Keeping Your Employees Happy

Running a company can be stressful stuff. You have to keep an eye on all facets of your business all of the time in order to ensure that everything is always running smoothly. One of the most important things you have to maintain is the happiness of your staff. As the saying goes, a company is only as good as its employees. Your workers are your company’s most valuable resource and so it is in your best interests to keep them content and motivated. It is not simply enough to dish out some raises and move on. You need to put effort into getting to know your employees and catering to their interests. If you see enthusiasm waning in the workplace the best thing to do is to sit down with your employees and find out what complaints they have and what ideas they have for making the work environment a nicer and more engaging place. In addition to this there are a number of things you can do that will almost certainly guarantee a boost in company morale.

Throw an Office Party

Everyone loves a party, and office parties really are a great way for workers to let their hair down. You can choose any excuse to throw a party, whether it’s Christmas, Easter, Australia Day or any other notable occasion you can think of. Holding a party in the office will allow your employees to view their workplace from a slightly different perspective and hopefully break any monotony they associate with it. It is also good for your staff to socialise with one another in non-work related circumstances. Even though you see you colleagues every day at work it’s usually during the downtime periods that you really get to know them.

Redesign the Office

You can hire an interior design company like Bellfort Services to either add a few fresh touches to your office or completely overhaul the look of it. No one wants to work in a drab and uninspiring environment, particularly if they’re spending the majority of every week there. By putting in a few sofas or adding some interesting lighting you can transform your workplace into a fun and vibrant and environment. Companies like Google and Facebook have offices full of unconventional designs, and an array of activities to help their workforce relax and unwind.

Take Your Company For a Day Out

Designate a period of time to take your staff out for a fun and activity-filled day out. If your staff is raring for high-speed thrills take them to a theme park. There is a wealth of amazing theme parks to choose from in the UK with places such as Thorpe Park and Legoland in close proximity to London. If you’re looking for something a bit more slow-paced you can take your company to a relaxing spa or a National Heritage site like Chatsworth House. A day out will provide a change of pace from the usual working day as well as encouraging team building and de-stressing your workforce.

Read more...

Visiting a Train Station

A train station can be an enjoyable place to visit, right? Usually, train stations in small cities like my husband’s hometown allow visitors to take pictures inside without buying tickets first.

The station head.

Saying goodbye to the blue train :)

 That morning, we drove a niece and her husband to the nearby train station. They had to go back home earlier as they had to work again in two days ahead. Our youngest nephew likes seeing train so we took him as well. I saw some blue touches at the train station!

Blue Monday

Read more...

A Cute Visitor

 She doesn't come every day, so I want to make her happy in every visit. After feeding her, we always play together :)

Camera Critters

Read more...

Tmart Wall Stickers Review

Sheets of sticker pieces

Last month (Aug 30, 2013) Tmart contacted and asked me if I’d like to review one chosen product and write my own opinion -according to my experience.  I accepted the offer and then Tmart sent the item as a gift for me. This online store offers worldwide tmart free shipping; I guessed before the package would reach my address in a month, but in fact, I received the package at Sept 17, 2013.  Sooner than I expected!  

Tmart gave me a set of cute wall sticker. The full product name is quite long : Tmart Colourful Flowers Tree Wall Stickers Decor Art Mural Decal Nursery Bedroom. I didn’t see any product guide or description inside the package and all six sheets look untidy folded up. It would be better if every sheet was well folded up and packaged.

 

Before

Based on the product description at the website, it mentioned that this wallpaper can stick easily on different surfaces including wall, glass, tiles and refrigerator. At first, I planned to place this wall sticker in my niece’s bedroom, but since I like to see this colorful wallpaper image and I still have a blank wall in our bedroom, why don’t I install it there?

I did all the jobs by myself. I’m not so creative so I imitated the image that I saw at Tmart.com. I like seeing their bright and wonderful colors: dark coffee for the tree and words; rose red, pink, orange, dark yellow and light yellow for creating colorful flowers. 

They can stick well on the wall but you need to press them against the wall –with your fingertips- and smooth out any bubble. Placing these stickers –one by one- is not a kind of job that you can do in a hurry. At least for me, it took my time and patience. 

It’s not easy to get a smooth and perfect result. I failed many times, especially when placing the bigger pieces. Fortunately the stickers weren’t easily torn, but because of my unskilled fingers, some spots on the wall have unsmooth looks. Anyway, when you decide to make any fix, you may use your finger nails to carefully remove a piece of sticker from the wall.

Though I didn’t do this project faultlessly, I love the final result. This wall art really looks great on our bedroom’s wall; it gives beautiful touch into the room at once.  I recommend this Tmart product to apply on smooth and flat surfaces. I share here some photos of the finished wall art. With their worldwide free shipping, you only pay $8.45 to buy this cute wall sticker.  Don’t you want to try?

Read more...

Best Anniversary Gifts for Women

  http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8524/8550838313_988bb45500.jpg

Congratulations on your anniversary! Nowadays, being happily married is a really rare phenomenon. Captured between the boring everyday routines and your career, it seems that you are one of the few people, who don't take their wives for granted and want to make this occasion really special. But what kind of gifts do women like? What is the best present, which will make her feel on the top of the world? How can you make this day unforgettable? Here are some of the best and most romantic gifts for women.

A trip back in time

          What are you celebrating on this day anyway? Your wedding anniversary? Your first kiss? Or perhaps this is the day when she first moved into your apartment? You can make a great gift by reminding her all these things. All you need to do is...remember. That is right – remember. Try to think of some little details around this day. For instance, if it was your first date and you were having dinner in some restaurant, take her out and spend a nice evening together. Another great idea is to try to improvise and re-create the exact same atmosphere at home – the same music, the same food and drinks. You can be sure that this will be the anniversary she will never forget. 

'Men love gadgets, women love... jewels!'

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3550/3435332482_89e8bc21b5.jpg

Earrings, bracelets, necklaces... Whatever you choose, she will love it. It is a classical solution, especially if you have forgotten to prepare yourself with something more individual. However, don't make the mistake to buy the first shiny thing you see. It is true that we love jewelries, but we are definitely not stupid. Try to pick up the one that will suit her the most. And because we know you have no idea what are we talking about, here is an example. If your wife has blue eyes, take her some nice, silver necklace with a blue stone. Oh, and don't forget to mention that when giving her the present. Something like 'Honey, because I love your deep, blue eyes, I bought you...'. She will appreciate it.

Shoes, shoes, shoes...

          Do you remember those gorgeous, dark brown boots she fell in love with last week? Well, here is a great idea for a gift. Men sometimes find it difficult to understand, but we love shoes. The more we have, the more we love them and the more we want. You don't need any further explanations on this suggestion, right?

Spa

          Spa procedures, cosmetic procedures or a massage. This is a fantastic idea to make her happy. All women need some time for themselves. Household chores, work, kids... All these things can take a lot of her energy and at the end of the day she feels exhausted and grumpy. Show her that you appreciate these efforts. Also, while she's enjoying her massages, you can light up some candles, prepare some tasty dinner and a chocolate pie (or order some, if you don't think you can deal with the alien called the stove :) ). Oh, and perhaps you should take care of the children. A one-day holiday in your parent's house would be nice, don't you think?

Author Bio: Jessica Conars is passionate freelance blogger and writer. She is keen on topics about family and love. She currently works at CleanToPerfection and she is really satisfied with that work because she has enough time to write on different topics.

Read more...