Just yesterday, a few friends of mine got to talking about working from home. Some companies have started to open up to the idea of letting people work from home. For companies this can actually be a good thing. They save up on overhead. They save up on space. But there can be dangers.

Distractions. I’ve tried the whole work from home thing. And while you can contemplate on hacking away at work comfortable in your pajamas, home can provide a whole lot of distractions that you don’t have at work. The TV. The chores. The pet. The kids. The oh-so-inviting bed.

Discipline. That means that working from home entails discipline. It’s just too easy to get caught in doing other stuff at home. You might even have to set up a home office and establish a routine just to make sure that you get on top of work.

Cost of overhead. One factor that people might overlook is the cost of overhead. At home, you might also carry the expense of just being there – electricity, cooling/heating, communications… At the office, these are all provided for. Sure, you might save on transportation but there are other costs to consider.

Monitoring and control can be a challenge. While there are plenty of online collaboration tools available (project management, document sharing, conferencing…) there is just no substitute to physical proximity. For managers, monitoring people can be a challenge.

One of the many ills of smaller companies is the aversion to guidelines. Sure, there can be a level of informality in a flat organization but that shouldn’t be equated to a disregard for process. And for many startups, this can spell disaster. Not being able to see where the team is according to the goals is a bad thing. SMART goals need to be measurable. But many fail to actually devise ways to measure their goals. Hence, it is critical to develop metrics.

Quantify.  An easy way to measure is by using numbers. Try to measure in terms of  the answer to questions such as how many, how much and how long? Say you’re plotting out a business plan and working at your return of investment. A goal such as $10,000 monthly profit by the 18th month from start is a measurable goal. You can check your cash flow on a monthly basis to see your progress.  Plenty of the things that you need to factor in can be quantified. Try assigning a dollar and time value.

Qualify. Some aspects are hard to place a number value on so for those things, try to qualify. For example, you need to have great staff for a store you’re running. Think of traits that your staff needs to have. Friendliness for example. You can’t simply rate these intangibles. Try breaking it down to more describable levels such as smiling and use of polite language. These things you can even count in terms of always, sometimes, and never.

Assign weight. Weight is critical to understand where value lies. If you feel that some aspects are more important than others, then place a higher value on them. More insignificant issues can be relegated and assigned lesser values.

Be objective. Finally, if your evaluating and assigning values, be objective as possible. Don’t try to pad the numbers to make things look better. Metrics should lead you to honest and truthful results.

With competition in workplaces really high these days and layoffs always a possibility, it should be your own responsibility to make sure that you’d be the one staying on when the company decides to trim the fat off the organization. Here are some ideas on how to be indispensable at work.

Be the best at what you do. No one likes to let go of their best player. There’s a reason why sports superstars are considered franchise players. If they leave, it’s because they want to. Make sure that you are the company’s go to guy. Don’t just simply be the best in your  company as well. Be the best that you can be.

Diversify skills. Try to be multidimensional as a worker too. You need not confine yourself to the borders of your job. Try to learn the other skills needed in the other functions inside the company. In the very least, this should give you a better idea of how to do your job well. In case of massive layoffs, companies will look to those staying to take on other responsibilities.

Make sure you bosses know that. Being the best at what you do can be a comfort but make sure your higher ups know that. They’re the ones who will be making recommendations on who to cut and who to stay.

Be likable. The trade-off with being the best is that people will perceive you as the competition. Even your bosses at times. So make sure you get on their good side. Be friendly so that you minimize the possible impact of politics. Stay humble. Even if you’re the best, no one likes a show-off. Project a positive image of yourself.

Thanks to a history of unions and labor laws, companies today provide at least a week of vacation time a year. However, if you’re like most stressed out people, you’d probably want just a bit more downtime to recharge and relax. Here’s how to ask your company for more.

Timing is key. You wouldn’t want to ask for it after a poor performing year for the company or if you messed up. The best time to ask for it would be after a winning year for the company, after a solid performance review or after a key accomplishment on your part.

Set a meeting with your manager. Most forward-thinking managers are open to rewarding their better performing employees. An additional week of vacation isn’t too much to ask if you’ve put up uncharged overtime hours to work on a successful item for your project or key assignment (and your manager’s aware of it). Use the list of excellent reasons to persuade your manager why you deserve the extra time off.

Keep in mind that this may be a trade off. Since this is basically negotiation, you might have to enter the discussion with some form of ante. Be prepared to give up some other incentive (a bonus or even a raise) to get extra time off since all incentives cost your company money. So make sure you know what you’d rather have.

Cite what’s in it for your company. Since persuasion often calls for citing what’s in it for the other party, cite  what further benefits can you give to the company after an extended time off.

Just because not all of us are runway models does not mean we can’t express our selves through the clothes that we wear. Men and women can still strive to look and feel good regardless of profession. However, there are certain limitations that one should consider before she can reach for her favorite pumps. Here are some office wear dos and don’ts to think about before you rummage through your closet.

Do follow company policy regarding office wear. If you are unsure if you have such policy, raise this concern to your supervisor to avoid being reprimanded for something simple and unrelated to your actual job. Usually, company policy on office wear is a more detailed explanation on what is the commonly accepted notion on decency and decorum. Ensure that your clothes do not cross the line from fitting to inappropriate.

Make sure that your clothes and accesories do not interfere with all of your tasks. If your job requires a lot of walking like doctors and nurses on hospital shifts, maybe you should think twice on reaching for your stilletos and opt for your best pair of sneakers instead. Also, avoid wearing anything that can distract your colleagues. Wearing a large headpiece can be really distracting to everyone especially at a typical desk job setting.

Office uniforms should not hinder you from expressing your individuality. Wear an accessory that can accentuate your best features or the vibe that you want to convey for the whole day. A nice beaded necklace or a pair of fancy eye glasses can still make you feel unique despite the common basic wardrobe. However, resist the urge to go all out and wear all your fashionable clothes and jewelry in just one day. Too much bling in your wardrobe will cause raised eyebrows and secret snickering behind your back. Just concentrate on one fancy detail at a time.

One of the time traps at work is emails. People spend so much time checking emails that it is recognized as one of the top interruptions and distractions at work. Precious focus and schedules have been thrown off by this nasty habit of constantly checking emails.

People have now gotten to believe that if they fail to check their email on a per-minute basis, they can miss out on something important. Sure, important emails might be sent to you through the course of the workday but you need not spend every minute of every work hour spying on your inbox.

A way to manage emails is to set aside periods where you check and reply to urgent emails. One trick that I do is I spread my email work into four 10-minute sessions in my workday.

It’s the first thing I sit down on my computer, then I check again just before my first coffee break in the morning. I check it again after lunch and finally just after my last break in the afternoon. This allows me to respond to critical emails without losing my grove for the rest of the work day.

Also, try to avoid using it like an IM or a text chat. You have technologies for those. If you need to urgently resolve matters, try making a phone call instead so that you can have instantaneous feedback.

Organize your inbox. One of the things I love about Gmail is its labeling and filtering features. This way, I can set a filter for every email that I usually receive. This allows me to immediately know the nature of the emails I receive. After I resolve an email, I automatically archive it properly labelled. This way, my inbox is clutter free.

Have you ever observed how you work? You get paid for 8 hours in a typical workday but do you actually work for all of those 8? Straight? I don’t think so. There’s just too many things that can distract you when you decide to be in the zone even for a couple of hours.

Even management manuals peg the actual available productive time at 70% of a workday, at best, thanks to the usual office interruptions (wee breaks, administrative tasks, phone calls, etc..). That’s not even factoring in outright slacking off.

Still, even if you’ve tried working for all of those hours straight, you might notice that you feel burnt out by the end of it. It’s because you’re both using your physical and focus wills to continue working.

Work is typically done in intervals so why not try working in bursts, say 30 to 1 hour stretches. You can take a five- to ten-minute breather. This can also help you avoid getting eye-strain and other work-related repetitive stress injuries.

Some may scoff at this technique since those “breather” minutes add up to a good hour of “wasted” time in the workday. Sure, people may still get paid by the hour but in today’s workplace, it’s your output that really counts.

Spending short bursts concentrated on work will eventually add up to the delivery.

Too tired at work? Already stressed and it’s not even lunchtime? With the type of fast-paced work environments that we have today, it’s quite common for workers to burn out and burn out real quick on a daily basis. Try these tips for dealing with workplace stress.

Take small breaks through out the day. This can help clear your head and alleviate the tension. Even short trips to the watercooler for a drink can take your mind off the work tension that haunts you all day. You can also do some mini-exercise and stretching like walking around for small errands and lower back stretching on your seat.

Plan and pace your workload to help your workday go hassle free and without glitches. If you are a morning person, do all the heavy workload in the morning and do easier work in the afternoon. Save all your individual tasks on the time when you are left behind the office or you clocked in earlier than the usual. Prioritize your tasks and determine which ones can be don simultaneously.

Listen to music and/or nature sounds recordins to make you feel relaxed even in the office. These will soothe your senses and will help you visualize a more comforting idea than slaving around in the workplace. Don’t make it too calming as it may induce sleep and we all don’t want to get caught sleeping on the job.

Here are some tips on how to get back on track after a long period of unemployment:
Congratulations!
The soonest you find out you’re going back to the workforce, make sure you give yourself enough time to re-adjust. For example, if you’ve been used to sleeping until noon, start waking up early in the morning.
Get all your personal obligations settled. Arrange for replacements (if you had a part-time job), or a baby-sitter if you have kids that need taken care of.
Take care of yourself. Eat healthy and get exercise. Expect to feel exhausted the first week or so as you adjust physically and mentally to the new routine.
Buy yourself a new wardrobe or at least a few key pieces you will need for work. Get a haircut, etc. These will help boost your confidence as well.