Luke Evans, 40, is best known for his appearances in blockbuster franchises such the Fast and Furious, which have cemented his reputation in Hollywood. The actor may be enjoying life at the top but he also understands the importance of being grounded to look after your mental health.

The star spoke candidly about the importance of expressing your emotions and the negative impact keeping everything bottled up can have on your physiological wellbeing.

Appearing on ITVs Lorraine, Luke said: Being mentally aware of your well-being psychologically is important.

We all carry baggage around with us, men carry it way deeper than women most of the time. Were not good at talking about it and opening up.

I was talking about therapy and how important it is, if you have it, to have it. Sometimes you forget what youre carrying around on a daily basis and it stores itself and builds up.

READ MORE:Hilary clinton health: What is the former First Lady's condition? Symptoms revealed

The actor divulged how life can get on top of people and this can manifest itself in different ways so it is vital to open up and not to feel stifled by shame.

Speaking of the difficulties some men face in opening up, the Welsh star drew on his experiences growing in Wales: Im from the valleys of South Wales, men dont talk about it.

The actor divulges that his family and the sense of belonging he feels in London has kept him firmly grounded and given him a sense of authenticity.

He explained: You should never lose an accent that gives you personality and character, and I think its staying in London and keeping the friends Ive had my whole life.

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And its good to be reminded of where youve come from, what youve done and the journey that youve been on.

Good mental health and wellbeing is essential to living a happy and healthy life, according to the NHS.

It explains: Looking after your mental health is not something we should just do if we are struggling, or feeling low, anxious or stressed.

It's actually something we should think about all the time and really invest in, just like with our physical health.

According to the NHS, there are simple steps people can take to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

Connecting with people offers a host of benefits for your mental wellbeing, including:

In addition to improving your physical health and fitness, evidence suggests being active can also improve your well being.

As the the NHS explains, it can raise your self-esteem, help you to set goals or challenges and achieve them, and cause chemical changes in your brain which can help to positively change your mood.

Research also shows that learning new skills can boost your well wellbeing by increasing self-confidence and self-esteem, instilling you with a sense of purpose and helping you to connect to others.

Even if you feel like you do not have enough time, or you may not need to learn new things, there are lots of different ways to bring learning into your life, said the NHS.

Another simple exercise is to pay more attention to the present moment - this includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.

As the NHS points out, this activity is often called mindfulness.

Mindfulness can help you enjoy life more and understand yourself better. It can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.

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Luke Evans health: Actor reveals why he is looking after his health - Express

Amy Bueme brings loads of energy to her workouts.

The co-owner of Catalyst Fitness brings an even greater level of enthusiasm to her fitness centers, as the seventh location in the regional chain will soon attest.

She and her husband, Joe, next month will open their largest Catalyst yet, this one at 281 Meyer Road in Amherst, in a former Dicks Sporting Goods store along Maple Road near the Boulevard Mall.

A swath of turf will sit smack dab in the center.

My vision for this club was having a football field in the middle of it, Bueme said. Its because when I started putting turf into the clubs, people of every age loved being on it. They were lifting weights, pushing sleds, flipping tires. Theres just something about it. It makes you feel like an athlete, it makes you feel like youre having fun.

I have light shining down on the turf, and blue light shining up into the sky to give it a really cool effect, like the Bills stadium.

Bueme said she and her husband expect to open the new center late the second week of December. It will join clubs on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo; French Road and Wehrle Drive in Cheektowaga; Broadway in Depew; Eggert Road in the Town of Tonawanda; and Seneca Street in West Seneca.

The fitness center on Broadway is a smaller Catalyst Express club and the Buemes may transition their Eggert Road location in similar fashion when the new club opens less than 2 miles to the northeast. Several new members also have asked for a women-only section in the smaller club, Bueme said.

Joe and Amy Bueme will open their seventh Catalyst Fitness location by mid-December at 281 Meyer Road in Amherst, in a former Dicks Sporting Goods store along Maple Road near the Boulevard Mall. (Photo courtesy of Catalyst Fitness)

The new club also will feature a Fit Lab with heart-rate monitors, Fit benches, Airdyne bikes, and treadmills that climb 23 levels in elevation and go ridiculously fast, she said, as well as a Cardio Cinema that will allow users to watch inspiring shows on a theater screen while they work out.

We have a very small Cardio Cinema and Broadway, and it really took off, Bueme said.

Amenities also will include a Kids Club; cycling, yoga, free weight and personal training rooms; a 4,000-square-foot group fitness studio; and executive-style locker rooms with glass saunas.

There's a lot of different areas for people to do a lot of different movements depending upon what they feel like doing, or where they're comfortable, Bueme said.

The new location will set yet another milestone for the Bueme family, which got into the fitness business in 1979 and owned 2001 Health Odyssey and Gold Gym clubs in the region before closing them and launching the Catalyst brand seven years ago.

The couple, who married 23 years ago, have about 250 employees. They own several of their sites, including the newest one.

No excuses! Fit exercise into the holiday madness

The beautiful thing about my husband and I is that he loves the real estate end of it and I like the club planning, Amy Bueme said. I think we're doing very well as we grow.

The new location will have about 60 employees and 15 personal trainers. It also will feature Robbie Raugh and Ellen Coleman, two of the top group fitness instructors in the region.

Rates are as low as $9.99 a month to join a single club, $19.99 to visit all clubs and bring a friend and $29.99 with unlimited group classes. Catalyst waives its enrollment fee, allows people to join without a contract, and throws in a couple of other extras from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. For more information, visit catalystfitnessbuffalo.com.

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Catalyst thinks green for latest fitness center in Amherst - Buffalo News

The American College of Physicians has produced a guidance statement for colorectal cancer screening for patients who are at an average risk. This statement is based on a critical review of existing national guidelines.

Patients who are age 50 to 75 who are asymptomatic, and dont have prior precancerous polyps or a family history of colorectal cancer, are considered average risk, says Dr. Frank Sinicrope, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist and medical oncologist.

While various groups have offered colorectal screening guidelines, the American College of Physicians guidance statement is meant to provide health care providers with recommendations based on available data on when and how to appropriately screen average risk adult for colorectal cancer.

While several screening options are available, it is recommended that doctors discuss options with their patients and consider a variety of factors, such as benefits, risks, frequency, cost and patient preferences. All of these factors are important in making a recommendation to the patient for screening, says Sinicrope.

The American Cancer Society moved the age to begin screening down to 45 years. However, their guideline is the only one that has made that recommendation thus far, says Sinicrope. Theres not enough data to recommend that screening begin earlier than age 50 at this time. We know that colorectal cancer is a disease of aging and that the number of new cases increases as we get older.

Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related death among people in the U.S. It can affect anyone at any age. However, it typically affects older adults.

Recommended colorectal cancer screening tests include stool-based studies and direct visualization tests, such as flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.

These are the suggested screening tests and intervals:

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Fecal immunochemical test or high-sensitivity, guaiac-based fecal occult blood test. This test is recommended every two years.

Colonoscopy This test is recommended every 10 years.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy This test is recommended every 10 years, along with a fecal immunochemical test every two years.

Sinicrope says it is important to note that any abnormal stool-based screening test will require that a colonoscopy be performed.

When selecting a screening test, considerations include benefits and potential risks. For example, colonoscopy risks include bleeding or perforation. These risks are relatively uncommon, but are increased in patients who are elderly and in those with certain underlying diseases.

The screening guidelines are for average-risk patients and do not apply to those at increased risk, such as those with a history of precancerous polyps of the colon or family history of colorectal cancer, or those who have inflammatory bowel disease.

Sinicrope says its important that everyone have some form of colorectal cancer screening, beginning at the age of 50 because screening saves lives. There is a menu of tests available, and people should discuss with their doctor what test may be best for them.

We generally say that the best screening test is the one that the patient will undergo and comply with. We want everybody screened.

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New colorectal cancer screening guidelines | Health, Medicine and Fitness - Journal Gazette and Times-Courier

The common election in the United Kingdom is less than a few months away.

The December 12 poll was named by Conservative Key Minister Boris Johnson a lot more than two decades early, in a bid to get a parliamentary majority so he can get Brexit completed.

His pledge on the UKs exit from the European Union is at the centre of his partys election marketing campaign.

Meanwhile, Labour Party chief Jeremy Corbyn is concentrating much more on making the British isles a fairer society.

He has unveiled an bold general public paying out prepare, pledging bigger taxes for the rich and a crackdown on tax dodgers.

But what issues most for the voters?

Presenter: Nastasya Tay

Guests:

Tony Travers Professor at the Faculty of General public Plan and Section of Governing administration at the London School of Economics

Alan Wager Research affiliate at the British isles in a Switching Europe, a plan think-tank

Sonia Purnell Author of Just Boris: A Tale of Blond Ambition previous deputy to Boris Johnson at the Everyday Telegraph

Resource: Al Jazeera

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Is the United kingdom election about Brexit, health and fitness, wealth and training? - gotech daily

Phil Ross talks to author Zelda Rhiando, and learns some local history as well as the difference between pavements in Japan and pavements in Brixton.

Ive just spent the morning researching my Aunt Dorrie, who appears to have been a serial killer.

Dublin born Zelda Rhiando, author and founder of Brixton BookJam sits relaxed but upright. Her smile radiates as the magnitude of what she has just said settles in my mind.

She murdered six husbands, Zelda continues, Three in Ireland and three in the USA.

She has been trying to find out about Dorrie (Dorothy), her grandmothers aunt. But there are no family records, they were all destroyed in the Post Office, along with everyone elses. Shes referring to the 1916 Easter Rising against British rule when much of Dublin was destroyed.

Were having coffee in Cafe Tana on Brixton Hill, and although Zelda is sitting perfectly still her eyes and her words bubble with excitement and information. Much of what Ive pieced together comes from stories from my grandmother Kitty, and Dorries letters to her sister, she explains. I was moved around a lot as a small child but I was mostly brought up by Kitty, she says. My interest in literature and philosophy comes from her. She was a great storyteller and a great unpublished writer.

We lived in a six storey Georgian house in Merrion Square, which was a Knightsbridge-type place, it probably still is. Shes describing one of Dublins grandest garden squares, where the distinguished residents have included Barons, politicians, and writers. Number 39 was the site of the British Embassy until it was burned down by a 20,000 strong, angry mob protesting the Bloody Sunday shootings in 1972, the year before Zelda was born.

We lived hand to mouth, and I was often sent out to sell marmalade or freshly laid eggs to rich neighbours, she says with a twinkle in her eye. We would buy past-it oranges from the market, and make the marmalade in a bucket. My grandmother taught me that there was always something I could do to get by.

Her hands cup the warm coffee mug as I sit transfixed. We had loads of weird and eclectic tenants: fashion designers, a plastic surgeon, a yacht salesman, she says. And Kitty ran the Dublin branch of The Gurdjieff Society. Like the tip of an iceberg, Zeldas statement indicates an underlying mass of knowledge. This time shes talking about George Gurdjieff, the Armenian Greek philosopher, composer and mystic.

He taught that everything must be questioned and Nothing is to be believed until verified by direct experience. So I was sent several times a year to a spiritual commune in Yorkshire, she says.

Zelda whose mother married Guilford based racing driver and designer Max Rhiando, also spent a great deal of time traveling as an unaccompanied minor from Dublin to London. Later winning a scholarship to a girls school in Baker Street and eventually a place at Clare College, Cambridge.

Whilst at school, a teacher who had links with an Ashram arranged for her to visit India to teach English. It was here, at Full Moon Parties, that she first heard the Goa Sound the music which would draw her to Brixton. I would come every weekend to Goa Trance parties at The Fridge and Club 414, she starts to reminisce. It was the early 90s and we partied hard, but it led me to return to India and travel when I finished Uni. Mostly supporting myself by hair wrapping.

Perhaps its these early experiences, combining self-sufficiency, travel, learning and questioning, that account for the fearless research she undertakes for her writing. Or does it go a little deeper?

Fact-finding for her 2012 debut novel, found her narrowly escaping death after accidentally swimming with piranha fish, while living with headhunters in the Amazon basin. The initial idea for Caposcripti came to me in a dream when my grandmother was visiting me at my flat by The Telegraph in Brixton Hill. She laughs, Mushrooms might have been involved, it was 97-ish. I was doing a lot of raving.

Zelda pivots to allow three ladies to squeeze into the adjacent table. I also spent a lot of time playing pool with ex-convicts, she confides. The Telegraph was the closest pub to Brixton Prison, and the first place many would head to when they got released. Im a pretty good pool player.

Starting off faxing and making coffee in Cyberia, Londons first Internet Cafe, Rhiando would observe customers when they came in with clients to pitch their digital ideas. Gradually, she picked up enough jargon to eventually Jump in at the deep end.

I got my first digital job basically because I could spell better than the creative director. It was an exciting time in digital media, everything was new and everyone was learning. And each night she would slowly work on her book, until at last the first draft was complete.

We decide to leave Cafe Tana and walk up the hill. The story was written but I just couldnt imagine the Amazon. I knew I had to go there, she tells me. I thought who can I approach? So I wrote to the Peruvian Embassy, and the Governor sent me a letter of introduction that I could show people.

Returning to London, Rhiando realized that she had not only avoided the various jungle and mountain perils, but that she had also missed the worst of the dotcom crash. Working as a digital freelancer not only gave her the time and space to rewrite and restructure the book but, after 27 rejections from publishers, she now had the tools and knowledge to self publish.

It seems slightly counter intuitive that after such an arduous and often dangerous journey to complete Caposcripti, that she would have a fear of The whole book launch thing, talking to people, signing and stuff.

But thats exactly why Rhiando decided to set up the first Brixton BookJam, as a means to introduce her debut novel. And its been going ever since, she says slightly incredulously. Weve had about four hundred writers come, give readings and sell their books. We even had a Radio 4 crew come down to do a feature.

Our walk has brought us to Windmill Gardens. And as we sit enjoying the late September sun, Zelda explains how it was winning the Kidwell E-Book Award for Caposcripti and its 10,000 prize, that funded the research trip for her next novel Fukushima Dreams (2017), and took her to Japan.

In March 2011, the Worlds fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded moved the Earths axis by 10cm. It triggered a series of tsunami waves, that in places reached 40m in height and speeds of 700km/hr, killing approximately 19,000 people. Subsequent damage to three of the Fukushima Power Plant reactors resulted in the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

There was so much re-construction going on, she recalls, So it was really hard to find accommodation. There was a big exclusion zone around the reactor. Her beaming smile fades to a more sombre expression. I remember walking the streets in Koji, a grim place with cold rain, that Id looked up in an internet cafe. Id arrived by train on a Japanese Rail Pass. I was hand-to-mouthing it and it didnt quite work.

Apart from the language barrier to cross, there was also the spontaneity barrier, as she calls it. Only a year after the disaster it was a very difficult topic for people to discuss, she says. There was lots of Thorntons Tea. And smiles to smooth things over. But Rhiando persevered and in Kagashima for example, she befriended a Japanese guy who made things easier. He had lived in New York and spoke some English. We made a connection playing pool. She laughs. All that pool playing in The Telegraph came in handy, the smile has returned to her face.

The little park has filled with parents and small children so we decide to continue our walk. Agents and publishers were very nervous about the topic, she tells me. But it seems that the meticulous research paid off when a famous Japanese novelist wrote to her after reading Fukushima Dreams. They said they couldnt comment in public. But they were astonished that Japanese literature had birthed a new child overseas and they loved it. Zelda is beaming again.

As we meander up Lyham Road, I wonder how many novelists go to such lengths. What do you think you gained by going to Japan? I ask. The smells, the tastes, she responds immediately. The colours of the pavements, what people say in the morning. The small subtle cultural differences. The pavements? Its my turn to laugh. Tell me about the pavements.

Japanese pavements have a thin yellow brick line for blind people, she replies. And braille outside on the door frames. These are the kind of details you dont notice unless you visit a place. Its a fair point I concede, so how would you describe a Brixton pavement? I ask.

Relishing the challenge, Zelda pauses for the slightest instance that it takes to draw a breath and replies Brixton pavements are streaked with dirt and littered with fragments of chicken bones. Reeking of weed and piss.

We stop walking and we both laugh. Weve come to the part of Lyham Road where the looming walls and windows of Brixton Prison dominate the immediate neighbourhood.

We have found ourselves standing by a blue, spray painted, circular piece of graffiti on the brown bricks of the prison wall. Designed to look like one of Londons famous English Heritage blue plaques, the graffiti is headed Irish Heritage and it reads: Terence MacSwiney, Lord Mayor & MP, Died on hunger strike in HMP Brixton after 74 days, 25-10-1920.

Oh, theyve put this here, she is surprised. I havent seen this plaque before, she says. He was a writer and a poet, a very sensitive man.

He helped form the Celtic Literary Society, she tells me. And the Cork Dramatic Society, where he put on his plays.

MacSwiney also helped form the Irish Volunteers, and was elected to the first Dil as a Sinn Fin representative for Cork. Shortly before his arrest in 1920, he was elected Lord Mayor.

His death in Brixton Prison shocked the World, particularly in India where both Nehru and Gandhi were influenced by his style of revolution, blending cultural and political with military resistance.

Zelda and I stand respectfully by the plaque for a moment, and I wonder if my silence betrays my embarrassment. I feel ashamed at my lack of Irish history. I find myself saying, Why have I never heard of such an important person?

But how could you, she states. Hes not part of the narrative. Terrence MacSwiney doesnt fit the British version of Irish history.

We walk on, tight-lipped for a while. So, on the subject of Ireland, I say, in a clumsy attempt to resume the conversation. What about Aunt Dorrie and Dublin. Youre writing the book, yes?

Ill definitely write the book, but further down the line. She grins. A fact-finding trip might be necessary. Probably to California, where she killed her last three husbands. It needs a lot more research. Public records, land registries and stuff. From her letters, I think she owned a saloon there.

Of course, I remember, Nothing is to be believed until verified by direct experience.

The next Brixton BookJam is on Monday 2nd December at 8pm At The Hootananny, Brixton, 95 Effra Road, London SW2 1DF The closest tube station is Brixton (Victoria line) Buses 2, 3, 415, 432, 196

Authors reading extracts from their work will be: Gail Thibert, Be Atwell, Martin Millar, Garth Cartwright, Kevin Cummins, Chris Roberts, Eamon Summers and Zelda Rhiando, with more to be announced

If youd like to read or propose a reader please email: info@brixtonbookjam.com

[Zelda portraits by Svenja Block] [Other photos by Phil Ross]

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From Brixton to Japan and back: Zelda Rhiando and the Brixton Bookjam - BrixtonBuzz

While the word leadershipconveys hundreds of possible scenarios about what a leader is or does, I posit that the best leaders are people-centered; theyaspire to lead by serving others first, and everything else follows to exceptional results.

In the words of Robert K. Greenleaf, the man who kicked the servant leadership movement into high gear decades ago, "The servant-leader is servant first ... It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead."

Here's my most recent list of what I feel makes a great servant leader and, in turn, how instantly identifiable they become in the eyes of their followers.

I recently connected with David Graham, founder and CEO ofCode Ninjas. Hestarts his brainstorming meetingswith the hard truth: eliminatingany tension with his team by being transparent, and openingevery brainstorm by announcing that 90 percent of what his staff is going to say is never going to happen.

"There are no stupid ideas, so just let them flow. You never know what you might say that will inspire someone else, even if your idea was a flop," Graham tells his team.

When an idea strikes a chord, he has four simple questions to ask his employees to determine if it'll get pursued: How is it going to fail? Can we mitigate the failures? Is it in our realm of expertise? And is it on brand?

Traditionally, an autocratic style of management has been effective in getting results.Butthe nature of worktoday, along with its workforce, has changed. Success in management today requires collaboration -- not command. Asking people to take part in deciding the goals that they will be a part of is an essential component to engaging employees.

Before you assume you're fit to lead, you have to ask yourself,Am I a good listener?Because if you're going to lead, you need to be.

Recent researchpublished inHarvard Business Reviewsupportsevidence that leaderswho listen well "are perceived aspeople leaders, generate moretrust, instill higherjob satisfaction, and increase theirteam's creativity."

One reason leaders don't listen more in the workplace is that they think they'll be perceived asweak or without authority. Another reason is that they aresimply under time pressure or distracted by other thoughts.

The first step tobecoming a better listener is to eliminate the noise --from yourdistracted mind andyour physical anddigital environment.

Employee burnout is a real threat to the well-being of today's workers. Recent research conducted byGallupfound that 23 percent of employees reported feelingburned out at workvery often or always, while an additional 44 percent reported feeling burned out sometimes. That means up to two-thirds of your employees could be experiencing burnout on the job at any one time.

Leaders are now faced with fostering a healthy environment forhappy employees to perform at a high level. One of those leadersisShawn Riegsecker,CEO and founder of Chicago-based ad tech providerCentro.

Riegsecker shared with me the idea of establishing a workplace where friendships are developed for competitive advantage, or, as he puts it, a "culture of professional intimacy."

Sounds soft and fuzzy, but what he's getting at is backed by science. Office friendships boost individual performance and increase lifetime happiness.A recent Gallup studyfound that women who havea best friend at workare more than twice as likely to be engaged than women who don't.Look beyond the bottom line to create an office that encourages friendships in and out of the office.

Improving self-awareness is an emotional journey, but can be incredibly rewarding. One of my favorite executives I've featured in my column a few times isChuck Runyon, the extremely self-awareCEO of the multibillion-dollarSelf Esteem Brands, parent company to Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City, and Basecamp Fitness.

"Just as you have to work out consistently to build muscles, you have to actively work on improving your leadership, too," notes Runyon. In a previous column, he shared five steps to becoming more self-aware, which will helpin your interactions with employees, colleagues, customers, and investors.

One of those steps is to knowyour team members on an intimate level in order to build them up, becausebusiness is only as strong as itspeople.

Runyon shares: "Get in the weeds with them, celebrate their wins, and be there for them if they fail. Encourage and empower them to take risks in order to continue improving and advancing. Provide opportunities for professional development such as conferences, events, and courses for personal growth."

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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5 Signs That Instantly Identify Someone With Good Leadership Skills - Inc.

Finding, keeping and motivating a skilled and enthusiastic workforce is at the top of the of most British Columbia construction contractors to-do lists.

Many contractors, however, are so busy that they dont have time to give HR (human resources) matters the attention it needs, says Andrea Ringrose, education manager of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA).

VRCA education is offering two courses in early 2020 to help Lower Mainland contractors get a tighter grip on their HR file: Hiring in a Labour Shortage and Love Them or Lose Them: Employee Retention.

Theyre new and different, said Ringrose. And they complement each other. Hiring in a Labour Shortage teaches how to become an employer of choice to attract top-tier applicants. Love Them or Lose Them is about how to retain the best workers after theyve been hired.

Instruction for both courses is being provided by Vancouver-based Envol Solutions Inc.

Both eight-hour courses are aimed at managers and supervisors, business owners and HR and recruiting professionals.

Hiring in a Labour Shortage will cover a variety of interrelated subjects, including employer branding; sourcing strategies to find and attract the right applicants; and interview skills and tools.

On average, top candidates are on the market for only ten days, said Brianna Blaney, who is Envols founder and managing partner. How can employers possibly keep up?

Love Them or Lose Them will look at such topics as the causes of employee turnover and the early warning signs thereof; how to engage and retain productive employees; the roles of career development, mentoring, compensation, personal development and workplace culture as retention strategies; and how to build a committed workforce.

More than 80 percent of employees are either actively looking for a new job or are open to one, said Blaney. Retention begins with having the right people on the bus. Not all turnover is bad turnover. The workshop will teach participants how to identify their key players and develop strategies that keep them engaged and fulfilled with their organization.

For more information on both courses, go to https://www.vrca.ca/education/classroom-course-listings/

Like their Lower Mainland counterparts, Vancouver Island contractors are concerned with attracting and holding workers.

Its hard to retain skilled labour, said Rory Kulmala, CEO of Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA).

Kulmala says the Vancouver Island construction industry is encountering what he calls demographics in action.

Were losing people due to retirement and theyre not being replaced quickly, he said. Construction is strong right across the country, so tradespeople in other parts of Canada are busy and dont need to move to BC to find work.

Because many construction businesses on Vancouver Island dont have a full-time HR person, VICA is partner in a new initiative led by Allison Greaves, HR manager of Durwest Construction Management Inc.

Graves wants to set up an HR networking group for the local construction industry. VICA is sponsoring the first meeting of the group, which is taking place in January.

For more information, see https://www.vicabc.ca/training/find-a-course-course-calendar/?EventId=4532&EventInstance=38062

Not all western Canada construction contractors are as taxed for labour as British Columbias.

We havent had to provide training on hiring and retention recently, said Karen Low, president of Merit Contractors Association Saskatchewan (Merit). We are in a different labour market. Its much more stable and there is less movement.

Merit offers between 25 and 30 training courses per year in Regina and Saskatoon.

We focus on providing the soft skills that tradespeople need to be successful in their construction careers, said Low. They know the trades skills, but they have to learn how to manage people.

A few years ago, when there was a labour shortage, Merit offered courses in effective recruitment, how to deal with difficult employees, on-boarding, training, and terminating.

Training for contractors is tough, says Low. While they may ask for training, if they are too busy, or have laid off staff, they wont invest in it.

Weve found best success in offering short courses and webinars that wont take them away from the job site for too long.

Lower Mainland construction industry consultant Helen Goodland says construction industry employers, wherever theyre located, need to start fishing in a different pond to catch the workers they need.

Construction needs to attract good young people who are tech-savvy and wary of hard, physical outdoor labour, says Goodland. The construction industry is competing with tech companies like Microsoft and Google. Young people are looking for more than just cash. Professional development, career growth opportunities and flexibility are very important to them.

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How to find and keep skilled workers a critical focus of BC associations - constructconnect.com - Daily Commercial News

Eva-Maria Merjel, the CCO at Thorgate, an Estonian software company, highlights the ways to create a working culture that makes people thrive.

As the Chief Culture Officer at Thorgate, I am responsible for a variety of areas from hiring and peoples development, internal communication as well as taking care of our office.

Our company builds tech-savvy digital products for manufacturing, health care as well as for the finance industry and we have more than 30 employees, of whom 30% are foreigners. The fact that a third of our people have worked in the company for more than three years assures us that we have built an open and supportive company culture. How did we accomplish that? I will share a few novel techniques and methodologies that we use on a weekly basis and that I encourage others to try.

Once a month, our people come to the office and spend an entire day working on something useful but that does not include their daily work. It can be their personal hobby project, watching an online course or reading a book.

Think of a time when you wanted to learn something new. Why did you end up not acquiring that skill? The most common excuse is that you didnt find the time. With a dedicated work free workday in everybodys calendar, they all know they indeed have the time and should start investing in themselves. As during that day, everybody in the company is concentrating on this, it makes it easier for people to not get carried away.

Rewarding our people with 12 extra days a year for personal development has helped decrease the overall stress level. Most of our employees are software engineers whose work requires deep concentration and the ability to cope with constant failures. Time has shown that work free workdays help avoid the risk of burnout as well because it breaks the daily routine and allows experiencing something positive.

Two of the core values of Thorgate are being trustworthy and open-minded. Both are necessary for creating a supportive work environment where communication runs smoothly.

For full transparency, once a month during a company-wide meeting, we host a CEO grilling session. Our CEO, Raido Pikkar, reads out and answers questions sent by the employees anonymously via an online form throughout the month. Our company culture is open and welcoming, so every employee can, of course, talk to Raido directly whenever something concerns them or perhaps, they want to propose some new initiative within the company. However, as the questions sent during the CEO grilling are anonymous, it provides a perfect forum for more uncomfortable topics.

Each Friday late afternoon we also host retrospectives or retros to improve the internal exchange of information. Every team gathers for about twenty to thirty minutes to discuss the positives and negatives from the week. In the beginning, everybody has five minutes to write them down as keywords and then we all take turns reading them out loud and commenting on the topics. Recurrent negatives are then discussed in-depth to find solutions or perhaps next steps towards solutions.

For reporting on the status of different work tasks, we use a methodology called PPP progress, plans and problems. In a simple spreadsheet, everyone simply lists their three-to-five key accomplishments (progress), planned activities (plans) as well as problems they are facing this week. It is recommended to also have a column for notes where people can include links to different projects or files mentioned in the PPP.

I recommend filling out the PPP once a week and use a new sheet for each week. This allows having a good brief overview of the achievements as well as plans when youre in a one-on-one meeting with your supervisor. I personally love the structure of PPP precisely because its so efficient and allows reviewing your personal progress during an entire quarter, as well as keep track of the challenges you faced.

The same goes for the supervisor having a very clean easy to understand summary of the employees progress in their team. To our knowledge, some other Estonian companies, for example, Weekdone are using PPP methodology as well.

What if instead of bigger team trainings, you learned something new with your colleagues every week? At our company, we have hosted weekly knowledge sharing sessions for some years now and it has definitely had an impact on our company culture.

Curiosity and willingness to learn from each other have become something very natural and it is being noticed and valued. In addition to a few bigger company-wide trainings a year, we host these 30-minute sessions casually in our office, where the topics vary from new trends in technology to mental health.

Most of the presentations are put together by our own employees on a voluntary basis, but every now and then we invite an external expert to host the session. As an example, doctor Jri Laasik from SYNLAB, a medical laboratory in Tallinn, came to speak about mens health and Taavi Kotka, a former chief information officer of the Estonian government, about future trends.

Each spring and fall, we host an internal hackathon that starts on Friday afternoon and runs for 48 hours. During those hackathons, teams themselves choose what they want to accomplish, be it prototyping a business idea or find clever ways to make office life more comfortable.

Once we set up a camera to see the length of the queue of our lunch cafe downstairs. These hackathons encourage collaboration between colleagues that dont usually work together on a daily basis. It also increases overall bonding and motivation as people support each other in achieving a common goal. We hosted our fall hackathon just a few weeks ago and even though the event is voluntary the turnout was impressive 50%.

As the above-mentioned techniques also reflect, our focus is on being transparent and efficient and on supporting everyones personal development. We also care about giving back to the community, which is why, twice a month, we host coding clubs for everyone interested in Python programming language and once a year in the fall we host a technical conference called PyCon Estonia.

The opinions in this article are those of the author. Cover: The team at Thorgate.

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Novel techniques to improve internal communication and build a strong company culture - Estonian World

Three Bahamians will be honoured at Hubert Edwards Global Success Summit 2019, which will be held tomorrow.

Barry Rassin, the first Bahamian president of Rotary International; Ricardo P. Deveaux, founder of the Primary School Student of the Year Awards, and Anthony Longley, first Bahamian and current director of Toastmaster's International, will be honoured for their leadership excellence in The Bahanas and internationally.

Success Summit, now in its third year, was founded by Hubert Edwards, a certified accountant and talk show host who wanted the conference to connect Bahamian society and allow persons to network and be invested in each others' success.

"These three distinguished Bahamians, through their leadership and commitment, have positively influenced the lives of many, both locally and internationally," Mr Edwards said of the honorees.

"The standard for this award is very high and discriminating. We will recognise persons who are unquestionable leaders and active contributors to national life who, through their work, represent The Bahamas in ways consistent with national ideals and who, through their life, demonstrate the philosophy of Ubuntu (I am because we are). Barry Rassin, Anthony Longley and Ricardo P. Deveaux embody important leadership essentials."

Success Beyond Self is the title of this year's event, which is targeted at corporate employees and executives; small business owners; public service workers; politicians and national leaders; young professionals; entrepreneurs; religious leaders; trainers and life coaches; and any person committed to their personal development.

Speakers include Duquesa Dean; Zhivargo Laing; Dr Kenneth Romer; Ethan Hepburn; Ethan and Dekel Quant; Malachi Munroe; Ean Maura; Khrystle Ferguson; Rodney Bain; Simmone Bowe; Victoria Mullings and Mr Edwards. The international presenter is Pollo Prosper, a Haitian-American author and John Maxwell Team Member who fought his way from the streets to success as a retail leader and now a speaker coach and entrepreneur.

The summit's title sponsor, Aliv, will have also two executives presenting.

Scholarships for Bahamian students have been made available through this event.

Three students from inner-city community schools were selected from numerous applicants and will be awarded scholarship grants. Scholarship awardees will be recognised and presented with their scholarship information at the Summit.

The scholarships grants are: Dr Myles Munroe memorial Scholarship Grant sponsored by Aliv; the Michelle M. Miller Memorial Scholarship Grant sponsored by Hubert Edwards Global and Friends; and the Dr Richard Pinder Memorial Scholarship Grant sponsored by Genesys Now.

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Summit to honour three Bahamians - Bahamas Tribune

Still, there are many who are unsure what emotional intelligence really is, and what it looks like in the real world. Is it just a "feel good" set of guidelines? Is it simply the ability to show common sense? Or is it something more?

In my book, EQ Applied: The Real-World Guide to Emotional Intelligence, I aimed to answer some of these questions using real-world examples and current research. Below you'll find answers to five of the most popular questionsregarding emotional intelligence--and discover why it's important that you work to develop yours.

Simply put, emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, and manage emotions. It's a practical ability that enables you to use knowledge about emotions to inform personal decisions, and to manage your thoughts and actions.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to make emotions work for you, instead of against you.

To understand the full scope of emotional intelligence, it's helpful to break it down into four general facets, or abilities.

Self-awareness is the ability to identify and understand your own emotions and how they affect you. Through self-awareness you recognize how your feelings can help or hinder you from reaching your goals. You become aware of your emotional tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.

Self-management takes things one step further: it's the ability to manage emotions in a way that allows you to accomplish a task, reach a goal, or provide a benefit. It includes the quality of self-control, which is the ability to control your emotional reactions.

Social awareness is the ability to accurately perceive the feelings of others and understand how those feelings influence behavior. In order to achieve social awareness, you must be empathetic, ready to see and feel things from the perspective of others.

Relationship management allows you to get the most out of your relationships with others. Instead of trying to force others into action, it allows you to use insight and persuasion to motivate them to act. It also includes the ability to strengthen the level of trust between you and others.

Just like what you might think of as traditional intelligence, everyone possesses a degree of emotional intelligence.

However, it's difficult to measure emotional intelligence since tests are inherently subjective and imperfect. Nonetheless, here's a five-minute test you can take that will help you determine not only how emotionally intelligent you are, but where your strengths and weaknesses lie.

Here's a quick summary of the test:

1. Do I try to control my thoughts?

2. Do I think before I speak?

3. Do I learn from negative feedback?

4. Do I acknowledge others?

5. Do I have a balanced view of myself?

6. Do I listen for the message, and not just the words?

10. Do I give helpful feedback?

11. Do I willingly apologize?

12. Do I forgiveandforget?

13. Do I keep my commitments?

14. Do I know how to handle negative emotions?

15. Do I practice self-care?

16. Do I focus on what I can control?

17. Can I tell when others are using my emotions to manipulate or control me?

Yes, to an extent. A variety of factors will affect your ability to understand and manage emotions, including your genes and environment. And your formative years definitely play an important role.

But research demonstrates that you can grow these abilities. For example, Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck has shown the advantages of having a "growth mindset" vs. a "fixed mindset." In other words, individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, effective strategy, and feedback from others (growth mindset) tend to achieve more than those who believe their talents are innate gifts with finite development potential (fixed mindset).

You can apply the growth mindset to emotional intelligence, too.

Emotional intelligence begins with self-awareness. We often go through life reacting, never really thinking about how or why we respond the way we do.

But you can develop self-awareness by asking the right questions. For example, begin by asking yourself: In what situations do I find that emotions work against me?

Once you've identified a few areas, you can then ask someone you trust to give you feedback on the same question. It could be a family member, a close friend, or another confidant. Be clear that you're working to improve yourself and you want them to answer the question honestly; then, allow enough time so that they can give the question some thought.

Some other questions you can ask yourself (and others):

It's important to know that emotional intelligence isn't about dissecting every feeling you have it. Rather, it's the ability to search for deeper understanding when beneficial--or to simply enjoy the moment when not.

Emotions are beautiful--they make us human. But they can also lead to major regrets if we allow them to control us. When you instead strive to harness the power of your emotions, you avoid becoming a slave to your feelings.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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5 of the Most Popular Questions on Emotional Intelligence, Answered - Inc.