London Office Jobs UK

The problem of doing work and not being paid any overtime for it, or even being granted time off in lieu is an age old problem and sometimes it feels as if the more work you do, the more it is expected that you will do more and then not get paid for it. So if you are always the first into the office and then the last to leave and you feel as if no-one appreciates this or tells you that they value your input then it may be time to assert yourself and try to make sure that you do get paid for all the hours that you put in.

It is important that you keep a record of all the unpaid hours that you do, so that you have evidence to present to your manager when you are asking for overtime to be paid, or a day off in lieu. Don’t simply assert that you do ‘lots’ of unpaid work, but produce firm evidence of dates, times and exactly what you did during the time that you weren’t paid for. You should also highlight the potential implications of you not doing the work i.e. would deadlines have been missed or a deal not have been secured.

Present this information to your line manager in an organised structured manner, having pre-arranged to set aside some time for this to be discussed. Otherwise your manager may simply feel like you are attacking him or her personally and be less willing to consider proper remuneration for the hours that you put in.

If this calm, focussed strategy does not work, then the best thing you can do is accept that this is a company that relies on your goodwill. Eventually that goodwill will run out and as an interim measure, you should register with a recruitment agency, so that when you reach the end of your tether you will be able to find another job without too much difficulty!

When you work in an office, often sitting for long periods of time it is really easy to become unfit and the current levels of obesity in the UK are thought to be a ticking time-bomb, whereby in a few years time more than 50% of the population will actually be obese. But going to the gym can be difficult, finding the time, the motivation, or let’s be honest being put off by the thought of exercising next to people with perfect bodies.

So how can us mere mortals stay in shape, or more to the point, get in shape? Well it can be done, without too much disruption to your day. If you drive to work, park in a car park, which is a little bit away from the office and walk or if you can, jog to work. Then after a month, park a little bit further away, so that you get even more exercise.

If you take the bus or tube to work, then get off one or two stops before you usually do and have a good quick walk to the office. Gradually increase the distance that you have to walk or jog each day, to improve your fitness levels and therefore improve your health whilst at the same time, reducing your stress levels.

Make sure that you don’t get lazy at work either. Don’t take the lift at work, but run up and down the stairs. If this is too much to start with, then walk briskly up and down stairs, building up to being able to run.

If you find that evenings are the worst time for snacking and or drinking, which can both pile on the pounds, then you should seriously consider enlisting with a recruitment agency to secure a second, part time job. Not only will this stop you snacking, but you earn more money at the same time: how good is that?

PR, or to give it its full title Public Relations, is a huge field and one that is often misunderstood. PR is about more than just giving a client some ‘spin’ or like Max Clifford, controlling how clients are portrayed. PR is also not about marketing. It is more about controlling information about a client or company. So that information could be about its activities, whether or not it is financially solid, whether it is looking to take over other companies etc.

PR can be essential in times of crises. If something bad happens, then ti is up to PR executives to limit the amount of bad information that is conveyed about the client, which in these internet days can be very difficult indeed.

But it is a dynamic world and one that can be very interesting, since there are lots of different companies and celebrity clients who all make use of PR executives and if you are lucky enough to secure a job with a PR agency or company, then you may find that each day is different and there is real excitement in your job.

If you land a position in PR the world is really your oyster and the financial rewards are generally very good, but it can be a hard and competitive world, so you may want to check out a few agencies before you commit to PR as a career. If it is something that you are interested in, then talk to a few companies first or try a recruitment agency to see if they can place you in a PR agency on whatever level, just to give you a flavour of what the work is like: it is an area that you will probably either love or hate, so this way you get to see what the atmosphere is like, with no firm commitment.

Being a medical secretary is a really important role and one that can bring an enormous sense of job satisfaction. In fact this role is an incredibly important part of any healthcare team and you can work in a hospital environment, in general practice or you can work in private practice, or out in the community.

The role of medical secretary is actually a foundation stone in the whole healthcare team. It is the medical secretary that ensures that patient records are kept up to date, that test samples are sent off for analysis and that the test results are filed correctly when they come back in. Can you imagine the distress caused if patients got the wrong test results back?

Medical secretaries also provide a strong organisational basis for the rest of the healthcare team to be able to function. So it is very much a lynchpin service and one that is vitally important, to the smooth running of any healthcare service.

The work that you do as a medical secretary is therefore very important and GP’s, consultants, midwives, community nurses etc are all reliant on medical secretaries to make everything go like clockwork. So if you are really good at organising things, if you have strong interpersonal skills and enjoy being very much a part of a team, then being a medical secretary could be an ideal position for you to try.

But before you leap into what can also be a very demanding role, it may be worthwhile trying to set up some kind of placement with a recruitment agency, just so that you can ascertain whether it is a role that will suit you. Many people find that it is emotionally a bit draining, since you are often dealing with sensitive information or with patients who are very ill. At least gaining a little experience on the job enables you to decide if it really is the career path for you.

Plants can often be the last thing on people’s minds when it comes to the office. Times are hard for many businesses and people often just focus on the day ahead, or getting money in and controlling money going out. But they can make a huge difference to an office environment. They have been shown to actively improve the quality of air in offices as well as reduce the number of dust particles in the air.

Plants are said to reduce stress and have a positive effect on productivity. They seem somehow to bring a sense of calm and tranquillity to an office environment, so that people are less anxious and mush more relaxed about working.

No one is suggesting that a few plants will actively boost productivity by 50%, but they can certainly help with making the whole office a bit more of a pleasant place to be and after all, many of us spend a lot of time in the office, so it is a good idea to make sure that we have a real sense of calm and as stress-free environment as possible.

Many recruitment agencies now have different types of greenery in the reception area because they feel that it helps calm applicants who may be enrolling on their books, thereby boosting the applicants chances of getting a good position. Doctors and dentists also may use flowers or plants to introduce a feeling of calmness. Even funeral directors now often have various arrangements or potted flowers to soften the kind of clinical and sometimes cold environment that they have.

So use plants as freely as you can to transform your office into a really healthy, stress free environment and see what a difference they really can make.