Temporary & Interim

Be it a glamorous getaway or simple staycation, holidays are a chance to relax and recharge. Which you'll probably need after the frantic fortnight of frenzied preparation that all too often comes first. So how do you take a stress-free break without simply cramming it all in beforehand? And what if you're left holding things together on the home front? In this month’s guest article, freelance writer and HR specialist Nicola Greenbrook has advice on pre-holiday planning to help you head away with everything in hand, keep calm with your carry-on, and be raring to go on your return. Holiday season is well and truly upon us. Oh, the anticipation of what’s to come! An opportunity to get stuck into the book gathering dust on the bedside table or to broaden your horizons at a bucket list-worthy destination. A chance to recharge and refuel. According to Dr Christian Jarrett, holidays can make us happier, healthier and even prolong our lives. Sometimes though, the pace and pressure in the weeks leading up to the holiday almost negate the benefits of the break itself. Here are some tips to help you deliver a successful handover - keeping your credibility, peace of mind and work relationships intact. Before you go... (Excited! Full of anticipation! But a bit stressed!) American polymath Benjamin Franklin quite wisely said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. He was spot on. Nailing a holiday handover is all in the preparation; giving yourself sufficient time to organise everything weeks in advance. Forewarn your absence Make sure your holiday dates are in your team and key stakeholders’ diaries as soon as your leave has been authorised; even if you sort the finer, exciting details later. If you’re client or supporter-facing or manage multiple projects, consider adding an extra line to your email signature a few weeks in advance that clearly outlines the period of your absence. Rather than appearing smug (‘I'M GOING ON HOLIDAY FOR TWO WEEKS AND YOU'RE NOT’) it instead ensures your contacts are notified well in advance and can plan accordingly at their end. It also prevents any nasty surprises on your last day. The art of the handover note It’s always a good idea to start your Holiday Handover Notes (HHN) a good few weeks before, even if you jot down headers or topics in the first instance, rather than frantically wracking your tired brain the night before you fly. Consider always having the document open in the week before you go, for ease of brain-dump, rather than scribbling a note on a Post-it that gets lost in a yellow sea of more Post-its or overloading your already full head.​ CJ Sinclair, founder of Go Travel and Talk, a network that provides detailed travel guides to worldwide destinations with solo travellers in mind, is always on the move; and therefore well-practised in the art of the perfect handover. She breaks her HHN down into critical priorities, current and upcoming projects and ‘things to watch’ and ‘worry or pain points’. CJ also cleverly adds screen shots and media, to break up the words and highlights important text for an easy at-a-glance view. Aim to strike the balance with a comprehensive but concise approach to your HHN. HR News suggests that ‘…there’s no need to cause an unreasonable amount of stress on the employee/s covering you whilst you’re away, so highlighting all the ‘need-to-know’ points will help them keep on top of things’. Order tasks by priority and include key delivery dates or deadlines, with the most recent first. Schedule in a face-to-face meeting with your colleague who’s taking the reins. You can talk through the HHN before you go, so they can ask questions and jot down their own points. Avoid being patronising; your team are knowledgeable enough to know what ‘pass invoice to Finance' means in practice. There's no need to go into intricate detail about the ‘third cupboard on the left with the squeaky drawer’ if everybody knows perfectly well all about the squeaky drawer. Be a clever planner In the weeks before, keep your diary as clear as possible and stay focused. It may feel a wrench missing Steve from Events’ birthday lunch, but avoiding social engagements or non-urgent appointments wins you back a few hours of uninterrupted work time. At 7.00pm on your last day when you’re panicked and finishing with all your holiday toiletries still to buy, you’ll be grateful for that hour. You can catch up with Steve and the gang on your return. If you’re a freelancer or consultant in the not-for-profit sector with no-one to actually hand over to, it's even more crucial to plan ahead. CJ finds that scheduling everything in advance with calendar reminders or apps like Later and Tailwind, can be helpful. Although "it does mean a lot of work beforehand to get it all done”, she also notes “it’s amazing how much technology can help to give you a little respite!” Avoid dumping-disguised-as-a-handover-task Be reasonable and conscientious, and tie up as many loose ends as you possibly can before you go. Don't be tempted to use your absence from the office as an opportunity to slip in a few projects that have been on the back burner, or to dump tricky tasks you’ve been putting off on to an unsuspecting colleague. This may cause resentment in your absence, confusion or delays to a project. Don't use OOO to get a LOL It’s tempting to set a comedy out of office message, but the best advice is to save it for the comedians. As funny as they might be to read, there's a fine line between light-hearted and inappropriate, and it's not necessarily in the same place for everyone. Getting it wrong and causing offence can reflect badly on the charity, its purpose and mission. A simple message that clearly states your return date and who to contact in your absence will do the trick, although it can be a nice touch to highlight a particular campaign your charity is running. Oh, and don’t forget your voicemail too if you receive direct calls. Set boundaries Depending on what works for you, let your direct reports and manager know how and when you can be contactable if a genuine emergency arises while you’re on the beach. Otherwise, you should trust your team and colleagues to adequately manage things in your absence, especially if you’ve put all of the above into place. Prioritise your wellbeing, family and friends during that precious break, and where possible, learn to switch off.​ If it's your turn to hold the fort... It can be tough being the stand-in. You’re managing your own workload as well as bearing the responsibility of doing a good house-sitting job. Be assertive. Even if your colleague is looking rather up to their eyes in it, ask all the questions you need before they go so you’re well informed and can maintain the proper functioning of tasks in their absence - it’s for both of your benefits. CJ Sinclair especially looks after her colleagues by cc’ing them into emails in the weeks leading up to her holiday and keeping them 100% in the picture. If the work is project-facing, she also arranges calls with clients to introduce them to the person holding the fort - so why not consider asking for the same treatment? Be proactive and schedule a meeting with the hander-over on their penultimate day to avoid a last minute panic on the final one. Politely ask that their handover notes are in good shape so that you can go through the entire document together, check your understanding and fill in any gaps. Then schedule one in the early afternoon of their first day back. Consider using Google Docs so that you can update the document with your own notes as you go along. It will save you time and allow your colleague to read through and extract the key points and actions before their return if they fancy, making their first day back easier (and yours; you’ve now just the one workload to juggle. Hurrah!). It can be hard bearing the weight of managing tasks in someone else’s absence and the risk of being overwhelmed is high. Accept that you can’t do everything and be aware of what you can reasonably do. Focus on the deadlines and priorities, and don’t fret if you didn’t even get a peek at the ‘non-urgent’ section of the HHN. These can be picked up when your colleague returns. If you’re struggling, talk to your manager and shout for help. This Harvard Business Review article has some great tips on what to do when you’re covering for colleagues - and can't keep up. When you get back... (Jet lagged! With post-holiday blues! Slightly full of dread!) It's tough coming back from a holiday. Even worse when you’ve had to come straight from airport to office, you’re desperately missing the pool/beach/mountain/all-inclusive buffet and were not at all prepared for a painful reunion with the tube. Here’s some final tips on how to restore some of that holiday-energy. • Keep your diary as clear as you can. Prioritise the meeting with your colleague who managed your work (who hopefully would have scheduled it for early afternoon) and use the morning to clear/organise your emails and get your task list up to date. The responsibility is back with you, and the chances are your colleague will be relieved to relinquish the extra load. • Be gracious and thankful for the support you received from your colleagues. If time hasn’t allowed them to complete all tasks, keep your cool and try not to be angry or concerned that things haven't been done ‘your way’. • Avoid a post-holiday grumble. You fully deserved your break and it’s always hard to come crashing back to reality when you’ve had the time of your life. However, be mindful that while you’ve been travelling they’ve been sweating it in your absence. Don’t moan about being back or repeatedly say ‘this time last week I was *add fabulous holiday thing*' and sigh, loudly. Be grateful for both a super break and a supportive team of colleagues. • Come bearing gifts. Like a bottle of that funny-coloured liquor from the local supermarket, unpronounceable sweets or some local delicacies. It doesn’t have to be expensive or purchased from somewhere impressive; a box of fudge can go a long way to say thank you. ​ So, there you go. You’ve notified people way in advance that you're jetting off. You’ve planned, scheduled, created perfect handover notes with no nasty surprises, and your team know how to track you down in an emergency (unlikely as they’re so well-informed). Now, swap sandwiches at your desk for something delicious al fresco and lose yourself in a good book rather than a report, safe in the knowledge that everything's in hand. You deserve it. Nicola Greenbrook - HR Specialist & Freelance Writer Contact Nicola More from Nicola Greenbrook: ► How to manage stress at work ► How to switch off ► Charity Careers 4: meet James Harris of Rethink Mental Illness Check out the brand new Salary Centre ...home of the Harris Hill & CharityJob 2019 Salary Report, the essential new guide to UK charity salaries. With market insights from our sector specialists and the expert team at CharityJob, you'll find more than 350 current rates for roles in 26 job functions, based on over 45,000 recent charity vacancies. What should you be earning in the charity sector? Find out here... ► Back to the blog homepage​

​Loads of questions coming into the blog this week, but mainly: a) Can it possibly be time for the charity softball finals? b) Seriously, it’s been a year already? and c) Why DO Cadbury’s Giant Buttons* taste so much better than the small ones despite being exactly the same chocolate? To which the answers are respectively a) yes, b) I know! and c) no idea, it's a lightweight blog about softball, you want Mysteries of the Universe next door. (*Other large versions of small chocolates are available. As are small versions of large chocolates, but even they know they're just wasting everybody's time. Celebrations aside, obviously). But yes, the big day is very nearly upon us, and after a gripping summer of unexpected twists, extraordinary turns and fast-paced-but-friendly competition, all eyes will be on Hyde Park tomorrow, Thursday 15th August for the Season 17 finale of the London Charity Softball League! Spoiler alert if you’re still catching up on earlier episodes, but previously this season: 80 teams (made up of players from over 120 charities) battled it out in parks across London, and just six have now made it all the way to the grand finals to compete for the coveted Harris Hill Plate, Bluestep Shield and the granddaddy of them all, the Harris Hill Cup! And your six finalists are... Sustrans Sluggers vs Mind Action on Hearing Loss vs Business in the Community Anthony Nolan vs Food Fighters (Action Against Hunger and Fareshare) Naturally we'll be on hand with refreshments (by which we mean beer) for no less than our 13th year, along with our excellent fellow sponsors, and we hope to see you there! Meanwhile in keeping with more recent tradition, we also interrupted all six teams during vital last-minute preparations to fire a whole bunch of questions at them about their season and whether they’re going to win a prize. Just to throw in some extra tension and jeopardy, it's been a race against time to see which teams would make it into this career-defining feature, but three were quick enough off the mark, so please would you welcome the Sustrans Sluggers, Anthony Nolan, and the hunger-tackling hybrid of Action Against Hunger and Fareshare, the Food Fighters! ► First up, the only one of last year's final six making a reappearance, this time challenging Mind for the Harris Hill Cup: it's the Sustrans Sluggers! Sustrans Sluggers Answering the questions: Ami 'nition' Udeshi and Will 'Statman' Wright, Vice Captains About the team: Sustrans Sluggers (the Slugs) are the team making it easier for people to walk and cycle to their softball game. We can normally be spotted by the large stack of bikes piled up near the diamond. Tell us about your history in the league? We’re relative newcomers to the league having started in 2016. When we started we had no idea what we were doing - most of us just thought softball was "basically rounders", much to our captain’s dismay. Four years on and we’ve somehow slugged our way into the Cup final. What's the best thing about being part of it? Playing an amazing, inclusive sport on warm summer evenings, hanging out with your colleagues and meeting people from other charities across London. You can’t beat it! There’s always a real buzz in the office every match day. What's been your season highlight so far? Our captain “King” Cliff Batsuya and top batsman Oli “Big Slug” Gladstone promising to get slug tattoos if we win the Cup. This was at a time when no one ever dreamt we’d get this far. They’re somewhat regretting videoing their promise. Friendliest team you've played? We’ve played so many friendly teams this season, and that’s what makes this league so special. Particular shout outs must go to Amnesty International and Rethink Forward for being especially awesome. We also love playing against Pitch'n'Mix and will always organise a friendly against them if we’re not in the same league Who’s been your MVP this year? Despite only joining the team last Friday, Slugs McKenzie has already earned a place in our hearts (or maybe nightmares): Two years running in the finals - what's your recipe for softball success? For us it's down to a heady mixture of team spirit, unbridled enthusiasm and warm, cheap cans of lager. That, and a spreadsheet full of statistical analysis that puts the guys in Moneyball to shame… And lastly, what are you hoping for from the finals night? Team spirit, unbridled enthusiasm and warm, cheap lager (we're all over it - Team HH). To be honest, we’re just looking forward to an incredible evening, whatever the result. We feel a bit like whenever Scotland qualify for the World Cup – we’re just happy to be here. Best of luck to Mind, we can’t wait! ► Battle for the Bluestep Shield Our next two teams are both in contention for the Bluestep Shield, and the Nolans might appear to have a distinct advantage numbers-wise, plus a surprising amount of twins on the team, but it's purely because we've seamlessly (honestly, you'll never see it) stitched together two photos to try and get everybody in. Paging team captain Amy Holland! Anthony Nolan Answering the questions: Amy Holland, Team Captain and Donor Provision Coordinator at Anthony Nolan, meaning I look after donors when they’re selected to donate. About the charity: Anthony Nolan is the charity that makes lifesaving connections between people with blood cancer and incredible strangers ready to donate their stem cells. We’re saving three lives a day, in fact. By growing the stem cell register, carrying out ground-breaking research and providing the best post-transplant care, we’re giving families a future. So how long have you been involved in the league? Anthony Nolan have been in the league for about five years (it pre-dates the team we have now so we’re not entirely sure). We got to the Cup finals a few years ago but were defeated, and we made it through to the first round of the Cup last year but were beaten by Cancer Research! Who are the friendliest team you’ve played this year? We’ve had some great competition this year and some lovely catch-ups in the pub after. A few notable mentions go to Southwark Sluggers, WWF and NDCS last week! Who’s been your MVP? Probably Xenia - a few weeks ago we were missing most of our usual pitchers so I kind of threw her in (pun intended) and she was awesome! But she is also a great all-round player, picking up whatever position I put her in and being the only girl this season to hit a home run. Of course, everyone has been fantastic and played their part in getting us here! Is that the secret of your success? I don’t think I can pick one thing; we can really knuckle down when the pressure is on which is great, and we have a really strong fielding team which has got us out of more than one tight spot this season! But we’re a really friendly team who all get along really well. We’ll be in the final without our co-captain, Chris, who left Anthony Nolan last week and moved to Cornwall for a new job in the NHS. Yet to determine whether this is an advantage or disadvantage to the team… And how are you feeling about your chances on Thursday? Pretty good, it feels great to have even got this far so to win would be the cherry on top of an already-great cake. We have a strong team and everyone is pretty determined. One of our ex-colleagues plays for the opposition so it could get interesting…!! ► It could indeed: we don't know if they're in the photo below, but speaking of the opposition... Food Fighters (aka Action Against Hunger and Fareshare) Answering the questions: Luke Wiechula, Co-Captain of the Food Fighters and Community & Corporate Fundraising Partnerships Officer for FareShare. About the charities: We have different means as charities, but we both agree that the notion of people going hungry in this day and age is absolutely abhorrent. Action Against Hunger saves the lives of malnourished children. They ensure everyone can access clean water, food, training and healthcare, and enable entire communities to be free from hunger. FareShare believes that no good food should go to waste. We redistribute surplus food to charities that turn it into meals. We are doers, a community, and we change lives. How did the partnership come about? Though FareShare have been playing for a few years this is our first year as a merge team (and Action Against Hunger’s first ever), all of our admin contacts left and therefore we lost our spot as an independent team. However Action Against Hunger were kind enough to allow us to join them, both teams agree this has turned out to be a great decision and we’ve all made some great friends and memories as a result. What are the best things about the league and making the final? Considering a few months ago most of us had never met, we’ve got lots of people playing their first ever softball season and to make it to the final is no small achievement. We’d love to lift The Shield, let’s hope the softballing gods are on our side. Besides that, it’s about: - the camaraderie - tactics (when they come off) - summer days spent in London’s finest parks, glove in one hand, beer in the other Who’ve been your toughest opponents this year? We played my old charity SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, a team that I helped set up - they bested us in that particular match thanks to some sublime fielding. Able to resolve all of our differences in the pub afterwards! And the friendliest? Scope! Fantastic team, really closely fought but friendly game, looking forward to catching up with them on Thursday. What about memorable moments on the pitch? Rich ‘arm-cannon’ Guion (think Barrett from Final Fantasy VII) had managed to get to a ball that landed way beyond him in deep field, cranked up the arm-cannon, launched it to myself in short stop and as the runner was making her way between third and home I threw another hail mary and we were able to get them out. Great team play! (Louis Theroux voiceover): 'None of us understood what Luke was saying, but there was an important softball game at stake, so we decided to move on'. Any mascots, MVPs or special mentions? Hope ‘Superhands’ Rapp. A stalwart on first base and most frequently-awarded MVP (to the extent that she has her name pencilled in every game) for being so reliable, I honestly can’t think of a time she’s fumbled a ball. So what's brought you all the way to the finals? Although we enjoy winning and we're all thrilled to make it to the finals, we as a team make sure that we're having fun first and foremost. There have been some teams that have beaten us, but I can guarantee they haven’t had half as much fun as our merry band! There have been some high pressure situations this season, but if we think positive and trust in the rest of the team, our positivity has allowed us to make it this far. Will it be enough to lift the trophy on Thursday night? We know our strengths and intend to play to them, who knows how it will go. We can only do what we can do, but I think as a team we are quietly confident. All the planning can go out of the window immediately with someone injured or restricted by transport options. Keep happy, have fun, plan for the worst, hope for the best. ► Planning for the worst certainly sounds like good advice right now, but the sun always shines on the softball finals (eventually) so we're sure it'll be a triumph as ever! Huge thanks to Luke, Amy, Ami and Will (not forgetting Slugs), best of luck to the teams from Mind, Action on Hearing Loss and Business in the Community too, and we'll see you at the bar! Team HH More from the Harris Hill blog: ► How to handle the holiday handover: guest writer Nicola Greenbrook on how to ensure you enjoy a drama-free departure ► Softball season is here! an introduction to the 2019 charity softball season ► Charity Careers 4: meet James Harris of Rethink Mental Illness Don't miss the Harris Hill & CharityJob 2019 Salary Report... ...the essential new guide to UK charity salaries. With market insights from our sector specialists and the expert team at CharityJob, you'll find more than 350 current rates for roles in 26 job functions, based on over 45,000 recent charity vacancies. ► What should you be earning in the charity sector? Find out here...

​ We're delighted to bring you more than 20 great opportunities with Adviza, a vibrant and innovative charity working to make a positive difference for young people and adults, and with a great reputation for supporting their own staff too. They're currently looking for flexible and enthusiastic individuals for a range of permanent, temporary and contract positions, all based in the Thames Valley and starting very soon. Adviza delivers services for communities through a range of contracts such as The Prince's Trust, National Careers Service, Building Better Opportunities and National Citizen Service, and their work is all about giving young people and adults the best possible chance to progress successfully in learning and work. The good news for anyone joining the team is that they're equally committed to supporting and investing in their workforce too, and were recently awarded silver status by Investors in People thanks to the highly positive feedback of their current staff. There's so much to say about these superb opportunities that a blog post alone wouldn't suffice, so check out our dedicated Adviza recruitment pages for the full details. ​

We've teamed up with one of the biggest names in charity recruitment to bring you our most comprehensive guide yet to charity sector salaries, based on more than 45,000 recent UK vacancies. Find it in the Harris Hill Salary Centre, the brand new home for our growing collection of remuneration-related resources! ​

​ Welcome to the 2019 Salary Report, your definitive guide to salaries in the UK charity sector. With huge appreciation for all the enquiries we've already had about this year's release (and genuinely delighted by the demand!) we’re exceptionally pleased to bring you this brand new report. It's the 14th annual salary survey from Harris Hill, based on the thousands of charity vacancies we’ve worked on during the year: but this time that’s only half the story. To reflect the wider sector as accurately as possible we wanted to cover an even broader selection of roles, advertised by charities directly and recruiters like ourselves. So who better to ask than the experts at the UK’s largest specialist job board for not for profit, NGO, social enterprise, CIC and voluntary jobs, home to thousands of charity jobs every year? Happily they agreed, so we've been delighted to collaborate with CharityJob on this year’s report, bringing fresh perspective and insight, and a wealth of information that's helped to build our biggest, most accurate and comprehensive salary guide to date, based on no fewer than 45,000 genuine UK charity and not for profit vacancies from the past financial year. ____________________ What's new? ► In a forthcoming post we'll look at how the new approach has informed the final figures (for those who'd like to know more) and highlight some of the other key new features in this year's report. ► Look out too for the launch of a full digital version over at CharityJob, and here as part of our brand new Harris Hill Salary Centre, under construction as we speak to create a home for all things salary-related, all launching within the next few weeks! Read the new report We didn't want to keep you waiting a moment longer though, so with no further delay - except to sincerely thank the team at CharityJob (in particular content & SEO lead Stephanie Dotto and marketing manager Jade Phillips) for their tremendous help - we're delighted to bring you the full report to view or download in pdf format from the links below. ► In this year's 24-page report, you'll find candidate insights, market developments and recruitment trends, and salaries for charity and not for profit positions at all levels in: Admin & Support Events Policy & Research Advocacy Finance PR Campaigns General Fundraising Projects & Programmes Communications Human Resources Prospect Research Community Fundraising IT Supporter Services Corporate Fundraising Legacies Trust & Statutory Fundraising Data Management Major Donor Fundraising Volunteer Management Digital Marketing ...plus updates from our specialists on current rates for temporary, interim and senior executive roles. Direct Marketing Operations Click below for your preferred file size (screen resolution will suit most uses), or alternatively contact our consultants on 020 7820 7300 if you have any queries on salaries in these areas, who may also be able to send you a print copy of the booklet, subject to availability. We hope you'll find it a valuable and informative resource, and for more information you can also contact CharityJob on 020 8939 8430, our consultants on the number above or send us an email - and look out for the full digital editions coming very soon! ► Back to the Harris Hill blog homepage ► Check out the latest jobs in your field ​ ​

Stress. Burnout. Anxiety. Pervasive but unwelcome players in the modern working game; and seriously damaging to our health and career. To coincide with Stress Awareness Month, Nicola Greenbrook looks at what stress is, how it manifests at work and how you can move from distress to de-stress (but still get the work done). How are you feeling about work right now? ​ Are you under pressure to deliver, but thoroughly enjoying the adrenaline rush? Or is the creaking weight of your to-do list about to collapse, taking you down with it? Stress in the current climate The world is angry and stressed. According to the Gallup Global Emotions Report, a third of 150,000 people interviewed in over 140 countries said they suffered stress. At least one in five experienced sadness or anger. Things aren’t much better closer to home. In the latest Health and Wellbeing at Work report from the CIPD and Simplyhealth, 37% of businesses had seen stress-related absence increase last year. Heavy workloads (62%), management style (43%) and relationships at work (30%) were the main culprits. Refinery 29 reports that 3 in 10 millennials experience 'work-disrupting anxiety' - twice as much as the national average. Anyone else feeling a bit edgy just reading all that? Stressy desk Stress is not a new phenomenon. Our cave-dwelling ancestors used the physical response to stress to prevent danger, such as a run-in with a sabre-toothed tiger. Thankfully we’re no longer fighting off angry felids on the commute, but we are regularly dealing with adverse, demanding circumstances. In the UK, we’re putting in the longest hours in the EU. Technology smashes our work-life boundaries and enables us to work at 2pm or 2am. Via the ping of a smartphone notification we deliver bad news (whether fake, or real) to our desk and become distracted and anxious. Some pressure can be healthy: it sends our bodies into ‘fight or flight’ mode, releasing a cocktail of hormones and chemicals to keep us focused and responsive. It’s when excessive pressure morphs into stress that the bad stuff happens. Brain function minimises leading to a ‘I can’t think straight’ situation. Being in ‘fight’ mode for too long makes us crabby, or worse aggressive, towards our colleagues. Staying in ‘flight’ mode means we avoid tackling a tricky task or situation which then intensifies. Worse still, stress can cause ‘freeze’ mode: effectively, we do nothing and become paralysed by it. Why should we pay attention? Stress is one of the great public health challenges of our time. It’s a significant factor in depression and anxiety and has been linked to physical health problems such as heart disease and immune and digestive functioning. In the workplace, stress can cause cognitive issues such as poor judgement and indecision, and emotional issues like irritability and panic, not to mention physical and behavioural ones. Stephanie Denning writing for Forbes, describes stress as the business world’s silent killer and notes the two primary, unnoticed, costs are the financial and productivity ones. How to move from distress to de-stress at work The Stress Management Society use a great bridge analogy; when someone is faced with excessive demands that exceed their personal and social resources it’s like a bridge carrying too much weight. It bows, buckles and creaks - and eventually will collapse. If you’re feeling the strain at work right now, and want to avoid a buckling bridge, here ’s some takeaway tips… ► Work smarter, not longer Writing for Riposte Magazine, Pip Jamieson, Founder & CEO of The Dots, notes that although excessive working hours are often a modern badge of honour, it can be counterintuitive - and doesn’t always equal better output. Over-stretching can cause fatigue, emotive decision making and even sickness. So think carefully about staying late again tonight and be realistic about what your frazzled brain will achieve. Throw in the towel and start again, fresh, tomorrow (and make that yoga class/drink instead). ► Rest It’s often ‘rest’ breaks that take the hit when we’re stressed at work. In their book, Burnout: The Secret to Solving the Stress, sisters Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski cite the need for our body and brains to rest (42% of your time, about 10 hours out of every 24) to avoid burnout. Steer clear of filling every minute at work with activity and take a manageable lunch break. Pay attention to your thirst, and when the kettle is boiling, resist the temptation to check emails on your phone. Forgive me, but do you often hold in a wee at your desk just to finish one.more.thing before dashing off to the loo and hoping you won’t get intercepted along the way. Yes? Don’t. ► Switch off Absence might be at an all-time low according to the CIPD, but the reality is that 83% of us are struggling into work when we’re actually poorly, and 63% of us are using our holidays to work. Learn to prioritise your health, guilt-free. If you’re genuinely ill and unable to function at 100%, dragging yourself to the office could expose your team to germs, result in sub-standard work or increased mistakes and run the risk of taking longer than normal to recover. ► Just say no if you’re rushing from one task to the next, taking on too much or trying to please everyone at work it could be time to work on your assertiveness. Saying no doesn’t mean you’re unhelpful or selfish, it enables you to honour your existing commitments and do them properly. It could allow more inexperienced team members to step up and aid their development, and it’s also healthier in the long run as it prevents you from taking on too much (and a buckling bridge). For managers Dealing with stress in your team can be very difficult, especially if you’re a manager under strain yourself. Here are some areas to consider: ► Stress can manifest differently between individuals. Get to know your team and try to spot the signs as early as possible; such as someone becoming unusually withdrawn or short-tempered, having increased absence or not taking holidays. ► Regularly review workloads, job design and responsibilities and encourage openness and communication. Foster a sense of collaboration; helping each other out so the workload is evenly spread to avoid one person going under. ► Don’t feel you have to deal with it personally. Signpost individuals to the experts (such as via an Employee Assistance Programme, GP or councillor) and ask for training in stress management. ► Lead by example and promote good working habits; take breaks, and try to leave on time as often as possible. -------------------------------- Stress at work can have a damaging and long-lasting impact on our physical and mental health. A stressed workplace can lead to low productivity, poor delivery to clients and service users and high turnover. Adopting some simple methods to minimise stress at work and return to a state of productivity - and good mental health - is not selfish. It’s critical. Get the work done, without undoing yourself in the process. Nicola Greenbrook - HR Specialist & Freelance Writer Contact Nicola More from Nicola Greenbrook: ► I quit! How to leave a job gracefully ► How to be productive at work ► Charity Careers: meet Andy Harris, director of income generation for Shelter UK ► Back to the blog homepage

For this month’s article, Nicola Greenbrook is exploring why it hurts so much to be rejected and suggesting ways to convert this into something transformative. ‘I regret to inform you that on this occasion you have not been successful'. I’ve been both the author and recipient of that terrible sentence on many occasions during my career. Even checking the definition of ‘to reject’ evoked memories of some painful brush-offs of my own. ‘To dismiss as inadequate, unacceptable or faulty’. Ouch! Rejection knows no bounds and spans our professional, social and personal worlds. From missing out on your dream job, losing out to a competitor or being passed up for promotion, it’s a common - but agonising - feature of our working lives. Yet, it might not always be a bad thing… Firstly, why does it hurt so bad? Being rebuffed really does sting. Psychologist Guy Winch notes that rejection can cause pain because our brains are wired to respond in this way. He describes an experiment where scientists asked participants to think of a rejection while they were hooked up to MRI machines. They discovered that when we experience rejection, the same areas of our brain become activated as when we experience physical pain. Essentially, being rejected can ‘elicit literal (albeit, emotional) pain’. “I AM COMPLETELY USELESS” Often it’s our self-esteem that takes the brunt of it when we’re told no. Rebecca Weef-Smith, Editor of Goldie Magazine recalls vividly the low self-worth she felt over ten years ago after consistent knock-backs. She had submitted over 100 job applications and 3 PhD proposals without a single interview to show for it. Despite considerable qualifications, including an MA and MSc, she believed she wasn’t good enough. ‘Yet again I didn't come up to scratch or meet the standards required’ she said. ‘It wasn't a momentary failing at life. I was a permanent failure’. Being rejected can heighten our own personal insecurities, make us doubt our decisions and choices. As Guy Winch says, ‘…just when our self-esteem is hurting most, we go and damage it even further’. Patience you must have…​ ​According to science journal Inorganic Chemistry, there are five stages of rejection - denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. So how do you pick yourself up again when you’re firmly stuck in the early stages? What if you’ve been unsuccessful for something deep down you know isn’t even right for you? Fiona Cowan, Senior HR Business Partner at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) knows this all too well. For over a year, she balanced the insecurity of a contract role with job hunting. Conservation and animal welfare is hugely important to Fiona but as roles in this area are scarce, she had to widen her search and compromise. ‘It was a difficult year’ she admitted. ‘You put all your effort, passion and time into research and the presentation. There’s the anticipation and then… you get the dreaded rejection. It doesn’t make it easier when you’re told you were a strong candidate and came a very close second.' It’s hard to dust yourself off (and for those stuck in the ‘Anger’ stage, I apologise for writing these words) but hang on in there. Life is full of twists and turns and depending on your perspective, change - or no change - can be a good thing. Not getting something you want is an opportunity for something completely different - the right something - to come your way. ‘I always live by the mantra “everything happens for a reason”, I just didn’t know what the reason was yet.’ Fiona shared. After surviving a year of on-off job hunting with the stamina of a triathlete, the universe put her dream job at ZSL up for grabs. ‘I had an excitement I hadn’t felt for the other roles I’d gone for; I knew this job was for me!’. A winning combination of effort, authentic passion and the right skills, experience and talent landed Fiona the role she'd been waiting for. A masterclass in hard work, determination and believing - no matter how gut-wrenching it can be at the time - that things will eventually work out. When should rejection become reinvention? Eleanor Ross for Refinery 29 makes an interesting case for whether stubborn, blind self-belief can do more damage than good. She considers if there’s a right time to listen to rejection. ‘While pushing and being resilient is important, rejection can also teach us that maybe we’re not suited to doing something after all’ she writes. Rebecca Weef-Smith could have crawled under the duvet and stayed there, but realised the only way forward was to carve out a new role for herself, rather than fit an existing one. She used personal rejection to create the role of Editor of Goldie Magazine, the over-40s magazine with masses of style, fashion and more. It restored her faith in her own abilities, widened her friendship circle and made her ‘determined to support others who need a prompt in picking themselves up and going again’. Turn that rejection upside down Here are some other ways to make rejection a bit more manageable: Reframe it - Annie Ridout, author, freelance journalist and editor of The Early Hour set up a folder in her email account to file away rejections. She’s renamed it ‘got to keep’, because I like the idea that one day I'll look back at all the rejections I've received and be able to laugh about it' she says. In her book The Freelance Mum Annie also talks about a ‘special’ folder she keeps for encouraging, supportive emails. It’s this folder - rather than the other - she spends the most time looking at to give her a boost. Get some feedback - Ask the client/company for some insight on how you can do better next time. You might learn something new about yourself, prove you’re willing to develop and show them how good you are. Talk it through with someone - If you can, speak to friends, family or a mentor at work. Ruth Moragas, Founder of Happy Heads which promotes positive mental health recovery, believes in the power of helping others going through the crushing experience of rejection. ‘Rejection is something we all go through. It may sting but you get over it by including others. So they don’t feel as you did’. Rejection can cause physical pain, damage your self-esteem and take you through a whirlwind of stages before you come out the other side. Yet, it can also provide the chance to try out something new, and could clear the way for the right opportunity. Being snubbed is awful, but it can help you think creatively about your career path and provide the fuel that powers your growth and purpose. ​ Been rejected? Go out there and really show ‘em what you’re made of. Like Annie, you’ll be laughing about it one day as you happily move the email into your ‘got to keep’ folder. Nicola Greenbrook - HR Specialist & Freelance Writer Contact Nicola​

The year might just be waking up but the 2019 Harris Hill Charity Series is already raring to go! Here's a quick update on the forthcoming quiz, bowling shenanigans and our Golden Softball competition winners... In search of answers... ​ For everything we've learned as a species about science, evolution and the intricacies of the universe, some things remain impenetrable mysteries, the eternal unknowables; questions that have baffled mankind throughout history and continue to do so today. Most of them will probably turn up in the Charity Series quiz if past form is anything to go by, which returns for 2019 on February 5th, run by the all-knowing softball committee and contested by as many charities as our brilliant hosts at Patch St Paul's can possibly squeeze in! It's an evening of fun, fierce competitition and fiendishly difficult questions - plus prizes galore in the charity raffle. Last year's event raised a great sum for Muscular Dystrophy UK and this year we're hoping to do even better for QEF (Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for Disabled People) - not least because the raffle tickets are no longer cash-only, you'll be able to go contactless too. ► Pre-event update: unfortunately as it turns out, it's not quite as easy to get a handy and portable card payment machine as the TV ads would have you believe, so we're working on a partial online solution. If you can though, please bring along some cash if you'd like to take part in the raffle. Which we highly recommend, as there's already a superb selection of prizes, generously donated by many of our local businesses and more across London. There's still more to come but huge thank-yous already to Embody Wellness and Floatworks Vauxhall, Oliver Bonas, first-rate florists Windmill Flowers, and both the Sipsmith and Beefeater Gin Distilleries! (we don't know who's been getting through all the gin, but keep up the good work). Team-wise the ones to beat are last year's top three: bronze medallists Asthma UK, runners-up Citizens Advice and 2018 champs the Canal & River Trust! Bring it on, as people reportedly say. A big night at the bowling! Meanwhile there were strikes to spare in November as the Charity Series returned to Rowans Tenpin Bowling in Finsbury Park for another high-stakes (by which I mean there were chocolate advent calendars to be won) bowl-off between the best part of 40 leading charities. A great night as always, and an astonishing one for Team HH: in a twist on our traditionally-terrible total it turns out last year's fifth place wasn't a fluke after all, and after a mere 172 years of the contest we might have finally got the hang of throwing the ball-thing in roughly the right direction. But it's not about us, it's about the brilliant charities taking part, and after a single year in third place the mighty 2015 and 2016 winners Age UK returned to the top, swiftly followed by a stellar performance from GOSH and a delighted Dogs Trust cracking the top three for the first time:​ At the end of the day we can probably all agree that the real winner here was bowling, but also top scorer Anthony of St Mungo's with a record-breaking 193 personally-earned points, the highest-ever individual score. Props too to CAF's Jack, Numan and Amy of St John Ambulance who we believe was the highest-scoring female bowler but shout if you know otherwise! Until next time... And finally, in (golden) softball news... Should you have somehow escaped missed it on Twitter and be wondering who won our competition for last summer's charity softball teams - or indeed what on earth we're talking about - then wonder no more. As you might have heard mention, we're immensely proud sponsors of the London Charity Softball League, which brings countless charities from the capital together throughout the summer, and never fails to impress us with the sheer dedication, good humour and hard work of players, supporters and organisers alike. It's a challenging, superbly organised and phenomenally popular contest which, were it not for those qualities, might have something in common with our very own summer-long challenge: Harris Hill's Golden Softballs! So what's it all about? Who won? And why? ► Read on for the full 2018 competition, all the balls, and news of our winners! ► Back to the blog homepage