Ideas Stolen at Work? One in Four said 'Yes'!

According to a recent survey, more than one in four employees have had their ideas stolen at work and more than half of those who have had their ideas stolen never did anything in response. It means idea theft is prevalent in workplace and most idea thieves get away without any problem. This is really scary, specially when we talk about teamwork. Isn't it?

The interesting survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a staffing service, and was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with 444 workers 18 years of age or older and employed in an office environment. At the end of the survey, it was found that 29% employees had said 'Yes' to the question: "Has a coworker ever taken credit for your idea?". It means more than one-quarter of employees have had their ideas stolen at work. Surprisingly 51 % of them said 'Nothing' to the question "What did you do in response?". So, more than half of those ideas thieves get away without

"Today's workplace is more competitive than ever and, unfortunately, there are people who will go to great lengths to make themselves look good or get promoted, including taking credit for someone else's ideas," said Robert Hosking, executive director of OfficeTeam. "Being proactive in sharing your vision with your manager and colleagues early on can help ensure others know the concept originated with you."

OfficeTeam offers the following tips for getting the credit you deserve:

• Report up. Use status updates to remind your manager of your ideas and the progress being made to implement them.
• Look for patterns. If a minor contribution is occasionally overlooked, you may decide to let it go. However, if other people routinely get credit for your ideas, it's a sign that you need to be more assertive.
• Don't act in haste. When someone receives credit for your idea, try to get to the bottom of the situation. It could be a misunderstanding. Be sure to give your colleague the opportunity to present his or her side of the story to you.
• Set the record straight. If you are credited with a coworker's idea, be sure to swiftly correct the situation. Your colleague will appreciate it.
  

via: OfficeTeam

Relieve Stress Quickly and Effectively

Meditation is a method for relaxation and personal growth that has been around for centuries. It is a great tool for calming and concentrating the mind any time, any place. In simple words, meditation is the best stress buster. But what is you don't have time for meditation? What if you are having trouble with your meditation? Don't worry. Try one of the following three good ways to relieve stress. They don't even require any practice.

1. Breath Well to Relieve Your Stress:

When you feel anxiety coming on, breath deep. If you don't feel like meditating or just don't have time for it, stop for one minute and breath. Just breath deeply through your nose and let the tension drain out from your muscles as much as possible. Give special attention to the tightness in your face and shoulders. Deep breathing, even for a minute, can relax you significantly.

2. Get Rid of  Your Stressors Quickly: 

Get rid of your stress but taking a quick decision. At least take some action. Indecisiveness, waiting, wondering and worrying cause stress. Simply making decisions and taking action can be one of the most immediate ways to relieve stress. Take a moment whenever you feel stressed, identify the things in your mind that are contributing to your stress, and then do something about them. Start a list, talk to someone, make a decision - just do something to let the stressor go. That's all there is to this simple technique.

3. Do Things You Enjoy and Love:

Engage yourself yourself in something that you enjoy and drop your worries. When you are totally engaged in an activity, you'll notice that there isn't any room for stressful thoughts. So, it will help you relieve your stress. While physical activity has some advantages, you can try doing anything that you can put your whole mind into. That could be reading a good book, cooking, or playing the piano. Even your job or business can be one of the best ways to relieve stress, provided you are passionate about your job or business.

Plan And Use Your Time Wisely

Proper planning always helps in our life. In life you can't expect anything to happen as planned. But planning can help you solve your problems effectively. So, it is a good idea to get in the habit of planning your time and effort.

Have a clear idea of what you want to do with the day. Draw out a definite programme. Know what you like doing with your leisure. Have definite hobbies and interests, and develop them.

Plan your work. Organize it before you start. Get each stage clear in your mind so that you cut out unnecessary details. Fix a time-limit for each job and do your best to complete it within that time.

Learn to do things the right way with ease, speed, and efficiency. Never be afraid to learn from others. Watch people who know. Take lessons if necessary. Eliminate all unnecessary movements. Have your tools and materials ready before you begin your work.

Try to do something useful with odd minutes like those spent waiting for buses or trains. For example, plan your next job. Test your memory. Go to bed at a reasonable hour so that you do not oversleep or want to lie in bed next morning.

Be punctual about appointments. If you are late, you may have to wait or even find your journey a wasted one.

Talking to people is nice but it can become a habit that eats up your time with no purpose. Keep it under control.