The Office that Never Sleeps

With social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace and YouTube becoming increasingly popular, the amount of time people spending on them is going through the roof. Understandably many businesses are looking for ways to prohibit or crack down on personal use during working hours.

While the occasional use or checking in for perhaps ten minutes a day seems harmless, some people spend up to two hours a day while at work accessing these sites. The amount of work hours lost is becoming an increasing problem.

Stress in the workplace becomes a bigger problem every year, with depression, just one type of stress related reaction, being the leading occupational disease this century resulting in more work days lost than to any other single factor. With 25% to 40% off job burnout in the US being directly blamed on work pressures and stress this cannot be taken lightly.

There are several reasons for the increased stress levels in the workplace including job insecurity, growing demands and working longer hours, higher expectation of productivity and the need for a work/family balance as more women have entered the workforce. Worldwide a global stress research study found that women who have children under the age of thirteen and work full time experience the highest levels of stress.

The New York Subway is one of the largest subway systems in the world running about every 2-5 minutes during rush hour and about every 5-15 minutes during the rest of the day.The Subway is a cheap and convenient way to get around New York City, however travelling on the Subway during rush hour can be daunting, lots of pushing and shoving, impatient people all trying to get to work at the same time.

We have put together some helpful tips on riding the Subway and ways to minimise risks.

Created in 1996 to help revitalize the Upper Manhattan and South Bronx market place, the New York Empowerment zone is a federal economic development initiative. If your business qualifies and operates in the Empowerment Zone you could be eligible for increased depreciation tax deductions, employer wage credits and tax exempt bond financing.

Combining parenthood and a career can be quite a juggling act, and finding someone to care for your little one is of paramount importance. There are different types of childcare available in New York and finding a safe, reliable and licensed practitioner is vital. You need to be able to do your job knowing that your child is being taken care of, is happy and healthy. You, as the parent, know what is best for your child, and finding a warm, friendly environment requires some research.

The Bureau of Child Care provides a wealth of information and advice on childcare along with licensing and registration services for childcare workers. You should start looking a few months before the childcare needs to start, to give yourself time to check out what is available, and what would best suit you and your child’s needs.

Keeping fit is important for your well being as well as being a great way to keep stress levels down. Fitting exercise into your work day can be a difficult task, but is well worth the effort. Decide what type of fitness training you would like to do - power walking, yoga, jogging, swimming, or a mixture. Even a short walk will do you good - try getting off a stop before you need to and walk the rest of the way, run up the stairs instead of using the elevator and take a walk in the park at lunch time instead of sitting hunched over your desk.

As far as gyms go, there fitness classes for all abilities, with times to suit office workers. You could take a pre breakfast yoga class, a lunchtime spinning class or go for an after work weight training session. If your office building has its own gym you could come into work a little early and spend twenty minutes using the facilities.

With our busy working lives, we don’t always get the time to actually leave the office for lunch, so finding a lunch delivery service that offers healthy options and quality menus is important. Ordering pizza and other fast foods is not good for your diet or well being but taking the time to research alternatives can be time consuming, so we’ve done it for you!

There will be no excuses for drab and unhealthy lunches after you have read through our list, and with all the amazing options available in this multicultural melting pot of a city you are spoiled for choice.