3 Signs You Need Alone Time at Work - The Muse

3 Signs You Need Alone Time at Work - The Muse3 Signs You Need Alone Time at WorkAccording to my Myers-Briggs test, Im an extrovert. Yes, I like being around people, yes I crave attention, and yes, I do get most of my productive energy from others.But I also like being alone. In fact, Im most comfortable when Im by myself. And when Im overwhelmed at work, Id rather take a walk around the block solo instead of bestattungsbing a coffee and venting.Does this sound like you? Youre notlagelage crazy, you just know what does and doesnt work for you. Here are three big signs that you need some me time- no matter how social you normally are1. Youre Snapping at OthersDid you just snap at a co-worker for playing music too loudly at her desk? Or maybe you gave a harsh critique to a colleague who keeps making the same mistake on her weekly reports.You already know this- but when youre overly grouchy with people for minor mistakes, it probably means you need to take a break. A literal one.Wheneve r possible, Id suggest physically walking away and not returning until youre feeling more level-headed. If theres still an issue that needs to be resolved (like those report mistakes), apologize first for your sudden outburst and then address it. And if you did snap at someone for no reason, youre also going to want to make amends quickly.2. Youre Struggling to Come Up With Good IdeasWhen youre this close to your next big idea, distractions the last thing you need. And even if its not intentional, your peers are a distraction. Their casual banter next to your desk, their pleas to join them for a coffee run, their quick questions- these are all great when you have the time, but when youre mulling over something important or urgent theyll only delay the process. For example, when I have to brainstorm an article for the vague future, sure, I have time to sit down with my colleagues and hash out ideas. But when my piece is due the next day, I log out of Slack, throw on headphones, grab a seat on the couch, and write- sometimes for several hours alone. Its not anti-social- its me doing what needs to get done to do my best possible work.3. Youre One More Problem Away From Crying at Your DeskJust as your co-workers can be great stress-relievers- forcing you to take breaks when youve been burning energy for hours or listening to you vent about your problems- they can also, unfortunately, add to your stress. We experience this all the time. When were going through our own stuff, someone comes along and throws their issues onto our pile- and while we want to help, we can barely keep ourselves up.I dont recommend becoming a hermit every time youre feeling anxious, but if youre someone whos used to latching onto groups when times get tough, you may need to rethink your strategy. Learning how to work through your stresses on your own is not only empowering, its meditative- it forces you to look inward and accept your emotions as is, rather than have to make excuses for the m. Extroverts need alone time just as much as the next person. We weigh ourselves down with stigmas that if were not with people, were not being ourselves, and thats just not true. More importantly, everyone should learn how to thrive on their own- because if we can do this much solo, think about how much we could accomplish together.Photo of person working alone courtesy of Yuri_Arcurs/Getty Images.

How to Announce That a New Employee Has Joined the Team

How to Announce That a New Employee Has Joined the TeamHow to Announce That a New Employee Has Joined the TeamDo you need a new employee announcement to use as a guide while you develop your own announcements? These sample announcement emails introduce the new employee to her new coworkers. They provide an opportunity for you to tell the current employees about the new employee and to share her skills and experience. They also allow you to shape your employees understanding of what the new employee brings to the team. You can share the new employees background, work experience, education, and skills. This builds positive expectations from the new coworkers. The information gives the new employee credibility as she walks in the door. This is an important foundation for you to lay as you want to shape your employees perceptions and expectations that the new employee deserves their support from the beginning. This is the kind of workplace tradition you need to welcome your new employees in your workplace. Its one of your first steps to ensure that you retain your excellent employees. Finally, the new employee introduction gives you the opportunity to explain the new employees job, location, and start date. It alerts your employees to look for a new employee to greet and welcome. A positive new employee introduction letter also shares several points of interest about the new employee. This opens up the door to her new coworkers finding commonality and shared interests with the new employee. Send this type of employee introduction via email to your all-staff mailing list. Everyone will anticipate welcoming the new employee to the team. At TechSmith Corporation, these emails all have a subject line, Plus One. All employees know that these emails are introducing a new employee. Its a tradition worth establishing in your organization, too. New Employee Introduction Email Example 1 (Text Version) Dear StaffToday is a great plus one nachrichtensendung day. Marie St. Clai r is joining our team on May 1. Marie will work as a documentation specialist in the customer engagement department in Building 407 in the documentation center. So, if you see a new face on May 1, let Marie know that you are excited about her joining our team.To start, Marie is assigned to the widget team, so if you work on or with the widget team, do look for an opportunity to greet Marie. You can also join us for lunch on one of Maries first days if you let me know when you are available. A small group will be taking her out to lunch on May 1 and 2.Marie has worked at two other technology companies over the past ten years, so she brings a wealth of knowledge about product documentation. In fact, if you have used software by Adobe, you may have read Maries books.Maries Bachelors degree is from Michigan State University where she majored in educational technology with a minor in communications. Since several of her new colleagues share this degree, you will have a lot in common.Mari e has a passion for writing fiction in her spare time and volunteers with organizations that work with at-risk children. She looks forward to volunteering in her new community and will be looking for recommendations about everything from painters to good places to eat.A reception is scheduled for May 1 in the Building 407 conference room to welcome Marie and two other new employees who are starting that week. Please join us at 4 p.m. for gelato, punch, and iced tea. RSVP to Mark Guiliani at ext. 4356.I appreciate you joining me in providing a thermisch welcome for Marie.With excitement,Name of Department Manager/Boss ExpandNew Employee Introduction Email Example 2 (Text Version) All Staff AnnouncementIm happy to let you know that Shania Herzog has accepted our job offer and will join the team as a quality assurance supervisor on November 1. We are convinced that she will add another layer of success to our quality efforts.Shania has worked in quality assurance since graduating from college with increasing responsibility and authority in each of her roles. We are lucky that she has decided to join our team. Her experience has been in two companies that serve a different industry than we serve. But, Shania should have no difficulty making the transition to a new industry as she has done so twice in the past.Shanias degree is in computer science from the University of Chicago. She is experienced in both Agile and Scrum methodology. Additionally, Shania is a Certified Software Tester (CSTE).In her spare time, Shania is a mom who loves cooking and trying out new recipes. She is also a big fan of traveling the world, both near and far, looking for new experiences.Shania will join the team in the quality assurance office on the manufacturing floor. They will host an open house to welcome her on November 2 at 330 p.m. All employees are invited to stop by as appetizers, treats, and beer, wine, and iced tea will be served.The signup list for people who plan to attend is on the company wiki so that we know how much food to order. Heres the link.Martin DoyleDirector of Quality Assurance ExpandDid you enjoy this article? Youll want to sign up for the free HR newsletter now because you want to read all of the new articles as soon as they are available. More Sample New Employee Announcements New Employee Welcome With Job Description for CoworkersEmployee Announcement SimpleEmailed Employee Announcement With Background and Experience

How to Come Back From Vacation and Not Want to Die - The Muse

How to Come Back From Vacation and Not Want to Die - The MuseHow to Come Back From Vacation and Not Want to Die Ive just come back from a month in Portland, Oregon, and let me tell you, leaving the 80-degree heat, clear blue skies, friendly smiles, delicious food, and big welcomes and coming home to the beautiful laughable English weather, crappy service, bad attitudes, and indifferent shrugs has been quite the challenge.You may be just about to go away (you lucky thing), or you may be about to return home. Either way, if you want to come back from vacation to real life without wanting to throw yourself under a bus, here are some ideas.Clean Before You GoYou know how you step back through your geschftszimmer door after vacation and the place looks a little weird? You think, Geez, is this what it really looks like? That sense of seeing your place with fresh eyes becomes a pretty horrible experience when you come back to find it in a real mess. Piles of folders, mail spilling out of yo ur inbox, last weeks four used coffee cups, and who knows what in that bowl you forgot to wash.I think better in a clean space, so coming home to organization rather than chaos helps my thinking right from the start. Giving your workspace a once-over before you leave makes sure you can ease into a pleasant environment when you return.Remember Resistance is FutileThe worst thing you can do is to resist your circumstances when you return home. Im not suggesting that you pretend everythings peachy and perfect, but flapping your wings against the bars of an imaginary cage isnt going to get you far. The only cage is the one you perceive in your head, and resisting, struggling, and fighting against where you are is only going to make you feel worse and make that feel more real. In fact, its only by engaging with your environment that you get to enjoy it. So when you find yourself resisting work, meetings, or even heading to the office in the morning, make a conscious choice to throw yours elf back in the game.Find the FunWork, bills, squabbles, pressure, and routine. None of that sounds like a heap of fun, does it? Theres sometimes the sense that when you get home from vacation, the fun ends and you have to buckle back down to life and work. But to hell with that.Take a new class, get involved in a new project, make a new friend, head to a new spot on the weekend, laugh with your colleagues. Go where the fun is. It might even be better than your vacation.Keep in TouchWhen you visit friends on vacation, everyone says that theyll have to keep in touch and that they have to do it more often, but then life gets in the way and that absicht fizzles out. But if youve been visiting with friends and had a ball, it doesnt take a lot of effort to stay in touch. Before you leave, get a Skype call on the calendar for every couple of months to catch up, laugh, and swap stories. Itll keep that sense of energy going.Change Things UpRoutine is familiar, safe, and comforting, but its also dull as dishwater sometimes. There might once have been good reason why you do things a certain way (the route you take to work, where you get lunch, who you talk with in the office, even how you get ready in the mornings), but thats no reason why they have to stay that way.So how can you change things up? Maybe take a new route to work, listen to an audiobook instead of the radio, set your alarm 15 minutes earlier to stretch or meditate, go talk with a colleague instead of emailing, or look for a new way to manage your to-do list. Changing things up is how you keep things fresh.Chuck it OutIve emptied two chests of drawers, cleared out my desk, and binned most of the contents of my spare room since I got back home. All that stuff thats accumulated over the last 15 years that I thought might come in handy one day? Gone.Theres something liberating about chucking out old stuff that youll never need (and feel free to donate the good stuff or make a few extra bucks from eBay). It n ot only clears physical space that makes it easier to move and breathe, but getting rid of old baggage can free you up emotionally, too.Remember How You WereYou felt pretty good on vacation, right? At ease. Free. Like you could just be you. Perhaps you felt like things were flowing, like you were slap-bang in the middle of a moment, and that was all you needed. Maybe you felt like the person youd love to be more often- peaceful, buzzing, or alive.How you are on vacation is typically how you are when youre at your best. You let go of all the stuff that doesnt matter and just are. The good news is, you can do that whenever and wherever- it just takes a little letting go.Try it this week at work. You might be surprised.