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Jobs That May be Under Your Radar

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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the average worker can expect to sit nearly 45% of the work day. On the surface, that doesn’t sound so bad. However, what isn’t considered is the effect that having a college degree has on that percentage. 

Despite lengthy research, there simply isn’t much data on how much people tend to sit at work if they have a college degree versus not having one.  However, looking at specific occupations does show data. 

Jobs including accounting, business, and tech tend to lead to workers sitting anywhere from 70-80% of the time. 

In fact, with an exception to a few areas where a degree is required, most of the post-college workforce appears to be in a position where they spend most of their day at a desk. 

For some, this is not an issue. For many others, it can lead to increased stress, dissatisfaction at work, weight gain, and a repetition of tasks that get old after a few days. So why do people continue to work in these environments? Part of it may be our tendency to follow the crowd, and college programs often funnel their graduates to these kinds of jobs. 

What if someone wants to break away from the norm? There are certainly options, and here are just three of them. 

Coaching

Coaching a sport can be one of the most satisfying and productive jobs that exist. On top of the satisfaction of helping athletes improve their skills, depending on the coach, it can also serve as a workout and a way to stay active. 

This option can be especially good in unique sports such as rowing, pole vault, or Irish dance. Many potential clients/athletes may not know about these opportunities, but once word gets out, there may be a lot of interest. Moving up in these specific fields is much easier than trying to go the route of a football or basketball coach. If a rowing team is looking for a coach, and you’ve got the experience, you may end up in a small candidate pool for a great job. 

Run an Excursion

Everyone loves excursions while on vacation. It’s a market that’s growing every year, and with the right equipment and skills, it’s very possible to have success here. The best part is that almost no matter where you go, the market will be there. 

In a tourist area like Orlando, Florida, so many people go that despite a lot of excursion options, opportunity is still there. On the flip side, in a small town in Kansas, the market may be small, but there won’t be any competition. 

The key is to be unique. If close to a desert, a dune buggy adventure will catch a lot of people’s attention. If there are already a lot of those excursions available, have a romantic candlelight dinner under the stars. The possibilities are endless. If you decide that you want an excursion that will keep you up on your feet and active, that’s totally up to you. 

Start a Business

Starting a company can be stressful and overwhelming, especially with zero experience. One key is to utilize resources and not pretend that you know how to do everything. Just as you wouldn’t have a plumber frame a house, a dentist perform brain surgery, or an engineer file your taxes, running everything for your business alone will likely not be successful.  

Odds are, you may be able to do the business part, but utilizing resources for other areas can help make a business successful. 

What does this have to do with not sitting all day? Similar to the excursion idea, starting your own business means choosing your hours, and the work style. You may decide that 7-10 AM is a great time to do all the paperwork and desk-related tasks, take a break from 10-11 AM, and then spend 11-4 PM doing active tasks related to the business. You can decide to work late at night and keep the mornings open. 

With few exceptions, a self-business allows you to work when, where, and how you want.  

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

The Ultimate Guide to the Essential Social Skills in Business

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Effective communication and strong relationships are essential for success in the workplace. One factor that can greatly influence these qualities is emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ. EQ refers to the ability to identify, understand, and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. Research has shown that individuals with high levels of EQ are better equipped to handle stress, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively with others (Chamorro-Premuzic & Sanger, 2016).

Research has consistently shown that emotional intelligence (EQ) is an important predictor of job performance and success in the workplace. EQ is comprised of a set of skills that allow individuals to recognize, understand, and regulate their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. In addition, individuals with high EQ are better able to communicate effectively, build relationships, and navigate complex social situations. As a result, they are often viewed as effective leaders and collaborators, and are more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals.

In fact, a number of studies have demonstrated the significant impact that EQ has on job performance and success. For example, one study of 85 upper-level managers found that those with higher EQ scores were rated as more effective leaders by their subordinates (Law, Wong, & Song, 2004). Another study of 151 employees found that those with higher EQ were more likely to be promoted within their organization over a five-year period (Carmeli, Brueller, & Dutton, 2009). These findings highlight the importance of EQ in the workplace and suggest that developing these skills can lead to significant benefits for both individuals and organizations.

According to a study conducted by TalentSmart, a leading provider of EQ assessments, EQ is responsible for 58% of success in all job types (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009). In contrast, IQ only accounts for about 4% of success in the workplace. This suggests that EQ is a crucial skill set for individuals in any professional field. Fortunately, EQ is a skill that can be developed and honed over time with practice and awareness.

There are several key components of EQ that are particularly important for success in the workplace. These include: 

Self-Regulation: This refers to your capacity to recognize and control your emotions. Sometimes treating them when they arise may be necessary. Understanding how to manage your anger is essential. However, it can also cover how to control the feelings you’ll experience.

Self-Awareness: This implies recognizing and understanding your own feelings. Do noisy places make you nervous? Do other people talking over you make you angry? Knowing these truths about yourself shows that you are working on your self-awareness. Being conscious of yourself is necessary for this phase, which can be more complex than it sounds.

Socialization: This category focuses on your capacity to manage social interactions and direct relationships. It doesn’t entail dominating others but knowing how to work with others to achieve your goals. This could entail presenting your ideas to coworkers, leading a team, or resolving a personal disagreement.

Motivation: Strong motivators include external forces like money, status, or suffering. Internal motivation, however, plays a significant role in Goleman’s concept. By doing so, you demonstrate your ability to control your cause and initiate or continue initiatives of your own volition rather than in response to external demands.

Empathy: It’s equally critical to be sensitive to others’ feelings. This may entail learning to identify different emotional states in individuals — for example, can you tell the difference between someone at ease and someone anxious? — but it also requires comprehension of how other people may react to their current situation. Empathy is one of the essential traits in business and business leadership.

A thought leader in this space, Michael Ventura has built a career advising organizations on the importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace. In his book, Applied Empathy, Ventura highlights the value of empathy in business and provides strategies for developing and applying this skill set. With two decades of experience as a leader, facilitator, and educator, Ventura’s work has made impact in with prestigious institutions such as Princeton University and the United Nations as well as corporate clients such as Google and Nike.

Through his work, Ventura advises leaders to focus on the development of EQ in order to help individuals improve their communication, collaboration, and leadership skills, ultimately leading to greater success in the workplace. Experts like Ventura continue to support the growing body of research on the value of EQ in business, and the evidence that organizations who invest in the EQ of their teams help to create a more empathetic and successful professional environment.

And it’s worth noting that EQ isn’t just important for individual success in the workplace, but also for overall organizational success. A study by the Center for Creative Leadership found that EQ was a better predictor of success than IQ or technical skills in the workplace, and that teams with higher levels of EQ tend to be more effective and productive (Boyatzis, Goleman, & Rhee, 1999). By cultivating a culture of empathy and emotional intelligence, organizations can improve their overall performance and create a more positive work environment for their employees.

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is a crucial component of success in the workplace, and individuals and organizations alike should prioritize the development of these skills. The ones that do not only develop a leading edge in their category, but also become a meaningful place to work for their teams. And in today’s rapidly changing talent landscape, the retention of highly capable, emotionally intelligent leaders is one of the greatest keys to unlocking success.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E., Goleman, D., & Rhee, K. S. (1999). Clustering competence in emotional intelligence: Insights from the emotional competence inventory (ECI). In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.), Handbook of emotional intelligence (pp. 343-362). Jossey-Bass.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Sanger, M. N. (2016). Does employee happiness matter? Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 3(2), 168-191.

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