Bad bosses come in all varieties, from the inept, to the overly friendly, to the micromanager. The most stressful of bad boss, though, is one who is just mean.

Most people who have worked in an office setting have at least witnessed the mean boss, even if they have been lucky enough not to work for one . They are generous in their criticism and stingy in their praise. Sometimes they can be loud about their criticism and even abusive. Sometimes they can just be icily sarcastic. They can be demanding to the point that they treat you more like a slave than an employee. The character played by Meryl Streep in “The Devil Wears Prada” is a prime example of this kind of boss.

If your company asked you to work for free for an entire week would you agree to it? Most would be quick to respond with a definite no. However, according to an Oxford Economics survey published in 2014, many employees are essentially doing just that. The survey indicates that used vacation days are at the lowest rate in four decades.
The U.S. Travel Association also estimates close to $52.4 billion dollars in benefits are lost every year as employees forfeit paid vacation days. While the numbers alone should inspire a person to take a break, there are other reasons a vacation could be the best thing for an employee and the company. Here are the top four reasons you should use your vacation days.

Often, the first hour of the workday can set the tone for the rest of the day. Are you starting off discombobulated? Are you already late for a meeting? Did you forget what the deliverables are for your latest project? Are you behind even though you’re just out of the gate? Kicking off your day prepared and ready to go can be as simple as using the last hour of each workday to your advantage.

Try these five steps and see if you can smooth out tomorrow’s workday –Today:

Trust is about predictability. It is perhaps the most basic tenet of social behavior. The more predictable someone is, the more you know them. The more you know a person, the more you like them. This is true in both personal and business life.
However, business life offers an element of formality missing from ordinary social life. There is also an element of high stakes and sometimes implicit fear that complicate the picture of trust and make trust in the workplace more difficult to develop. Years ago, business dealings were done over a handshake. Now any business relationship is developed over pages of signed legal documents.
If employees don't trust each other or their managers, collaboration and communication stagnates. Employee engagement drops. Productivity falls. The workplace becomes unpleasant, even toxic.

Nobody wants to spend extra time at work, but getting everything done in a workday can seem monumental, if not impossible, especially in our digital age when it can feel like we’re on-call 24/7. The key to a happier and more efficient workday is to increase your level of productivity. This means taking a long hard look at how you actually spend your time at work, and then strategically eliminating all of those unnecessary time suckers that you get roped into day in and day out. In addition, planning ahead and setting limits for yourself can go a long way towards getting more done in a shorter amount of time. Here are 5 steps you can start incorporating today to get more done without logging in any extra hours:

Employees as excited about work as the Seven Dwarfs were, whistles and skips included, might be too high an expectation. It could happen, with a cup or two of coffee, but it’s not likely. Fortunately, what bosses want in an employee is simple: strong work ethics, desire to perform well, ability to work with others and alone, and the necessary skills to get the job done. When these people come along, you want to hold on to them. Part of that is, aside from a full coffee pot, understanding and respecting their need for a work-life balance. Not only will it help retain those valuable employees, it increases productivity.

Have you noticed increased absentee, tardy, and turnover rates in your office? When employees are bored and fatigued from the same daily repetition in the office, they become burned out and simply don’t want to go to work. This can make a person feel disconnected from their company, and lead to more absences and sometimes even push an employee to start looking for a more interesting and challenging job. How can you create a more stimulating work environment that will keep your employees happy and focused?