The best family beach vacations come in a range of offerings from renting a beachside condo or sharing a plush holiday villa through to staying in an all-inclusive family-orientated beach resort with all the luxurious facilities and amenities one would expect from a lavish resort. Family vacations vary depending on your taste, budget and length of stay and many choose to enjoy family vacations in hotels with a kids club on site to ensure the children never get restless or bored.

Beach Resorts

All inclusive properties at beach resorts provide some of the best family beach vacations and fun for the whole family is a top priority with this well established company. Age-appropriate activities are on offer and you can spend time relaxing on the beach while your children play with qualified staff or you can take the whole family to a water park for a day out.

Family resort holidays are effortless with beach resorts and you can find all inclusive properties around the Caribbean including:

• Beaches Negril – One of the best family beach vacations is located in Jamaica, where guests can enjoy a range of children’s programs, amenities and activities during their stay.
• Beaches Boscobel Waterpark – This Jamaican wonderland of water offers its visitors a multitude of splashing fun with a wide selection of water rides and activities to enjoy.
• Beaches Sandy Bay – Guests can enjoy world-class amenities and facilities and children of all ages are catered for at this luxurious Jamaican beachfront resort.
• Turks and Caicos – The beaches here are powdery white and the seas are crystal blue making this one of the most tranquil family resort getaways in the Caribbean.

Club Med

Club Med proudly offer their exclusive customers all inclusive family resorts that are ideal for the best family beach vacations and they boast great deals and offers for all the family throughout the year.

Those traveling with children can enjoy spacious properties in prime locations around the world as well as various children’s programs that cater for all ages and unbeatable deals for those visiting with children. All of the Club Med resorts provide their own unique tropical twist to make your family travel a memory to truly treasure.

Caribbean getaways

Some of the world’s best family beach vacations are found in the Caribbean where families spend time enjoying watersports in the turquoise waters and the exploring the numerous water parks and kids programs.

Discover the Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands

Cheap family getaways can be enjoyed on the beautiful Whitsunday Islands and they are the ideal place to stay if you wish to explore the Great Barrier Reef in all its natural glory with the whole family.

Chill out in California

The infamous Golden State has something to suit all tastes and budgets from all inclusive hotels with a kids club through to luxury resorts, cabins and motels; all with fantastic amenities and facilities to cater for families.

Unwind in Hawaii

Luxurious beach resorts abound in Hawaii. Various programs aimed at children are widely available at the plush resorts and the beautiful beaches provide the perfect setting to enjoy idyllic family vacations.

Beachside holidays with all the family vary from action-packed breaks at waterparks with endless children’s programs filled with fun activities through to relaxing on the beach and swimming in the ocean while soaking up the tranquil surroundings. Wherever you want to go to in the world and whatever you want from your break, you can guarantee there is a holiday out there to suit your needs and the best family beach vacations make for memories that last a lifetime.

Studies show that Australians work longer hours than all other OECD nations and are working longer hours and do not use their full annual leave entitlement. Signs of obvious workplace stress can lead to headaches, increased anxiety, high blood pressure, depression, increased drinking and reduced work performance and productivity. Here are some career tips for reducing stress in the workplace and alleviating that sense of dread when you wake up in the morning.

Develop friendships at work

Cultivate friends and allies at work that you can turn to and exchange jokes and funny stories about your weekend. Try and avoid negative or toxic people in the workplace. This will deflect the focus off your workplace problems and give you a safe haven where you feel more relaxed and in control. If you are going to vent about your workplace problems, make sure that your colleagues are trustworthy. Generally, it’s better to discuss any problems with your partner, friends and family outside of your workplace.

Manage your workload

Learning to manage your time at work is a major factor in decreasing your stress levels. Try employing time management tips such as prioritising your workload and managing your employee’s expectations, learning to say no to work tasks and ask for additional help or resources. Give yourself some breathing room and delegate repetitive tasks that don’t take much supervision and focus on tasks that require your individual expertise to manage your stress levels to try and achieve a work-life balance.

Take short breaks

Taking regular short breaks during the day to stretch out your legs or walk around the office to speak to colleagues can help reduce anxiety levels. Even after a short break, you will return back to your desk rejuvenated, refreshed and ready to tackle the problem, project or day that lies ahead of you. Step away from your desk, computer and telephone at lunch time and eat your lunch at the park, go shopping or have a coffee with a work colleague.

Mentor programs

Finding a mentor can be a great way to reduce workplace stress for junior staff or middle management. Mentors can be assigned within the company or can be found externally through industry associations and networking groups. A mentor can help work through work problems and how to negotiate work conflict, help employees build self confidence and develop interpersonal skills.

De-clutter your office

Even doing something as simple as cleaning your office can clear your mind and increase your focus. It can be very draining and overwhelming to face a messy office every single day. This is only a temporary measure so to keep disorganisation at bay; you need to incorporate a proper filing system and system of managing your documents. Adding plants to your office and changing the layout of your desk so your back doesn’t face the door can be good feng shui as well.

Exercise

Exercising at lunch times or before or after work has a host of psychological as well as physical benefits. Aerobic exercise can help you manage stress in the workplace by producing endorphins that uplift your mood and mental well being. It increases your social networks and decreases your social isolation. Exercise also improves your sleep patterns and gives you time to think and focus on other things.

Go on a holiday

Holidays can be a great way to unwind, de-stress and shake off workplace blues. Make sure you that you have organised someone to take over your work, arrange an adequate handover or hiring a temp or casual to do your work while you are gone. You want to be free of worries and stress when you do go away and relax knowing your work is in good hands and you won’t have any face any problems when you arrive back at work.

As a very last resort, you may have to consider changing jobs if you cannot cope with the workload, demanding boss, toxic colleagues or unrealistic deadlines and you have undue stress in the workplace. You spend an average of 40 hours a week with your colleagues so you need to be happy. Your mental health and relationships with your friends and family are far more important.

It’s very true, what the Beatles said …. money can’t buy you love or happiness. Self improvement and happiness doesn’t ‘happen’ when you’ve saved up enough money to upgrade your car, house or children’s school. Also, much as the feeling seems convincing at the time, happiness is also not a new pair of shoes or retail therapy. Here are some ten self improvement tips that can lead to lasting happiness.

Mitigate morning madness

Set your alarm so that you have plenty of time to have breakfast, a shower, and tidy up after yourself before you leave the house. Then, tell yourself before you go to sleep that “I am going to wake up when my alarm rings. I will press the snooze button once, and then get out of bed”.

Pencil it in

Create a realistic priority list of tasks that you want to achieve for the day, and make a concerted effort to tick every one of them off. The key to using this self improvement tip is not to overload yourself and to also schedule some relaxation time.

Weekend maximiser

Do you ever find that you’ve spent an entire weekend stressing about work? No wonder we all feel that weekends aren’t long enough! Check tip #2 above, and pencil some ‘fun’ into your weekend schedule so turn off your computer and stop checking your Blackberry.

Generosity killed the ’sads’

Humans are social creatures, and helping the people in your society is a wonderful personal development strategy to make yourself feel good. You don’t have to become a homeless shelter volunteer … but do take your co-worker’s teacup to the sink on your way, hold out the bag of sweets to your neighbour at the bus stop, and make dinner for an overworked friend.

The serenity to accept the things that you can’t change, the courage to change the things that you can

It’s a little trite nowadays – but if you think about this concept for a while and try to apply it to situations in your own life, you can find plenty of inspiration to either let go, or move forward.

Parlez vous …?

Learn a new language! It takes a while, but when you have the reward of a holiday in a country that has the language you’ve chosen as its native tongue it becomes much easier to motivate yourself.

Mix it up

Deliberately try to do things in a way that you usually don’t. The simple act of walking a different way to the bus stop or going to a new bar for after work drinks can really broaden your experience. Aim to achieve this on a larger level as well – to visit places you’ve never been, to speak to people that you usually wouldn’t or perhaps changing careers.

Face your fears – take a plunge

Deliberately doing things that put you outside your comfort zone are essential to personal development because they force you to look at the world in a new way … from a position of strength, courage and personal power.

Beauty is as beauty does

For many of us, thinking about our appearances takes up a significant portion of the day. Remember when your mother told you that true beauty is on the inside? She was right. Self improvement is about what’s on the inside, and you’ll have more energy for that without the distractions of excessive grooming. Spend your weekends without makeup, and wear clothes that make you feel comfortable.

Bend it, stretch it, just a little bit

Exercise is what our bodies were designed for – work that requires you to spend an entire day sitting down is a very recent social development. You’ll feel better able to deal with problems, more energetic, be less prone to depression and have a higher level of cognitive function if you make the effort to exercise every day.

Happiness has little do with the things you have, and so much to do with how you feel inside and what you do with your life! Try incorporating these self improvement tips and strategies into your life every week, and see how much difference it makes to your personal satisfaction level. Because in the end, who makes the most difference in your life? You do!

There is no doubt that stress starts to play a role when our busy schedules get on top of us. Effective time management can help you keep on top of your workload and keep the stress at bay. Here are seven of our top tips for time management…

To Do Lists – Don’t avoid the ugly tasks

Do the work tasks you are trying to avoid when you’re at your peak and keep procrastination at bay. Work around your internal body clock.

If you find that you’re more of a morning person and your concentrate is lost later in the day, do those mind numbing tasks earlier in the day and the tasks you enjoy later in the afternoon when you’re struggling to get motivated.

Get into a habit of writing Your To Do list just before you leave work so you can return the next day and hit the ground running.

Learn to prioritise – Do the most important things first

Effective time management is all about prioritising your tasks and doing the most important things first. The easiest way of managing your workload effectively is prioritising each task. The Motivation Expert suggests prioritising tasks as follows:

A = Top priority jobs – those which must be completed today

B = Jobs that should be completed today

C = Jobs that you’d prefer to complete today but can put off until tomorrow

D = Jobs where the deadline is some way off and you can complete later

If you are having problems prioritising your tasks or there are two tasks that seem as urgent as each other, speak to your manager who will be able to clarify which task is more important or better still, set priority of tasks in your regular meetings.

Be Proactive Not Reactive – Don’t fight fires

Encourage your employees and colleagues to be proactive and not reactive and pre-empt any possible problems with project management, client management or general day to day work tasks.

There is little point having an ‘ostridge in the sand mentality’ because when the problem does reach the surface and become known to your manager, it will more likely take longer to fix and use more resources. Ways to avoid this are:

• set up regular work in progress meetings and catch up sessions
• put reporting mechanisms in place and
• establish benchmarks or key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure workload.

These are a good way to foresee any problems before the proverbial hits the fan in an office.

Learn to Delegate – You are not an island

Delegation plays a defining role in being able to manage your workload. You need to be able to let go and trust your staff and/or colleagues to take on part of your workload. There are many advantages to delegating work:

• The motivation of employees is increased as you trust them with more responsibilities.
• It increases employee’s self confidence and leads to development of decision making skills.
• It encourages an environment where creative ideas and alternative ways of working are expressed.
• It saves time – we can achieve at least twice as more through delegation than we can by doing all the work by ourselves.

It can be quite difficult granting someone else the authority and responsibility and they may make mistakes along the way and not do everything as you may have liked. However, with patience and guidance, it can alleviate the less crucial parts of your workload leaving you to work on more important tasks.

Managing expectations – Learn to say no

Effective time management can sometimes be more about managing expectations from your manager and/or colleagues. While there may be occasions where you work overtime, this should be an exception rather than the rule. If you find that you are continually working more than a standard 8 hour day through no fault of your own, speak to your manager about:

• assigning extra resources;
• delegating your workload to other employees or;
• hiring a temp or casual staff member

This should all help you bring your workload down to a more manageable level and allow you to skip out the door at a reasonable hour.

Manage your employees and colleagues – Don’t Let Them Manage You

Attending to emails or tasks and answering adhoc questions or the telephone can take up valuable time in your day. It may only be a task that only takes five or ten minutes but that can easily add up during the day but this can be avoided by:

• encourage your employees and colleagues to save non urgent questions for meetings where you can discuss the project;
• asking colleagues to email you when rather than come to your desk or call you directly so you can attend to the email when you have time;
• making your priorities known to your colleagues and ask them if you can do their task later after you have finished your more important tasks.

Take control back of your workload and don’t let your colleagues dictate your work patterns. Attend to urgent or more important tasks first and attend to the tasks further down your list later on.

Manage yourself – Time management is a myth

It is also important to manage yourself and make sure that you are hitting your deadlines, not working excessive amounts of overtime and also taking regular breaks throughout the day. It is important to set aside regular breaks in the day for the following reasons:

• decreases levels of procrastination and work avoidance;
• maintains the level of quality and productivity across the day;
• increases your concentrate and motivation levels;
• reduces stress and maintains your health.

Remember you can’t manage time – there are only 24 hours in a day. The only thing you can manage is yourself, your colleagues to a certain extent and your workload so incorporate these time management tips into your workday to create more of a work-life balance that will have you leaving the office at a reasonable hour.

There is no doubt that fast food is not only fast but also cheap, however eating healthy doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Here are five tips for eating healthy on a budget…

Junk food itself may be the cheapest source of rich calories – but what you save on the wallet, you’ll pay for on your hips, in your medical bills, and in your self-image. Despite the messages that we get from fast food outlets, it is possible to save money on food in the short term, and on our health in the long term. Here are our best tips for healthy eating on a budget.

Preparation is the key to healthy eating habits

Prepare yourself some healthy snacks ahead of time, whether you are at home or at work. It’s very difficult to maintain healthy eating habits when we are starving.

Preparation is also the key to keeping your wastage down, and reducing the overall weekly shopping cost. Make sure that your vegetables and meat can be used for more than one dish to make healthy eating habits affordable.

Eating roast? Use the bone for soup the next day. Gearing up for a mean Chicken Korma on Friday night? Use the rest of the coriander stalks in freeze-able dipping sauce.

The Substitute

There are plenty of inexpensive substitutes for those horrible double-digit items on the supermarket receipt. You can eat healthily on a budget by:

• Squeezing some lemon juice in your water instead of buying expensive fruit juice, cordial and soft drinks.
• Freeze pots of yoghurt almost to fully frozen instead of buying ice cream.
• Asian-style noodles can be swapped for cheap, almost calorie-free rice noodles.
• Use textured vegetable protein or lentils in place of meat.

Speaking of meat…

Statistics show that vegetarians have a lower incidence of heart disease and cancer as well as lower blood pressure, and are generally slimmer. Meat is an expensive ingredient – you’ll be doing both your wallet and waistline a favour by giving it up a few nights per week. This is also in line with healthy living guidelines, which recommend that you eat around 65-100g of cooked red meat, 3-4 times a week.

If you start experimenting with chilli, curry and spices, there are few vegetarian dishes that can’t be jazzed up. Going vegetarian three nights a week will take quite a load off your wallet … and lighten the load on the inside of your pants as well.

Invest in a freezer

Did you know we throw out billions of dollars worth of food each year? A chest freezer will set you back a few hundred dollars – but they are a long term investment in both your health and your finances.

Having a deep freeze allows you to take advantage of all those awesome specials on bread, meat, your favourite frogurt, or whatever you like without wastage. A deep freeze allows you to keep snack- or meal-sized healthy portions for eating on the run.

Take your dollars out of that equation by making more of a meal than you need, and freezing the rest in portions. This cuts down waste, and your food bill, considerably.

Healthy eating on a budget is certainly possible … in some cases, healthy eating will naturally reduce your food bill without any extra effort (as it does when you cut down on meat consumption). The spare room in your pants will soon be taken up with extra $50 notes crowding out your hip pocket … and you could be using that money for an exotic holiday and showing off your new body in the Seychelles.

Exploring and enjoying the great outdoors at adventure travel destinations is the ideal way for many to let loose of our fears and inhibitions and push our limits to the max…

Planning an outdoor adventure holiday this year? We’re researched some of the best adventure travel destinations all over the globe so if its adventure you want, it’s adventure you’ll get.

African Safari

Safari outdoor adventures can be enjoyed in Africa and witnessing the so-called ‘big five’ in their natural habitats is as thrilling as it gets. See a pack of lions up close and personal in the Serengeti or a herd of wild elephants in the Kruger National Park with adventure travel in Africa.

Rock Climbing

Got a head for heights? Why not see the world from a different angle as rock climbing gets the adrenaline pumping and can be done in destinations around the world such as Krabi in Thailand; one of the ultimate adventure travel destinations.

Sailing and Cruise Destinations

Sailing or cruising your way around the world is a unique experience and one that can be done by anyone. The feel of the fresh sea air is unbeatable and you will find a new zest for life in the warm seas around the Caribbean and Asia. All aboard!

Scuba Diving and Snorkelling

Clean your face mask and flap your flippers; it’s time to explore the underwater world in all its natural glory! Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Thailand’s south coast boast unbeatable chances to see beautiful corals and colourful fish and both are considered to be two of the best adventure travel destinations.

Adventure Travel Tours

Tours promising their customers an adventure offer a wide choice of activities from jungle trekking in the Amazon to kayaking ay Niagara Falls. Enjoy a true adventure as part of an exploration or relax with some family fun!

White-water Rafting and Kayaking

Feeling the full force and power of a river with white water rafting is unmatched for those seeking adventure! Adventure travel destinations offering kayaking is another great way to experience the African Zambezi and South American travel on the Chilean Futaleufu River is ideal for those seeking water-based fun.

Hiking

Polish off your walking boots and throw on a rucksack; it’s time to go hiking! Get a 100% natural rush from conquering a peak with hiking holidays that can be enjoyed around the world from the mountainous Himalayas in Nepal to the varied landscapes of New Zealand.

Skiing and Snowboarding

Taking to the powdery white slopes with skis or a snowboard is an awesome feeling and the views alone are worth the odd slip and slide. Visit Val-d’Isere in France and Aspen in the USA if you enjoy extreme sports.

Fishing and Hunting

Hunting and fishing are enjoyed by more than 800 million people worldwide and relaxing while reeling in a frisky salmon in Canada is a great outdoor activity. If you prefer to hunt down your prey then take a trip with a hunting ranch in Texas and make it a holiday to really remember.

Swim with the dolphins, conquer a mountain or take to the piste; whatever type of adventure travel destinations you are looking for, there will be one to suit you at a budget you can afford. Speak to your travel agent, look on the internet or through travel magazines to find your next outdoor adventure.

Early this week, Channel 7 did an interview with an analyst for Macquarie Private Wealth and David Kiely, was filmed in the background looking at emailed pictures of Victoria Secret model Miranda Kerr. The banker is now in ‘discussions’ with Macquarie executives to discuss his future.

With the help of Youtube, this incident has received even more coverage than the ham sandwich debacle of 2005 and is a timely reminder of the proper use of email at work. Here are six ways to curb your email habits and play nice in the office.

Do not use your work email to discuss personal issues with your colleagues

You may be friends with your work colleagues but only try and limit your work email to  work issues only. If you need to discuss any personal issues, pick up the phone and speak to your colleagues, use your personal email or wait until your break times or after work drinks.

Take a note from the two secretaries at prestigious law firm Allens Arthur Robinson. Their ‘discussion’ over an alleged stolen ham sandwich turned into a tirade of abuse and was quickly forwarded around the world in a matter of seconds.

Be professional in all your dealings with your clients

You may own your own business and be your own boss but that doesn’t mean that a rude email to a client will not be detrimental to your business. Email exchanges are not the forum for angry outbursts. In yet another warning of the power and pitfalls of email, a New Zealand couple’s war with an abusive wedding planner was forwarded around the world. 

If you have been sent a ‘suggestive’ or ‘emotive’ email, don’t respond straight away. Wait until you have calmed down and then reply back in a professional manner. There is no room for emotions at the office.

Don’t use your work email for a private exchanges with your partner

Work email is not meant for indulging in cyber sex and you need to be particularly careful of email ‘sexchanges’ if you’re indulging in an office romance. Claire Swire naively wrote a somewhat amorous email about how much she enjoyed oral sex with her now ex boyfriend who in the most public demonstration of kissing and telling, forwarded her email to his friends.

The email was forwarded onto friends of friends and made international headlines which resulted in him being suspended for breach of contract and no doubt resulted in the break-up.

Double check your email addresses in group emails

With programs like Microsoft Outlook, it is very easy to type in the wrong address for people with common first and last names. Before you send a group email, double check that you are sending it to the right person.

Schoolgirl Claire Mcdonald was the reluctant recipient of emails from high security emails from the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence. Further investigation revealed that a Royal Navy officer based at the Pentagon had inadvertently included Claire on a mailing list and breached security because of a mere typo.

Proceed with caution when using ‘reply all’

The ‘reply all’ button is fraught with disaster and should only be used when necessary. Nielsen in a desperate attempt to declutter inboxes took the extreme step of deleting the ‘reply all’ from Microsoft Outlook. This may have been a response to curb trigger happy Mitchell Habib, Executive Vice President at Nielsen, obviously a huge proponent of the ‘do as I say and not as I do’ management style.

Habib allegedly sent an email to an employee and accidentally copied in all Nielsen employees ending his e-mail with the now famous punch line “Who do you work for, and why do you think copying me on this is appropriate?” showing even high powered executives are not exempt from email blunders.

Do not read or forward inappropriate attachments at work

As much as we would like to, we can’t control the emails that are coming from outside sources like our colleagues, friends and family but we can control our own behaviour and delete the email and not forward the emails onto others.

As a result of the banker’s inappropriate use of email and the resulting public relations disaster, Macquarie’s human resources department apparently has e-mailed all 11,500 staff around the world with its Internet policy, telling them to “familiarise themselves” with it. Most organisations have an Internet policy readily available on their intranet or can be easily accessed from the IT department.

While email bloopers can be amusing and good watercooler fodder, always remember that emails are owned by the company, they are a written record of your conduct and can be used in a court of law. While David Kiely’s colleagues have launched a campaign to save his job and seem to view the whole saga as a joke, Macquarie Private Wealth cannot be seen to take this so lightly.

What will happen to David Kiely is yet to be determined but think thrice before you press that button and forward an inappropriate attachment, use abusive language in an email or write a personal email to your partner. Your career depends on it.

Your long term dream may have been to work from home but reality has hit, you are suffering from a severe case of cabin fever and you keep refreshing your email every five seconds, desperate to connect with someone.

You are decidedly lonely and miss having lunch with your colleagues, Friday night drinks and even that annoying work colleague who had a crush on you doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

So how do you cope with social isolation when working from home? Here are some tips and career advice to overcome the loneliness and boredom.

Join an industry association

Joining an industry association will not only further your career but it will give you an opportunity to meet other people who are in a similar or related industry. Industry associations will hold networking events such as education seminars, dinners, conferences and so forth which will give you a chance to meet new people and give you a well deserved break from staring at the blank screen on your computer. And remember, all industry association fees are tax deductable.

Enjoy a change of scenery

If you work in a virtual office, there is no hard and fast rule that you need to be surrounded by four walls and a window (if you’re lucky). The wonder of modern wireless internet means that you can conduct your meetings via the library, a coffee shop, at a park or even at the beach. Instead of conducting your meetings via the telephone or the Internet, arrange to catch up with your clients face to face occasionally to break the monotony and arrange to meet friends and family regularly for coffee and lunch to break up the day.

Invest in further education

While it may convenient to do a course online or via correspondence, going to a college or education facility and seeing your classmates face to face may decrease your social isolation. It will give you a legitimate reason to get out of your home office and enjoy a change of pace and environment. Like industry associations, investing in further education is tax deductible if it is directly related to your job.

Join your local gym

Joining a gym is a good way to increase your social networks, decrease your social isolation and get fit and healthy at the same time. Joining a gym gives you the option of exercising by yourself or engaging in group exercise classes like cycling or boxing. Whether you’re doing group classes or flying solo, you will be surrounded by other people that you can speak to and it’s a good way to meet friends who have a common interest with you.

Walk your dog

Australia has one of the highest rates of pet ownership in the world with over two thirds of households owning pets. While it may simplistic, walking your prized pooch forces you to get out of the house, take a break from work and increases your social interaction. According to the Australian Companion Animal Council, pets help people to build social bridges in communities, acting as social lubricants with neighbours or strangers, or as motivators for walking and use of parks.

Working from home is a luxury but it can soon feel like a prison sentence and very unmotivating if you let boredom to set in, allow yourself become socially isolated and cut yourself off from important social networks. Working from home doesn’t mean you need to be chained to the keyboard. Taking regular breaks during the day will leave you more refreshed and relaxed and in a better psychological frame of mine to start tackling those deadlines.

At first you were excited about your job but the honeymoon period has well and truly ended and disillusionment and resentment has started to settle in. Before you know it, you’re starting to look at career websites and flirting with the idea of moving on and finding another job you think you can love more. Here are five ways to fall back in love with your job and bring back the passion and all those feelings of excitement back.

Give your job a makeover

You may have simply reached a point where your job no longer challenges you and you’re looking further afield for a job that can provide you with the mental stimulation that you need. Break the monotony and have ’the talk’ with your boss and discuss taking on more responsibility, investing in further education or possible career paths available for your role and ask them to map out a career plan for you.

Change your mindset

It’s easy to take the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ road when it comes to breaking up but people rarely mean that. Sometimes you need to change your perspective when it comes to your work environment. If you walk in with a negative attitude, your day is likely to be just as you expected. Alternatively, if you walk in with a spring in your step, acknowledge your colleagues with a smile and start your day on a happy note, people will notice the change in attitude and respond similarly. It’s a cliché but it’s amazing what a simple smile can do.

Stop taking your job for granted

Think back to the first day you found out you got your job and how happy you were. Sometimes, we need to take stock and think about what the benefits of our job and show gratitude. Life is about a compromise and money is often not the biggest incentive when we accept a job. The problems you are facing at your workplace may come up in another office environment after the initial shine has worn off. Start appreciating the little things about your job such as the short commute, your colleagues or flexible work hours and you will become much happier.

Find the passion

If you loved your job once, you can love it again. All you need to do is reignite the passion and figure out why you fell for the job in the first place. Finding out what drives you to come to work will help you become enthusiastic and passionate about your role. Your passion for that job makes you want to get up in the morning and go to work and it motivates you to do your best and it motivates the others around you. When you rediscover what truly excites you in your career, you’ll find the passion you once had for your job.

Get yourself out of a rut

When you’re feeling unhappy about your job, it’s easy to let your appearance slip and get into a rut about your appearance. Often changing the way we look and present ourselves to others can make a huge psychological difference to the way that we feel. Update your work wardrobe with clothes that make you feel good about yourself and start making an effort with your appearance. The small things that you do will pay great dividends in the way you feel.

Before you take that big step, revaluate why you fell in love with the job in the first place. It might be a case of better the devil you know and you decide to stay with the one you’re with. Like any relationship, you can fall in and out of love with a job but make sure you don’t quit in haste and do anything you might regret in the cold heart of day.

You may meet the love of your life at work which may end in a happily ever after or it could be your worst nightmare and you may have to transfer to another department or leave the company. Relationships at work are fraught with problems.

Here’s a breakdown of the five possible stages an office relationship could go through and it ain’t pretty.

The good

Starting on a positive note, the workplace can provide a way to meet someone who understands the demands of your career, has similar goals in life to you and can be a valuable means of support if the going gets tough in your job.

You can observe your crush from the safety of your cubicle and get to know them slowly over long lunches or boozy after work drinks without any first date awkwardness.

The bad

With no separation between work and play, you may start to feel that having your office cake and eating it too may be too much of a good thing for your liking. If you feel yourself starting to be smothered, slowly start distancing yourself.

Ways to do this are rotate your lunch schedule with other colleagues, keep the personal emails to a minimum and set a firm rule to stop discussing work when you have clocked off for the day. This will help keep the mystery alive in your relationship and maintain the freshness and excitement.

The ugly

Things can quickly get very ugly in the office if you have a fight or a nasty break-up. The princess or prince at the ball can easily turn into the ugly step sister or brother when the fairytale romance is done and dusted. The true sign of someone’s character is when things go badly not when things are going well.

Remember you will need to face this person every day so you need to be wary of the consequences of dating someone in the office. If the power dynamics are not in your favour and this person is your boss, they could make life very difficult for you. An office relationship could potentially jeopardise or even sabotage your career.

The indifferent

While you may be crying in your spreadsheets or paper files about your break-up, the love of your life may not even seem to care and this may be hard to take when you’re working with the person on a day to day basis. Anger is at least a form of emotion but indifference sometimes can be more hurtful. People handle break-ups differently.

Some people are much better at hiding their emotions and maintaining a professional stance in the workplace. This doesn’t mean that the relationship did not mean anything to them. Follow their lead and avoid talking about any relationship issues you have at work.

The irreconcilable

If you’re upset every day over your break-up, it’s starting to affect your work and you feel that you cannot work with an ex; you may have to think seriously about transferring to another department or looking for another job.

We’ve all been there and there is no shame in throwing in the towel and learning from your mistakes. But remember fall for the wrong person once in the office and it’s shame on them but make the same mistake twice and it’s shame on you.

Work relationships can be tricky at the best of times. It takes professional maturity and an ability to maintain an emotional distance to make an office romance work.

The best advice is that if you think the person is the love of your life then tread carefully but don’t let this opportunity pass you by but don’t risk your long term job prospects on a casual relationship or a short term fling. It’s not worth it.