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Communication Key to a Better Work Environment Everyone knows the story of A Christmas Carole. On Christmas Eve, poor Bob Cratchit, who is working late again, spends his day working up the courage to ask his boss, Mr. Scrooge, if he can have Christmas Day off from work to spend with his family. When he finally does get up the nerve to ask, Mr. Scrooge lets forth a tirade over lazy people using Christmas as an excuse to have a day a off from work. This fictional story unfortunately rings true for a lot of people who have to work up the courage to ask for things from their employers. An employee who has to feel about their employer the way Bob Cratchit felt about Mr. Scrooge is not a very happy and productive employee. To get the most of out of your workers, you have to create a much more hospitable working environment. To create a better working environment, keeping the lines of communication open is absolutely crucial. How does communication work in your office? Do you get the impression that everyone is walking around on eggshells around you? While this kind of fear from your employees may be good for your ego in some senses, it is really bad for your business. When your employees don’t feel like they can talk to you, you will lose control over what is going on with your business. You may be the boss, but your employees are the ones who are actually on the front lines. To know what is really going on out there, you need your employees to communicate honestly with you. If they feel that you are unapproachable, they will hide problems and concerns from you, and you won’t be able to act to fix them. You can’t expect to run your business with half of the information about what is actually going on, and so your business will suffer for your “mean boss” routine. There are still other problems with creating an office environment in which your employees feel like you are unapproachable. In general, there will be a dark cloud over the office when you are around. The stress will keep employee morale low, and employees with low morale are employees with low productivity. Besides, who wants to work hard for someone they cannot approach or who doesn’t show they any respect? Shutting down those lines of communication will definitely affect your bottom line as employees “phone it in” because they don’t feel invested in making your business a success. If you want a better working environment, you have to improve the lines of communication. If there has been a communication breakdown in the past, take the time to address it with your staff. If you staff is small, talk to them each one on one, letting them know that your door is always open and that you want more regular communication with them. If you have a larger staff, schedule a meeting to address the issue. Weekly office meetings are a great way to keep communication channels open and swap ideas in the office environment. If weekly meetings are not feasible, find some way of touching base with your staff on a regular basis, either through weekly emails or a weekly newsletter. Also, you should encourage your staff to communicate with each other. Sharing information among the staff is a great way to generate fresh ideas and fresh approaches to problems. If your office is suffering from a communication problem, make nipping it in the bud a priority. The pay off will be more productive workers and a whole lot less stress. Who knew work could actually be a pleasant place to be?

Want Free Baby Stuff? Visit Favorite Baby Company Websites Are you, or someone you know, expecting? Impending motherhood is a very exciting, but often stressful transition, and also quite an expensive transition. When it comes to becoming a parent, the expenses can often seem overwhelming. But did you know that there are many freebies aimed specifically at the expecting couple? Here are some ways to find the best free baby stuff. General Tips for Getting the Best Free Baby Stuff If you are already familiar with baby companies or have your own favorite baby products, you will find that you can probably finagle some baby freebies. Your first step is to check the website for your favorite baby products company. Many baby product companies will give you a free sample, or other fine freebies, from your favorites. Sign up for baby products company newsletters. Put your name on their mailing list. This is an easy way to receive coupons, special offers, and yes, freebies, from your favorite baby products manufacturer. Get the Latest and Greatest in Free Baby Products from BabyCenter Do you wish you could find a website dedicated especially to finding the latest and greatest in free baby products? If so, you will definitely want to check out BabyCenter. This website features a library of freebie offers directed especially to the expectant parent. Check under Free Stuff and Great Deals for the best freebies, as well as the best in baby product coupons. One of the best things about the BabyCenter website is that it offers you the ability to search according to age or stage of your pregnancy. There is information and freebies for mothers who just learned they are pregnant to toddler parents or mother of young children. A Great Place to Find Free Baby Stuff If you are looking for a website that offers you some of the greatest and latest freebie deals in the baby department, check out Babiesonline.com. This website offers a whole section dedicated to free baby stuff. Here you will find a compendium of some of the best free baby websites. You will also find a link to free baby product samples. You will also find an offer for free pregnancy wristbands. Other free baby offers include free baby photo prints, free baby coupons and you can even sign up for the latest baby freebie alerts so that you never miss out on another great baby freebie. Looking for More Great Baby Freebies? If you still don't have your fill of great baby freebies, here are some more great places to find the best in baby freebies. The website babytobee.com offers many fine resources for the expectant father, including a collection of baby freebies. This is an also a great website to learn more about baby products and equipment. There are a whole section of free baby products, and you can even register for your own personal baby page. Count Down to Baby Time with Free Baby Web Resources Are you blogging your way to parenthood, or simply keeping a family page where you can relate the latest news of your pregnancy with friends and family members? If so, you will be glad to hear that there are many baby web freebies to be had. Check out the Lilypie baby ticker, a free baby due date countdown clock that you can place prominently on your website. This is a fun and easy way to countdown to the expected due date. You can also find free baby blogs, free baby-themed web design features and web hosting services as well as free baby photo upload services. You can create your own online haven for welcoming your newborn into the world.

Four Ways to Be a Great Employee Many people in the workforce and go to a job every day face similar problems. These problems include problems such as being a good employee, getting that raise at the end of evaluation period, keeping the job and many more. There are many things that you can do to ensure that you do not get fired or you get the raise that you deserve. Perhaps you just want to learn how to become a model employee. This article will discuss four ways to be a great employee. To be a great employee, your boss first of all wants to see results and good work. If you love your job, giving results, turning projects in on time, mastering difficult assignments is most likely a breeze. But if you are working to make a living and this job is not your dream job, you still need to deliver good work. Often times to be able to deliver your work on time and meet deadlines, it is important to be very organized and efficient. Many employees lack the efficiency needed to do their job right. If your job is a desk job, it might help if you just go ahead and clean up your desk, organize information and get a clear idea of which materials are stored where. A messy desk will leave you searching for the information needed to fulfill your assignment. This takes valuable time out of your schedule, time lost you cannot afford to loose. Another very important way to be a great employee is to be on time and not leave early. Employers like to see their employees arrive at time or just a little bit early, so they know that their employees are ready to start a good days of work when they finally put away their coat and get their coffee. Many of people come in and easily take 15 minutes before really are getting started with work. Employers see this time as a down time of yours and showing your employer that you do care about your work by showing up on time and if needed staying longer, is very much appreciated. If you are almost finished with your assignment, but it is time to go, do not get up, put your jacket on and wait the few minutes left for clocking out. Finish your work then finish your customer call or whatever necessary and then you can leave work. Sleep. Yes, sleep means going to bed early enough to get the necessary rest for your body. A well-rested mind and body makes a great difference. If you are lacking sleep or you are tired at work, you are more likely to make mistakes and forget things. Work is not the place to relax and sleep, but so many of the employees come tired. In some jobs mistakes can be fatal or ruin products worth hundreds and thousands dollars to the company. Another good reason to be rested well is that work will flow easier. You are a nicer person and your happy attitude at work will be recognized by others and is sometimes infectious and can help motivate others. Number four on the list to being a great employee is dressing appropriately. Whether your office has a dress code or not, if you work in an office, wear office appropriate clothing out of respect to your boss, colleagues and customers. Many offices have established dress codes because their employees come with the ripped jeans or dirty shorts while customers could potentially show up at any minute. Nothing makes a worse first impression on a customer than the cloths you wear.