Do You Take Vacations?

Tired of your job?
Need a break?
Have important issues and objectives to attend to?
Planned a nice trip?
Take a vacation!

In America, we have a paid vacation at most job locations for full-time employee and sometime part-time depending on the employer. This is optional. You could stay at work and use the vacation time for extra money. I believe everyone needs a break and time away from the day-to-day work schedule. Take the time to relax, unwind, catch up on house work, engage in your favorite hobbies, take a trip (even if it is not out of the city), or simply get rejuvenated with extra rest. Humans go to work day in and day out being unmotivated, going through the same motions like a robot. Refresh yourself and use your time wisely.

In most cases, if you do not use them you lose them (referring to vacation hours). Vacations should be planned out at least a half a year in advance to meet with guidelines, give both you and the employer time to prepare, it is not rushed, and if money is needed to be saved it could be. This time off could make you stronger mentally and physically and reduce chance of burnout. It is not enjoyable to experience burnout. I repeat, IT IS NOT FUN TO EXPERIENCE A BURNOUT! Take the time for your mind to rest and replenish itself. You will feel much better returning to work than you would returning to work after getting off of work the previous day. Please trust and believe me.

As always, work hard and stay motivated! Set up an appointment with your supervisors to discuss these issues of taking time off. Ask for PTO (Paid time off). This is usually a personal day or vacation days (and at times sick days, but they are not always paid). I hope this helps in your daily and yearly work routine. Get some needed rest.

-Steven D. Jackson

SDJBoooks.com

What is Critical Legal Thinking?

Need to know about laws? Start with critical legal thinking.

Critical legal thinking consists of investigating, analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting information to solve simple or complex legal issues or cases. Critical legal thinking improves a person’s problem solving skills and helps him or her make clear, logical, rational, and well-reasoned conclusions and judgments.
Critical legal thinking requires intellectually disciplined thinking. This requires a person to recognize and identify problems, engage in logical inquiry and reasoning, evaluate information and appraise evidence, consider alternative perspectives, question  1415assumptions, identify unjustified inferences and irrelevant information, evaluate opposing positions and arguments, and assess one’s own thinking and conclusions. (Henry CheeseMan, Contemporary Business Law)

-Steven D. Jackson

SDJBooks.com

Performance Appraisals

The effect performance appraisals has on a supervisor and employee.

Effective performance appraisal interviews are critical to healthy supervisor-employee relations, because it gives both the employee and the supervisor a platform to get on the same page. Topics usually discussed are what works and what does not, your strengths and weaknesses, goals, production, and steps one needs to take to get better. Disciplinary interviews could may also improve relations, it will serve as a wake up to the employee. The employee then know this is not the correct thing to do or the proper behavior. A positive change usually occurs. Communication competence will have the final decision in both scenarios. Lack of communication will ultimately harm the relations.

-Steven D. Jackson

SDJBooks.com

Fear in Leadership

Fear should not be in leadership.

I do not believe it is ethical for an organization to allow its leaders to use fear as a communication tactic. My reason being communication line will be disrupted. If communication is damaged in any way at the work place, it would cause harm to the organization. Employees should be open to their honest opinion when speaking with leaders and vice versa. As a leader, it is difficult for me to use fear tactics to gain the uproar. If you give love in respect, expect it back. If you do not give love and respect, why should someone else? I believe love conquers all, love what your employees are doing by guiding them. Who was ever unsatisfied with love?

-Steven D. Jackson
SDJBooks.com

Diversity in the Workplace

Diversity could be beneficial to any situation, as long as you create that situation.

With global success, there has always been cultural sensitivity. This remains true for local success. If no one could appreciate someone for being different from himself/herself they have already taken the wrong steps. The Golden Rule, “Give onto others as you would want others to give on to you”. It takes respect to get respect. It takes money to make money. It takes effort to reproduce anything that could be made or brought into this world. Everyone should continuously learn this cycle and not wait until someone alerts us.

-Steven D. Jackson
SDJBooks.com