February is Black History Month, and we would be remiss if we didn’t address the importance of race and culture in the workplace. If we want to both work hard and live well, understanding differences in how we act and think - and why - is crucial.

We all laughed at Michael Scott’s bungling of “Diversity Day” in the second episode of The Office. But there’s always truth in comedy, right? Frankly, honoring diversity in the workplace is easier said than done.

It turns out the origin of Saint Valentine is a little… well, nebulous to say the least. Nonetheless, we use the name to celebrate love on the 14th of February! I remember my parents buying us small gifts for Valentine’s Day, I’ve celebrated “Galentines” Days, and I now enjoy the nudge Valentine’s Day provides to tell my husband, children and friends how much they mean to me.

I hope you are able to love and be loved next Wednesday!

That love is part of the “why” behind MatchPace. I love my family, and I also love my work. But I struggled to do work I loved in a way that didn’t interfere with my ability to be present with my family. I didn’t want to be away from my children 40-50 hours a week, but I found it hard to find a part-time professional position because in our workplace culture, “part-time” usually communicates “partial effort.”

But I know that’s not true. This study of nearly 2,000 white-collar professionals in the UK in 2013 showed our time spent doing actual productive, content-related work is less than 3 hours each day. Other studies show 61% of our time at work is spent managing our work, not actually completing it.

Earlier this month, we encouraged you to start 2018 by looking back at the year behind you and asking some key questions to evaluate your goal-setting track record and set yourself up for success.

Have you set any goals for 2018? It’s not too late - the best time to start is now!

Whether your goals are in place or you need a jump start, here are four strategies to creating no-fail goals that will catapult you forward in 2018.

Here we are, a week into 2018! Have you made any resolutions? How are they going? Still going strong, or have you already “screwed them up?” Maybe you think if you didn’t set your resolutions on January 1, it’s too late to bother (like me!). Or are you someone who doesn’t bother with resolutions because you think they’re silly, or just a chance to beat yourself up?

There’s something fresh about something new - a new year, a new job, a new place to live. It’s an opportunity to reflect, to consider, and to try to do things differently.

So even if you think New Year's resolutions are silly, you likely still feel a slight pull to consider what has come before and how 2018 might look different.

Even if you don’t call them “resolutions,” are you ready to do the work to achieve bigger and better things in 2018? When you’re intentional about refocusing and setting smart goals, a new year can mean a fresh start - with or without resolutions.

I went for a walk with a friend a few weeks ago. She said her in-laws had asked what she wanted for Christmas. She sighed and said, “All I want for Christmas is time.”

She’s not alone. We’re working longer hours, concerned about the future, and struggling to check off our to-do lists each day.

The holiday season in particular is ripe with opportunity to feel overwhelmed and stressed by shopping lists, social commitments, family dynamics and the race to meet those annual goals at work.

Can we really give ourselves the gift of time?

The short answer: yes. When we view time as a valuable, non-renewable resource, we can start to organize our days, including our workdays, in a way that respects the limited time we have each day and give us some of those precious hours back to spend on family, friends, and making our world a better place.

Here are three steps to give yourself the gift of time this holiday season.

As workweeks stretch 50, 60 or more hours long for many Americans, we’ve got to wonder if these extra hours spent slaving over a desk or chained to our smartphones is actually helping us be more productive. In fact, research tells us that working excessive hours actually makes people less productive, not more.

What if the solution to inefficiency and burnout isn’t simply working less, but working differently? How would your workweek look if your goal wasn’t to clock a certain number of hours, but to achieve specific outcomes and then go home and unplug?

Burnout.

We’ve all felt it. Exhausted, overwhelmed, depleted... burned out.

In fact, 95 percent of HR leaders reported that employee burnout is sabotaging their workforce.

What is behind such pervasive burnout? Are we simply working too many hours each week, or is the way we work the problem?

Here are some of the reasons why your employees are burning out like a firework.

We admit: our last two blogs have been pretty negative. But knowing that nearly 70% of American workers are tuned out at work, we felt it was important to help employers and managers understand why employees are disengaged and how employee disengagement hurts your business.

Now that we’ve identified the problem, it’s time to turn to solutions. We don’t believe employee disengagement has to be the new norm, so here’s how we can all be part of the solution.

Employee disengagement hurts your organization. From team morale to the bottom line there are emotional and financial costs to having a disengaged workforce.

Last week, we gave you five ways employee disengagement is hurting your organization. That’s the first step to attacking your problem - understanding why it is a problem for you. The next step is to understand why these employees are feeling unmotivated at work. Until you know that you can’t create an effective strategy for re-engaging those employees.

While each team is unique, the fact that so many people (70%) are anywhere from less than enthused about their jobs to outright seeking to sabotage their place of employment, means there are some key trends that can help you diagnose and treat the problem.

Take a look - do you think any of these issues are living beneath the surface at your organization?

Read the five common reasons employees are disengaged at work.

We’ve all heard the staggering statistic: according to Gallup, only 33 percent of all American workers feel engaged at their jobs. That means 67 percent - nearly 7-in-10 - workers in America are somewhat disengaged at work, if not disengaged entirely.

Look around yourself, at your job, or at the next business you walk into. Does your team have engagement issues? What about the team at your doctor’s office or your mechanic shop - where quality work greatly influences your life!

Chances are - your team, and organizations that you care about and need in your life, have an employee engagement problem.

Here are five reasons your employees might be disengaged and why it's hurting your business.