What’s one simple thing you can do anytime, anywhere that is scientifically proven to reduce your stress level, improve your mood, and make it easier for you to concentrate? A breathing exercise. Scientists have shown that by slowing and controlling your breath, and in particular, making your exhalations longer than your inhalations, you can automatically slow your heartbeat. And doing a breathing exercise for 60 seconds is long enough to achieve these benefits. Source: Inc Health.com recently put together a list of nine breathing techniques for reducing anxiety. I’ve tried most of them myself, among many others. Any of them should create a feeling of calm and clear your mind to help you tackle […]
There’s a crisis developing in workplaces everywhere. According to an annual survey by Gallup, employee engagement dropped to a seven-year low in 2022. Only a third of workers reported feeling engaged at work, while almost a fifth (18%) described themselves as “actively disengaged.” Source: Forbes Gallup’s measure of engagement is made up of several elements, which employees are asked to rate. Those that have declined the most include: clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, connection to the purpose of the company, opportunities to do what employees do best, and feeling cared about at work. Employee engagement began to fall in 2021, the same year the “great resignation” was coined as […]
Reading fiction doesn’t just boost emotional intelligence, concentration, and critical thinking. It also helps prevent memory loss. If you’re a busy entrepreneur, sitting down with a novel might seem like nothing more than a light and enjoyable way to unwind. But science suggests fiction offers our brains a lot more than just distraction and stress relief. Source: Inc Research suggests that deep, concentrated reading–the kind we do when we sink deeply into a great novel–builds key mental skills like focus and empathy as well as the ability to sift through complicated information and analyze conflicting arguments. Reading doesn’t just fill our brains with images and ideas. It actually rewires how we think about them. All of which adds up […]
True intelligence extends beyond the acquisition of knowledge. Conventional wisdom may point to smart people with advanced cognition, creativity, or high IQ. Still, if you ever wondered whether you belong with the brainy bunch, these four signs may confirm what you already know. For others, it may be a pleasant surprise that you are, indeed, smarter than the average bear. Source: Inc 1. You’re highly curious Harvard Business Review reports that people with a higher curiosity quotient (CQ) are more inquisitive and generate more original ideas, and that this thinking style leads to higher levels of knowledge acquisition over time. CQ, the author states, “is the ultimate tool to produce simple solutions for complex problems.” Now imagine a corporate […]
How to prioritize employee mental health from the top down. Now that we’ve passed the three-year mark of the pandemic, it’s clear that employee mental health and well-being have been significantly strained — and by extension, so have American workplaces. At the height of quarantine, businesses enthusiastically implemented initiatives that assisted their employees in these areas, but in some instances, those programs seem to have fallen by the wayside in a rush to return to “normal.” Source: Inc However, some businesses have continued with these pandemic-motivated programs and are continuing to see much success. In a recent episode of my top-ranked podcast, Keith Nealon, CEO of Bazaarvoice, the product review and user-generated content solutions provider, shared […]
Organizations have to pivot their corporate culture if they wish to survive and thrive in the world of virtual collaboration after the pandemic. To adapt to the hybrid and remote future of work, leaders need to benchmark and adapt best practices based on external research, as I learned from my interviews with 47 mid-level and 14 senior leaders I guided through the transition to the future of work. Source: Forbes Why Did Corporate Culture Suffer During the Pandemic? Culture refers to the social and emotional glue that bonds employees together into a community of belonging, motivates employees, and protects against burnout. It includes the norms and practices that determine how people collaborate. It also involves the values that guide the community of […]
“Μια online δράση ανοιχτή παράλληλα προς πολλές εταιρείες με σκοπό την περαιτέρω επίγνωση της ημέρας αυτής και την προώθηση και τη δημιουργία μιας κουλτούρας ασφάλειας και υγείας που μπορεί να συμβάλλει στη μείωση του αριθμού αναρρωτικών αδειών και σαφώς των τραυματισμών που σχετίζονται με την εργασία.” Θεματολογία Η Παγκόσμια Ημέρα για την Ασφάλεια και την Υγεία στην Εργασία είναι μια ετήσια διεθνής εκστρατεία για την προώθηση της ασφαλούς, υγιεινής και αξιοπρεπούς εργασίας. Πραγματοποιείται στις 28 Απριλίου και τηρείται από τη Διεθνή Οργάνωση Εργασίας (ΔΟΕ) από το 2003. Μια εθνική κουλτούρα ασφάλειας και υγείας στην εργασία είναι μια κουλτούρα στην οποία το δικαίωμα σε ένα ασφαλές και υγιές εργασιακό περιβάλλον […]
These moves will keep your lower body strong and powerful.As you grow older, preserving strength in your lower body becomes more important than ever. To help us learn more about the top-recommended exercises for lower-body strength as you age, we spoke to Tonal coach Tanysha Renee.When it comes to lower-body strength, Renee explains, “Evidence has linked leg strength with longevity … One thing to note is that it’s not simply the mass of a person’s leg but, specifically, how strong the muscles are that lend to a longer lifespan.” Source: Eat This, Not That! According to Harvard Health Publishing, if you don’t incorporate strength training into your exercise routine, you can lose anywhere from four […]
Meditation and mindfulness are popular techniques used to boost mental health and clarity. Even better, science backs them as viable therapies for various mental wellness concerns including anxiety, stress and depression. The two concepts are often conflated, but while they are similar, mindfulness and meditation are practiced differently and can have varying functions. Learn more about how they differ, how they can benefit you and how to start your own mindfulness or meditation routine. Source: Forbes What Is Mindfulness and Meditation? Mindfulness and meditation are similar and linked; mindfulness is sometimes referred to as a type of meditation, and vice versa. The exercises “work hand in hand,” says Peter Brooks, […]
Have you ever had a problem that refused to go away? No matter what you did, sooner or later it would return, perhaps in another form. Stubborn or recurrent problems are often symptoms of deeper issues. “Quick fixes” may seem convenient, but they often solve only the surface issues and waste resources that could otherwise be used to tackle the real cause. Source: Mind Tools Content Team In this article and in the video, below, we look at the 5 Whys technique (sometimes known as 5Y). This is a simple but powerful tool for cutting quickly through the outward symptoms of a problem to reveal its underlying causes – so that you […]