On the request of lots of regular visitors of this blog, we have created a small shopping space for you. Its a small lens on squidoo, it offers various well-being solutions in the form of books, music and other resources.

Just cut and paste the link below in your browser and you will be on your way to shop for your well-being…

http://www.squidoo.com/freshmint4u

Kindly note a % of profit gets donated for charity dedicated to street children welfare in India.

!!An Interesting Conversation — Must Read

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and…..

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.

Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.

Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.

Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn’t. How is this God good then? Hmm?
Student is silent.

Prof: You can’t answer, can you?
Let’s start again, young fellow. Is God good?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.

Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From…God…

Prof: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.

Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.

Prof:
Student does not answer.

Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student: Yes, sir.

Prof: So, who created them?
Student has no answer.

Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son…Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.

Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.

Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof: Yes Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Now the student said can I ask something to you Professor.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.

Student: No sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something.
You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light… But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class is in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Prof: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir… The link between man & god is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive. .

WANT TO KNOW WHO THAT STUDENT WAS?

This is a true story, and the student was none other than

DR. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam , President of India.

Being negative won’t get you anywhere and the more negative you are, the worse you end up feeling — quite a vicious cycle.

“We need to learn how to be more aware of our thoughts and the language we use,” explains Dennis. “We need to catch ourselves in the act of being, taking or thinking negative thoughts about ourselves.” If you’re a “glass half empty” type of person, there are some simple ways to help adjust your attitude.

1. Live more in the moment
Thinking about the past or the future is what we get anxious about. Rarely do we panic about the present moment. If you find yourself dwelling on something that either has already happened or has yet to occur, remind yourself that the only thing you have control over is the present. That’s really the only thing that counts. Be proactive and avoid seeing yourself as a victim of circumstance, Dennis says. “You can’t sit around waiting for someone to do something good for you. If you want something out of life you need to get out and get it.”

2. Practise positive affirmation
Tell yourself you are strong, says Dennis. Practise saying positive things about yourself over and over and over. In the morning, wake up and say something positive. Have that be your very first thought of the day. Even if you don’t believe it, or if it’s a harried Monday morning and you’ve woken up late for work, starting your day off with a positive affirmation will help set up your day on a good note.

4. Don’t dwell
Look at what’s upsetting you, fix it and move on. If it’s already happened, you unfortunately can’t go back and change it, so dwelling on it and lamenting about what could or should have been is a waste of time and energy and just makes you feel worse about yourself. Accept whatever it is that happened and then move forward, Dennis says. It’s amazing how light you will feel after dropping some of your emotional baggage.

5. Focus on the positive
Start a gratitude journal, Dennis suggests. Whether in the morning or at night — or both — jot down five or six things you are grateful for. They can be big or small or something as simple as “It was sunny out today” or “I had a great lunch.” As long you do it on a regular, consistent basis it can help shift your negative thinking to positive. Whenever you’re feeling low, go back and read your journal to reaffirm all the great things you have in your life. When we feel negative we have a tendency to forget all about what we already have and focus instead on what we don’t.

6. Get moving
Exercise is paramount for feeling good because it releases endorphins, Dennis says. Whether its a walk around the block or a 10 KM run activity makes us feel good in spite of ourselves. Chances are, if you’re feeling low and you do even 15 minutes of activity, you’ll feel better afterwards.

7. Face the fear
Negativity comes from fear, Dennis explains. “The more afraid of life you are, the more negative you tend to be.” If you fear something, do it anyway. Fear is a part of life, whether we like it or not, but we all have a choice as to whether to let it stop us. Facing our fears helps to build self-esteem.

8. Try new things
Being open to trying new things also helps to build self-esteem, Dennis explains. By saying yes to life you are giving yourself more opportunity to grow and learn. Avoid the “yes, but” mentality. New experiences, big or small, help make life more exciting and provide fulfilment.

9. Shift your perspective
When something doesn’t go well, find a way to reframe it in a more positive perspective. “In every challenge there’s a gift, and in every gift there’s a challenge,” Dennis explains. Even though it can be very difficult, try to look at the good that can come from challenges. Otherwise, it’s very easy to sink into despair or sadness. Do whatever you can to stay positive when times are tough.

One of the tip mentioned above had personally helped me and i receive a lot of mails from people sharing the benefits. And what i have realized it is that the catch lies in one thing. Its in our ability to put it in practice.

So follow Nike’s advise and ”JUST DO IT”. 

Cheers,

Raj

Are you blue for what appears to be no good reason? Maybe there is one. For each of the 10 questions that follow, mark the answer that best applies to you. An evaluation and a suggested course of action follow.

1. In a hurry to get home after a long day, you find yourself stuck in a mega-traffic jam. You:
a React typically by feeling frustrated and helpless. The traffic seems like just one more thing wrong in your life.
b Freak out and then find yourself feeling down. You wonder, Why can I sometimes take this kind of frustration in stride while other times it pushes me over the edge?
c Feel very discouraged. You had wanted to get home in time to have some predinner quality time with your youngster, who’s struggling at school.
d Anxiously blame yourself for not planning your route home better. This leaves you with little time to make dinner before driving the kids to their music lessons.
e Pop in your favourite CD and try to relax, recognizing that the traffic is beyond your control.

2. Your ex calls to say he can’t take the kids this weekend, disrupting your plans for a quiet couple of days alone. You feel:
a Weak (“If I had any salt, I’d stand up to him”) and hopeless (“I’ll never have time for myself”).
b Dismayed. This is just one of those weeks when you can’t seem to get along with anybody!
c Sad and emotional, partly on behalf of your kids. You know your ex has started seeing someone new and you’re concerned about the effect that will have on them.
d Overwhelmed and defeated. You really needed the time to get caught up on housework.
e Resigned. He has done this before. Maybe you can salvage the situation by getting a babysitter and going to the gym on Saturday afternoon.

3. An opportunity for a promotion came up at work, but, although you applied for it, the job was given to a colleague. You:
a Feel like a failure.
b Are devastated but know that you’ll get over your rather extreme reaction in a couple of weeks.
c Feel crushed, especially since you were already upset over a project that your boss wasn’t happy with.
d Find that the news is a real letdown. The accompanying raise would have really eased your financial worries.
e Are disappointed and ask your boss for a meeting to discuss how you can acquire the skills needed to qualify for the next opportunity.

4. You have just read a newspaper article about a tragic accident. Naturally, it’s upsetting, and you:
a Think that the world is a terrible place if things like this can happen.
b Start obsessing about such a thing happening to you or your newborn baby.
c Are plunged into sadness, reminded of a loved one’s similar accident.
d Resolve to not read the paper for a while. Adding this kind of upsetting news to your existing concerns is too overwhelming.
e Feel sympathetic toward the victim and his family.

5. It’s Saturday morning and your partner suggests that the two of you spend some time gardening – one of your favourite hobbies. The prospect:
a Makes you feel tired – even before you’ve so much as looked at a rake.
b Is appealing. Maybe digging in the dirt will be a good way to work off some restlessness.
c Reminds you of happier times when your kids were younger and enthusiastic about such things and didn’t challenge every single word you said.
d Makes you feel guilty. You know there’s work to do in the yard, in the basement, at the office, in the garage…
e Puts you in a great mood.

6. The phone rings and the call display shows that it is your mother-in-law calling. You pick it up:
a Reluctantly (or maybe you don’t pick it up at all). You just don’t feel like talking to anyone.
b Apprehensively after flying off the handle last week. Why were you so nasty? You can’t even remember what the issue was.
c Wishing she had called at a better time. You’re still smarting from last week’s argument with your own mom and wish that mothers, in general, would disappear for a while.
d Hoping that the conversation will be brief – and that it’s not her asthma again, which will require that you drop what you’re doing and rush over to her apartment.
e Immediately, glad it’s not a telephone solicitation.

7. It’s your birthday next week. Your primary thoughts are:
a “I certainly haven’t accomplished what I had hoped to by now. What a loser I am!”
b “I hope I feel more like celebrating next week than I do right now. At least maybe there’ll be chocolate.”
c “I would be looking forward to it more if I hadn’t just had a blowup with my best friend. I couldn’t feel less like partying!”
d “What about my big project that’s due next week? As if I need this right now, too.”
e “I wonder if my family will take me out or surprise me at home?”

8. A friend calls, thrilled and gushing about her date last night with Mr. Possibly Right. You:
a Listen politely, feeling more hopeless about your own undesirability.
b Ask, “Was that the one with the hair plugs?” and then call back to apologize, wondering why you found her enthusiasm so irritating.
c Wish you could be happier for your friend. As it is, her news just makes you feel worse about your own recent breakup, marital spat or romantic drought.
d Listen with one ear while you write up a grocery list, feeling increasingly tense as your friend goes on without any sign of winding it up.
e Are attentive and excited for her.

9. You blow up at your spouse because you don’t feel that he’s carrying his share of the household responsibilities; the ensuing row fails to resolve the issue. The next day, you:
a Leave for work sad, blaming yourself entirely but unable to come up with a resolution.
b Apologize for blaming him, and suggest the two of you discuss the matter again when you’re both feeling less emotional.
c Acknowledge that some of your frustration and despair would be more appropriately directed at your teenagers, who aren’t pulling their weight.
d Recognize that if you weren’t so overextended, you would have handled the matter differently.
e Decide to resolve the issue immediately by sitting the whole family down and working out a chores-and-responsibilities plan.

10. Which of the following statements best describes your feelings of sadness or “the blues”?
a “I feel down or depressed a lot – or even most – of the time.”
b “I can be going along just fine, then hit an emotional low for no reason at all. It goes away, but it always comes back.”
c “I’m a relatively happy person, but lately I’ve been in the dumps and can’t seem to climb out.”
d “I feel down when I go for a long time without having time for myself or when there’s so much going on in my life that I feel out of control.”
e “I feel sad sometimes, but I can make myself feel better and I generally enjoy my life.”

Scoring

A score of 4 or more As indicates that you feel down – and excessively so – most of the time. You may even have symptoms of clinical depression. If you’ve felt this blue for more than two weeks, it would be a good idea to see a doctor. Perhaps you are suffering from the side-effects of a medication. Have you recently started taking a heart drug, for example? Alternatively, your doctor may suggest that you visit a psychotherapist, who might recommend cognitive therapy or antidepressants.

A score of 4 or more Bs suggests that the blues come and go in regular intervals, although you may not have noticed unless you’ve been keeping track in a diary. Such intervals may mean that your moods are following hormonal changes related to your menstrual cycle (PMS) or to perimenopause or menopause. Try keeping a journal or chart to record your mood or state of mind each day. If the evidence points to PMS-related depression, there are a number of things you can do. Simply switching to a different birth control pill might help. Many women find that a balanced diet – rich in carbohydrates, calcium, magnesium and vitamins E and B6, and low in fat, salt and caffeine – greatly relieves PMS symptoms, including mood swings. Others swear by increased activity and getting plenty of rest.

If you are among the estimated three to five per cent of women who suffer from debilitating PMS-related depression, you may require more dramatic intervention – such as prescribed antidepressants. “You take them for 14 days each month, from ovulation to menstruation,” explains Dr. Shaila Misri, a practising psychiatrist and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

A score of 4 or more Cs suggests that something has recently happened in your life that is making you feel down. These circumstantial blues could be linked to the death of a loved one, an illness or accident affecting a loved one, a troubled relationship or a job loss. Once you’ve identified the source, you can tackle it. Could you take time off work to grieve? Is there an unresolved issue with your partner that you need to deal with? Perhaps you need to seek outside help to deal with a troubled teen or financial difficulties. Just having a plan can get you on your way out of the dumps. Again, don’t be afraid to take your concerns to a doctor; he might recommend a psychologist, therapist or grief specialist who could be helpful.

A score of 4 or more Ds is a strong signal that you’re overextended. You might be constantly running against the clock while juggling a multitude of commitments, routinely feeling frustrated by tasks you can’t get to or feeling inadequate because of jobs that are poorly done. If so, is it any wonder that you feel down? To get your life back, start by taking a 10-minute walk at lunchtime, going to bed half an hour earlier, having lunch with a friend or making a date to go out with your partner once a month. And give some thought to your physical health; quit smoking, curb your alcohol intake, go to bed earlier and make sure you’re eating well.

A score of 4 or more Es suggests that even though you feel sad occasionally – as most people do – you’ve developed strategies for coping with problems and springing back. By and large, you lead a balanced life.

1. How many people have depression?
Very many people — about five to 10 per cent of the population — have a major depression at any given point in time, and it is estimated that 15 per cent of people will develop a major depression some time in their lives.

2. When does feeling blue cross the line into depression?
When you feel so low that you cannot concentrate on anything else, such as work or family obligations, or if you are feeling suicidal, then the line has been crossed. You are also likely to be depressed if low mood lasts for over two weeks or if your sleep, appetite, energy, and thoughts are affected for that long, as well as your mood.

3. Is sadness a characteristic of depression?
Sometimes. However, sadness is different from depression. Sadness does not imply feeling disinterested, whereas depression often does. In fact, when someone is sad, he or she is often
quite interested in what led to the sadness. The same goes for grief. As painful as it is, grief — as well as its less intense counterpart, bereavement — does not imply depression. Some grieving or bereaved people may develop depression, but this is generally not the case. To understand depression it is just as important to know what it is not, as what it is.

4. What makes one person’s depression different from another’s?
Depressions differ in terms of their intensity, duration, and the breadth of symptoms involved. There are also different types of depression — some are more biological in origin, while others are more related to stressful life events.

5. What are the different types of depression?
You may become depressed in reaction to a stressful event in your life, such as losing your job or a relationship. This type of depression is described as an adjustment disorder with depressed mood (or reactive depression). Its symptoms tend to be comparatively few or mild, but nevertheless, they can sometimes include intensely depressed mood or suicidal behaviour, which means this depression should not be ignored. Another type of depression is major depressive disorder (previously called major affective disorder or unipolar depression), which is more biological in origin. Major depressive disorder is characterized by major depressive episodes. The symptoms of this disorder tend to be greater and more severe than those of adjustment disorder (see below).

6. Are there any other types?
There are other types of depressions with major depressive episodes, and these include depression in bipolar disorder (previously called manic-depressive disease) and postnatal depression. Major depressive disorder and other depressions with major depressive episodes are the types of depression that are most responsive to antidepressant medication.

7. Which kind of depression is the most common?
Adjustment disorder with depressed mood is the most common type of depression. This condition is triggered by stress, usually due to a sudden event, such as the loss of a job or breakup of a relationship. The death of a loved one can also trigger adjustment disorder with depressed mood. However, this is far from inevitable — many people experience normal states of grief and bereavement without becoming depressed.

8. What makes depression come and go?
The cause of a condition is generally something that eliminates it if reversed. The trigger is generally a final event. If you are vulnerable to depression, various factors can trigger it. For example, in postnatal depression (depression following childbirth), the trigger is labour and delivery; in major depressive disorder, the trigger can be social or psychological stress — even quite mild stress — in combination with a person’s biology. Depression usually resolves with time, with treatment, or with a lessening of the stress or life event that triggered the depression in the first place. Sometimes, however, depressive episodes don’t go away and depression becomes chronic. There might be ways to lessen the pain, there might be good and bad days, but overall, in these cases the bulk of the depressive symptoms remain.

9. Does stress always trigger depressive episodes?
Not always. Even a clear, intense source of stress can lead to different reactions in different people and it is hard to predict exactly how an individual will react to stress. Someone with major depressive disorder might react by having a major depressive episode. Someone else might react with an adjustment disorder with depressed mood. Yet another person might react by feeling depressed for a matter of days only. There are various reasons why a given source of stress leads to different reactions in different people. For example, a person who lost a parent at an early age might perceive a current loss as more severe than someone without an early loss. However, unless someone has major depressive disorder, his or her reaction does not tend to result in a major depressive episode.

10. I’ve heard of a condition called dysthymia. What is it?
Dysthymia is a condition that lies somewhere between adjustment disorder with depressed mood and major depressive disorder. It is a low-grade, toned-down form of major depressive disorder. The symptoms are less numerous and less intense than those of a major depressive episode, and the condition must last for about two years to be considered dysthymia. In previous years, dysthymia was sometimes called chronic depression. People with dysthymia generally do not feel as bad as those with major depressive disorder. Dysthymia is not as biological in origin as major depressive disorder, and it does not respond so well to antidepressants.

11. Isn’t depression genetic?
Depression does tend to run in families. There are even some detailed family tree studies showing a genetic pattern. What is inherited appears to be a vulnerability to major depressive episodes, whether the depressed person is stressed or not. Once the depressive episode is triggered, it tends to have a life of its own until treated. In any case, most doctors consider major depression and bipolar depression to be inherited conditions; other forms of biological depression might be inherited too. However, reactive depressions are not considered to be genetic. They might also run in families, but with less clear patterns. In these cases, it may be family child-rearing traditions that predispose its members to reactive depression. Remember, not everything that runs in families is genetic; poverty often runs in families, as does interest in certain careers. The genetics of depression is much more complicated than, for example, that of eye colour.

12. Do you have to feel depressed to be depressed?
Even during a major depressive episode, one does not actually have to feel depressed. Feeling depressed (depressive mood) is only one of the two essential criteria used in diagnosing depression. The other essential criterion, disinterest, is sufficient for the diagnosis of a major depressive episode. That is, a person must have either depressive mood or diminished interest in things that were previously of interest to him or her. Then three or more minor criteria must be present (decreased energy; change in sleep, appetite, activity or self-esteem; decreased concentration; or preoccupation with detail).

Just because you’d like to set your own hours or work from home doesn’t mean your employer will share the sentiment. Employers don’t want to hear that you need a career makeover (or makeunder); they just want to know what’s in it for them. To talk to the higher-ups at work about going flex, check out these recommendations from Cynthia Shapiro, author of Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know — And What to Do About Them.

1. Pay your dues
Asking for a flex-work schedule after six to 12 months with a company is pushing it. You first have to prove yourself dependable, hardworking and indispensable. Better to request flex work once you have three solid years under your belt — and have proven you can do your job backward, forward, blindfolded and straitjacketed.

2. Win over your boss
Make her look successful every step of the way, as if you’re in business for yourself and she’s your biggest client. Without her on your side, your bid for flex work won’t get far. If you do score a flex arrangement, it’s crucial that your boss support it 100 per cent. Otherwise, you could drop your weekly hours from 40 to 24 but still find yourself saddled with a full-time workload — only for less pay.

3. Be a company cheerleader
Drink the Kool-Aid (or at least pretend to): If you plan to ask for the moon, resist the urge to publicly bad-mouth your employer. Sing the company’s praises instead, especially in the office, where Big Brother really is watching.

4. Study the culture
To predict how your employer will react to your request for flex, don’t just study the policies in your employee manual — pay attention to the company’s actions, too. “Look at what they truly reward and truly punish,” Shapiro says. Is anyone else in your department working flexible hours, part-time, or from home? Have any of your coworkers successfully negotiated flex work? Or was their request denied, or, worse, were they mysteriously let go?

5. Make your case in writing
In your proposal, ask not what your company can do for you, but what you can do for your company: Offer to work flexibly for a trial period — perhaps telecommuting one or two days a week to start (but not Mondays, which are often busiest). Point out how your flex job will let you get more work done in less time, save the company cash, and any other (actual) benefits you can think of.

6. Choose your timing wisely
The best time to ask for a job makeover is when everything’s calm, especially if you’ve just saved the day or somehow made your boss look fabulous. You don’t want to request to go flex during a time of total chaos, like during a big product launch or when the company’s fighting for its life — unless there’s something irresistible in it for the company.

7. Go the extra mile
If you do go the part-time, flextime or telecommuting route, regularly update your colleagues on your progress and stay on top of deadlines. (Even better, overdeliver the goods.) Keep in close contact with the mother ship at all times when working off-site. It’s your job to assure your manager that everything’s running swimmingly and you’re not off in the Cayman Islands, sipping Mai Tais instead of working on the Big Presentation.

Hope this gives you enough clarity to take your first step. If this stuff helps you negotiate a Flex work schedule for you, do write us your story that we can use to inspire others. Till then…Chilll.

1. Assess the workplaces’ current situation and objectives.

• Survey employees, supervisors, and managers.
• Ask about needs, concerns, etc. Find out about bottom line or underlying concerns (e.g., employees report not being able to cope with workplace stress. What is the true source of this stress?)

2. Get buy-in from all levels.

Educate all members of the company about the benefits and challenges of introducing these programs. Be clear on the intentions and goals of the program. Provide any necessary training and/or education to help these address concerns.

Some common concerns or challenges that may need to be addressed include the misconceptions that:

• People should keep their personal lives at home,
• Being present equals being productive/ hours at work equals performance/results,
• Benefit programs can make people happier, but not more productive,
• Family-friendly policies are soft human resources issues, mainly for women,
• Management will lose control,
• It’s only for non-managerial positions,
• One program is good for everyone, or
• Participation will be a career-limiting move.

3. Be clear how hours, productivity and deadlines will be monitored.

Address fears and apprehension expressed by both employees and managers. Be sure that workload issues are resolved and set realistic targets.

4. Create a policy or guideline:

• Clearly state its use and purpose.
• Be clear about the impact on vacation time, compensation and other benefits, if any.

5. Initiate a trial period and/or pilot studies.

6. Monitor, re-survey, and make any adjustments that are necessary.

Act on recommendations for modification or for further enhancements.

At MINT, we are everyday engaged in developing new models and concepts that can help organizations to foster these initiatives. If you are looking for some assistance, we will be glad to be of help. Just drop us a line at raj@mintlearning.com

It is very important to remember that for many workers balancing work/life demands is just one of the many challenges they face on a regular basis. While most people would agree that these issues should be addressed, they may not know where they can be resolved. A program dealing with work/life issues could, for example, be part of a complete health and safety program. However, it should not take away resources or distract attention from addressing other health and safety concerns or hazards that may be present in the workplace.

[Source: http://labour-travail.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/worklife/familyfriendly-en.cfm

Studies on work/life balance programs have reported such benefits as:

• Attracts new employees,
• Helps to retain staff,
• Builds diversity in skills and personnel,
• Improves morale,
• Reduces sickness and absenteeism,
• Enhances working relationships between colleagues,
• Encourages employees to show more initiative and teamwork,
• Increases levels of production and satisfaction, and

Decreases stress and burn-out.

Work/life initiatives can potentially deal with a wide range of issues including:

• On-site childcare,
• Emergency childcare assistance,
• Seasonal childcare programs (such as March break or Christmas),
• Eldercare initiatives (may range from referral program, eldercare assessment, case management, a list of local organizations or businesses that can help with information or products, or seminars and support groups),
• Referral program to care services, local organizations, etc.,
• Flexible working Arrangement
• Parental leave for adoptive parents,
• Family leave policies,
• Other leaves of absence policies such as educational leave, community service leaves, self funded leave or sabbatical
• Employee Assistance Program
• On-site seminars and workshops (on such topics as stress, nutrition, communication etc),
• Internal and/or external educational or training opportunities, or
• Fitness facilities, or fitness membership assistance (financial).