Why Happy Employees Leave

Why Happy Employees Leave In a post-industrial economy, more of us are able to choose what we want to do for work. What we want is something personal. Something unique. A recent study by the London School of Business and Finance found that 47% of professionals in the UK want to change jobs. That figure jumped to 66% among Millennials (people aged between 20 and 34). Another report found that nearly half of workers in the UK plan to quit their jobs this year. Cheating on your company is in, it seems. The question is,  why  do happy employees leave? Moreover, why do they leave jobs they genuinely enjoy? For the past 10 years I’ve worked in the people business. Either as a recruiter or startup founder, I’ve met with thousands of company leaders, all of which have had trouble keeping  top talent. This is my best attempt so far at explaining  why: Increased connectivity,  increased temptation It’s never been easier to cheat on your employer and it’s never been easier to get caught. Changes in technology, attitude and lifestyle have led to huge levels of job dissatisfaction. The emergence of increasingly convenient job platforms and communication apps have practically eliminated the time taken in moving jobs. From setting up alerts from job board aggregators like Indeed to searching hashtags,  the pain  in looking for suitable openings has been reduced. Less dependence on salary as income Even in an economic downturn many skilled workers are confident that they can easily find a new job if they get fired for getting caught interviewing elsewhere. An emergence of supplementary income streams from the sharing economy, such as selling our things on Ebay and renting our house on Airbnb, to becoming a part-time Uber driver have reduced the fear of losing our jobs.  With exponential advancements in technology the long predicted adoption of portfolio careers might soon become a reality. Cheating is less obvious What constitutes cheating on your company? Is it attending a job interview behind your employers back? Is it attending an event  hosted by a competitor? Is it following companies of interest on social media? As the lines become blurred, what it means to cheat  becomes harder to define, and consequently the associated taboos diminish. Attending job interviews whilst still employed is universally frowned upon  yet  universally practiced, and will continue to exist unless a radical approach is taken by companies to resolve it. Image crafting Constant social connectivity has had a huge effect on how happy we think we are at work. By relentlessly comparing our work lives to others on social media we have raised our expectations as to what we want from a career. Paul Harvey, professor at the university of New Hampshire has studied Gen Y workers, and comments: “A great source of frustration for people with a strong sense of entitlement is unmet expectations. They often feel entitled to a level of respect and rewards that aren’t in line with their actual ability and effort levels, and so they might not get the level of respect and rewards they are expecting.” Worse still, we’re not even comparing ourselves in a fair way. For a post to be shared on Facebook it usually needs to be inherently remarkable, so we end up comparing our back catalogue  to our friends greatest hits! Loyalty is the new shame Career monogamy used to mean one company for life; today it’s more like one company at a time. We used to hope a company would pick us, thank our lucky stars if it did and then wait patiently to climb the career  ladder.  Today, we pick the company and stop courting other companies, if only for the time being. Where leaving a good job at  a good company used to cause shame, today choosing to stay with a company when you can leave is the new shame. No one is  specifically congratulated for staying with  their company. No likes, no comments, no emojis. Everyone gets to brag about their awesome new job. Loyalty is the new shame. Increased expectations We expect so much from our employers today. A place where I make some of my best friends. A place that constantly challenges and progresses me. A place that motivates me intrinsically. A place that stimulates me intellectually and supports my wants and my desires, and believes me to be   indispensable, irreplaceable and exceptional. Today we’ve never been more inclined to stray, not because we have new desires to pursue, but because we live in a world where we feel entitled to pursue those desires. It  is a  culture of I deserve to be happy.  We used to leave a company because we were  unhappy, today we leave because we could be happier. Summary When a career was an economic enterprise, then getting caught interviewing elsewhere threatened our economic security. Now that careers are increasingly becoming designed by personal preference and not necessity, we no longer need to find a sensible and safe job to hold onto. Instead we can find ways to do something we love and fund our lifestyle in various other ways. It’s not that we’re ungrateful; were just lured by the power of the forbidden. Ever since Adam ate the apple we’ve been naturally curious. It is not so much that we are looking for another job, as much as we are looking for another version of ourselves. A more adventurous one. Author: Chris Platts is Chief Rocketeer at  TalentRocket, a company culture recruiting platform for London based startups and scale-ups. [Featured image: Shutterstock]

Why Soft Skills Are the Secret to Career Success

Why Soft Skills Are the Secret to Career Success If youre in the job market, youve probably tweaked your resume to ensure its a strong and accurate representation of your abilities. Many of the attributes you list are hard skills, which directly relate to your job. For example, if youre a medical professional, hard skills may include assessing or diagnosing a patient, delivering care or dealing with specific technologies. If you’re in marketing, you might list your industry knowledge, sales experience and notable projects. But there’s something else most resumes ignore â€" soft skills, which are equally as crucial. Why are soft skills so instrumental to a rewarding career, and how can you highlight them? Here’s what you need to know for your professional future. What Are Soft Skills? Soft skills relate to how you interact with others, as well as your character traits. The good news is, even if youve never considered yourself a people person, you can develop your soft skills through dedicated efforts. Doing so will make you more of an asset to your employer and co-workers, no matter which role you fill. Which Soft Skills Do Employers Want? Some of the soft skills employers value most  include communication abilities, excelling at teamwork, having a positive attitude and being able to solve problems. There are so many more soft skills that enhance your career adaptability and performance, and each has its own unique attributes. For example, communication means expressing yourself verbally, as well as through writing. It also requires being aware of your body language and making sure you dont send mixed messages. Being a good listener also ties into communication-related soft skills. Its ideal if you can learn to tune into what someone says, then repeat it back to them to see if you understood it correctly. Soft skills under the teamwork umbrella include negotiation, mediation and decision-making. You may also need to tap into leadership skills to motivate other team members or develop more tolerance of people who have differing opinions or beliefs. When it comes to showing a positive attitude, the associated soft skills may be enthusiasm, determination and an ability to adapt to change. Another relevant soft skill is showing a willingness to learn new things and stay upbeat when you do. Some examples of soft skills in problem-solving are going outside the box, using critical thinking to tackle issues and persisting despite the possibility of failure. Why Are Soft Skills Critical in the Workplace? Soft skills help you become more beneficial to your employer,  but they could also affect how much you earn. Long-standing statistics indicate that  85% of your financial success is due to your personality and ability to communicate, negotiate and lead. Conversely, technical knowledge comprises only the remaining 15%. Moreover, possessing soft skills could make the difference in whether you get the job. In a 2019 LinkedIn report, 92% of respondents said soft skills are increasingly important for candidates to have. The same study showed 89% of participants admitting that bad hires typically had poor soft skills. When you consider that your earnings and chances of scoring a position are both linked to soft skills, you know how crucial it is to hone and highlight them to your potential employers. Developing Your Soft Skills Hoping to improve your abilities and accelerate your career growth? Here are some tips for enhancing your soft skills, no matter what industry you’re in: 1. Engage in Self-Reflection Self-reflection is all about tuning into yourself and being honest about whats going well and what to improve. Having a regular self-reflection practice could also make you a better leader. It only takes a couple of minutes per day to do. You can do it through things like walking, sitting with your eyes closed or writing in a journal. 2. Become More Aware of How You Portray Yourself to Others As you interact with people, try to monitor how you come across to them and what it could mean. For example, hows your posture, your tone of voice and your attitude? Those things could all impact the interpersonal connections you make. 3. Make Stress Management a Priority Stress could affect numerous soft skills before you ever pinpoint it as a cause for concern. For example, if youre not dealing with stress well, you might yell at a colleague or find that youre not patient enough when working in a group. Figure out what techniques help you address stress best. You might meditate, exercise, confide in a friend or learn deep breathing exercises, for example. 4. Have a Sense of Humor It may seem that humor and the workplace dont mix, but being willing to laugh at yourself or a situation could benefit your career. If you dont take things too seriously all the time, people should be more willing to approach you. Humor can build morale and foster teamwork. It can also help you cope with adverse circumstances and remain positive even when things get hard. 5. Spend More Time Building Relationships You have plenty of resources when it comes to reading about soft skills, and indeed, you can get a lot out of top-quality content. However, the only way you’ll really make progress is when you put those concepts into action. Since soft skills are interpersonal, that means you need to devote more time to being around people and nurturing the connections you have with them. Charge Your Career With Soft Skill Development You cant develop soft skills overnight â€" think of the process as a lifelong learning opportunity. When you make a conscious effort to enhance your soft skills, you’ll see the payoff both professionally and personally â€" and boost your path to success. This guest post was authored by Alyssa Abel Alyssa Abel is a college and career writer who offers advice on strategies to success. Read more of her work on her blog,  Syllabusy.

Politics Can Be Tricky; Heres How to Maintain a Clean Reputation at Work

Politics Can Be Tricky; Here’s How to Maintain a Clean Reputation at Work Remember the old rules of the workplace that required you to never bring up politics if you wanted to avoid making enemies in the workplace? Unfortunately, the current political landscape has caused many people to dismiss some basic courtesies and rules. People are emotionally charged and ready to spill their political venom in the workplace, causing many engaged employees to fall victim to a coworker’s chaotic political diatribe. Watch out. You don’t want this political drama to impact your work performance â€" or even worse jeopardize the relationship that you have with your boss. Here is what you should do to maintain a clean reputation at work: Refrain from Using Political Insults on Social Media I know it’s tempting to call the opposing candidate a complete airhead and fill your page with verbal attacks that would leave a whiplash on any bystanders. But if your co-workers are your friends on Facebook, post with caution. They will judge you harshly if your political comments are offensive to any party. Do you really want to create unnecessary tension in the workplace because of your personal beliefs? You may be jumping out of your seat right now ready to argue that your social media posts are your personal views and should have nothing to do with your professional encounters, but if you see Joe avoiding your messages the next morning, you’ll know that you tarnished another work relationship.   If youve already found yourself on shaky footing in social media, you can use a reputation management strategy to control the damage.  Avoid Political Activity at Work Your place of employment is not the place to compete for the title of political ambassador of the year. That means no emails to your co-workers harassing them about their political involvement, no apparel supporting your favorite candidate, and no political paraphernalia pasted all over your desk. Promote your favorite political party on your own time. While you’re at work, try to show your company pride by supporting the work that your company does. Hopefully, you like the company that you work forâ€"if not, that’s another topic for another day. Know Your Audience Before Leaning in Its not always a career-limiting move to discuss politics at work. But you have to exercise common sense, and we all know that common sense isn’t so common. Equip yourself with the emotional intelligence that you need before getting into a conversation that can cost you your job. Be smart about every encounterâ€"check the political temperature of your coworkers before proceeding. If you engage in a conversation with coworkers who are also your friends, it may be okay to dive in â€" as long as you adhere to company policies. When everyone agrees on political candidates and policies, you diminish the risk of creating a hostile debate in the workplace. On the other hand, if there are red flags leading you to believe that a co-worker has extreme political views that will instantly raise your temperature, change the conversation and find something less sensitive to talk about. Whatever you do, choose your words wisely and be respectful. This will earn you points in any crowd.  Ask Good Questions Good questions allow others to focus on the policies instead of the people. It also shows that you care about what others have to say and you are open to hearing the views of others; this can earn you more allies in the workplace! Let’s not forget that asking good questions will allow you to learn something new. Even if you could care less about how others on the opposing party may feel, asking good questions can give you insights into why a person feels a certain way. This can provide you with good information for counterarguments that you may want to make, even outside of the workplace. Have you ever had to discuss politics with your co-workers? How did you handle it? Please share your comments via email to [emailprotected] Image credits: Main     Rhetoric  

5 Ways to Make Money While Traveling

5 Ways to Make Money While Traveling Long-term travel has become an all-out trend. Some people save enough money to travel for years, but most people need to earn money while they go to live the nomadic life. Thanks to the internet, you’ll find many ways to earn on the go. Check out the following five possibilities for everything from earning a few extra dollars to paying your bills while overseas. Rent Out Your Home Many long-term travelers earn a significant part of their income by renting out their homes. If you own your home, you can lease it on Craigslist. If you’re a renter, talk to your landlord about subletting. Another option is to offer short-term vacation rentals on a site such as  Airbnb. This idea works as  long as you have a partner back home to meet your guests and clean your space between rentals. Consider how you’ll get paid overseas; if your travels take you south of the border, your tenants may need to send money to Mexico or use PayPal to transfer money to you while you’re in Zürich. Teach or Tutor English If you are certified to teach English as a second language (ESL), you can find jobs in international locations, although some employers also require a bachelor’s degree. Even without a certification, native English speakers are in demand as conversational partners for ESL students. You can also find  apps that let you earn money teaching or conversing with English language students from wherever you are when you have the time to teach. Pursue Remote Work Some people work a  full-time job while traveling. Many jobs and careers allow people to work from home, but home doesn’t always need to be  in  the United States. You’ll find companies devoted  to collecting remote job opportunities  â€"  try FlexJobs or Working Nomads. Think your current job could be done remotely? Talk to your employer about working from home a few days a week, then gradually transition to working from home. Take trips of a week or two at a time and prove to your employer that you can still fulfill your job obligations. Eventually, you might be able to slip away for months or years at a time without disrupting your career. Explore Self-Employment Many long-term travelers earn their living as freelance writers, graphic artists, web designers, or social media consultants. Entrepreneurship requires a full set of business skills, from marketing to bookkeeping, in addition to your paid specialized skills. Savvy travelers build their business before they load up their backpacks. But the freedom and challenge offered by self-employment is satisfying for those who crave it. Consider House Sitting Many websites can connect you with homes around the world. House-sitting opportunities often arise outside of major cities, so you might need to rent or buy a vehicle in the country where you’ll stay. You’ll need references, and you’ll need to market yourself aggressively to get your first few jobs. However, once you gain  the reputation and some reviews on the sites, you’ll find getting prospects easier. Long-term travel is an appealing lifestyle, and opportunities abound for earning a living on the go. Consider some of the ideas presented here, or brainstorm on your own. Image Source; Image Source

Best Font For Writing Name on Resume

Best Font For Writing Name on ResumeWhat is the best font for writing name on resume? Your resume is one of the first things that they see, so it should be a professional looking one that will attract their attention and make them want to read your entire application.Unfortunately, most people do not have the right kind of knowledge or know how about fonts that would make their resume look better. But, thankfully, there are many ways you can go about getting the right kind of fonts. With a little research and the help of internet resources, you can get the perfect fonts to use.When doing your research on the best fonts for writing name on resume, do some simple research first on what types of fonts you should be using. This can include information like the type of paper that it would be printed on, and the size of paper that you would like to use. All these details will have an impact on what type of fonts you can get and which ones will look best on your resume. This can also affect the font that you use for the information that you have on your resume.It is possible that you might have an existing font set that you have been using for your resume and you do not know what the best font for writing name on resume would be. There are many fonts available that can meet the requirements of both school applications and online applications.There are a lot of places where you can find out the best fonts for writing name on resume. One of the best places to search for the best fonts for writing name on resume is the internet. There are many sites that have a wide variety of fonts that you can use for your resume, whether you are applying for an online job or at an employer's place of work.The internet is a great resource because it has a wide variety of resources for people to get what they need and want when it comes to fonts. If you are serious about getting the best fonts for writing name on resume, then you must make sure that you find a good resource that has the fonts that you want in order to ensure that you get the results that you want.After you have found a site's selection of fonts, you must also consider the other information that is needed on your resume. For example, if you have a portfolio, the fonts used for your portfolio should be different from the fonts used for your resume.In fact, there are a lot of websites that can help you create a custom resume that using a certain font, for example. However, do take care of the fonts that you are using in order to avoid any trouble later on down the line. The only way to do this is by doing a little research and asking the experts for your questions.

12 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer - CareerAlley

12 Things to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Weve all been there, we make the decision that its time to leave our current employer and look for another job. Once youve started your job search, youve cut the emotional ties and now its just a matter of time until you get the right job offer and then you are on your way. A job offer as a result of a proactive job search is, in a way, a little easier than accepting a job offer that is unsolicited. What to Consider Before Accepting a Job Offer What happens if you were not actively looking for a job? Suppose you were very really happy and then you get a phone call from a recruiter for a job opportunity that sounds really interesting, what do you do? You go on a few interviews and then you get a job offer that you really were not expecting. Tweet This A friend of mine was happy in his job. The hours were flexible and the pay was good. He liked his boss, liked the people he was working with and was happy with his responsibilities. Then a friend of his told him about this great opportunity at another company. Long story short, he went on the interviews and then got a job offer. Then he was challenged to make a decision he was not prepared to make. Im a big believer in it never hurts to listen about a new job opportunity, even if you were not looking for a job change. But you need to be prepared for the outcome (before the big event). 1. Compensation and potential While compensation should not be the single driving factor of your job search, it is certainly in the top two or three considerations (who wants a new job for less money?). Your job offer will (obviously) include your salary and bonus details. Prior to your offer, you should have done some homework on the current market rates for your position. While this is not a hard and fast rule, you will have developed some ranges as to what to expect. If you did not do this prior to the offer, its never too late to take a look. Hopefully, the offer meets or exceeds your expectations. Whichever way it goes, you should consider the following: Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay 2.Too Much of an Increase Sounds like a nice problem to have, but if your offer is significantly higher than your current compensation (greater than 25%), it might be a cause to worry. Excessively high compensation offers are often signs of a bigger issue (but not always). This is where your due diligence homework comes in (salary surveys and reviews). Try to find someone in your network that has some inside information about the department/position youve been offered. 3. Salary Increase is too Low While there is not a set percentage increase that you should expect when changing jobs, the job offer should reflect the risk of changing jobs. If you are leaving a job (as opposed to looking while unemployed), there is a fair amount of risk when switching jobs. Less than a 10% increase might be an issue, but you need to consider the following 9 items along with the compensation piece before making a decision There should be reasonable upside potential in your future compensation at your new job. You shouldask some questions regarding annual compensation/performance reviews. You should also consider where you fall on the low/high compensation range for your role. Where you fall on the salary range will drive (to a certain extent), upside potential. If you are already earning at the top of your range, the prospect of significantly higher increases will be somewhat lower. You should also consider any variable compensation such as bonuses, sales commissions and potential overtime pay. When it comes to choosing the best candidates for promotions, your attitude will be more important to your employer than your current skills and abilities. Remember that skills can always be learned, so its the attitude that you have towards your current role thats going to impress your employer the most. Along with being eager to learn more, you can make a good impression by being positive about your role. Not only should you be able to own up to any mistakes that you make but being able to view them positively and learn from them in the future will certainly make you stand out to your boss. 9 Ways to Get a Promotion at Work 4. The Potential for Advancement The potential for advancement should have been one of the questions you asked during the interview process. The size of the company, your role, your performance and the size of your department all play a key part when evaluating future growth. Regular performance reviews (another question that should be asked during the interview process) also play a key factor. Not to worry, if you did not ask these questions during the interview process it is not too late. The job offer negotiation process (more on that later) is a bit of a give and take (hopefully take for you). 5. Organizational Structure You should fully understand the organizational structure of the company. If this was not made clear during the interview process, now is the time to clarify this. You should clearly understand: Who Will You Report to?Your manager and reporting line should be clearly defined in your job offer. Make sure you understand how many bosses you have. Who does your boss report to? Who Works for You?How large is your staff? Are there any issues to consider? 6. What Do You Need to do to be Successful? Ask the question After one year on the job, Ive been very successful and have exceeded all expectations. What have I achieved in the year?. You need to fully understand expectations. What is expected, what must be delivered and what are the obstacles you will encounter? 7. Learning Curve How long will it take you to come up to speed? Will some training be provided? Will you need to hit the road running? Depending on your level of experience and position in the new company, there will be some expectation that you can come up to speed quickly. You need to ensure that those expectations are reasonable. Dont get yourself into a no win situation. 8. Stability (turnover, new position? what happened to the person before): More likely than not, you will be taking a position that belonged to someone else. If you are lucky, the person who had the role before you was promoted (and thats why the position is available). But if the person left the organization, you need to understand (as best you can) why they left (or were asked to leave). This is a great time to leverage your network to see if anyone you know can help you find out the details. You should also feel comfortable with the departments and companys turnover. 9. Benefits Sounds basic, but make sure you fully understand your benefits. While not directly compensation, the value of benefits provided (or any shortfalls to what you currently have) can have a huge impact on your overall net gain over your current role/company. Medical and dental Vacation, sick days and personal days Pensions, 401k plans, matching savings plans Work environment flexible work environment (hours and work from home) 10. What to Negotiate Dont be afraid to negotiate. Compensation is always up for negotiation. Vacation is also a somewhat easy benefit to negotiate. Benefits are probably not negotiable. Make sure you balance your requests, pushing too hard could end the offer. On the other hand, dont settle and be prepared to walk away if you feel the offer falls short. 11. The Grass is Always Greener Make a pros and cons list. Items 1 through 9 should help you make your decision but the good old pros and cons list is the best way to go. Make a list of everything you are giving up in your old job and everything you are gaining in the new job. Be honest with yourself and your pros and cons list will help you make that very difficult decision. 12. Counter Offers Counter offers are very common. My own personal view is that if it takes a resignation to have your company offer what the new company is offering (and many times, more than what is being offered) then it is too late. On the other hand, a counteroffer generally means that you are highly regarded and that they dont want to lose you. Make sure you fully review the reasons you decided to search for a new job and that you are comfortable with staying (you dont want to be looking for a job again in six months). Life is a journey and your decision is just one more step in that journey. There is no such thing as a bad decision, there is no looking back, only looking forward. Whatever you decide, good luck in your search. Career Tip of the Day:5 Tips to Maximize Your Job Offer What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Possibly the best music video ever - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Possibly the best music video ever - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog Team up Fatboy Slim, Spike Jonze and Christopher Walken and what do you get? My favourite music video. Its weird and beautiful, and Christopher Walken even choreographed his own dance moves. Trivia about Christopher Walken from imdb: Manages to insert a little dance number into all of his roles, no matter how small, scripted or not. Id never thought of that, but yeah theres the wedding dance in deer hunter, theres the tango scene in scent of a woman and some truly amazing dance scenes in pennies from heaven. Though I dont seem to recall him dancing in pulp fiction..? Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related