Administrative Assistant's Update

7 Administrative Assistant's UPDATE september Continued from page 3 How much do you make? At SumAll, everyone knows everyone's salary In most workplaces, people don't reveal to each other how much they earn. If you find out someone earns less than you–or more than you–it could change the relationship you have with that person. But at New York-based market- ing analytics company SumAll, salaries aren't a secret. Everyone knows the CEO makes $145,000 a year. The lowest paid employee earns $40,000 a year. And everyone knows it. CEO Dane Atkinson was inter- viewed by CBC Radio's As It Hap- pens. He said that when salaries are secret, it's easier for employers to get away with unfair hiring practic- es, like "paying women 77 cents on the dollar (and) minorities 55 cents on the dollar." He told As It Hap- pens that being open about salaries "diminishes the ability to be evil." He said CEOs tend not to want transparency around salaries be- cause they're usually the highest paid employees in the workplace. In fact, if they're "over-compensated," he said, they may "fear a mutiny from their organization by revealing how much that difference is." He said that while the company's employees share their salaries within the company, they don't encourage people sharing the num- bers outside of the company. Employees at SumAll tend to talk about salary more than at other companies, said Atkinson. They talk about whether certain people are making too much compared to other people. Can the task be broken down into more manageable pieces? Then move what can be moved, get help where you need it and focus on the highest priority items (and it can't be all of them). 2) Abandon thoughts of perfec- tion. Many of us seek perfection when we should be aiming for excellence. I often (and by often, I mean daily) tell my clients that you want your work product to be good enough. Perfect will require hours of additional fiddling while good enough is far more attainable and usually is all that is required. And don't be fooled: good enough means a professional work prod- uct you're proud to put your name on, not haphazard, sloppy work. This approach also works when wrapping gifts. 3) Look after yourself. I know, easy to say, and I'm not suggesting mak- ing huge changes to your lifestyle during this very busy time. I'm suggesting taking a few small steps in the right direction. Can you squeeze in an extra 15 min- utes of sleep tonight? Thirty min- utes? How about choosing to eat a few healthy foods this week—an apple or a salad? Can you keep a water glass at your desk and take a few sips every hour? See if you can manage even a few minutes of exercise each day—park further away, get off the bus a stop early, take the stairs. Identify the tips that seem man- ageable for you and give it a shot. I think you'll notice a difference to how the demands of September are making you feel. Helen Latimer is a seasoned job coach. Visit her website at helenlatimercoaching.com and connect with her on LinkedIn. The science behind happiness Researchers at the University College of London say they can accurately predict how happy someone will be. Their recently conducted research determined that happiness stems from a person's expectations. Whether things are going well or not, it seems that it's whether things are going better than expected that results in a person's happiness. Researchers created a game app called The Great Brain Experiment and had people play it. Throughout the game, participants earn reward points depending on their willingness to take risks, such as "betting" on cards. During one study, 26 people playing the app were asked about their happiness levels from moment-to-moment. Participants' brain activity was also measured. The researchers found that when people did better at the game than they expected, they were happier. The researchers applied the information gained in their study to bigger life events, such as getting married and starting a new job. They concluded that "our expectations related to these decisions, good and bad, have a big effect on happiness," said researcher Robb Rutledge.

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