The Work Clinic

It's baking hot outside, and while most of us would love weather like this if we were sitting on a beach, it's a very different story when we have to contend with work.

Some tips for keeping your cool this week:

1. Dress appropriately, Surely if there was a time for stuffier employers to relax their dress codes, even temporarily, this is it. Opt for loose, pale-coloured linen and cotton clothes where possible.

2. Resist the urge to fry in the sun at lunchtime. If you do need to go out, cover up or wear sun cream. Always wear sunglasses.

3. Arrange phonecalls or video conferences rather than travelling in the heat.

4. Drink as much water as you can. Avoid coffee.  

5. Cut back on the booze. If you have to socialise as part of your job, stick to soft drinks.

6. If you really suffer in the heat, try to work from home, or to start and finish your working day so that you miss the hottest part of the day - and the commute.

7. Maintain energy levels by eating less, more often.

8. Slow down - avoid rushing about, particularly outdoors.

9. Buy a hand-held battery-operated fan for the commute, and persuade your employer to buy a small desk fan for you,

10. Read the Department of Health's advice on what to do in the case of a heatwave.

Training company Video Arts asked 400 UK line managers about the personal development needs of their staff. Apparently the areas most in need of improvement are:

• Attitude and motivation (34%)
• Communication skills (29%)
• Managing tasks (20%)
• Customer service (18%)
• Teamwork (17%)
• Performance management (14%)
• Change management (13%).

"These are the skills that managers feel they need from their teams, to get through the downturn," said Martin Addison, managing drector of Video Arts. "Organisations may need to realign their learning strategy to take account of any new requirements for training and to ensure that their strategy still links to the corporate objectives."

Now, call me a grumpy old cynic, but this is hardly rocket science. Surely these are the skills needed in any member of staff, regardless of the economic climate.
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According to the latest employment study from recruiters Badenoch & Clark, British managers are struggling to win the trust of their staff - one in six workers don't believe a word their employer says. 

Only 15% of the 1,005 respondents said they totally trusted their manager. One of the knock-on results of this mistrust is a ramping up of the office rumour-mill. One in four workers reported an increase in company gossip since the recession has taken hold - a figure that goes up to 49% amongst banking and finance professionals.

And there'a an interesting geographical split - almost a third (32%) of workers in the Midlands don't believe what their manager has to say.

Neil Wilson, managing director at Badenoch & Clark, says: "These figures should come as a wake up call to employers and managers throughout the country. There's currently significant effort being put in by many organisations to carefully control what is told to employees about business performance, but all of that is for nought unless there's an element of trust between employer and employee".

Much is said and written about diversity, but when it comes to people with disabilities, the focus tends to be on what they can and can't do. But a former worker is suing posh preppy clothes chain Abercrombie & Fitch over their reaction to how she looks.

Law student Riam Dean claims that she was sent to work in the stock room of the chain's Savile Row branch in London because wearing a cardigan (as suggested by a colleague) to cover a prosthetic arm was breaking the company's 'look policy'. Dean also claims that staff are issued with a guidebook outlining how they should look at work, from how they wear their hair to the length of their fingernails.  A spokeswoman for Abercrombie & Fitch has stated that Dean's version of events is inaccurate.

A tribunal is due to begin this week, and regardless of the rights and wrongs of the parties involved, the thought of someone being discriminated against because of any aspect of their appearance is a sobering one. Not only for the workplace, but for society.

According to researchers at the University of Western Sydney (UWS), personality type is more important than academic achievements when it comes to recruitment. They found that personality is a better indicator of career preference or aptitude than social or academic background. And if they're to be believed, that old chestnut about needing a ruthless streak to get on in the world may even be true.

UWS researchers looked at five different characteristics:

• openness to experience
• conscientiousness
• extroversion
• agreeableness
• emotional stability

They found that specific personality types were more prevalent in certain jobs. For instance, clerical workers tend to be conscientious but neurotic and prey to stress, while office workers are stable but less conscientious.

Managers, however. while especially conscientious and open to experience. are more antagonistic and suffer from 'lower agreeableness'. I'm not sure we needed a research project to unearth that little gem ....

While there's a certain amount of sense behind recruiting by personality, most jobs do still require a degree of skill and some relevant academic background. The dangers in ignoring this are twofold - first, that successful candidates have the attitude but not the skills needed. And second, that recruiters recruit in their own like, hiring people that they get on with. However nice it is to become friends with colleagues, it's very much the case that there need to be a few people in any team prepared to disagree with the majority, and to be happy to stand up and pick holes in the modus operandi.

So next time your manager's grumpy, it may be a case of putting up with it - for the greater good of the team.

I know this is going to make me sound like a Daily Mail reader, but I'm going to have a real rant about something I read this morning. There was I, calmly reading The Times, when an article on page 25 had me all but spit out my coffee .... the title may give you a clue: "Council employed social worker who hired hitman."

To quote: "Lynda Barnes was hired by Bath and North East Somerset Council after giving a 'highly sanitised' version of events that led to her receiving a two-year suspended jail sentence for conspiracy to murder."

Barnes' checkered past only came to light during an unrelated court case, when she later tried to convince a colleague to lie under oath.

The council has since admitted to making a mistake in hiring Barnes. I'd say it was a bit more of a mistake. And particularly in a social work role. Not only do social workers have almost unparalleled access to the vulnerable, but they are also one of the most beleagured professions in the country - surely they should be recruited with especial care. And didn't the council run a criminal records bureau (CRB) check on Barnes?

Hi, I am Jessica.  At the beginning of the week I wrote a blog about what I wanted to achieve at the end of my week's work experience.  Today is my last day and I have really enjoyed my time at Personnel Today, I feel this week has been really beneficial to me and I have finally managed to decide that this is the career path that I want to follow.

This work experience has definitely given me an idea of what working in this industry involves. It has helped me improve my English and media skills, but most of all I think it has helped me improve my ICT skills. Before I started this work experience I had never used an Apple Mac, now I have managed to use one to create professional looking feature pages. It has helped me realise that I should not drop ICT as a subject at school and if I cannot keep all four of my subjects then I may be better off dropping psychology.

This work experience has also helped me realise that I don't mind working in an office environment and can work well without getting bored or distracted. Lastly I have really enjoyed this break from school, I am dreading having to go back to school and sit listening to my teachers lecturing me about exams and coursework.

I have had a great experience here, and everyone has been very friendly and helpful, I want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me get the most out of this placement, especially Tara. I will definitely go away recommending this placement to anyone who is in the same situation I was before I took it up.

Youth charity The Prince's Trust is urging businesses across the UK to compete in a £1m national enterprise challenge, 'Million Makers'.

"Million Makers" challenges employees to run their own mini-enterprises, at the same time raising thousands to get young people into business.

Nearly 70 companies - including Accenture, Yell.com and St Tropez - have signed up already and will be competing to raise the cash. The money will go towards supporting young entrepreneurs on The Trust's business programme.

The challenge was launched at branches (no pun intended) of Go Ape High Wire Forest Adventures throughout the country.

Raef Bjayou and Claire Young, stars of The Apprentice and Prince's Trust ambassadors, attended the launch.

Bjayou said: "The fantastic thing about Million Makers is that participants are not only honing their own entrepreneurial skills, but raising funds for future entrepreneurs who don't have the financial means to get things off the ground. It really is a win-win situation"

Julian Barrell, director of fundraising, The Prince's Trust said: "With Britain's best business brains behind us, we can help more young people into business. Nurturing entrepreneurial talent is now more important than ever. We cannot let the Sir Alan Sugars of tomorrow be thwarted by the recession."

Stuart Watson is a partner at Ernst & Young, which has already signed up to Million Makers 2009. He said: "The Million Makers challenge provides personal development opportunities for our people including increased self confidence and motivation; developed communication and teaming skills; and networking opportunities."
 
Last year's Million Makers challenge raised more than £500,000 to help disadvantaged young people into business.

Million Makers 2009 is the largest employee fundraising initiative in the history of The Trust. The business programme has helped more than 70,000 young people into business since 1983 and needs £1million every month to continue its vital work.

To sign-up to Million Makers or for more information, call 020 7543 7420.

  Arthur Dent, hapless hero of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, believed that 42 was the answer to "life, the universe, and everything." But perhaps not quite everything. According to a survey by YouGov, the average at which people feel totally confident and comfortable about their skills at work is 37 - after 30,000 hours in the job .... You'd like to think that they'd got it right by then.

And, more depressing still, we are unlikely to feel fulfilled at work until we hit 50. But, on a more positive note, it seems that Britain's oldies are now more entrepreneurial than ever. So much so that a new word has been coined to describe them - olderpreneurs.

According to the survey,

• 85% of the population do not intend to stop work altogether post retirement age
• 33% want to continue in full-time work post retirement age
• 31% want to carry on in a similar role but on their own terms
• 8% want to start a business in retirement

Commenting on the findings, John Lawson of financial services organisation Standard Life said: " People do not get old like they used to. The Baby Boomers started a trend for redefining what is effectively their 'third age', and these findings point to a continued trend for re-writin the rule book for younger generations."

What they've failed to point out is that, these days, few of us can afford to stop work post-retirement.

Hi, I am Jessica Haslam and I have joined the team at Personnel Today for a week's work experience. I am studying media along with English, information communication technology (ICT) and psychology at my 6th form (at Carshalton High School for Girls) and have found media to be my favourite. This is what made me decide to do my work experience at Personnel Today. During this work experience I would like to...

·        get an idea of what working in this industry involves as well as gain experience and confidence.

·        have an idea on whether this is the right career choice for me.

·        improve my writing, ICT, and media skills so that it may benefit me in my second year of 6th form.

·        gain a clearer idea of an office working environment and see whether it is the right option for me.

·        see first hand how the magazine industry works instead of just hearing about it through my studies.

·        get a nice break from school work and exams, and enjoy a different type of work.

I will be writing another blog at the end of the week and hope to have achieved at least some of this rather than being put off of this career. I am really looking forward to the rest of this week and have a feeling I will be kept nice and busy!