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Reduce Stress at Work

Here's How:

A Improve your time management and organization skills.

Of the many things you can to in this area the best ones include getting a to do list that works, learning to say "no", asking for help when you need it, and stop setting unrealistic goals for yourself.

B Relax and breathe deeply.

Whether you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount or work you have to do or if someone is "in your face", a good thing to do is to "breathe through your nose". You can't get as worked up if you force yourself to breathe through your nose. Your body simply can't maintain the same level of energy without that extra oxygen you get when breathing through your mouth.

C Take more breaks from your work.

Even a five-minute break will help. Get away from your desk. Go for a walk - outside is better, but up two flights of stairs and back down is good too. Getting more exercise in general will help you reduce your overall stress levels and that will make it easier to reduce your stress level at work.

D Lighten up.

Smile more. We all know laughter reduces stress. You will be amazed at how much more pleasant the people around you are when you make an effort to be pleasant yourself.

E Learn to listen better.

Rather than getting upset when others disagree with you, listen actively and find the areas of agreement. Be assertive and stand up for yourself, but don't be rigid.

F Fix your environment.

Make whatever adjustments you need to the lighting, temperature, noise level, and other controllable factors in your office.

G Don't sweat the small stuff.

Realize that there are some things that just aren't worth worrying about and there are some things you just can't change. Don't waste time stressing over the things in either category.

H Get more sleep.

This is another of the things you can do to reduce your overall stress that will have benefits at the office as well. In addition to reducing your stress, it will increase your energy level and your ability to concentrate.

I Find a mentor.

If not a mentor, a friend will do. Having someone to talk to can take a lot of stress off you.

J Spend more time with optimistic people.

Negative people will pull you down to their level. Choose to work with people who have a positive attitude instead.

The Paper Clip

When were bent-wire paper clips introduced? The first bent-wire paper clip was patented by Samuel B. Fay in 1867. This clip was originally intended primarily for attaching tickets to fabric, although the patent recognized that it could be used to attach papers together. We have found no advertisement or other mention for the Fay paper clip before 1899, and it therefore appears unlikely that it had significant, if any, sales prior to the late 1890s. However, beginning in 1899 and for decades thereafter, the Fay design was widely advertised under many brand names for use in fastening papers.

The Gem paper clip, which was never patented, but which eventually became by far the best selling paper clip in the U.S., has been advertised since 1894, and may have been introduced in 1892.

A patent application filed at the end of 1896 indicated that a number of different paper clips were in use. A flood of paper clip patents were issued beginning in 1897. This evidence indicates that bent-wire paper clips came into widespread use in offices in the late 1890s. A 1900 trade publication stated that "The wire clip for holding office papers together has entirely superseded the use of the pin in all up-to-date offices."

Why weren't bent-wire paper clips marketed earlier? According to Petroski, "Steel wire was still new in the second half of the nineteenth century. The widespread manufacture and use of the paper clip had to await not only the availability of the right wire but also the existence of machinery capable of tirelessly and reliably bending it in a flash into things that could be bought for pennies a box." (Henry Petroski, "From Pins to Paper Clips," The Evolution of Useful Things, Vintage, New York, 1992, p. 60)

With what products did paper clips compete most closely? The two earliest patents indicate that bent-wire paper clips could be used in lieu of pins, sewing, "pointed bent-over paper fasteners," and eyelets. In 1904, Clinch Clips were advertised as "Cheaper than Pins." Around 1910 advertisements compare paper clips to straight pins for temporary attachment of papers. By contrast, early paper clip advertisements do not refer to staples.

Why were bent-wire paper clips sold in so many different designs? Many designs were initially protected by patents. As a result, other manufacturers had to come up with different designs. Also, no single paper clip design is optimal for all purposes. In marketing paper clips, suppliers emphasized the superiority of their designs on one or two of the following characteristics:

1. Does not catch, mutilate, or tear papers

2. Does not get tangled with other clips in the box

3. Holds a thick set of papers

4. Holds papers securely

5. Is thinner and takes less space in files

6. Is easily inserted

7. Is light weight and requires less postage

8. Is cheap (e.g., because it uses less wire)

Body Language at Work

News of the world's largest experiment to investigate telepathy last week set staff tongues wagging. How wonderful it would be to know what Sandra in accounts really thinks of Susan in systems, and what's behind the faux niceness of Rachel at reception.

But while mind-reading is a skill we're unlikely to use in the office, the ability to read people's bodies is not so unfathomable. Understanding Body Language In A Week, published this month by The Institute of Management, aims to show how body language in the workplace betrays your true attitudes, hints at what others really think and can help you become a more effective communicator.

The existence of a body language speaks for itself through the statistics. Less than 10% of the messages we communicate occur through our speech; a surprising 40% are conveyed by our tone of voice and 50% simply from our gestures. This is the claim of the book's authors, Geoff Ribbens and Richard Thompson, who say that "communication without body language would be like writing without punctuation."

Such an analogy may ring true for the bumbling fools among us, who can't get the gist of how to conduct a good office relationship with our peers. While Ribbens and Thompson argue that our ability to interpret others' behavior is inherent, they acknowledge that not everyone knows how to use that 90% of unspoken communication for the best.

For the growing number of support staff, the art of body language is a talent worth nurturing. With technology liberating them from the more time-consuming chores, PAs and secretaries are able to pursue more social responsibilities - managing staff, attending meetings and handling clients. But to milk these social settings, their body language has to say "confident and capable" - otherwise they will amount to no more than wasted opportunities.

Judi James, business consultant and author of Body Talk: The Skills of Positive Image, offers some advice to the shy secretary. "In America, PAs will give out business cards as a matter of course, but if I suggest this in the UK it tends to provoke nervous laughter," she says. "People in support roles in this country are terrified that being assertive will be misinterpreted as arrogance, which it won't."

Recognizing that the nation's confidence is somewhat lacking, an increasing number of British organizations are encouraging staff to learn how to use body language to communicate better.

"I don't like to portray body language as a bag of tricks, but in terms of marketing yourself more effectively at work, there are tips that make a massive amount of difference," says James. "Always enter offices and meeting rooms confidently, as if you're meant to be there. It's amazing how many people have difficulty going up to someone and confidently shaking their hand with just enough eye contact to make them realize you're worth speaking to. Once you've made that initial impact you can probably afford to let it drop a little during the meeting, but that first impression is really important. Always avoid tiptoeing into meetings looking apologetic and trying to be invisible. It looks awful and - although it isn't fair - people will probably question your credibility, however brilliant you might be at your job."

James cautions against being too reticent with our bodies. "If you have to approach a senior colleague at their desk, try to do so with as much purpose as possible. Many people find it very irritating to have someone lurking at their desk, timidly waiting to speak to them, and it can get your conversation off on the wrong foot. I think you can afford to move with a degree of authority without looking like the young pretender." It can also help to slightly mirror the other person's body language, although obviously it pays to judge this sensitively.

But let's not kid ourselves too much with all these career-furthering intentions. The really appealing thing about analyzing body language is the idea of interpreting other people's behavior. From now on, never believe a colleague who has a habit of rubbing his eyes or touching his nose. He is lying, according to the gospel of body language, and should not be trusted.

All of which doesn't bode well for poor unfortunates struck down with conjunctivitis or for those who can't resist fingering a snotty nose. The authors' get-out clause for this little discrepancy is to argue that "it is seldom one gesture or posture, but a combination of body signals that convey the clues. It is also important to put the body language in context."

So next time someone picks at their clothes while talking to you don't automatically assume - as the textbook has it - that they privately they disagree with you. They might be trying to remove traces of the morning's toothpaste from their lapel.

Life Beyond Pay

A A new magazine was published in America this month. Success is the resurrection of a title first published in 1897 by Orison Swett Marden, an entrepreneur and author of a series of self-help books, including "Getting the Most Out of Life". The magazine's publisher, Joseph Guerriero, wants today's Success to reflect the contemporary workplace, where, he says, success is measured less by money and titles, and more by what is sweepingly referred to as "work-life balance". The first issue contains an article about men leaving work to become full-time fathers.

B Improving the balance between the working part of the day and the rest of it is a goal of a growing number of workers in rich Western countries. Some are turning away from the ideals of their parents, for whom work always came first; others with scarce skills are demanding more because they know they can get it. Employers, caught between a falling population of workers and tight controls on immigration, are eager to identify extra perks that will lure more "talent" their way. Just now they are focusing on benefits (especially flexible working) that offer employees more than just pay.

C Some companies saw the change of mood some time ago. IBM has more than 50 different programmes promoting work-life balance and Bank of America over 30. But plenty of other firms remain unconvinced and many lack the capacity to cater to such ideas even if they wanted to. Helen Murlis, with Hay Group, a human-resources consultancy, sees a widening gap between firms "at the creative end of employment" and those that are not.

D The chief component of almost all schemes to promote work-life balance is flexible working. This allows people to escape rigid nine-to-five schedules and work away from a formal office. IBM says that 40% of its employees today work off the company premises. For many businesses, flexible working is a necessity. Globalization has spread the hours in which workers need to communicate with each other and increased the call for flexible shifts. Nella Barkley, an American who advises companies on work-life balance, says that large firms are beginning to understand the value of such schemes, "but only slowly". For most of them, they still mean little more than child care, health care and flexible working.

E Yet some schemes go well beyond these first steps. American Century Investments, an investment manager in Kansas City, pays adoption expenses and the cost of home-fitness equipment for its employees. Rob Marcolina, a gay consultant with Bain & Company based in Los Angeles, was allowed time off to marry his partner in Canada, and another break to look after their daughter when she was born to a surrogate mother. Mr Marcolina, who has an MBA from the high-ranked Kellogg business school, says his employer's understanding makes him want to be "part of Bain for some time".

F Businesses have other good reasons for improving employees' work-life balance. Wegmans Food Markets, a grocery chain based in Rochester, New York, frequently appears near the top of lists of the best employers in America. It has a broad range of flexible-work programmes, which gives it one of the lowest rates of employment turnover in its industry-8% a year for full-time workers, compared with 19% across the industry.

G Simple programmes can be surprisingly cost-effective. IBM, for instance, is spending $50m over five years on "dependent-care" facilities for its employees. Although that sounds generous, it is the equivalent of little more than $30 for each IBM employee every year. That is far cheaper than a pay rise and probably a better way to retain talented mothers and fathers. Ernst & Young, a global accounting firm, has a low-cost range of initiatives called "People First". It provides breaks for people to provide care and has over 2,300 flexi-time employees in the United States. James Freer, a senior executive, says he is "absolutely convinced" the initiatives help produce better financial results.

H DeAnne Aguirre, a mother of four and a senior partner in San Francisco with Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), says "it is easy to make the business case" for work-life balance programmes at the consultancy by looking at attrition rates. BAH calculated that it was investing more than $2m in turning a raw recruit into a partner, an investment it should be reluctant to write off. Corning, an American glass company, reckons that it costs 1.5 times a worker's salary and benefits to replace him. If it can retain just 20 workers a year who would otherwise have left, Corning reckons it would produce annual savings of $2.6m.

I Business schools are now climbing on the bandwagon, too. In October Tuck School at Dartmouth, New Hampshire, will start a course on returning to corporate life after an extended absence. Called "Back in Business", the 16-day, $12,000 re-entry programme is open only to students with "work experience in a high-potential career". The majority will inevitably be mothers wanting to rejoin the workforce. But fathers are also asking for sabbaticals. Work-life balance "is not just a women's issue" any more, says Ted Childs, who is in charge of workforce diversity at IBM. "Men, too, are very concerned about it."

J The demand is being stoked by the "Generation Y", the under-28s. They look skeptically at the idea of lifetime employment within a single organization and they are wary of the commitment they believe too often drove their parents to the divorce courts. Hay's Ms Murlis says that today's business-school graduates are "looking for a workstyle to go with their lifestyle", not the other way round. They are happy to binge-work for a while, but in return want extended sabbaticals in which to chill out.

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