As organizations begin the New Year and implement strategic plans to help them achieve their objectives, executives must ask themselves if they have the health and well-being of their employees in mind. Employees desire to decrease their personal healthcare costs and can do so through improving their personal health and well-being. The majority of organizations in the United States now offer some form of a health and wellness program.

What is your organization doing this year to improve the health and well-being of your employees? What specifically can you do this year to impact productivity and job satisfaction while improving your company’s success?

The Scope of Health and Wellness Programs

There are several issues to consider when establishing a health and wellness program. Decisions regarding the scope of the program include the legal implications, time investment, as well as the return on the investment will all need to be considered.

Legal implications of a health and wellness program, such as abiding by the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as well as other state and federal guidelines, will need to be addressed. While ensuring the program does not violate any pertinent laws, it is critical to also ensure the participating individuals are assured confidentiality. Employees are more likely to participate in the program if they trust the organization to maintain their privacy.

Additional components of a successful health and wellness program may include a smoking cessation program, a focus on weight loss and initiatives to reduce individuals’ stress. The span of the program may also need to include prevention components such as nutrition education via traditional classroom training, individualized instruction and online training, exercise programs and/or gym memberships, as well as health screenings to include complete physicals, cancer assessments and mammograms.

Employees who receive training are more likely to make improved individual decisions affecting their health and wellness, which has been found to directly impact the return on investment of the program.

Developing and Implementing the Program

Begin by identifying the needs of your employees. Depending upon the size of your organization, this can be accomplished through the use of questionnaires or surveys as well as through available research. Identify what is desired by your employees and those who work in your industry. As a health and wellness program will be seen as a benefit by your employees, it will impact the employment brand of your organization. Offering incentives in the form of cash, recognition or decreased healthcare premiums are just a few of the ways that may encourage your employees to take advantage of the health and wellness program in your organization. The cost of the incentives has often been found to be worth the investment.

Value-Added Results

Evaluate the return on the investment of each component of the program to be implemented in your organization. Research results published in 2009 by Preventing Chronic Disease, a journal produced by the Center for Disease Control, indicated that employers who provide workplace health and wellness programs employ individuals who have better knowledge of disease management, healthier eating habits, engage in a higher level of physical activity and smoke less than prior to the program being implemented. In addition, the researchers report the employer paid lower healthcare costs and enjoyed a lower absenteeism rate.

Additional research from a four-year study provided by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) states that employers who implement a health and wellness program in their organizations have seen a 15 percent decrease in healthcare costs over the control group.  Further, the study results published in the Spring 2011 edition of the American Journal of Health Promotion demonstrated that preventive measures taken by organizations decreased the healthcare costs of more than 10,000 participants.

When implementing a health and wellness program, it may be advisable to start small. Begin with education and assessments and encourage employees to participate in an event that is focused on physical activity or a weight loss program. Remember, any change in the organization’s culture that is focused on health and well-being will need to start with experiencing short-term wins. This will provide an increased likelihood of employees participating in the program long-term.

Long-term Success

For any organizational initiative to be successful there needs to be managerial support that is visible from the top-down. The executive team needs to not only be on board with the health and wellness program, but must be viewed by employees as being participants in the initiative. Further, the methods chosen to communication the program, such as direct emails or through the company website, newsletters and brochures will need to be effective for long-term success to be achieved.

Many organizations in Central Virginia have already developed and implemented wellness programs within their organizations. These organizations are putting their employees’ health and well-being at the forefront of their strategic initiatives and are achieving improved success as a result of the increased use of the programs. Challenge your organization to put its employees’ health and wellness as a top priority for 2012, not just for the tangible benefits it will receive, but for the reward of putting its most valued resource—its employees—as its number one priority.

For more on the legalities and tax benefits of opening an office gym, see the Legal section of this website.

Questions being asked include: How will we attract and retain high-performing employees? What can you do from an HR perspective to prepare your organizations to sustain a long-term competitive advantage? With the need of some organizations to decrease spending while needing to increase workflow, what is the solution? With more than 10,000 baby boomers retiring every day, how do you ensure your organizations will be able to maintain their position in the industry?

Don’t stress. To help guide you, here are a few of the top HR management tips for the New Year:

First, the use of flexible work arrangements is expected to be the top choice for employers who are finding a need to provide employee motivation, increase productivity and decrease costs.  The use of technology provides employees in various job positions across industries to work remotely and improve communication while increasing work-life balance, which has been found to improve the overall job satisfaction of employees. This increase in job satisfaction improves performance and productivity, thereby positively impacting the bottom line. With this in mind, the use of flexible work arrangements, tailored to fit your company, may be just what your employees need to remain engaged and performing well throughout 2012.

Second, organizations must face the fact that, with the retirement of more than 25 percent of the workforce occurring over the next several years, it is important that organizations are actively preparing the next generation of workers. To do this, many organizations are providing opportunities for interns to learn various aspects of the organization’s business practices.

Formalizing an internship program provides a way for current employees to participate in training and mentoring. Formal internship programs can be integrated with local colleges and universities to provide the student credit toward his or her college degree while providing an increase in knowledge that the student will be able to apply on the job once he or she graduates.  This commitment to internships will take time, but organizations that are intentional in designing and implementing an effective internship program will find these individuals are able to add increased value to their prospective organizations. Looking into the future of your organization should certainly include the development and implementation of an internship program.

Third, in addition to providing internship programs for college students with the intent of preparing the next generation, organizations must also address how they will integrate this newest bracket of workers into their companies. Some of the issues to address will be related to communication methods, work schedules, reward systems, training methods and mentorship opportunities.

When integrating these workers into your organizations, you will need to identify not only best practice methods of communication (i.e.—face-to-face verses email, texting, and so forth) but also ensure training methods utilized meet the needs of these workers. This is the generation that is comfortable with multiple forms of technology and will benefit from training methods that incorporate both on-the-job training with methods that provide for an efficient use of time.

Of great importance will be the use of formalized and informal mentorship programs. This generation is concerned with knowing how they can add value to an organization. Generation Y workers will benefit from identifying the link between the work they complete and the impact on the organization’s success. This is expected to increase the job commitment and performance of these valuable workers. Encouraging current workers to provide coaching and mentoring will prove to be a win-win for both the organization and employees.

Finally, as some organizations continue to face uncertainty in the upcoming year, individuals employed by these companies will need to know they are valued by their supervisors and managers. Organizations that employ reward systems that include intangible rewards will find their employees will have improved job satisfaction and performance over those employees who receive only tangible or monetary rewards. In other words, in spite of the economic challenges an organization may face in the upcoming year, one of the most impactful methods of increasing performance is free. Letting your employees know you care and value their effort will make a positive impact in your workplace, and ultimately, on the bottom line.

The implementation of flexible work arrangements, use of interns, management of the intergenerational workforce and implementation of intangible rewards are keys to success in 2012. Not only will your organization reap the rewards of executing these tips, your employees are worth the effort. Get ready for a great year!

Good managers are staying on top of their workers because of absenteeism costs. Better managers know that having employees come in to work sick with the prospect of infecting the entire workforce is even costlier. In HR terms, it’s called “presenteeism,” and it’s essentially the opposite of absenteeism.

The definition of presenteeism is being expanded to include any time an employee comes in to work without being fully engaged. That could be because the worker picked up a seasonal cold or because they’re dealing with stress from personal problems.

“One of the reasons why I think presenteeism might be on the rise right now is that we have a lot of people sitting in jobs that they’re not necessarily happy with,” said Travis Gregory, a presenteeism expert for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), a global HR association headquartered in Alexandria with a chapter in Lynchburg. “They’re not willing to let go of that first branch until they’ve found another one. There’s a lot of insecurity in the job market.”

The concept caught the attention of researchers in the late 1990s and it has since been studied ad nauseum. As the definition of presenteeism changes, so do the study results. Costs have been pegged at anywhere from about $250 per year per employee up to $2,000. One of the most-often cited studies, performed by Cornell University, concluded that presenteeism accounted for almost two-thirds of an employee’s lost productivity in the course of a year.

In some work environments, the costs can be more than financial, said Sherry Sheppard, the human resources manager at Banker Steel in Lynchburg. If someone is distracted on the shop floor while helping to move a 10-ton beam down the line, workers could be hurt or killed.

Studies have noted various causes for presenteeism such as workplace cultures that strictly limit use of paid sick leave and those where employees feel a heavy work burden and that there’s no one to step in if they do need to take a day off.

At Banker Steel, Sheppard says employees are awarded production bonuses to discourage absenteeism. Taking the day off might not just cost the company in productivity, but could mean less money in a worker’s paycheck, she said. They rely not only on co-workers and supervisors keeping an eye out for distracted employees, but the worker’s own conscientiousness.

“We have to get them to get them to realize it may cost them money, but they’re putting themselves or a co-worker at risk,” she said.

A 2009 SHRM poll showed nearly a third of those surveyed felt pressure not to take vacation or time away from the office. Executives and middle managers reported more pressure than their employees to work longer hours and to avoid taking leave. Nearly half of those surveyed, though, agreed to some degree that their managers discouraged them from coming to work sick or otherwise distracted.

Gregory said the best ways to combat presenteeism are through communication and liberal leave policies. Supervisors have to set production expectations, he said. If they aren’t met, those managers must be keen on determining the causes, especially if they are due to presenteeism. Liberal leave policies that don’t require a note from a doctor to justify an absence may encourage workers not only to stay home when they’re sick, but to take care of personal matters on their own time. They also allow employees to work out those personal distractions by giving notice in advance that they’ll take the time off instead of leaving managers in a staffing crunch by feigning illness just before a scheduled shift.

He also warned that policies that encourage presenteeism for short-term productivity gains during the economic downturn may have long-term consequences.

“Some time in the next year or two there is going to be a break where the jobs are really going to flow,” Gregory said. “How much loyalty are [employees] going to have when you hammered them when their kid was sick?”

Historically, businesses have looked to surveys and case studies to discover the return on investment (ROI) when utilizing an Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) as a means to address employee well-being. Today, organizations are increasingly expecting to see tangible results from EAPs. While these programs can be an effective strategic tool for businesses, it is important to first address many of the misperceptions of an EAP.

“Many companies simply view an EAP as an employee counseling benefit to their employees.  Although one of the key responsibilities of an EAP is to provide clinical services to employees and their family members, this is only one manifestation of the deeper ‘core technology’ of the EAP profession,” Jason McDaniel, Employee Assistance of Central Virginia’s (EACV) Executive Director, said.

EACV has served the broader Central Virginia business community since 1977, and presently provides consultation services to approximately 125 employers in Region 2000. McDaniel has extensive experience with EAPs and says that, these days, well-defined and effectively implemented EAPs have been found to be advantageous to improving not only individual employees’ job satisfaction, well-being and improved behavioral health, but can also be linked to increased organizational productivity.

“This increase in effective employee productivity is likely to have a direct and positive impact on the bottom line,” he said.

For its part, EACV is committed to tracking work productivity ratings over time for all employees who engage in EAP services in order to determine their effectiveness, specifically pertaining to job performance. EACV has also made utilizing this direct link between successful EAPs and positive impact on organizational success the foundation upon which it exists. The organization’s primary mission is to strengthen both individuals and organizations by concurrently improving their well-being and their work performance.

“The true value of EAP is grounded in the premise that people who have good health and well-being physically, emotionally and relationally, also have higher work productivity and enhanced job performance. Thus, holistic well-being positively co-varies with more reliable, higher levels of job performance. This is true not only for individuals, but for organizations as well, as both are comprised of similar ‘human fabric,’” McDaniel said.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, for employers signing on as a member company of EACV, the cost is $19 per employee per year with no additional fees incurred by employees who utilize the services. An organization of 100 employees would therefore see a total cost of $1,900 per year.

“When such a slight benefits expense is evaluated in the broader context of the enormity of rising healthcare and disability costs to organizations, the layout for an EAP makes good business sense,” McDaniel explained. “Many rigorously designed cost/benefits studies by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health & Human Services, as well as by major multi-national corporations over the last three decades, have regularly demonstrated that employers generally save anywhere from $5 to $16 for every $1 invested in an EAP.”

At EACV, it is believed an EAP ideally links with organizational leadership as a strategic partner toward performance enhancement, behavioral risk management and human capital development initiatives. The EACV demonstrates this by offering executive coaching, mediation, conflict resolution, social skills, performance improvement training, organizational assessment and organizational development services to its clients.

McDaniel further reveals that the EACV partners with the referring manager to establish specifically desired goals for employee workplace behavior change in order to demonstrate the efficacy of EAP intervention. Additionally, the EACV is in the process of integrating a Workplace Outcome Suite that measures improvements in absenteeism, presenteeism, work engagement, life satisfaction and declines in workplace distress.

“Beyond the humanistic altruism inherent in an employer providing services that demonstrate care and concern for their employees, core technology EAPs yield bottom-line financial returns by such channels as the following: increased employee productivity, increased work group cohesion and morale, reduced absenteeism, decreased turnover, decreased medical, disability, and workers’ compensation claims, fortified behavioral risk management and the associated reductions in legal actions taken against the employer,” McDaniel said.

Ultimately, organizations who are concerned with not only long-term financial strength, but also supporting the health and well-being of their employees, may find that integrating the EAP services of an organization such as EACV with their individual employees’ and long-term business goals is a necessary, strategic business decision.

But, another huge addition to any resume is a certification. A step beyond a degree and even on-the-job experience, the appearance of a professional certificate can show a prospective employer that you are self-motivated and dedicated to learning all there is to know.

Human Resources specialists are realizing just how much further that added line to a resume can take them. By pursuing one of the three available certifications under the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI), career-savvy individuals are taking their futures to the next level.

According to the HRCI website, the possession of a certification in HR “is a career-long commitment that shows your peers, your employees and your organization that you have mastered the core HR principles and that you are dedicated to staying current in your profession.”

For anyone looking to make it in the world of HR, this type of credential has become almost a prerequisite. According to published statistics, one out of every two managers will likely pass over a resume that doesn’t include it as a listed bullet.

Shirley Bates, Director of Human Resources for Lynchburg College, is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). She has found that the additional abbreviation to her title adds weight to her position.

“Receiving certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources provides a formal credibility factor that attests to my knowledge, education and experience in the human resources profession,” she explained. “I have found this distinction to be invaluable as I work with other professionals within the organization and also in dealing with outside contacts in the business community.”

Alison Dowdy, Senior Compensation Analyst for Harris Corporation, simply stated that her experiences while studying and testing for the program helped her learn the ins and outs of HR. Besides real-time experience, HR workers will be hard-pressed to find anything that prepares them more for a job then emersion in a certification program.

So, how does someone go about adding this powerful credit to his or her name? The first step is to decide how much of a certification you want to achieve. There are three different levels, which allow an HR professional the flexibility to dictate their level of involvement in the program.

The first tier, with the least amount of requirements, is the Professional in Human Resources (PHR). This level is usually for HR employees who focus on departmental tasks rather then the overall company itself. Work experience for the typical PHR certified professional is often around two to four years and is not on the senior management level.

Next is the SPHR, which Bates holds. This designates those who have ultimate responsibility over a collective HR department. These professionals are the ones who use their judgment and extensive past experience in HR functions to influence the “big picture” of a company.

Lastly, the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR) is someone that has demonstrated active HR-specific involvement beyond our national borders. This type of professional is one that has their hands in a company’s long-term goals, designing organization-wide programs and developing strategic plans that achieve worldwide results.

In addition to these three levels, the certification program also includes a level specific to California law. HR staff members working within the state are able to pursue becoming either a PHR-CA or an SPHR-CA in addition to their PHR or SPHR credentials.

Like all tiered certification levels, each of the groups listed above come with specific eligibility requirements. In a nutshell, someone interested in becoming a PHR needs at least two years of HR experience in addition to a Bachelor’s degree, an SPHR is required to have at least five years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree and a GPHR needs three years of HR experience (two of which being global) with a Bachelor’s degree.

The years of experience decrease or increase if you hold a Master’s degree or if you have less then a Bachelor’s degree. For full eligibility requirements, go to the HRCI Web site—www.hrci.org. The deadline to apply for the 2011 winter exam period is October 7th.

The bottom line is that explaining your dedication to becoming an HR professional to a manager or colleague doesn’t carry as much weight as it might have in the past. The thing that’s going to put you above the competition is being able to show that you have taken the necessary steps to build a solid foundation of knowledge and a rounded comprehension of the field.

The first thing any employee should look at when facing job loss are the terms of any employment contracts, including union contracts and/or non-competition agreements. These contracts often create additional rights or restrictions that can vary significantly from the statutory default rights and restrictions. For instance, an employment contract often prohibits an employer from firing an employee without good cause. If the employer discontinues the employment for any other reason, then the employee may be entitled to receive the pay that is due for the rest of the term of the contract. By the way, this is also a good reason to have your attorney review these contracts before you agree to the terms.

Even if no written contract is in place, sometimes the court will enforce an implied contract if the employer made promises to the employee that were not kept. However, without a written or implied contract, the employee is at the mercy of the employment laws designed to protect them. Since Virginia is an employment at-will state, the employee will have a hard time making any kind of unlawful discharge claim for anything short of discrimination against a protected class. My article in the February 2010 issue entitled, “At-Will Employment? Right-to-Work? What Does It All Mean?” includes a thorough explanation of the law related to at-will employment and wrongful discharge.

If no contract is in place and there has been no discrimination, then the employee should look at whether he or she has been lawfully paid. For instance, employers may incorrectly classify employees as independent contractors or exempt employees. Either misclassification will result in pay issues, and the deck is stacked against the employer in proving up the correct classification and pay. Employee misclassification is an area of law where many employers make significant mistakes, and recovery for the employee can often be generous. Employees rarely worry about this while they are working because they don’t want to rock the boat, but after they are discharged there is nothing keeping them from going back to collect pay to which they are entitled.

If there is no cause of action against the employer, then employees should be aware that they may file for unemployment benefits while they search for a new job. Unemployment benefits are provided to the employee by the state from unemployment insurance funds that the state collects from employers. The benefits are designed to provide a portion of the employee’s previous income to the employee while he or she looks for a new job. These benefits only last for a limited time, however, so it is imperative that the employee finds new work as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, these benefits may be denied based upon the circumstances of the employment termination. For instance, if the employee voluntarily resigns or is terminated for cause, then the benefits will be denied. Therefore, it is always in the employee’s best interest to perform excellent work and only resign after lining up another job.

Finally, employees should be aware that have a right to continue receiving health insurance coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1986, even after they have separated from their employer. This right also applies to the employee’s family. Under the law, an employer with 20 or more employees must offer the option of continued participation in the employer’s health insurance plan, but the employee will have to pay the entire premium for this coverage.

Even though the job market has shifted in favor of the employer, there are many rights and benefits the employee can claim after separation from an employer while he or she searches for new employment. Many times, an employee can salvage something positive from what could otherwise be an emotional and financial disaster, so it is always a good idea to seek competent legal advice in order to understand these rights.

The preceding is for general informational purposes only and not intended to constitute specific legal advice or form an attorney/client relationship. Please seek the services of a licensed attorney for specific legal advice.

It’s not just the work itself that’s keeping Americans up at night. Access to colleagues and the workplace through the Internet and other technology means Americans are staying up later. Employees may think they are getting more accomplished, but in reality, the effects of sleep loss on work performance are costing American businesses tens of billions of dollars a year in productivity. The National Business Group on Health reports that fatigue caused by too little sleep as well as sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome, costs employers $150 billion annually in absenteeism, workplace accidents and other lost productivity.

Although sleep experts recommend getting seven to nine hours of sleep every night, most Americans say they are only sleeping an average of six hours and 40 minutes per night on weekdays. As sleep deprivation increases, research has shown that not only productivity, but health, moods, behavior and safety suffer as well. Respondents to a 2009 survey by the Better Sleep Council said sleep deprivation impaired their quality and accuracy of work, clear thinking or judgment and memory of important details. And adults who spend fewer than six hours in bed on workdays have been shown to be more likely to injure themselves or someone else at work or have a serious accident on the job.

Studies show inadequate sleep results in long-lasting changes to a person’s ability to think and function well during the day. The negative effects of too little sleep accrue over time and cannot be reversed by sleeping in once in awhile. In addition, researchers have found the quantity and quality of one’s sleep is tied to a variety of health problems, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and immune response.

The time has come to make the commitment to get more sleep, not only to feel more awake and productive at work, but also to stay in good health.

Tips for a good night’s sleep

Going to bed early, naps and sleeping more on weekends are some steps you can take to refresh your mind and body. If you must nap, avoid sleeping for more than an hour as you may fall into REM sleep causing difficulty attaining sleep at bedtime.  However, if you are having trouble sleeping even when your head hits the pillow, here are some tips from the National Sleep Foundation to help you get a good night’s rest:

•     Maintain a regular bed and wake time schedule, even on weekends.

•     Establish a regular, relaxing bedtime routine such as soaking in a hot bath or hot tub and then reading a book or listening to soothing music.

•     Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet, comfortable and cool.

•     Sleep on a comfortable mattress and pillows.

•     Use your bedroom only for sleep, sex and sickness.

•     Avoid heavy meals at least two to three hours before your regular bedtime.

•     Exercise regularly. It is best to complete your workout at least a few hours before bedtime.

•     Avoid caffeine (coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate) after lunch if possible. It can cause difficulty attaining sleep or fragmented sleep.

•     Avoid nicotine (cigarettes and other tobacco products). Used close to bedtime, it can lead to poor sleep.

•     Avoid alcohol close to bedtime.

Talk to your doctor

If you are having difficulty sleeping, talk to your doctor. It’s also helpful to keep track of your sleep and sleep-related activities in a sleep diary. There may be an underlying cause for your sleep problems.

Centra offers outpatient sleep disorder services at the Sleep Disorders Center at Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital and at the Forest Sleep Disorders Center. Both centers offer diagnostic testing for sleep apnea, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, parasomnias and pediatric sleep disorders.

Testing and treatment at the sleep disorders centers are by physician referral. For more information about sleep, visit www.sleepfoundation.org. For more on the Centra Sleep Disorders Center, visit www.centrahealth.com.

For instance, according to its Web site, Facebook was established in February of 2004 with one million active users by the end of that year. Seven years later, Facebook now boasts over 500 million active users—and there’s no end in sight.

More often than not, television commercials advertising anything from toilet paper to car insurance now encourage viewers to follow their Facebook or Twitter accounts. Corporations have jumped at the chance to expand their markets and get their names out to a broader audience by targeting these fast-growing sites.

But, what does this mean for professionals looking to market themselves? Is it possible to utilize social media Web sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to boost your own career or to find a new one?

The answer to this is “yes,” according to many experts. In fact, if you have account access to these sites, you have essentially already begun your professional marketing. By being “searchable,” you have established yourself as a target for networking exchanges and also for possible employers looking to hire you. The trick is to hone in on the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of this type of marketing to make sure you are putting your best “virtual face” forward.

We’ve all seen the “Bad” and the “Ugly.” In other words, people who have little to no sensor when it comes to what they post on social media sites. Pictures of wild parties, derogatory or negative wall posts or Tweets, joining extremist groups and the like are all big social media “Don’ts.”

Cheryl Smith, President of CultureSmith Consulting, suggests that the first thing anyone developing a social networking site should do is think twice about what they post.

“In the same way that you wouldn’t show up to a business networking event in a Speedo or bikini, don’t post photos, use language or publish negative comments about companies or people that cast you in an unprofessional or unfavorable light,” she advised. “The bottom line? Does this information pass the Grandma or Preacher test?”

Thinking along the same line, Abe Loper, Executive Director for Young Professionals of Central Virginia and Interim Executive Director for Region 2000 Workforce Investment Board, encourages professionals to think about a potential boss’s reaction.

“Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are, more or less, digital billboards. A good rule of thumb is to imagine that everything posted on them was also going to be posted on a billboard outside your future boss’s office window. If you wouldn’t be proud to show these things to your future employer then it’s a good idea not to post them, or, if it’s too late for that, to go back and delete them,” he said.

Loper also went on to say that privacy settings aren’t always the most reliable means of hiding material you don’t want made public.

“I believe in filtering what you post rather than posting your whole life and hoping that a piece of software will know what pieces can be viewed by what people,” Loper said.

After you’ve established and learned the proper way to maintain your own social media page, how do you go about getting your name out there? It’s actually not much different than the “real life” approach—network, network, network!

It’s a no-brainer that the best way to find a new job or career is to be accessible to other professionals in your line of work. Social media is making this type of exposure easier than ever. Often times, potential contacts are able to search and approach you based on the skill set and interests you make public on your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn pages. Making the most of these online connections and translating them to face-to-face interactions is where your own effort comes into play.

“The same rules apply online as they do in person. Show interest in the other person, know who you are and how you can help others and don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to new people,” Smith said.

She went on to explain that keeping up with contacts through social media also allows a person to get to know a professional colleague on a deeper level.

“If we’re connected on social sites, it’s likely, even probable, that I’m aware of what’s happening in your world,” Smith explained. “It used to take sales people half a dozen rounds of golf to be able to mine data like that from clients, potential clients, or even possible employers, and only the elite sales people had access to that information. Today, the playing field is more level.”

It’s no secret that making a place for yourself in the professional world is difficult. There are “fine lines” and “gray areas” everywhere you turn and it requires a delicate balance between your personal and professional lives. Yet learning to utilize the resources available to you, including what social media can provide, is essential to reaching your goals.

“Doing it right means changing the way we live and filtering our daily lives,” Loper concluded. “Personally, I think this is part of what it means to be a professional and it’s what is required to take the next step in one’s career in today’s market.”

Different personality types are what make humanity dynamic and progressive. However, this fact also has the power to derail even the best laid plans, especially in the workplace. Balancing these variations is the fundamental key to avoiding disaster.

Scot McCarthy, Director of Workforce Development for Centra, says that contradictory personality types actually have great value in terms of gaining multiple points of view.

“Some level of conflict is an expected and natural outcome of differing personalities in the workplace—and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Different perspectives, view points and opinions should bring a rich and diverse array of ideas to the table and that’s just what an organization should desire,” McCarthy said.

However, forming a group that can collectively build upon their differences rather than letting them create a divide is not so easy.

“When people are not able to open up their minds to the view points of others, that’s when the conflict shifts from providing positive stress to distress and then creativity and productivity starts to shut down,” McCarthy explained of this all-too-familiar struggle.

So, how can you find the kind of balance needed for success?

In most cases, it may simply come down to communication. A large part of what makes differing personalities in the workplace so difficult to manage is how they affect the way co-workers talk to one another and how they disseminate ideas and opinions. Taking the time to learn about the personalities of your peers, as well as your own, will have a great impact on your success as a team member.

“We all have different blends of style and let’s face it, for the most part, we are who we are. However, in the workplace, we always need to keep in mind who our audience is and what their styles might be,” McCarthy explained.

Of course, learning how to “read” others isn’t always simple. Often times it’s helpful to start by analyzing one’s own personality type and communication style.

“Most people understand aspects about their general personality. For example, if they are more outgoing or more reserved, if they like dealing with facts and figures or dealing with people and so forth. But to be able to truly learn about your own personality and then expand that understanding to people around you, education is the key,” McCarthy said.

These days, many professionals are utilizing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) as their resource of choice. This tool is a psychometric questionnaire based on the proposed theories of Carl Jung. It’s designed to measure the differences in personality that affect decision-making and how a person understands life. MBTI also stresses the importance and significance of natural variations in human personality types.

Trained to administer this particular assessment tool, McCarthy is a huge proponent of its effectiveness in personal life and in the workplace.

“I use it as a resource for both individual and team development within the Centra organization. It is a terrific resource to build self-awareness and awareness of others,” McCarthy said. “It helps people understand that no style is right or wrong—we are all different in many ways and when we use those differences versus fighting them, we move to a better place, and typically, find better solutions.”

Professionals familiar with their own personality type often find that communicating with others becomes easier and more productive. And for those still unsure of the communication style of a peer, it may simply be a matter of asking directive questions to make collaboration as effective as possible.

McCarthy suggests asking some of the following:

• Do you prefer a face-to-face conversation, or would you prefer an email to be able to read over and react to?
• Do you like to hear about the facts and figures of a situation, or are you more interested in the “people side” of the equation?
• Do you want to simply hear about the “who/what/where” of the story, or do you want my thoughts around the larger implications of the data?

Being specific in questioning and open to receiving honest feedback will greatly help to understand a co-worker’s communication style. This also often leads to the redirection of the same questions back to you, allowing for reciprocal understanding of personality types.

Finding harmony between divergent personalities in the workplace isn’t always easy. It may be difficult to find the patience to deal with a co-worker whose work ethic and style are different from your own. Yet, learning to appreciate everyone’s differences and recognizing the potential for growth can be enough to make this balancing act worthwhile.

If you can identify with these statements, you probably know firsthand just how important a positive workplace is to functioning well on a daily basis. Without some sense of optimism and fulfillment in your career, often times your life as a whole is negatively affected—there is simply no line to distinguish or contain that kind of detriment to your morale.

So what’s the best way to achieve positivity in your workplace, and ultimately, your life?

For Venus Glass, SPHR and Senior Manager for Human Resources at J. Crew, open communication and fostering respect amongst coworkers seem to be the keys to success.

J. Crew leadership constantly asks themselves and their staff members, “What can we do better?” By putting the question out internally and rewarding honesty with action when possible, staff are finding that a positive workplace is attained simply by listening to one another and working as a team.

“We encourage our associates to participate in continuous improvement by utilizing our ‘Think Tank’. This is a program where associates can share their ideas and be recognized for doing so, even if not every idea is implemented. Each idea is considered and everyone who submits an idea has an opportunity to win prizes. It’s a way to get people sharing openly,” Glass explained.

By allowing staff members to communicate their concerns in a professional way, they feel appreciated and valued. It’s no secret that a happy employee is the foundation for any positive workplace. If there is an issue in your company and people are talking about it, leaders need to address it rather than hope that it fixes itself. Knowing how to fix internal unrest, however, is something that might not always be that obvious.

The best way to get to the bottom of low-morale is to get at the heart of your company—your employees. Encouraging an open-door policy between staff and their supervisors will allow leadership to get a new perspective on issues that may be negatively affecting the workplace.

“Associates are encouraged to visit with any manager or company executive,” Glass reiterated of J. Crew’s policy. “Monthly focus groups are also held where associates are randomly selected to participate. There is no set topic … it’s open to whatever ideas or concerns associates have on their minds. We publish and post the outcome of the focus groups with actions and due dates so that all are informed.”

Glass also made a point to explain that focus groups should be geared towards progressive improvement rather than dwelling on where bad morale or poor productivity issues are originating from.

“Focusing on what’s wrong, what did not get done and who’s to blame are great contributors to squelching people’s energy and enthusiasm,” she said.

Another way to foster a positive environment for employees is by celebrating successes. It’s sometimes easy to get caught up in fixing the things that are going wrong, but it should be equally important to spend time evaluating and glorifying things that are going well.

In this vein, leadership should never underestimate the power of respect when it comes to their staff and team members. Everyone, no matter the level of their position, deserves to be seen as an individual with the potential to impact the company they work for.

“Treating people with respect and dignity goes a long way, regardless of the message that must be delivered. Leadership’s willingness to listen to its associates, respond to concerns (even if the issue cannot be fixed) and celebrate successes together will help to sustain a positive workplace,” Glass said.

The old Golden Rule mantra of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is just as important in the workplace as it is in daily personal life. Listening to others and having the chance to speak your own mind in a receptive and nurturing environment are all going to contribute to a more positive and effective place for success.

“At the end of the day, people want to do a good job,” Glass explained. “We give them the tools they need and show them what success looks like. We partner with them in the journey, redirect when they’re off track or recognize them when they are on track. It’s really that simple.”