Improve Your Workplace Mood with 10 Basic Tips

Improve Your Workplace Mood with 10 Basic TipsCheer up isnt feedback most of us typically get in our annual reviews, but studies show bringing a positive attitude into the office with you can improve relationships and productivity and make-up for the less exciting aspects of the daily grind.Try these 10 simple steps from The Undercover Recruiter to boost your mood and help you bring your A game every day1. Eat HealthierIve never honigwein a vending machine I didnt like, but I know that empty calories and sugary snacks during that 2 p.m. lull are not my friends I started outsmarting temptation by bringing small baggies of almonds, trail mix, or granola bars to cut down on snacking, and using what I saved in the break room to treat myself to salads or fresh food options at lunchtime.2. Get Some ExerciseSome companies are able to offer discounted gym memberships or other workplace incentives to employees who take the time to workout and enjoy those exercise endorphins. Whether its a wal k at lunch, a shift at a standing desk, or an early morning spin class, give your mind and body the energy they need by getting whatever exercise you can3. Get More SleepI have to trick myself into this one by hiding my phone out of reach when I go to bed otherwise I keep refreshing social media or checking my email despite the fact that literally nothing is going to happen that will need my attention before the morning. Make your bedroom a quiet, welcoming, dark space, and reserve sleeping hours for sleep.4. Give FeedbackIf youre dissatisfied with something at work, the best way to get some changes made is to speak up about itproductively, of course, so youre not just complaining. Talk to your boss or your colleagues if you have suggestions to improve your work environment you might be surprised what a difference you can make by communicating what you need.5. Show GratitudeWhether youre higher up in the food chain or anchoring the entry-level spot, take a minute each day to express gratitude to someone who makes your job easier, someone whose contribution you appreciate, or someone who often goes unrecognized. Keeping a journal at home or on your phone can help you document moments that made it all worthwhile, so you have something to look back at on a badeanstalt day.6. ReflectAnother task that journal is great for is looking back over the day or week youve just had. Where were you successful? Where do you have room to improve? When you take the time to review your performance thoughtfully, youll move through the workday with more awareness, which can lead to increased satisfaction and better work overall.7. MeditateWhether you take a little time to close your eyes and take a few deep breaths every hour or actually devote 20minutes of your lunch hour to a more formal practice, meditation is proven to increase calm, focus, and empathy levels. Dont get caught up in a stressful daystep back and recenter yourself.8. Get to Know Your ColleaguesIf youre an introve rt like me, this might sound dreadful. At the end of a long day, often the last thing I want to do is troop down to happy hour with the people Ive already spent all day with. But whether you strike up a conversation at Patricks birthday party (a.k.a. awkward cake in the conference room hour) or invite your counterpart from another department to eat lunch outside with you, find interpersonal connections at work to help you look forward to each day in the office.9. Help OthersSpending even 10-15 minutes helping someone else out can reliably make you feel better about yourself and your job. Just as beneficial, it may make them more willing to help you out in return someday youre building social capital and improving your day at the same time.10. Take a Mental Health DayWe live in a work culture that values constant accessibility, putting in extra hours, and pushing ourselves forward incessantly. If youre lucky enough to have paid sick leave, treat yourself to a day where you dont think about work at all. It will all be waiting for you the next morning after a day away to refresh yourself, youll already be happier on the job.10 Simple Steps to Being Happy at WorkRead More at theundercoverrecruiter.com

This Psychological Theory Explains Why a Breakup Is Destroying Your Sense of Self

This Psychological Theory Explains Why a Breakup Is Destroying Your Sense of Self Breakups can feel debilitating theyre mentally taxing, heart-rending, enervating experiences that can induce intrusive thoughts, depression, loneliness and even a loss of sense of self, all of which can manifest physically (read insomnia, weight gain, hair loss and even reduced immune function).In a word, breakups are brutal. And they take time often, a lot of time to move on from. This is especially true when you feel like youve gelbkreuzgas yourself in the breakup, as though you dont know who you are without your ex-partner. Because, after all, you may have felt like your ex-partner or, rather, your other half had completed you. You experienced self-expansion with this person.Self-expansion theory, a wealth of researchers suggest, is perhaps exactly why some breakups seem to suck so much. Self-expansion theory is based on two key principlesWe, as humans, have a primary motivation to self expand in life.We can achieve self-expansion through close relationships with others that allow those others to be part of ourselves.Relationships are exciting because, when were in them, we learn a lot much of which is about our own selves. We take on new challenges, we try out new hobbies and we experience a whole lot of newness that helps us to find and define ourselves. It feels a lot like we expand our sense of self and, sometimes, like we can finally be our true selves because our partners tend to bring out the best in us.This isnt about minimizing your own tastes and hobbies, and it certainly is not an argument in favor of taking on your partners identity and casting aside your own, writes Melissa Dahl for The Cut. (It is probably still a good idea to, for example, know what kind of eggs youlike.) Rather, its about that notion of self-expansion, of introducing new perspectives and experiences into your life. It makes life meaningful, yes. But it can also make life more fun.In fact, in 1993, Arthur Aron, a professor of psychology at Stony Brook University, published a study that suggests that couples who spend more time together doing new and exciting activities are more satisfied with their relationships. In 2000, Aron and his colleagues duplicated a similar study and found the same telling results couples who try new things with one another are simply happier. This is largely because they feel as though theyve grown together.Of course, you can try new things on your own to expand your sense of self in other ways but few ways are as reliable as a romantic relationship.There are, of course, many things that promote that feeling of growth, Dahl goes on. As you get older, you encounter countless identities that you could bundle into your own You could become a runner, a painter, a writer, a vegetarian, a spouse, a parent. But, according to the psychological literature, one of the fruchtwein reliable ways to achieve self-expansion is by beginning a new romantic re lationship (or investing energy into a long-term one, so that it feels like new).And this is why breakups can be so physiologically devastating. A breakup is not only a split with a partner, but it also halts the self-expansion wed experienced in that relationship.Research suggests that, when on the brink of a breakup, our self-concepts diminish.We hypothesized that the more expansion provided by a relationship predissolution, the greater the contraction of the working self-concept postdissolution, and that this pattern would remain when controlling for predissolution closeness, researcher Gary Lewandowski writes in his study, Losing a Self-Expanding Relationship Implications for the Self-Concept, confirming that his three findings over three studies supported both hypotheses. Those with higher levels of self-expansion in predissolution relationships showed more detrimental impact on their working self-concept postdissolution, even after controlling for predissolution closeness.So w hat can you do to move on from heartbreak?Focus on restoring your self-concept, either by doing the things you loved and lost sight of during your relationship or by trying out brand-new hobbies, Dahl writes. This is common-sense breakup advice, but typically its a tactic meant to distract yourself from your heartbreak. And it will probably do that, and that can help. But when you drag your brokenhearted self to the guitar lessons (or whatever) that youve secretly always wanted to take, youre also rebuilding the you you just lost.In short Get out there and find yourself again. It may sound like clich advice, but its clich for a reason.--AnnaMarie Houlis is a feminist, a freelance journalist and an adventure aficionado with an affinity for impulsive solo travel. She spends her days writing about womens empowerment from around the world. You can follow her work on her blog, HerReport.org, and follow her journeys on Instagram her_report,Twitterherreport and Facebook.