If you have ever suffered from insomnia you will know that it is an annoying and destructive sleep disorder that affects the quality and quantity of sleep in adults, as well as the quality of life. It can involve difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep at night, waking up too early in the morning, and difficulty going back to sleep after waking up.

Insomnia has numerous negative effects on those who suffer from it, such as causing one to feel fatigued and lethargic during the day, hence affecting concentration and productivity levels.

Insomnia is caused by many factors, such as stress, anxiety, depression, high workload or inactivity to name a few. Treating it, therefore, involves dealing with the root cause. For example, depression-induced insomnia might be treated with anti-depressants. 

Surprisingly, most of these insomnia-inducing factors can be corrected by increasing one’s activity levels and because most cases of insomnia are the result of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, exercise can help treat it because it helps get rid of, or improve the underlying condition. For example, a good workout can help eliminate stress and in the event that stress was the cause of insomnia, that insomnia would also go away.

The natural antidote

It is scientifically proven that regular exercise, when done consistently, can improve the quality of one’s sleep albeit gradually. A good, morning workout helps one feel energetic and alert throughout the day, resulting in one being productive. However, if your quality of sleep is poor, you may end up still feeling slow and non-energetic, not to mention lethargic.

However, adopting an overall healthy lifestyle comprised of healthy eating habits and regular exercise will definitely produce results. With time, the quality of sleep will get better and you’ll be able to sleep longer and stay asleep through the night.

Some of the benefits of good quality sleep include:

• Alertness

• High concentration levels

• High productivity levels

• Improved moods

• Decreased stress and anxiety

Some of the exercises that improve sleep are walking, jogging, swimming, skipping and dancing. The impact of aerobic exercise on sleep is reportedly much higher than that of any other form of exercise. Resistance training has been reported to have very little effect on sleep if any.

Timing

For people with chronic insomnia, it is best to plan your workout sessions in the evening. Researchers recommend that you work out at least 6 hours before bedtime. This will see you enjoy double results in that you will sleep better at night as a result of working out, and you will be highly productive and alert the next day as a result of a good night’s sleep.

While insomnia is not a condition that anyone wishes upon themselves, you can help prevent it by remaining physically active and avoiding a sedentary lifestyle. For people whose work involves sitting a lot, you could incorporate physical activity into your routine by parking a block away from work and walking the rest of the way to the office, taking the stairs instead of the lift and going for a walk at lunchtime.

In conclusion

Building in regular exercise to your daily lifestyle is a healthy habit for both mind and body and will help strike the right balance between exercise and rest resulting in enhanced sleep patterns.

The 20th century brought with it some remarkable changes and improvements, such as an increased life expectancy. This means most people are living to a ripe old age; hence an observed increase in UK’s ageing population. Due to the expected decrease in the working age people ratio to retired people ratio from 3.7:1 in 1999 to 2.1:1 in 2040, the dependency ratio might increase. Consequently, the working population will be required to pay higher taxes to the government, to better cater for the retired generation.

The current working generation will soon experience a larger burden due to the current spending pension commitments. And because the birth rate is already lower, the working population is already shrinking and is expected to be smaller in future. It is, however, a bit unrealistic to base all calculations on the retirement age of 65 years entirely, because the UK government is already increasing the age at which state pensions can be drawn.

Private sector pensions are also being increased by the UK government to make the ageing population more manageable and a cause for celebration rather than worry. However, as at now, the following there are complex pension considerations for the current working population:

Tax.

The present working population might soon have to pay higher taxes to enable the government to sustain the ageing population. Higher taxes would result in the creation of disincentives to work and for firms to invest, consequently resulting in a considerable decrease in growth and productivity.

Dependency.

An increase in the dependency ratio. If the government fails to raise the retirement age, and the birth rate remains the same, there will be more people claiming retirement & pension benefits while the workforce continues to shrink. Fewer people will be paying income taxes, and the current working population will be over-burdened.

Healthcare.

The government spending more on the ageing population’s health care and retirees’ pension benefits. For the UK government, which has debt issues, the increased spending commitments combined with the decreased tax revenues (because retirees pay lower income taxes, seeing as they’re not working) will take a toll on the government kitty. This burden will likely be transferred to the current working population.

Economic Growth.

If the current working population puts a larger percentage of their income into pension funds, the expected result would be a reduction in the savings available for better, more productive investments. This would in turn cause a reduction in economic growth.

Inflation.

An increasingly ageing population might soon result in a shortage of workers, causing the current working population to be overloaded with more work for the same pay. A shortage of employees would also lead to wage inflation. Companies may have to offer flexible packages to encourage more people to join the workforce. Unlike most of the other impacts, this one is positive.

Birthrate.

A reduced birth rate may result from the foregoing circumstances. However, short term savings for Government (education etc) would mask a longer term issue of a diminishing workforce.

It is clear that there are many issues to be tackled in the next 30/40 years and having a solid pension plan in place is becoming a top priority. If you would like to talk these issues over with one of our friendly team please don’t hesitate to email us here with your contact details: info@mayfairworldwide.com

While selecting a good travel security company, you need to choose one with the right approach and understanding of the global social-economic and political landscape. AKE is one such company. 

For starters, AKE has one of the most unique approaches to travel security. The company strives to develop highly integrated and tailored solutions for its clients. By so doing, it works directly with clients to support their immediate requirements, both small and large, while developing an improved awareness of security that will lead to reduced overall risk and greater operational efficiency over the long term. 

AKE’s Approach 

AKE approach to security is intelligent and developed from a highly detailed and insightful analysis of all probable and potential risks. The company strives to understand each individual and corporate client’s requirements and ethos. At the end of the day, therefore, you can rely on AKE to develop an effective and targeted strategy to your travel security.

Similarly, AKE views security as a primal business function which will contribute greatly to risk reduction. It also contributes to effective business operations, thereby improving the client’s bottom line. Therefore, security for AKE is much more than just a cost centre. 

How It Works

From the design and development through to the implementation and analysis of travel security procedures and policies, AKE strives to support its clients whenever they have to travel to hostile and remote environments. As a result, the company has had astounding success since it went into operation.

For more than 20 years now, AKE has developed and practised support for its clients on the global stage. The company always believes that no problem is insurmountable and no situation is too difficult for it. 

Therefore, you can depend on AKE to develop cutting-edge approaches to your crisis management issues based on the company’s experience in resolving those situations that are too difficult for others to handle. 

Overview of Global Conflict and Security: 2016

To better understand AKE’s process, one has to check the company’s analysis of global security and conflict. For 2016, the risks that clients with international operations are likely to encounter include, but are not limited to:

1. Europe and Russia

The Ukrainian war is likely to turn cold. While skirmishes on the ground will continue, the front lines are also likely to remain constant.

2. Sub-Saharan Africa

Economic instability is likely to exacerbate internal tensions. Similarly, it will increase the risks of political violence and terrorisms, especially in West Africa.

3. North Africa and the Middle East

Al-Qaeda, IS, and their affiliates will increase attacks in the region.

4. Asia

Although long term conflicts will continue, the region is likely to remain stable.

5. The Americas

Key travel security risks will mostly stem from strikes, rising levels of violence and civil unrest relating to organised crime. Terrorism will remain relatively low, particularly considering the potential signing of a finalising peace deal between the FARC and the Colombian government.

To protect yourself against all the above potential and actual threats, get in touch with AKE. The company has been providing travel security services to both individual and corporate clients for more than 20 years now. Therefore, you can rely on it to protect you from all risks whenever you, your loved ones, and your manpower travel to uncharted territory.

Anger at work. We’ve all seen it. Most employees in an organisation will experience angry emotions for one reason or another and to one degree or another. It is how we handle it that is important.  

None of these can be achieved overnight but a naturally angry person has to start somewhere:

The reasons may range from a lost parking space, apathetic and inefficient colleagues, heavy workloads with tight headlines which cause causing stress and fear, not to mention conflicts between team members, alleged favouritism by supervisors and even family matters – they can all spill over to create conflict.

All in all, anger is known to cause tremendous effects in the workplace if not well managed. This article highlights some of the effects as well as suggestions about effective ways of handling it.

To begin with, listed below are some of the effects caused by this seemingly inevitable human tendency:

• Anger can cause potential career issues and other problems at a personal level. If you are the kind of person who easily gets angry in your workplace even for minor reasons, then:
• colleagues are likely to carry secret and even open grudges against you.

• you’ll develop an undesirable reputation of being short-tempered and abrasive as well as being potentially incompetent under pressure.

• people will avoid engaging with you and this will include customers, vendors and clients. If customers don’t want to talk to you then career trouble is just around the corner

• you’re unlikely to be promoted or participate in crucial and high-profile projects due to your temperament.

• you may develop long-term health issues.

According to some studies, unhealthy anger can affect your physical, emotional, mental and even spiritual health. 

Certain illnesses are also associated with anger including heart diseases, certain cancers, auto-immune diseases etc. (More of these health effects can be found here http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/warning-anger-can-seriously-damage-your-health)
 
It can cost business organisations immensely.

Studies show that anger in the workplace has devastating effects including a lot of time wasted in resolving conflicts.

When an employee harbours resentment and frustration, his/her productivity significantly reduces due to lack of energy and low morale. As a result, it’s very easy for the entire team to be affected which may lead to low morale and  interpersonal conflicts. This wastes much time not to mention the associated costs of staff absences, increased staff turnover, the resulting financial losses and even lawsuits arising from conflicts/violence in the workplace.

All these and more reduce an organisation’s productivity and output, proving extremely costly to the employer.

When an employee harbours resentment and frustration, his/her productivity significantly reduces due to lack of energy and low morale. As a result, it’s very easy for the entire team to be affected which may lead to low morale and  interpersonal conflicts. This wastes much time not to mention the associated costs of staff absences, increased staff turnover, the resulting financial losses and even lawsuits arising from conflicts/violence in the workplace. All these and more reduce an organisation’s productivity and output, proving extremely costly to the employer.
 

How to handle anger in the workplace.

Due to its numerous negative effects, knowing effective ways of handling anger then becomes vital. We have put together some suggestions for employees to help in handling it and alleviate its effects:

1. An individual’s role.

None of these can be achieved overnight but a naturally angry person has to start somewhere:

• Try to change your mindset so that anger no longer becomes the natural reaction
• Try to let go of any unmanageable anger. Often, you won’t be able to control situations, so it’s important to try not to become involved. To do this, ask yourself, "Is it possible for me to resolve whatever that's causing my anger?" If your answer is no, then just let it go. 
• Consider your anger determining whether it really makes sense given the particular situation. 
• Control your response to anger. Living healthily – if you involve yourself in constructive things like exercising, getting sufficient sleep, avoiding alcohol, eating a proper diet etc. You’re likely to respond to situations better when you’re healthier. 
• Change your way of thinking by reminding yourself that being angry neither fixes anything nor makes you feel better.
• Change environments that seem to make you angry if possible.
• When anger strikes, you can divert it by listening to some favourite music, taking several deep breaths etc to calm it down. 
• Change your way of thinking by reminding yourself that being angry neither fixes anything nor makes you feel better.
• Change environments that seem to make you angry if possible.
• When anger strikes, you can divert it by listening to some favourite music, taking several deep breaths etc to calm it down. 

Finally, you can also look for anger-management classes online and these would greatly help.
For more information on:

• handling anger on a personal level, visit http://recruitmentjobs.co.uk/uncategorized/2013/02/getting-angry-at-work-six-tips-for-dealing-with-workplace-conflict/ or http://www.angermanagementseminar.com/articles/what_is_anger.html.

• handling your employees’ anger if you’re a leader/supervisor or manager in the workplace, visit http://www.payscale.com/compensation-today/2009/05/anger-management-in-the-work-place

2. The company’s role.

Essentially, a company should have an employee assistance programme to help employees see therapists for anger situations. 

Additionally, it should have other anger-management programmes that encourage accountability for anger related issues by its employees. 

Finally, it should have well-defined policies to do with anger matters that can help guide the employees, as well as the steps to be taken for any violations of the same.

Hopefully these are helpful steps towards having an anger-free workplace and please remember that our members have access to an advice line to enable them to discuss a whole range of issues – get in touch for more details.