How to be Mentally Capable at Work

The benefits are good, the company is stable, the workload is challenging but not something you can’t handle, the people you are working with are professionals. There shouldn’t be a problem. Yet, you seem to be depressed than ever.

Work, as we all know and recognize can be redundant and stressful. Not only is it physically taxing but it can also affect our mental, physiological and emotional capabilities as well.

According to reviews, 70% of employees resign from work because it can be mentally draining. Employees do not recognize this. Pressures and stress from the task itself and the environmental factors may be pinpointed as the main culprit but if we delve deeper to the root cause of the real problem, it will lead us to the fact that our minds and mental health is incapable of handling the issues. Far from what people know, mental incapability at work can also be as fatal and can sometimes lead to insanity.

To live a better working experience and be able to prolong the days in your work, Westhill Consulting and Employment, one of the longest running career and personality development adviser, prepared these tips to be mentally capable and be able to digest the everyday scenario in your work:

1. Use Your Mental Energy for a Good Cause

Some people tend to stoop around and be concerned with everything that does not even matter. Don’t dwell on unimportant things like gossip, complaints or heresies and get yourself sidetracked by these distractions. Focus instead on circumstances and information which can boost your mind’s productivity.

2. Be Optimistic

Negative thoughts are far too deadly than we recognize. Mentally strong people never let these thoughts drag them down. Instead of agreeing with pessimistic predictions and criticisms, have a positive inner dialogue to drown those thoughts. It is best to talk to some people you trust and let it all out than dwell on it by yourself.

3. Tolerate Challenges

“Sometimes, the challenges that come can be too overwhelming but always remember that these challenges will not be thrown at you if you can’t handle it”, says Jared Trovenski, CEO of Turf Finances operating in Jakarta, Indonesia.

While other people try to avoid tough hindrances, try to face it head on. Mentally strong people tolerate discomfort and do not nurse their fears as long as it serves a better purpose.

4. Be a Little Narcissist

Although we cannot avoid comparing ourselves to others every now and then, this can grow as a bad habit. Because of all of these comparisons, we tend to get insecure. Instead of always thinking of beating your competitors, try to ask yourself, “Did I do well?”

How to Get Through a Job You Hate

Lucky for those people who find meaning and happiness in their jobs and here you are, stuck within the four corners of your office, trying to answer the question, “Why am I even here”.

Being irritated in your work can also affect your daily lives. Even external factors like being stuck in the midst of traffic in Jakarta, Indonesia, pushing your way through the busy streets of Tokyo, Japan or just strolling hurriedly to get home in the busy hours of New York can have great impact on the way you look at your work.

You can’t complain nor can you resign since you have to pay the bills, your child needs to be fed and you have to provide the basic necessities for your family. You promise to get out of there as soon as you can find a more suitable job but that promise keeps getting postponed with the growing demand of life.

So here you are, currently stuck in where you are, dealing with uninteresting job, sloppy colleagues and unfair boss who doesn’t know how to handle his subordinates. You are trying to find a good review on how to be happy at work but nothing seems to be fit for you. Already exasperated?

Westhill Consulting and Employment, your long-time Australian partner in career advices and personality development, might help you find a meaning for the work you are currently in:

1. Why?

There is definitely a reason why you are currently employed in where you are now. Maybe you have been there driven by the fact that perhaps you have to send your sister to college or help your family pay your debts? While you are struggling, you are also sacrificing your personal happiness in front of your demanding and boring job to help others. For the others who find happiness in their jobs, that happiness is already their reward but for you who are doing it for others, a greater reward is reaped.

2. Share your Positivity

Instead of sulking and feeling pitiful for yourself, make use of your time and be positive as much as possible. If you can’t do it, then, do it for others. Treat your colleagues to a lunch out or share a cookie to your seatmate. Their appreciation can create a sense of fulfillment within you. Little kindness virtues, creativity, honesty, social attitude and gratitude never go unnoticed.

3. The Present is a Gift

Try to remember the tough tracks you have been in the past and the sufferings you have been through to get to where you are now. Reflect on the accomplishments you have so far despite of all the hard work and the stress you have been from yesterday. Now, imagine the future you want to achieve, far from the career life you are despising right now. Count the few more steps you will be taking before finally achieving it. By reflecting and connecting things from the past and the future, you can make the present be bearable enough to endure.

How to Get Away From Procrastination

Procrastination is one of the worst attitudes in a workplace, yet, it is also a master for many of us. Admittedly so, we experience procrastination every now and then in our lives. Since a task has no deadline, nor do we have any timetable, we tend to procrastinate. We may be able to get away with it once or twice but it can cause a lot of problems if it becomes a habit.

Beating procrastination habits is hard. According to Westhill Consulting and Employment, one of the longest running career development and personality growth councilor based in Australia, almost 80% of employees suffer from procrastination habits. In many reviews, experts are already considering it as an underlying psychological disorder.

To defeat this kind of attitude, the following are some of the tips that can be practiced:

1.            Stop cramming

Learn the art of pro-commitment. Some people works better under the pressure of cramming but most of them fail to present a best result. In college, we are oftentimes awed at our ability to pull something out of an all-nighter. It would be a positive way to put it but in truth, we just don’t have any way out so we push ourselves to the limit despite sacrificing quality. Thinking of the end result other than the remaining time left would keep you on your feet.

2.            Divide your Task and Set a Timetable

Just like setting a timetable on the amount of time you should be showering, being conscious of duration of traffic (especially when you are in Jakarta, Indonesia and Tokyo, Japan) or keeping track of the number of steps you will be taking before you reach your office, Being detailed on what you have to do on what time would definitely help you keep track of your task. When you can’t get away from cramming, setting a timetable can start fire from under your seat. Without knowing it, you are no longer procrastinating and have finished your task before the deadline.

3.            Find Someone who can Inspire You

And this does not refer only in the romantic context. You can hang out with people who you think can better influence you to work better or find someone who can challenge you to be at your limits. If you think peers are not important now that you are working, think again. What surrounds you can also affect your mindset in a big way. When you are with people who can have a lot of complaints, you also tend to voice out yours. But when you are with people who think smart, you also tend to be smart.

Enough is enough: Reasons to Give Up on Your Work

In a relationship, there are martyrs, the ones who still stick even when they are already hurt or in pain. There are also playboys and playgirl, the ones who jump from one partner to another. Same happens in your work and depending on your personality; you can either be a martyr or a playboy.

According to previous articles written by Westhill Career and Employment, an Australian-based company centered on career development and professional etiquette, an average person is expected to change careers several time their lifetime. As pointed by a study conducted in Jakarta, Indonesia, 20-40 years old employees tend to jump from one job to another at least 5 times. One of the main reasons for the career change is that people often don’t make informed decisions or may want to expand their horizons.

Reviews on how to find a career right for you or on how to stay in your job are frequent. This information is crucial in each individual’s growth. Making informed decision can certainly increase the likelihood that you can be satisfied with your job and ensure your tenure.

Changing a career may be tough for so many people since they don’t have that much reason to give up. But how will you know if you already have to leave?

Here are some of the main pointers to know if you have already reached rock bottom in your career:

1. There is a big Change in your Life

When you chose your career, your life may have been different than it is today. Unless you were able to balance all those things, then, it would be harder to cope. Your husband may be complaining right now or you might have lost time for your children anymore. The crazy schedule or the frequent travel that is typical of your career may not suit your new lifestyle. You should look for an occupation that is more "family friendly."

2. Your Job Outlook may seem dim

Due to the fast pace changes in technology, the fluctuation in economy, or the uncertainties of the industry, many field of career are already plummeting. When the future of your career is already getting dim and the research doesn’t promise any certainty or shows worse other than being better, then, it may be best to leave.

3. You are experiencing Job Burn Out

If your task is already too hard on you or you don’t find any reason to wake up every morning and greet your colleagues anymore, then, you are very well experiencing a burnout. It's time to change careers so you can once again enjoy going to work.

You Will Never Be Too Old To Find a Job

With thousands of eager young minds who graduate from college every year, available jobs are getting more and more occupied and competition gets fiercer. 

Many young people argue that they cannot find a job because employers need individuals with experience. On the other hand, old people aged 45 and up who still have a decade or so years before retiring say that they are too old to get a job. Now, isn’t it both ironic?

In Asia, South Korea is reported to have the highest number of unemployed old people with meager or even without any income despite the growth of the country. In Jakarta, Indonesia, on the other hand which remains to be the largest archipelago and the fourth most populous country in the world, has been reviewed to be a home of middle-aged job seekers. 

In an earlier review by The Westhill Consulting and Employment, it was stated that age discrimination is currently an open phenomenon in every company especially to aging people who remain to be on the rank-and-file position. How do you get pass this though? When it comes the time of being old, how can you then be able to out-compete those who are younger and fresher than you? How can you be of a warning to other young people behind you who will eventually grow gray hairs in their own right?

1. Your Experience is your Ace

Many older job seekers have rich personal experiences that would make them qualified to succeed at jobs. But often, this knowledge does not translate into the more formal work experiences employers are seeking. Enrolling in a certification program or seeking college credit for such experience can develop the third-party credentials that would lead to a job. 

2. Create your Brand

Aggressive personal promotion has become a standard employment technique. Yet many older people are uncomfortable tooting their own horn, and may not know how to use the social media tools that can be megaphones for job seekers. It’s time to get away with tradition and live to the demands of today for you to really compete. Experience plus the knowledge of new things are both an advantage.

3. Upgrade your Knowledge

Today's workplace can be daunting, particularly for someone who's been out of the workforce for only a few years. Specific job skills, particularly involving computers, may need to be relearned. Job-search and interviewing techniques have also been transformed by the Internet, and the explosion of social media sites. Having a "go-to" point person to coordinate job placement services has proven helpful.

Leader vs Boss

Hear people saying that a leader can always be a boss but not every boss can be a leader? Although leaders and bosses have nearly identical definitions, in effect, they are different in today’s competitive world.

Westhill Consulting and Employment, differentiates the two. 

Just the term “leader” evokes more positivity than that of “boss.” 

While a boss is mostly concerned with outcomes, a leader is concerned with the overall process and the people who work for the outcome. A study conducted in Jakarta, Indonesia even showed that many people prefer a good leader than a good boss but on a different study, when people dream of getting more advances in the future, what they visualize is having a characteristic of a boss. 

1. Leaders lead rather than rule.

We all know that we prefer someone who does an example first rather than someone who just demands and boss around. Of course, we can expect some complaints when our leader invokes rules and don’t follow it. We like it more if our leader experiences what we do since we are more likely to follow when he can relate to us. 

2.  Leaders listen and speak rather than command.

Bosses tend to give orders; they need their employees to listen and to obey. However, leaders always listen to the opinions of their colleagues and regard them as important.

Leaders are always ready for advising, discussion and any feedback an employee has to offer. This reciprocity makes any individual employee feel stronger and gives him or her confidence to follow the leader.

3. Leaders motivate

While working on projects, people have their ups and downs. Through this roller coaster, bosses are more likely to intimidate into action while leaders will motivate to action. Those who demand and demand are the ones who are annoying and irritating. 

One of the best things about leaders is that they offer empathy and prepare a group for the tasks at hand. This is very important, seeing as whenever colleagues are not prepared for certain duties, leaders are there to support, teach and back them up. Leaders know that each employee is on the team for a reason and they have faith in every concerted effort.

4. Leaders learn and teach

A true leader is someone who stays humble and admits that they have more to learn. Reviewing mistakes and correcting them so as not to repeat them is a true leader’s strength.

This explains the tendency of leaders to always pay attention to their colleagues, knowing there is always more to learn from them. Moreover, leaders are not only takers, but givers, as well. A good leader is not greedy for sharing knowledge and experience with someone else; instead, the leader teaches and nurtures new professionals.

Why a Career Plan Can Fail

Some of us are already oriented what we would be in the future. I, for one, had been planning my career path ever since I was young.  When the time came for me to enter college, there are so many choices. When I graduated, greater challenge showed itself when I can’t seem to find the right field to enter and the once simple and clear career plan seemed too far-fetched.

Nevertheless, a lot of us still set something to have a goal for ourselves. Having a career plan permits us to become clear in what path we want to take.

According to Westhill Consulting and Employment recent surveys, a lot of employees who had planned a career path when young are not able to reach it. They have been swayed by so many factors and priorities change. 

Same goes for young minds who think they have a clear path, straight with the end line ahead of them. However, change, development and need are always changing. There may be other paths which are more enticing than the straight one. To those who followed their paths and continued without wavering, they sometimes find the end of the line less satisfying than it should be. When you have reached the end, what then? Where do you go next?

A review with some top entrepreneurs in Jakarta, Indonesia says that the real world may not be the one we really thought it would be. What we are taught may no longer be there anymore. While setting your career, you should also see the world in the next five or ten years and base your decision through that. 

Well, before you complain of destroying your dreams, let’s deal with the exceptions first.  If you want to work in a field that is fairly predictable — say nursing or teaching—then plan away.  The courses you need to take to gain an entry position are well known and so is the career path and the things you need to do to advance. So, simply figure out where you actually want to be in five years, and work backwards, just like all the career planning manuals tell you. 

Your process may also look like this:

1. Determine your desire

2. Take a step toward it

3. Incorporate what you learn from taking that step

4. Take another step

5. Learn from that one

6. Repeat until you have a job, your own business, or have achieved your goal

Seen this way, career planning may not be the right terms. Instead, it’s taking control of the future.