With the kids back at school, we’re pleased to welcome a more structured working day here at Life In… Magazines!
And although we’ve had a few downs this month (namely our website getting hacked and our floor stand disappearing from Sainsbury’s Locksbottom), there’s still plenty to smile about – and it starts with the lovely Simone Curry from Sublime Beauty.
Things to smile about
We first met Simone a couple of years ago at a local networking event, warming to her infectious laughter and warmth. The wonderful thing about Simone (apart from being a genuinely lovely person!) is that she’s launched a charitable arm of her business to offer women who have had cancer the opportunity to have free semi-permanent makeup treatments.
Simone does this every month – and offers everything from semi-permanent eyeliner and lip-blush effect, to micro-blading, which is what she is doing for my mother-in-law in the main blog picture above. Quite rightly, Simone was nominated as a Local Hero by a few women she’s helped and featured in our July 2021 issue.
Do you know a Local Hero like Simone? Someone who puts the needs of the community into consideration and does what they can to help? We’d love to hear about them – you can write to us at hello@lifeinmagazines.co.uk
We also had the pleasure of joining a discussion for Bromley’s new podcast, Bromley Buzz. The monthly release is a collaboration between local residents Darren Weale of In Tune PR and co-presenter and mindset coach Zeenat Noorani. It offers interesting and insightful news and views on all things local – we love it and we think you will too.
If you fancy a listen to us (on episode 4), it’s right here!
Being mindful in the office
Although at Life In… magazines our ethos is to report on positive, encouraging news to inspire the community, we couldn’t help but notice a recent report by BreatheHR which said that nearly a third of employees are willing to leave their jobs due to poor workplace culture.
I’m sure that most of us have, at one time or another, worked in an environment where any number of factors were at play – office politics, lack of teamwork, office gossip, interpersonal conflicts, exclusive cliques/social groups, poor management, demotivated workers, high turnover rate, stifled career progression or lack of work-life balance…te list goes on.
However much our company grows, we’re determined to keep toxicity out of our company’s culture. We’ve worked, in large part, for toxic companies in the past – and it’s not something we want to replicate. So for jobseekers, here’s how you can research a brand’s track record to get a feel for the type of culture they foster:
- Look at company reviews from present and past employees on reputable platforms like Glassdoor.
- Monitor their turnover rate over a period of several months and see how it compares to the industry average.
- Research how diverse the company is. Find out how many people in senior positions are women or from a BAME background.
- Pay attention to how they communicate with you and with each other.
And for employers, once a toxic trend is spotted, it’s important to address it as soon as possible, so it can be stopped. The team at Instant Offices have provided the following tips:
- Lead by example – behave the way you want to see your employees behave. That includes maintaining a positive attitude, and holding yourself accountable for mistakes the same as you would a subordinate.
- Treat every employee with dignity and respect, regardless of their position or seniority.
- Don’t play favourites, and don’t scapegoat or alienate any employee or group of employees.
- Make sure all management is properly trained on what makes a diverse and inclusive workplace.
- Ensure that all employees are properly trained on what constitutes bullying, harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
- Provide training that empowers managers to handle internal conflicts.
- Keep communication channels open for mutual feedback between employees and management.
- Encourage constructive feedback and create an environment where criticism can be shared without fear of “punishment”.
- Make sure your employees know that it’s safe to speak up.
- Recognise and reward your employees’ efforts.
- Promote employees based on skill, not just on likeability.
- Foster an environment of open, constructive communication.
In this month’s issue….
We’ve got a cracking issue for you this month that highlights a number of interesting reads – from ‘feeding your mind to boost your brain power’ and ‘working smarter, not harder’; to ‘reducing your living costs’ and ‘championing small businesses’. Not to mention the local heroes we’re applauding, what’s on locally and the community noticeboard – we hope you enjoy the read!
We’re also delighted to welcome some new advertisers this month – Smart Switch Utilities, which offers competitive utility rates for both residential and commercial properties; Brightwater Memorial Park, an above-ground burial facility located in stunning, landscaped gardens in Orpington; Sports Star Images, which offers personalised sports posters – a great gift idea for birthdays, celebrational wins and of course Christmas! Phil Kitchenside, a local maths tutor for GCSE and A-Level years 10-13; and (drum roll please!)…with theatres now fully open, Bromley Churchill Theatre is OPEN! Coming up they’ve got a great range of shows – we’ve already purchased Stewart Lee tickets for March 2022 – they sell out fast apparently, so make sure you don’t miss out on the show you really want to see.
As usual, we’ll leave you with an inspirational quote to ponder…
‘The power of community to create health is far greater than any physician, clinic or hospital.’
– Mark Hyman –
Until next month!