February in WorkLife Essentials

Well, the new year is well and truly here, and as most of us settle back into our usual routines, you might find that it's been a while since you took some time to really care for yourself.  This month in WorkLife Essentials, we're helping you with that in our promotion on Personal Wellbeing.  This can come in many forms - but the general concept we are promoting is that, no matter what challenges you take on during the day, it's always important to make sure that you're looking after yourself. An area that is particularly fraught with difficulty in preserving your own needs is when you're working from home, and we've highlighted 3 articles below that can really help.  But it's also important to focus on Personal Wellbeing as a caregiver, which you can read about in "Caregiver Stress and Finding Support", as you undergo life changes, discussed in "The Biological Clock", or just when you're under a lot of stress at work or at home, "Managing Stress".  We even have recommended on-line resources and a self help guide "Online Self-Help" to direct you to help for any of many other issues you may be facing right now. So, please remember to take care of yourself this month, and if you find that it's become increasingly hard to do that, Search through our resources and try a few new things you may find.  And, we always love feedback, so please use the Satisfaction Survey or Suggestion Box inside WorkLifeEssentials.com to let us know how we're doing.  Another great way to give us feedback, as well as stay up to date with the latest news and promotions is at our Blog. You and your employees can read our promotional articles this month, including those highlighted below by logging in to your WorkLife Essentials homepage and clicking the "Personal Wellbeing" link in the promotion box.  As always, if you are having trouble viewing our Blog, you can still access the latest What's New features and Teasers at our "What's New" page. Setting Work-Life Boundaries When You Work from Home One of the things that makes telework so attractive and convenient for many people is the fact that you are not tied to an office. You can work anywhere and at any time... Read more…* Your Telework Day In some ways, telework is no different from working in a central office. You have work expectations to meet and you coordinate with co-workers and customers to meet them... Read more…* Managing from a Distance Managing employees from a distance is quickly becoming a normal part of a manager’s role. You may have employees who work from home, travel as part of their jobs, work at other work sites, or work at a client’s work location... Read more…* *must be logged in to WorkLifeEssentials.com to read more Copyright© 2011 WorkLife Essentials®, All rights reserved. Download the latest Teaser here.

January in WorkLife Essentials

We're preparing for a new year here at WorkLife Essentials and we'd like to start it off by thanking you for your business during the past year.  2011 was full of activities, accomplishments and expansion including launching our Blog and our new branding, exhibiting at conferences, charitable giving and development of our website with ever more countries on offer in the Global Village and advanced reporting features. And, in 2012, we have even more planned!  Stay tuned right here for all the updates every month, and visit our Blog for the very latest information and discussions on up to the minute topics.  If you have any questions about any new features or our activities from last year and any suggestions for 2012, please contact our Support Team or use the Suggestion Box feature inside WLE.com.  We wish you all the best for the start of the new year and look forward to meeting your expectations for 2012. As our first promotional topic for next year, we are talking about relationships, in all their forms.  The workplace is an important place to foster healthy respectful relationships, which you can read about in "Age Differences, Work Differences: Understanding Older and Younger Co-Workers".  The same thing applies to our home relationships.  We cover all of this, from the simple every day challenges like household responsibilities, with "Sharing Household Responsibilities", to building relationships with your children as they age and eventually leave the house, with "When the Children leave home", to relationships with friends and members of your community, discussed in "Friends, Relationships, and Building a Community". These relationships form the bedrock of your life and are support when you need it and a source of fun and companionship when you need those.  You and your employees can read our promotional articles this month, including those highlighted below, to help build the relationships that will make work-life more rewarding.  You can read more details, as well as find a downloadable version of this email teaser, at our Blog, or by logging in to your WorkLife Essentials homepage and clicking the "Relationships" link in the promotion box.  As always, if you are having trouble viewing our Blog, you can still access the latest What's New features and Teasers at our "What's New" page. Your Young Adolescent's Social Life Adolescents develop socially on their own timetable. Healthy adolescents are committed to becoming their own person, independent from their parents. In their social lives, they are trying on new behaviors that help develop this independence. Everything from dating, to communication via Facebook, requires them to make decisions and choices on their own... Read more…* Building a Good Relationship With Your Teenager Adolescence is essentially a voyage of discovery. On this journey a teenager must deal with a body that’s developing in new ways, strong (and sometimes scary) feelings about sex, and an innate sense of rebellion against authority -- yours included. At the end of this odyssey, they will have become someone who knows and lives by their own values... Read more…* Connecting With Your Child During Stressful Times at Work During times of workplace change, such as a new manager or a work relocation, we often bring our worries home with us. Children pick up on our feelings, and can tell when we are anxious, worried, or under stress. Connecting with your child during times like these can help reduce stress at home. Your child will feel better, and you will, too... Read more…* *must be logged in to WorkLifeEssentials.com to read more Copyright© 2011 WorkLife Essentials®, All rights reserved. Download the latest Teaser here.

Multiculturalism from an indiginous point of view.

Recognizing strengths and weaknesses in a community can provide insights into how cultures mix and adapt. Many indiginous cultures exhibit remarkable strengths which contribute to the community such as:

• sharing physical resources (land, water, food, etc.)
• a sense a shared community responsibility
• generational knowledge
• retaining traditional and cultural practices
• an ability to live and function in two worlds, modern and indigenous
• a pride in their community
• well embedded support systems
• a strong historical connection to the past
• resilience in dealing with challenges. 

An appreciation and identification of these and similar strengths can increase cultural competence in planning benefits and programs for a multicultural workforce.

December in WorkLife Essentials

This December, Celebrating is on the minds of everyone, and celebrations come in all different sizes.  In the workplace, it's a time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year and looking towards the beginning of another.  There is also the celebration of individual families' cultural traditions at home.  However, thinking and preparing for celebrations can often be overwhelming and your employees will often be looking for a way to balance all of these priorities while still being productive at work. To help with this, we've prepared a collection of resources related to celebrations both at home and in the workplace.  In particular, a collection of brand new articles such as "Confetti in Cubicles - Workplace Celebrations"; "Creating Family Traditions Around Celebrations"; and "Making Celebrations a Joyous Occasion for Children" are intended to help better plan and manage all the pressures and priorities of the season, while still being able to enjoy the actual celebrating!  You can read more details, as well as find a downloadable version of this email teaser, at our Blog, or by logging in to your WorkLife Essentials homepage and clicking the "Celebrations" link in the promotion box. Please note that this month's promotion for our South American region is "Disability", which can also be explored by logging in to your WorkLife Essentials homepage and clicking the "Disability" link in the promotion box. Also, we are continuously updating content and features, and the best way to stay up to date with these, and especially with many more additions coming soon, is to visit our Blog regularly.  As always, if you are having trouble viewing our Blog, you can still access the latest What's New features and Teasers at our "What's New" page.  And, if you have any questions about any WorkLife Essentials feature, please contact our Support Team. Celebrations - Food and Fun Festivals Two key ingredients of many celebrations around the world are food and fun. The following gives a glimpse of the role played by food and follows with some fun examples of unusual festivals held in many different parts of the world... Read more…* Traditions to Share With Your Family During Celebrations Traditions are customs or practices passed on from one generation to another that create a sense of belonging for any group. Traditions can be as simple as sharing a special dish with the family on a particular day of the week, or... Read more…* Involving Your Older Family Members in Holiday Events Family get-togethers in the holidays can often revolve around children’s needs or your own personal interests, but keep in mind there are others who would delight in your or your children’s presence at this time – and they are your parents or grandparents... Read more…* *must be logged in to WorkLifeEssentials.com to read more Copyright© 2011 WorkLife Essentials®, All rights reserved. Download the latest Teaser here.

Latin America - Top 10 Important Topics Survey

In a current survey from WorkLife Essentials covering Latin America a poll of topics was recorded. Topics are selected either when the employee selects an element in the web page or the smart needs assessor brings a topic onto the agenda. There can be one or many topics selected during each session. The following chart shows the breakdown by topic, note survey results are raw numbers.

In November in WorkLife Essentials

This November, we're promoting our resources relating to Generational Issues in the Workforce.  According to a new multi-year study released this year, the issues of a generational workforce are becoming ever more prominent for the majority of workplaces.  From differing levels of engagement, to how to generate engagement, to expectations of workplace flexibility and the impact to job security perceived during an economic downturn, each unique generation that make up your workforce have different needs. To help you learn more about these issues, and to help your employees themselves better understand them in their interactions with their co-workers, we have highlighted numerous resources in WLE this month.  In addition to the articles excerpted below, you can also read about fostering engagement though fun with "Workplace Fun: Bridging the Generation Gaps", or through continual education with "Continuous Learning Across the Generations".  And, for your employees, reading "Age Differences, Work Differences: Understanding Older and Younger Co-Workers" may help understanding the differences amongst the co-workers around them and see strengths instead of discord.  You can read more details, as well as find a downloadable version of this email teaser, at our Blog, or by logging in to your WorkLife Essentials homepage and clicking the "Generational Workplace" link in the promotion box. Also, we are continuously updating content and features, and the best way to stay up to date with these, and especially with many more additions coming soon, is to visit our Blog regularly.  As always, if you are having trouble viewing our Blog, you can still access the latest What's New features and Teasers at our "What's New" page.  And, if you have any questions about any WorkLife Essentials feature, please contact our Support Team. The Role of Work in Your Life After 50 When asked whether they got more satisfaction from work or leisure, most people choose work (recent University study). Whichever you would choose, it is critical to understand the rewards and pleasures that work brings you as you plan for the second half of life... Read more…* Workplace Etiquette Across the Generations Work etiquette may have been simpler in the days when the workplace was stratified by age, fewer generations worked together, and the rules were formal and clear cut. Today four distinct generations are working together in a workplace that is more fluid and dynamic than it has ever been... Read more…* When Your Manager Is Younger Than You Today the workforce is made up of four distinct generations of employees, with people ranging in age from their late teens into their seventies and beyond. As a result, a growing number of employees work for managers younger than they are. For many, this feels like a natural fit... Read more…* *must be logged in to WorkLifeEssentials.com to read more Copyright© 2011 WorkLife Essentials®, All rights reserved. Download the latest Teaser here.

Who are your work life experts?

Do they know about us? The video below describes just some of the milestones that have led to the success of WLE...

I know it seems like we've achieved a lot and maybe it's perceived as overnight, but WorkLife Essentials is the product of a long series of adventures and collaborations based on innovation and spirit, both from us and our customers. 

WLE is the result of work by passionate professionals in many many countries.  On the personal side I've worked in more than 50 countries, Robin more than 60, and our daughter who often shared the work life journey is 17 now and has been to 43 countries and 16 US states. 

If you're ready to share in the adventure, tell us how you want to help... we've only just begun the most ambitious work life enterprise ever!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Bob