Make sure to consider all the benefits when re-evaluating in January

January is a time of change. Many people begin to evaluate the past year and figure out what will be acceptable or not for the upcoming year. Most employees put where they work, the type of work they do, and their pay scales under a microscope in January. Maybe the Christmas bills have started to come due, maybe the heating bills are beyond reason, or maybe the commute to work is too long, cold, and stressful, all of which force us to re-evaluate our lives. Employees may also be tired of whatever the past two years in a rough economy has done to them emotionally.

Believe me; employers are just as fed up with whatever stresses they dealt with during the recession. I think it is time to get back to a trusting, mutually beneficial relationship between employers and employees. Before an employee breaks down and quits because money is tight and the job is too stressful, take a clear look at a few things.

Was the job always too stressful or has it just been the last few months, or even the past couple of years? Is there light at the end of the tunnel as far as workload goes? Is revenue increasing? Did your boss say they will hire more help in 2011? Are you working a regular work week or are you constantly working overtime? Some employees are complaining about workload and their bosses don’t know about it, so how fair is that to either party? Are you wasting time at work, then stressing because deadlines are tight?

As far as budgets and wages go, I am finding that employees want to be paid more for doing less, beginning every January. To be realistic, employees should look at what they produce or do for the company and how long that takes to do. Then, compare with other similar jobs to see if they are paid fairly for what they do. There are many online sites that will give wage comparisons. Use the available information to make a case to the boss or to realize you are already right where you should be.

Before presenting stresses and wage reviews to anyone, think about all the additional benefits of the job. Remember to consider health benefits, parking, expenses, incentives, bonuses, education allowance, freedoms, flexible hours, social activities, opportunities for growth and advancement, or anything else that would be lost with an abrupt “I quit” in January.

The most important thing to evaluate is the relationship with the boss. A mutually trusting relationship with open positive communication between boss and employee is the toughest thing to replace. If the relationship is great, do the stress/wage analysis and present it to the boss, and be sure to respect what is required of the job and all benefits the company does offer. Soon it will be the February blues and we will forget the January stress.

Think twice before cancelling your new year commitments

Many companies and employees start the New Year with planning. We plan our budgets, our doctor and dentist appointments, our workout schedules, and our vacation schedules for the upcoming year. Technology has made scheduling much easier for most of us. We can easily commit to whatever we want and invite people to join us, or send copies of schedules to anyone we want. We can even sync up our schedules to additional systems, so we never lose track of something we’ve booked. Along with the ease of planning and making commitments, comes the easy option to delete them. When considering which commitments we may choose to skip, reschedule, or delete, I believe vacations and annual physicals are the most important to keep.

Sometimes people get so busy that they forget to book a physical, instead, choosing to wait to see their doctor until something is wrong or they get sick. But for many illnesses and health conditions, early detection is crucial and saves lives! So be proactive and make sure to book your yearly physical and keep the commitment. My tip to help remember to book your physical, is to book it on your birthday, every year. Schedule it in a colour other than black, maybe even in red, the colour of the heart. This way, you will think twice about canceling.

Vacations are considered a luxury but are also a necessary commitment to make to yourself, in order to be healthy in both body and mind. A vacation does not have to be a holiday somewhere away from home. What I mean by vacation is a break from work, all work. It is easy to get so busy, stressed, and overwhelmed at work, that taking a vacation seems impossible. But it has been proven that we work much more efficiently and effectively, and with renewed energy after we return from a break. My tip for committing and sticking to a planned vacation, is to confirm the time off, whatever is allotted, with all those who will be affected. This includes bosses, coworkers, spouses and family, pet sitters, schools, and perhaps even our neighbours. If the plan is to stay home for a break, schedule some fun things to do around town, like visit art galleries, museums, or the zoo. If possible, buy tickets ahead of time in order to ensure you resist the urge to cancel.

If we take the time to plan and schedule our year ahead, we should understand the importance of the commitments we make to ourselves and our families. Canceling doctor appointments and vacations should be reserved for emergencies only, not because the delete button is easy.

New Year's resolutions

Did everyone make a New Year’s resolution? I always set a one word goal around this time of year, set for the year ahead. Because I am a business owner, my work life is completely integrated into my home life, and my resolutions always reflect that. For other people, their New Year’s resolution is completely personal, with no thought of work even coming into play.

I know many people who are still working on last year’s commitments. People are quick to say yes to things, and then back out! Others over commit and become exhausted because they left no personal time open.

January is a great time to reflect on what goals or resolutions are truly important. Does that last ten pounds really matter? The last thing we may be thinking about today is our next holiday booking, or managing our schedules and stress levels through 2011. But I think that is exactly what we should be thinking about. We should think about why we are working where we are and why we are in the relationships we are in. If our friends, families, and workplaces are working for us, then we should make an even bigger effort to improve them, making them even more positive and supportive. And if they are not working for us, we should make the decisions we have been putting off.

January is a time to come clean, to reevaluate our commitments, and be more relaxed and comfortable with our choices. If we plan to create work/life balance this year, perhaps looking at what this will take for each of us to achieve is an important step. In order to commit to a New Year’s resolution, we first need to discover what has worked for us in the past, and what has not! There is no point toasting to losing 50 pounds this year if we have been unable to ever lose five. We should choose something that gives us positive energy. If we don’t know what does that for us, we need to figure it out, and commit to it this year.

Last January, I committed to my readers that I would write a positive article each week, or at least put a positive spin on each and every one. I did that! It actually helped me and my company, About Staffing, as much as it helped my readers! I was positive and happy after I wrote each article. Being a downer affects everyone’s energy, so get positive! By the way, it is OK to change your resolution today to something better! Happy New Year everyone!