Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner’s specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually do many different kinds of tasks, handling both administrative and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area, under the supervision of department administrators.

According to the United States Department of Labor, employment for medical assistants is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2006-16 decade. Job opportunities should be excellent, particularly for those with formal training.

The earnings of medical assistants vary, depending on their experience, skill level, and location. Median annual earnings of medical assistants were $24,610 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $20,650 and $28,930. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,010, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $34,650.

Medical assisting programs are offered in vocational or technical high schools, junior colleges and online distance education programs. St. Augustine Medical Assistant School provides a good model of a distance education program for medical assistants, program details can be viewed at www.medassistant.org.

St. Augustine Medical Assistant School offers online classes in: Introduction to becoming a Medical Assistant, Medical Terminology, Human Body Planes, Basic Human Anatomy and Physiology, Medical Office Professionalism, Patient Communication, Medical Records, Basic Medical Law, Scheduling Appointments, Medical Billing and Insurance Claims, Infection Control, Surgical Instruments, Emergency Care, Clinical Equipment, Patient History and Physicals, EKG and Lab Testing, Specimen Collection and Lab Safety, Introduction to Patient Medications.

The sheer number of distance learning and online degrees available is enormous and is growing daily. Similarly the number of schools and institutions that offer learning online is also expanding rapidly. Distance education programs are often very flexible and allow students to study online at their own pace and convenience, this makes becoming a well trained medical assistant easier now then ever. Online learning as also made medical assistant education more accessible to students who otherwise could not attend older rigid classroom based program. Distance education is an excellent and very affordable way for students to study for a rewarding career as a medical assistant.

About The Author:
Medical Assistant :: Study online to be a Medical Assistant at St. Augustine School of Medical Assistants at http://www.medassistant.org

The duties of medical assistants vary from office to office, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner’s specialty. In small practices, medical assistants usually do many different kinds of tasks, handling both administrative and clinical duties and reporting directly to an office manager, physician, or other health practitioner. Those in large practices tend to specialize in a particular area, under the supervision of department administrators.

Medical assistants perform administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. They should not be confused with Physician assistants, who examine, diagnose, and treat patients under the direct supervision of a physician.

The duties and job details of medical assistants vary according to what is allowed by State law. Some common tasks include taking medical histories and recording vital signs, explaining treatment procedures to patients, preparing patients for examinations, and assisting physicians during examinations. Medical assistants collect and prepare laboratory specimens and sometimes perform basic laboratory tests on the premises, dispose of contaminated supplies, and sterilize medical instruments. They might instruct patients about medications and special diets, prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician, authorize drug refills as directed, telephone prescriptions to a pharmacy, draw blood, prepare patients for x-rays, take electrocardiograms, remove sutures, and change dressings.

Medical assistants also usually perform administrative tasks such as update and file patient medical records, fill out insurance forms, and arrange for hospital admissions and laboratory services. They also perform tasks less specific to medical settings, such as answering telephones, greeting patients, handling correspondence, scheduling appointments, and handling billing and bookkeeping. Medical assistants also may arrange examining room instruments and equipment, purchase and maintain supplies and equipment, and keep waiting and examining rooms neat and clean.

In most cases a medical assistant is a none licensed health care professional and they are trained in a variety of way. Many receive informal on the job type of training while others learn the basics of a medical practice and patient care in a more formal setting such . Formal training for medical assistants may occur at a local junior college, vocational school, medical assistant school, high school technical classes, local hospital or online distance education programs. A good example to newer innovative online training is available at www.medassistant.org . St. Augustine Medical Assistant School is an educational service that uses internet based technology to train medical assistants online.

According to the United States Department of Labor, employment for this filed is projected to grow much faster than average, ranking medical assistants among the fastest growing occupations over the 2006-16 decade. Job opportunities should be excellent, particularly for those with formal training or experience.

About The Author:
Mark Stout, BSc, MD is the director of medical assistant education services at St. Augsutine Medical Assistant School online at http://www.medassistant.org

A job interview is a screening tool. For you, it’s an opportunity to assess whether or not you want to work for a company. For the employer, it’s an opportunity to decide whether or not they want to hire you. Both sides are looking for a match.

Interviews bring up nervous questions for job seekers, such as:

·Will I fit in? ·Will they like me? ·Will they see that I am the best candidate for the position?

Interviews bring up nervous questions for employers, such as:

·Will this candidate be a good choice? ·Will they make me look good or bad? ·Will they be able to do this job? ·Will they get up and running quickly? ·Will they follow through with what they said during their interviews?

If you answer the employer’s questions better than anyone else, you will have a good shot at getting the job. This means being prepared. If you prepare, you can go into problem-solving mode. So, rather than “please pick me,” you will be able to tell a company how you are going to be an asset.

So How Can You Successfully Prepare For Interviews? Follow These Five Steps Below:

1. Research, research, and then research some more. Prospective employers expect you to be well-informed about the company, its products and services, and the industry as a whole in general. Plan to spend quite a bit of time on the company’s web site. Look at their mission, news releases, product releases, etc.

Read articles about what the company and the industry are going through. Speak to people who work there. Know the company’s view of itself, as well as what people who don’t work for that company think about it. You are looking for indications of where a company is going and what problems the company and the industry are having. Knowledge is power. The more you know before the interview, the more confident you will be when you are there.

2. Know the job description intimately. If you want to do well during an interview, you have to know what the company wants you to do. This information is in the job description. Go through the bulleted list of requirements in the job description, one-by-one, and come up with an example of how you have successfully done what they are looking for in either your current or past positions.

3. Make a list of questions you may be asked during the interview. List questions you can easily answer as well as those you wish would not be brought up, but you know will be. Go through each question and write out your answers for each.

4. Know who is going to be in the room. A job interview can be with one individual or with many. You want to know who will be attending so you can gear your answers toward what’s important to the people you will be meeting with. Each interviewer will want to know how hiring you will make their life easier. List each individual, their job title, what they are responsible for, and what you believe they will gain by having you employed there.

5. Know what the job is paying or what your position is worth. Inquire what the position is paying before you go into the interview. If you cannot find out, know what your position is worth by checking out salary sites on the web. Don’t let a paid service stop you. Look into salary surveys done by associations in your industry. Look at similar job ads and not necessarily just ones near where you are located. Look for those ads that list salaries. You can get paid more—thousands of dollars more—if you know this information.

I have had clients ask me if all of this prep work is necessary and worth it. My answer is yes. A prepared impression is a good one. If you try to wing it, your nervousness can get the better of you. This means you will not come across well.

About The Author:
Deborah Brown-Volkman, PCC, is the President of Surpass Your Dreams, Inc. a successful career, life, and mentor coaching company that works with Senior Executives, Vice Presidents, and Managers who are looking for new career opportunities or seek to become more productive in their current role. She is the author of “Don\’t Blow It! The Right Words For The Right Job,” “Coach Yourself To A New Career,” and “How To Feel Great At Work Everyday.” Deborah can be reached at http://www.surpassyourdreams.com

Not getting what you want in your career? Maybe you are not asking effectively.

Communication should be simple. You say one thing, and the other person says another. The challenge is that each person communicates differently. People listen to what is being said differently, and they interpret what they hear differently, too.

The burden of getting the message across successfully falls on the person who needs to get their message across. This person is you. The more simply you can state what you want, the easier it will be for you to get it. The clearer you can be upfront, the better your results will be. Miscommunication will be minimized, and the next steps in getting what you want will become evident.

So, How You Communicate Well? Follow These Four Points Below:

1. Have A Purpose.

Purpose is a desired result or effect. Purpose is your intention—the positive outcome that you want to occur. Great conversations happen in the mind first, when you are able to visualize yourself obtaining a favorable result. Once you can see yourself being successful, you become successful.

In order to figure out your purpose, ask yourself the following:

·What do I want? ·What would I like the other person to say? ·What would I like the other person to do? ·What would I like to happen after the conversation is over?

It’s important not to have a conversation without purpose. If you don’t have a purpose, you will tend to flub your way through the conversation, and the other person will not get what you are saying or understand what you are asking for.

2. Have A Focus.

You have focus when you are working toward something specific. You have a very definite goal in your mind that you want to reach. Unlike purpose, which gets you ready to have the conversation, focus keeps you on track when you are already talking.

You can get focused by asking yourself the following:

·What do I want to happen? ·What are the specific things I need from this conversation? ·What are the specific things I need the other person to say? ·What are the specific things I need the other person to do? ·What will be the specific points I will make sure I cover/discuss? ·What do I see going wrong with the conversation, and how can I turn it around?

There are different ways to say focused. You can bring an agenda or a list of items you want to discuss, or you can state your purpose up front. This way, if the conversation goes off track, you have something to bring you back to your original intent.

3. Get Agreement.

An agreement is an arrangement between parties regarding a course of action. You know an agreement has been reached when the other person understands what you are saying and agrees to do what you have asked.

You know you have reached an agreement when you have covered the following items:

·Both sides have had the opportunity to speak. ·There are no other points to cover at that time. ·The parties shake hands or put into writing what was agreed to.

Agreement is important. It signifies that you have covered all of the bases, listened well, asked and answers all questions, and accomplished your purpose. You had a goal in mind and you reached it. Good for you.

4. Create Next Steps.

The next steps are the things that will happen after the conversation is over. During the conversation, you will discuss what will happen next. You will also spell out the timing of things, the order in which things will occur, and arrange another time when you will speak again.

You are the person responsible for making sure next steps have been created. Do not leave it up to the other party. Keep next steps in mind while you are creating your focus and reaching an agreement.

While you are creating subsequent tasks, ask yourself the following:

·What will I do next? ·What will the other person do next? ·When will we meet again? ·When will we check in to make sure we are both on track? ·When will our agreement be complete?

Without next steps, the agreement ends with the conversation.

Great conversations rarely happen without preparation. You have to put in the effort. When you take the time to do the work beforehand, your results will be much better afterward.

About The Author:
Deborah Brown-Volkman, PCC, is the President of Surpass Your Dreams, Inc. a successful career, life, and mentor coaching company that works with Senior Executives, Vice Presidents, and Managers who are looking for new career opportunities or seek to become more productive in their current role. She is the author of “Don\’t Blow It! The Right Words For The Right Job,” “Coach Yourself To A New Career,” and “How To Feel Great At Work Everyday.” Deborah can be reached at http://www.surpassyourdreams.com

My job search has been thoroughly frustrating. I have sent out dozens and dozens of resumes, applied to a ton of jobs, prospected employers, kept up on the job boards, and everything else that I’m supposed to do. And I’ve only had three interviews. That is the bad news. The good news is that I now know what I did wrong, and what I will do different next time.

NEXT TIME???

I know there will be a next time. Statistically, people change jobs or careers every 2.8 years, or something like that. Each career professional subscribes to some statistic on job changes, but for some reason this one kind of rings true with me. I know a lot of people that don’t make changes that often, but I know others that change with more frequency. The fact is that people change jobs, a lot. Part of your career management has included developing the skills, knowledge and abilities, amassing education, degrees and certifications and other things to beef up your resume. What I’ve learned the hard way is that no matter how cool my resume is, and how good I am, there is an important aspect to career management that I had been neglecting - preparing for that 2.8 year job transition.

If I got paid to do a job search I would certainly do it differently. I would have a reminder of what my end goal is (define what you are looking for so you can stay focused) and a strategy. One thing that I’ve come to realize is that this strategy is for every day of my career, not just when I’m unemployed. Here are six parts of my job search strategy for when I already have a job (whether I’m happy there or not):

1. Have a current master resume - this is a resume that has everything on it, and will be used to pull information to create a more targeted resume applicable to a certain company or job posting.

2. Make a conscience effort to maintain relationships - I will continue to strengthen relationships with people that I’ve met. It doesn’t matter if this is someone that I haven’t talked with for over 10 years! That guy or gal in the cubicle next to you 10 years ago may be in the corner office today!

3. Consistently expand my personal contacts - I will add new people I meet at conventions and other meetings to my personal network, and foster the relationship with each of these people so that they know who I am and what my skills are. I will also ask people I know for contacts in areas that interest me - for example, \”who do you know that works in the banking industry?\”

4. Perform company informational interviews - I will contact one company that is outside of the industry that I’m working each month and find a senior manager to do an informational interview. This has many advantages: you will learn more about another industry, you may learn how to solve a problem in a way that you haven’t thought about before, you expand your personal network, and that manager learns about you and can judge you as a possible valuable asset to his team. Note this is not an opportunity to ask for a job - it is a no-pressure \”tell me about your company, what you do, what your challenges are.\” Your strengths will come out in the quality of your questions and dialogue - leave it at that for this first meeting.

5. Pursue service opportunities - while time is a valuable commodity, you should pursue opportunities to serve at least once a month. There are some very meaningful programs that require very little time yet have a big impact. My personal favorite was spending time one-on-one with a disadvantaged child at an elementary school, where I was able to show him, through example, how a child/adult relationship could be. There are many other opportunities, and the other volunteers that you meet will be great contacts to add to your network.

6. Develop my personal brand - In your company or industry there are ways to create and strengthen your personal brand. Have you ever authored an article for the trade magazine? Have you ever been asked to speak at a conference? There are ways to get your foot in the door, and it makes sense for you to create yourself as a Guru. I met one guy that started a blog on new technologies that has made money off of his brand that he created for himself. He said that he is the same guy as he was before the blog, but now he is regarded as a guru - and is cashing in on it.

I know that you are busy in your professional life. You have deadlines, priorities, responsibilities and distractions. But I learned the hard way, it is much better to prepare for a job search before you need to, than to find yourself at home on a Monday morning with an outdated resume in hand saying \”now what do I do?\” Consider each of the 6 points above to be preventative measures. Do any or all of them now and you will be much more prepared for when you really need it.

About The Author:
Jason Alba, professional job seeker, is the creator of JibberJobber.com which is a website that allows professionals and job seekers to organize and manage every aspect of a job search. You can get a free account at http://www.JibberJobber.com/?referredBy=2 and keep track of prospective employers, network contacts, jobs you apply to, job boards you post on, job-related expenses, and many other aspects of a job search. Other features include importing/exporting of your data, e-mailed action items and more. Jason can be reached at jason@JibberJobber.com.

Your career is a series of choices. Some are good and some are not so good. But either way, you are the person doing the choosing. At times it may feel like you have no choice, or someone else is making the choices for you, but the truth is you have more power over what you choose than you think you do.

What going on in your career? Frustration? Boredom? Exhaustion? Things we all deal with in today’s workplace. (It’s good to know that you are not alone.)

If your career is not where you want it to be, it’s up to you to do something about it. The old clich

First off, I would echo the voice of 18th century French philosopher Voltaire, made popular and relevant in today’s leadership lexicon by \”Good to Great\” author Jim Collins, who said, \”Good is the Enemy of Great.\”

1. \”Good is the Enemy of Great.\” Get rid of the good to make room for the great in your life. Instead of keeping the main thing the main thing, we major in too many minor things. In other words, many people do a few things that are good, a lot of things that are mediocre, but nothing that is GREAT.

Find the ONE thing you can be the best in the world at and focus unrelentingly on improving that one thing, polishing it to perfection.

Choose great over good in ALL areas of your life! It is far better to have a few great things than a lot of good or mediocre things.

Instead of having six cheap shirts that you don’t feel so great in, have one fine quality shirt that you can feel proud to wear and that makes you feel like a million bucks! Instead of having five or six ho-hum paintings to decorate your walls, invest in ONE magnificent masterpiece that leaves you breathless and enriches your soul every time you look at it! Instead of going to the usual cottage retreat every long-weekend, save up your money and go on one GREAT vacation that you’ve always dreamed of like going on a European boat-cruise, snorkeling in the Red Sea, or taking an art class in Paris. Instead of many mediocre friendships, have a few great friendships that energize and inspire you and that you can spend quality time fostering deeper relationships. You get the point.

Greatness is a choice! And choice is the democratic equalizer of all people. Everyone, regardless of their rank, social status or income level has the power to choose great over good.

2. Commit to an annual theme. Instead of making and breaking a number of well-wished but half-hearted New Year’s Resolutions, commit to an annual or lifetime theme. Pick a theme that defines your singular life purpose or what you are most passionate about and stick to it.

For example, my theme is: \”Write First!\” I have this theme posted right in front of me above my computer. My purpose is to write.

I write first and ask questions later. I focus on writing (or things related to developing my writing) first and then worry about the urgent but non-important interruptions (paying bills, answering calls and emails, responding to invitations, etc.) that plague everyone. This theme takes precedence over everything else except my spiritual relationship with my Creator. The only exception to this rule would be a genuinely important priority that falls in one of my top values in life or attending to a family emergency.

Your main theme could be \”Family First!\” or \”Health First!\” or \”Listen First!\” or \”Service Above Self.\” Just pick one and commit to it.

Beside your main theme, make a list of your top values such as love, health, giving, peace, wealth, etc. to ground yourself and distinguish between important and non-important but urgent matters. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin listed thirteen virtues (Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility) to which he governed his life and gave a week’s strict attention to mastering one virtue at a time repeating the list in order every thirteen weeks.

3. Practice a policy of planned neglect. In other words, once you have established your theme or singular purpose (the one thing you can be the best in the world at) get into the habit of practicing your main habit FIRST before anything else.

Everything else that’s non-important can get neglected and keep getting put-off. In other words, your daily to-do list will keep changing around your main theme which will remain constant - with very few exceptions.

4. Make a stop doing list. I’m not sure where I first heard this idea, but I borrowed it most recently from Jim Collin’s book, \”Good to Great.\” Too many people have important to-do lists that keep getting longer and longer. But very few people have ’stop-doing’ lists. Make a list of everything you are doing that is not contributing to your core genius or main purpose and core values - and stop doing it! Forget about your image and what other people will think, and STOP doing what’s not great in your life.

5. Be Simple. Get rid of the good to make room for the great. Literally! Get rid of the junk in your basement and file folders!

Anything you haven’t touched or looked at in a year you probably need to get rid of it. Donate books and magazines you haven’t read and clothes you know you’re never going to wear. Empty your mind and physical space of unnecessary clutter and make room for abundance! (Daily meditation is a great way to empty the mind and allow new inspiration).

6. Make HEALTH a priority NOW! Get a full physical check-up at least once a year. If something’s bothering you or you don’t feel right about something, get it checked out IMMEDIATELY! Don’t wait, until it’s too late. Take a proactive approach to your health by taking preventative measures, eating healthy and exercising regularly. And make LOVE a top priority. If you haven’t taken the time to tell your loved ones how deeply you value and love them, then make time for it now.

Are you still reading this article? WHY? Pick-up your phone, right now, and call your doctor to make that appointment! Call your loved ones now and book some real quality time together. Life is short and fragile. You may never get the chance again.

7. Dreams. The dream is a window into your soul, a gateway into the unseen world, giving access to the unknown and revealing the invisible behind all that is visible. In my book, \”Psychology of the Hero Soul,\” (http://www.herosoul.com; Chapter 14; pg. 77) I mention the importance of dreams and how to harness your dreams to awaken your creative potential. I can’t stress enough how important it is to get into the habit of jotting down your dreams and making an effort to interpret them. It is a great way to develop self-awareness and self-understanding and will enrich your life in many, many unforeseen ways.

Self-awareness and self-acceptance is so important in developing your self-esteem. Take the time to seriously ask yourself, \”Who am I and what’s my purpose in life?\” Write down your strengths and weakness, your highest ambitions and deepest fears, and make a list of everything you enjoy doing and all your hobbies. Take some personality tests to gain deeper understanding of who you are.

8. Face the brutal facts! Never hide from reality. Always get the hard facts about any situation you are facing. It doesn’t matter if you have a Harvard MBA and are the world’s greatest optimist if you pick the wrong location to open up a retail business!

Likewise, face the brutal facts about yourself. If you haven’t even come close to achieving your dreams and goals, you need to honestly ask yourself why you haven’t reached your goals and figure out what has been preventing you. A great way to accomplish this is to ask a few friends you trust and who know you the following question: \”How do you see me limiting myself?\” (I have Jack Canfield to thank for this great question).

Once you have the facts and fully understand the problem, spend over eighty percent of your time focusing on the solution.

9. ASK for help! If you need help, ask for it. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Ask for the sale, ask for the date, ask for support. Stop worrying about your image, reject the rejection, and ASK!

But don’t just be a taker. Please also give. Earn the right to ask by being a giver. Be a generous giver because whatever you put out into the world will return multiplied. The hero’s journey is about following your bliss, and doing what you love to do in service to others. \”Service above self,\” is a great motto to adopt.

10. Take Action! In my Hero Soul book, I have dedicated an entire chapter on taking action. The great succeed by taking continuous and concerted action toward a singular objective. And they continue to take unrelenting, consistent action for a period of years before becoming overnight successes.

If you do just five new things every day towards achieving your biggest dream, you will one day be living your dream and as Thoreau once said, ‘meet with a success unexpected in common hours.’

But if you aren’t going to take action on the advice in this article, why the heck are you reading it? Move on to something else!

One of my favorite movies is \”The Shawshank Redemption\” (based on Stephen King’s short story, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption) about a successful banker, Andy Dufresne, who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife. I’m sure many of you have seen it.

For nineteen years Dufresne quietly chips away at his goal to escape by literally chipping the wall in his cell - a little bit every day - until one day he reaches his goal and escapes.

His jail buddy, Red, comments that all it took \”was pressure and time.\”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen any movie replayed so many times on TV. It really intrigued me. So I did some research and found out that according to IMDB, The Shawshank Redemption is the second most popular movie of all time with The Godfather taking first place! That’s quite the accomplishment given how long The Godfather has been out.

Why is this movie so popular? I don’t really know the answer. But I think it’s because many people feel like they’re living in a prison and have been given a life sentence to doing work they really hate. They want to break free from their shackles.

More than anything else, they want FREEDOM! And Shawshank delivers that moment of freedom. It’s a beautiful story that makes the soul weep with joy and provides the hope and promise of being human.

The great thing about Shawshank is that it also provides a solution: by quietly chipping away at your main goal and consistently taking action everyday, you will achieve the success and freedom you have been longing for. With ‘pressure and time’ you can take the darkest coal and turn it into the most brilliant, most magnificent diamond the world has ever seen.

About The Author:
Sharif Khan (http://www.herosoul.com; sharif@herosoul.com) is a freelance writer, motivational speaker, coach, and author of \”Psychology of the Hero Soul,\” an inspirational book on awakening the hero within and developing people’s leadership potential. He publishes his monthly Hero Soul ezine for cutting-edge advice on leadership and personal growth. To contact Sharif directly, call: (416) 417-1259.

Did you know that the average preschooler laughs or smiles 400 times a day? That number drops to 15 by the time people are 35 yrs. old. Isn’t it amazing what stress and too much responsibility can do? So who says that work always has to be serious? Work environments where humor is encouraged, tend to be happier, less stressed and more productive. Incorporating humor into our jobs increases feelings of solidarity and cohesion amongst co-workers and provides a non-threatening medium through which an employee or employer can communicate with others. This is the type of environment most people prefer to work in.

Humor in the workplace helps us think. \”Taking time out to laugh can help us to get rid of negative feelings and allow us to better concentrate on what we are doing,\” says noted psychologist Dr. Ashton Trice of Mary Baldwin College in Virginia. It allows the time and space to put things in perspective; not personalize a situation. When we are feeling good about ourselves and the environment in which we work, our work flows smoother, production improves, generally creating an increase in income for the company.

Appropriate humor in the workplace is a welcome and tasteful surprise. It is about seeing the humor in everyday situations and having the confidence to laugh at your self. When you tell a story poking fun at your self, it portrays you as more human. Your life experiences are probably not unique. This provides comic relief and invites people to be comfortable and see the humor of their own life situations. We have all laughed at comedians and generally they are commenting on daily life. However it is important to remember that humor should not be offensive or disrespectful to the average person.

Humor in the workplace is a stress reducer. Studies have shown that humor activates our physiological systems, including the muscular, respiratory, cardiovascular and skeletal. It lowers blood pressure and increases endorphins. This leads to a sense of satisfaction and well being which reduces the possibility of burnout. When we laugh, we feel physically better, lighter and more relaxed. We have the same positive physiological experience when we smile.

Humor partners with laughter to increase creativity and productivity. This leads to thinking \”outside the box,\” producing more and different products and services, leading to greater profits. Everyone wants to work in a positive upbeat environment. People get along better with co-workers, absenteeism and tardiness is reduced and decision making improves.

Fran worked at a company where staff frequently complained about many things. Managers were critical of their team members and negativity permeated the office. To counteract this, Fran and several colleagues generated ideas to bring levity to the workplace. This included the smile of the day, humorous cartoons in the lunchroom and beginning every meeting with a joke. When the atmosphere lightened, the negativity diminished and the level of conflict among employees was reduced.

Incorporating humor in your workplace provides tremendous value without costing a lot in terms of time and resources. Some suggestions are: