. With him being in Seattle all last summer, and my DH traveling for work a lot, I constantly felt like I wasn't there enough for the kids during that time (mainly because of work). I remember I took one afternoon off work, and just picked the kids up to hang out. DD10 couldn't quite figure out what was going on. She finally said, "So, you just left work so you could be with us? Because you love us?" It was cute, but it just broke my heart. The thought of an adult having time to just hang out with her was just not on her radar. We did as much as we could then, or as much as we were allowed to help I guess. We have a pretty good relationship with DH's ex and her husband, but when things were really stressful for them I could feel her tighten her reigns on the kids. I don't know if she was worried with everything they had going on that we would step in as the kids primary care givers, and that would change things? I don't know.
Then with the fertility stuff on top of that, you're right, it has been quite a year!
I will try the music thing more, that does seem to help me focus.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on May 1, 2015 11:18:40 GMT -5
I quoted an account from someone who called out of the blue. So happens that this person was insured here with another agent, but the policies canceled 3 years ago. Said other agent called the client and asked her why she didn't ask for her and are you sure you didn't mean to. The client told me this when she came in to sign the papers with me. I really want to call this other agent on it. Would that be unreasonable? I had no reason to refer it to her. It's been canceled for years, and the client didn't ask for her. But she did make me look bad in front of the client IMO and should have come and asked me before calling the client. It just pissed me off because it seemed like she was going behind my back to try and take my sale or accuse me of taking hers.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on May 1, 2015 11:26:31 GMT -5
What good can come from calling the other agent? Did she troll the system to find out client had called? If the client does not want to sign with former agent and wants to sign with you I think I'd make client happy about that and keep the sale.
Unless of course there is some policy that requires you to let former agents have first crack of people who want to be insured with Company again.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on May 1, 2015 11:39:08 GMT -5
What good can come from calling the other agent? Did she troll the system to find out client had called? If the client does not want to sign with former agent and wants to sign with you I think I'd make client happy about that and keep the sale.
Unless of course there is some policy that requires you to let former agents have first crack of people who want to be insured with Company again. She did troll the system and call the client behind my back. The client told her she didn't even think to ask for her and is keeping the business with me. I had no reason to refer it to her nor was I required to. As far as good coming from it, not really any. I just wanted to make it clear in no uncertain terms did I appreciate her going behind my back and that I wasn't going to put up with it.
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2015 12:06:01 GMT -5
I quoted an account from someone who called out of the blue. So happens that this person was insured here with another agent, but the policies canceled 3 years ago. Said other agent called the client and asked her why she didn't ask for her and are you sure you didn't mean to. The client told me this when she came in to sign the papers with me. I really want to call this other agent on it. Would that be unreasonable? I had no reason to refer it to her. It's been canceled for years, and the client didn't ask for her. But she did make me look bad in front of the client IMO and should have come and asked me before calling the client. It just pissed me off because it seemed like she was going behind my back to try and take my sale or accuse me of taking hers. Trolling the system to find out & then actually confronting THE CLIENT is unprofessional. You bet I'd be talking to my boss about it. Perhaps her time would be better spent obtaining or supporting new clients instead of trolling the system to see what new accounts other agents are picking up.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on May 1, 2015 12:25:27 GMT -5
I quoted an account from someone who called out of the blue. So happens that this person was insured here with another agent, but the policies canceled 3 years ago. Said other agent called the client and asked her why she didn't ask for her and are you sure you didn't mean to. The client told me this when she came in to sign the papers with me. I really want to call this other agent on it. Would that be unreasonable? I had no reason to refer it to her. It's been canceled for years, and the client didn't ask for her. But she did make me look bad in front of the client IMO and should have come and asked me before calling the client. It just pissed me off because it seemed like she was going behind my back to try and take my sale or accuse me of taking hers. Trolling the system to find out & then actually confronting THE CLIENT is unprofessional. You bet I'd be talking to my boss about it. Perhaps her time would be better spent obtaining or supporting new clients instead of trolling the system to see what new accounts other agents are picking up. I did talk to my boss about it. He said he would have a conversation with her about it. He is so non confrontational and can be pretty useless at times. He hasn't been in yet to ask him about it. I'll report back. I was so mad at her yesterday I couldn't have called her out then. I would have been very rude and unprofessional about it.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on May 1, 2015 15:18:58 GMT -5
chen35 - I would suggest taking your legally required breaks (10-15 minutes every 4 hours) and taking a short walk on them. Even just going out and walking around the block can help you feel more focused and productive at work, and the exercise will help you feel better in general, or at least it does with me.
andi9899 - There's no point in calling the other agent. In fact, I'd never bring up the subject with her. If she brings it up with you, you can just say "The client has chosen to keep her business with me" and leave it at that.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 6, 2015 12:13:02 GMT -5
I'm supposed to be on vacation this week--my first vacation in 2 1/2 years and I'm still working. I'm understaffed and have taken on work to help us stay caught up so I totally take responsibility for that and knew I'd have to work some to keep up on it. But I had a person to take over one part of my job and she just emailed me that since I'm working anyway she's sending it back to me because she can't keep her head above water. To be fair I know she's ridiculously busy too and while I'm practically in tears with frustration I can't blame her for being at a breaking point. I just don't think that other industries have to work this hard to take a break, but maybe I'm wrong. I just spent $600 to fly my grandmother out here for what is likely to be our last visit and she's going to be sitting on the couch watching me work for the next 3 days.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 6, 2015 12:19:12 GMT -5
No, you have vacation scheduled. Take it. Do not go into work tomorrow or Friday. The work will still be there on Monday. You need a break. Unless you're getting OT for coming in on VAC, you stay home.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 6, 2015 12:44:05 GMT -5
I'm home, just working. If there isn't anyone to take care of urgent matters while you're out, what do you do? Taking time off has always been difficult at my job and requires a ton of ot before and after vacation, but I just can't seem to manage it at all anymore.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 6, 2015 12:55:13 GMT -5
Rae, sweetie, shut off the computer. Go relax any way you want to. Do not answer any calls from work. Do not answer any texts from work. Do not answer any emails from work.
You're being overworked. Take the time off you have. It's factored into your salary/compensation. You're no good to your kids if you're a babbling mess in a locked ward.
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flamingo
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Post by flamingo on May 6, 2015 13:17:23 GMT -5
I used to have a job like this. Weekends, vacations, holidays, I was expected to work. And I don't work in an industry where there are many urgent matters that can't wait until Monday to be taken care of. At least, no life or death type of emergencies. It's not easy to just shut your computer off and "take your vacation". Especially if your boss has the expectation that you'll work.
After 3 years, I quit and found a new job. My new job encourages complete radio silence when on vacation. It's still weird to me after a year of it. Finding a new job isn't always easy or the best course of action for everyone. BUT, for me, it really made a big difference. I wanted that work/life balance and I was tired of feeling chained to my email. I will say, when I left that job, I really appreciated the payout I got for all the unused vacation time. I would have much rather taken the vacation time, but the payout was helpful.
Is looking for a new job an option for you? Good luck and try to enjoy at least a little of your vacation!
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on May 6, 2015 14:30:16 GMT -5
I was just approached by a big boss about a management position that is going to be coming available. I'm thinking I don't want it, but I don't want to pass it up before I have all the information.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on May 6, 2015 15:08:23 GMT -5
The management position is a higher up front pay, but The long term earning potential is higher where I am. There is also a lot more travel involved.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on May 6, 2015 15:46:49 GMT -5
I used to have a job like this. Weekends, vacations, holidays, I was expected to work. And I don't work in an industry where there are many urgent matters that can't wait until Monday to be taken care of. At least, no life or death type of emergencies. It's not easy to just shut your computer off and "take your vacation". Especially if your boss has the expectation that you'll work. After 3 years, I quit and found a new job. My new job encourages complete radio silence when on vacation. It's still weird to me after a year of it. Finding a new job isn't always easy or the best course of action for everyone. BUT, for me, it really made a big difference. I wanted that work/life balance and I was tired of feeling chained to my email. I will say, when I left that job, I really appreciated the payout I got for all the unused vacation time. I would have much rather taken the vacation time, but the payout was helpful. Is looking for a new job an option for you? Good luck and try to enjoy at least a little of your vacation! I think this is the issue. I'm not even sure that my boss expects me to work, but my last 2 bosses work 24x7 and it just is what it is. I'm not really sure what my next step is, but I've been actively fighting to get work life balance back for 6 months and I'm going to say that my attempts have failed so something needs to change.
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flamingo
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Post by flamingo on May 6, 2015 16:27:33 GMT -5
raeoflyte Can you talk to your boss about it? If you like your job and your boss, that is. If not, then it doesn't matter what the boss says, it's time to look for something new. But if you like your job and your boss, then I'd probably say something. And, this is assuming you think your boss would be receptive to hearing your concerns. My current boss would be very receptive to my concerns in this regard. However, my previous boss-no way. I knew broaching the subject with her would have made the situation worse. So I just moved on. I know none of this helps you today, though. So, as a short term suggestion, maybe work as much as needed today, and then tomorrow, don't look at email until say 3pm. Then spend 2 hours dealing with only what is absolutely necessary, then at 5pm close down, rinse and repeat for as many days necessary. At least then you are only spending 2 hours of each vacation day hating life Otherwise, I suggest drinking copious amounts of adult beverages once the kids are in bed. It might help
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2015 17:13:14 GMT -5
I'm home, just working. If there isn't anyone to take care of urgent matters while you're out, what do you do? Taking time off has always been difficult at my job and requires a ton of ot before and after vacation, but I just can't seem to manage it at all anymore. You let it fail & then the company is incented to fix it. Companies never fix anything that doesn't break. They don't care how many bandaids/rubber bands are holding together. As long as it isn't broke, it is not hot. If you are very understaffed & they are unresponsive; send your boss a list of how you are prioritizing, but that you can't be expected to work 40+ hours during your vaca. Everything can't get done if staff is reduced or demands have increased. Something's gotta give.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on May 7, 2015 12:03:11 GMT -5
I'm home, just working. If there isn't anyone to take care of urgent matters while you're out, what do you do? Taking time off has always been difficult at my job and requires a ton of ot before and after vacation, but I just can't seem to manage it at all anymore. You let it fail & then the company is incented to fix it. Companies never fix anything that doesn't break. They don't care how many bandaids/rubber bands are holding together. As long as it isn't broke, it is not hot. If you are very understaffed & they are unresponsive; send your boss a list of how you are prioritizing, but that you can't be expected to work 40+ hours during your vaca. Everything can't get done if staff is reduced or demands have increased. Something's gotta give. My boss opts to work 12 hours days, 5 or more days a week. She opted to return from surgery after 2 days. Those are her choices. They are not mine and there's nothing wrong with that.
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