photo credit: beckstei

No one wants to suffer an accident while they are working as, aside from the physical pain and psychological trauma an injury can cause, there is also the fact that it may prevent you from working for an indefinite period, which few people can afford. Luckily, if you are unfortunate enough to be injured while at your place of work, there are compensation claims that you can make to help you to cope with anything from medical bills to lost income. These are the main types of work accident compensation claims that can be made in this situation.

Special damages

This means previous costs that you may have suffered as a result of the injury you received at work, and will require you to offer proof of the amounts you are claiming for through receipts. This can refer to everything from the loss of income you have experienced due to being unable to work, travelling costs incurred in the course of visits to hospitals and personal GPs, medical costs for the treatment you receive and expenses caused by having to cancel an engagement, such as a holiday, due to injuries received.

General damages

This refers to areas such as the pain and suffering or post-traumatic stress experienced due to injuries received in a workplace accident. The value of these types of damages is often set by the solicitor. Furthermore, interest can be claimed on both general and special damages, with the level varying depending on which of these it is.

Legal expenses

If you win your compensation claim, then in addition to the damages you are awarded, your employer will generally be required to meet the costs of your legal action. This, together with the damages should be covered by the employer’s employee liability insurance, assuming they have secured the appropriate cover.

Len Babauta of Zen Habits has an excellent on Unclutterer on how to create a minimalist workspace. In essence, the best minimalist workspace actually involves using no tools at all, with only yourself and mind as your work “space.” However, since that is not possible for most folks, Len has a few tips on how to maximize space with minimum clutter.

1. Have one inbox.
2. Clear your desktop.
3. Get rid of knick knacks.
4. Clear the walls.
5. Clear your computer desktop.
6. Re-examine your paper needs.
7. Eliminate unnecessary tools.
8. Simplify your filing.
9. Go through each drawer.
10. Use a minimalist desk.
11. Clear the floor.

While most of these tips are most appropriate to folks who actually use desks for work, it can also apply to those of us who don’t. For instance, writers, bloggers or online entrepreneurs might be accustomed to bringing their laptops anywhere they go. So the trick here is to keep a clean, streamlined computer desktop with no clutter. I know I usually fall victim to a cluttered desktop, cluttered task bar and browser windows cluttered with tabs. And these are a few things I’d like to be able to fix so I can be more productive.

[via Unclutterer]

For people who frequently use computers, technology has to be thanked a lot. Unlike the days before the computer age wherein we had to rely on the traditional typewriter, documents no longer have to be re-typed nor corrected with the usual “snow fake” or erasers to ensure that we come up with good documents for approval and of course presentation.

Ever since the advent of software applications which went as far as the first “Word Star” or “Word Perfect” one thing that is glaring is the fact that we can just open a previous document with the same template and just change the data needed like the addressee, location and subject and save it under a different name. Print it and you can imagine the time you saved for it. All of this thanks to technology.

Today, this is familiar to us using the Microsoft Word program. While the on-screen presentation and formatting has surely been made better through the years, the process of opening, editing and saving document files under a different name has been a common practice from computer users. We see it done at home and the office and you can imagine the time element saved thanks to this practice.

There may be instances that you have accidentally overwritten such files but you can always use the traditional CTRL+Z to the point where the original document started. Just don’t close it though as that would be the end of it.

So as you can see, this is one basic task. It shows how productive you can get if you put your mind to it. A simple document preparation has a large bearing on being able to create and submit reports on time. It is all about using the right template at the right time.

As far as being able to be productive, it is apparent that you have to make sure that most of your working space peripherals are where they should be. There are things we see atop and alongside our tables and if we really give them much thought, they were placed there for a reason, namely:

1. Desk Calendars
2. In/Out Tray
3. Pen/ Pencil Holders
4. Drawers
5. Filing Cabinets
6. Magazine Boxes

Now these things were not placed there just to give you that usual office ambiance. They are there so you may know where to place objects such as papers, reports and other office stuff like pens, paper clips and folders. Having a clean desk allows you to be more productive since it will not look like a war zone wherein your cubicle seems to be always in shamble.

The key towards being inspired to work is knowing where the things you need like documents and office supplies. It takes away the need to look for them, something that may eventually lead you to forget what you are doing or even eat up the time you have in being able to accomplish a certain task.

There are exceptions. Some people prefer to leave their working place as it is even if it is a mess. But while that may depend on the person using a specific working place, it is not always consistent. Hence, in the end, it would depend on how he or she is willing to adjust accordingly to the proper work routine that can optimize his work output and production.

Do not take for granted the value of a clean and organized workplace. It can make a bid difference. Employing a basic and systematic way of carrying out your office tasks and work-related endeavors can help you a lot. In fact, it can hold the key to working smarter and becoming a reliable career-oriented individual as well.

Emotions are bound to get out of hand when you are in the office setting. Normally, a lot of people have a hard time separating emotion from professional career. A lot of factors can be traced as to why this occurs, namely:

1. Anxiety
2. Stress
3. Conflict of Interest
4. Personal Vendetta
5. Competition

Taken separately, these are the normal things you would find as reasons behind such although many people would deny it. Some may call it a psychological incapacity to manage their career to which the age factor and position play an important role as well.

One thing about being in the workplace is that people vying for some form of accomplishment or recognition will always be present. Everyone found in the corporate setting will always be aiming for something and to be able to achieve that, the pressure to attain that may not necessarily be easy to handle.

Conflicts will be normal although there has to be a defining line on how you can separate it from getting out of hand. Shouting matches or even resorting to dirty tactics such as spreading rumors are just among the things to expect to which many would call as office politics. If you get caught in between such a dilemma, chances are you will be looking for manageable solutions to avoid it.

As far as career is concerned, this highlight of their career may not be a good way to attain goals as far as climbing the corporate ladder is concerned. While many ignore it, it is apparent that if they allow emotions to rule their personality, it can also be a big blow to aspirations like perhaps holding key positions for an organization now and in the future.

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