TipTopJob Blog

Only 3 more days to go until we celebrate National Hug Your Boss Day.

SO WHAT IS NATIONAL HUG YOUR BOSS DAY?
National Hug Your Boss Day was created by TipTopJob.com back in 2008. The idea behind launching the day was to promote healthy workplace relationships. We believe that if you are happy to hug your boss then you are more than likely enjoying your job and this in turn may lead to better morale/motivation at work and therefore productivity. We are not saying this is always going to be the case but it is the logic behind the fun!!

We figure that because you spend most of your waking day with those at work, why not make it a more enjoyable experience by getting along with everyone and trying to develop the relationships you have?

OUR MISSION
Our mission is to promote healthy working relationships worldwide and provide assistance to those who need help to better their relationships with colleagues and managers.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED
All you need to do is send us a photo of you hugging your boss or colleagues to hugyourboss@tiptopjob.com, upload it to our Facebook page or share via Twitter using the hashtags #hugyourboss or #hugyourbossday. You will also see your picture featured in the Gallery on the website within the next few weeks. We are also seeing plenty of videos being shared so if you prefer to record your hugs, we really appreciate the extra effort and enjoy watching them!

So, what are you waiting for.....get hugging :)

National Hug Your Boss Day is fast approaching and due to be celebrated on Friday 9th September. Will you get involved this year? We hope so!

The philosophy behind National Hug Your Boss Day is to promote healthy working relationships with not only your boss but also your colleagues. We figure that if you are working alongside your boss and colleagues for on average 8 hours every week day, then you may as well enjoy spending that time with them.

We have been collating interesting facts and stats over the years and we will be releasing some more for 2016 before we celebrate on Friday 9th. Help us to build some interesting data by answering the survey questions on the homepage of TipTopJob which are currently changing regularly.

We also have a Facebook page and Twitter page that you can follow to keep abreast of information as well as a dedicated website with pages for Facts, In The Press, Articles, Quotes, Picture Gallery, Video Gallery and more.

New articles surrounding motivation and relationships will be live before Friday 9th to help with supporting, building and developing relationships at work. Keep your eyes peeled.

To celebrate this year, all we want you to do is give your boss or colleagues a BIG hug. Capture it as a picture or video and share it with us on social media using the hashtags #nationalhugyourbossday #nationalhugyourboss #hugyourboss. It could not be simpler and it will add to some fun at work :) Help us spread the word. 

With the launch of the new Pokemon App last week, yesterday Boeing decided to ban their employees from playing it in the workplace. One employee was reportedly hurt playing the game and there were over 100 phones using the App. It sucks up bandwidth and takes up important work time.

Available on today's Smartphones, the game allows players to use GPS and lets players hunt around for virtual creatives in a real space.

Outside of the workplace, surely this new game is only going to lead to accidents and disasters? Players get so involved and forget about what is going on around them in the "real" world. It is bad enough that people walk around with their heads in their phone whilst emailing and texting but when they are so absorbed in a computer game and they are aiming to catch a Pokemon, there are likely to be serious accidents. Have you witnessed anything on the edge?

You can see the full story about Boeing banning Pokemon here.

Tell us, have you experienced work colleagues playing the game around you? Are you playing it at work? Is it distracting your day to day activities? 

You are sitting with your friends having a catch up when they start talking in riddles and using abbreviations or random words you have never heard before! Corporate jargon otherwise known as corporate lingo, workplace jargon, business speak to name a few is often commonplace amongst large corporate companies and especially those originating in the USA. For some, it can be frustrating to be lost amongst such language so we have collated some common terms and provided you with an explanation for each. There are many references to such jargon which include using abbreviations, nouns, verbs and adjectives. Here they are……….

Abbreviations

COB – close of business
CSW – completed staff work
EOD – end of day
FTE – full-time equivalent
FY – fiscal year
HIBBIS – heads in beds, butts in seats
KPI – key performance indicators
NDA – non-disclosure agreement
PCP – previous corresponding period
POS – point of sale
PQQ - pre qualification questionnaire
RFP - Request for Proposal
RFQ - Request for quote
RIF – reduction in force
SBU – strategic business unit
SME – subject matter expert
TCO – total cost of ownership
TTT - this time tomorrow
WC – week commencing
WE – week ending
YTD – year to date

Nouns

Blue sky thinking: Idealistic or visionary ideas
Cascade: Array of possible actions to take in response to a problem: protocol
Check in the box: complete the task
Flavor of the month: the current popular activity/person as directed by the company/client/management
Hub: an idea which other ideas are linked to
Joined-up thinking: Discussing the viewpoints of each organization and coming to an agreement or compromise
Kill two birds with one stone: doing one action will result in achieving two goals
Low-hanging fruit: Tasks that have the greatest positive effect for the least effort, used when promoting new projects to show the advantages
One belly button to push: Reduced number of suppliers
Raft of measures: A collection of proposals or schemes
Tent pole: the task or item most likely to delay a project or consume the most resources
Silver bullet: One solution for everything
Under-pinning: The foundations of an idea, which helps another related scheme or proposal
Womb to tomb: An idea or program that is killed before it has a chance to grow or flourish

Verbs

Baked In: Same as "included," in principle. Something which has been "baked in" is implied to be impossible to remove
Boil the Ocean: An effort or task which is perceived by the speaker to be impossible or impractical
Build Capacity: Take actions which produce no useful output immediately, but increase the amount of useful work which can be done in the future
Cover all directions of the compass: Try to make things acceptable for all stakeholders

Finish reading this article in our Career Centre.

In our latest survey results we discovered that 43% of individuals WOULD work harder when their boss is in. Although, more respondents said that they didn't and that they work just as hard when the boss is in to when the boss is not, 43% is still a very large proportion of people who need constant supervision and guidance.

So, why do people need this constant control and direction? Are there just too many distractions with the open access to the World Wide Web that when the boss is not around it allows employees to do their shopping or catch up with friends on social media? Are colleagues developing better friendships at work that they just chat, have a joke and mess around at the expense of getting their daily tasks completed? 

Whatever it is, you need some motivation to focus on your day to day activities without requiring the boss to be a around! If this is you, maybe you need to consider having some benchmarks and guidelines between you and your colleagues on how long you are going to "chat" for before then turning your focus on your daily chores. Maybe give yourself 10 minutes in the morning to have a natter. And if you are serial Facebooker or shopper and click back and forth from your task in hand, maybe stop yourself from shopping through working hours and only so this in your break or lunch break. 

Do not forget, you are being employed to do a job so you want to make sure you are performing to the best of your ability. You do not want to get the sack and have to move on without a reference. Our advice is to try your best all of the time :)

Our latest survey results reveal that 73% believe they are "hard" workers compared to 25% who felt they were "smart" workers. 

Funnily enough, less than 1% of people admitted to being a slacker and 1.7% a chancer. It was an anonymous survey so it is not like people did not feel they could tell the truth! We are pleased to have this feedback :)

So, why are more people "hard" at work, than "smart" at work? Quite possibly because people feel that because they work long hours and put in as much effort as they possibly can, then they quite simply feel they work "hard" and maybe do not understand the difference between the two. Smarter work involves using others to assist you, managing your time, organising your diary, networking, working within the right industry, being creative, recruiting the right people around you, asking for help and knowing when to cut your losses, to name just a few.

Reading that, we do wonder if people may feel they are more "smart" workers now.....do you? Let us know here.....

We are currently asking our users if they are a hard worker, smart worker, chancer or slacker. We believe that being smart in your daily chores is a better option than the others. Being smart means you would not need to be sitting at your desk working (or pretending to be working!) for long periods. 

Tell us here in our latest survey what kind of worker you are.....

CLICK HERE to cast your vote.

We have just collated some very positive results about co-worker relationships and how people feel they get on with one another at work.

When asked to rate their current relationships on a scale from the options; Excellent, Great, Good, OK, Poor or Awful, almost 100% said they were Excellent or Great! 

To be more precise, 47% rated their relationships as Excellent and 45% Great. Only 7% said they were good and less than 1% OK. No one rated their relationships at work as Poor or Awful........ which is great news!

Here at TipTopJob, we like to promote healthy, working relationships and this survey is proof that today, relationships at work and more than good. This makes us very happy! 

#excellentrelationshipsatwork #relationshipsatwork #greatrelationships #happyatwork #coworkerrelationships

Office romances can quite often end in tears, with someone losing their job, friendships ending or someone getting hurt. Here are 8 top tips on how best to manage your office romance if one is blossoming for you:

1.

Keep the pillow talk to your personal time. You colleagues and managers do not want to witness the whispering of sweet nothings when they are trying to concentrate at work, in the kitchen or even in the corridor. It can make colleagues feel uncomfortable and it can be the start of the gossiping.

2.

Do not get involved with a married person as you will have additional consequences to deal with, especially when families are involved. As soon as you find this out, steer clear because even though you could end up happy, it may upset others in the process.

3.

Be careful who you tell, especially at the beginning. You never know who the office gossip is and who knows who. You do not want to be top of the gossip list and you certainly do not want your personal life being shared openly with those you are working with professionally. If you do not know colleagues very well, be careful, as their opinion about you can be quickly tainted and it could create jealousy.

4.

Check if your company has any rules or regulations about office relationships as you do not want to be fired because of liking someone. Check your contract. There are no laws around office romance but your company may have their own rules to abide to..

5.

Avoid emailing your romancer. Emails are traceable and easily forwarded or sent to unintended persons. Keep the personal stuff to phone messaging and talking outside of the workplace.

6.

Make sure that you are the only one. Sometimes people can be flirty and show as interest in someone but then a new recruit comes along and this behaviour transfers and they become flavour of the month. Be sure that he/she is not just having a bit of fun with flirty office banter but that they are really interested in you before you fall madly in love.

7.

 Do not change your appearance. This is a clear sign to many that you are interested in someone and if you are trying to keep it low key, this is definitely something to take note off. It is obvious to many when someone starts to make more effort and looks different all of a sudden! Wear similar clothes to what you normally do and for women avoid any extra make-up, perfume and hair-dressing.

8.

Take things slowly and make sure that person is right for you before you declare your love, move in, spread the word and become an official couple.

Our survey found that 50% of people have witnessed an office romance ending with long term love so it is clear that this could happen to you. With our useful tips, you can manage the process of a blossoming romance but also help yourself if you are not so fortunate enough for it to last, that it does not end with too much heartache and upset. Good luck.

In one of our recent survey's, we asked our users what colleagues most annoying habits were. We offered 8 options and these were the results .......

Coming in as the most annoying habit was the humming, whistling and singing (of which 23% chose) but on the other end of the scale came stealing food!!

What would you say is the most annoying habit that your colleagues portray? Tell us below...