Ideas for Bring Your Child to Work Day

Whether or not they make it known, your children are interested in you.  They care about your life and what you do during the day.  That’s why Bring your Child to Work Day is such a great opportunity for both children and their parents.  Children have the chance to learn just what Mom or Dad does all day after seeing them off to school in the morning.  Parents are able to spend some time showing their sons and daughters the value of hard work and the satisfaction in a job well done.  Of course, the lone caveat in this otherwise promising day is that work still needs to be accomplished, and parents can’t spend all their time interacting with their children.  The following are thoughts of activities children might enjoy during Bring your Child to Work Day while Dad or Mom is hard at work.  Remember, these are your children.  You know them best.  Tailor these suggestions to fit your child’s interests and personality.

  • Create a Business Card – If there is an available computer or just an available piece of paper, encourage your son or daughter to make their own business card. They could pretend they are the president of the company, principal of the school, or whatever they choose to imagine.  They’ll feel like they’re a part of the work environment, and should have a great time making their business card, too.
  • Assist with Simple Tasks – If you need copies made, paperwork filed, documents shredded, or have any uninvolved jobs to complete, take your child along with you. Let them participate as you show them what to do, and even let them take over the job themselves.  You get to work together with your child, and your child gets to feel a sense of accomplishment as they are actually performing real work just like Mom or Dad.  This is something you should both appreciate.
  • Plan a Group Project – If coworkers nearby are also bringing their children to work, why not have them work together to complete a minor, somewhat fun job-related project for you. Once they’ve finished, perhaps parents and children could have a meeting in a conference room to discuss what was done.
  • Go out for Lunch – Let your son or daughter take a break from the grind, and enjoy some time together away from work. You can talk about the day so far, and discuss anything they might be interested in seeing or learning in the afternoon.

 

Earth Day Inspired – Ways to Recycle at Work

Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22nd. It marks what most consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. A time of hippies and protest, lead gas, and air pollution. Up until that time, our government didn’t seem to give much thought to the effects that oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, just to name a few, were having on us, wildlife and the environment. Thankfully, after the idea came to Earth Day founder, Gaylord Nelson, this has changed. Although much improved, it is something we have to work on every day, not just on April 22nd. With this in mind, below are some Earth Day inspired – ways to recycle at work.

Shut off lights and computers when not in use. Shut off power strips.

Go paperless when possible. Think before you print. Print only what you need. Print in black and white as much as possible.

Recycle unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazine and junk mail. Don’t forget plastic wrapping, plastic bottles, etc.

Purchase recycled office supplies when possible.

Make it easy for everyone to recycle. Place recycle containers that are clearly marked, in easy to see places.

Bring your own containers and utensils from home, whenever possible. Avoid using paper and plastic plates and utensils, if you can.

Brainstorm with your fellow employees to come up with more ideas.

With everyone’s cooperation, we can make this world a brighter and safer place. Not just for us, but for future generations to come. Happy Recycling!

Top 5 Mistakes New Employees Make

Let’s face it, being the new kid sucks. It sucks even more when you are the new employee. As you walk into your new job awkwardly and try to look as if you’ve been here for years, you try your hardest to seem unphased. That was your first mistake, of course you are phased by the new environment. There are 5 HUGE mistakes that all new employees make and I’m going to help you identify them and never let it happen again.

1.Not taking training seriously

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a new employee. You sit through countless hours of training and look over tons of paperwork. While sitting in your chair and jotting down notes you get the sense of, “Do I even need to know this once I start working?”. All too many of times do new employees come out of training knowing just as much as they did going into training. You MUST take your training seriously if you want to keep your job and understand your responsibilities.

2.Not navigating a RELIABLE travel route for work

Whether it be by car, bus, train or bike you need a reliable travel route for work. The endless excuses of traffic, transit delays and car troubles are just that EXCUSES. It is your responsibility and yours alone to get to work in a timely fashion. Your excuses only show your new superiors that you are unreliable.

3.Buying cafeteria food

Buying cafeteria food is one of the overlooked mistakes. You don’t know how much anything costs. You don’t know how long it takes to prepare, which can cause your break to possibly overlap. I think the best option is to wait one week before ordering cafeteria food. By the second week you have become acquainted with the travel route, office layout and time blocks. It is also more cost efficient to bring your own lunch.

4.Getting too comfortable too fast

This is a terrible mistake to make as a new employee. You should never ever get too comfortable. I say this because you are on a test drive, you haven’t bought the car yet. You may have been hired but you are still walking on thin ice. You are on a 90 day probation period with every new job you start. That means that if you mess up badly in those first 90 days you will be fired. Your boss is still deciding if it was a good decision to even hire you.

5.Making friends

This is the BIGGEST mistake to make as a new employee. You are at work to work and earn a living not make friends. Now that doesn’t mean you are going to be a hermit at work, just professional. Sometimes being professional gets confused as being an introvert at times. I just feel that you should always protect your work environment with your life. Having small talk isn’t a crime but don’t forget the main reason you are here.

What is a Correspondence Note Card?

Simply put, a correspondence note card is a high quality buff colored index card that comes with a matching envelope. However these “index cards” can be customized with one line of type at the top in blue, black or gold/silver foil imprinting in a variety of font choices.  Customization options can be professional (company name), personal (your name) or generic (Thank You, Thinking of You or Just a Note).

What would you use these for?  These cards are great when sending an email is too impersonal and a full size greeting card is too much. They can be sent as special recognition to an employee for “a job well done” or as a “thank you for your time” after an interview.  They can be included as a professional gift enclosure or as a reminder for an upcoming event or meeting. They can be mailed via the post office or sent to the recipient via inter-office mail. On a personal note, they can be tucked into a child’s backpack for the teacher when a note might be needed or slipped under a neighbor’s door to advise “we are having a neighborhood garage sale, care to join us?”.

The uses for these small yet elegant single sided cards are as endless as your imagination. They don’t seem like much but once you have one box, you will surely find a myriad of reasons to take pen to paper on them!

The Positive Impact of Sending Birthday Cards to Employees

 

Employees are people just like you and me, if you own or run a business then it’s your job to know that.  They have good days and bad days and as an employer you affect that every day they come into work.  That’s why when an employee’s birthday comes around it’s important to know that you can make a huge impact with something as small as a birthday card.  This lets them know they’re not regarded as just a cog in a wheel but someone appreciated and valued at their workplace.  Something like our Cupcake Dots Birthday Card would brighten up anyone’s day with the colorful cupcake but maybe even more important, the actual message on it.  Happy Birthday from all of us, simple, but it lets that employee know, you as a company not just as an entity but an organization of all the different people who make it up value and remember them.  Employees would as a result of receiving this card feel more welcome and comfortable in their workplace causing them to work at optimal levels because they know, you as the employer do care.  Birthday cards have a huge positive impact on your employees that make the cost virtually nonexistent and the rewards endless.  Employers get to wishing those happy birthdays and sending out those cards to see just how much more optimistic your employees will be!