Meg Holbrook’s Post

Are Your Employees Running Away from Work on Saturdays? Here's How to Keep Them Engaged During Peak Hours👇 It’s a familiar scene for many managers: the weekend arrives, peak business hours loom, and your employees seem to vanish into thin air. Saturdays can be a crucial time for many businesses, but ensuring a full, motivated team is often a challenge. 🌟Understanding the Challenge👇 First, let's acknowledge a simple truth: everyone values their personal time. For many, Saturdays are a cherished day off, a chance to recharge and spend time with family and friends. Asking employees to sacrifice this time can lead to frustration and burnout if not managed thoughtfully. How to Make Employees Happy to Work on Unscheduled Days: 🌟Flexibility and Fairness👇 🍀Flexible Scheduling: Allow employees to have some say in their schedules. Offering flexibility can make the idea of working an unscheduled day more palatable. 🍀Rotational Shifts: Implement a rotating schedule to ensure that the same employees aren’t always stuck working weekends. 🌟Incentives and Rewards👇 🍀Extra Pay: Offer overtime pay or weekend bonuses. Financial incentives can be a powerful motivator. 🍀Time Off in Lieu: Provide an alternative day off during the week if they work on Saturday. 🌟Creating a Positive Work Environment👇 🍀Team Building Activities: Organize small, enjoyable activities or team-building exercises to make weekend work feel less like a chore. 🍀Recognition: Regularly recognize and reward those who go the extra mile. Acknowledgement can significantly boost morale. 🌟Transparent Communication👇 🍀Explain the Why: Help employees understand why their presence is crucial on peak days. Transparency fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility. 🍀Open Dialogue: Encourage feedback and suggestions. Employees are more likely to be engaged if they feel their voices are heard. 🌟Distributing Duties Without Overburdening Employees👇 🍀Task Rotation: Rotate responsibilities so no one is stuck with the most tedious tasks all the time. This can help prevent burnout. 🍀Clear Prioritization: Clearly prioritize tasks and focus on what’s truly necessary during peak hours. Streamline processes to avoid unnecessary stress. 🍀Adequate Staffing: Ensure there are enough employees scheduled to handle the workload without overburdening anyone. Consider part-time or temporary staff if necessary. 🍀Breaks and Rest Periods: Ensure that employees have sufficient breaks and rest periods to maintain their energy and productivity levels. 🌟Treat Employees Like Human Beings, Not Machines👇 🍀Empathy and Understanding: Show genuine care for your employees’ well-being. A little empathy goes a long way. 🍀Work-Life Balance: Promote a healthy work-life balance by respecting their time off and not expecting them to be available 24/7. 🍀Support Systems: Provide support systems like counseling services, wellness programs, and other resources to help them manage stress.

“Sorry, not today — got some “𝗘𝗫𝗧𝗥𝗔” work!”Let’s talk about this “𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮” in our life! 😤 We’ve all been there—finishing up our tasks for the day, ready to call it a wrap, but then comes that extra request. You know, the one that doesn’t quite fit into your job description but somehow always lands on your desk. 📈What is this “extra”? It’s the unpaid overtime, the after-hours tasks, the weekend emails—often presented as the gateway to fake promises of faster promotions, bigger bonuses, and career growth. But let’s ask the real question: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 “𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮” 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗢𝗨? 👉Are you seeing tangible results? 👉Or are you getting caught up in a cycle of exhaustion with little to no payoff? The reality is, many managers pile on extra work to hit hidden targets, while dangling empty promises in front of you. But is that worth sacrificing your personal time, health, and well-being? 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: Do you value your life more than chasing these “extras” that don’t add up? In light of the recent tragic loss of a young girl who was under immense pressure, it's a sobering reminder of the toll that burnout and overwork can take on our mental and physical well-being. My heart goes out to her family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. 🙏 We need to speak up, set boundaries, and redefine the work-life balance. Don’t let someone else’s goals burn you out—especially when those “extras” aren’t leading you anywhere but to exhaustion. #WorkLifeBalance #MentalHealth #SpeakUp #WorkCulture

Here are the top five things you’re doing to stay stuck in your career: People-pleasing. Working like a workhorse. Trying to be perfect. Saying yes to everything. Playing by the same old rules. This shit will get you nowhere, or at least nowhere higher than where you currently are. None of it can be solved in a split-second, but what I can draw your attention to is one remedy that if you started working on today, you’d be well on your way to driving yourself out of a huge rut. That one remedy is strategy. When we’re not being strategic, we do all the tedious work so that our teams only do the “cool” work and stick around. We keep ourselves in the weeds working overtime hitting the same wall instead of working smarter. We set the bar sky-high so that we can never progress unless we’re perfect. We’re afraid to say no and potentially disappoint anyone while disappointing ourselves constantly, weighing ourselves down with overpromises and a stuffed schedule. Becoming strategic lifts us out of that life. Becoming strategic hoists us out of the burnout track, out of clipping weeds, out of invisibility and takes us from managing down to managing up. So why are women so bad at it? Why is strategy not our natural strong suit? Because we’re conditioned to believe that people-pleasing, working overtime, being perfect, saying yes and playing by the rules will get us what we want. It’s as simple as that. We have a role and a lane marked out for us and we’re scared to deviate from it. At the core of it, we’re afraid of failure, but I’m here to tell you that you’ll continue to crumble on the field of trying to play the game if you play it like you always have. As you move up, you need to rewrite the rules of the game. That’s what being strategic is about. For whatever problem you’re facing, How do you mobilize people and the company to tackle the problem? How do you bring a free-thinking, creative, innovative approach to the challenges instead of making micro changes to get more out of the team? How do you tap into vision and knowledge outside of your scope and industry to solve the issue? How are you recognizing what’s in the way and inventing new ways to overcome it? As a leader, you need to be able to break what exists and redefine what the future holds. You need to let go of what’s keeping you stuck and migrate into being what you truly are: A rule-breaker. If you recognize yourself in any of the staying-stuck behaviors we so commonly fall into as women, you’re not alone. I’m here to help you drive somewhere so much better by using the strategy module of The Powerhouse Blueprint. Book your free call today to learn more 👉 https://lnkd.in/gQ38kbNz

To grab your attention, I'll add a picture from my vacation, just like I did before. Employee Burnout: A Reality Check As a lower-level manager, I often find myself baffled by those "overly diligent" and "irreplaceable" employees. But what really discourages me is how other managers interact with them. Sure, it’s not true for every team, but in many workplaces, there's always that one person who takes on any task, agrees to overtime, and—miraculously—doesn't ask for a raise or any perks! They get praised, held up as an example for others, and… keep getting exploited as their workload increases while management tries to squeeze every last drop of productivity from them. And you know what happens next? Out of the blue, that person suddenly snaps and quits. Just like that—one day, without any warning. I've seen this happen at my previous job, where someone didn't just quit but left the entire field behind because they "couldn't bear to see it anymore." We have someone similar at my current job, and so far, they’re hanging on... So, what would you do if you were managing this kind of specialist? Leave a comment. But let's be honest, please. Don't say something like "I would carry them on my shoulders and shower them with money." Personally, along with other obvious measures, I would send them on mandatory vacation once or twice a year, even at the company's expense. I believe that could be the best way to prevent burnout. What do you think?

Here are the top five things you’re doing to stay stuck in your career: People-pleasing. Working like a workhorse. Trying to be perfect. Saying yes to everything. Playing by the same old rules. This shit will get you nowhere, or at least nowhere higher than where you currently are. None of it can be solved in a split-second, but what I can draw your attention to is one remedy that if you started working on today, you’d be well on your way to driving yourself out of a huge rut. That one remedy is strategy. When we’re not being strategic, we do all the tedious work so that our teams only do the “cool” work and stick around. We keep ourselves in the weeds working overtime hitting the same wall instead of working smarter. We set the bar sky-high so that we can never progress unless we’re perfect. We’re afraid to say no and potentially disappoint anyone while disappointing ourselves constantly, weighing ourselves down with overpromises and a stuffed schedule. Becoming strategic lifts us out of that life. Becoming strategic hoists us out of the burnout track, out of clipping weeds, out of invisibility and takes us from managing down to managing up. So why are women so bad at it? Why is strategy not our natural strong suit? Because we’re conditioned to believe that people-pleasing, working overtime, being perfect, saying yes and playing by the rules will get us what we want. It’s as simple as that. We have a role and a lane marked out for us and we’re scared to deviate from it. At the core of it, we’re afraid of failure, but I’m here to tell you that you’ll continue to crumble on the field of trying to play the game if you play it like you always have. As you move up, you need to rewrite the rules of the game. That’s what being strategic is about. For whatever problem you’re facing, How do you mobilize people and the company to tackle the problem? How do you bring a free-thinking, creative, innovative approach to the challenges instead of making micro changes to get more out of the team? How do you tap into vision and knowledge outside of your scope and industry to solve the issue? How are you recognizing what’s in the way and inventing new ways to overcome it? As a leader, you need to be able to break what exists and redefine what the future holds. You need to let go of what’s keeping you stuck and migrate into being what you truly are: A rule-breaker. If you recognize yourself in any of the staying-stuck behaviors we so commonly fall into as women, you’re not alone. I’m here to help you drive somewhere so much better by using the strategy module of The Powerhouse Blueprint. Book your free call today to learn more.

"We're like a family here" - The workplace 𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝗴 you shouldn't ignore Ever heard this from a manager? Time to look closer. 7 reasons why "we're family" is a major red flag: 1. Blurred boundaries ↳ Expectation to prioritize work over personal life ↳ Guilt-tripping for setting healthy limits 2. Unpaid overtime ↳ "Family" doesn't clock out ↳ Pressure to work beyond contracted hours 3. Emotional manipulation ↳ Using loyalty to extract extra effort ↳ Discouraging honest feedback 4. Lack of professionalism ↳ Informal conflict resolution ↳ Favoritism disguised as "closeness" 5. Resistance to change ↳ "This is how we've always done it" ↳ Difficulty implementing new processes 6. Burnout culture ↳ Normalizing overwork ↳ Equating exhaustion with dedication 7. Difficulty leaving ↳ Treating resignations as personal betrayals ↳ Creating a high-pressure environment to stay Instead, look for workplaces that: • Respect work-life balance • Offer clear, professional boundaries • Compensate fairly for all work hours • Encourage open, constructive feedback • Implement formal, fair processes • Value personal growth and well-being • Support career advancement, even externally Remember: You're not joining a family. You're entering a professional relationship. Prioritize workplaces that value your skills, respect your time, and support your growth - without the family drama. What's your experience with "family-like" workplaces? Share below! ------------------------------------------------- ♻️ Repost this if you think it can help someone in your network! -------------------------------------------------

Employees must learn to say no and Employers should stop preying on the vulnerabilities of the employees. Here are a few things workplaces and individuals MUST do to ensure happier and healthier teams (and more productivity and profitability in the long run): As an employer (let’s be honest, the onus is more on you): - Be a better boss than your boss. Just because you worked overtime as a junior, doesn’t mean your team has to. - Value the official working hours you’ve set for your team. Just because your employee is free, doesn’t mean they have to be available for work. Respect their need for rest. Especially if they’re working from home. - Offer to compensate. If you need someone to be available over the weekend for an urgent deliverable, compensate by giving an extra day off soon after. - Be sensitive. If you sense a dip in performance, be curious as to why. There could be reasons they’re not comfortable sharing. Respect their privacy and cut them some slack. - Promote a better workplace culture in general. Make it cool to take rest. Often times there are policies in place but they don’t trickle down effectively because working overtime is glorified. As an employee: - Learn to say no. Discern what’s genuinely urgent and what’s an artificial urgency. You may not be the boss’s favourite (learn to be okay with that) but set reasonable expectations. This may take time and practice. - Take meaningful breaks. What you do in your break is underestimated. Are you scrolling on your phone or are you drinking a glass of water and going for a short walk? This will dramatically change the quality of your work. - Adopt healthier habits in your free time. Exercise. Eat healthier food. Read good books. Listen to informative podcasts. Use technology and available resources to your benefit. This will enhance your sel-worth. - Upskill yourself. Make yourself more employable and less replaceable. Companies will start valuing your time when they can’t afford to lose you or replace you. - Know when to leave. This is easier said than done, but if you’re not being respected, leave. If you’re replaceable for the company, so is the company for you. #workplacewellness #healthcoach #setboundaries

· Employees are 50% more likely to quit their job. · Employees are 40% more likely to take frequent days off. · Employee productivity plummets to 28%. · Employees are 64% more likely to be unhappy at work. These detrimental statistics are related to employee burn out. So how do your employees reach burnout? More importantly how can you spot it before it becomes a serious problem? Here are a few clear signs that you are overloading your employees with more work than they can handle. 🚨Decreased Productivity🚨 When you notice a decline in productivity or a drop in the quality of work output from your team members, it's a strong indication that they may be overloaded with work. 🚨Increased Stress Levels🚨 If your team members exhibit signs of heightened stress, such as irritability, anxiety, or frequent complaints about new work pressures, it's likely they're struggling to manage their workload effectively. 🚨Missed Deadlines🚨 Consistently missing deadlines or failing to meet project milestones suggests that your team is overwhelmed and finding it challenging to keep up with their workload. 🚨Long Hours and Overtime🚨 Regularly working long hours or overtime to meet deadlines indicates that your team members are being overloaded with work and may be at risk of burnout. Do not over look the wellness of your employees, it is a fatal business mistake. 📌 Find us here: https://lnkd.in/gTJQ9X8

I was wrong!   Managers don't want to fix work-life balance ❌😢 It's not their first priority, at least. I'm talking about hard-working managers who overtime and forget to eat properly, who say "yes" to every new task. From what I see: PMs are already taking care of their work-life balance or postpone it till burnout or depression hits 🩻. Even if the PM knows that they neglect or decline personal life they continue working hard 🧗. The reason is simple: different priorities. They work hard because they want: • Self-confidence that they act professionally • To look responsible, capable, prompt, loyal • Their work is noticed and appreciated 🙏💲 Working less, saying "no", or delegating looks opposite to what they want. Because they might not look involved when doing that. So, I decided to drift a bit from the effectiveness topic. My brain is hardwired to structure and optimize📊, when having a clear goal at work or in business. I know how to achieve more while working less. I will help you bring more value with less effort, and teach you how to promote your input organically. Work-life balance will come as a byproduct. P.S.: What's more important for you right now?: 1) Make sure your input is decent and appreciated 2) Improve work-life balance

11 Smart Ways to Say "No" to Your Boss (Without Jeopardizing Your Career) Let’s face it—saying "no" to your boss can feel intimidating. You might worry they'll question your commitment or capabilities. But setting boundaries is key, both for your well-being and for delivering your best work. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟭𝟭 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 "𝗻𝗼" 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆: 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱: Clearly communicate that your plate is already full. “I’m at capacity, but I can prioritize the most urgent tasks.” 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀: Politely turn down work that doesn’t align with your role. “This isn’t part of my responsibilities—let’s discuss where I can add the most value.” 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁: Suggest additional resources to complete the task efficiently. “Could we bring in extra help to make sure this is done right?” 𝗕𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘀: Share that taking on more could impact quality. “If I add this now, it won’t get the attention it deserves.” 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: Propose alternative ways to get the work done. “What if we try [alternative solution] to keep things moving?” 𝗥𝗲-𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗧𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀: Ask for guidance on what to prioritize. “Which project should I focus on first?” 𝗣𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲: Let your boss know if overtime is affecting your balance. “I’m happy to help, but frequent overtime is impacting my work-life balance.” 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿-𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀: Respectfully establish boundaries around personal time. “I’ll handle this first thing tomorrow—I have plans tonight.” 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Invite your boss to help re-prioritize tasks. “What can we shift around to make room for this?” 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆: Be upfront about your current workload. “I don’t have availability right now, but I can take this on once I wrap up my current projects.” 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Explain how taking on more could impact work quality. “To maintain high standards, I need to focus on my current tasks.” Saying “no” isn’t about disappointing your boss. It’s about safeguarding your time, energy, and the quality of your work—leading to greater long-term success. 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 "𝘯𝘰" 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴? 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸! 👇