by admin | Apr 22, 2021 | Human Resources, Workplace
Think for a minute about all you have done today. Now, from that list of tasks, how many would you say you have done well? Again, from the list of tasks you feel you’ve done a good job on, how many were you praised for by your manager or even a co-worker? We all crave approval and praise from others in our life. The workplace is no exception. Praise motivates us to do well and to improve. Praise is necessary and praise is powerful. Follow these easy steps to build an effective habit of praise in your organization.
The WHY of Praise
Before we can get into the HOW of praise, let’s touch on the WHY. According to Gallup.com, “Recognition for good work releases dopamine in the brain, which creates feelings of pride and pleasure.” People want to feel like others see them and appreciate them. The praise-giver also receives benefits from this exchange. By giving praise, you get the same sense of satisfaction as you get when making a charitable gift or helping others. An environment of praise-giving is one where individuals work, not just to complete a task and be done, but they work to do a good job and to please their manager with hard work that is done well. Also, in terms of employee engagement, a manager who regularly praises their team, is one who is
The HOW of Praise
Giving praise is easy and, if you follow these simple tips, it is also an effective tool to motivate and encourage those in your workplace.
Make it QUICK
When you notice something that should be recognized with praise, do it immediately. The more time that passes between the event and the recognition, the less powerful the praise becomes. Make it a habit that when you see good work or good behavior, you stop what you are doing and give praise.
Make it SPECIFIC
Now that you have recognized the behavior or project that deserves praise, you’ll want to make the praise specific. Offering a vague compliment like, “You did good” doesn’t truly speak to the specific action that is praise-worthy. Instead, make your words of affirmation ones that point to a specific instance like, “The logo you created for the Milestone marketing project was clean and really inventive.”
Make it GENUINE
You may be tempted to adopt this new praise policy and start doling out compliments left and right like a praise shotgun, but, don’t. Disingenuous praise is almost as bad, if not worse, than no praise at all. You can tell if someone is making a forced comment or one that has no thought behind it. Instead, make sure the praise is given with a genuine heart and tone.
Create a CULTURE of praise
As you fine tune the act of giving praise in your workplace, your final task is to create a culture of praise-giving. When you build this culture, and everyone is actively involved in recognizing their peers, you will find the morale and engagement in your office is lifted higher. Increased morale and engagement also increase productivity, lowers absenteeism, and lowers turnover.
Praise is incredibly powerful. Praise has the power to motivate, encourage, and build. By following the simple tips outlined here, you can unleash the power of praise in your organization and in your life and reap the benefits to both the giver and receiver.
by admin | Apr 21, 2021 | COVID-19, Health & Wellness
COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.
We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions—like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces—in public places until we know more.
These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.
What You Can Start to Do
If you’ve been fully vaccinated:
- You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart.
- You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people of any age from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks or staying 6 feet apart, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
- If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
- You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
- You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
- You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States.
- You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
- You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
- If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
- However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.
What You Should Keep Doing
For now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:
- You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are:
- You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.
- If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others. You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are still required to get tested within 3 days of their flight (or show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and should still get tested 3-5 days after their trip.
- You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
- You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.
What We Know and What We’re Still Learning
- We know that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
- We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
- We know that other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.
- We’re still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease.
- Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated.
- We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
- As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
by admin | Nov 12, 2020 | Benefit Management, Open Enrollment
As the weather turns cooler and shopping centers get busier, it’s easy to surmise that it’s nearing the end of the year. Are we all ready for 2020 to be over?! Yes, please! Since we are closing in on 2021, it’s time for you to maximize your healthcare plan by taking advantage of end-of-year healthcare benefits.
HAVE YOU MET YOUR DEDUCTIBLE YET?
Before you continue reading, look over your insurance plan details and check your deductible amount. Then, check with your HR advisor and see where you are with your benefits per their records and the insurance company records to ensure you have all the information you need regarding these details. Now that you have all your ducks in a row, let’s look at some ways to make sure you are maximizing your healthcare benefits before year-end.
THINGS TO DO LIST
- Refill prescriptions—maybe get 90-day supplies so they last beyond the start of the new year
- Schedule lab work
- Schedule imaging
- Visit the dermatologist
- Visit the optometrist—get new glasses or contact lenses
- Schedule preventive screenings like:
- Endoscopy
- Colonoscopy
- Prostate cancer
- Lung cancer
- Schedule elective surgeries like:
- Hysterectomy
- Gallbladder
- Joint replacement
- Weight loss
- Thyroid
- Eye
- Back
- Go to physical therapy for an injury
- Visit your PCP for preventive care
- Visit the dentist
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Before you go whole-hog on scheduling these appointments, you need to consider some things first.
- Think about the additional costs associated with procedures like physical therapy post-surgery. You should calculate the cost of having the surgery this calendar year and starting PT after the new year begins and your deductible resets versus doing everything next year.
- Many dental plans have yearly maximums so it may be better to split up some dental procedures between this year and next.
- Make sure you stay in your network when you schedule these appointments or else your insurance coverage won’t be as robust as you thought.
- Use your FSA money before the end of the year because these funds are “use it or lose it.”
- The IRS does give you a grace period of 2 ½ months to spend your money
BONUS TIPS
As a couple bonus tips:
- Check your plan’s terms about coinsurance so you know if this will come into play even after meeting your deductible.
- Increase your HSA contributions to max out your account before the end of the year. The IRS, again, gives you some extra time in the following year to keep contributing to the prior year’s account. But, not maxing out your contribution amount means that you aren’t reaping the benefits of this tax-free money.
Making sure you are fully utilizing your healthcare plan at the end of the year is a smart move for every healthcare consumer. Begin crossing things off this “To Do List” today!
by admin | Nov 10, 2020 | Health & Wellness
The month of November has a central focus on the holiday, Thanksgiving. Linked with this holiday is the emotion of gratitude. We want to take a closer look at this emotion and see how it is linked to better health and give you some practical tips on how to increase the size of your gratitude bucket.
The Definition of Gratitude
The emotion of gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” We are familiar with the act of “thank you” to represent gratitude, but it also includes thinking on positive things that have happened during the day or your life, meditating on positive thoughts, and feeling grateful.
The Health of Gratitude
Beyond making someone feel appreciated, gratitude also has other benefits. In fact, there are physical health benefits associated with the act of gratitude. The Greater Good Science Center produced a list of benefits to gratitude.
For the individual:
- increased happiness and positive mood
- more satisfaction with life
- less materialistic
- less likely to experience burnout
- better physical health
- better sleep
- less fatigue
- lower levels of cellular inflammation
- greater resiliency
- encourages the development of patience, humility, and wisdom
In addition to these above benefits, psychologically, the act of gratitude has been shown to reduce toxic emotions like envy, frustration, resentment, and regret. Those who focus on gratitude have even been reported to visit the doctor less!
The Act of Gratitude
So, how do you practice gratitude in your everyday life? Here are some easy-to-do exercises to strengthen your gratitude muscles:
- Say thank you
- Keep a gratitude journal
- Write handwritten thank-you notes
- Think/meditate on positive thoughts
- Smile!
- Put sticky notes around your home and workspace to remind you to be grateful
By practicing gratitude, you are not only sowing positivity in someone’s heart, you are also reaping health rewards like lower blood pressure and decreased levels of stress and depression. This simple act, that we’ve all been taught since we were born (Moms always remind you to say, “thank you!”), has far-reaching benefits so start flexing your muscles of gratitude today.
by admin | Oct 26, 2020 | Benefit Management, Human Resources
With many enrollments being forced to go virtual this year, you may feel at a disadvantage. But, there are actually plenty of reasons to believe a virtual open enrollment could be even more effective for you and your clients.
IMPROVED EDUCATION
People only tend to remember 10% of what they hear and only 20% of what they read. However, people actually recall 80% of what they see. As you prepare your virtual enrollment presentations, make sure you work on integrating images to communicate your message. An image has a higher chance of evoking an emotional response in a person than a set of words, written or spoken and with that emotion comes retention. Leverage every opportunity to use graphs, charts, and images to relay your message.
GREATER REACH
As you communicate with your employees regarding education on benefits offerings or deadlines for enrollment, use a form of communication that is natural for most people—text messaging. Texting for employee communication results in a 98% open/read rate and a 45% reply rate. Compare these percentages to basic email open rates of 20% and a reply rate for email of only 6% and you’ll plainly see that texting has a far greater reach. So, if it worries you that virtual enrollments will result in less communication, don’t let it!
Another great way to leverage this time of virtual open enrollments for the good is to get online with your enrollment paperwork by posting it all via an online portal or company intranet. Employees can read through the information at their leisure from anywhere—phone, tablet, or laptop. They can also easily share it with family members who can read it at their convenience. More people will be able to digest the information than if it had only been available at a physical enrollment meeting.
OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION
Work on creating a solid foundation of communication for the entire year by introducing it during Q4’s virtual enrollment meetings. Use your company’s social media to stay in contact by posting educational infographics, animated videos on health and wellness topics, and invitations to webinars. Then, by the time 2021’s enrollment period approaches, your employees will be conditioned to look at your social media for company announcements and you will be set up for success as you post info on your different channels.
Even though open enrollment looks starkly different than in years’ past, it does have its benefits. Improved communication, a greater reach, and new, open lines of communication are all byproducts of this innovative, virtual environment. What a great surprise!
