Monday, January 30, 2012

News

TyroneHerald 11

What does your job involve? Put simply, it involves the running of a store, with a team, to ensure that customers have the best chance of getting what they need. How did you get into this line of work? Tried it, liked it and here we are today after spells with Dunnes Stores and independent retailers. Do you have a typical working day? Only in that it can't be predicted. However, that's the attraction - you rarely get two days that are similar! What qualifications do you have? I have a BA Hons in history and archaeology and am currently studying for a degree in Retailing through Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). What skills are essential for your job? First and foremost, it's all about the people, whether that's customers or colleagues. My primary aim is to ensure customers have a positive experience - this is only achieved when a member of staff is sufficiently motivated to make it happen. Secondly, having enough vision to realise when something isn't quite right, and then doing something about it. Whats the best thing about your job? The opportunity to practice skills that are useful in every part of life. And the worst? When I see a customer or colleague having a bad experience. Who has inspired you most in your career? Various figures who have shown me how to do things, and how not to do things! Tell us an interesting fact about yourself. I am a qualified (though inactive) archaeologist. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given ? Three pieces really have stood the test of time so far, proving themselves over and over. One - It's all about the people, two, never allow yourself to be complacent, never presume that you're right, and don't be afraid to say you don't know. H ow do you relax in your spare time? With working full-time, studying full-time and having young children, there isn't much of it! But when I get it, I spend it on family time, and the odd bit of reading. If you could swap jobs with someone for the day, who would it be and why? A film director! To me it must be the ultimate job - managing people and creating a piece of art. What could you not like about that? What advice would you offer to someone applying for a similar role? Make sure you have determination, the will to push yourself and a willingness to learn. This can only come from within - don't expect anyone else

Sick, tired and too scared to take sick leave!

SICK leave like annual leave, maternity leave, paternity leave and bereavement leave is (or at least used to be taken for granted as) part of an employees terms and conditions. In fact, I used to earn a living covering sick leave (as well as teacher training) in my sub-teaching days. Now however, it seems sick leave although an entitlement for employees should be used sparingly due to the current tough economic climate. As for taking sick leave when you are self-employed you can forget about it. There is no such thing unless you are prepared to take it as unpaid leave that is. According to a recent survey, one in three people go to work despite being ill due to fear of losing their job in todays current climate. This shocking research was revealed in a recent survey of 1,600 adults by Nuffield Health, an established health charity. The study found that 30 per-cent of workers are now more inclined to go to work sick and that around half of those choosing to turn up for duty while sick said the most important factor in their decision was job security. Overall, nearly three quarters (72 per-cent) of those surveyed went into work last year whilst sick. And more than half (53 per-cent) of those questioned went into work with a contagious illness such as the flu or a cold in the past year.

SINAD McCARTAN
27 per-cent). Those sectors feeling the most pressure to go into work sick are the retail industry, followed by manufacturing then education. It is shocking to hear that sick employees are going to work to secure their job, but it certainly makes economic sense for the employee. Employers however should know better, spot the signs of a sick employee and discuss workloads, health and other important issues before its too late. At the end of the day, your health is your wealth. So if you arent healthy, how are you supposed to earn a living or indeed make a valuable contribution to your employers workload?

CAREER PROFILE
Name: Declan McLaughlin Age: 34 Job: Store manager, Halfords Omagh
to give it to you. If you were give n the chance to live your life all over again, do you think you would have chosen y o u r c u r r e n t c a r ee r ? Who knows? As a dynamic occupation that taps in to so many disciplines - human resources, finance, economics, law, psychology and marketing to name a few - it's very likely I would have!

COSTS BUSINESS Marcus Powell, managing director, Nuffield Health, Corporate Wellbeing, said, Employees going into work sick costs business dearly - up to 15billion a year. Our research shows the economic downturn has made people more likely to go into work sick often because they fear losing their job. This is bad for business." The age group most likely to go into work sick are those aged between 16 and 24, 85 per-cent said they went into work sick last year and nearly half (48 per-cent) said they were more likely to go into work sick because of the economic downturn. Those earning below 20,000 are the income group most likely to attend work whilst sick followed by those earning between 21,000 and 30,000 and those earning between 31,000 and 50,000. Women were slightly more likely than men to go into work because of the economic recession (33 per-cent compared to

ADVICE My advice to any employee who is feeling unwell would be to think about the bigger picture and work out if its worth letting your job take priority over your health. Im not saying you should take sick leave willy-nilly, but when you are sick and it is something you consider to be minor, but is contagious then you should certainly take time off to recover. Otherwise you risk spreading infection and illness to your fellow colleagues and that may cost your employer more in the long run! Next week: Managing stress in the workplace

Sinead McCartan BA (Hons) PG Dip runs Application Assist which assists job seekers, university applicants and anyone needing professional help with their career. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: Job application forms completed UCAS/CAO Applications CVs professionally compiled Interview Skills preparation

Our website address is: www.applicationassist.co.uk Tel: 028 8077 1519 Mobile: 077 0825 5741