Step Away From the Screen

By: Caitlin Reddington

For almost an entire year, we have been juggling remote schoolwork, remote friends, remote family holidays, and everything online. In the beginning, the lockdown and break from stressful everyday life at school was somewhat refreshing. But, as we all adapted to this hardship, we spent the past year constantly staring at our phones and our computers. And after a long day of staring at a screen, we enjoyed a break to relax by watching a movie on yet another screen. 

Here are some tips and ideas to maintain a healthy balance of screen time:

Chores

Everyday, I like to make a list of everything that I need to do, and make a schedule for when to do schoolwork and when to accomplish my chores for the day. Making sure to space out your work and accomplishing other tasks during your breaks can make all the difference. Cleaning up my room or apartment  normally leaves me feeling productive and refreshed in my now organized environment, allowing me to work even harder after my break is over. 

Go on a Walk 

Back when school was in-person, I would walk to and from class everyday, always breathing in the fresh air from outside. Ever since the pandemic disrupted normal life, I have been hauled up in my room for the duration of the school day. I’ve learned the hard way that everyone needs to set aside time in their busy schedule to give themselves a break from looking at their computer. Especially now as the weather is getting nicer, I make sure to spend some time outside breathing in the fresh air and stretching my legs on a walk with my roommates. By spending at least 15 minutes a day on a walk, my stress has significantly decreased and I am much happier. 

Workout/Stretch

Much like going on a nice stroll to relax, making time for a run or a quick workout can boost your energy, mood and productivity. Not only will exercising everyday be a nice break from schoolwork, but it can be beneficial for your long-term health. If your schedule is very busy, even making time for a 5 minute stretch in between classes and work can help relax your mind and body.

What can you do to help your eyes? 

20-20-20

After spending almost a year of constantly looking at a screen within a few feet of my face, I have noticed a significant decline in my long-distance vision. Obviously, this is inevitable and my vision will be growing worse over time, but there is something you can do to prolong your eye-sight. The 20-20-20 rule is an eye exercise that can help reduce eye fatigue from looking up close for too long. For every 20 minutes of looking at a screen, look at an object 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. This is a quick and easy option to implement into your daily routine of staring at a computer screen and hopefully saving your eyes.

Purchase Blue Light Glasses

During the fall semester, I developed headaches and an eye twitch from constantly exposing my eyes to the blue light that radiates from the display of any computer or phone screen. Blue light glasses are proven to help induce better sleep at night by protecting eyes using a blue light filter. Amazon sells a variety of inexpensive blue light glasses with all sorts of frames to pick from. 

Turn on Night Shift 

If you have an Apple iPhone or Mac, there is an option to turn on Night Shift. This reduces the blue light emitted from the screens and is supposed to display warmer tones. I have Night Shift setup to turn on every night around 7pm on both my phone and laptop, which is known to help reduce eye strain at night by using softer lights. Even making a change such as using Auto-Brightness or simply turning down the screen brightness at night can be less harsh on your eyes.

Some Resources to Learn More:

https://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20210115/do-blue-light-glasses-work

https://somethingcool.com/6-ways-to-save-your-eyes-if-you-stare-at-a-computer-screen-all-day/

Is TikTok Taking Over Other Marketing Tools?

As many people are aware of, the booming social media “TikTok” has affected fashion, culinary, and even behavioral trends in society today amongst mainly Gen Z and Millennials. TikTok has become the newest marketing tool for businesses big and small to attract new customers to their brand. Due to the pandemic, many small businesses were struggling, but TikTok brought many back up as some companies went viral on the platform.

TikTok works by presenting short videos up to one-minute long. People can get creative with filters, transitions, and overall content creation. Many influencers have turned to TikTok as its algorithm recognizes more small accounts and turns them into something greater. 

Companies have sought out these influencers for brand deals that have boosted their business immensely. According to Forbes, the number of businesses using TikTok for marketing has increased from 61 percent in 2016 to 85 percent in 2020. 

Influencers used to take over Instagram with brand deals, but now with TikTok can get creative with videos. People who don’t want to watch an entire YouTube video or don’t trust an Instagram photo too much, can refer to a short 1-minute video, trying, reviewing, and recommending a product. Some people don’t even do paid promotions of products and accidentally bring more traffic to a product that was just simply existing. 

During the beginning of the national shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, online shopping was skyrocketing. “TikTok Made Me Buy It” became the titles of most videos shown on the “For You Page”. Products like CeraVe Skincare, American Eagle ‘Aerie’ Leggings, Amazon Workout Clothes, and many more became the most consistent sell outs in stores and online all due to the new social media app. 

Companies have taken advantage of the promotion tools in TikTok by partnering with them in making hashtag campaigns. With these campaigns, bigger influencers like Charli D’Amelio or Addison Rae participate in the “challenges” they create which brings more attention to the brand. 

The biggest advantage to TikTok is that all one needs is a phone with a camera and creativity! Small brands and businesses don’t need to spend money on expensive equipment and editing software as TikTok has it all laid out for its users on the app. Companies can create amazing videos that will not only promote their company but also entertain their viewers. TikTok has been the newest ‘hot topic’ in current social media culture and it is only growing from here. 

Sources

https://www.forbes.com/sites/marciaturner/2020/03/31/using-tiktok-to-build-your-business/?sh=69efe6285846

Combating Bias in the Workplace

By: Annette Sebastian 

Everyone has biases that have formed from our upbringings and life experiences. We’ve also formed biases from information portrayed in the media. Oftentimes the biases we have are unconscious biases. These biases can be especially detrimental in the workplace when it hinders someone’s ability to contribute to their career. 

Getting rid of biases should be a top priority in a company’s goals because studies show that a diverse and inclusive team brings more success. This is because everyone can show up confidently at work and use their voice to state their perspectives. When you have a diverse team, you have multiple perspectives that represent numerous communities. By incorporating ideas that are beneficial to a multitude of communities, a company can create goods and services that reach out to a larger demographic. 

Here are a few things companies can do to make the workplace more diverse:

Expand your candidate pool.

Companies often hire through referrals, but people in your social network will most likely be very similar to you. In order to create a diverse team, it is possible to hire from different organizations such as the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) or Black Career Network. Numerous organizations like these exist which can make your application pool diverse. 

Create a rubric.

Instead of simply looking through applications, it is important to create a list of objective qualifications that you are looking for in a candidate. With a rubric, the application process can be less biased by holding the same standards for everyone. It is also important to create interview questions that test the skills and qualities you are looking for. These techniques help evaluate everyone based on the same criteria.

Gently interrupt.

Oftentimes, women and people of color find that they do not get credit for their ideas. This is because people tend to notice good ideas from people that you expect to have good ideas. It’s important to become aware of this bias and interrupt the conversation when you see it happening. You can politely ask the person who first stated the idea to further their thoughts and give the credit to them. Also, if you notice someone who is having trouble contributing their ideas, you can ask them to weigh in. 

Implement performance evaluation. Performance evaluations are beneficial because you can see an individual’s skills and development in work. But, women and people of color are often judged more and get comments on their personality. This should be avoided because evaluations are much more useful if they are based on concrete data. The evaluations can be critical details to the employees themselves if managers provide specific feedback on their performance. With the information, they can improve their performance and achieve their goals. 

There is obviously much more that a company can do to work on removing destructive biases and the above list are only a couple of options that a company can implement. 

Sources: 

https://hbr.org/podcast/2020/01/a-new-way-to-combat-bias-at-work

https://www.hrdconnect.com/2018/12/04/combatting-unconscious-bias-in-the-workplace/

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity#

https://www.benefitnews.com/news/how-to-fight-against-unconscious-biases-in-the-workplace

How to Beat Burnout

By: Anna Martin

The middle of the semester is here and I’m sure we’re all feeling the pressure of our classes by now. With classes being mostly remote and not having as many breaks as we normally would, it’s very likely that you’re feeling burnt out. Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, (www.helpguide.org). Some symptoms are increased stress, over exhaustion, lack of energy and concentration, reduced performance, and can sometimes have headaches. Here are some ways to get you through burnout:

Take it One Day at a Time

If you’re like me, you like to plan your day ahead, which leads into the next day, which leads into the next week, and then the following next few weeks, which ends up leaving me stressed. If you have a lot on your plate, focus on your tasks one day at a time. If you have to, break it down task by task. This will be a lot easier on your mind and it will help you concentrate better. 

Prioritize

Prioritizing your work is the key to staying on track. If you like lists, make a list of all the things you have to do for that day and cross them off when you complete them. Finish the larger/more important assignments first so you don’t have to worry about them later. Then you can move onto smaller/less important assignments. 

Put Yourself First

Helping other people is great until it interferes with your goals and priorities. Remember to set boundaries for yourself. It’s okay to say “no” if someone asks you to do something for them, even if you normally oblige. Your needs are just as important as everyone else’s.

Take Breaks Every Now and Then

Allow yourself to take some breaks. After being in a few zoom meetings or studying for a few hours, your brain can get exhausted. Take a 10 minute break after every 30 minutes of studying, for example, or step back from technology for a little bit. You can also try meditating, going on a walk, or join a group fitness class through the Recreation Center.

This year has been a tough one for everyone, and if you’re struggling, it’s okay because you’re not alone. School can be stressful, but just remember that what you’re working towards will be all worth it in the end. There is always a positive to every negative. Just do whatever works best for you. YOU GOT THIS!!

Sources:
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm#:~:text=Burnout%20is%20a%20state%20of,unable%20to%20meet%20constant%20demands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ1pfaW4f6E&t=153s

#ChoosetoChallenge: What does it mean for the Business World?

By: Caroline Tierney

You’ve probably seen it on social media, or on a news headline, but the #Choosetochallenge has been circulating around this week. It refers to International Women’s Day, which passed on March 8. Men and women across the world participated in this social media hashtag by raising a hand and pledging to challenge gender bias and inequality across all portions of life. When someone says, “Let’s celebrate strong women”, who do you think of? Maybe a historical icon like Amelia Earhart comes to mind, or a humble childhood neighbor of yours, or maybe your mother. Regardless, the entire month of March is dedicated to honoring the courage and resiliency that women continue to exemplify everyday. 

Whomever you choose to celebrate this month, we all must continue the conversation of addressing gender inequality in the workplace. While a man’s ambition might be seen as passion for his job, a woman’s similar ambition or assertiveness may be seen as being “bossy”. Women often describe walking a fine line between being perceived as rude and simply trying to have their voice heard. This difference in interpretation alone highlights one of the many gender biases in the workplace. The #choosetochallenge pushes both men and women to recognize these imbalances and fight them whenever possible. Another common example of bias is the wage gap. A female doing the same job or better than a male coworker may find herself getting paid less. This happens everywhere, but the movement #choosetochallenge hopes to instill confidence in women to know their worth and speak up when they see this happening. 

One powerful woman that comes to mind when I think of destroying unconscious workplace bias is Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg. Not only has she advocated for gender equality at Facebook, but she has started her own gender equity nonprofit called LeanIn. Sandberg maintains the idea that simply saying, “There’s a bias”, isn’t enough. To truly break this unconscious gender bias in the workplace, Sandberg believes we must talk about which specific biases exist. It’s an uncomfortable conversation, but she has created an interactive learning program called, “50 Ways to Fight Bias”, that teaches companies to identify and fight all types of bias in their workplace. 

As one of the first female leaders in the automotive industry, Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors has crushed it when it comes to creating an equal workplace. She is setting a great example that more companies should aspire to replicate. GM is one of few massive corporations to dedicate themselves to fully eliminating a wage gap between males and females, all thanks to Barra’s efforts. Barra believes that in order to include more women in all levels of leadership, from entry level to top executives, a company must practice paying men and women the same. Removing the wage gap is a great way that GM has shown their support for women in the workplace and their strives for equity. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-more-leaders-need-start-talking-about-unconscious-bias-2021-3

https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/gm-ceo-mary-barra/