Business & Workplace Wellness Blog

The Calgary Benefits Duo

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Get Creative With Workplace Safety 

Safety training will be different in an office than in a warehouse or factory, but all employees will  benefit from knowing how to stay safe. When incorporating a workplace training program, make sure it teaches both company policies and provincial safety guidelines. 

Make it well-known. Post signs and banners in appropriate areas. Try for funny and creative. 

                           Have a big pay off. As I talked about in a previous blog about Generation Y, they love recognition. But who doesn’t love to win free stuff. Tying incentives is a great way to get the workforce involved and focused. Some ideas are; Pizza parties, gift cards, coffee and doughnut on Fridays, BBQ lunch, lottery tickets, gift cards to restaurants, car washes, etc. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of time or money, it just has to show you recognize they are being safe and bringing safety into the workplace. 

Do a safety skit. Have your employees make a video or presentation by giving them a safety scenario to act out. Run a contest over the course of several months and give out prizes at the end. Some safety topics you could use are; Lifting, Pushing and Pulling the Right Way, Preventing Slips, Trip and Falls, The Correct Way to Use a Forklift. 

Have a daily safety minute. Create a schedule with the days of the month and have one  person each morning at the same time talk about a safety topic. It could be,weather related, home related, a news article they found or it could be something they experienced personally in the weeks before. When you get your team thinking about safety at work and at home it becomes second nature all the time.  

Invest in Safety Training. Implementing  a fun and interesting safety program takes time and money in the beginning, but the pay-offs are great.

                                 While the general tone of safety training events should remain serious, it can still be fun. Adding humor here and there will help keep everyone interested. 

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Dream Big. Think Big. 

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6 Work-Life Balance Tips for Entrepreneurs

Having a work-life balance isn’t just a concern for mompreneurs anymore. A growing number of dads are becoming more hands on at home, driving their kids to school, sports practices and appointments. There are even a growing number of single dads who are balancing work and children by themselves. So whether you’re a mompreneur or a dadpreneur, here are 6 tips to help you juggle your daily demands.

1. Prioritize. You can’t do it all! You spent far more time at work BK (before Kids) than you do now. So you need to find ways to adjust. As a working parent you need to prioritize your daily tasks, write down each day what you want to accomplish. If you don’t get it all done, look at re-prioritizing or look for ways that you can be more efficient.

2. Take care of You! You are the backbone of your company. It is your strength that made your business run and your determination to keep it going. Unless you are looking to retire, you need to be healthy to keep your business a success. It is not selfish to love yourself. Make your happiness a priority.

3. Manage Expectations. Set a general guideline and then monitor how you work within them. Make adjustments as necessary.  So once have powered down your cell phone and your laptop, you may still feel the draw to check your emails that could be piling up. I suggest laying out your expectations with your co-workers so they know what times you’re working and how much time to expect for a reply back after a certain hour. This goes for your family too. Make sure they understand when it’s appropriate to interrupt you at work.

4. Learn to Say No. Saying no can make you feel bad, but there is no way to say yes to everything. When you try to please everyone, no one ends up happy.  Learn to say no in a positive way. “I’d love to do this, but…” Or “I can’t commit to this, as I have other priorities at the moment.” Even if you can find the time, still consider whether that commitment fits within your goals and values.

5. Be present. So if you are working, put so much of your heart into it that you lose track of time. When you put so much into your work, you tend to produce things of value. The same applies to your social and family life. If you find your mind wandering to things you need to get done, tune into your senses. Focus on the sights, sounds and smells. Focus on your breathing. Give yourself permission to focus.

6. Let the little things go. Small things can sometimes throw a person off and it can affect them in so many ways. We become so attached to a certain outcome that we think is best that we fail to open up to different possibilities. But know, there will never be a time when life is simple. We must practice accepting that. We hold stress in our minds and bodies, potentially creating serious health issues, and accept that state as the norm. Well it’s not. I know letting go can be a difficult task. It takes hard work and focus but you are better off losing a battle than losing your peace of mind. 

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This is how I felt after my 6 a.m. yoga session this morning at Breathe Hot Yoga. Time to take on the day! 

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Discipline & Intent - The two things you need to succeed.

Monday Motivation 

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Check Out Our New Site!

www.musgravebenefits.com

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The Benefit of Employee Benefits

A Wise man once said, "When you are starting up a company, you don’t build a business, you build people and they help you build that business". It is these people who continue to rank employee benefits as being a very important part of their decision when selecting one company over another. According to a recent survey done by the Western Financial Group and Environics Research Group 6 in 10 Canadians indicated that extended health and dental coverage were very important to them when considering a new position. 

Often times if you can offer competitive benefits, money won’t be the bottom line. Having the coverage for costly things like dentist and prescription drugs alone can give someone peace-of-mind. Benefits can also be viewed as an important resources that help build positive working relationships between the employer and employee. It promotes regular healthy and financial habits. To top it off, the premiums pay on behalf of your employees are tax free and a deduction for your business. 

Employee benefits don’t solely provide value to workers, they can also serve as a way for you to remain competitive in the marketplace when it comes to attracting and retaining quality staff. 

Since health issues happen to anyone at any time, protecting yourself and your valued employees is critical. 

To learn more about how we can meet the diverse needs of your team,  contact us today to set up a free consultation www.musgravebenefits.com 

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Work Smart, Stress Less

A major problem for employers and employees is handling the many causes and effects of work place stress. Living in a ever changing culture with a seemingly endless list of demands from working long hours, to extended commutes, to juggling responsibilities and deadlines can all generate high levels of stress. 

Being able to have a positive workplace can help with stress reduction and make employees happier and more productive for the company. 

So is there a way to maintain steady focus throughout the day? Is it possible to do everything that needs to get done and still have some form of energy left over at the end of the work day? How do you currently keep your stress levels down? 

With stress on the job being so strongly associated with health complaints more employers are increasingly acting to help their employees stay healthy by providing group benefits and establishing health and wellness programs. 

To help keep your stress levels down you first need to figure out what the triggers are. Try keeping a stress journal, every time you feel stressed on the job write it down. How you felt, how you acted, how you responded and what you did to make yourself feel better.

Here are 10 tips to help make your job a little easier. 

Sit straight up

Try to avoid interruptions 

Go for a walk 

Learn to prioritize 

Don't sweat the small stuff

Put things into perspective 

Take up a stress-relieving hobbies 

Ask for help

Laugh it out 

Embrace Your Stress...Yup it sounds crazy. But researchers at Yale discovered having a positive outlook toward stress makes people more likely to rise to whatever the challenge they're facing. 

Once you have a better understanding of what stresses you out and what might work to calm your mind, you will be able to manage your reactions in a more healthy way.

Work Smart. Stress Less! 

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