The school summer holidays are almost here, and if you thought working from home was tough while the kids were at school, wait until they’re off and need entertaining for weeks on end – the constant need for attention, coupled with the hot, sunny weather could make getting any work done all but impossible.
It always pays to plan in advance though, so here are six top tips to make sure the summer holidays aren’t a complete wash-out, at least as far as your work is concerned…
It’s been a 15 months since the world locked down. The impact on the UK economy was such that many people lost jobs, and those who never were more than thankful to be in work. But even if you feel grateful just to have a job, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t consider asking for a pay rise if you think you deserve one.
We all want fair day’s wage for a fair day’s work, but what if you think your employer simply isn’t paying you enough? Or if you’re a freelancer who feels you’re being fleeced by low rates? Here’s how to ask for a pay rise.
Internet trolls are everywhere – just as some people turn into psychopaths the second they get behind the wheel of car, others lose all sense of perspective the second they get online.
This strange breed get a bang out of causing arguments or, even worse, causing others personal anguish, safe in the knowledge they’ll likely never be found, such is the level on anonymity you can have online.
It’s a phenomenon that isn’t a million miles from the world of disinformation, and the two can often go hand-in-hand if there’s a conspiracy or half-truth to spread. The last 12 months has given trolls a lot of ammunition.
If you or your business is being plagued by these online idiots, here’s how to handle internet trolls.
A conference call is a telephone call in which three or more callers can talk to each other at the same time. Also known as a teleconference, this type of call can be made on a landline, mobile, or via an internet connection, and is usually held to enable a meeting to take place when it’s not possible to get all participants in the same room.
Utilising a conference call means people in different locations to run meetings over the phone, to help get job done faster and without relying on everyone to be able to get to the same place at the same time. And utilising ConferenceCall.co.uk means people can join the call from anywhere in the world..
Conference calls are a useful resource for people who work at home or work remotely from another location, and calls can easily be made between participants in different countries.
Phishing is a type of online fraud in which cyber criminals send emails or instant messages pretending to be from a reputable company or person, in an attempt to access sensitive information, such as login credentials or account details.
Things have evolved since the days of emails promising jackpot payouts on the Nigerian lottery, and phishing emails generally come in the form of an official-looking correspondence from your bank or an organisation like PayPal.
And this increased level of sophistication brings with it an increased level of threat – even just clicking a link within an email can send a bug into your system that can access any sensitive data you have stored on your hard drive.
Sat in the heart of the European mainland, Austria is a landlocked nation of around 8.5million people and the UK is one of its major trading partners. The UK is Austria’s eighth largest export destination and its fourth largest export market for services.
So if you do business across Europe, there’s a decent chance you have connections in Austria.
Although travel time between the two countries is just a shade over two hours, constantly commuting between London and Vienna is hardly a cost-effective way to keep in touch. It’s also not possible under current lockdown restrictions. Communicating via international conference call, on the other hand, is both cost-effective and convenient.
And here’s how you can do that in just a few simple steps using nothing more than a landline or mobile phone…
If you’re thinking of starting up a new business, you’ll quickly realise how difficult a balancing act it is to stick to a budget while making sure you have all the tools to ensure you can properly do your job.
The dizzying amount of business tech available means you could quite easily blow all your money on any number of hands-free add-ons and pentium-powered peripheries.
So, if you’re just starting out, or you’re looking to upgrade your systems, here are our seven top business tech tips…
The number of spam emails getting sent has hit a 12-year low, according to security firm Symantec, which said fewer than 50% of emails which it scanned during June were junk – the lowest percentage it had seen in over a decade.
Even so, many of us are still getting loads of emails we don’t want and, to the best of our knowledge, haven’t asked for!
So if you’re getting spam emails, how do you stop them? Read on…
Every time you interact online you’re adding to your digital footprint – that virtual record of what you did, who you did it with, and when you did it.
Whether you’re buying something from a web store, checking your bank balance, updating a social status, or even just typing a question into a search engine or leaving a comment on a blog (all comments welcome below), your digital footprint is affected.
What this means is anyone can track your digital footprint and make fairly accurate assumptions on your lifestyle – anyone who has the knowledge and the inclination, that is.
And although most of us won’t have a back-story worth bothering with, not to mention nothing to hide, it’s still a little disconcerting to think someone could tap into your lifestyle should they wish to.
It’s all but impossible to completely cover your online tracks, but if you want to give it a go, here are some of the steps you could take to try and disappear completely…
The internet offers an instant and limitless well of information – it’s made life a whole lot easier for all of us!
On the flipside, it provides a limitless number of distractions – one minute you’re researching the best way to make an international conference call, then next minute you’re watching a gif of a grumpy cat, and before you know it six hours have passed and you’ve not done a thing on your to-do list.
And that’s before we get started on social media!
So if you’re working day suffers from fatal distractions, here’s how to stop wasting time…