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How eating clean can help you excel in your career

8/24/2017

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Looking to score a promotion or impress a client? It may be time to clean up your meals, especially if your idea of a power breakfast is a doughnut and coffee. According to Brigham Young University research, People who rarely eat fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods are less productive at work.
 
Eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated. Skip the latest diet trend, and opt for mindfulness instead.  Practice clean eating or "a diet of minimally processed foods close to nature, predominantly plants," which according to Yale researchers David Katz and Stephanie Miller is "decisively associated with health promotion and disease prevention."
 
Clean eating is not only the key to vibrant health, it also boosts brain power, allowing for more focus and productivity at work. Here’s what clean eating doesn’t entail: counting calories, cutting out food groups, or consuming food-like products. Clean eating is not actually a diet, but an approach to eating that emphasizes consuming real food made from minimally-processed ingredients and reconnecting to your body’s natural cues in order to decide when and how much to eat. It’s the way people ate throughout nearly all of history, but it’s an increasingly rare way to eat today.
 
Keep reading to learn how processed food can be a detriment to your work life, the simple tenets of clean eating, and how healthy, whole foods may help you get a leg up on the job.
 
The Perils of Processed Foods
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​While not all processed foods are unhealthy, a majority often contain few nutrients and are packed with ingredients you may want to avoid, such as added sodium and refined sugar. Sugar consumption in the U.S. is up 30% from 40 years ago, and processed food accounts for about 90% of the added sugar people eat today, including sweets, salty snacks, and salad dressings.  Due to an increased consumption of sugar, rates of obesity and diabetes in the U.S. have skyrocketed.  When a culture adopts a diet heavy in processed food, they can see a prevalence of chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, epithelial cell cancers, autoimmune disease, and osteoporosis. Stick to healthy, processed foods like frozen fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and nut butter.
 
Trans fats, another common offender found in many processed foods such as chips, cookies, and crackers, can increase the risk for heart attacks, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. One study found consuming foods with trans fats can actually impair memory. And preservatives, which help keep processed foods shelf stable longer, may increase cancer risk. Nitrates, which are found in many processed meats for instance, have been linked to higher incidences of colorectal cancer.
 
Want to improve your health? Commit to making processed foods a smaller part of your diet, and stick to whole grains, legumes, meat, and fresh vegetables if you want to be more effective at work. Real food is the perfect fuel for the body and the brain, and clean eating boosts energy, makes it easier to focus, and improves memory.
 
Your Brain on Real Food
 
When you eat a balanced snack or meal that combines complex carbohydrates, protein, and fat, you provide your cells with a steady stream of glucose as well as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, substances that protect the cells from stress.
 
Folic acid, omega-3 oils, and many other nutrients have been shown to improve cognitive function. Real food is the best way to ingest nutrients. Spinach, greens, and citrus fruit are rich in folic acid. Fish, flax seeds, nuts, and green, leafy vegetables are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. But don’t worry too much about which foods contain which nutrients. Clean eating isn’t about munching on the latest superfoods. It’s about eating a wide variety of whole foods.
 
Glucose, a form of sugar, is the substance the body uses to feed every cell, including brain cells. To perform optimally, the brain needs a steady stream of glucose in the blood stream. Clean, minimally processed foods—such as lean meats, fruit, vegetables, and whole grains—provide sustained energy, while a treat from the vending machine only provides a short burst of energy. That’s why it’s common to feel sluggish, lethargic, and even irritable 30 to 45 minutes after eating a sugary snack. People call this a “sugar crash.” To make it worse, most vending-machine snacks (and many other processed foods) provide only empty calories and no actual nourishment. Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, convert most easily into the glucose we need to stay energized and productive.
 
Diets that are high in sugar, fat, and omega-6 fatty acids, which are common ingredients in processed food, are associated with reduced cognitive ability. High consumption of sugar and fat is linked to poor cognition and decreased memory. Diets high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3 fatty acids are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment.
 
All that said, scientists are increasingly understanding that diet is highly individualized. You may respond differently to the same meal than the person in the cubicle next to you does. You won’t know which foods suit you best unless you pay attention, which is why mindfulness is also an important component of clean eating. 
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​Reconnecting with Natural Cues
 
For better health and increased productivity, pay attention to your body’s natural cues and forget diet rules. Hunger is your body’s way of communicating that it needs refueling. When you ignore the message, it’s difficult to concentrate. You may feel lightheaded, irritable, short tempered, shaky, or nervous. Satiety is your body’s built-in calorie regulator. When you ignore it, you may overeat, which may lead to stomach discomfort, nausea, and lethargy.
 
Many people are disconnected from these natural cues because of frequent dieting, disordered eating, or distractions. Learning to heed your body’s communications can help you effortlessly regulate your food and nutrient intake to feel great, and be productive all day. Here’s how to do it: When you feel hungry, step away from work, put away distractions, and enjoy your food in a relaxed environment. Eat slowly and pay attention to how you feel, then stop when you feel satisfied.
 
If you’ve been loading up on sugar and processed foods, it may take a while for your appetite to shift toward healthier foods. However, many people report they begin to crave healthy foods after improving their diets, and research supports this observation. Eventually, trust your body to know what kind of fuel it needs, how much it needs, and when it needs it.
 
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​Conclusion
 
Whole foods are the best fuel for your body and your brain. Make a commitment to eat clean most of the time, and you’ll enjoy better health and increased productivity at work and beyond.
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In Search of Office Calm: Strategies for reducing workplace stress

8/21/2017

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The summer is winding down and many of your colleagues may be out of the office enjoying a well-deserved break. But what about you? As an office manager or administrator much of your work focuses on keeping the office running efficiently and planning ahead.

While your colleagues are at the beach you’ve already planned the October board meeting and booked space for your December holiday party. Keeping on top of your daily tasks and big projects can be stressful, but as paradoxical as it sounds, scheduling time, as well as creating office spaces and policies that help you unwind can keep you more focused and productive.

As the Managing Editor of All Hands, a publication about life at work from Managed by Q, I’ve had the chance to talk with office professionals about how they create calm, welcoming work environments that counteract the stress of the daily grind. Here are a few ideas:

Try out a workplace meditation or mindfulness program

Mindfulness training and meditation are becoming an increasingly popular offering in workplace wellness programs. While it might seem counter productive that sitting in quiet focus promotes productivity, Janice Marturano, who founded the mindfulness program at General Mills, told The Financial Times that workplace meditation is about, “training our minds to be more focused, to see with clarity, to have spaciousness for creativity, and to feel connected.” In addition to these qualities, which are important for any successful team, regular meditation is shown to reduce anxiety, improve cognitive functioning, and mental health.

Up the office greenery
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You’ve probably heard the phrase “plants make people happy” and science backs up this claim. Plants in the office clean the air, lower stress, and give a boost to energy and cognition. Researchers even suggest that indoor plants prevent fatigue and increase focus, especially during attention-demanding work. While the office can be a tough environment for plants, there are several varieties, such as ZZ and snake plants, that can survive in low light and need little water, so there’s no excuse to not have a little green around your desk to perk you up.

Bring your pet to work
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Spending time with pets reduces stress and increases well-being. As a result of these benefits and changing workplace culture, dog-friendly workplaces are on the rise. Pets in the workplace can foster organic employee connection as well as give their owners a reason to get up and move around throughout the day. While you want to make sure everyone feels comfortable with some four-legged friends around, creating a pet-friendly workplace (or bring your pet to work days) can reduce stress and create cute, funny, moments for all to share.

Take a vacation

It seems too obvious to even suggest, but despite all of our efforts to de-stress day-to-day, nothing beats taking a vacation. Taking time off positively impacts performance, morale, wellness, culture, productivity and retention. Many professionals also credit vacation for inspiring creativity. Despite this, in 2014 Glassdoor reported only a quarter of employees actually take all of their eligible days off. A whopping 40 percent take just 25 percent or less. It may seem hard to get away, but work with your team to delegate your responsibilities (or hire temporary help) while you are out of the office. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to tackle your day-to-day work and big projects and both you, and your company will benefit.

Now draw a deep breath, exhale, and take a pause.

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To get more ideas about how to create a welcoming, healthy work culture visit All Hands and join our newsletter.

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Eleanor Whitney is the Managing Editor at Managed by Q. She is a writer, musician, and community manager based in Brooklyn, New York. In 2013 Microcosm Publishing released her first book, Grow, a field guide for creatives to build satisfying companies and careers. She is currently working on her second book, a feminist memoir, to be published in 2018.

Managed by Q
 is the platform for office management. Q makes it easy to run an office by connecting companies to services, including cleaning, maintenance, office administration, IT, and security. A solution for recurring and ad-hoc office needs, Q saves companies valuable time and supports office operations for thousands of businesses nationwide.

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A Lite Paper by LifeLabs Learning: How to make remote work, work

8/15/2017

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​Should it be called “remote,” “distributed,” “virtual,” or something else? Everyone gives it a different name, but we all share the same question: what does it take to work successfully when you’re not in the same place (or even the same time zone)? At LifeLabs Learning, we’ve set out to find the secret formula for making remote work, work.

Method: We conducted a meta-analysis of research on the remote experience, spoke with heads of L&D and People Operations, and interviewed 38 employees from 13 tech companies, ranging in size from 150 – 30,000 employees. Participants either worked remotely, managed a remote employee, or had a remote manager.

In this ‘lite paper’ we will share 3 insights we’ve gathered so far and a Remote Experience Audit you can use to evaluate and improve the remote experience at your company.

Insight #1: Turning the camera on matters more than you think.

Almost all participants in our study emphasized the importance of seeing their teammates, whether through the screen or in person. Most companies prioritize having time in person, but short, frequent contact via camera leads to greater team trust and better communication. The Mere Exposure Effect reveals that the more familiar we are with our coworkers’ faces, the more we like them (Harmon-Jones & Allen, 2001). A related pro-tip we heard from seasoned remote workers is to position the video screen in a way that makes everyone feel that they are making eye contact. Eye contact builds trust and liking (Montague, 2013; Koike, et al, 2016). 

Insight #2: Autonomy feels like a perk, but only when we set expectations.

A sense of equity is very important to remote employees. Lack of access to onsite perks can feel unfair unless managers clarify that working remotely comes with unique perks – particularly in terms of how much autonomy remote employees get to enjoy. Autonomy matters to all workers (Weinstein, Przybylski & Ryan, 2012), so highlighting that remote employees have a choice in work location, set up, and time can spark greater motivation.

Insight #3: Remote work is spreading across jobs but best practices are not.

Many people assume remote work is done by engineers, but we’re seeing an increasing trend of remote work being done across a wide range of job types. Employees in each job category seem to be creating their own systems for how to work well remotely, but all remote job types can benefit from learning best practices from one another. Companies that extract and share tips and tools create more efficient and effective communication across the org.

Want to see how well your company creates a great remote experience for employees? See how you stack up by completing our Remote Experience Audit:

Organizational level

_ We offer resources to enable remote work (e.g., technology stipend, co-working membership)
_ We have clocks around the office that make it easy to remember other employees’ time zones
_ Our calendar system makes it easy to see availability and request time to meet
_ We provide tech support and training to help managers optimize video-based meetings
_ Our in-person and remote employees have similar access to learning and development opportunities
_ Our leaders and managers have received training in leading remote employees
_ We define output goals (e.g., deliverables) rather than input goals (e.g., counting hours logged)
_ We regularly survey employees to track their level of engagement, clarity, and inclusion
_ We create opportunities for remote employees to be featured at all-hands meetings and skill-shares


Leadership level

_ Influential leaders and decision makers are available to remote employees (e.g., they join team meetings, facilitate skip-level 1-1s, host virtual Ask Me Anything sessions)
_ We communicate the same company information and vision to remote and in-person audiences
_ Our leadership team privately and publicly acknowledges remote employees
_ Our leaders state and model the importance of regular 1-1 meetings


Manager level

_ Managers hold consistent, high-quality 1-1 meetings with their remote reports
_ Managers keep remote employees up-to-date about what’s going on in the office
_ Managers ask remote employees how they prefer to work, communicate, and receive feedback
_ Managers celebrate milestones (e.g., birthdays, work anniversaries, small team wins)
_ Managers establish communication norms (e.g., expected email response times, mutually convenient work hours, what to do if there are technical difficulties during a meeting)
_ Managers create time and space for bonding (e.g., small talk, sharing personal information)
_ Managers set expectations for remote employee equity vs. equality


Individual contributor level

_ Remote employees know how to hold project kick-off conversations that check agreement on deliverables, milestones, project autonomy level, interdependencies, and information flow
_ Remote employees know how to pull for information rather than wait for it to be pushed to them


Download a PDF of the lite paper and checklist here: https://goo.gl/HM8MGA. 

What’s next: This year, we will continue to collect and develop interventions for improving the remote experience by interviewing participants in our virtually-led workshops. To learn more, contact [email protected].
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​About the author: Megan Wheeler is a leadership trainer at LifeLabs Learning, the go-to learning and development resource for innovative companies (like Etsy, Squarespace, Tumblr, and Warby Parker). She oversees the LifeLabs Open Enrollment program, which offers virtual workshops for individual sign-up. She has her Master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and specializes in remote work and managing dispersed teams. ​​

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Yoga & wine in NYC

8/11/2017

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OrgOrg recently partnered with Bevi and Boxed to host a Wine & Yoga event in Boxed’s beautiful office in SoHo. Teresa Chiao, Associate Director at Boxed and certified Yoga Instructor,  led the group through a series of stretches, poses and breathing exercises to unwind after the work day.  Bevi kept everyone hydrated during the 45 minute class with their refreshing selection (sparkling cucumber FTW!).  
Once yoga was over, we spent time getting to know each other while we enjoyed some Boxed snacks and wine (made into a spritzer with a Bevi splash!).
Extra special thanks go to the event organizers: Bevi’s Katie Rooney, OrgOrg’s Sally Dankas and Boxed’s Teresa Chiao. If you interested in getting involved with OrgOrg in New York, apply to be a Chapter Head!


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Infuse Your Next Corporate Event With New Energy

8/7/2017

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Do you need some new, creative ideas for changing up your upcoming executive retreat, sales meeting, team offsite/teambuilding event or all-hands conference? We've got some great ways for you to do just that. 

Every corporate meeting is challenged by two competing objectives, successfully communicating key business messages critical for future performance, while also keeping the event interesting, dynamic, entertaining and engaging. These two goals, which may seem inherently in conflict, don’t need to be when event planners harness the power of meeting “energizers”. But what are these strategies and how do you leverage them for the benefit of your company meeting?

Successful corporate events do not follow the mainstream path of keynote, breakout presentations, lunch, more breakout presentations, closing keynote. Corporate meetings that carefully balance program content with dynamic “events within the event” keep an audience alert and engaged and tap into less traditional formats that are highly participative and unexpected. 

Learn more...

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