Tue, 19 May 2026 04:04:58 +0200 Tue, 19 May 2026 04:04:58 +0200 ContentFeeder 2.0 6 Steps to Effective Time Management How many times have you heard someone say: “There aren't enough hours in the day?” It is easy to spiral further into a stressful state after taking on an unrealistic workload or not effectively managing your time. Workloads can become overwhelming and social lives suffer, yet this does not have to be the case. Practicality, communication, and positivity are essential in ensuring deadlines are met and stress levels are kept to a minimum. Here are six steps to go about effective time management:

1. Prioritise

The best starting point in time management is to create a...]]> Mon, 25 Mar 2019 21:26:11 +0100 Proven Methods in Diversity Management

In business, diversity management is finding the best practice to create and maintain a diverse and inclusive workplace that, in turn, can benefit from a wide range of experiences and talents. Benefitting from diversity is especially important for corporations that wish to succeed in a global market. As Malcolm Forbes said: “diversity is the art of thinking independently together.”

Diversity is not merely about being inclusive of different races and genders within a business, but about making the most of a team with different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, experiences and business methods. Successful diversity management should...]]> Tue, 03 Apr 2018 10:12:43 +0200

Methods that can successfully motivate employees to increase productivity and the quality of work are not always easy to come by. One method used by organisations is bonuses, which are awarded to highly achieving employees in the hopes that they will continue to produce well, or even improve further. Within the last few years, more organisations have begun relying on incentive pay to increase employee performance. What is more, some organisations implement full performance management systems. These systems help to determine just how big a bonus should be for high achieving employees, and they are usually used for continuous bonus...]]> Mon, 02 Oct 2017 12:05:33 +0200 Diversity in the workplace is about more than hiring employees based on gender, ethnicity, and cultural background. The significant advantage of a diverse workforce comes from talent diversity, which encompasses the various unique skills, perspectives and ideas each employee can offer to a company; not only does this provide a direct benefit to a company itself in terms of productiveness, but also to fellow employees by creating an environment where employees can develop creatively by bringing out each other’s strengths. In other words, a diverse workforce can positively impact the individual talents of each employee, or as Malcolm Forbes puts...]]> Mon, 29 May 2017 12:38:16 +0200 Western companies are more often aiming to recruit employees with different ¬nationalities, professional backgrounds, education etc., as well as trying to close the gender gap.Research shows that this is a good strategy, and that customers also prefer to be served by international companies. But is this approach valid for all the companies, and for all the units (teams) in a company?

According to the generally accepted findings on diversity, there are two types diversity:
- Surface level diversity, e.g. race, sex and age.
- Deep level diversity, e.g. personality traits, educational and functional background, values, general mental ability, emotional intelligence...]]> Mon, 03 Apr 2017 13:05:21 +0200 With an aggressive and fast globalization of the marketplace for services and goods in order to stay competitive, businesses need to understand and embrace diversity in their employment.
Despite different approaches and methods in diversity research, the more generally accepted findings are that diversity can be seen as surface level diversity (e.g. race, sex and age), and as deep level diversity (personality traits, educational and functional background, values, general mental ability, emotional intelligence etc). Important findings by Harisson in the context of teams, is that the influence of the perceived surface level diversities on the team’s performance diminishes within time,...]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2017 22:22:46 +0100 To save time and avoid potential perceived problems (in other words, problems you kind of think might maybe, potentially, sort-of arise), you might be inclined to build your team solely out of like-minded people that have as many things in common as possible. You can be all in favour of diversity, but think it is too much trouble to build one within your organisation. Well, here is the reason why you should reconsider: diversity in a company encourages a whole variety of perspectives during brainstorming and decision-making, it grants access to a wider audience (think larger client base), and even...]]> Wed, 11 Jan 2017 21:30:44 +0100 When saying traditional family businesses, I mean the family businesses where most of the employees are relatives or are recommended by family members, and there is usually one owner or a limited partnership.Corporations, however,have a particular number of shareholders who have invested in the businesses’ stock, andall management activities are aligned with the corporations’values.

Work Culture

In a family business, the culture is determined by the values, influences, ethics, experiences and education of the family members who own and manage the business. There is a more informal approach; and in general, a patriarchal work culture is often prominent.

A corporation,...]]> Mon, 05 Dec 2016 13:17:17 +0100 As a manager, how do you recognize when the culture within a team or organization is toxic? There are red flags to look out for when there is a toxic culture within a company, and there are also ways to prevent these from happening, or from turning things around if they have already become toxic.

Communication Issues

One sign indicating a toxic company culture is communication. This can apply to communication within teams as well as across the organization. Having poor communication or lack of any communication at all, is detrimental to getting anything done. If teams cannot communicate with...]]> Mon, 31 Oct 2016 11:23:00 +0100 The Glass Cliff and the Employment Process

The term “glass cliff” refers to an idea that women are more likely to receive top-tier or CEO positions at organizations during times of crisis or (financial) turmoil. It was developed roughly a decade ago, as a result of research carried out by professors Michelle K. Ryan and Alexander Haslam of the University of Exeter. It is a trend that apparently occurs in both business and politics.

A 2015 study published in The Leadership Quarterly studied the appointment of CEOs to Fortune 500 companies. The study found that women are statistically much more...]]> Mon, 03 Oct 2016 22:46:29 +0200 Remember the last time you returned from a trip from another country? Or even better, from a trip where you visited a few countries? What did you feel you gained during or after this trip?
When I come back even from a single trip from one country, I am positively overwhelmed with how much I have learned. Picking up words in a foreign language, getting out of my comfort zone to reproduce these words, experiencing different energy, getting to know new ways of doing things, etc. This is very enriching.

Similar emotions and impressions I experience when being a part...]]> Tue, 06 Sep 2016 09:39:24 +0200

Articles often describe the employment process in a very general manner. They present general guidelines on what to include in a motivation letter, or the appropriate attire of job interviews. Nevertheless, the employment process can be experienced differently by certain groups of people. It can often be trying for female and male applicants in different ways, and there may be challenges that are faced by one, and not necessarily by the other. The obstacles which female job applicants may become faced with throughout their careers can also vary greatly across different countries. For this article, however, the differences between male...]]> Mon, 01 Aug 2016 14:23:43 +0200
The importance of the work–life balance is strong nowadays, so is our interest in it. The concept of this phenomenon has gone through major changes. The first understanding of it was the time balance between “work” and “play”, however things are much more complex. The work–life balance is the theory of appropriately prioritizing work style with lifestyle, including family, leisure time, personal development, etc. This balance is different for everybody, depending on the needs of every person. Some put great importance on their work ambitions, others emphasize on family development, or hobbies and personal time. Thus the work–life balance exists...]]> Tue, 07 Jun 2016 12:12:53 +0200 It may surprise many to know that racism does not only involve individual acts of meanness, but it can exist as an in invisible system that grants dominance to a specific racial group. In traditional Western societies many are taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but one of its outcomes actually puts some at an advantage, called white privilege. Here are just a few example of how those with white privilege can identify their condition of empowerment:

• If you wish, you could arrange to be in the company of people of your own race...]]> Tue, 05 Apr 2016 15:36:59 +0200 What does “fair” at the workspace mean? What is the message that hides behind expressions such as: “That is not fair!” or “Fair enough”? And who decides all of this? Fairness is one of those words like freedom, equality, happiness that are not attached to any one singular idea, and not necessarily understood in the same way by every individual. So, how do we say what is fair and what is not?

The best way to understand and find solutions to complex issues is to break them down into smaller pieces, and start working your way up from there. It...]]> Tue, 05 Apr 2016 12:01:05 +0200 Expats – the new species of employees that evolved from the informational era and times of globalization. Expatriates, the people who have decided or have been assigned to live and eventually work in a country different from their own, being a magnificent predator in the modern work environment. But what is the value and, of course, what are the possible risks coming from hiring an expat or expats?

What makes expatriates such an important part of the modern business is the cultural diversity in knowledge and information they can offer. Different organizations might have different needs for expats: some send...]]> Tue, 01 Mar 2016 11:26:32 +0100 Virtual office work is the new black this season, turning the local cafés, libraries and the comfort of your couch into the new working spaces. If you are a small or medium business or a start-up without good financial stability, this method is probably the best way to get your business going without the heavy costs. However, if you have decided to turn to the more traditional way of face-to-face work or you are already using this method and trying to modernize and enter the virtual world it is important to know how to make the best out of such...]]> Tue, 02 Feb 2016 10:03:45 +0100 Only until ten years ago the legal understanding of age work discrimination in the Netherlands was taking discriminating actions against people of the age of thirty-five and above. The specificity in the selection of the range of people that fall under the category, however, has been reconsidered. Nowadays, all age groups are legally protected against age discrimination and given the rights of equal treatment. A very smart move, since discriminating which age groups to be protected from age discrimination is by itself an age discrimination.
What exactly does this mean? In general conditions, without including exceptional work environment, it is...]]> Mon, 18 Jan 2016 09:31:17 +0100 As everything, technology has its two sides of good and bad. Without a doubt, the technological revolution and development has boosted the work efficiency and productivity on a great scale. We already found water on Mars, while two decades ago the computer was still a new-born invention.
However, that rapid development had also lead to a great number of problems, coming mainly from the way we cope with this fast changing environment. One of the effects of the negative influence of technology in modern times is the increase of work related stress levels, directly impacting the work-life balance. Statistics show...]]> Tue, 05 Jan 2016 10:59:38 +0100 Reading the statistics on people with disabilities on the workplace will tell you, for example, that according to the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek there are 1.7 million disabled people working in the Netherlands for 2010, which is equivalent of 15 percent of the population, between the ages of 15 and 64, with numbers continuously growing. Furthermore, half of the people with disabilities are mainly engaged in part-time jobs and four out of ten work less than twelve hours a week and so on. Using such statistics may look normal for high institutions when creating and executing labor policies and...]]> Mon, 30 Nov 2015 11:19:35 +0100 Unless you work or manage a team where everybody fits the same list of criteria, it is inevitable that you'll encounter various situations of diversity. This will often involve working with mature workers. Most people will begin to interact by communicating with certain expectations and a specific mindset. However, these stereotypes can often be damaging.

The Netherlands, like many other countries in Europe, is faced with the challenge of an ageing population. This has a direct impact on the labour market. According to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the number of people aged over 65, measured in...]]> Tue, 03 Nov 2015 10:19:31 +0100 In all cases a good management is an important key for success. In some cases, a good working team can also perform great with not so strong management influence. However, the phenomenon of a diverse workforce with its complexity and ambiguity requires, at almost all times, proper management skills for successful performance outcomes.

The first step for attempting such an endeavor is getting to know the situation, by focusing on understanding diversity, the various forms of its existence, processes of acknowledging them and understanding the importance of it. Good management practice cannot start without fully understanding the issue at hand....]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2015 10:34:18 +0200 The importance of work – life balance is growing strong nowadays, so is our interest in it. The concept of this phenomenon has gone through major changes. The first understanding of it was the time balance between “work” and “play”, however things are much more complex. The work – life balance is the theory of prioritizing appropriately workstyle with lifestyle, including family, leisure time, personal development, etc. This balance is different for everybody, depending on the needs of every person. Some put great importance on their work ambitions, others emphasize on family development or hobbies and personal time. Thus work-life...]]> Mon, 31 Aug 2015 13:16:57 +0200 The number of women working has increased over the years in The Netherlands but a significant gap still exists between the genders in the labour market. Sue Lawrence examines this disparity and what it means for employment market Recent statisticspublished by CBS indicate that 65.4% of women aged 18-64 were active in the workforce compared to 78.7% of men in The Netherlands in 2013. The number of working women has risen considerably since the end of the 1990s. For every 100 employed men in 1998, there were nearly 66 employed women. By 2013 this had risen to 82 working women per...]]> Tue, 06 Jan 2015 16:51:56 +0100