Combining parenthood and a career can be quite a juggling act, and finding someone to care for your little one is of paramount importance. There are different types of childcare available in New York and finding a safe, reliable and licensed practitioner is vital. You need to be able to do your job knowing that your child is being taken care of, is happy and healthy. You, as the parent, know what is best for your child, and finding a warm, friendly environment requires some research.

The Bureau of Child Care provides a wealth of information and advice on childcare along with licensing and registration services for childcare workers. You should start looking a few months before the childcare needs to start, to give yourself time to check out what is available, and what would best suit you and your child’s needs.

Thanksgiving has always been a popular holiday. Setting aside a day where families can come together and be thankful for each other and all that they have is truly wonderful. In fact, people hold this holiday so dear that more people travel to be with their families on Thanksgiving than any other holiday.

Transferring this great feeling over to the office is easy with a little planning. The gathering can result in a true bonding experience among employees and raise office moral. Following these simple tips can help you create the perfect Thanksgiving gathering for your office or business.

Be Thankful for Each Other

While it may be tempting to turn this event into a be thankful for your job, it should be more centered on being thankful for everyone who contributes to the success of the office or business. Everyone should realize that they are appreciated and should also be able to express their gratitude for the people they work with each day. It is a true morale booster and creates a wonderful experience for the party.

Make the Dinner Personal

While turkey is traditional and should be available, encourage employees to bring a dish that is special to their family or traditions for this holiday. This allows employees to bring some of their personal life and heritage to the gathering, making it a more personal experience. Make sure that you have enough side dishes and desserts to make everyone happy and be sure to ask if there are any special dietary needs that should be met so that everyone is included.

Hold the Party the Week Before the Holiday

It is probably very wise to hold the office Thanksgiving party a week before the real holiday. This ensures that employees are not over stressed from having to make plans and run errands for their own holiday at home. Some businesses may even want to opt for a weekend party when employee family members can also attend.

If you plan on throwing an office Christmas party in New York City, then you will want to go all out to turn your party into a special event. As you put your party together, there are a few guidelines you should follow to make it easier for your guests to have a good time.

Places To Have Your Party

New York City is filled with great places where you can have your office Christmas party. There are five places in particular that will offer you and your employees a memorable Christmas party event.

Minus5 Ice Bar

The Mius5 Ice Bar is made completely of ice, but it is open all year round. This chilling venue is ideal for a memorable office Christmas party.

The Elm

The Elm is a relatively new restaurant in Brooklyn that has been growing quickly in popularity. It features four-star food and an excellent wait staff.

Malbec and Tango House

The Malbec and Tango House has a very rural feel to it, which makes it unique for New York City. It has a larger hall that will definitely create atmosphere for your office Christmas party.

Andaz Wall Street

The Andaz Wall Street room is fun because it is a throwback to the 1960’s. You feel like you walked back in time the moment you walk through the door. This room could bring back some nostalgic Christmas memories for your employees.

Whether you are at a work function or holiday party with family members, it is important to realize the effect that alcohol can have on your perceived reputation. At one moment, your co-workers may view you as a super-smart, hard-working person. After a few shots of tequila, however, this perception can quickly change. A University of Michigan research study reiterated the idea that drinking alcohol in front of other co-workers can make co-workers perceive one as less intelligent.

As a business owner, it is important that you are aware of New York tax laws that may impact your business. For example, those who operate a restaurant may need to ensure that wait staff properly claim tips in their annual income taxes. Those who hire employees on a contractual basis may need to report these hires to the IRS. Here are some of the basic employee tax laws and regulations that every New York employer should understand.

Remote workers, also known as telecommuters, are becoming more prominent in the workplace these days. The benefits of utilizing remote workers is that you can take on employees that do not live in your geographic area, you can reduce your office costs, and you can create flexible work schedules that better serve your business. But there are challenges to utilizing remote workers that every company must overcome. The biggest challenge is working out how to manage employees that you do not see in person on a regular basis.

Consider Deadlines Instead Of Work Hours

You could ask employees to clock into a workday through an Internet program or by utilizing a phone system, but even that is not going to give you an accurate method for monitoring their work. Instead of worrying about having remote employees put in the prerequisite 40 hours per week, consider setting deadlines for tasks and holding remote employees to those deadlines.

When you utilize deadlines, you allow your remote employees to make their own schedule and that can increase productivity. You will also find morale on the rise when employees are empowered to determine their own work routine.

Have Regular Meetings

If your remote workers are close enough for them to reasonably drive to the office, then you could have regularly scheduled meetings at least once a week with all remote workers. If your team is scattered around the world, then create regular meeting times, either by phone or video conference, that you can meet.

After a bout of turmoil in the early part of the 21st century, the financial sector in New York has definitely taken a turn toward the positive. With positive growth in most sectors of the city and state’s economy, New York has seen positive gains in all sectors. However, the gains found in the financial services sector of New York have been among the most significant. Not only has this growth been significant, but it has also been intrinsically linked to the growth felt by New Yorkers coming out of the great recession of 2008.

The Financial Sector is Hiring

It’s a well-established fact that New York financial firms are providing some of the most attractive salaries available in the financial services sector today. However, it’s also important to note that these companies are still actively hiring people even as recovery continues. Every tier of the financial services sector is seeing positive gains from the lowest-tier traders to the highest executive positions. In fact, as the years roll on it’s actually been found that these companies are hiring more rather than less. This could be attributed to a number of factors, but consumer confidence in the financial markets has played a key role here.

As consumer confidence has started to come back, large and midsize financial firms have found themselves in a position to bring on a larger work force. Since confident investors make confident investments, the flow of money going into new markets has continued to grow and this has led to a number of positive results. For one, those seeking investors have found a more attractive environment to start a business in. Another benefit has been that this higher amount of cash flow in the markets has allowed for companies to bring in a larger amount of experienced traders.

Health and safety regulations in an office environment are much different than those in other work environments. For example, the health and safety requirements of a warehouse job will generally be much more strict. This is not to say that there aren’t some health issues that warrant serious consideration in a work environment. It is because of these issues that certain regulations have been developed to ensure the health of workers in offices. These regulations are not very intrusive at all, and really can help make work a much safer environment.

Violence Prevention

When a lot of people think about workplace safety and health, they only ever think of getting sick or injured on the job. Many completely overlook the reality of workplace violence as a health and safety issue. However, there are many instances every year where people are assaulted at work.

In New York, there are a few different regulations on the books that help protect employees from violence. One important regulation requires employers to make high-risk areas more visible to more people. This means that a dark corner in the parking lot can be reported. Employers are required to provide lighting and visibility of all areas of the workplace to help discourage violence against employees.