The internet has made it much more convenient to find call centre jobs. The internet allows employers to post their personnel needs online. This also can make it easier if a person wishes to relocate to another location but is unable to travel there. Unfortunately, there are people out there who are not so honest. The internet has become littered with scam artists trying to steal people’s identities. When searching for a call centre job online, there are some things one can do in order to protect their identity while they use these online resources.

Be suspicious of any invitations that you may receive via email. Often these are sent by scammers. These are mass emails sent to a lot of people. These emails may be invitations to apply for jobs and come in for an interview. The scammers try to send these emails so you will provide them with important information. They often preface the emails by saying that they saw your resume and want to contact you. However, stop and ask yourself, did you actually send them your resume.

Also, you may receive requests from employers for personal information via email. Often these requests are from scammers who want to steal your personal information. Reputable companies interested in you for employment will rarely ask you to submit personal information through email.

When you do submit information online, it is a good idea to make sure that the site you use is encrypted. This will ensure that your information cannot be intercepted by hackers online. To know if a site is encrypted, you will notice that the URL will begin with https. The S at the end indicates it is a secure site. If a site you are going to submit your information to doesn’t have a secure connection, it is not a good idea to upload any information.

I have a friend who recently found out he has a cyst on the wrist. While he hasn’t had it checked by a doctor yet, he thinks it may be work related. He’s a writer, just like me. He works most of the day and most of the night on client assignments. Typing away on your keyboard all day like that is bound to do some bad things to your hands and wrist.

I think these conditions can be avoided or at least minimized if you can manage your resources in a balanced way. By resources, I mean your time, energy and your body’s capabilities.

Get enough rest.

Freelancers like myself usually have a very erratic schedule. Since I work from home, I sometimes find myself having to manage a few household tasks every day. this can include helping out with the cooking, bringing the kids to school, and the like. While those don’t exactly eat your time in a big way, sometimes it might give you difficulty in gaining momentum.

And so many in my profession are fond of working during nighttime, when everything is quiet. The problem here is that your health suffers. Your eyesight suffers. Your body suffers.

Tip: get at least six hours of sleep per day. Studies show that’s the optimal level of sleep for an adult. Too little and you won’t be well-rested. Too much and you will feel fatigued from too much sleep.

Use the right tools.

Gadget companies usually come up with “ergonomic” stuff. Ergonomic this and ergonomic that. These are usually meant to fit better with your body. An ergonomic mouse might be easier to hold than one that focuses more on style than function. An ergonomic keyboard promotes a more relaxed posture.

Aside from buying the right gadgets, ergonomics will also involve using them right. If you work with computer screens all day, set the monitor at eye level, so you don’t have to slouch or nod down to view the screen. If you drive for a living, set your seat height, backrest, and steering wheel tilt, such that you are in a comfortable position.

Tip: work in a comfortable position. If you can’t achieve this with your existing setup, then buy or improvise.

Exercise.

You will also need to keep yourself fit. If you’re a writer, you don’t have to sit all day in front of your screen mulling word after word. Stand up and stretch every 30 minutes. Rest your eyes by closing them a couple of minutes, and then focusing them on a faraway object. Go to the gym. A fit body can help improve posture, which, in turn minimizes injuries.

Tip: don’t let your body stay in one position for extended periods of time. If you work sitting down, walk around every half hour or so. If you work standing up, don’t let your weight fall on both feet 100% of the time–shift positions often.

Different professions have different needs. In your line of work, what can help minimize or avoid work-related sicknesses?

photo credit: Ana Santos

Stress is usually caused by many different problems that a person has to deal with in everyday life. Sometimes a lot of stress also leads to depression. This feeling of anxiety causes people to focus more on their problems. This tends to make one unproductive.

People who are under a lot of stress often forget that there are other things in life aside from their responsibilities. It would be good to rest and disengage from work regularly. Taking breaks would give time for the mind and body to recover from constant stress brought about by work.

Here are some ways to cope and live better.

Have confidence in yourself and try not to worry too much. Some tasks might be too tedious and some problems might be too overwhelming to overcome. Just keep in mind that everyone’s got their share of problems, and anything is possible with a little determination and perseverance.

Get some exercise is to take your mind off work and lift your mood. This also helps the body by changing its response to stress. Starting on an exercise program is not too difficult. A few minutes of exercise walking around everyday can improve health significantly.

Aside from exercise, getting enough sleep is a very important tool in fighting stress and depression. The body needs time to regenerate itself and if it does not have the chance to do so, it would very much affect the way it deals with stress.

Keep in touch with friends and relatives. Interacting with other people outside the working sphere in helps lift moods and builds social awareness. There are a lot of other people out there that are interesting to learn from and can help take your mind off your problems and stress at work.

Put more effort into organizing. A lot of problems can be avoided by writing down important dates and tasks. Create a schedule for doing chores, work, and rest so it is easy to get used to.

Eat healthy foods. The body should get the nourishment it needs to function in every day tasks. Stress and depression could arise from frustration of not being able to work due to sickness. People who are physically weaker are more vulnerable to more stress and depression.

Get rid of bad habits. Stress and depression can be made worse by excessive drinking, smoking, and lack of rest. Living a healthy lifestyle helps protect against the effects of stress and depression.

A great way to avoid stress and depression would be to help other people. Helping other people could bring contentment and happiness that could help fight the stress or depression from problems in life.

Stress and depression are not diseases, but rather conditions, and these can be avoided. There are a lot of things that people can do about it. It would be wise for a person to know what actions they could do to prevent being overcome by their problems at work and in life.

photo credit: huzzahvintage

It’s the in thing in freelancing today. You have a home office. You work at home. You work from your bedroom. You telecommute.

If you have a day job, and you have to rush to the office before 8 a.m., and you need to run through the crowds downtown in a suit or high heels, chances are you envy those folks who can earn as much as you can (or even more) while in their shorts or nighties at the comfort of their living room.

But the moment you experience telecommuting, then you start shedding the formal workwear. You can now work in your pajamas, and you can still get things done. For all your client cares, you’re probably in your underwear, making those business calls, coding, designing or writing.

You try to tell yourself it’s a good thing you can run your business without having to think of your appearance. Or can you?

Do clothes make the man?

Sometimes, clothes do make the man (or woman). Even if you’re running a business from home, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have to dress up. For some people, dressing up involves pysching oneself for doing work. Even better, dressing up can mean psyching oneself for success.

I mean, have you ever felt sleepy or lazy during your telecommute workday because you’re in your sleepwear? Have you felt shy talking to clients on the phone or via email because you haven’t showered yet?

Working in your pajamas doesn’t necessarily make you less professional. But in some cases, it might make you feel less professional. You’re doing real work, after all. Why not try looking and feeling nice for the job.

You don’t necessarily have to wear a coat and tie at home. But wouldn’t it be nice to start your workday by showering, dressing in smart casuals, and grabbing a quick breakfast (or lunch or dinner, depending on your work schedule) before starting your work routine? It might get you in a more productive mood. It might get you into a more aggressive selling mood. It might help you close deals.

That’s unless you’re Hugh Hefner, which I seriously doubt.

I worked with government for three years before starting a career in IT. My work then mostly involved managing meetings among officials of different agencies. And we technical staff regularly met among ourselves.

What can I say about meetings? Most of the time, they are utterly useless. In most cases, people bickered. People pointed fingers at who should be doing what. People were grandstanding with what they knew, and with what they wanted.

In short, most of the time we did not get to resolve anything. And if we ever did, we ended up too tired to properly record any agreements and resolutions for future action. It’s all talk, and no action.

Most big groups have a designated secretary or secretariat who would prepare meeting agenda, prepare schedules, arrange for the actual meeting, and prepare the record or minutes of the proceedings so nobody would forget what happened.

These days, I’m part of several organizations that hold regular meetings. Most of these still don’t get the essence of a meeting, and still use meetings as an excuse to spend useless time bickering over small things.

My idea of a productive meeting is one that lasts only 30 minutes, and one in which the parties involve actually get to act on something. Meetings should be kept short, simple and straight-to-the-point.

Each party involved should come on time, to avoid wasting the other peoples’ time and to prevent others from dilly-dallying. If you can’t come on time for a meeting, then you might as well re-schedule, or if the delay is really unavoidable (and reasonably short, anyway), then please call or text ahead.

Have an agenda, and stick to it. Meetings should have a purpose, and this should be in the agenda. It’s usually best to have only a few items, to make sure you get to focus on what really needs to be discussed or done.

Summarize the results of a meeting at the end, to make sure everyone understands the important points discussed.

Take notes and send it to everyone ASAP. To make sure no one forgets any agreements, instructions or further things to be discussed, a meeting’s minutes or notes should be sent to everyone involved as soon as possible.

Meetings can be productive, but only if used as a means to an end, rather than the end-all, be-all of an organization. Make each minute count. If you can avoid holding a meeting, and just start doing what needs to be done, then you save precious minutes (or hours) of your life doing things and being more productive.