It has been a scorcher of a week for much of the UK and it promises to continue for the weekend. Before we all mentally check out (if you haven’t already from heat exhaustion) let’s look at the stories PAs are reading most.
1. How to maintain productivity when your schedule is full of meetings
Research shows that the average UK office worker spends two years of his or her life preparing for and sitting in on meetings. How can anyone get any actual work done? Time management expert Laura Vanderkam recently wrote for Fast Company with top tips to you maintain productivity when you’re stuck in meetings.
2. Why entrepreneurs need a PA
Start-ups and entrepreneurial individuals are hot topics in the business world right now. Modern culture leads all of us to believe we can start our own company and become successful, which is fantastic. But a business comes with a plethora of small details, all of which can bog down a young CEO or founder. Which is why all entrepreneurs should strongly consider splashing out on hiring a PA to help them along the way.
3. App of the week: Trainline
Welcome back to our weekly spotlight on helpful apps. We focus on a variety of products that are useful for work, personal use, or both, providing our own thoughts on the apps and what you can do with them. This week’s app: Trainline.
4. 5 ways to stay resilient at work
Job stress has become a major problem in the world, so much so that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled it as the “global epidemic of the 21st century”. That’s why resilience is so important to the modern office worker. Here are five ways to stay resilient at work.
5. Research reveals the truth about office germs
You and your colleagues probably believe you’re clean and conscious of germs, yet every cough and cold spreads like wildfire. Microsoft Office resource provider Hloom recently conducted research that shows even the tidiest workplace is a veritable smorgasbord of office germs, with some surfaces containing more bacteria than a toilet seat.
6. Win a two-night stay at a Vienna House Hotel at Disneyland Paris
Vienna House is all about travelling, about making new experiences and about exploring. Vienna House is about rediscovering that there is nothing more refined than the simple things in life. Vienna House represents four hotel lines – each with its own individual character but with shared values and one aim: to inspire guests.
7. Glassdoor ranks the 20 best UK cities to work in
Thinking of picking up and moving to a different town or city for pastures new? Recruitment site Glassdoor has done some maths to create a list of the “20 Best UK Towns & Cities to Work In” based on how easy it is to get a job, median salaries, average home value and overall employee satisfaction.
8. Work-life balance tops higher wages to engage employees
Increasing the salaries of disengaged employees will not boost commitment or keep them in the business, according to new research from The Workforce Institute at Kronos and Coleman Parkes Research. This new survey reveals that 45% of employees believe that small to medium UK businesses need to focus on providing a healthy work-life balance if they want to boost employee engagement and successfully compete with their large enterprise counterparts.
9. Is the office dress code a thing of the past?
The office dress code is changing faster than Millennials are taking over the workplace. With the meteoric rise to power of people such as Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, more and more start-up CEOs favour jeans and t-shirts over button downs and ties. This brings up the question of whether traditional business attire is on its way out. I’d wager it probably still has a place, even in this world of young entrepreneurs and telecommuters.
10. 5 qualities you must show when looking for a job
It’s pretty much a given these days that the job market is flooded with highly skilled candidates. When you have so many people with the same skills and experience competing for the same job, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd; this is where demonstration of certain qualities is key. Recruitment site Glassdoor has whittled down a list of the five qualities you must show in a job search.
