Why volunteer in your community? 

The obvious answer is to help an altruistic, nonprofit organization meet its goals without it incurring extra labor costs. Beyond a loving act of giving, volunteering has powerful personal benefits. Volunteerism can fight depression and anxiety because it offers a positive distraction away from negative "self talk" scripts that often accompany these conditions. The act of giving back serves as a strong counter-punch. The result is you are happier helping…

What are the hot business trends in your occupation? Don't wait to be told by others. Instead, discover funnels of information that will let you know. Employers pay attention to their employees' engagement in your job. Engagement is the hottest topic in employee performance management. Business trend awareness is a soft skill that helps your employer stay ahead, forecast, and compete. It can make your daily interaction with coworkers and management more exciting, and help you be seen as a…

All workplaces experience conflict, but not all employees know how to manage conflict well. Some avoid conflict, while others make conflict worse. Since conflict is considered normal and expected in work organizations, employees and conflict management skills are valued. Knowing how to manage conflict is a learned skill with specific elements. Understanding what these elements are will allow you to see conflict as an opportunity, fear it less, and move quickly to turn conflicts into positive…

Employers not only want employees with the right skills and abilities, but also they want positive personal attributes. Could you describe your positive attributes? The ability to discuss them shows your personal insight and adds energy to any job interview, making you stand out in ways that many other applicants do not. Examples of personal attributes are the following: flexible and adaptable, ability to work unsupervised, taking initiative, getting along well with others, willing and eager to…

Productivity suffers when conflicts drag on. This is why using conflict resolution skills makes you a valuable employee. Easy tips: (1) Communicate often, and check differences quickly with coworkers. You'll zap most conflicts this way. (2) When differences linger, carve out time for focused discussion. Share your concerns by describing what you experience - what, where, and when. ("Tom, you are not coming to Monday meetings prepared.") And share the impact: ("This makes meetings take…

Demonstrating confidence communicates the certainty of your positions, decisions and the reliability of outcomes you say will appear. Confidence is a leadership quality and a soft skill that can help you achieve goals. Showing confidence is not a sign of arrogance or the inability to accept feedback. The power of confidence means other key traits likely exist. These include high self-esteem, the willingness to take risks, the ability to achieve goals, resilience, and knowing how to meet…

We all procrastinate, but the stress of a looming deadline and feeling you can't act until it's crunch time can make you feel out of control. Stop this self-punishing cycle by becoming a better self-starter. 1) Ignore the desire to plan and organize yourself until you feel "ready" to start a project. This is resistance masquerading as preparation. Instead, dive in. 2) Decide how much to accomplish within a set amount of time, for example, one hour. This shrinks the perceived size of your task.…

Political discussions on the job cause many employees to feel stressed, argumentative, and less productive, according to a survey released by the American Psychological Association. More than one in four younger employees reported feeling stressed out because of the political discussions at work, and more than twice as many men as women said political talk is making them less productive. Potential negative outcomes includes feeling more isolated from colleagues, avoidance of others with a…

We appreciate and demand competitiveness from our athletes, but competitiveness at work is often shunned. It shouldn't be. The key is to be competitive in healthy ways. Competitiveness can help you achieve more, stay excited about your job, move quickly on opportunities, and win for your employer. To stay healthy competitive, avoid pairing your desire to achieve with the need to outdo coworkers for whatever acknowledgement, prize, or profit may result. Resist the reflex to engage in this sort…