What You Can Do to Prevent Napping at Work

What You Can Do to Prevent Napping at WorkWhat You Can Do to Prevent Napping at WorkYouve run out of steam, with hours of work ahead of you. Must. Have. Coffee. Youre not alone in your exhaustion, you know. You may not have resorted to napping at work, but if youre like 74 percent of us, youve worked while tired.In a new survey by Accountemps, 31 percent of the finance and accounting professionals who responded said they feel tired very often in the office, and 43 percent said theyre worn out at work somewhat often.If they work in Nashville, Austin, Denver or Indianapolis, theyre probably sleepiest of all.Scroll down for an infographic of the 15 cities that have the highest percentages of professionals exhausted on the job. When napping at work is not an optionFatigue is to blame for plenty of mistakes on the job - like a $20,000 miscalculation on a purchase order or a missed decimal point causing an overpayment of $1 million.Those were just two lack-of-sleep-induced errors mentione d in another Accountemps survey. One respondent blamed fatigue on an accident that paid everyone twice, and another said sleeplessness led to the deletion of a project that took 1,000 hours to put together.Other side effects of sleep deprivation in the workplace are a lack of focus or distraction, procrastination and grumpiness. It could also lead to retention issues, which is a big issue for companies.Whats a manager to do?If working tired is affecting productivity, not to mention the bottom line, employers would be well-served by stopping the burning of the midnight oil. But how?Offering a mora flexible schedule may alleviate long and costly commutes, is one of several suggestions from Bill Driscoll, a district president for Accountemps. Bringing temporary staff on board may cut down on your employees having to work after-hours. Reorganizing current priorities may lead to more manageable workloads.Learn more about how staffing services can offer a fresh set of eyes for finding int erim accounting and finance professionals. More tips for bossesMake sure you walk the talk. Dont be that manager who tells your finance staff to leave work at 5 p.m. and then sends emails to everyone until midnight. Take occasional breaks yourself, work reasonable hours, and inspire the people around you with your energy and enthusiasm.Evaluate your corporate culture. Emphasize work-life balance, with wellness programs and other incentives. Offer alternative work arrangements, like flextime, remote working or job-sharing options.Encourage regular breaks. Lunch or coffee breaks arent required by federal law, but some states impose mandatory rest periods for employees in specific industries.Give time off to unplug. A day off here and there, along with vacation time, can actually boost on-the-job productivity for your staff members.Meet with your team. Spend time with those you manage to evaluate whats on th eir plate, help prioritize workloads and set realistic expectations. Make sure they have all of the resources they need to do their work assignments and keep from getting spread too thing. See that the tasks are divided fairly among team members.You may not be ready to encourage napping at work by providing sleeping pods and snooze rooms, but there are ways to cope with the phenomenon of working tired, even in Nashville

Turns out your coffee addiction may all be in your head

Turns out your coffee addiction may all be in your headTurns out your coffee addiction may all be in your headData that welches recently featured in the Journal of Psychopharmacology,add to burgeoning research on the effects of caffeine withdrawal. The researchers recruited individuals that said they typically drink at least three cups of coffee a day (or 270 mg). Even though the participants chosen for the study were defined as heavy caffeineusers, three cups are actually the national average.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreThe MethodsThe study began by indiscriminately assigning individualsto one of two groups. Over the course of five days, each group welches allowed to drink two cups of coffee a day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, with the amount of caffeine diminishing gradually over the course of the study period. On the first day, both groups received 300 mgs of caffeine, on the second day their caffeineration was reduced to 200 mg, then 100 mg on the third day and 0 mg on the fourth and fifth days. The only difference between each group was the information they were given. The first group, called the Open Reduction group, received accurate quantitative information regarding theircaffeine rations, while the second group, called The Deceptive Reductiongroup, was told that they received the full 300mg of caffeine for the first three days.Using a Caffeine Withdrawl Symptom Questionaire, researchers were able to compare the purported effects of both groups. The questionnaire is informed by a 23-item scale, determining discernable symptoms like fatigue, drowsiness, low alertness, difficulty concentrating, mood disturbances, low sociability/motivation to work, nausea/upset stomach, flu-like symptoms and headache.The authors report, The Open Reduction group reported more pronounced caffeine withdrawal symptoms than the Deceptive Reduction group o n the days with the greatest discrepancy between actual dose and informed dose, indicating a nocebo effect of open versus deceptive reductions.Withdrawal or Expectation?Despite being given identical doses of caffeine, withdrawal symptoms varied notably between the two groups. The only problem is, theres no real way to determine which participants were responding more accurately. The only categorical takeaway is that expectation plays a huge role in how the amount of caffeine we are or arent consuming is impacting our wellness. The Open Reduction group that was given accurate information reported withdrawal systems that fell in line with the steadily decreasing dosage but was that merely because they were previouslyaware of the outcome they were expected to experience (known as the non-placebo effect)? The Deceptive Reduction group was most likely biased by reason of the placebo effect.The authors wrote, These results suggest that awareness of dose reductions during a dose taper can result in a nocebo withdrawal effect and that removing this awareness can reduce withdrawal. This has important implications for standard supervised dose-tapering practice, where patients are aware of the timing and magnitude of dose reductions.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Report This is how mentors choose their protégés

Report This is how mentors choose their protgsReport This is how mentors choose their protgsFor years, companies have tried to control their implicit biases while selecting candidates. When we look at the pipeline problems in major industries, at least some of the lack of diversity is thanks to human error - hiring managers and recruiters prefer job seekers who remind them of themselves. And in some ways, that makes sense of course, we connect more with people who enjoy the saatkorn hobbies, went to the same college, or share other commonalities with us.Where it gets dicey, though, is that often times those in leadership positions are white men from affluent backgrounds who went to upper echelon schools. And so when they look to see a reflection of themselves in a future employee, they exclude a huge swathe of the population who do not share biological and socioeconomic traits with them.And it turns out that those implicit biases dont end with our hiring practices - they take hold when we assess current employees as well.Anyone whos been lucky enough to have a mentor knows how important it can be to have that support base. Plus, theres always the feeling that somehow were special because we were the chosen ones. But it turns out that the reason fruchtwein of our mentors picked us out of the pack had little to do with our individuality. In fact, quite the opposite.New research from the New York-based think tank Center for Talent Innovation has found that 71% of sponsors say their main protg is the same race or gender as they are. This mini-me syndrome means that men gravitate toward men and women toward women. White mentors will be more inclined to choose white mentees, and altogether, the phenomenon means that more of the same kind of people will likely continue to thrive in any given company.That lack of diversity isnt good for anyone, including the mentors themselves. A mere 17% of sponsors believe their mainprotgs have a valuable management style that dive rges from the one they use, which means that mentors everywhere are missing out on more singular perspectives that could contribute to their own professional success.This research comes at a time when advocates for workplace gender equality have been concerned about the cooling effect the MeToo movement is having on men mentoring women. The national survey that CTI analyzed took place in January 2018, soon after MeToo made headlines, and indicates that there was very little mentorship going on between men and women without even considering mens recent fears to work alongside their more junior female colleagues.Another surprising discovery from CTIs research is that only 27% of sponsors advocate for their mentees aufsteigens. Though the simple process of learning from a more senior person in the field proves invaluable for many employees, a lot of mentees are also banking on their mentors putting in a good word so they can climb the corporate ladder as well.All of this may be a lot t o process right now, and it could be a good time to step back and reflect. For the mentors out there, an honest self-analysis of why you chose the mentee you did can go a long way in exercising self-awareness and helping to inform decisions moving forward.And for the mentees, it may be worth coming up with a strategy to ask your sponsor for words of support when that next big promotion comes open. Then, itll be time to pay it forward to the next junior-level employee who could use some guidance. Maybe, when its your turn, youll be smart enough to choose someone who doesnt remind you of yourself at all.