But with this rise in popularity also comes an increasingly pressing conversation around the safety risks involved in gaming online, particularly as almost a quarter of online gamers are under the age of 18. 

In this article, we will explain what online gaming is, explain some of the risks involved in internet gaming as well as the potential benefits for young people, and provide advice for parents or carers on how to keep children safe whilst playing online.

What is Online Gaming?

An online game is one which is partially or primarily played via the internet, and often offers online interactions with other players. These can be played on a variety of platforms such as a PC, games console (for example, Playstation, Xbox, Wii, Nintendo Switch) or mobile devices. 

Whilst there are countless options of online games available to play, some are particularly popular and are well-known amongst the wider public as well as within gaming communities. Examples of some of the most popular internet games include:

• Fortnite.
• Among Us.
• Rocket League.
• Roblox.
• Minecraft.
• The Sims.

The popularity of online games has been rising since its introduction in the 1990’s with the release of widespread internet access making online gaming possible. The industry has seen extraordinary expansion in the last 5 years however as many people took up online gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic to escape boredom and isolation during the lockdowns. 

What are the Risks of Online Gaming?

With online gaming becoming an increasingly popular pastime amongst children and young adults, it’s important for parents and educators to keep in mind that there are some undeniable risks associated with internet gaming that are important to consider. 

With the right guidance, however, children and their parents can be aware of these potential dangers and take the necessary steps to help avoid them. You can test your current knowledge of online safeguarding concerns with our Online Safety and Harms Quiz. 

A few of the main risks that you should be aware of, are:

Online game addiction

Whilst it’s common for many parents to think their child spends too much time in the online world, online gaming can become a legitimate addiction. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has now added ‘gaming’ into their list of ‘disorders due to addictive behaviours’ along with other addictive substances and activities such as drugs, alcohol and gambling.

As with any hobby, those that enjoy online gaming will do so enthusiastically and therefore may desire to play for longer or more frequently to prolong this sense of joy. But how can you know whether this surpasses a ‘normal’ or healthy level? 

Some key signs that a child’s gaming may have become more than just a hobby are:

• They feel regularly exhausted and disengaged.
• They are unable to concentrate.
• They prioritise internet gaming over essential activities such as eating or sleeping.
• They only socialise online and find ‘in-person’ interactions difficult and unenjoyable.
• They no longer participate in other interests.

These behaviours can lead a child or young person to develop negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, or depression. 

Cyber Bullying

Cyberbullying within online gaming refers to the act of intentionally harassing, intimidating, or threatening other players within the gaming community.

For many young people, the anonymity of online gaming and its separation from the ‘real world’ is comforting. It can be liberating to escape into a space where your circumstances and past are largely unknown. 

This anonymity can also be dangerous, however. As with any form of cyberbullying, some players can take advantage of being able to hide behind a screen to bully others online with the sense that they’re unable to be caught if their identity is unknown. 

Although cyberbullying can take many forms, there are some actions which are specific to online gaming. These include “whispering”, where cyber bullies target players with harmful messages either directly or in public chat channels.  Sadly, there are even some people, known as “griefers”, who play online games specifically with the intent to ruin the experience for other people, finding satisfaction in harassing other players and using aspects of the game in unintended ways to prevent their progress. To learn more about cyberbullying and how to prevent or report it, read our article on the dangers of cyberbullying.

Malware and Viruses

Often, online games contain paid content, or you have to purchase the game itself to play. For children, it can be tempting to avoid these costs by trying to find free or cheaper versions of the game online via cheat codes or third-party sellers. This is risky, however, as these unofficial versions are often infected with viruses or malware that, when downloaded, can damage your computer or impact your privacy. Once malware is on your device, hackers are able to steal your personal information.

Additionally, hackers may access your personal information through phishing scams. They may create fake login pages for games or send phishing emails that can trick a child into entering their account information, which the hackers can then use to gain access to your account and personal details. 

In-game purchases

An increasingly common way for developers to fund their game creations is to offer the base game for free, but then charge for in-game content such as characters or items. These are designed to make players want to continue playing the game but requiring payments to enable them to do so. Whilst these charges may individually be small, they can quickly add up and a child may not be fully aware of the costs they’re accruing. Recent reports show that almost half of parents of children aged 12 to 15 who play online games are worried about the pressure on children to make in-game purchases. This has increased from just four in 10 the previous year.   

Talking to Strangers

Similarly to the risk of cyber-bullying, the social aspect of online gaming can put children at risk of forming damaging relationships online. Many games are designed to be played in teams or against other people and thus children can be playing and communicating with players from many different locations, ages, and backgrounds. Linked to online gaming, other platforms such as Discord or Reddit also provide the opportunity to find and speak to other players with similar interests. The anonymity behind an online presence, however, means that children could be at risk of grooming, online abuse, or forming relationships with people who could have ill intent. 

Want to Learn How to Keep Children Safe Online?

Our Online Safety and Harms course teaches you everything you need to know about the potential online risks and harms children face, how to recognise signs that might indicate online harm or abuse, and how to effectively address online safety.

Benefits of Online Gaming

Although the risks of internet gaming are important, they can be managed effectively to help ensure a child can enjoy their online play safely. In fact, if safety risks are controlled, there are many benefits of online gaming that can have a positive impact on children. 

Some of these many benefits are listed below.

Developing Brain Capacity and Thinking Skills

There are many online games which contain educational elements that can help support a child’s development and intellect. Some games, such as Times Table Rockstars, are even used within schools as a learning aid as they offer a more engaging form of teaching for younger children than traditional methods. 

Furthermore, online games can enhance a child’s memory, brain speed and concentration. Many internet games involve elements of problem solving and multitasking which help the brain process information quicker, improves attention to detail, and speeds up reaction times. 

Helping to Manage Emotions

A popular format for online games is to move through different levels, which increase in difficulty, or win awards by completing specific tasks and overcoming obstacles. Often, players may find themselves having to repeat the same action multiple times, learning from past mistakes in order to succeed. The process of playing games with this format teaches children how to deal with setbacks and persevere towards a goal despite disappointment, helping to develop beneficial personal skills such as resilience and patience.

Building Social Skills

When playing with trusted peers, multiplayer online games are greatly effective at helping children to nurture relationships and build vital social skills. Online gaming creates shared moments and victories, as well as building teamwork skills, that can help bring existing friendships closer and build new social bonds. Furthermore, the shared collaborative experience of gaming enables children to learn from each other and build personal confidence. 

Promoting Healthy Competition

For children who may not be interested in other typical avenues of competition, such as sports, online gaming can be an equally successful way to gain the benefits of healthy competition amongst children. As online games are often played against each other, they offer a great way to allow children to express competitive urges. 

Competition is healthy for children, providing a powerful motivator to work hard and succeed, as well as directing children to admire skill, talent and expertise. 

Sparking Creativity

Online games are highly visual, often involving imaginary worlds which are based in fantasy or science fiction. For children, immersing themselves in these imaginary environments can help to spark their own creativity and inspire ideas of their own. Many internet games also promote creativity directly as they often involve designing your own characters or environments. For example, the popular online game The Sims is entirely based around building your own characters and houses and choosing how they develop through ‘life’, including choosing careers, relationships, and hobbies for your Sims. 

There are many different reasons why children enjoy online gaming, but the most common reasons are that it provides an opportunity to stay engaged with their friends, eases boredom, allows an escape from the uncertainty of the real world, and provides feelings of success or achievement when they ‘win’ or level-up within a game. For all of these reasons, online gaming can provide a fun, sociable, and mentally stimulating outlet for children and young people.

Online Gaming Advice for Parents

For many parents, online gaming is something that they haven’t experienced or grown up with themself, and thus there are understandably many suspicions and concerns surrounding children spending time playing online. In fact, a recent survey commissioned by the NSPCC revealed that two in five parents say they are worried about digital devices or technology negatively affecting their children’s physical or mental health.

To ease these concerns, there are many steps that parents can take to monitor their child’s internet gaming activity and ensure they’re able to play safely online. 

Take an Active Interest

The more parents know about the online games that their child likes to play, the better equipped they are to identify potential risks and set boundaries. What’s more, as with any other hobby, taking an active interest in your child’s favourite online games will help them to feel more close and connected to you and help deepen your understanding of them. Our Parent’s Guide to Social Media helps you to learn more about the online spaces that are most popular amongst children and young people today. 

Find Out Who They Play With Online

As a parent, you wouldn’t let your child meet up and socialise in-person with people without knowing who they are, and the same should apply with online socialisation. Ask your child who they play games with online and talk about what kind of topics are discussed and what language is used during play. Furthermore, it’s important to ensure your child knows how to report abusive or anti-social behaviour online so that they’re equipped to protect themself against cyber-bullying in gaming and don’t fall victim to inappropriate behaviour from other players. 

Use Aeroplane Mode to Avoid Accidental Purchases

Some online games, once downloaded, can be played without being connected to the internet. For younger children, it may be a good idea to turn on ‘aeroplane mode’ on the device on which the game will be played. This prevents children from being able to make any purchases online or connect to online chat functions, which enables them to experience the joy of gaming without being vulnerable to some of the principal risks associated with playing online. 

Use Ratings to Choose Age-Appropriate Games

All games come with a suggested age rating which gives parents a good idea of whether the content included in the game is suitable for the player. Most games will have a PEGI (Pan-European Game Information) rating, which will be displayed as one of the following:

• PEGI 3 – suitable for all ages.
• PEGI 7 – suitable for young children.
• PEGI 12 – suitable for children 12 and over.
• PEG 16 – suitable for children 16 and over.
• PEGI 18 – Only suitable for adults.

Alternatively, if a game is purchased from the App Store or Google Play store, they will contain a similar form of rating stating which age the game is suitable to play from (for example, 9+, 12+ or 17+). 

These age ratings give parents a good guide as to which games they should or shouldn’t purchase for their child, as well as providing peace of mind that the content their child is consuming is safe and suitable. 

Agree Digital Boundaries

Studies have shown that video game addiction leads to changes in the brain that are similar to those that occur in substance addiction and gambling. Therefore, it’s important for parents to agree boundaries with their child around how long they’re allowed to play online for and who they’re able to play with. 

Having an open conversation about the risks of spending too much time online and reminding children that people can hide behind fake profiles and may not be who they say they are will help them to understand the reason behind having set boundaries. It may also increase their acceptance of these limitations. To learn more, read our article about how to explain internet safety to children.

Encourage Critical Thinking

One of the best ways to help protect your children from the risks of online gaming is to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to keep themselves safe. Teaching children how to protect themselves online, such as reminding them not to share any personal information and how to identify a potential scam, will enable parents to give their child more freedom to enjoy online gaming independently without having to constantly worry about the dangers. 

Online Gaming is becoming an increasingly popular pastime for children and young people, so it’s important for parents to have the knowledge needed to protect their child from the risks associated with playing online. Whilst internet gaming may leave children vulnerable to dangers such as online scams, cyber-bullying and addiction, these can be effectively managed with the right knowledge and input from parents. Whilst these risks can often create bias against online gaming, it’s important to remember that there are myriad of benefits associated with internet gaming too which can have vastly positive effects on children’s confidence, brain power and socialisation.

Further Resources:

• Online Safety and Harms Quiz
• Parents’ Guides to Social Media Apps
• How to Explain Internet Safety to a Child
• Online Safety & Harms Course

The post Internet Gaming Safety: Tips for Parents appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Although the term ‘vegan’ is relatively new and was defined as late as the 1940s, the popularity of this lifestyle has significantly grown in recent years. The number of people following a vegan diet has seen an increase of 300% between 2006 and 2018. Presently, it is estimated that between 2-3% of the UK population follows a vegan lifestyle. Interestingly it’s not just vegans who purchase vegan products. Research suggests that 1 in 5 UK shoppers buy food labelled as vegan or plant-based at least once a week.

The general perception of vegan food is that it does not contain any animal-derived ingredients such as eggs and milk, that are also allergens. However, despite its increasing popularity there is still no legal definition for vegan food. Consequently, products labelled as vegan can still contain ingredients derived from animals.

High Speed Training is a leading online course provider, recognised for its training on food safety and allergen awareness. This report aims to shed light on perceptions regarding what should or should not be included in vegan food and to understand the level of confidence in existing food testing methods. Additionally it aims to raise awareness about the absence of a definition for vegan food and how this could potentially pose risks to people with food allergies due to widespread misunderstanding.

Overview of YouGov Survey

Conducted in January 2024 the YouGov survey, commissioned by High Speed Training, provides insights into opinions and misconceptions surrounding vegan food and its relation to food allergies. This survey plays a role in our report as we explore the need for a clear legal definition of vegan food.

The survey involved 2,187 participants from demographics across the United Kingdom. The participant breakdown was diverse consisting of 48% male and 52% female respondents spanning the following age groups.

• 11% aged 18-24 years
• 16% aged 25-34 years
• 18% aged 35-44 years
• 17% aged 45-54 years
• 38% aged 55+ years

The first question of our survey asked participants whether they identified as vegan and if they had any allergies to milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs. This question plays an important role in understanding the number of people who might be at risk due to misconceptions about allergens in vegan food.

In question two we explored each participant’s understanding of what they believe qualifies as vegan food and whether they expected animal-derived ingredients such as milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs to be present in vegan food. The responses to this question help paint a picture of how the UK population comprehends the allergy risks associated with vegan food due to the absence of a legal definition.

The third question assessed confidence in methods used for testing food. People’s answers provided insights into their level of trust regarding whether the food they consume matches its description. Finally, the fourth question directly asked participants if they believed having a definition for vegan food was necessary. This question is crucial for our report because it reflects the public’s opinion on establishing a definition of vegan food.

In general, the data from our YouGov survey provides insights into how the public perceives and understands vegan food and its relationship with food allergies. The findings will contribute to our report on the necessity of having a definition for vegan food and improved testing in the food supply chain.

Analysis of Survey Results

Public Perception of Vegan Food

Based on our YouGov survey results 72% of all participants believe that vegan food does not contain any ingredients derived from animals, making it safe for individuals with allergies to allergens such as milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs. This belief was consistent across groups including vegans, non-vegans and people with food allergies. Focusing specifically on participants with food allergies, the percentage increased to 75% indicating that they also perceive vegan food as safe for consumption if you are allergic to animal-derived allergens, which is concerning to see. Looking just at the responses from vegans (with and without allergies) there is a better understanding but still a high number, 64%, believe that vegan food would not contain ingredients derived from animals.

Survey participants were asked. Which ONE, if any, of the following statements do you agree with?

• Vegan food can contain animal-derived ingredients (such as milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs) and may be unsafe for people who are allergic to those ingredients.
• Vegan food does not contain animal-derived ingredients (such as milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs) and is safe for people who are allergic to those ingredients.
• Don’t know.

Only 8% (about 1 in 12 people) of all survey participants recognised the potential risk of allergen contamination in vegan food. Among vegans (with and without allergies), this awareness was higher at 33% indicating some level of understanding within the vegan community. However, it is surprising that just one out of three vegans are aware.

These responses highlight a concerning misconception. While the term ‘vegan’ generally implies that products do not contain ingredients sourced from animals, the reality of food manufacturing processes can lead to the presence of allergens in vegan products. For instance, cross-contamination or shared production facilities can potentially result in trace amounts of milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs being found in vegan foods.

This lack of awareness has implications. For the consumer, it may lead to misguided choices, particularly for those who seek to avoid animal products due to ethical or environmental reasons. Moreover, it poses potential risks for individuals with allergies who might consume products that are vegan believing they do not contain allergens like milk, fish, crustaceans or molluscs.

Confidence in Food Testing

Considering the serious questions raised about food testing and labelling, our YouGov survey asked the UK public about their confidence in current food testing methods that are there to ensure the food we eat is as described.

Survey participants were asked. In general, to what extent, are you confident in current food testing methods to ensure the food you eat is as described?

• Very confident.
• Somewhat confident.
• Not very confident.
• Not at all confident.
• Don’t know.

Based on the findings of our survey it is evident that there is a mix of confidence among the public. In general, 70% of the participants expressed some level of confidence with 12% being ‘Very confident’ and 58% ‘Somewhat confident’ in the testing methods. However, when it comes to individuals with food allergies this confidence drops to 64%, and those not confident in food testing methods increases from 20% for everyone to 29% for those with allergies.

These results indicate that while a majority still have trust in the existing food testing systems it is understandable that people with allergies are cautiously sceptical.

Need for Legal Definition

A majority, 75% or three out of four survey participants, agree that having a legal definition for vegan food is crucial. This definition would clarify that vegan foods should not contain animal-derived ingredients such as eggs, milk, fish, crustaceans or molluscs. Interestingly, when looking only at survey responses from vegans the majority increases from 75% to 87%, which shows that the vegan community would welcome the introduction of a legal definition for vegan food.

Survey participants were asked. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
“A legal definition is needed to clarify that the food labelled as vegan must not contain animal-derived ingredients such as milk, fish, crustaceans or molluscs”

• Strongly agree.
• Tend to agree.
• Neither agree nor disagree.
• Tend to disagree.
• Strongly disagree.
• Don’t know.

The absence of such a definition currently poses potential risks for individuals with allergies who might mistakenly assume that vegan foods are allergen-free. Furthermore, a clear legal definition would assist consumers in finding products that match their values and contribute to environmental sustainability.

By establishing a definition for vegan food, we can ensure clarity in product labelling, consumer safety and alignment with consumer preferences.

The Tragic Story of Celia Marsh

The need for a robust system to confirm the absence of allergens in ingredients and the need for a legal definition of vegan food is made all too clear in the tragic case of Celia Marsh. In December 2017, Celia Marsh, a 42 year old mother of five and dental nurse diagnosed with a cow’s milk allergy, died after eating a super-veg rainbow flatbread from Pret a Manger labelled as ‘vegan’ and ‘dairy-free’ which, unbeknownst to her, was contaminated with milk protein. This is particularly saddening as Mrs Marsh is said to have been “religious” in checking the ingredient lists on foods in an attempt to stay safe.

At the inquest into Celia Marsh’s death evidence was revealed that identified the source of the cross-contamination was a stabilising ingredient used in the dairy-free yoghurt alternative made by Planet Coconut. During the inquest, the managing director of Planet Coconut, Bethany Eaton, was asked whether she considered testing ingredients to which Mrs Eaton replied “We never tested the product because I was assured and believed it was being made in an allergen-free environment.” Mrs Eaton went on to explain that since the death of Celia Marsh, all products are now tested regardless of where they come from.

Pret a Manger had taken the word of their supplier that the ingredients used in the super-veg rainbow flatbread were dairy-free and labelled it as such. Sadly, this was not the case.

In a subsequent prevention of future deaths report, the coroner Maria Voisin concluded that “a product which is marked dairy-free should be free from dairy.” When outlining her concerns, Voisin addressed the FSA, the British Retail Consortium, Food and Drink Federation and British Hospitality, saying:

Discussing the current role and responsibilities of food manufacturers, food retailers and restaurants to protect consumers, food allergen expert Caroline Benjamin said “Food manufacturers and retailers have a responsibility under Pre-packed labelling regulations and we believe testing for precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) is a best practice in keeping the food hypersensitive (FHS) consumer safe. Restaurants need to have a full HACCP / auditing in place when making claims but also making the customer aware of any risks and how these will be mitigated when preparing food for the FHS customer.”

Since Mrs Marsh’s tragic death, there has been no change in the law to provide a legal definition of vegan food nor to introduce improved testing and checks to ensure food and its labelling accurately match. The FSA has updated its food allergen business guidance on the labelling of vegan products, recommending that a precautionary allergen label, also known as a ‘may contain’ statement, be applied to a vegan product. Although this is a small step in the right direction, the majority of what was suggested in Voisin’s prevention of future deaths report has still not been acted upon and it remains difficult for consumers to make informed choices when purchasing vegan food products. Ultimately, those with allergies are still at risk. 

The Vegan Society’s Position

The Vegan Society is an established charity and the oldest organisation dedicated to promoting veganism. Founded in the UK in 1944 they lead activities and campaigns related to veganism and plant-based foods.

The Vegan Trademark is a known certification for vegan products that have gained recognition through the efforts of the Vegan Society.

According to the official ‘Vegan Trademark standards’ it mentions “The manufacture and/or development of the product, and its ingredients, must not involve or have involved the use of any animal product, by-product or derivative.” 

It is important to note that the Vegan Trademark does not explicitly require vegan food to be suitable for individuals with animal-based food allergies. Instead the licence agreement asks companies to confirm that they strive to minimise cross-contamination from animal products “as far as is reasonably practicable”. 

As stated by the Vegan Society themselves:

Alex Gazzola, a writer specialising in food allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease, explains this further, saying: “The definition of ‘vegan food’ according to the Vegan Society (VS) is essentially based on ingredients and intent. If the ingredients are vegan, and the intention is to make a vegan product, then it is vegan. I suppose you could say it is about the attempt made, rather than a strict measure of success. Accidental cross-contamination is not an ingredient, and not intentional, therefore has no impact on the vegan status.”

Giving his opinion on what the future of vegan labelling could look like, Alex said: “People with a milk and/or egg allergy are regular consumers of vegan foods, and have contributed to the growth in the vegan sector from which the VS have directly benefited. It would be a nice touch if they were to give something back to the community, even if just helping out with awareness campaigns.”

“I think it would be a pity and would sour relations if pressure from the allergy / free from community were to ultimately result in the VS having to change their definition against their will. What I’d like to see instead is discussion and negotiation between the communities and the legislators to reach an agreement on the best way forward”

“If a food meets the VS definition, it is vegan. If it does not, it is not. There is no ‘in between’ or third ground under the current definition. I do like the idea of a third ground, I should add – ‘vegan’ and ‘vegan plus’, for example, to take into account foods with and without potential cross-contamination”

We spoke with Chris Kirby, Health & Safety Manager at Timothy Taylor & Co. brewery, who have been granted use of the Vegan Trademark on their range of bottled and canned beers. Asked for his thoughts on the potential introduction of a legal definition of vegan foods and the impact it may have on the production of vegan products Chris said “I think there may be some negativity as some of the vegan claims that are made by manufacturers would need to be revisited and work would need to be completed on new ways to ensure their vegan status. It would not negatively impact Timothy Taylor products as our vegan products are completely segregated from non-vegan products, so therefore no cross-contamination risk.”

The term ‘vegan’ belongs to the vegan community and that community plays a key role in determining what ‘vegan’ means, but consumer expectations and industry practices do not match as 64% of vegans expect food labelled as vegan to be completely free from any ingredients derived from animals.

Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s (CTSI) Recommendation

There is a growing concern in the food industry regarding the absence of a vegan food definition. With more people buying vegan food and campaigns like Veganuary promoting vegan diets it’s crucial to address this issue.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) published a report in 2023 and put forward recommendations relating to vegan and plant-based food. They highlight the need for a definition of vegan food as well as an educational campaign to help consumers understand what to look for on food labels. Additionally, they suggest that businesses should receive updated guidance to ensure transparency. Implementing these recommendations would play a role in safeguarding consumer safety and fostering trust.

Timothy Taylor & Co. Health & Safety Manager, Chris Kirby says “I feel that consumers should be able to make food safe choices about the food / drink they consume. Just because a product is Vegan doesn’t mean it is allergen-free, and this may be what some consumers presume. Vegan consumers choose not to eat products that intentionally use ingredients of animal origin, but it is equally as important to highlight to the consumer if there is a potential allergen cross-contamination risk (e.g. “may contain” statement). If a consumer is choosing to have a vegan diet, then the products should be completely vegan. Having worked in food manufacturing for the last 27 years I understand the challenges this can pose, so a legal definition would clear up any confusion.”

Currently some companies are taking advantage of people’s assumptions about vegan diets through “vegan washing.” This deceptive practice involves labelling products as “vegan” or “plant-based” despite containing animal-derived ingredients like milk or eggs or being prepared in environments where cross-contamination with animal-based products is highly likely. For example, in 2020 Burger King released their new “plant-based” burger which was widely considered to be suitable for vegans. In reality, it was found that the burger was cooked alongside meat, and the product came with egg-based mayonnaise. Thus, it wasn’t suitable for vegans and the ad was considered by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to be misleading.

To prevent the occurrence of animal-derived ingredients in vegan food it would be beneficial to act on the CTSI recommendation and establish a legal definition that strictly prohibits any presence of animal-derived ingredients.

Additionally it is important to raise awareness among consumers about how animal-derived ingredients are indicated on food labels. Some terms used to describe animal-derived ingredients may not be familiar to consumers. For example:

• Casein – A milk protein.
• Collagen – From the skin, bones and elastin tissue of animals.
• Whey – A milk by-product.
• Albumen/Albumin – From egg.
• Vitamin D3 – Often from fish-liver oil or sheep’s wool.
• Lactose – Milk sugar and milk protein.
• Pepsin – from the stomachs of pigs, a clotting agent used in vitamins.

Consumer Awareness and Education

Based on our analysis of the survey results it is evident that there are gaps in consumer knowledge regarding vegan food. Therefore, efforts should be made to improve education and understanding among consumers regarding vegan food choices.

The popularity of vegan food has grown rapidly. Unfortunately, there is a concerning lack of understanding about the ingredients used in vegan food. Our survey results highlight this issue showing that many people (72% of survey participants), including those with allergies, mistakenly believe that food labelled as vegan won’t contain animal-derived ingredients like milk and eggs. This misconception poses a potential health risk for individuals with allergies to animal-derived allergens.

It’s crucial to address this lack of awareness and improve consumer knowledge about vegan food. This way we can better protect individuals with food allergies and ensure that people can make informed choices about the food they consume.

Conclusions

Our survey findings reveal a contrast between consumer perceptions and the reality of vegan food in the UK. It’s alarming that 72% of participants wrongly believe that vegan food is free from animal-derived ingredients and safe for individuals with allergies. This misconception is particularly dangerous for those with food allergies. To improve the situation there is a need for a definition of vegan food in order to provide clarity and safeguard consumer health.

It is important for consumers to carefully check and read the labels on food before consuming it. However, there are concerns about food labelling and the testing of supply chains to ensure that the food we eat matches its description. Our survey reveals that while a majority (70%) have some confidence in food testing methods, unfortunate incidents like the case of Celia Marsh, who tragically passed away after consuming a vegan flatbread labelled as dairy-free but actually contaminated with milk protein, highlight the need for rigorous supply chain checks and testing to prevent such occurrences.

Encouragingly 74% of survey respondents agree that there should be a definition for vegan food. Among participants who identify as vegans this percentage rises to 87% indicating strong support for a definition. The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has recommended implementing a definition for vegan food, which would establish legal thresholds for what qualifies as animal free food.

Given the findings of our report, the recommendations from the CTSI and the concerns of coroner Maria Voisin, it is clear that a legal definition for vegan food is needed and better food testing should be put in place to confirm the absence of allergens in all ingredients and during food production to prevent tragic cases like Celia Marsh’s.

Methodology

All survey figures are from YouGov Plc. Survey commissioned by High Speed Training. Total sample size was 2,187 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken in January 2024. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representatives of all UK adults (18+).

The post Vegan Food Report: Beyond the Label appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will explain some of the reasons why employees should return to the office, suggest some advice on how to encourage your workforce to return to non-remote work, and provide tips for employees heading back to the office to ensure a smooth transition.

Why Should Employees Return to the Office?

Although there were a myriad of studies released during the coronavirus pandemic that sang the praises of remote or hybrid work, suggesting that this form of working created happier, more productive employees, newer research from today’s post-pandemic world is starting to demonstrate that the opposite may actually be true. 

Whilst immediate results of changing to a more remote form of working may have seemed positive, we’re now starting to see the more long-term effects which paint an altogether different picture. To get a glimpse of how employees felt about home-working during the pandemic, read our article on the challenges and benefits of working from home, here.

Does Working from Home Decrease Productivity?

As we’ve had time to collect and monitor data from employees working from home over the past few years, more accurate insights into their productivity are now coming forth, and these show some interesting results. 

One example of this is a working paper published by two doctoral students from Harvard who, during 2020, found an 8% increase in the number of calls handled per hour by employees of an online retailer that had made the move to home working. Upon revising their study with more precise data in 2023, however, they found that this initial increase had actually become a 4% decline in productivity, with fewer calls being answered than in the office as well as lower quality interactions. So, what factors of remote working contribute most to this loss in productivity? 

Less Efficient Communication

We’ve all gotten used to dealing with the complexities of virtual meetings, and whilst it can seem nice to interact with colleagues among their pets and plants, with their favourite mug in hand, there’s no denying that speaking through a screen and at the mercy of your internet connection has its difficulties. 

Remote work strips colleague communication of the subtle non-verbal cues and natural flow of discussion that makes up the bulk of normal conversation. In fact, inevitable time lags and the inability to hear multiple people talk at once on virtual calls, makes truly effective collaboration nigh on impossible.

Difficulty Building and Maintaining Professional Relationships 

As well as decreasing the efficiency of communication, home working removes any spontaneity from workplace conversations. Whereas in an office it’s common to overhear and jump into conversations on impulse, remote conversations are mainly meticulously planned and are invite only. This makes it difficult to build solid professional relationships, as communication with employees outside of your team becomes sporadic if not scheduled in. Additionally, online meetings with strict agendas restrict the personal aspects of conversation that can help to build and strengthen workplace relationships. 

Inhibition of Innovation

Whilst online work inhibits relationship-building, it can prevent employees from being truly innovative. This is due to a restriction in focus, a key element of innovation. Constant work notifications, such as messages on slack, and distractions from family at home can make it hard to truly focus on one task and get the creative juices flowing. Without innovation, however, employees can feel like they’re running in circles and lacking in motivation. 

Decrease in Mental Health

The common consensus is that remote working has improved mental health by restoring workers’ work-life balance and giving employees more time to get outside, spend time with family, and exercise. In many cases, however, this may not be the reality. To start with, blurring the lines between work and home can make it difficult for many employees to ‘switch-off’. This lack of boundaries has been found to increase stress in home workers, with one study finding that 41% of remote workers felt stressed compared to only 25% of those continuing to work from an office.

Furthermore, it can be isolating to work from home in comparison to an office filled with people to communicate and connect with daily. As a result, remote working can increase feelings of loneliness, which can considerably impact mental health. 

Slower Development 

It’s generally agreed that regular feedback and advice is essential for growth and development, but home-workers are shown to receive significantly less feedback than those in offices. As a result, those working remotely are likely to progress in their professional development far slower. 

One recent study found that remote workers spend 25% less time on career development than their office counterparts. It’s also been noted that many skills, particularly soft skills such as leadership, are mainly learnt through observation. With home-workers being isolated from their colleagues, they’re less able to learn from their peers. 

How to Encourage Employees to Return to the Office

Although there are disadvantages to remote working, 82% of people say that they prefer working from home to going back to the office. Therefore, it’s evident that employees may need to be provided with motivation to return. 

Ultimately, many workers are reluctant to return to the office as they’re worried it’ll mean giving up the perks of remote working. Encouraging employees to return to the office is therefore mainly a case of outlining the benefits of an office environment, and adapting your workplace so that it proves a worthy rival to people’s own homes. 

Communicate Clearly and Honestly

Firstly, it’s essential to clearly communicate why you’d like employees to return to the office. Transparency is key to employee engagement, and therefore being totally honest about your reasons for making this change is likely to receive the best response. 

Use Factual Evidence and Statistics

As the quote goes, ‘you can’t argue with facts’. Using hard evidence for asking employees to return to the office will strengthen your case, particularly if some of your statistics are taken from your employees themselves; Why not create a survey for employees to complete and use the results in your line of reasoning. 

For example, being able to firmly declare that ‘X% of our team has shared that they feel lonely at home’, or that ‘X% of our team find collaboration easier in the office’ makes a compelling argument for returning to non-remote work. Including your employees’ own opinions within your decision will also help them to feel involved, rather than merely instructed. To find other methods of effectively motivating your team, read our article here.

Introduce New Benefits

Understandably, employees may be reluctant to give up the benefits of home-working without receiving any compensation or alternative advantages. Introducing new benefits such as a transportation or child care stipend may help to make office work more manageable for those who have gotten used to saving money in these areas by working from home. 

Additionally, creating new ways to make the office more enticing, such as social events, provided lunches or pet-friendly areas, may incentivise more workers to swap the perks of home-work for those of being in the office. Introducing regular team-building activities will help to strengthen bonds within teams and help to create a company culture that your employees want to experience in-person daily. You can find some ideas for team building activities which could help to incentivise employees in our article, here.

Optimise Your Office Space 

Returning to working in a closed office cubicle isn’t going to be an exciting prospect for anyone. Instead, to encourage employees to return to the office, it’s a good idea to ensure it’s an inviting space that people want to be in. 

Consider redesigning your office to maximise both productivity and fun. One idea is to separate your office into different areas designed specifically for various activities. For example, having designated deep-work sections, huddle areas, standing desks, social areas including games and comfy seating, and more. 

Create a Hybrid Work Schedule 

Asking every employee to immediately return to the office full time may be a difficult transition for many. Instead, try to phase in a return to the office and offer structured flexibility for those that need it. 

You could try a hot-desking system where employees sign up to work in the office on certain days, can book office space, and see which other employees will also be in the office at the same time as them. This encourages teams to coordinate their office time to get the benefits of collaboration and team-building on office days, whilst also reaping the benefits of sometimes still working from home.

Tips for Returning to the Office

It’s important to remember that returning to the office will seem like a big change for some, particularly as some newer employees may never have worked in an office environment before. With this in mind, here are a few tips for ensuring everyone is prepared to return to the workplace and are comfortable when doing so. 

Ease into the New Routine

Having to commute to an office involves more time management and preparation than having your workspace within your home. As such, it’s important to consider the extra time it will take to commute to work once you return to the office and slowly adapt to waking up earlier so that it’s not a shock to the system when you have to suddenly factor that extra time into your day. 

Additionally, it’s important to think about mealtimes at the office, as you may not have a full kitchen and your favourite ingredients readily available there as you would at home. It may be wise to plan what you will pack for your lunches and do some food preparation at the start of the week to avoid this becoming an added stress in your day.

Decorate Your Workspace

It’s easier to work in a space that you feel comfortable in, so don’t be shy in decorating your desk within the office to really make it your own. Bringing in a few home comforts such as plants and photos can help to make your workspace feel more joyous and motivational, and make the transition between working from home and at the office less of a leap.

Take Enough Rest Breaks

It can feel intimidating to take regular breaks whilst working in an office, as you’re constantly surrounded by other people who seem hard at work. But taking frequent breaks to relax and stretch your legs is just as vital in the office as it is at home, if not more so. 

To learn more about the importance of rest breaks and the regulations surrounding them in the workplace, read our article here. For employers, it’s essential to ensure that the office break room has everything that employees will need, such as comfortable seating and facilities to make drinks or snacks. 

Learn Methods to Help Manage Stress and Anxiety

Change is always scary, and therefore making the move back into the workplace from home-working may create or compound feelings of stress and anxiety. Although these feelings may seem overwhelming or unmanageable, there are a number of methods you can try to help deal with these emotions and avoid them from impacting your daily life. 

Want to Learn More?

To discover some suggested ways of dealing with difficult emotions, read our articles on coping with stress or anxiety at work. Additionally, you can discover more ways to promote positive mental health in the workplace, here.

One of the major downsides of remote working is that it restricts effective communication. If you’re making a return to office work, now is your chance to make the most of being able to discuss things face to face with your colleagues at any time. Getting to know the other employees in your company and widening your network of support will only enrich your working experience, make coming to work more enjoyable, and provide further opportunities for growth and development. 

If you have any concerns about returning to the office or have any suggestions for how to improve the workspace, you should voice these to the relevant person so that they can get resolved as soon as possible. 

There are many merits of working from an office that, if we’re being honest, just can’t be properly replicated when working remotely. As such, it’s time to start thinking about encouraging employees to return to the office. It’s important to do this correctly though, and ensure that employees are motivated and can benefit from this change. Remember, an immediate return to office-work full time may be infeasible for some, so consider taking a soft approach such as implementing hybrid or flexible working schemes. 

Further Resources:

• Weekly Working From Home Structure: Free Schedule Template
• Health & Safety For Home Workers
• Business Essentials Courses

The post How to Get Employees Excited About Returning to the Office appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Physical exercise has been proven to have huge potential in improving our mental wellbeing, with studies showing that people who exercise regularly experience better mental health and emotional wellbeing, as well as lower rates of mental illness.

In this article, we will explore the link between physical exercise and mental wellbeing and how they interact, explain why this is so important for our overall health, and recommend some ideas for how to use physical activity to improve mental wellbeing.

The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Mental Health

Physical activity involves any movement of the body that uses the muscles, increases  your heart rate or breathing, and expends energy. Luckily, there are endless possibilities of ways in which to do this and therefore there’s an option that everyone will enjoy. 

Physical exertion and mental health are directly connected due to changes in chemical activity that occur in the brain during and after exercise. This includes the increase of ‘happy hormones’ such as serotonin and the release of endorphins, as well as a reduction in stress hormones such as cortisol. As a result of these chemical changes, physical activity is shown to have a hugely positive effect on our mental wellbeing.

It’s important to remember, however, that everyone’s experience with mental health is unique, and therefore the impact of physical activity on mental wellbeing will vary for each individual. It’s normal for our mental state to fluctuate between positive and negative as we experience natural changes in mood and circumstance. However, there are a variety of named mental health issues that occur when there’s a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s mental wellbeing. You can learn more about the different types of mental health in our article here.

Want to Learn More?

 Our range of mental health courses, including Mental Health Awareness, Child Mental Health Training and Health and Wellbeing, aim to increase your understanding of mental health, common mental health conditions and how to promote positive mental health.

Why is Physical Activity Important for Mental Health?

In the UK and beyond, mental wellbeing is increasingly being discussed as something that we need to actively maintain and improve, as almost everyone suffers from ill mental health at some point in their life. New research among 2,000 adults in England has revealed that around 4 in 10 people report having trouble sleeping, feeling less confident, and having less energy due to anxiety.

Despite physical activity being repeatedly shown to improve mental health in a myriad of ways, less than half of adults are aware that it’s proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety, alleviate stress and distract from negative thoughts. 

These statistics demonstrate the importance of discussing mental health openly and frequently, to help raise awareness and fight ignorance or stigmas. You can find suggestions for how to talk about mental health in our article, here.

How Does Exercise Improve Mental Health?

Releases Feel Good Hormones 

Although it can be hard to motivate yourself to exercise, it’s unlikely that you’ll regret it once you start. This is due to the release of ‘feel-good’ chemicals during exercise, including mood-boosting endorphins, endocannabinoids, which improve sleep and reduce anxiety, and memory improving dopamine. 

Improves Confidence and Self Esteem

Self esteem is a strong indicator of someone’s mental wellbeing. Exercise gives you a way to frequently achieve goals and gain a sense of pride that you’ve pushed yourself to move despite it being difficult. This all contributes to improving self-esteem almost immediately. 

Improves Sleep

People who regularly exercise are shown to sleep better and feel less tired during the day. Regular exercise also improves the symptoms of insomnia and increases the amount of time you spend in the deep, restorative stages of sleep.

Improves Memory, Concentration and Focus

Exercise increases your heart rate and causes more blood to flow to the brain. This promotes cell growth which allows for greater focusing abilities. Additionally, physical activity releases proteins in the brain which the hippocampus, the area of the brain responsible for retaining information, is very susceptible to. 

Reduces Stress and Anxiety

Physical activity helps to control the levels of stress hormones in our body, such as cortisol and adrenaline, and acts as a means of release for negative emotions building up inside of us. It also helps to relieve physical tension, which is often a side effect of stress or anxiety. If you’re interested in other ways to help manage stress, take a look at our article, here.

Promotes Social Connection

Certain physical activities make it easier to socialise and form connections. For example, sports teams and local groups, like walking or running clubs, are a great way to meet new people. Socialising with friends is an effective form of self-care, helping us to establish strong, healthy connections and support networks. 

Contributes to the Treatment of Mental Illness

Not only is physical activity proven to help maintain mental wellbeing, it has also been shown to be an effective form of treatment for mental illness, even more so than medication in some cases. A recent study demonstrated that physical activity interventions of any kind can significantly reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety in all clinical populations. Importantly, the research shows that it doesn’t take much for exercise to make a positive change to your mental health, with short to mid-duration bursts having a greater effect than long durations of exercise. 

How Does Lack of Exercise Affect Your Mental Health?

Whilst exercising has hugely positive effects on mental wellbeing, a lack of exercise can have the converse effect and contribute to a downturn in mental health. In fact, research suggests that just 10 days without fitness can cause the brain to start losing cognitive function. Additionally, whilst it can be harder to motivate yourself to exercise when you’re feeling low, if you don’t engage in physical activity your mood could suffer even more. 

Some of the negative impacts of a lack of exercise include:

• A higher risk of anxiety and depression.
• Difficulty to think positively or see the bright side.
• Trouble with problem solving.
• Development of self-deprecating thought patterns.
• Reduced ability to manage stress.

The NHS recommends doing 150 minutes of physical activity per week in order to get the physical and mental health benefits that exercise provides. Despite this advice, however, it’s been found that 4 in 10 adults are currently not meeting this target. 

How to Get Started with Using Physical Exercise for Your Mental Health

If you’re at the beginning of your fitness journey, it’s best to start slowly with short durations of low impact exercise such as walking or playing a gentle sport like golf or badminton.

By easing yourself into physical activity, you will avoid becoming demotivated by the difficulty and pressure of trying to do too much too soon. Instead, it’s better to gradually increase the duration and strenuousness of your exercise and, if you maintain regular activity, you will soon begin to see improvements in your abilities which will have a positive effect on your self esteem and overall wellbeing. 

The Best Exercises for Mental Health

First and foremost, it’s important to remember that the best exercise for your mental health will be one that you enjoy. This is the key to making physical activity a healthy habit that you can maintain over time. With that in mind, here are a selection of mood boosting exercises that you could try:

Walking

Although walking is sometimes disregarded as not being ‘proper’ exercise, this is a myth and there are in fact many physical and mental benefits to going for a walk. Some of the advantages of walking is that it’s a free activity and one that is low impact and therefore can be enjoyed by most people. Additionally, walking is a good way to get outside into fresh air and experience nature, both of which have also been shown to positively influence mental wellbeing. 

Yoga

Whilst yoga is a form of physical exercise that gets the body moving, its core focus is on establishing a connection with your mind and breathing to establish a state of relaxation and focus. Thus, it has long been recognised for its benefits on mental wellbeing. This form of exercise is great for easing stress and tension, lowering blood pressure, and boosting serotonin. Therefore, it can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. 

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

If you’re looking for a more intense and challenging form of exercise that can be practised in short durations,  a HIIT workout may be the perfect option. This form of physical activity raises the heart rate considerably and therefore gets the blood pumping around the body, increasing blood flow to the brain and releasing endorphins. 

Running

Running is perhaps the most celebrated and best recognised form of exercise to combine physical fitness with mental wellbeing. Similarly to walking, it is free and often gets you outside. Famously, running can produce a phenomena known as ‘runner’s high’ which occurs when the body is flooded with feel-good chemicals during or shortly after a run. Many  people describe this feeling as a state of euphoria or bliss; not only is your mood boosted but the feeling can also reduce pain and anxiety substantially. 

If you’d like to start running but are not sure how to begin, the NHS Couch to 5k is a great running plan for absolute beginners, which will help you work up towards running 5k in just 9 weeks.

Boxing and Martial Arts

Boxing, or any other form of martial art activity, is not only a great form of physical exercise but also helps to let off steam and release pent up negative emotions such as stress. Additionally, martial arts is a great form of exercise to raise self esteem and confidence as it builds visible strength and provides regular trackable improvements. 

Dancing

There are many different types of dance and all of them have varying benefits that relate to mental health. Ballet, for example, has similarities to yoga in being grounded in mindfulness and self-awareness, and many forms of dance such as hip hop and zumba are free flowing and intense so raise your heart rate and produce endorphins. Additionally, dance can be an extremely social form of exercise, as it’s often partaken in group classes and involves close collaboration. Thus, it’s a good way to form connections and build a strong support network. 

These examples describe just a few of the many forms of physical activity available to try, but the options are almost limitless. Your local leisure centre is a good place to start, as they often offer a variety of sports and fitness classes for anyone to join. Whilst each type of physical activity benefits wellbeing in slightly different ways, all forms of exercise have a hugely positive impact on maintaining and improving mental health. 

Your mental health is just as important to care for as your physical health, and exercise has been shown to have a direct impact on improving and maintaining mental wellbeing. There are so many different ways to take part in physical activity, so why not try a few various forms and find the ones that work best for you. 

Further Resources:

• Types of Mental Health
• How to Talk About Mental Health
• Mental Health Myths vs Facts: What are the Realities?
• Stress Management Activities to Try at Home
• Mental Health Awareness Course

The post The Benefits of Exercise on Mental Health appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Currently, 80% of people never set goals at all and, out of those that do, roughly 70% fail to achieve them. This is likely due to a lack of specificity when goal-setting. To help make your objectives more achievable, it can help to break them down into smaller steps that are clearly defined and realistic. This is where the SMART method for creating goals can really help. 

In this article, we’ll define what SMART goals are, why they are so important for development, and how to set good SMART goals to help advance your career. We’ll also share some examples as inspiration to help you get started with your own goal setting.

What are SMART Goals?

SMART is an acronym that can help to guide your goal setting. It stands for:

• Specific.
• Measurable.
• Achievable.
• Relevant.
• Time-bound. 

When creating a personal or professional development goal, you can follow the SMART method by ensuring that your objectives adhere to each of these parameters. This helps to ensure that your goals are realistic, have a clear timeline, and that your progress can be tracked. 

Too often, goal setting gets side-lined within a business, but both employees and managers have a responsibility to set goals regularly. Using SMART goals, employees and their line managers can create an actionable plan together which ensures that they continue to grow and develop within their roles. It can also improve performance, increase productivity, and contribute towards company objectives. 

Why are SMART Goals Important?

SMART is an effective method of goal-setting as it provides the clarity, focus, and motivation needed to achieve the objectives you set for yourself. Additionally, it’s an easy method that anyone can use without needing additional training or specialist tools. Some of the greatest benefits of using the SMART method to create goals are:

• It provides direction.
• It evaluates your strengths and weaknesses so you’re better aware of which areas you need to improve most.
• It provides motivation.
• It encourages you to take action and directs you out of your comfort zone, which is often where the most progress happens.
• It retains your focus on the end-goal.
• It elicits a continuous sense of achievement by creating regular milestones.
• It allows you to monitor your progress.
• It avoids wasting time on activities that aren’t goal-oriented.

Another reason why SMART goals are important is that they help to foster a growth mindset. A growth mindset is the belief in your ability to develop your knowledge and learn new skills through determination and practise. Once developed, it can help you to overcome challenges and embrace opportunities. 

Using SMART goals can help to nurture your growth mindset by ensuring that you achieve frequent milestones, which increases your confidence in your abilities. Additionally, the SMART method allows you to create a clear vision of success, which helps with maintaining motivation – a key aspect of a growth mindset. To learn more about how to develop and maintain a growth mindset in the workplace, read our article on the subject here.

Looking to Learn More?

Knowing how to set good SMART goals is an essential business skill, and one that will be invaluable to anyone in, or hoping to take on, a leadership role. To further enhance these skills, check out our Business Essentials courses. In particular, we highly recommend our Communication Skills and Leadership and Management training.

How to Set SMART Goals

The first step in setting a SMART goal is to think of something you’d like to accomplish in the future. This could be a vague goal to start with, for example: ‘I will increase my sales’. Once you have an end-goal in mind, you can build on it using the SMART acronym to make it more attainable and quantifiable. 

Specific 

Goals that are specific have a higher chance of being achieved. To make a goal more specific, you can use questions to help narrow down your objective, such as:

• Who is involved in your goal?
• What exactly do you want to accomplish?
• What steps are needed to achieve it?

Using these considerations, we can turn our generic goal of ‘I will increase sales’ to something far more specific such as: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales.’

Measurable

To allow you to keep track of your goal, it must have set criteria for measuring progress. Without this, you’ll have no way of identifying how near or far you are from achieving your goal. This usually involves setting a numerical target that you’d like to reach or exceed. 

For example, we can improve our example goal from: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales’ to: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales by 10%.’

Achievable

After specifying your goal and evaluating how you will measure it, it’s time to consider how achievable your current goal is or whether you may need to adjust it. Some things to think about are whether you have the resources needed to achieve your goal, and if not what are you missing? It’s important to strike the right balance of making your goal challenging enough to make it an accomplishment without it being too difficult to complete successfully. 

To make your goal more achievable, you could always reduce the measurable aspect that you added in the previous step. For example, rather than looking to ‘increase my number of weekly sales by 10%’, you could reduce this to 5% instead if necessary.

Relevant 

Here, you need to consider whether the goal you’ve set for yourself is in line with what your company or team as a whole aspires to achieve. If your goal doesn’t contribute towards company targets, you may successfully deliver your objective but it won’t have an impact on the overall performance of the business. It helps to add a section to the end of your SMART goal clarifying how your personal target will play a part in bigger company aspirations. 

For example, we can justify our objective of increasing sales by adding to the SMART goal as so:  ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales by 10%. This will contribute more towards team revenue and help to increase monthly profits.’

Time-bound

Finally, to be able to effectively measure success, you must place a time limit on your goal so that you have a deadline to work towards. This can help ensure that you stay on track to achieving your target, and will motivate you to make progress faster. Without a deadline, there is no pressure to make advancements towards your ultimate objective and thus it’s far easier to procrastinate. You can learn more about how to be productive at work in our article, here. 

Following this, we can complete our example goal by adding a time restriction such as: ‘I will learn a new sales technique to increase my number of weekly sales by 10% within Q2. This will contribute more towards team revenue and help to increase monthly profits.’ 

Now that you know how to create a good SMART goal, it’s time to form your own ideas of achievements you’d like to attain in the future, then use the SMART formula to turn them into actionable goals. 

Implementing SMART Goals

One way to find inspiration for your goals is to revisit your performance reviews, which you should have regularly with your employer or manager. Within a performance review, you’ll receive feedback that can help you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Once you know your potential areas of improvement, you can use these to set goals which aim to turn your current shortcomings into your future assets. To learn more about how to use performance reviews to your full advantage, read our article on the subject here.

Lastly, once you have your list of objectives for the future and have turned them into SMART goals, it’s important to format these into a personal development plan (PDP). This is a formalised template that helps you to keep track of where you are in your progress towards achieving each of your goals. Whereas the SMART formula helps you to create individual goals that are achievable and measurable, a PDP helps you to view all of your goals together and decide which to prioritise. It can also be used to monitor your personal growth over time. Need help getting started? Take a look at our free downloadable PDP guide and template.

Examples of SMART Goals for Employees

It can be hard to know where to start with setting goals, particularly ones that fit every part of the SMART formula. Here are a few examples of professional development goals that you could edit to fit your individual aspirations:

• Attend three industry events each month this year, and speak to five people at each to improve your networking.
• Complete an online course in the next month to improve your knowledge in a specific area and increase your level of efficiency within your role. (To help personalise this goal, why not visit our course library and browse one of our many training opportunities to find the right one for you.)
• Research a new competitor every two weeks to improve the knowledge of the market and identify areas of improvement in your company for the next quarter.
• Lead three team meetings within the next two months to build confidence in directing discussion and improve your presentation skills. (Our article on How to Speak up in Meetings is a great starting point for this goal.)
• Learn a new tool/software; XX, to build on your abilities and improve productivity by XX% by the end of the quarter.
• Dedicate 30 minutes per week to self-reflection to evaluate your performance and proactively seek areas for improvement until the end of the quarter. (As part of this self-reflection, you may want to consider ways to work on your emotional intelligence, as this is a vital skill in every workplace that can always be improved.) 

We hope you found this article on how to write SMART goals useful. Personal development is extremely important in driving career progression and ensuring that you stay motivated in your role. Using the SMART method to create personal development goals increases the likelihood that you’ll succeed in your aspirations, as they help to ensure that your objectives are realistic, measurable, and include a deadline to work towards. 

Further Resources:

• A Personal Development Plan (PDP) Guide & Template
• How to Develop a Growth Mindset in the Workplace
• How to Upskill Yourself
• Writing A Professional Development Plan – Example & Template
• Business Essentials Courses

The post How to Write SMART Goals for Employees appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Despite having an intrinsic understanding of how to access and use the internet, children may not fully comprehend the dangers associated with this; Therefore, having open discussions around internet safety and its importance is vital to help protect them. 

In this article, we will define what internet safety is and why it is so important, discuss how you can talk about internet safety with children, and provide actionable tips to ensure that you feel equipped to effectively support your child online.

What is Internet Safety?

Internet safety refers to the act of staying safe online and being aware of risks such as cyberbullying, scams, and spyware. It involves ensuring that your personal data and wellbeing is protected whilst using the internet. 

Understandably online safety and security can feel overwhelming nowadays, particularly when trying to protect children. We all have access to so many forms of technology, containing a multitude of apps, websites, online slang, abbreviations, and emojis, that it can seem difficult to keep up with and identify the potential dangers associated with each. 

Why is Internet Safety Important?

The internet can be of great value to children, giving them easy access to information that can help them develop their knowledge and learn new skills, as well as having positive social impact. It’s important to keep in mind, however, that these benefits come with safety risks that cannot be ignored.

Dangers of the Internet for Children

Cyberbullying

43% of teens have been victims of cyberbullying in the last year, but only 1 in 10 will inform a trusted adult of their abuse. Cyberbullying is the most common form of bullying, and involves posting or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else online. Find information on how to avoid digital abuse in our article on How to Teach Children About Healthy Relationships.

False Information

The internet is a valuable tool for finding information, but because anyone is able to post or share information online it can be difficult to know what is trustworthy. There is lots of content on the internet that is simply false and may be designed to manipulate or distort the truth. This can be dangerous, especially to children who are still highly impressionable.

Scams/Phishing

Scams aim to trick internet users into divulging sensitive data, such as banking details or passwords, or downloading dangerous malware. Phishing is a form of scam where cybercriminals send emails or messages that appear genuine but actually contain harmful content.

Dangerous Online Challenges

The increasing popularity of social media has led to a craze in completing online challenges, in which individuals record themself completing a challenge and then share the video online. Many of these challenges are simply fun and light-hearted, but others can be harmful, and in extreme cases children have even died from attempting dangerous activities online. Often, young people may not perceive the risks involved in a challenge before attempting it, or may feel peer pressured to participate. To learn more, read our article on the subject here.

Malware

Malware is harmful software that can be downloaded unknowingly, as it often masquerades as something innocent, such as a game. Malware can allow someone to access personal information or damage your device by corrupting it.

Looking to Learn More?

Our Online Safety and Harms course is designed to teach you everything you need to know about the potential online risks and harms children face, how to recognise signs that might indicate online harm or abuse, and how to effectively address online safety.

How to Talk to Your Child About Internet Safety

The best way to help ensure your child’s safety online is to talk to them regularly about their online life. It’s important that as a parent you understand what websites and apps your child engages with online, and who they’re speaking to, as well as giving your child a good foundational knowledge of the risks and dangers they could encounter on the internet. Some good conversation starters you could use to begin the discussions include:

• Ask your child what they enjoy doing online, which websites they visit the most, and if they have any games or online activities they play regularly. Ask if they’d like to play their favourite online game with you.
• Ask about how they stay safe online, what safety tips they have for you, and what they think is okay or not okay to share on the internet.
• Ask them if they know where to go for help. Do they know how to find safety advice and privacy settings online, and how to report or block people on social media?
• Discuss how you each use the internet and if there are any ways in which you could use it together, for example enjoying online activities as a family. 

Whilst it can feel uncomfortable to have these conversations with your child, trying to incorporate them into your daily communication in the same way you’d enquire about their day at school, for example, can create a more relaxed and open environment for discussion. This also increases the likelihood that they’ll feel comfortable coming to you if they have any concerns. 

How to Approach Difficult Conversations

There may come a time where you have to broach an uncomfortable topic with your child, for example if they’ve viewed inappropriate or distressing content, or are being bullied, online. These conversations, although extremely important, are often especially difficult as they can elicit feelings of embarrassment, shame, or fear. Here are some useful things to keep in mind to help discuss uncomfortable subjects successfully:

• Remain calm and non-judgemental. 
• Try to avoid approaching the subject head-on. Instead, consider taking a subtler approach, such as asking if it’s something they’ve heard discussed before at school or amongst friends.
• Give your child space to speak openly. Don’t interrupt, even if there’s a period of silence. Your child may need time to consider how to respond.
• Provide explanations for why certain things are wrong, such as age appropriateness and illegality, so that your child can better understand the situation. 

Internet Safety Tips for Parents

Although keeping an open line of communication with your child about online safety is essential, there are many other actionable ways to help protect your child from the risks and dangers of the internet. Here are a few of our expert tips to help you support your child in accessing the online world safely. 

Keep up to date with social media features

There are several different social media platforms that are popular amongst young people, and with new apps and services being introduced all the time, it’s important to stay updated with your child’s changing internet habits. 

Every social media platform has dedicated safety features designed to protect its users. We’ve created Parents’ Guides for five of the most popular social media apps to help you assess potential risks, learn about how each platform works, and explore the safety features available on each. 

Create rules and boundaries

Whilst it can be beneficial for children to have access to all the educational and social opportunities that the internet offers, setting some guidelines can go a long way to keeping your child safe online. 

There are plenty of parental controls and privacy settings that you can utilise to help steer your child away from the more dangerous parts of the internet. These include setting screen time restrictions, filters that limit access to specific websites or keywords, and monitoring your child’s online activity.

Understand ‘hidden’ online language 

Texts, instant messages, social posts and comments now make up a large part of our daily communication, and the short nature of these formats have resulted in emojis and abbreviations becoming a popular way to convey meaning, tone, and humour quickly. 

However, this complex use of emojis and abbreviations has resulted in a ‘hidden language’ amongst young people of which many adults may not be aware, and which can cause dangers to go unnoticed. We’ve created a comprehensive guide containing common alternative meanings for emojis, and some text abbreviations that might indicate a safeguarding risk.

Be a good role model

Children learn by example and absorb everything they see around them, so in order to encourage safe internet use for your child you must also follow the same advice that you’re giving them and model good online behaviour. 

Part of this behaviour lies in how you choose to share your children online. We conducted research into how the nation chooses to share photos of, and information about, their children on social media in our article on Sharenting: Your Guide to Safeguarding Your Children Online. Here, you can find our top tips for using social media as a parent in the modern world.

Know where to go for help

The online world is so vast that internet safety issues can often feel overwhelming, and it’s normal to feel like you can’t tackle every concern yourself. Luckily, there are plenty of places you can go to for advice and where your child can find options for further support. 

Remind your child that they can seek advice from any trusted adult as well as yourself, including their teachers or other close relatives. If you need more professional support, protection services such as the NSPCC or the UK Safer Internet Centre offer a helpline, as well as advice on where to report various safety concerns. 

With the online world increasingly becoming a part of our daily reality, it’s more important than ever to educate your child on the risks that come with using the internet. It’s crucial that you and your child discuss the potential dangers that threaten their safety online, and know how to detect and deflect hazards, as well as where to turn to for help if they do fall victim to online misconduct. 

Further Resources:

• Parents’ Guides to Social Media Apps
• Internet Gaming Safety: Tips for Parents
• Safeguarding Children in Sport: A Quick-Start Guide for Parents
• Online Safety and Harms Quiz
• How Much Do You Know About Internet Safety? KS2 Quiz
• Online Safety & Harms Course

The post How to Explain Internet Safety to a Child appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In 2021/2 anxiety contributed to 51% of all work-related ill health cases. Whilst this is a concerning figure, it highlights that raising awareness of how to manage anxiety should be a top priority in every workplace.

In this article, we will provide a definition of anxiety and examine the types of workplace anxiety and their symptoms. We’ll also delve into the effects that these can have on daily life at work, and share methods of managing anxiety to help ameliorate its impact. 

Managing Anxiety at Work: Why is it Important?

Anxiety can be defined as a feeling of unease, such as worry or fear, that can be mild or severe. Experiencing anxiety is a normal part of life and can naturally occur at work in scenarios such as preparing for a job interview or presentation. 

People with anxiety disorders, however, have intense and persistent worry or fear about everyday events, such as interactions with co-workers, that can quickly reach an uncontrollable level and consistently impact their daily life.

Whilst anxiety at work can often feel unmanageable, its symptoms can be effectively controlled. It’s important to manage your anxiety as, if left untreated, it can have a huge impact on you and your career; For example, you may fall behind in your current position or start to let your anxiety influence important decisions, such as choosing to turn down opportunities and promotions due to fear around the new responsibilities they would involve. 

The first step in managing your anxiety is to start tracking the moments in your work day that cause the most anxiety, as this will help you discover what your triggers are. Being able to put a name to the feelings you’re experiencing can often be a great help in discovering treatments to help manage your symptoms.

Looking to Learn More?

Our Anxiety Quiz will help you to test your current knowledge of anxiety and start filling in any gaps in your awareness. The quiz also provides some useful tips on how to tackle anxiety, as well as what to avoid.

Types of Work Anxiety

There are several types of anxiety disorders; having an awareness of the signs and symptoms of each will enable you to better identify the specific anxiety felt by yourself or those around you, and help you to understand how to provide support. Here are just a few of the most common anxiety disorders experienced by people at work.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) usually presents itself as a persistent feeling of dread which can interfere with your daily life. Differently to occasionally worrying about significant events, people with GAD experience frequent anxiety that is often out of proportion with the impact of the things they’re worried about. Symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder include:

• Feeling restless or ‘on edge’.
• Being easily fatigued.
• Irritability.
• Having headaches, or unexplained tension or pains in your muscles or stomach.
• Having trouble sleeping.
• Difficulty controlling feelings of worry.

In the workplace, GAD may manifest itself in an increased feeling of tiredness which makes it difficult to concentrate on your core work tasks. As a result, you may find that you’re missing more deadlines and producing lower quality content. Additionally, GAD may cause you to take more time off work due to an increased number of headaches and general physical discomfort. 

Panic Disorder

People with a panic disorder can experience frequent and unexpected panic attacks, involving intense fear and a feeling of losing control despite a lack of danger or a trigger. During a panic attack, your symptoms may be:

• A racing heartbeat.
• Sweating.
• Trembling or shaking.
• Pain in your chest area.
• Feelings of impending doom or lack of control.

It’s important to note that not everyone who has experienced a panic attack will have a panic disorder. However, if you frequently experience unexpected panic attacks and find yourself worrying about when the next one will occur, it may be wise to seek further medical advice.

Having a panic disorder can make the workplace a very scary place to be as incessantly worrying about a future panic attack can make it difficult to focus on completing work tasks. You may find yourself feeling detached from reality and therefore unable to contribute to group discussions or interactions with co-workers. Additionally, many people suffering from panic disorders find it difficult to do tasks that require fine motor skills, such as writing or typing, due to excessive shaking.

Social Anxiety Disorder

Social anxiety is a very common type of anxiety disorder that is often mistaken for extreme shyness. A person with social anxiety disorder feels intensely worried about being scrutinised or judged in social situations, particularly when speaking in public, meeting new people, or being interviewed. In social situations, or ones where they’re asked to ‘perform’, people with social anxiety often:

• Blush or sweat excessively.
• Feel their mind going blank.
• Have a rigid or tense body posture.
• Find it difficult to make or maintain eye contact.
• Experience an increased or irregular heart rate. 

Being at work often requires many interactions throughout the day with colleagues and superiors. This can be extremely difficult for someone with social anxiety due to the fear surrounding interpersonal interactions, and therefore it’s common to avoid these circumstances, resulting in increased absenteeism. Social anxiety may also get in the way of achieving promotions or taking on new opportunities, as the social and performative interactions that accompany these events, such as interviews, are too anxiety-inducing to attend. 

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD and anxiety disorders have many overlapping symptoms, and are therefore often considered to be connected. OCD is a chronic disorder in which people have uncontrollable obsessions or compulsions that they feel a strong urge to act on and repeat over and over. Some compulsions that people may experience include:

• Excessive cleaning or hand washing.
• Arranging things in a very particular manner.
• Repeatedly checking things, such as that the door is locked or the oven is off.
• Compulsive counting.

Generally, a person with OCD is unable to control these thoughts and behaviours, even when they realise they’re excessive, and they spend at least an hour a day on these rituals despite feeling a lack of pleasure performing them. 

This can have a huge impact on your work life as it’s extremely difficult to focus on a task when you’re constantly trying to battle compulsive thoughts, resulting in it taking longer to complete work. Similarly, it may take time for someone with an OCD to move on from a task as they feel a need to complete their repeated checks before starting something new, and this can take hours. 

Phobias

A phobia is an intense fear of an object or situation which causes high-level anxiety and terror that is out of proportion with the danger surrounding the event. Someone with a phobia is likely to:

• Have irrational but excessive worry about encountering a specific object or scenario.
• Actively avoid the feared object or situation.
• Experience immediate and intense anxiety when encountering the feared object or situation.

Whilst having a phobia to something that is rarely encountered, such as clowns or needles, can be managed relatively easily, someone with a commonplace phobia can find it severely impacting their daily life. 

Certain common phobias such as heights, enclosed spaces, or crowds are likely to be frequently encountered in a work environment. Research shows that people with intense phobias find career progression difficult and struggle to perform in interviews or in pay-rise discussions. Additionally, they are absent from work far more often due to feeling unable to tackle their fears and opting to avoid them instead. Despite this, only 2% of phobia sufferers have discussed their fears with HR, and as few as 7% have chosen to disclose their issues with their manager.

Although this list is not exhaustive, it gives an idea of some of the most prevalent types of anxiety that may be present in the workplace and greatly impact a sufferer’s ability to thrive at work. 

How to Calm Anxiety at Work

Despite anxiety often resulting in a feeling of not being in control, there are many ways to help manage your anxiety at work. Although anxiety may be severely impacting your ability to work at the moment, you may find these strategies useful to getting back on track:

Take breaks when you need to

Stepping away from your work and the workplace environment to clear your head can help to refresh your mindset and help you to refocus. Try using deep-breathing techniques, go for a walk (preferably in nature), or take a holiday for a proper break away. 

Open up

Understandably, asking for help at work can feel difficult. Many cases of ill mental health aren’t reported to HR or managers and therefore can go under the radar. Discussing your anxiety with someone you trust at work and having someone who understands what you’re experiencing can be comforting and help ease some of its symptoms. Read our article on How to Talk about Mental Health to get some tips on how to start these difficult conversations.

Adopt healthy habits

Self care is essential to managing anxiety, as not looking after yourself can compound your symptoms. Getting enough sleep, eating healthily, and exercising are proven to have a hugely positive impact on the mind as well as improving physical health. 

Plan your work 

Take time to plan out the upcoming week so that you know what’s coming in terms of workload. This will help to give you a sense of control over your time which can ease feelings of anxiety. Additionally, breaking tasks down into smaller chunks can make them seem less overwhelming and more easily managed.

Get professional help

If your anxiety symptoms aren’t eased by any of the above and you find that you’re still struggling with your daily activities at work, a GP or mental health specialist will be able to provide access to treatment, whether that be therapy to help identify coping mechanisms, or medication. 

The more we understand about anxiety, the better we will be at tackling its symptoms. Being aware of how, when, and where your mental health might suffer is vital to being able to manage your own anxiety, and provide effective support for others experiencing it. Our Mental Health Awareness course provides a wealth of information to further your understanding. 

Anxiety is an emotion that is experienced by everyone, but if your anxiety is becoming a perpetual and overwhelming feeling that affects your daily life and holds you back at work, you may be experiencing an anxiety disorder. Identifying which type of anxiety you have can be helpful to begin understanding your symptoms. There are many ways of helping to ease your anxiety at work, including making your co-workers aware of your issues. If you’re still struggling, it’s important to seek professional help. Don’t suffer in silence. 

Further Resources:

• Anxiety Quiz
• How to Talk About Mental Health
• Stress Management Activities to Try at Home
• How to Manage Stress at Work
• Workplace Health & Wellbeing Quiz
• How to Support Hidden Disabilities in the Workplace
• What To Do If You Suspect Mental Health Discrimination at Work
• Rest Breaks at Work: What are the Requirements?
• Mental Health Awareness Training Course
• Mental Health Training for Managers

The post How to Deal with Anxiety at Work appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Identifying personal development areas will not only enhance your managerial skills, but will have a positive impact on the careers of both you and your team members. The benefits of manager development are clear, but where should you begin?

In this article, we will expand on the importance of personal growth for managers, explain how to identify a ‘good’ goal that will benefit both you and your team, and provide some examples of improvement areas that you may want to focus your development around. 

What are Good Personal Development Goals for Managers?

Personal development consists of activities that develop your capabilities and potential, improve employability, and help you to realise goals or aspirations. This is particularly important for managers as it not only serves your own development, but it also has a positive impact on the members of your team and the wider organisation. Every action that a manager takes is intrinsically interconnected with the performance of the employees they manage, so improving your processes will have a knock-on beneficial effect further down the line.

In today’s world, the pace of change in business is constantly accelerating and thus it’s important to build on your current skills in order to keep up. As a manager, your ability to develop in line with this progress leads the way for the rest of your team, and therefore determines whether or not your organisation falls behind. 

When planning your personal development goals as a manager, it’s important to consider the scope of their impact. A good development goal should aim to better yourself personally and enhance your career growth, whilst also improving your team’s performance. 

Furthermore, good development goals should be tailored around your current strengths and weaknesses. Which areas of your role are you currently the least experienced or comfortable with? Working to develop your abilities in these areas will not only help you to widen your skillset and increase employability, but will improve your aptitude as the leader of your team.

Areas of Improvement for Managers

Your areas of improvement should be clearly defined and measurable. This helps make it easier to monitor your development over time and hold yourself accountable for achieving your goals. 

When setting your areas of improvement, it may help to categorise your development points to ensure that they’re working towards the elements of a ‘good’ goal described above, such as progressing your career, becoming a better leader, and adapting to the future. The areas of improvement you identify should be unique to your individual needs, but we’ve provided 10 examples below that any manager could benefit from working on.

Progressing your Career

Productivity

Personal productivity impacts both the quality and quantity of work you produce. Improving your productivity will allow you to achieve more within a set amount of time, so you can finish your core tasks faster and be rewarded with more available time to assign towards other things, such as learning a new skill. To find out more about how to be more productive at work, check out our article, here. 

Problem Solving

Staying calm and focusing on solutions in order to solve problems are positive skills for a manager to have. However, learning to prepare for problems before they appear and foreseeing where issues may arise can improve your problem-solving skills even further. You can do this by identifying areas that may need improving. This proactive approach to problem solving will ultimately reduce the number of problems you face in the future and create a smoother path to progress.

Personal Development Plan

Irrespective of your position in your organisation, setting personal goals is paramount to success. This can sometimes be forgotten by managers whose job revolves around the growth of their team. Creating and following a personal development plan of your own helps set a good example to employees and ensures you continue to progress in your own career.

Becoming a Better Leader

Active listening and Communication

Developing your communication will allow you to lead your team more effectively by explaining your vision, building close relationships and giving constructive feedback. This will ensure each team member is in sync and can continually improve their output to produce the best work possible.

The ability to actively listen is also a fundamental aspect of effective communication, and is paramount to good leadership. Active listening is when you listen with focused intent. As a team leader, employees will turn to you with concerns or questions, and active listening will help you to better understand these queries and improve your support. Find guidance on how to improve this skill in our article, here.

Rewards and Recognition

Praising the good work of individuals in your team helps massively to increase motivation and maintain working standards, so it’s well worth developing the recognition you give. One way to improve recognition is to structure your acknowledgments, perhaps by creating a set reward scheme for achievements such as reaching deadlines. This will also help you to gain the trust and respect of employees.  

Delegation

Delegation can often be a challenge for managers, as it can be hard to know which tasks to take on yourself and which to pass on to members of your team. Strategic delegation is a key way to help empower your team, however, as it helps give employees more opportunities to develop their abilities by taking on new tasks. This helps create a stronger team overall and prevents you from becoming overworked, which will only reduce your leadership abilities. 

Identifying Coaching and Mentoring Opportunities

The key to being a great leader is being able to encourage and orchestrate the development of your team members. Thus, you must be able to identify potential areas of growth for individuals in your team and help them on the best path to strengthening their skills. To improve your coaching and mentoring skills, it’s important to know when to take a directive or non-directive approach. Read our article on developing your coaching and mentoring skills to learn more. 

Adapting to the Future

Technical skills

As the world of work undergoes a digital transformation, it’s encouraged that managers prioritise enhancing technical skills that will help them adapt to changing work processes. Think about the direction in which your industry is moving and which skills, software or working processes you may need to learn in order to keep up. If you stay on top of new working trends, you’ll also pave the way for all your team members to be forward thinking in their development too.

How prepared is your business for the rapidly changing future of work? Download our latest report to discover the key to keeping up in an age of digital transformation.

Adaptability and Flexibility

As much as we can try to predict trends for the future of work, we can’t always foresee what will change and what new skills we may need to continue working effectively in the future. Therefore, being able to quickly adapt to new practices is essential in not falling behind. Additionally it’s important to develop your flexibility as, although change can be hard to welcome, keeping an open mind is essential to accepting new and innovative solutions that could improve your output. 

Growth Mindset

Perhaps the most important skill to develop, and one that can always be worked on, is your ability to maintain a growth mindset. A growth mindset means that you believe in your ability to continuously learn new things, develop new skills and adapt to new situations through determination and practise. Having a growth mindset helps make you more resilient, learn from mistakes and face challenges determinedly. This is an inspirational example to set for your team members, and therefore a growth mindset is perhaps the greatest mark of a good leader. To learn more about how to develop a growth mindset in the workplace, and its advantages, read our article on the subject, here. 

Looking to Learn More?

Our Business Essentials Courses teach valuable core skills that will help you succeed in any industry. We highly recommend our Communication Skills Training and Leadership & Management Training to help you develop your abilities as a manager.

How Can Managers Support Employee Development?

It’s clear that a manager’s development is vital to not only their own career growth, but also to that of their team members who are directly influenced by their manager’s capability. But what more can you do to help support employees’ professional progress?

Every employee, generally, has an idea of milestones they’d like to reach in their career, but they may not know how to achieve these. It’s your responsibility as a manager to help guide employees through their development. 

Before you can help your team members to work towards their goals, it’s important you have a good idea of what these aspirations are. Thus, you should organise regular 1-to-1 conversations with each employee to understand where their ambitions lie. 

Once you know what each employee hopes to achieve, you can help them create personalised development goals that will help them succeed. Our article on personal development goals for work provides detailed guidance on how to set relevant targets, along with some examples, and may, therefore, help you to offer valuable advice.    

As a manager’s principle role is to maintain a strong and productive team, ensuring that your employees are continuously improving their abilities and growing their skill set should be a priority. Ultimately, you’re only as good as your team and your success depends on theirs.

A manager’s development is important because not only does it help support your career growth, it also sets a good example for employee development which can strengthen your entire team. When finding development areas to pursue, it can be useful to categorise your goals to ensure they hit targets such as advancing your career, becoming a better leader, and adapting to the future. Working on these key areas will help you become a more well rounded and successful manager. 

Further Resources:

• How to Motivate a Team
• 6 Types of Leadership: Which Leadership Style is Right For Me?
• How to Develop Coaching and Mentoring Skills
• Leadership & Management Training
• Report: The Future of Work
• Tips for First Time Supervisors
• Causes of Employee Turnover and Strategies to Reduce it
• The Consequences of a Lack of Training in the Workplace
• What is CPD? A Guide to Continuing Professional Development
• Writing A Professional Development Plan – Example & Template

The post 10 Development Areas for Managers appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

In this article, we will outline what personal development goals are in more detail, discuss various reasons why they’re important, and provide a list of example goals that you could set yourself in order to effectively accelerate your development at work. 

What are Personal Development Goals?

Throughout childhood and adolescence, we’re constantly being guided to learn new things by our carers, mentors, and through the education system, and therefore development occurs quickly and constantly. This becomes harder to maintain in adulthood, however, when we are no longer directed towards new opportunities but must seek them out ourselves. Personal development is a lifelong process, however, and remains just as important in adulthood as it is growing up. 

In the workplace, personal development goals are a way to assess your skills, contemplate your aims in life and create a plan to achieve these successfully in order to reach your full potential. They can help you to make positive guided decisions for the future so you have a clear path set out to your own empowerment. 

Interested in Learning More?

Our wide range of Online Training Courses can help with your personal development and will help you to advance your career. With a range of over 180 courses, we’re here to help you achieve your goals.

Why is Personal Development Important?

Personal development is important in all aspects of your life, but for employees it can have a myriad of positive effects on your career. As an adult, your work takes up a large portion of your life and, therefore, it’s well worth seeking benefits from your employment beyond simply using it as a means to make money. 

Personal development goals can help you plan a fulfilling career path by honing skills in areas of your role that are most enjoyable, so that you can continue to find work that is rewarding for you.

Here are a few reasons why personal development goals are important in helping you get the most out of your work life. 

Improve Your Productivity

Developing the skills required to do your role effectively will allow you to complete your core tasks more easily and efficiently, in turn leaving room for you to take on extra responsibility within your working hours. Not only will this make you a great asset to your employer, it will also improve your confidence in your abilities. Additionally, having time to expand your workload may allow you to explore new areas of your role that you have an interest in and that you may want to pursue further in the future, therefore broadening your horizons.

Provide Direction for Your Career

The monotony of daily core tasks within a work environment can easily cause you to fall into a routine in which you lose sight of professional progress. Setting Personal Development Goals for your career is an important step in avoiding this and maintaining purpose and direction. Creating clear objectives provides you with beacons towards which you can direct your activities by prioritising tasks that bring you closer to achieving your goals. Over time, these small accomplishments will lead the way along a successful career path and towards more senior positions that align with your overall purpose. 

Define Your Own Success

Whilst the practice of setting Personal Development Goals is often focused around benefits for your future, creating and updating your goals regularly is a great way of assessing how far you’ve already come and helps you to recognise everyday successes which may otherwise go unnoticed. Working towards the accomplishment of measurable goals is paramount to maintaining motivation at work as it ensures you notice and acknowledge small achievements regularly. 

Additionally, having milestones that are tailored to your priorities and capacity provides clarity over your own definition of success, rather than following someone else’s idea of success which may not be attainable or relevant to your goals. 

Become a Better Interviewee

When interviewing for a new job role, employers want to see that you’re enthusiastic about developing your skills and overcoming new challenges to benefit the business. Being able to display career progression with specific steps you’ve taken to grow your skill set and achieve past personal development goals is extremely desirable to employers and will help to impress an interviewer. Read our article on interview skills to learn more about this along with other ways in which you can prepare to impress a potential employer.

Looking to Learn More?

There are many core skills that are key to succeeding in any business, so these are good starting points to base your personal development goals around. Take a look at our Business Essentials Courses to discover our recommendations.

Personal Development Goals for Work

Your personal development goals should be tailored to you, with targets that are relevant to your role and your aims for the future. There are some goals, however, that will help you grow in any industry or career. Here are some examples of personal development goals that we’d recommend.

Improve Your Time Management

In most careers, you’ll face deadlines and competing tasks that fight for your valuable time. This can feel overwhelming, but knowing how to use your time efficiently will prevent your workload from piling up or creeping over your usual work hours. 

Improving your time management skills will ultimately increase your productivity, reduce your stress levels, and allow you to spend more time on things that matter most to you. As a result, this is a personal development goal that will have far reaching positive impacts on your work life. 

Try using methods of time-keeping such as scheduling tasks in certain time slots or prioritising your most important tasks at the start of each day to get started. If you’d like more information on how to improve these skills, take a look at our comprehensive Time Management course. 

Enhance Professional Relationships

Whilst this goal may seem fairly broad, it encompasses many other important business skills, such as communicating effectively, networking, and being able to manage conflicts. 

The interactions you have with the people you work with determines your overall success. Often, business targets are achieved as a team. Therefore, communicating well with your colleagues to get tasks done to a high quality and within time constraints is essential. 

Not every member of your team will have the same approaches to work, so disagreements are bound to arise. Knowing how to actively listen to a colleague to understand their ideas is paramount to finding an agreeable compromise and progressing towards an end goal. 

Nourishing your professional relationships with these key skills will not only make your work life more enjoyable but will improve the quality and quantity of the work you produce. 

Cultivate Resilience

Whilst it’s great to be able to celebrate your professional successes, your work life will inevitably include some rejections, setbacks and obstacles too. Whilst these may cause frustration, having the ability to overcome challenges and withstand adversity is an important skill that will help you recognise and accept the balance of successes and failures within your career and make progress despite challenging circumstances. 

Why not take a step towards developing your resilience skills today with our resilience training course, which provides practical advice and tools for improving your perseverance and adaptability to become a more resilient employee. 

Learn more about resilience in the workplace in our article: Resilience in the Workplace: What are the Benefits and How Can Businesses Develop It?

Get comfortable with Leadership 

For many people, making progress in their career involves climbing the ladder to positions of higher seniority within their company, and this is a great ambitious goal to set for your personal development. In order to reach this ultimate goal, however, you need to be comfortable with leading and managing, and be able to do this effectively. 

Senior roles usually involve an element of leadership or management, so it’s wise to show development in your leadership skills in order to achieve a promotion. Perhaps see if you can gain experience of leading a team meeting, proposing new ideas or initiatives, and shadowing others who have a more senior role than you.  

Learn a New Skill

When creating your personal development goals, it’s a good idea to form some that are tailored specifically to your role. This ensures that you’re progressing in your current position as well as looking ahead to your future career path. 

One good way to do this is to base one goal around learning a new skill that will help you do your work better. This could be anything from learning how to code, improving your Excel abilities, or expanding your knowledge on the latest advised safeguarding practices. 

Don’t know where to start? Approach your manager and see if they have any suggestions. The more skills you have in your arsenal, the more productive and efficient you’ll be in your role, and the quicker you’ll progress to new and exciting opportunities at work. 

How Can I Improve My Personal Development at Work?

We’ve established that personal development goals are a useful tool in helping to direct your career, boost progression, and give confidence and motivation, but how should you go about creating these goals?

Firstly, it’s a good idea to discuss your personal development with your manager in regular 1-2-1 conversations. Your manager will have a good understanding of what’s needed to progress in your role and, as they’ll have a solid awareness of your current performance, they can suggest things you could work towards to improve. Our article on preparing for a performance review offers advice on how to get the most from these conversations so that you can use your 1-2-1 to develop career goals by identifying areas of potential growth. 

In addition to getting advice from your manager on what goals you could set to improve your performance and develop your career, it is often useful to have similar conversations with your colleagues as well. We often think that workplace advice should come from our superiors, but using the 360 degree feedback model, where you receive anonymous comments from your fellow employees, helps to give a fuller, more balanced overview of your performance. The more information you can gather, the easier it will be to create strongly guided goals that are tailored specifically to your development needs. 

Once you have gathered a list of appropriate personal development goals for your work, organising these into an easy to follow structure is important to help you monitor your growth and achieve the results you desire. A Personal Development Plan allows you to break down your goals into actionable steps, attribute dates by which you aim to achieve your targets, and visualise your progress. Our guide on how to build a PDP provides instructions on how to create an effective plan, along with a template you can download and use. 

Now that you understand the importance of creating personal development goals and how to use them at work to advance your career, we hope you’ll use some of the examples provided in this article to get started. Once you’ve created your personal development goals, don’t forget to regularly monitor and update them in line with your progress!

Further Resources:

• How to Prepare for a Performance Review: Free Template
• A Personal Development Plan (PDP) Guide & Template
• Using a Personal Development Plan in Health and Social Care
• How to Stand Out in a Virtual Interview: Preparation Tips
• 10 Development Areas for Managers
• What is CPD? A Guide to Continuing Professional Development
• Why is Continuous Learning Important?
• Writing A Professional Development Plan – Example & Template
• Business Essentials Courses

The post What are Personal Development Goals for Work? appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

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Our article is going to cover some of the basic functions to get you started with Excel. If you’re interested in expanding your Excel skills further to enrich your CV, why not take a look at our Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets Training for Beginners which teaches a range of useful Excel functions that employers value.

In this article, we will outline the most useful Excel skills for the workplace, detail some of the best ways to describe these abilities when applying for jobs, and provide some tips on how to improve your current Excel skills. 

What are Basic Excel Skills?

Microsoft Excel allows users to input data into spreadsheets, where you can then organise it and make calculations using functions and formulas. This makes it simple to present data efficiently and complete numerical tasks with ease. 

Basic Excel users will understand the core functions of the software and have knowledge of a few essential formulas that allow you to manage spreadsheets proficiently. Here are five basic Excel skills that you could benefit from including in your CV.

The SUM Formula

The SUM function in Excel allows you to easily find the total of any number of values that you’ve selected. 

A couple of examples of this formula would be:

• =SUM(A4:A16) adds the values in cells A4 to A16.
• =SUM(A4:A16, C7:C20) adds the values in cells A4 to A16, as well as cells C7 to C20.

The AVERAGE Formula

The AVERAGE formula in Excel provides you with the average (mean) of any number of values you input. 

For example, using the formula =AVERAGE(B4:B35) will return the mean value of the numbers between cells B4 and B35.

Charts and Graphs

Being able to convert data into relevant charts and graphs is a vital skill to make visualising and comparing numeric data easier. Using this skill will save time spent searching through spreadsheets to find relationships and trends. 

Excel offers a large library of various graphs and charts, so you can choose the one that best represents your data. Here are five examples of the most useful charts and graphs available in Excel:

• Column chart
• Bar chart
• Pie chart
• Line chart
• Scatter graph

Sorting Data

It’s often important to organise your data to identify which parts are relevant and which are not. Excel’s sorting and filtering functions allow you to easily read your data to find what you’re looking for within it. For example, it can help you find duplicates within your data or identify specific values quickly. A few examples of ways you can easily organise your data using Excel filters are alphabetically, in ascending or descending numerical order, or by colour.

Find and Replace

If you have a large amount of data in an Excel spreadsheet, it can be hard to find a specific value or label. Luckily, Excel’s Find tool makes this easy, and is therefore a useful skill to learn in order to save valuable time. 

Additionally, you may find that you have a word or number running through your data that needs updating. The Replace function allows you to do this in one simple step, rather than updating the data cell by cell. 

What are Advanced Excel Skills?

With the rise of big data and data analytics, businesses are increasingly looking to hire people with a high level of experience in Excel. Therefore, learning a few of these more advanced skills will make you a great asset to employers. 

Whereas simple formulas such as SUM and AVERAGE will help you begin to make sense of data sets, these more complex formulas available in Excel will help you analyse and utilise data to really benefit a business. Here are a few you should focus on to build a desirable skill set in handling data. 

VLOOKUP

The VLOOKUP formula in Excel allows you to search for a certain value in a column in order to return a value from a different column in the same row. For example, it enables you to search for the price of a product by its identification code, or find an employee’s name from their ID number. 

Additionally, if you need to compare two data sets to see which information is missing from one, or which data is present in both, VLOOKUP can help you do this quickly and efficiently.

Pivot Tables

If you’re working with large data sets in Excel, Pivot Tables are a great way to summarise information and explore trends from many different records.

PivotTables are very versatile. They allow you to group and reorganise data in many different ways to help you view it from various perspectives and draw useful conclusions easily. Additionally, PivotTables allow matching data to be automatically grouped so you can achieve summaries that are easy to view and analyse.

Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting makes it simple to highlight specific values by changing the appearance of a cell range based on specific criteria. For example, you could use conditional formatting to highlight dates after a specific week, numbers between 50 and 100, or the bottom 10% of values in your data. 

Furthermore, conditional formatting can be used to create a colour scale where a cell’s colour intensity reflects its position towards the top or bottom of a range, for example the amount of revenue made. 

TRIM Function

Formulas make managing data much easier, however they can have their own complications. Sometimes, when using a formula, you may be returned with null values. This is often caused by extra blank spaces hiding amongst numeric and text values in your cells. Luckily, the TRIM function can help you remove these blank spaces easily, so you can return to using your formulas without difficulty. Here’s an example of how the TRIM function works:

• =TRIM(A1) Would remove all excess blank spaces within the A1 cell.

The COUNTIF Formula

The COUNTIF function in Excel is used to count cells that have certain properties, so it can be useful if you want to find out how many times an entry appears in a spreadsheet. An example of this would be if you wanted to identify how many customers are located in a particular place, in which case you may use the following formula:

=COUNTIF(A2:A45,”London”) which would search for how many times the term London appears between cells A2 and A45. 

How Do I Describe My Excel Skills on a CV or Resume?

It’s important to include your Excel skills on a job application as many professional positions require numeric or data analysis skills, so highlighting these can help you stand out in the crowded job market. 

Begin by describing your level of proficiency in Excel, using some of the examples of basic and more advanced skills included in this article. It’s a good idea to list skills that you are comfortable with, and describe how these have benefitted business in your previous roles.

Rather than listing all of your Excel skills, however, try to choose the ones that will be most useful for the role you’re applying for, or that are mentioned in the job description. This keeps your CV relevant and targeted to specific employers so you stand out as a strong candidate for the position they’re hiring for. 

Another way to help accurately describe your Excel skills is to reference any courses you’ve taken to improve your digital skills. This not only gives employers an accurate insight into your current skill set, but also demonstrates that you have initiative and are invested in personal development. 

If you’re searching for your first role, our article on How to Write Your First CV provides guidance on how to stand out to potential employers, and includes a free template to help you get started. 

Tips for Improving Your Excel Skills

If you’re not yet proficient in the Excel functions described here, don’t worry! There are plenty of easy and inexpensive ways to advance your Excel knowledge and gain valuable digital skills for your CV. 

Firstly, adding the improvement of your Excel skills to your Personal Development Plan (PDP) acts as a great reminder to continue seeking new ways to grow your skills, and helps keep yourself accountable to ensure progress doesn’t stall. Take a look at our PDP article to find a free guide and template. 

Shadowing a friend or colleague that is skilled in Excel will allow you to gain valuable experience for free. Furthermore, learning directly from someone who uses Excel daily in their role will give further insight into the practical uses of some of the skills you’re learning. 

Alternatively, you can access free resources online that help improve your knowledge of Excel skills with written guidance from experts. Our handy article on How To Use Excel: A Beginner’s Guide provides a walkthrough of numerous Excel functions, including video demonstrations that you can follow along with in your own spreadsheets. 

Finally, taking a comprehensive course in Excel skills is perhaps the best way to build a bank of digital skills that you’re confident using in the workplace. High Speed Training’s online Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets Training for Beginners course provides you with written and video instructions on how to use several of the most beneficial Excel functions, along with a workbook for each module so you can practise your skills with ease. 

Excel skills can help to increase your employability, as digital skills such as handling and analysing data are becoming increasingly sought after in the modern world of work. Obtaining a number of basic Excel skills, along with a few more advanced ones, will help elevate your CV or resume and increase your chances of standing out to potential employers. 

Further Resources:

• How To Use Excel: A Beginner’s Guide
• What is the Importance of Digital Skills in the Workplace?
• Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets Training for Beginners
• Transferable Skills: What Are They and Why Are They Important?

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