CoreTech Blog

“Toxic” is a buzzword that is often used nowadays, but when it is used to describe a business’ work environment, it needs to be treated with deadly seriousness.

If a workplace is a place people don’t like to be, many drawbacks will ultimately impact operations. Therefore, it is to your benefit to keep your business as positive a workplace as possible.

Let’s discuss how to tell if your company has a toxic workplace and, if so, how to resolve it.

Dealing with downtime is a very expensive and frustrating problem for any business. When we say “downtime,” we’re referring to periods when critical systems, processes, or equipment are not functioning properly. This month, we examine the negative impacts of downtime and what you can do about it.

Businesses have to deal with a lot of different types of problems, but they often don’t see many of the issues that come from within their company. Whether this comes from hackers, disgruntled customers, or unreliable vendors, every business leader constantly deals with some type of issue. Unfortunately, sometimes these problems can come from inside your company. Today, we look at two employee issues that can potentially cause major headaches for business owners.

Technology plays a pivotal role in the operations of most businesses, but its primary function is to empower and support the workforce. Many employees have specific expectations when it comes to the technology provided by their organizations. Failure to meet these expectations can drive them to seek employment elsewhere. Let’s delve into five ways technology bolsters your employees' productivity.

Automation has been a business buzzword for some time now, and was a key facet for many businesses remaining open through the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it seems like there’s no reason for it not to remain in use from this point on. Let’s examine a few ways that automation can and likely will be used moving forward.

VoIP—Voice over Internet Protocol—is an incredibly useful tool for today’s businesses to make use of, especially in terms of improving productivity. Let’s consider a few capabilities that can give you and your team a leg up.

Starting a business is certainly no easy feat. It was likely a hassle just to get things up and running at a basic level. While most organizations that provide a product likely had to focus on getting that product to market, technology has begun to help aid this endeavor considerably. Unfortunately, it’s easy to fall into the trap that your organization uses too much technology--so much that it negatively affects your bottom line.

The holidays are a time when everyone questions whether they will be able to spend their time at home with their families, or be stuck at the office trying to beat a nasty deadline. The increase in mobile technology hasn’t made getting away from work any easier, but it has made it easier to work away from the office. How can you achieve a precious work/life balance for your workplace duties?

Nowadays, with streaming services like Spotify, Google Play, and Pandora available on a plethora of mobile devices, music lovers have an easy time enjoying tunes everywhere they go, including at the office. While this is all well and good, have you ever stopped to wonder if music is helping your employees, or holding them back?

A business owner is always looking to improve their skills and learn about new ones. It’s natural to want to learn new things, even if you’re already an expert in your own field. The 10,000 hour rule offers a few guidelines to help you learn a new craft, but it’s not as easy as consistent practice. You might be in for a long journey toward “expert status.”

Stress is one of those things that you can’t escape, no matter how hard you try, and it can takes a toll on your workday. Despite this, there are (surprisingly) some redeeming factors to stress to be considered.

Instant messaging is commonplace in today’s society. It used to be primarily for social interaction, but its success was so overwhelming that business professionals have implemented it into their daily communications. Although, despite the advantages that instant messaging can provide, you still have to jump through some hoops in order to bypass what it’s become; an immense annoyance.

Virtualization is changing the way that businesses access information, to the point where many organizations simply choose to store their data infrastructure in the cloud and access it as needed. While this is extremely convenient and helps to keep your in-house wiring to a minimum, it also puts you at the mercy of your business’s Internet connection. You don’t need us to tell you that this is a precarious situation to be in, and the slightest Internet hiccup could cause a world of trouble.

Vacations are an important part of maintaining one’s sanity, especially if you’re a business owner. However, unless you have a reliable staff that can handle the management of your business, chances are that you might feel like you can’t get away from the office long enough to relax. While it might seem tempting to disconnect yourself from the office entirely while on vacation, it’s actually better for your business if you don’t.

Working at a desk is a fairly inescapable for the modern office worker. The trouble with sitting at a desk for long intervals is that it causes physical issues, especially if the workspace isn’t properly set up. Fortunately, you don’t have to invest in specialized equipment; it’s fairly simple to establish best practices that will ensure employee comfort and productivity.

There’s no denying that your business’s productivity suite is one of its most valuable software solutions. Cloud services like Google Apps for Work and Microsoft Office 365 continue to be huge game-changers in the business environment, and it’s been found that their increasing popularity is thanks to the convenience of providing mobile access to important data and applications.

Most modern businesses need access to crucial parts of their infrastructure in order to keep operations moving forward. For example, your building’s electricity is necessary to power your technology, and without an Internet connection, you could be losing out on hours of potential productivity. What can you do to minimize downtime and make the best out of a bad situation?

How many of your employees have a smartphone? The answer is probably most (if not all) of them. In the United States alone, nearly two-thirds of adults own a smartphone, and many of them depend on the device to do much of their personal computing. As a result, many workers, even if they are instructed not to, will use their devices while at your office. This is why many companies have put in place a comprehensive Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy.

Wearable technology isn’t a new concept, but lately it’s been exploding in popularity. People love the fact that they can use their watch to perform various features that a smartphone can accomplish, and they enjoy how their workouts can be monitored by various health sensory-type devices. However, is this obsession with wearable technology going to amount to anything, or will it be a notorious flop?

What’s your reaction to your mobile device beeping at you? If you’re the kind of person that drops everything to see what it says, then you’re probably way more distracted at work than you should be. It’s a bad habit to look at your phone every minute or two, but with hard work, habits can be broken. Here are three actions you can take to minimize workplace distractions so you can be more productive.