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Wouldn’t it be great if we all woke up with a positive attitude, full of enthusiasm to go to work? In most cases, many Americans find their job to be stressful and unfullfilling.

Companies are looking to reduce workplace stress. Employees under stress are less productive and creative as employees who have a grasp on their emotions and deadlines.The following are ways to resuce stress on the job.

Employers should take time to ask employees what would make them more productive at work. Many employees are never given the chance to voice their opinions. Stress is reduced when management spends time listening to employees.

Creativity breaks the monotony of everyday workplace routines. Employers can try a stand-up meeting where everyone remains standing during the staff meeting. Celebrating untraditional holidays such as Ugly Tie Day or Clean off Your Desk Day is another way of easing tension in the office.

Employers should let their staff know they are appreciated. This can be done by simply attaching a personalized letter to an employee’s paycheck. Giving out awards such as a box of candy for the “Good and Plenty Award” to a person who always has lots of good ideas is another way to express gratitude toward employees.

Encourage employees to bring pictures of their pets for a “World’s Cutest pets” bulletin board.

Start staff meetings by asking “What positive thing happened to you last week at work”? The discussion starts the meeting on an upbeat note.

Ask employees to share what produces stress at work. Then of course, brainstorm for solutions. Just the fact that management takes the time to listen makes employees more open to sharing problems and solutions.

Stress is an everyday part of life. With open communication and a few motivational tools, stress can become manageble, enabling employees to be productive and satisfied.

Silvana Clark is a professioanl speaker, presenting keynotes and workshops on Surviving The Workplace Jungle With Humor.She speaks to audiences, (wearing her pith helmet) about the importance of using humor to reduce stress.The author of 10 books, Silvana also sells a novelty PANIC computer key for frustrated computer users.The double-backed, adhesive computer key attaches to any computer keyboard, or any object that causes frustration, and is designed to reduce stress in the workplace. The gag gift is a bright red computer key imprinted with the word “PANIC.” Clark believes that the panic button is ideal for bringing a light hearted touch to the office.

http://www.panicbuttons.com

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With the price of gas and electricity on a seemingly endless series of climbs, now is a good time to take a look around your home and see where you can make some energy savings.

Over 20% of the heat lost from your home goes straight out of the roof, so it’s important that you have the attic properly insulated. Even if your attic was insulated when the house was built or any time before the last couple of years, it may not have the right amount of insulation.

Recent government recommendations have almost doubled the suggested amount of insulation, and a minimum thickness of 200-250 mm (8 - 10 inches) is now suggested in temperate areas.

If you do need to top up your attic insulation, it’s easy to do it yourself in a few hours if you are reasonably good at DIY. You don’t need any special tools or skills and it can be much cheaper than paying someone else to do it - as long as you don’t put your foot through the ceiling!

But check before you start as grants may be available to help with part or all of the cost of insulation, especially for the elderly or those on a low income or benefit. If you do decide on the DIY route, remember that some types of insulation are irritants so wear suitable clothing, including gloves, goggles and a facemask when you are laying the insulating material.

Make sure you carefully follow the instructions that come with the insulation, and in particular ensure that you don’t block ventilators or air inlets. Leave a gap around the eaves as well to prevent condensation.

Don’t cover electrical cables and keep insulation away from items such as recessed light fittings that may require airflow to prevent overheating - check if you’re not sure.

The attic will be a lot colder once it’s insulated so make sure that pipes are lagged and water tanks are insulated. Don’t insulate under tanks though - leaving a clear area underneath will allow heat from below to rise and help stop them freezing. Finally don’t forget to insulate and draft proof the access hatch.

Now that the attic is snug, it’s time to look at some of the other areas that you can work on to cut down on the heating bills.

Double glazing your windows is most effective at retaining heat, but if you don’t want to replace your old sash windows just yet, you can save energy by stopping drafts. Seal or caulk any gaps around the frame using a sealant gun and cartridge - your local DIY or hardware store should be able to advise you on the best type for your needs. But whatever sealant you use, first ensure that all the surfaces are clean and dry and that there is no loose or flaking paint which could prevent the sealant adhering.

Fit weather strips to opening windows and doors - these come in many shapes and sizes ranging from cheap and easy to fit self-adhesive foam rubber strips to more expensive but durable plastic or metal weather stripping. Prevent drafts under doors by installing an adjustable threshold or brush type strip at the bottom of the door.

Once the frames are weatherproofed, you can look at reducing heat loss through the window glass itself. The cheapest way of doing this is to use a clear film plastic sheeting which is stuck to the window frame with tape and then warmed with a hairdryer. This causes the plastic film to shrink and tighten removing wrinkles and creases. This type of secondary glazing - while low priced - has to be renewed if you need to access the window, and so is unsuitable for windows which you want to open before spring!

More expensive are secondary glazing panels. These are made from rigid clear plastic and can either be fixed to the wooden frame with magnetic tape, or plastic channel which can be left in place. In both these cases, the panels can usually be removed for ventilation and cleaning.

Don’t forget that when you’re draft proofing your home that it’s vital to ensure that you have adequate ventilation in rooms where there is a heater, fire, boiler or any other appliance that needs air for combustion and make sure you never block up air bricks or vents.

Now that you’ve reduced the amount of energy that it takes to keep your home warm, you can turn down the heating. Even a small 1 or 2 degree C reduction on your thermostat can reduce your heating bill significantly. If you can also set your heating to fire up a little later and switch off a little earlier, you’ll find that even a difference of a few minutes a day can add up to a big saving over a year.

There’s only space here to give you a couple of ideas but there is a wealth of further information available both on and off-line on how you can economise on energy use.
Once you start to think about saving energy, you’ll be surprised how it soon becomes second nature and before you know it, you’ll have a greener and more energy efficient home with big benefits for your wallet and the planet.

Russ Grimble helps to run http://www.national-double-glazing.co.uk an online resource with hints and tips on saving energy, insulating your home and useful information on choosing Double glazing or replacement windows.

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Pasta has to be Italy’s greatest contribution to world cuisine. Most people usually associate pasta with noodles, but pasta actually refers to a wide assortment of flour and grain concoctions that come in a variety of shapes. Macaroni is one such pasta that is not in noodle form. The word pasta comes from the Italian word for paste or dough.

Pasta also refers to dishes that have pasta as the main ingredient and which are usually spruced up with sauce or a type of seasoning.

There are two ways to cook pasta- by extrusion and by lamination. Extrusion mashes the ingredients through a die, which is a plate with holes. Lamination calls for the dough to be kneaded and folded, later rolled to achieve a thick mixture before it is cut with the use of slitters. Fresh pasta is easy to cook and is ready quickly but it spoils easily as well since its content is mostly water. Dry pasta lasts longer because it has only around 10% moisture.

There are now Italian pastas as well as American pastas. The Italian pasta, which has a yellow color and a chewy texture, comes from durum wheat semolina. American pastas are made from farina and semolina, with a texture and flavor that are inferior to Italian pastas and are used mostly in casseroles. There are also Asian noodles, which are thinner than pasta and come from wheat flour.

The most popular pastas are certainly the noodle-type pastas such as spaghetti and vemicelli. Macaroni is the most popular short tube pasta, followed by penne. Fettucine and linguine are pasta that are shaped like ribbons. There is also pasta made from tiny grains such as couscous and orzo as well as pasta made from large sheets like lasagna. Ravioli, tortellini and manicotti are an entirely different pasta group, as they are hollow pasta that is filled with stuffing.

Here’s a little known fact about pasta. Did you know that it was Thomas Jefferson who first brought macaroni to America? Upon returning to the US in 1789 after a stint as the ambassador to France, Jefferson brought with him a macaroni machine, which was the first such recorded contraption in the United States.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Cooking, Home Improvement, and Outdoors

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