It’s that time of year again… 2019 is nearly over and the new year will soon be upon us, bringing its own set of opportunities and challenges. Throughout the year we have covered many topics in the entrustIT blog from cyber security to employee engagement tips to the latest tech trends and much more.
After taking a good look back at our blogs from the past year, we feel it is the perfect time to roundup and share with you the blogs that have been most popular, in case you missed them.
7 tips to help you be more productive at work
Our most popular blog of the year was surrounding productivity. We all want to be more productive at work. However, it can be difficult to know the best way to do this without a little helping hand.
A report from Fellowes has shown that 30% of UK office workers have admitted to only completing 1-4 tasks every day. By being more productive at work you will not only complete more tasks, but your boss will love you and you may even get that promotion you have been craving! What’s more – you will truly feel more satisfied with your work.
Productivity has been described as an assessment or measure of the efficiency of a worker or a group of workers completing tasks. There has been a significant amount of evidence supporting the link between productivity and wellbeing at work with mental and physical health. Our 7 tips will help you to be more productive at work, as well as in life.
You can read the full version of the blog here.
5 ways you can make your workplace a more enjoyable place to be
Another favourite was how you can make your workplace a more enjoyable place to be. Research has shown 85% of employees are dissatisfied with their workplace. Therefore, it is clear there is room for improvement in this area.
The good news is, there are some really easy steps that a business can take to improve its employee’s day-to-day happiness, and in turn, the overall success of a business.
Encouraging flexible working is one of the things we recommend a business does to make their workplace a more enjoyable place to be. It is no longer a special condition for some people in work, and it meets the desires of the modern workforce. Anna Whitehouse of Mother Pukka’s Flex Appeal commented “Flexible working doesn’t mean working less or slacking off, it means finding hours that suit your life and how you best work. It’s one of the few issues that both the unionists of the TUC and the employers at the CBI agree on: flexible working is better for staff, and it’s better for profits.”
Secondly, micromanagement should be avoided if you want to improve enjoyment in the workplace. Micromanaging is a management style whereby a manager closely observes or controls the work of subordinates or employees. Instead a popular style of management used by many businesses is called Objective and Key Results (OKR). It is great for connecting goals of the company, team and individuals while keeping everyone working together to gain measurable results.
Want to find out the other ways to make your workplace a more enjoyable place to be? Read the full version of the blog here.
Are these the worst passwords of 2018?
2018 taught us a lot about passwords. One software company said many of us should take a serious look at our choice of passwords, and this blog implicated why.
Yet again, ‘123456’ and ‘password’ took the lead for the most commonly used passwords in 2018. You’d think people would have learnt by now! Some surprising new entrances to the list included ‘donald’, ‘sunshine’ and ‘111111’.
Morgan Slain, CEO of Splash Data said “Hackers have great success using celebrity names, terms from pop culture and sports, and simple keyboard patterns to break into accounts online because they know so many people are using those easy-to-remember combinations.”
Passwords are one of the only barriers between a hacker and your account, if you aren’t using any other form of authentication. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication add that extra layer, by being something you have, something you know and/or something you are.
With 2019 coming to an end, we hope people have learnt their lesson when it comes to passwords. Keep your eyes peeled for 2019’s list over the next couple of weeks as we head into the new year.
You can find out the full list of the worst passwords of 2018 here.
Windows 7 reaches end of life next year… what are your options? (Part 1 of 2)
2019 has been a big year for people preparing for Windows 7 end of life. It is fast approaching on January 14th 2020, so this blog is perfect if you’re still yet to make changes and aren’t sure the best way to get there.
End of life means that Microsoft will no longer be providing the technical assistance or automatic updates you once had with Windows 7. Removal of support and failing to upgrade puts your computer and servers at risk of dangerous malware, and in the hands of hackers. You can assume they will be aggressively targeting any vulnerabilities knowing that no fix is coming.
Here at entrustIT we recommend one of two options. Those are Microsoft 365 and Cloud Workspace. In this two-part series we cover the benefits and costs of both options, as well as highlight who each one will work best for, allowing you to make an informed decision about which solution will be best suited to drive your business forward.
In a post GDPR world, it is crucial for organisations of any size to make the migration to Windows 10 before support ends in January 2020. You can read the two-part series on the options here.
6 tips for avoiding burnout at work
Would you agree that our work lives are more pressured than ever? If 2020 is the year you want to make a change, then be sure to check out 6 tips for avoiding burnout at work.
While stress in the workplace is common, burnout is a state of constant, prolonged stress. It can creep up on you, impacting your health, relationships, happiness, and job all in one. Poor quality (and lack of) sleep will directly affect your mental and physical health, as well as your productivity and emotional balance. Getting enough good sleep is crucial to avoiding burnout at work.
Communication is another key way you can avoid burnout. As humans, we thrive on close relationships and communication is a vital element of this – especially in business. Therefore, it is vital you don’t supress any frustrations. Communicate with your manager and colleagues in an assertive (and polite) way when you need help.
Burnout can pose a huge hinderance on your work and personal. You can find out more ways to avoid it here.
So, there we have it, our top five blog posts from the past year. We hope you have enjoyed reading them as much as we have enjoyed writing them. If you have any suggestions of topics you would like to hear about then please get in touch.
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