Latest news with #workplace
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
How Microbreaks Can Be Your Key To Career Success
The concept of working nine to five is a vestige of the past, where 'punching the clock' was a relevant term. Today's workday allows much more flexibility about when and how we work. We have more control of our time, and when we use it properly, we can be more productive and creative. That's where microbreaks come in. These mini do-list interruptions aren't signs of distraction or laziness, they're a key to amping up attention and combating burnout. Microbreaks are short, intentional pauses taken throughout the workday to help reset your mind and body. They can be as brief as a few seconds or last several minutes. Microbreaks are varied and range from standing up to stretch, walking around the office, sipping water, glancing out the window, or even doing a quick breathing exercise (this Quick Calm technique from Stress Coach Jordan Friedman is popular, and as potent as it is pithy). Unlike scheduled vacations, full lunch hours, or other big pauses, microbreaks are woven into the rhythm of your day. They're mini but mighty moments of motivation and mindfulness. Microbreaks aren't just feel-good rituals. Research consistently shows that our brains can maintain focused attention for only about 25 to 30 minutes before fatigue sets in. Instead of thinking of breaks as interruptions, consider them investments in sustained performance. Microbreaks are also energy boosters. A 2022 PLOS ONE study found that microbreaks, even those as short as 27 seconds, significantly boost vitality and reduce fatigue. In addition to increasing energy, these mini moments can help with physical health. Taking a 5-minute walk every 30 minutes helps regulate blood pressure and blood sugar, offsetting the physical effects of sitting at your desk, according to research from Columbia University. It's time to adopt a new mindset. Microbreaks aren't about slacking off. They're about working smarter. Nearly 25% of Americans take a microbreak at least once per hour, according to this new study. 89% of the study's respondents say they use them to reduce stress, and 93% use them to refocus. Just as important, the study found that about 50% of those who are using microbreaks regularly say that skipping them actually leaves them feeling more tired. Here are some microbreaks you can easily integrate into your day: If you're a leader, manager, or just someone who cares about workplace wellness, creating a culture that embraces microbreaks pays dividends. Here's how to get those around you to adopt the microbreak habit. Microbreaks aren't a distraction from work, they're a modern workplace survival strategy. In a world of shrinking attention spans, digital fatigue, and endless back-to-back Zoom meetings, these tiny intermissions can restore your clarity, energy, and enthusiasm. The next time you find yourself staring blankly at your screen, give yourself permission to pause (or the mandate to microbreak!). Your career will thank you. William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, and personal branding pioneer. Join him as he discusses clever strategies for using AI to express and expand your brand in Maven's free Lightning Lesson. If you can't attend live, register to receive the replay.
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Overwhelmed At Work? 5 Steps To A More Sustainable Workload
I find myself working before 9am and after 5pm on my own stuff because when I'm at work it's too hard to concentrate. I'm frequently interrupted by my colleagues, and a big part of my job is being available to others -- I oversee a bunch of things -- so I need to be available. How do I make a more sustainable routine? - Editor Working overtime should be an exception and not the default if you're going to have any semblance of personal and professional balance. While many jobs entail managing or collaborating with others, if you find that it's a full-time job to attend to your colleagues, you need to assert stronger boundaries or you're just working on their schedule, not yours. Finally, if you're fitting in your own work at the margins of your day, you're probably not giving your best energy to it. Improving balance, setting boundaries, and assigning the most energetic part of your day to your most important work will help you make your workload more sustainable. Here are five steps to take now: Pick one good habit at a time to adopt for better sleep, exercise, diet and stress management (e.g., sticking to a bedtime routine, hitting X steps each week, eating at least one fruit per day, meditating in the morning). Starting with self-care allows you to flex your change muscle and introduce something new to your routine without disrupting your work. At the same time, you're building a stronger foundation that will make it easier to disrupt your work for the better. You have to be your biggest advocate against burnout. Experiment with reducing your availability to interruptions by following specific practices that signal to others you shouldn't be disturbed. This can be as simple as hanging a sign on your door (or cubicle) that says, 'Do not disturb', 'Please don't interrupt' or 'Working on deadline'. If you're worried that's not friendly enough, you can add a specific time for people to come back (e.g., 'Check back in 30 minutes'). If you have an office with multiple spaces, make it a habit to leave your regular workspace and go somewhere away from your colleagues. Block your online calendar so meetings can't be scheduled at all times of day. Whatever you decide to carve out uninterrupted time, start with 30 minutes three times a week and work up to dedicated blocks of focused time every day. Interruptions from colleagues might be the key reason this editor's other work is spilling into overtime. However, they also might have a To Do list that is unrealistic and could be pared down. To pare down your task list and still protect your job, get clear on what your manager prioritizes from you. Some projects or clients are more important than others, and some ongoing tasks count more than others. For this editor, it might be publishing a certain number of stories on a set cadence, submitting a status report on audience analytics or moving forward on a long-term research assignment. These tasks should get the dedicated blocks of focused times, and other tasks (e.g., filing more than the minimum of stories) fall off. At some point, you can take on more because ad hoc projects finish or you get more efficient with your output, but don't work overtime until you know it's on something that matters. You may prefer some aspects of your job more than others, or it may be easier to do some tasks more than others. Unfortunately, if you default to what you like or what's comfortable, you might neglect what matters most. That includes your manager's top priorities, as well as your own. Your manager's top priorities may not 100% line up with yours. You may be interested in a promotion and need to take on tasks outside your current job or focus on work that gives you more visibility beyond your manager. You may be developing a skill (e.g., AI) that is currently a small part of your job. You may have a personal interest in exploring other departments or areas of the company outside your current role. To keep your own career moving, use some of your focused time for your top priorities, not just your manager's. If your best efforts to bring routine to your workday are still met with interruptions, you'll need to schedule your interactions more deliberately. This could be a 15-minute weekly check-in with your manager, when before they used to drop by for an update. It could be you proactively walking around to check on colleagues and offer your help at set times you choose. Or block off specific 'office hours' each day for questions and requests. It may take time for people to realize you're on a new work cadence, but if you stick to it, they'll realize this is how you work and will jump on the new routine. Improve your time management, and you improve your career.
Forbes
7 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Summer Is Coming: What To Do If The Slowdown Isn't Showing Up At Work
For many professionals, this summer already feels different. Historically, the anticipation of summer offered an opportunity to recover after sprinting for six months. However, with economic uncertainty rising, particularly in industries facing trade tensions and regulatory shifts, summer may no longer feel like a reset. Organizations are managing leaner teams, higher expectations and heavier workloads. But even as work intensifies, the pressure doesn't stop there. For busy professionals, women especially, demands at home often rise in parallel. Coordinating childcare and eldercare, managing summer schedules or simply keeping up with shifting routines can feel like a second job layered on top of the first. The accumulation of these demands takes a toll, and year over year the impact is visible. According to Gallup's 2025 State of the Workplace report, global workforce engagement decreased, with only 21% of employees feeling engaged at work and just 33% describing themselves as thriving. Well-being has declined most sharply among women in management, who reported a seven-percentage-point drop over the past year. While this data does not isolate summer specifically, it reflects a broader strain that only intensifies during busier times. From shifting work dynamics to rising caregiving demands, this season brings new challenges. Navigating them well starts with knowing what's really at play and what to do about it. Summer break doesn't mean less work - it means a different kind of work. For working parents, the end of the school year marks the beginning of a caregiving sprint. Camps, childcare, family travel and daily logistics require time, attention and emotional labor that rarely shows up on a calendar. And unlike school, summer doesn't come with built-in structure or stability. According to Bright Horizons' 2025 Modern Family Index, 87% of working parents report challenges when their children are home during summer including interrupted workdays and the stress of managing unpredictable schedules. 68% say summer feels like a break for everyone but them. It's the kind of strain that may be invisible in daily schedules but compounds quietly - raising the risk of burnout while making recovery feel inaccessible And while the parental pressure is clear, women often carry the larger share. A 2023 Pew Research report found that in dual-income households, women continue to shoulder the majority of caregiving and household responsibilities even while working full time. That imbalance doesn't pause for summer. It intensifies. Even for professionals without direct caregiving responsibilities, summer doesn't always bring relief. When colleagues are out, the burden shits to those still online - and this certainly compounds on leaner teams. PTO becomes a puzzle of coordinating coverage, navigating deadlines and managing expectations from clients or leadership. For some, taking time off doesn't mean less work; it just means temporarily shifting the work somewhere else. And even when time off is granted, it doesn't always translate into recovery. Another Pew Research study highlighted that 46% of U.S. workers say they don't use all their paid time off. Many cite fear of falling behind at work (49%) or feeling badly about co-workers taking on additional work (43%) as reasons for not taking more time off. Particularly now, industries like retail, manufacturing, tech and even legal are managing more pressure due to evolving regulations and litigation. These sectors are navigating complex compliance landscapes, which increases workloads and make stepping away more challenging. The result is a subtle kind of burnout - the kind that comes not from intensity but from continuity. Time off is either unavailable or incomplete. Even when the calendar says, 'out of office,' the mental tabs stay open. The inbox piles up. Pings still come through. And the stress of anticipating what's waiting can turn so-called rest into another source of pressure. The season may promise flexibility, but that flexibility is often filled with invisible work. The question then becomes: how can recovery still happen, even when the ideal version isn't possible? If the slowdown hasn't come yet, it might not. Recovery can still be designed. For professionals navigating a demanding summer, small shifts in planning and mindset can offer a sense of agency - even if rest looks different this season. Here are a few strategies to make sure that by the time Labor Day hits, the question, 'How was your summer?' doesn't make you laugh - or cry. Structure can soften stress. Choose one activity each week that restores your energy - something low-effort, but high impact. A walk with a friend. A 30 minute walk. A crossword puzzle on Sunday. Schedule it like a meeting. It may not fix the week, but the ritual can help reclaim a sense of control and support well-being. Start with what's left. How many PTO days are unused? Then make a plan you can actually stick to. That might mean blocking one Friday a month now through August, or building a long weekend around a holiday. There are even sites that help you hack your vacation days. You don't need a five-day trip to make it count. Micro-vacations can be more accessible. A night at a hotel in your own city. A 90-minute train to a beach town. You don't need months of planning or thousands of dollars to feel away. Harness the quick trips that you can plan the week of and only need one bag. If you can't pause the season, at least protect one piece of it. Maybe hat means setting a 'no meetings before 10:00a.m.' rule once a week. Maybe it's pausing notifications after 7:00 p.m. Boundaries aren't selfish - they are strategic. And when you do disconnect, have a plan for it. Unplugging entirely isn't always realistic. For some people, it adds for stress. Instead of aiming for perfect silence, set parameters that actually support recovery. Maybe that means scanning your inbox once a day without replying. You know yourself best. The goal is to identify the cadence that supports your mental well-being and commit to it with intention. Summer may not slow down - but that doesn't mean it has to run you over. For professionals navigating this stretch without a built-in break, the goal isn't balance - it's capacity. Protect the moments that replenish your energy by choosing strategies that make burnout less inevitable and thriving more within reach. It's not about making the season perfect. It's about making it livable.
CNA
7 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Somebody that I used to know: On the weird grief of colleague departures
This question has become part of my awkward welcome ritual for new hires: 'So ... are you a coffee person?' Day one usually begins at the cafe downstairs with a quick hello, a commemorative libation (coffee or otherwise), then a climb up the stairs to commence our journey as co-workers. Over the past decade of running my company, I've continued to personally onboard new workers. It's not that I can't trust someone else to do it. I just really enjoy it. I like showing them our 'designated crying area' (our pantry space) and explaining the curious phenomenon of the office bidet geyser. I like going through our culture deck, throwing in a few jokes to break the ice and seeing them decide how heartily they should laugh. It's orientation, yes, but also something more – a quiet hope that if you make them feel welcome and you remember their coffee order, they might stay a little longer. Then they leave. Sometimes after three years, sometimes three months. Sometimes on a good note, sometimes a strained one. And in that abrupt silence that follows, between offboarding checklists and looking at handover documents, I find myself wondering if any of these efforts were worth it. WON'T YOU STAY WITH ME? About a decade ago, the first person that I hired when I started the company decided to make a jump to a much bigger, more prestigious agency. It was a competitor but it paid her better and had a much more conducive structure for her career development. It made sense for her. We parted on good terms, but it was hard to maintain the same friendship once we no longer shared the day-to-day routines. Even seeing her career milestones pop up on social media triggered a small wave of disappointment – not at her, but at myself. It was insecurity and a bit of resentment all wrapped up in a forced double-tap of the 'like' button. We didn't speak for a long time. Only after a good five years had passed could we both approach the situation with some perspective and humour. Thankfully, we're now friendly again. This isn't a story about attrition rates or talent migration. It's about the emotional tax of investing in people who eventually walk away. No one tells you, when you first become a manager, that the job requires a strange kind of short-term memory. You pour time into someone, build a rhythm, start speaking in shared references and inside jokes – and then, poof, they're gone. Off to bigger things and better pay. The relationship seems to end abruptly there, apart from the occasional LinkedIn sightings. I know that's just the way the cookie crumbles. The workplace today is a revolving door of industry pivots, mental health breaks and career realignments. Everyone's chasing something – balance, purpose, remuneration, title and so on – and it's unlikely that staying in one place can offer everything. Still, why do I feel a small sting every time someone leaves? SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO KNOW I'll be honest. I still find it difficult not to take departures from the company personally. Not in a dramatic, weeping-in-the-toilet way, but in those smaller moments. When a photo of a past team outing pops up on social media, in a photo album or the memories in your head. Or when you retrieve an old presentation deck and you see the names tagged in the slides. Certainly not because they're wrong to go but maybe it's because, for a brief window of time, I had imagined a future where we'd keep building something together. This emotional dilemma isn't exclusive to managers and supervisors. The departure I've taken the hardest happened when I was still a junior executive, in the infancy of my career. At the time, I was part of a desk cluster with a senior who wasn't my direct boss, but who had become a de facto mentor. Christopher was soft-spoken, serious and a little stoic, but he always humoured my terrible puns. We'd often sneak off for 'planning sessions' at the canteen that had very little to do with planning. We talked about movies, music, family – the kind of conversations that anchor you during chaotic work days. One afternoon, Christopher told me that the following week would be his last with the company. He'd found a better opportunity elsewhere. In the 2002 Hong Kong movie Infernal Affairs, there's a pivotal scene where Tony Leung, playing an undercover police officer, watches the only person who knows his true identity get killed. The camera lingers on his expression of shock and horror and this remains one of the strongest gut punches in cinematic history. On that day when Christopher told me the news, my expression would've made Tony's look mild at best. 'Oh. Congrats, Chris!' I managed to say. 'Happy for you.' Two weeks later at his cleaned-out desk, I shook his hand and said all the right things: 'Let's keep in touch. Don't be a stranger.' What I couldn't shake was the strange sense of grief and futility. What would be the point of keeping in touch if we no longer worked together? FRIENDS ARE FRIENDS … FOREVER? What is 'workplace culture'? We like to talk about it in terms of values and vision statements, but most of it comes down to the people. It is who you sit next to, the person who replies with a meme instead of a boring thumbs-up, the one who makes the 5pm slump bearable. So when they leave, it isn't just another email from the human resource department. It's a permanent glitch in your work day. Conventional business wisdom dictates that investing in people is never a waste, even when they might come and go – because people are the most valuable assets of any company. I've echoed those things. I even genuinely believe them. But there's another truth, too: that what isn't a waste can still sometimes feel like one regardless. It's only human of us to feel something, especially after we've poured hours into someone – coaching, giving feedback, having conversations over coffee and bubble tea – only to have them resign right when they finally started getting it. Maybe it is not quite bitterness but certainly, there is a sense of jadedness. The kind that makes you want to pull back with the next person, just a little. Don't get too attached. Don't ask about their weekend or their interests. Don't joke too much. Here's the catch: If you stop investing in your people earnestly and genuinely, you will slowly become the kind of manager you swore you'd never be. Transactional. Coldly efficient. Checked out. And ironically, that's exactly the kind of environment people want to leave. So I will keep trying, even when the farewell Slack message reads like a LinkedIn boilerplate. I will keep hoping that somewhere along the way, the time we spent together meant something. That, in between rushed deadlines and Monday check-ins, we managed to become more than just colleagues ticking boxes on a task list. Maybe that's the point – to make the workplace not just somewhere people pass through, but somewhere they felt seen, where they felt real connection, even if briefly. I love how Andy Bernard movingly puts it in the series finale of American sitcom The Office: "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." The real treasure, as they say, might just be the friends we made along the way.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This Is the Best Way To Contribute To Your 401(k)
Contributing to a 401(k) or other workplace retirement plan is a great way to save money so that you can retire comfortably when you're ready. One of the big advantages to saving this way is that you can 'set it and forget it.' Read More: Explore Next: But that doesn't mean you don't need to put some thought into how you contribute. Here's what you need to know about the best way to contribute to your 401(k). Your 401(k) contributions should start as soon as possible. Even if you can't contribute very much, contribute something. The money is deducted from your gross pay before you get your paycheck, so you'll never miss it. When you start a new job, start your 401(k) contributions immediately if you can. Some companies will enroll you automatically, so check to see if yours is an opt-out plan (meaning you have to tell your employer if you don't want to participate). If you are automatically enrolled, make sure the amount is what you want it to be. See Now: Many companies will match your contributions, up to a certain percentage of your salary. Some companies will match half of what you contribute, or 50 cents on the dollar, while others will match dollar-for-dollar. They may match up to 3% or 5% of your salary. If you can, contribute at least as much as you need to in order to get the maximum match. The company match is essentially free money that your employer is giving you toward your retirement savings, but you have to contribute in order to get it. Here's an example. Suppose your annual salary is $100,000. Your employer offers a 401(k) plan with a matching employer contribution of 50 cents per dollar, up to 5% of your salary. This means that your employer will contribute half of what you contribute, but no more than $5,000 per year. If you contribute $5,000 per year (5% of your salary), your company will match that with $2,500 per year (half of your contribution). If you contribute $10,000 per year, your company will match that with $5,000. If you contribute $15,000 per year, your company will match that with $5,000, since that's 5% of your salary, which is the maximum they will match. Some companies will match 100% of your contributions, and the maximum percentage of your compensation that the company will match can vary. Check with your human resources department to see what your company offers. The amount you contribute to your 401(k) is always available to you to rollover or withdraw (although a tax penalty may apply), but the company may impose a vesting schedule. Many companies will vest 20% of their contributions per year, so after 5 years, the company's contributions are 100% yours. But if you leave the company before that time, you will only get part of the company match money. As important as it is to start early when you contribute to your 401(k), it's equally important to increase your contributions as you get older. This will help your 401(k) balance to keep pace with increases in the cost of living and will help you stay on track for a comfortable retirement. When you get a raise, use part of the increase to boost your 401(k) contributions. For example, if you get a 4% increase in your pay, increase your 401(k) contribution by 2%, and get the other 2% in your check. Keep doing this until you are contributing the maximum possible amount, which is $23,500 in 2025 if you're under 50. If you're over 50, you can contribute an additional $7,500 for a total of $31,000. Those who are between 60 and 63 can contribute a total of $34,750. While it's best to set your contribution amount and then forget about it (until you're able to increase it, of course) but you don't want to do that with your investments. Your asset allocation should change as you age. You can be aggressive in your 20s and 30s, but your investments should become more balanced in your 40s and 50s, and move to the conservative end of the investment spectrum in your 60s. The reason you want to adjust your retirement portfolio as you age is obvious: you have more time to recover from a downturn when you're younger. Investments that can fluctuate 20 or 30% in either direction are fine when you're younger, because if you do experience a steep drop, you can wait for the market to rebound. A 25% drop in your 60s, however, could be devastating. An easy way to manage your investments is with a target date fund. A target date fund is a mutual fund that includes positions that are tied to a specific date in the future. If you plan to retire in 2070, for example, you can choose a 2070 target date fund. This fund would have a fairly aggressive mix of investments, such as individual stocks or tech mutual funds, right now. Over time, the investments would shift toward more bonds and other conservative investments. Note that you don't have to choose a target date fund that corresponds exactly with your expected retirement date. If you plan to retire in 2070 but you're comfortable taking a little more risk, you can choose a 2075 target date fund. Or, if you're more conservative, you can choose a 2065 target-date fund. The single best way to contribute to your 401(k) is to simply do it. Start today and take advantage of the magic of compounding. Increase your contributions as you can, keep an eye on your investments and before you know it, you'll be heading for retirement with a nice financial cushion. More From GOBankingRates 9 Downsizing Tips for the Middle Class To Save on Monthly Expenses Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck This article originally appeared on This Is the Best Way To Contribute To Your 401(k)
