4 tips for talking work-life balance with your boss

4 tips for talking work-life balance with your boss From time to time, almost every working adult will struggle with work-life balance. But what does work-life balance even mean? Simply put, work-life balance is how your obligations at work and home are prioritized. It boils down to how many hours a week you spend focusing on your career  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ completing projects, turning in assignments, responding to emails – versus the time in a week you spend engaging in activities in your personal life, like spending time with friends and family, running personal errands, exercising, or even just relaxing.Americans work a lot. In fact, a 2015 Gallup poll found that Americans who are employed full-time work 47 hours a week on average, or the equivalent of nearly six days a week. And, nearly four in 10 workers reported logging more than 50 hours a week working.With this amount of time being devoted to our professional lives, when the scales tip in work-life balance, it’s usually towards more work and less play. That can be fine for short periods but long term it can be problematic.When the delicate balance between your career and personal life are out of whack – and stay out of whack – it can leave you feeling off-kilter, frustrated, and resentful. But, since a demanding work life often stems from a demanding boss, it can be difficult to know how to broach the topic.We’ve compiled 4 tips for having a productive conversation with your boss or manager about work-life balance. Read on to learn how to find the balance you seek.Do some soul searchingBefore you discuss the issue with your manager, do your best to get to the root of the problem. Is your personal life suffering because of unrealistic expectations from your superiors at work, or is it possible that these expectations are self-imposed and that you are â€Å"overworking† your job?How do you judge? One way to gauge whether the problem lies with you or whether it lies with your boss is to work a normal 40-hour week and see w hat happens. Skip staying late for one week. Forbid yourself from logging work time over the weekends and then just wait.If your boss doesn’t notice that you haven’t worked longer hours or completed extra work, the demand might be self-inflicted. If your boss does notice and mentions it, make a note. This will become important in later discussions.Identify the problemIf you’ve determined that the pressure you feel at work is, in fact, coming from your manager, next you must identify the exact problem.Ask yourself: Is your work-life imbalance stemming from an unreasonable workload that is impossible to complete within the confines of a 40-hour work week? If so, you aren’t alone. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one-third of employed people in the U.S. spend some part of their weekends doing work.For others, the problem of balancing life and career lies in a rigid schedule that doesn’t offer the flexibility to duck out of work for, say, a n annual doctor’s appointment or important errand. Both scenarios can be frustrating and confining.Identify the source of the problem before you meet with your boss. This will allow you to come to the meeting armed with suggestions on how to handle the situation at hand.Arrange a meeting and come prepared with ideasOnce you have identified the problem, ask for a meeting and come equipped with solutions. This will look different for everyone but here are some possibilities:Suggest ways to delegate tasks to spread the workload more evenly across your team to lighten your workload.Request flexible hours that work better with your schedule. For example, if you are a parent and want more time with your children, you might suggest a schedule that allows you to work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. instead of the normal 9-to-5.Suggest an amended schedule. Instead of working five days a week, ask to work four 10-hour shifts. This will enable you to have three days off each week instead of the t ypical two-day weekend.Request a longer lunch break. This will allow you to run errands or attend appointments without taking time off work.Suggest one work-from-home day each week. Cutting your commute out of your day even one day a week can free up additional hours.While not ideal, asking for unpaid time off can be a solution in a pinch.Know when to move onA severe work-life balance can wreak havoc on your well-being. If you’ve exhausted all these possibilities and still can’t make headway in achieving a reasonable work-life balance, it may be time to move on. This means you’ll have to dust off your job application skills, and get ready to build a resume and cover letter for each new opportunity you discover. Put aside some time each week to begin looking for a new job. Finding this time will likely be tough, given that your work-life balance is already out of whack, but it’s critical that you find it. You’ll never move on to a better work-life b alance situation if you don’t.The best way to ensure a rational work-life balance next time around? Ask about it during the interview process, or do some research on the company you land an interview with to see what its employees (or past employees) have to say about work-life balance.

EIP assignment shopaholic Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

EIP shopaholic - Assignment Example Contemporary culture manifests a shopaholic as a maniac whose behavior is irrational. The research seeks to find out whether a shopaholic is really an irrational character. This is possible through examining the factors that re responsible for the making of a shopaholic. Since this is a social issue, the research shall only deal with secondary data. This is because secondary data is highly likely to employ qualitative analysis in assessing such a phenomenon. This occurs because such an issue requires multiple perspectives in drawing a conclusion. Secondary data, in this sense, traverses articles and books assessing the issue in terms of sociological, economical, business, and psychological perspectives. Secondary data will seek to inform the audience whether excessive shopping is a natural behavior or whether the same is an irrational habit. In turn, the data analysis shall occur qualitatively. This book seeks to analyze the predispositions for shopping as well as provide solutions for the behavior. In this sense, the author examines compulsive buying as a problem rather than as a mere phenomenon. The author explains shopping mania as a habit that develops to cure a different psychological need rather arise to satisfy the actual need of shopping. The text, therefore, manifests over-shopping as a means of distracting oneself from dealing with an essential emotional need such as love. Alternatively, it could be a means of gaining the attention of others if the involved person feels that others do not care about one. Besides, over-shopping could be a product of low self-esteem if the victim engages in impulsive purchases to feel important about oneself (Benson 14). The book, therefore, recommends mindful shopping as a means of countering this problem. It highlights the essence of financial security as a means of leading an enjoyable life in the end. The book entails the philo sophical arguments of merging the

Psyche (2010) By Donald Lipski Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Psyche (2010) By Donald Lipski - Essay Example Lipski has set up public arts everywhere the country, each a reflection of the site and the people who infiltrate it. Psyche (the butterfly) is inactive in the â€Å"knuckle† domain joining the old with the new building up. To the old Greeks, Psyche not alone meant butterfly but as well soul, exalting the link between the organic and the advanced ambitions of the heart. Through Donald Lipski’s explore he identified that the butterfly was also a significant symbol to other cultures, intending rejuvenation, rebirth, and love. Approximately ten thousand test tubes filled with pigmented acrylic, the commonest and familiar tools of science, suggest the individual cells of the extensions. The work is large, approximately one hundred forty-five’’ across and ten’’ high, inactive to slowly draw in the currents of the HVAC. The â€Å"veins† of the wings are fancied out of brand and the domain intermediate is elongated with stainless steel mesh from which the test tubes are suspended. Donald created a butterfly built from steel and ten thousand resin filled gla ss test tubes, by the avid Denver artist, John McEnroe. Psyche (the butterfly), 2010 . Artworks: Sculpture. Retrieved from:

Gender Pattern Observation Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gender Pattern Observation - Article Example As the essay states most men prefer sports like football while ladies go for table tennis, hockey and even athletics. Hobbies too vary in terms of gender as others are more inclined to ladies and others to men. If we look at recreation at home and away, ladies would prefer having a good time at home while men will go far away from their residence. It is also important to note that most women and girls always desire to be appreciated at all times for the works they do. Men and boys on the other hand have a strong preference of being recognized for their achievements in every sphere of life. From the research findings it is clear that there are some educational courses that are seen as a no go zone for women. In the past and even in the modern world, technical courses like Engineering are regarded as men’s courses. Some ladies and women have been discouraged from enrolling in them but interestingly, many ladies have proved to thrive in them as compared to men. Employers have also preferred women when it comes to job offerings, They argue that women are unreliable because it reaches a time that they require maternity leave and still expect to be paid as usual. Women have always been the ones taking care of their families as men go up and about working and having fun. The man is presently on the receiving end due and always expects the women to cook, wash and do everything for them.

The Role and Development of Mathematics in Western Technology Essay

The Role and Development of Mathematics in Western Technology - Essay Example The current paper, basing on the James Burke’s views (Burke, â€Å"The Day the Universe Changed†), examines the influence of mathematical inventions, particularly perspective geometry, on the development of the society during the Renaissance. Manuel Chrysoloras, Byzantine scholar, was invited to present the Greek culture to the Florentines start the course of Greek in the local university in the end of the 14th century (Burke 67). Money ran Florence during that time. The place was full of commercials of different kind: accountants, merchants, bureaucrats. However, there was no aristocracy in Florence. Everyone who had power or position in the town had bought it out of his profits. Florence was dynamic republican â€Å"capitalist† company town. The same year Chrysoloras arrived, the Medici had started an international bank to lend the Florentine cash with double interest rate. They had branches all over Europe. They were successful in this activity due to their se cret weapon â€Å"double-entry bookkeeping† (Burke 61). There was no place the money could not get the possessor, but up. The problem was that there was no â€Å"up†. James Burke had in mind the material luxury, â€Å"the touch of class† that, first of all, had to be manifested in town’s architecture and dà ©cor.... Reading the Latin pre-Christian texts of poetry, rhetoric, history, and civics the Florentines began to understand that humans could live in human way without heavenly help. Hence originates the desire of the 15th century Florentines to imitate Latin style, particularly Roman remarkable architectural solutions to make their home look as fine as ancient Rome. However, they could not do all that architectural constructions like ancient triumph arches, giant columns, and domed ceilings. The abilities of the post-medieval mathematics and geometry were limited to estimate the architectural solutions. There was a sharp need in some mathematical innovations (Burke, â€Å"The Day the Universe Changed†). Before we discuss the invention of perspective geometry in the Western world, Arabic scholar Alhazen has to be mentioned. In the end of the 10th century, he was the first to explain accurately the process of visual perception and showed that the eye perceives the light reflected from t he object. Alhazen developed a complete theory of vision that was called â€Å"perspective† in the Middle Ages (Struik 72). Though, he did not use his ideas in practice, his theory received a wide recognition in Europe, where his ideas rocked the Renaissance scholars. The first precise formulation of the law of the perspective geometry is attributed to Brunelleschi. Nearly 1424, he realized that on the flatness all parallel lines strive to a single vanishing point. This mathematical principle was inspired by Paolo Toscanelli who had scrupulously studied the Alhazen works and gridded Ptolemy’s Atlas. In this respect, using an arsenal of mathematical theories to build a proper perspective, he painted on wooden panel St. John’s baptistery of Florence. To emphasize the accuracy of his

STARBUCKS TIME MANAGEMENT Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

STARBUCKS TIME MANAGEMENT - Research Paper Example It is the largest coffeehouse worldwide. The organization structure of Starbucks focuses on the incorporation of corporate social responsibility into their department. Their strategy involves good sourcing, high level environmental performance in the development, and creation of new stores. They involve working together to be respected partnership in their communities and communicate their corporate social responsibilities. The type of organization structure of Starbucks is a functional structure which is comprised of all the departments that are required in an organization for smooth production of its goods and services. The organization structure is headed by the Chief Executive officer (CEO). In the year 2001 to 2005, Orin C. Smith was the President and CEO of Starbucks. Howard Schultz is the originator of the company, who is also the chairman. The Starbucks Company operates under the matrix organization structure. Their operation is under four U.S divisions, including Western Pacific, North West Mountain, South east pl ains and North east Atlantic. Under the CEO in the matrix structure, in the other divisions, there is the President, International Retail, Legal and Corporate Affairs, Finance, Supply Chain Operations, Marketing, Human Resources, Legal and Worldwide Public Affairs. The advantage of having this kind of structure is that it leads to maximized communication channels. Starbucks second part of the structure is the continuation of support functions, which operate at their individual departments supporting their shared goals and visions (Jones, 2005). There are 4 functions of management and every organization structure does play a role. They are; Planning, Organizing, Leading and Controlling. In Planning, it involves creation of business mission and objectives and establishing how to achieve. Those at the top of the organization hierarchy are mostly the ones involved since they have to identify the

Virtualization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Virtualization - Essay Example In fact, recent studies have found that organizations achieved on average an 18% reduction in their budget from cloud computing and a 16% reduction in data costs. Hence, virtualization should be embraced by organizations because it is cost-effective, flexible, and provides safe process of security protocols. As society progressed to 21st century, the criteria of defining and creating a feasible IT infrastructure continue to be a huge focal point for many companies. As mentioned above, many servers tend to create a huge problem with the traditional IT infrastructure. The problem with this idea is the fact that 90% of the time servers are not fully utilized. In order to combat this huge problem, the IT department attempts to install more applications. However, that is only a â€Å"band-aid† approach to a long-term problem. The result often times is the fact that that this solution is ineffective and unreliable. As the accumulation of factors such as: high energy costs, space iss ues, and generating heat become a huge issue, companies must seek a new and better solution that is available. Hence, virtualization is a cost-effective solution because it is a revolutionary concept that allows corporations to dynamically alter the current thinking of their IT infrastructure. ... Another amazing benefit of virtualization is the fact that it allows the organization’s system to be fully robust. Virtualization in essences allows the company to have a system that is flexible, independent, reliable, mobile and secured. Moreover, it can automate the IT process, manage a heterogeneous client environment, enhance application performance, and increase server utilization. Clearly, the biggest need for any organization is to foster an environment is data preservation and availability of service. For instance, a unique type of virtualization that is known as desktop virtualization is a prime example of the benefits that are illustrated in virtualization. Desktop virtualization allows organization to isolate machines in the network in an efficient manner. Moreover, it allows users to have a centralized data management system in which security and compliance is extremely enhanced. The unique element of virtualization is the fact that it can allocate resources effect ively in a client/server model. Unlike conventional model of networking in which power is allocated to one client, virtualization enables users to grant resource and power based on demand, not based on priority. This undoubtedly leads to enhanced business continuity and remote access. Another unique element that is depicted in desktop virtualization is the fact that desktop virtualization enables users to do are flawless switching of application. Lastly, it eliminates the problem of reinstallation. For instance, if the network has to configure upgrades, clients do not have to log off in order to achieve the upgrade. Since the upgrade is so dynamic, virtualization allows companies to be efficient and productive. The third element of virtualization that is highly