Vanya Wryter Consulting Services

Tag: workplace

  • Scary and Creepy Jobs: Want to Try?

    Scary and Creepy Jobs: Want to Try?

    It’s that time of year when it’s normal to switch identities by wearing masks and dressing up in costumes. Some people become superheroes, movie and book characters, robots, monsters, or people from various professions.

    So, in keeping with this frightful time of year, let’s take a closer look at some scary and creepy jobs. Would you want to try any of these jobs for a day? Have you ever dressed up as one of these professions for Halloween?

    Bomb technician

    The job is highly stressful and you need to be level headed or you could have a really bad day and not make it home. The job includes deactivating explosives, explosive devices, and explosive chemicals.

    High-rise window washer

    This job isn’t for those who are afraid of heights. You’re responsible for cleaning the windows of tall skyscrapers that are several storeys high. When you look down, it can be a long way down.

    Miner

    Miners work in dark and damp settings in confined spaces if they work underground and face exposure to weather conditions if they work above ground. They work long days, doing repetitive and backbreaking labor. The work is definitely not for those who are afraid of possible cave-ins, explosions, or toxic air.

    Clinical trial subject

    Participants who are part of a clinical trial have the opportunity to experience an experimental drug, surgical procedure, or medical device. Because a drug is part of a clinical trial, there is less information about the safety and risk of the drug. The treatment may not be effective. Or the test subjects could have mild to severe side effects.

    Crab fisherman

    Crab fishermen face freezing, icy, weather conditions, strong waves that can cause heavy crab pots to slide or fall on the deck and cause injuries to the crew, or drowning or hypothermia from falling overboard or the boat capsizing. The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that mortality rates are “26 times higher (80%) than those of the average worker.”

    Psychiatric ward attendant/psychiatric aide

    Psychiatric ward attendants assist those in psychiatric wards with daily needs, such as serving meals, grooming, and administering medication. Risks of the job include effects on mental health from exposure to aggressive behavior or violence from patients on a regular basis, and possibly physical harm from the patients.

    Crime scene cleaner

    Crime scene cleaners clean up and sanitize the area where a crime, suicide, or accident has occurred. They may encounter blood, body fluids, broken glass, or needles. If you don’t wear the correct personal protective equipment, you risk contracting a disease.

    Forensic entomologist

    An entomologist is considered one of the creepiest jobs. On the downside, entomologists identify maggots collected from corpses. They must be comfortable getting dirty. They go to crime scenes to collect bug specimens to determine the cause of death or go out at night to study the behavior of moths.

    Mortician

    Morticians plan and manage tasks related to upcoming funerals. For this job, you will be handling corpses and risking infection or disease if you disregard safety training. You are around death on a regular basis, hearing stories about death and loss. This environment can be emotionally draining.

    Security guards

    Depending on the type of work, the job can be low risk to high risk. It can be physically demanding if giving chase or dealing with rowdy crowds. In extreme cases, there can be injury or death. As an extra note, in horror movies, they are one of the first to meet the bad guy, and depending on the type of movie, the antagonist can be a crazy person, zombie, or supernatural entity.

    Which of these jobs would you want to try? Are there any scary or creepy jobs that you would like to add to this list?

  • Would you work outside or inside?

    Would you work outside or inside?

    When it’s sunny and warm out, would you rather be outside or inside? 

    It’s summer and I’ve seen photos of people sitting in lounge chairs next to the pool, relaxing while typing on their laptops. It looks fun, but I don’t think I could do it. I would be one of those people who would flip my laptop onto the concrete floor while reaching for my ice-cold drink.

    It’s nice to have a change of scenery if you’re like me and you work indoors at a desk. I was at the park, enjoying the view, when I noticed how much time was put into the care of the flowers and how evenly spaced they were (because that’s what you notice if you’re a copyeditor and you’re always checking the organization of sentences). 

    I searched for brides in the garden since it was a sunny day and it was a popular photo spot. A day like this is wonderful for photographers. Colorful flowers, photo spots, and weather that’s warm but slightly overcast so your subjects aren’t squinting in pictures.

    This weather is perfect for gardeners. Sunny and dry. I’ve seen gardeners working outdoors in the pouring rain, mowing the soaked grass, or using a leafblower to push damp leaves. I would never do any yardwork in the rain, but it’s different when it’s your job. When it’s a warm and sunny day, it’s good to be outside.

    What would you do when the weather is nice out?

  • Dealing with 4 Challenges of Remote Work

    Dealing with 4 Challenges of Remote Work

    Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), became a popular term after the pandemic, but many workers have been working from home long before 2020. Some people love WFH and will never return to commuting or working at an office.

    The perks of remote work are numerous, but the lifestyle isn’t for everyone. The main difference is that WFH easily blurs the lines between work and home life. It’s easy to check work email while having breakfast in your pajamas or throw a load of clothes in the laundry in the five minutes you have before a meeting starts.

    Remote work also comes with its unique challenges. If you haven’t tried work from home yet, consider these four challenges before you start. If you work from home, what do you think about these challenges with the lifestyle?

    Lack of in-person interaction

    You might think it’s a nice break from your coworkers if you’re working from home. No more co-workers interrupting your work to ask annoying questions. No more distracting noise from an open-office design layout.

    For those who love socializing, you will miss having lunch with a co-worker who is your friend. You’ll miss the conversations you have whenever you collaborate with a team. You’ll have virtual team meetings, but you must stick to the topic and finish on time before people leave for other meetings.  

    Remote work is perfect for those who love to work without interruption. You can avoid water cooler conversations with coworkers (although you might have them with those you live with). You can work in peace and get what you need done on time. The time you save from your commute is spent finishing work early so you can do other things after work.

    A workplace that you live in

    Working from home is quite literally working from your home. It may be difficult to draw a distinct line between your home life and work life. A home office with a door that you can open and close helps to create a physical separation between your two lives, but if your desk is in your living space, such as your kitchen, that distinction is harder to make.

    You may be expected to check your work emails first thing in the morning, as well as in the evening. Remote companies with staff that live across the country function best when people are more flexible about when they work and when they check messages. You may need to be more adamant about your office hours and when you check messages if you want set hours away from work.

    Work may also feel more intrusive because your coworkers have a window into your personal life when you have a virtual meeting. They can see what you have along one wall of your home office. They can hear if your children are talking loudly in the background.

    Living where you work has its perks. You don’t have to spend time packing your lunch the night before. No trying to figure out what food is good to transport in your lunch bag and convenient to eat in the office. It will be like eating at home on the weekend.

    During coffee and lunch breaks, you can be more productive: you can throw a load of laundry in the washer, take out the trash, or dust off some furniture. Best of all, if you have a flexible schedule and if you’re drowsy, it’s easy to take a comfortable nap.

    Different dress code

    Remote work is very easy on your clothing budget. You can wear the same clothes that you wear on the weekend to lounge around the house. Or you can dress up in office wear if that’s your preference to get in work mode.

    The only time dress code matters is during virtual meetings when you are on camera. You may want to dress up a little and wear a sweater or shirt instead of your hoodie for a meeting with new clients or company members you don’t work with regularly.

    New level of IT skills

    “Avid problem solver” will become one of your top job skills. As a remote worker, you’ll encounter tech issues with internet availability, virtual meeting mic or camera issues, or other issues with your computer. 

    Without someone from the company IT department to save you, you’ll need to resort to your resourcefulness to fix those tech issues. Either you’ll be calling favors from friends and family, or reading up on technology so you can become your own expert.  

    Key Takeaways

    Does working from home appeal to you? Those who prefer it love the flexible work hours, the short commute, and the relaxed dress code. With today’s technology, remote work will continue to be an option for the workplace.

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  • How To Double Your Productivity

    How To Double Your Productivity

    If you want to double your productivity, set reachable goals that turn you into an achiever. Entrepreneur Bill Gates said, “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” 

    Bite-sized goals that you can achieve quickly reward you with the satisfaction of success. Small successes lead to bigger ones. Realistic, measurable goals help you accomplish what you need in a year or ten years.

    In the meantime, tackling your daily and weekly goals is just as effective. Over time, you can increase your productivity and achieve more by following a three-step plan. 

    1 Productivity Assessment at the End of the Week

    Let’s begin with where you are now. Whether you already had goals or not, reflect on what brought you here. What did you accomplish? 

    Whether they are big or small, your achievements are important, so celebrate them. For example, you ate a healthy lunch today. You rocked your job interview. Or you finally bought your dream home. Goals are goals, and they’re all worth recognition.

    Assess what you’ve accomplished. What did you do well? What could you have done better? Some people find it difficult to feel proud about what they’ve done. They don’t want to share their achievements because they are humble or feel uncomfortable bragging when they should. A win is a win.

    Also, look back at what you’ve done and think about what you could have done better. Could you have reached your goal more efficiently? Could you raise the bar for your next goal a little higher? 

    If you fail to reach a goal, set aside time to deal with any negative feelings of disappointment. Provide time for self care. Then decide if you should set a different goal or change it. Maybe your goal was unrealistic and needed a stepping stone. 

    Instead of opening an e-commerce business, first, take a business course. Instead of running long distances, start with shorter ones. The most successful people in the world had to overcome failures.

    Evaluating and assessing will improve your productivity and what you can achieve in a week or a year. 

    2 Check in with Community and Family

    Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, having community and family support is important for your productivity. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people is vital for self care and inspiration.

    If you’re an introvert, having a virtual community or “family” is a way to help you recharge. Join Facebook groups with a mission or purpose similar to yours. 

    You can post anonymously for advice and read other posts for ideas on improving your health, ways to do your work more efficiently, and inspiration from other people’s successes. It may take a while to find the right community, but investing time is worth it. Another advantage of virtual groups is getting in touch with like-minded people worldwide. 

    If you like being around people, join in-person meet-up groups to be with people who have similar interests as you. Being around people in person has a different energy level than viewing posts on social media or reading about people’s brag moments. Spending time with like-minded people can recharge your energy.

    Spending time with close friends and family is another way to recharge and improve productivity. These people are your cheer squad. They celebrate your successes and motivate you to be your best self. They are also there to pick you up when you’re down and set you on your way again.

    3 Productivity Assessment for the Coming Week

    The third way to improve your productivity for the coming week is to decide what you want to accomplish before the new week begins.

    Start with the big picture first. What are your big goals for the week? Decide on one to three things you want to achieve before the next seven days are over. These could be personal goals – such as a fitness goal – or professional goals – such as finishing a major project.

    Next, break down your major goals into smaller ones. These are your daily goals. Again, they can be personal or professional daily goals. For example, you plan to run for X minutes every day. Another example is to break down work projects into daily milestones.  

    When you set daily, manageable goals, you will have a daily feeling of accomplishment. By the end of the week, you will have a series of accomplishments to look back on.

    Prepare yourself for the week ahead. Some people choose their work outfits the night before to save time. It’s also efficient to prepare your meals for the week.

    Also, set time each day to reflect. Some people meditate. It is a time that you set aside each day to check in with yourself. Too often we focus on getting things done for work or family and forget to check in with ourselves. Are we feeling mentally or physically exhausted? Do we need time for self care?

    Finally, set daily goals for continuous learning, even if all you have is five minutes a day. Learn a new word in your native language or another language. Google a faster way to use a computer program that you use at work. Try out a new recipe. They say constant learning keeps the mind young.

    Key Takeaways

    To double your productivity, assess where you are now and where you would like to be. Set goals to help you achieve your personal or professional accomplishments. Connect with like-minded people who will motivate you. 

    Finally, always reflect on your accomplishments. Could you improve, or have you done the best you ever can?

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  • 10 Signs of Ageism in the Workplace

    10 Signs of Ageism in the Workplace

    When you hear the term “discrimination in the workplace,” what comes to mind? Common forms of workplace discrimination include gender, race, religious, and sexual orientation. Another type is age.

    Examples of age discrimination (ageism) at the workplace are: not hiring someone because they are too old, or only providing training to younger workers because the older ones will be retiring.

    Some industries are more prone to ageism at the workplace than others because the industry is constantly evolving and requires its workforce to be highly adaptable.

    Kally has provided a checklist, 10 Signs of Ageism in the Workplace on her blog, MiddleMe. It’s worth checking out to build awareness of this issue in the workplace!

    Workplace discrimination happens on various fronts, one of which is on the age front. Ageism primarily targets employees in their 50s, with the younger employees and employers having negative stereotypes towards their older employees... Continue reading.

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