Boy, those holidays sure were fun. Time off to spend with friends and family. The festivities and food were great. But now it’s time to go back to work with everything that goes with it. All the work that has to be done, deadlines, more work than people, over time, the boss, and the stress. Read this article to get some fresh ideas to help make this year a better year in the workplace.

Start the New Year With Fresh Satisfaction in the Workplace

The start of the new year is a time to make and honor resolutions – both on a personal and professional level. And one of these resolutions is to increase your satisfaction levels during the hours you spend at work. Our work environment often has a big impact on our mood, motivation, productivity, and job satisfaction.

Recent workplace studies indicate workers rank their work surroundings as the most critical element of job satisfaction…even more than job recognition, compensation, and security. Productivity is highest when a person is relaxed and free of stress, which occurs when an environment is soothing.

All this suggests that a great way to get a jump on the new year is to refresh your workplace ambiance with the latest colors and designs. Even small changes in your work environment is likely to boost your energy, make you more comfortable, and help you make it through long days of important meetings and emails. Here are just a few suggestions:

Personalize your space. Your work space should be your favorite space in the entire office. Add your favorite artwork, photos of your family or friends, a vacation photo, even a picture of your pet. Gentle reminders of your personal life beyond work help get you through the day.

Go green in the new year! The latest studies show that if you add plants to your work environment you will feel more connected with the outside, more alert, and more productive. Plants can also remove common toxins from indoor environments and add oxygen to stale air.

Add color from the latest color trends. Not only will you look stylish to your coworkers, you will also feel more content to spend time in a space where you have chosen the color scheme. The latest trends in colors for [2009] are relaxing and nature-inspired and are accented with a more modern grouping of contemporary contrast colors. Soft neutrals of wheat, cocoa brown, pumpkin orange and cinnamon apple pie soothe even the most stress-filled day. Natural leaf-like greens and organic browns make you feel more in tune with the earth. And for those who desire a more stark contrast, choose crisp clear reds and deep plums to black and whites for a real energy boost.

These simple changes can have a large impact on overall job satisfaction, increase creativity, and get you and your coworkers in the right frame of mind to accomplish great things in the New Year.

Trudy Brusenbach is the Marketing Manager of Ambius. Ambius is dedicated to improving the interior landscape of businesses across North America. Ambius provides a broad range of products and services to enhance the workplace including interior landscaping, ambient scenting and odor remediation, wall art décor and holiday décor. Ambius is a division of Rentokil Initial plc (LSE: RTO). For more information, visit the new Ambius website at http://www.ambius.com Ms Brusenbach has over 10 years B2B MarCom experience specializing in business and brand development.

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By Caroline Selfe

Holistic stress relief methods heal the root cause of tension and worry. By eliminating the stressor as opposed to the stress-related symptoms, permanent healing is achieved.

Holistic healing delves into all aspects of a person to find stressors. Lifestyle, nutrition, emotions, thoughts and belief systems and spiritual life are taken into consideration.

Holistic stress relief methods correct physical, mental, emotional and spiritual imbalances. Even if the imbalance is unknown, healing can still take place.

Here is how holistic stress relief methods can work in your life.
· Physically – Through nutrition and exercise, physical stressors can be relieved. Poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle prevent us from living our best life. Proper nutrition and regular activity can also prevent serious conditions and illnesses. Also, taking care of yourself physically will increase your resiliency from stress.

· Mentally – Negative thoughts and belief systems cause stress and negative behavior. By transforming negative thinking, your whole life can turn around. Anxious thinking can be tamed which will greatly relieve mental fatigue. After all, your life is a product of your thinking.

· Emotionally – Fear, anger, worry and all negative emotions can cause physical conditions and illnesses. Healing emotions is a powerful way to improve well-being. Holistic practitioners use the energy system or chakras to heal negative emotions. These feelings can build up from childhood and never be released. Healing negative emotions gets rid of the baggage that brings you down.

· Spiritually – Many holistic healers believe illness is a result of spiritual detachment. Being incongruent with one’s Essence can cause physical, mental and emotional turmoil. Ignoring your passions, enjoyment and intuition keeps you from being your true self. Developing your spiritual nature allows you to live a more purposeful and stress-free life.

Achieving holistic health means discovering the highest aspects of yourself. Utilizing the many holistic stress relief methods will help you lead a more balanced, healthy life. Many people turn to holistic healing out of frustration with conventional medical practices for stress-related conditions. Conventional medicine treats symptoms. Holistic health focuses on cause for lasting relief from stress.

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Discover holistic stress relief methods at: Holistic Stress Relief (http://www.stress-relief-for-well-being.com/holistic-stress-relief.html)
To check out more ideas, click here: Stress Relief Ideas (http://www.stress-relief-for-well-being.com/stress-relief-ideas.html)
Caroline Selfe has been a passionate seeker of natural and holistic stress relief methods for the past 25 years.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Caroline_Selfe

The reasons we laugh, including “contagious” laughter, may be products of evolution.

Natural laughter is a two-part, spontaneous, response to humor, that has physiological, psychological, and physical benefits.

Most agree that we laugh when we find something to be humorous, yet different reasons exist for what we find to be humorous. Additionally, different things are humorous to us at different stages of life.

Laughter, a physiological response to humor, can be broken down into two parts.

The first is a set of gestures, and the second is the production of sound. The brain forces to conduct both responses simultaneously. From a physiological standpoint, a “sensor” in the brain responds to laughter by triggering other neural circuits in the brain, which, in turn, generate more laughter.

Oddly enough, laughter is an orderly response, and almost occurs “spontaneously” during pauses at the end of phrases, earning it the name the punctuation effect. Human beings are the only species capable of laughter, and the average adult does so approximately 17 times per day.

Good health is one of the many benefits of laughter. Laughter reduces our stress levels by reducing the level of stress hormones, and also helps us cope with serious illnesses.

Physiologically, laughter promotes healing, by lowering the blood pressure, and by increasing the vascular blood flow and the oxygenation of the blood.

Physical fitness stemming from laughter is a benefit known to few. Scientists estimate that laughing 100 times is equivalent to a 10-minute workout on a rowing machine, or to 15 minutes on a stationary exercise bike. The mere act of laughing exercises the diaphragm, as well as the abdominal, respiratory, facial, leg, and back muscles.

Another benefit of laughter is that it improves our over-all mental health. Pent up negative emotions, such as anger, fear, and sadness, can cause biochemical changes in our bodies that can produce a harmful effect.

Laughter provides a harmless outlet for these negative emotions, and provides a coping mechanism for dealing with difficult or stressful situations.

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