12 Frustrating Things That Every Cashier Will Understand

12 Frustrating Things That Every Cashier Will UnderstandBack when I welches in college, I worked in a supermarket, as a cashier, for two years. The hours were long, and the pay was crap. Standing on my feet for 10 hours a day didnt help either. To this day, I maintain that it was one of the hardest jobs Ive ever had. And it wasnt because the job functions were particularly complicated, they werent. It was a tough job because I was dealing with a constant roulette of difficult, self-entitled people. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) On a daily basis, I had to deal with some incredibly frustrating scenarios. If youve ever had the displeasure of being a cashier, you will be able to relate to all of these.

Companies With Amazing Work-Life Balance For Moms

Companies With Amazing Work-Life Balance For Moms Maintaining a work-life balance can be a slippery slope to navigate, especially as a worker in the United States.Thats because the U.S. is widely considered to be the most overworked nation out of all the worlds major economies (including Japan really), and balance hasnt traditionally been culturally prized or enabled by many employers. Instead, if we Americans want to live full, well-rounded lives, were pressured to do it all and that expectation is one that adversely affects working moms, in particular. Women who want to have both a family and a successful career are held to literally superhuman standards, as many go home from a full day of work only to start their second shift or, a disproportionate amount of the familys homemaking and child-rearing duties. For these women, the idea of a balanced life can feel totally inaccessible, contributing to a rise in gendered stress in the U.S.Thankfully, a shift in our pro-workaholic nar rative is underway. Asresearchconsistently proves that workers who have flexibility are actually the most productive (and happiest), mora and more companies are beginning to promote work-life balance in an effort to attract and retain the best and brightest talent. Its an arrangement that benefits all parties, but perhaps no one more so than Americas beleaguered working moms, and it can be found at these five amazing companies who are prioritizing balance in big ways (and hiring now)1. Fitch RatingsCommended by one Fairygodboss user for their flexible work arrangements, Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research, takes pride in the working mothers of their workforce. In fact, their desire to cultivate a culture where women arent forced to frantically juggle work and family life led them to implement a returnship program for mothers who, after taking some time off work, are ready to set their financial services careers back in motion. As explained the programs mana ging director, Jessalynn Moro There is an underutilized talent pool of women who, after stepping back from their career for family commitments or other personal reasons, want to get back to work and are looking for a supportive environment that sets them up for success. For working moms (and women in general), support and camaraderie is key, and both are certainly evident in the practices of Fitch.Browse Opportunities at Fitch Ratings.2. TargetAn all-too-common issue working moms face is falling into the trap of beingmommy-trackedby employers i.e., being given less opportunities for advancement and getting judged more harshly after having children. This, whenresearch provesthat working moms are just as ambitious as women without kids. Thankfully, you wont find this to be an issue at Target. The flexibility is there if you want it, with one Fairygodboss user noting there are lots of young families, so they accommodate. But if youarentlooking to scale your career trajectory back afte r having kids, you neednt worry another user called Target a great place for working mothers who are seeking advancement opportunities. After all, shouldnt women be empowered to define what a balanced life means for themselves?Browse Opportunities at Target.3. EricssonCommunications company Ericsson is consistently rated by Fairygodboss users as surpassing industry standards for work-life balance and family friendliness. Eighty-five percent of users say Ericsson has family-friendly hours (compared to an industry average of 47 percent), and users score the family friendliness of their policies as more than twice as good as the industry average. One anonymous user explained that they really feel I can work remotely and am not judged at all for doing so, while another highlighted the companys great Swedish values (theyre headquartered in Stockholm). Considering Sweden is regularly hailed as one of the most family- and balance-friendly countries in the world, having instituted a six-hou r work day in 2015, thats an association were all in favor ofBrowse Opportunities at Ericsson.4. SquareTheres a lot to be said for being a woman, mother or not, at Square, where 75 percent of employees report to one of four female executives. Ever since its 2009 founding, the tech company has positioned itself as an archetype for what atruly gender-inclusive workplacelooks like, and that extends to their policies and benefits impacting working mothers, too. Sixteen weeks of paid maternityandpaternity leave are offered to new parents, meaning that Square supports the idea from day one of a childs life that mothers shouldnt bear an unequal share of caretaking duties. Another major perk? Unlimited paid time off you read that right which translates to the flexibility you need to live your best life as a kickass employee whos also, yknow, a human being.Browse Opportunities at Square.5. AppleApples CEO, Tim Cook, is well aware that without a greater representation of women in STEM, the U.S. is prone to losing its position as a global tech leader. Under his leadership, the company is making strides toward becoming a beacon of diversity and inclusivity within Silicon Valley, and that extends to promoting family-friendly policies, too. One Fairygodboss user reported being pleasantly surprised by her experience at Apple, given the work culture and hours commonly associated with the tech world I feel like Apple is a much better environment than the advertising agency I left to come here, she wrote. They treat you with more respect, have more family-friendly policies, and the hours are such that you can have a life outside of work. Another Fairygodboss user and Apple employee commented that there are a lot of people with kids here, so everyone is very understanding about needing time off for doctor visits, school functions, etc.Browse Opportunities at Apple.

Employees Dont Forget Youre a Walking Representation

Employees Dont Forget Youre a Walking Representation Last week I went to an eye appointment at one of those franchise optical retailers. At that time of morning, it was only me (the customer) and about five employees. The optometrist left me alone to try on a pair of contact lenses, and while she did, an unfortunate event took placeone that put a damper on my overall customer experience. The eye doctor walked into the stores front room and spoke loudly to anotherbei employee.Come with me, the eye doctor demanded.Why? the employee questioned.Just come with me I need to show you something now.The two women walked past me to the back, and then the screaming began.Look at this office Seriously, how dirty can you be? She acts like this is just her office but we share it This is so ridiculous.Who do you share this with?Dr. Jane Doe she is a complete trash can. I mean seriously, is it that hard to clean up after yourself?The eye doctor then begins cursing as she expressed her frustrations about another doctors untidy habits with their shared office. And the employee (another woman) simply laughed and trash talked the other doctor as well.The two women continued chatting as they walked back into the stores front room, with the conversation shifting to birthing options (evidently the doctor was pregnant), how you can predict the sex of a baby and timetables for when they desired to have kids. After about 15 minutes, the eye doctor walked back to where I was sitting, put on a big smile, a soft, sweet voice and asked, So, how do those work for you?And all I could think was, in the doctors own words, seriously?This professional doctor who only minutes before was shouting profanities and insulting another doctor who wasnt there to defend herself, was now smiling in my face as if nothing had ever happened.Again, seriously?I wish I were making this up, but unfortunately, its a true (and sa d) story. That doctors unprofessional behavior can certainly cost the optical retailer customers and a loss of business. And the fact is poor communication practices and customer service cost many businesses dearly.In fact, according to a Clicksoftware.com infographic, poor customer experiences result in an estimated $83 billion loss for U.S. enterprises each year because of defections and abandoned purchases. The infographic also explains how poor customer service can lead to poor customer experiences and negatively affect a company. Some include89 percent of consumers who experience poor customer service with a companys brand will leave for that businesss competition64 percent of brands receive Ok Poor and Very Poor ratings from their customersApproximately 70 percent of customer service complaints on Twitter go unansweredBased off my experience with that optical retailer last week, I would fruchtwein certainly agree with the second statistic above and leave a very poor rating for that business. And Im sure most customers in that situation would do the same.The ProblemsThe doctor insulted another doctor and her co-worker.She used profanity in a professional setting.The two women talked so loudly that the entire store (which was pretty empty and therefore easier for sound to travel) heard their private conversation.The Possible EffectsThe businesss brand and reputation is negatively impacted because the doctors unprofessionalism is a representation of the entire company.People can assume that this business doesnt pride itself on respectable, professional and courteous employees.Customers will be turned off from conducting further business there because not only did the doctor act unprofessionally in the presence of a customer, she dismissed her actions as if they never happened.Poor business communication practices can lead to a negative customer experience, which will certainly hurt ones brand. I think its extremely important that employees really embrace th e fact that they represent their employer and are oftentimes the difference between a positive and negative customer experienceand a successful or failing business.

7 simple self-care tips to practice on your commute

7 simple self-care tips to practice on your commute7 simple self-care tips to practice on your commuteLong commutes suck. Whether youre taking a car, subway, or bus almost everyone agrees that the commute is one of their least favorite parts of the work week. A recent National Geographic study even argued that employees who swap their 1 hour+ commutes for working closer to home are as happy as those who received a 40,000 salary raise If you feel like your commute is sucking the life out of you its essential to include self-care and relaxation techniques during your travel time, so that you can arrive at work recharged and ready to succeedFollow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreWhen your commute has you leaving at the crack of dawn and getting back late at night, it can easily lead to bad behaviors that take a toll on your physical or mental health. If you feel like youre spending hours trapped in transit every single weekday you may not feel like you have the energy left to exercise, prepare healthy meals, or go out with friends. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to re-locate to a job within walking distance. So if youre stuckverzierung sacrificing a chunk of your day to the long-grind its essential to find a way to escape the stress and boredom. Luckily, theres strategies all commuters can incorporate into their daily lives to make their journey way more enjoyable.Heres our tips for how you can practice self-care during your travel time and transform your commute from a necessary evil to something youll look forward to at the end of a long work day.1. Stretch it outOne of the absolute worst things you can do after sitting at a desk for 8 hours is to immediately transition into sitting in a car for another hour or so. Even if youre dying to get home as soon as possible, take 15min to get your blood pumping by walking to a nearby caf, practicing a couple simple yoga poses, or even just doing laps around the parking lot2. Break free from work worriesIts essential to separate those gaps of time going to and from the office as you time. Dont treat your travel time like youre already on the clock by answering emails or trying to take calls with clients. Similarly, your first thoughts on the way home shouldnt be centered on everything you have to get done tomorrow morning. A healthy work-life balance begins with a healthy mindset, so you dont feel like work is consuming your whole identity.3. People watchYou may think paying attention to all the random people riding the subway will only make you feel worse about your own trip (and humanity in general) But actually, being engaged and aware of your surroundings is a great escape from the me, me, me trap we all fall into when doing tasks we dislike. When youre already cranky its easy to label slow drivers or seat hogs as horrible people purposely trying to ruin your day. But instead of addi ng onto a bad mood with negative thoughts take a keep breathe and keep in mind that everyone else is living their own story and trying to get to their ultimate destination.4. Pump up your playlistTheres nothing like hearing your favorite song to instantly lift your mood. Music is psychologically proven to help boost your mood and impact our emotional levels during times of stress like intense exercise or pre-surgery. One great strategy for a better commute is to have a set playlist specifically chosen for your way in and out of your workplace. Try more upbeat, loud tunes for the morning to wake our brain up and a mellow mix of classical or acoustic songs to unwind to on the way home. Unlike the annoying drone of an alarm clock, having a rollealized ready-for-work anthem in your morning routine will train your brain associate heading into the office as a positive, happy experience rather than a painful chore.5. Expand your mindRather than try and kill time mindlessly scrolling throug h social media feeds on your phone, why not pull out a book instead? Keeping a book in your work bag that you can read while traveling. Reading doubles as the perfect entertaining distraction to make the time go faster while still keeping your mind awake and active. Many ofthe richest CEOS on the planet swear that reading every day has made them better business leaders.We all claim wed read more if we had more time but Its also a great way to break up the strain of staring at computer screens all day in the office.If you drive or bike to work, you can also try listening to an audiobook or a new podcast episode and get lost in a story.6. Call a loved oneOne of the worst parts of commuting is how lonely it can make you feel. Despite being packed in with dozens of people every day, no one on public transport i tends to enjoy speaking to strangers or even making eye-contact. Next time youre feeling lost in the crowd, use the time to catch up with someone you care about whether its calli ng your parents to check-in or sending a funny picture to your best friend. Now with wireless headsets and Bluetooth features, even car commuters can safely make calls while keeping their eyes on the road. Just a short chat can boost your mood and act as a much needed reminder when youre trapped in a tiny train car that youre connected to a much bigger world. And as bonus letting the person on the other end of the line know youre thinking of them will likely brighten their day too7. Keep a thought journalUsing a thought journal is one of the simplest and most effective forms of therapy. If you take the train home, try pulling out a small notebook and scribbling down all the different parts of your day from pet peeves, to-do lists, accomplishments, or even just random daydreams or future goals. Seeing everything physically laid out on paper is a great emotional release from obsessive thoughts or anxieties. Writing down all the parts of a big project thats been giving you trouble is a lso a great way to gain new perspectives on situations and come up with creative problem-solving solutionsThis article originally appeared on Kununu.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

Surprising Examples of Lapses in Workplace Ethics

Surprising Examples of Lapses in Workplace EthicsSurprising Examples of Lapses in Workplace EthicsThink you are a person of integrity and that you bring your highest standards of ethics to your workplace each day? You may reassess your thinking as you explore the topic of workplace ethics in this article. Despite hundreds of pages of policies, codes of ethics, codes of conduct, organizational values, and carefully defined work environments, company cultures, lapses in workplace ethics occur every day. Lapses in workplace ethics result from inappropriate officer behavior such as insider stock trading, expense account fraud, sexual harassment, and involvement in conflicts of interest. Lapses in workplace ethics do not need to rise to that level to impact the workplace environment you provide for employees, though. Lapses in workplace ethics can occur because of simple issues such as toilet paper, copy machines, and lunch signup lists. In a nationally important workplace ethics case, He wlett-Packard companys, successful CEO, Mark Hurd, (now former H-P CEO), became embroiled in workplace ethics issues. The public statement from the company indicated that Mr. Hurd left because he violated the companys expected standards of conduct. Cathie Lesjak, H-Ps chief financial officer, who was appointed interim CEO until the company found a permanent replacement for Mr. Hurd, asked employees to remain focused and said Mark had failed to disclose a close personal relationship he had with the contractor that constituted a conflict of interest, failed to maintain accurate expense reports, and misused company assets. While most of us dont have as far to fall as Mr. Hurd, and unfortunately, he is not the first or only high-profile executive to bite the dust over personal conduct in recent years, lapses in ethics occur in workplaces every day. You can violate the spoken and unspoken, published and unpublished, code of conduct in your organization without a CEO title. You can also v iolate unterstellung rules without your actions rising to the level of conflict of interests and questionable expense accounting. Lapses in Workplace Ethics Drive Policy Development Policies most frequently exist because some employees are untrustworthy. For example, many in HR debate the effectiveness of a paid time off (PTO) policy versus time off policies that divide available days between personal, sick days, and vacation time off. The only reason these policies exist at all, to define the relationship between employer and employees, is because a few employees took advantage of the employers attempts to offer sympathetic time off for legitimate life reasons. Consequently, employers limited management discretion and decision-making about individual employee situations and instituted policies to govern the many. You can build a similar case for most organizational policies. The failure of some employees to practice principled workplace ethical decision-making results in polici es that cover all employees. Codes of conduct or business ethics exist to guide the expected behavior of honorable employees. But, much of their origination occurred for the same reason as policies. Some employees conducted themselves in ways that were unacceptable to the business. In todays workplace, potential charges of unfair treatment, discrimination, favoritism, and hostile work environment replace much management discretion. The many suffer for the few, and sometimes, your best employees get caught in the equal treatment trap. At best, time off policies, to use just one example, require organization time and energy hundreds of hours of tracking and accounting. Everyday Workplace Ethics Few employees will undergo the challenges experienced by Mr. Hurd and other senior company executives in their practice of workplace ethics. But, all employees have the opportunity daily to demonstrate the core and fiber of who they are as people.Their values, integrity, beliefs, and chara cter speak loudly through the behavior that they engage in at work. Lapses in the practice of workplace ethics come in all sizes, large and small, far-reaching and close to home. Some ethical lapses affect individual employees. Other ethical lapses affect whole workgroups, and in parteicularly egregious instances, such as Mr. Hurds, whole companies and all of the stakeholders in the company suffer as a result. Some failures to practice everyday workplace ethics are invisible. No one but you will ever know about the decision that you made, but each lapse in ethics affects your essence as an individual, as an employee, and as a human being. Even the smallest lapse in workplace ethics diminishes the quality of the workplace for all employees. Examples Each failure to practice value-based workplace ethics affects your self-image and what you stand for far more than it affects your coworkers. But the effect of your behavior on your fellow employees is real, tangible, and unpredictabl e, too. Following are examples of employees failing to practice fundamental workplace ethics. The solution? Change the behavior, of course. You may never have thought of these actions as problems with ethical behavior, but they are. And, all of them affect your coworkers in negative ways. What are the signs that you know that your actions are substandard? You make up excuses, give yourself reasons, and that little voice of your conscience that chatters away in your head, tries to convince your ethical self that your lapse in workplace ethics is okay. Here are 16 examples of employees failing to practice fundamental workplace ethics. You are using the company restroom and use up the belastung roll of toilet paper, or the last piece of paper towel. Without thought for the needs of the next employee, you go back to work rather than addressing the issue.You call in sick to your supervisor because its a beautiful day and you decide to go to the beach, or shopping.You engage in an affair with a coworker while married because no one at work will ever know, you think youre in love, you think you can get away with it, your personal matters are your own business, the affair will not impact other employees or the workplace. You place your dirty cup in the lunchroom sink. With a guilty glance around the room, you find no one watching and quickly leave the lunchroom.Your company sponsors events, activities, or lunches and you sign up to attend and fail to show. Conversely, you fail to sign up and show up anyway. You make the behavior worse when you say that you took the appropriate action so someone else must have screwed up.You tell potential customers that you are the vice president in charge of something. When they seek out the company VP at a trade show, you tell your boss that the customers must have made a mistake. You work in a restaurant in which wait staff tips are shared equally, and you withhold a portion of your tips from the common pot before the tips are divi ded.You have sex with a reporting staff member and then provide special treatment to your flame.You take office supplies from work to use at home because you justify, you often engage in company work at home, or you worked extra hours this week, and so on.You spend several hours a day using your work computer to shop, check out sports scores, pay bills, do online banking, and surf the news headlines for the latest celebrity news and political opinions. You use up the last paper in the communal printer, and you fail to replace paper leaving the task to the next employee who uses the printer.You hoard supplies in your desk drawer, so you wont run out while other employees go without supplies they need to do their work.You overhear a piece of juicy gossip about another employee and then repeat it to other coworkers. Whether the gossip is true or false is not the issue.You tell a customer or potential customer that your product will perform a particular action when you dont know if it w ill, and you didnt check with an employee who does. You allow a part that you know does not meet quality standards leave your workstation and hope your supervisor or the quality inspector wont notice.You claim credit for the work of another employee, or you fail to give public credit to a co-workers contribution, when you share results, make a presentation, turn in a report or in any other way appear to be the sole owner of a work product or results. This list provides examples of ways in which employees fail to practice workplace ethics. It is not comprehensive as hundreds of additional examples are encountered by employees in workplaces daily.

Organizing Your Job Search to Match Your Energy Level - FlexJobs

Organizing Your Job Search to Match Your Energy Level - FlexJobsOrganizing Your Job Search to Match Your Energy Level Some folks are morning people. Others are night owls. Interestingly enough, you can maximize productivity- and hopefully land a job- by following your bodys natural rhythm. Heres how to go about organizing your job searchMake a list. No matter if you jump out of bed ready to pound the pavement or hit the snooze button several times, its imperative to make a list of your daily duties. You should write down all the things you want to accomplish- and be sure that the list is manageable. Including Send out 100 resumes by noon, is a lofty goal but not realistic. It can make you feel like you failed even before you start.Do the hardest thing first. Whether its 900 AM or 900 PM, tackle the hardest task when your energy is at its peak. You will be able to concentrate better and finish up your assignment quicker. If you schedule the toughest item last, youll be too tired to ex ecute it well- and possibly make a mistake, like writing the wrong hiring managers name to your cover letter.Reward yourself.If you did all the research on that company that youre hoping to get hired by, give yourself a treat. And that treat can be anything from a rejuvenating jog to playing with your puppy for the daytime, and sipping a hazelnut macchiato or playing some soft night music during evening hours. No matter the time of youre your reward should be something that you love and can look forward to.Take breaks.Even if you want to plow through your job search efforts, dont. Be sure to take some breaks to stretch and relax. Even looking away from your screen for a few minutes will help you to refocus your energies. It will also help you to stay positive while job searching.Clear your desk.Before you log off for the day (or night), make sure your desk is tidy. After all, nothing zaps energy faster than a cluttered desk. Put papers away and shred what you dont need. Clear your d esktop as well so you can actually see the cute photo of your kids on the screen. That way, when you continue your job search again, your home office will be clean and ready for you- no matter what time of day it is.Making the most of your productivity level will give a bigger boost to your job search efforts. Listen to both your mind and body to guide you to success- and a new job.Readers, when do you like to work- in the morning or night? Why?

Accountant Top Needed Skills

Accountant Top Needed SkillsAccountant Top Needed SkillsAccountant Top Needed SkillsWriting your resume with a target job in mind requires having a clear understanding of the jobs skills and proficiencies.A well-crafted resume skills section, highlighting your relevant skills for an accountant position, will help your resume beat the Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which is the first step to getting your application noticed. Use the accountant top skills and proficiencies below to help you effectively write your resume.Accountant top skills proficienciesAccountingCorporate FinanceReporting SkillsAttention to DetailDeadline-OrientedReporting Research ResultsConfidentialityTime ManagementData Entry ManagementBasic MathAccuracyPlanning and OrganizingScheduling and MonitoringCommunication SkillsProblem Analysis and Problem-Solving SkillsInitiativeTeamworkConfidentiality