When working on creative projects, it's natural to run into a creative rut. It's likely rare, however, to be able to take a break until whenever inspiration strikes again.

Still, there ways to quickly boost creativity so that you can produce good work while staying on track to meet deadlines. The following seven exercises are scientifically proven to make you creative, and can be done in five minutes or less.

1. Do a doodle storm

While "doodling" might sound a lot like "dawdling," doodling actually helps you unlock neurological pathways that aren't accessible when you're in thinking or talking mode. According to doodle expert Sunni Brown, certain doodling exercises — like fusing two unrelated objects together — help our brains start to make unexpected connections.

For your doodlestorm, choose any two animals and sketch as many fused versions of them as you possibly can in two minutes.

2. Pretend you're a 5 year-old

If you've ever wished you could go back to your childhood, now is your chance. According to an experiment conducted at North Dakota State University, putting ourselves in the shoes of a kid actually makes us more creative than when we think like ourselves.

Whatever challenge you're facing, close your eyes and pretend that you are a 5-year-old trying to solve the same problem. Think about how you might solve it.

3. Walk it out

No matter how inspiring your desk space, you can do yourself a favor by getting away from it even for a brief moment. A Stanford study has shown that a brief walk (inside or outside) boosts creativity during the walk and in the moments that follow it.

When your creative juices run low, stand up and walk a random path through or around your office. Try to walk a slightly different path each time, to keep things even more exciting.

4. Get some space

When a deadline is looming, sometimes the best thing to do is to push it away. "Psychological distancing" is the notion of making things feel further away in order to make them more abstract and less concrete. Studies have shown that when we think about things in more distant terms, we think more creatively.

Take a moment to think about a location that is miles away from your own. Then, spend three minutes sending your project to that location. How might someone else take it on and solve it there?

5. Sing a song

Even if silence helps you concentrate, a little music can give the creative part of your brain the toe-tap it needs. Studies have shown that when we listen to music we enjoy, it arouses us and puts us in a positive mood — qualities that are important to creative thinking.

Create a playlist of your favorite five-minute-or-less songs, and queue them up so you can play one whenever you need a creative jolt. For bonus points, sing along (or create lyrics if there aren't any)!

6. Read an absurdist passage

It may sound crazy, but reading whimsical or absurdist literature inspires our thinking. A study by researchers at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia found that when people were exposed to Kafka's short stories, they were able to better recognize patterns and express novel thinking.

Bookmark this page of Kafka's short stories, and when in need, spend five minutes reading an excerpt or two.

7. Get mad

Whether or not your creative drought upsets you, it might actually help you to think about something that makes you angry. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam and University of Gronigen have found that a small, quick burst of anger promotes our innovative thinking. Importantly, anger becomes less helpful toward innovative thought when it's left to simmer in your mind.

Spend three minutes thinking about something non consequential that makes you angry — People who walk too slow on the sidewalk? Misused semicolons? Why does it make you so angry? Allow yourself to a time boxed rant, then get back to work.

It's natural to get into a creative rut. Ironically, sometimes you have to get scientific about coming out of it.

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The modern office seems like a relatively safe place — after all, you're probably not dangling out of a 44th-floor window with a squeegee.

In fact, on any given workday, you encounter a number of health threats — think repetitive strain injury from using a mouse and anxiety from dealing with a tyrannical boss.

Below, Business Insider has rounded up all the surprising ways in which your office job might be slowly destroying your health.

Consider it an opportunity to swap some of your current work habits for better ones that will keep you happy and healthy.

SEE ALSO:  The 16 highest-paying jobs for people who don't mind sitting at a desk all day

Sitting all day could shave years off your life

Sitting for lengthy periods is terrible for your body. Aches and pains are the least of your problems — sitting too much can lead to an early death. You face a higher risk of musculoskeletal disorders, obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and more, even if you work out regularly.

Around 86% of American workers sit all day at work. If you're one of them, your best plan of action is simply to move around for a few minutes every hour.

As Business Insider's Erin Brodwin reported, one observational study found that participants who moved around for about two minutes every hour had about a 33% lower risk of dying three years later than those who sat the whole time.

Regularly slouching in your chair can lead to back pain and headaches

Take a look at your posture right now: Are you slouching — or sitting up nice and straight?

According to the Mayo Clinic, "when you slouch or stoop, your muscles and ligaments strain to keep you balanced — which can lead to back pain, headaches and other problems." Yikes.

Business Insider's Brodwin shared the best way to develop better posture at your desk, based on tips from the Cleveland Clinic:

"First, sit at the end of your chair (that's right, don't rely on your backrest). Let your body go into a slouching position.

"Now, try to sit up straight, accentuating the curve of your back as much as possible. Hold this position for a few seconds.

"Next, release the position a little bit — Cleveland specifies that you shouldn't move more than about 10 degrees. This should be your sitting position!"

Using a treadmill desk may increase your chances of physically hurting yourself

A treadmill desk may help with the risk of obesity and heart disease — and at least for a while, they were pretty trendy. But a 2013 Wall Street Journal article reported the higher incidence of falls among those using treadmill desks and stability balls.

Besides, using a treadmill desk might not even make you more productive. 2015 research suggests that, at least when you first start using one, your cognitive performance may suffer, and you're more likely to make typos.

When a business is looking for funding and they get rejected by a bank, they are now more likely to head to the internet.

Funding Options is a price comparison site for this exact scenario, working a bit like a dating site to match lenders with businesses depending on their specific needs.

According to founder and CEO Conrad Ford, Funding Options finances tens of millions of pounds in finance to businesses each year from some of the biggest lenders out there.

But the company wasn't always so lucrative. Funding Options went through a few tough years when it began.

"There's a few startups in fintech that seem to have got things right on day one and exploded from there and became unicorns," Ford told Business Insider. "We certainly weren't in that category. It was two or three years before the torch paper lit and we fired into life."

Business Insider sat down with Ford to discuss his story and what he would recommend graduates do if they're looking to get into the fintech industry. Here are 8 pieces of advice he learned from his own experiences.

1. If you're offered a grad scheme, go for it.

If you want to get into the fintech world but you've also been offered a job at a big financial institution, Ford says you should always take it.

"I personally think that in the very early stages of your career, unless you're extraordinarily entrepreneurial, joining a large institution that has a graduate program, it's probably the best thing you can possibly do," he said.

In short, after three years you will have made a lot of money and gone through a very structured program, which taught you technical skills around the industry. Ford says it's also good practice to learn how to behave in an office. Moreover, you'll be better equipped to take risks.

"The world of constant change is only going to accelerate, it's not like the opportunities won't be here in three years time," Ford said. "And you'll probably be better prepared for them when you've done that."

2. Be prepared to be wrong...

When Ford worked in strategy for a major bank, it was very much a case of making small changes and having more or less a certainty of the outcome. When he started up Funding Options, he quickly worked out that the vast majority of what he thought to be true turned out not to be.

"I did customer surveys, I did desktop research, all these expert skills I learned at large institutions," he said. "Every piece of desktop research told me something was a great opportunity, then when I tried it in the real world, it failed miserably."

3. ...Because failing is a good thing.

According to Ford, no business plan will survive the first contact with a customer. So there's no point worrying about making something perfect the first time around.

"To survive and to make a startup work, you need to be like a motor boat," he said. "You need to take advantage of the fact you can whiz around and change course. You don't have that inherent momentum [like a bank] but you can afford to get it wrong. So getting it wrong and failing fast is really important."

4. Adopt the mindset of a startup.

At a bank, Ford says he could work for endless amounts of time on a project. When starting up Funding Options, the team worked for about a year before releasing it to the public, only for it to fail. In hindsight, Ford says he could have learned just as much if they had launched on day one.

"It was just learning the brutally hard way with other people's money and wasting a year of my life," he said. "You have to be fast and agile. That was the biggest challenge for me."

5. You don't want to get too big too soon.

Funding Options has seen a 14-fold increase in revenues over the past couple of years. Ford puts this down to not raising too much money too early on in its genesis.

"I'm kind of glad that I didn't immediately raise lots of money early on, because I would have taken just as long to learn some stuff, and spent a lot of other people's money along the way," he said.

Also, when a company raises a lot of money, the team generally grows along with it. Funding Options is currently at about 25 employees, and Ford likes it this way because it means there are no politics or back-stabbings going on. He calls it the company's "strict no d***heads policy."

6. Ask yourself if you're psychologically ready.

Ford says he found a resilience in himself he ever knew he had when starting Funding Options. In the first two or three tough years, when things weren't going to plan, he discovered how to deal with the things that are — in the startup world — a matter of life or death.

"Nothing can prepare you for not being sure whether you can pay your staff the next day," Ford said. "Or not being sure if that funding round is going to close, then literally you're down to you last £5000 or whatever it might be in the bank account."

He says he asks people that want to join the company whether they are psychologically happy with treating a job at a startup like it's temporary. Working at a startup may sound glamorous, but it's also a massive risk that you need to be prepared for.

7. Don't get complacent.

Things are going well for Funding Options right now, but Ford often thinks about all the things that could still fail.

"I've never lost the view of the world that says one day I'm going to wake up and something is going to go fundamentally wrong," he said. "I think it's stupid to get complacent."

8. Be ready to adapt.

Fintech isn't something that appeared out of nowhere. There was a time when ATMs didn't exist, and when they came out they were massively innovative. Ford says fintech has always been around, but the rate of its evolution has accelerated recently. When the next big thing comes along, Ford is confident that Funding Options will be able to adapt to it.

"We're still small and scrappy enough that we're still used to things going wrong," he said. "I don't think there's something that's going to happen that quickly that we can't respond to it. We are a technology company, there's nothing technological we couldn't do."

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NOW WATCH: A psychologist reveals a simple exercise that can make you happier

A lot has changed since the 4th century, when the seven deadly sins are believed to have emerged. We have Wi-Fi now. And Uber. And Netflix. And Nest. And Snap. And a whole host of moral conflicts and societal breakdowns that came with them.

Technology has fundamentally changed the dynamics of our relationships and working lives and our personal expectations.

These seven modern sins shouldn't overshadow some of the amazing leaps we've taken as a society, and the collective values that have started to emerge, such as transparency, accountability, and unity. However, progress begot these modern sins, both personal and societal. So here they are — the new seven deadly sins and how they show up in the business world.

1. Flakiness

We have more choice than we know what to do with. So we make our plans in pencil, just in case something better comes along. This is the new norm and has somehow become synonymous with a lackadaisical attitude. But really, it's flakiness — and it's a form of cowardice. At work, it means we're saying yes to a lot of ideas and options, just in case one of them comes through strong. We focus on short-term highs rather than long-term gains, especially as our culture celebrates the overnight-success stories and billion-dollar IPOs instead of the stories of hard work and ruthless commitment that spanned decades.

Guilty: You say yes to everything — and cherry-pick what you will actually work on according to its appeal in the current moment.

Try This: Commit to fewer, meatier projects and see them through. Focus will get you further.

2. Impatience

Not even our laundry can wait an hour, thanks to Tide and Amazon Dash. We want (and get) everything now. Patience is a virtue no one has time for. At work, we expect a promotion after we've done our job seamlessly — for two whole months. Impatience is at an all-time high, and it's in bed with entitlement. To get ahead, we're scrambling over virtues like dedication, commitment, and hard work in pursuit of something that's low on effort and high on reward — and a visible reward that we can flaunt, no less.

Guilty: You sigh audibly and skulk around the office when your IT manager insists you reboot and upgrade your computer.

Try This: If you're waiting on something specific, walk around the block and clear your head rather than count the minutes. Rather than criticize all the shortcomings of the category that's frustrating you, use it as an opportunity to practice ideation. If you're frustrated by the line at Starbucks, use the time to imagine the technology and human touches touches that would alleviate the stress and how you would reinvent the process.

3. Fame hunting

It used to be just our celebrities and sports stars who were famous. Yet today entrepreneurs, CEOs (and their offspring), politicians, designers, chefs, and even people who can curate a beautiful Instagram feed are stars. Society has always needed a set of people to admire, but the tools of today make a rapid ascension to stardom available, and appealing, to all. The result? A lot of actions done with the goal of fame, rather than to improve the status quo. This means lots of shortcuts and hacks to find the fastest way there, rather than devising a deliberate, strategic, and purpose-driven plan with a meaningful outcome in mind.

Guilty: Your vision of success is based on eyeballs, not how you make people feel.

Try This: Once you have identified a goal, take time to consider why this goal matters — think bigger than just yourself and imagine how it impacts communities. Of course, you might still employ some fame tactics to get you where you need to be, but the result will be genuine and long-lasting if your motivation is real.

4. Distraction addiction

We're addicted to our phones. We all know it. They're in our pockets, at our dinner tables, and even by our pillows. We're destroying our ability to focus for a material length of time on one thing without seeking a thrill or distraction. We're rude to our colleagues when we smile at the phone in our lap while they're presenting, and are rarely truly present when our most astute thinking is demanded, as we're thinking about other things. This is even worse when we have nothing to do. We can no longer sit in silence or enjoy a moment free of fleeting distractions. When was the last time you waited for a friend without playing on your phone? When did you just sit with your thoughts and really take in the world around you? Try it. It's scary how weird it feels.

Guilty: You feel a genuine loss when the Wi-Fi cuts out.

Try This: Delete social media apps from your phone and instead use the time you would have spent looking at your phone working toward one goal that matters to you. Use the BreakFree app to find out how much you use your phone. The horrific average should prompt you into action.

5. Surfacing

We have erratic splurges of attention to dish out. We skim-read our news while listening to a podcast and scrolling through our news feed. We have more conversations than ever before, yet most go barely beyond a sentence, a like, or a heart bump. And we're OK with this. Voyeurism is replacing conversation. At work, this means we're prioritizing generality over specialty.

Guilty: You're a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.

Try This: Pick one thing that truly fascinates you and commit to going deeper on it.

6. Busyness

We wear busyness in the same way we wear exhaustion; with pride. Busy has somehow become shorthand for success and achievement. When you're busy, you've got so much on your plate that you don't even need to explain the particulars. Busy says it all. And if you throw in the fact you only got a few hours of sleep the night before, you're even more illustrious. But busy is a lifeless trap — when you're a slave to busy, you miss the good stuff.

Guilty: You run from meeting to meeting, call to call, and rarely have time to think in solitude.

Try This: Banish the word from your vocabulary. Next, look at your calendar for the upcoming week and remove at least five meetings or calls that don't contribute toward your goals. Make a habit of saying no to meetings like these in the future. Go one step further by protecting your calendar and don't take any meetings before 10.30 a.m. Use this time to work independently on initiatives that matter most.

7. Inertia

With an average of six connected devices, 400 channels, and seven hours spent online, we're so inundated with information that sometimes the only response is to throw your hands up in defeat and ride out a wave of paralysis. Science tells us that when we're confronted with more than three options, we lose our ability to make effective decisions. We have about 300 options for most things we want. Our ability to make decisions has dwindled to a point of incapacitation.

We read reviews, cross-reference ratings, and get recommendations. In this search to get more information, we've stopped listening to our intuition and practicing the art of swift decision making. We rely too much on data and categorical insight, rather than trusting our intuition enough to use the insight from our own observations in the wide world.

Guilty: You agonize over inconsequential decisions.

Try This: Practice making fast decisions, by listening to your gut and using insight of your own.

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Journalists' brains apparently show a lower than average level of executive functioning, which means a below average ability to regulate their emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and show creative and flexible thinking.

This is according to a new study led by neuroscientist and leadership coach Dr Tara Swart, who selected 40 journalists from newspaper, magazine, broadcast, and online platforms to analyse.

The research was conducted over seven months, where the participants took part in simple tests relating to their lifestyle, health, and behaviour.

It was launched in association with the London Press Club, and the main objective was to determine how journalists are wired to be able to thrive under stress.

Each subject completed a blood test, wore a heart-rate monitor for three days, kept a food and drink diary for a week, and completed a brain profile questionnaire.

The results showed that journalists' brains were operating at a lower level than the average population, particularly due to dehydration and their tendency to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, and high-sugar foods.

41% of the subjects said they drank 18 or more units of alcohol a week, which is four units above the recommended weekly allowance. Less than 5% of them drank enough water, and some admitted to drinking none at all.

However, in interviews conducted in combination with the brain profile results, the participants indicated they felt their jobs had a lot of meaning and purpose, and they showed high mental resilience. Swart suggested this gave them an advantage over people in other professions to deal with the work pressure of tight deadlines. 

Journalists scored pretty high on:

• Abstraction — This is the ability to deal with ideas rather than events, and relates to the part of the brain where the most sophisticated problem solving takes place. In other words, it highlights the ability to think outside the box, and make connections where others might not see them.
• Value Tagging— This is the ability to assign values to different sensory cues, such as whether something is a priority or has meaning. Scoring highly in this area indicated a good ability to sift through information and pick out what's important.

Journalists scored particularly low on:

• Executive Function — As well as the traits mentioned above, low scores for executive function also suggest poor sleep, nutrition, exercise, and mindfulness. Many participants reported they had no time for breaks while working.
• Silencing the Mind— This relates to being able to have thoughts without getting distracted by them, or having a powerful ability to focus. Low scores indicate the opposite, suggesting journalists have a hard time preventing themselves from worrying about the future or regretting the past.

Compared to bankers, traders, or salespeople, journalists showed they were more able to cope with pressure. Traits that make journalism a particularly stressful professions are deadlines, accountability to the public, unpredictable and heavy workloads, public scrutiny, repercussions on social media, and poor pay.

The results, however, showed that on average, the journalist participants were no more physically stressed than the average person is. The blood tests revealed that the levels of cortisol — known as the stress hormone — were mostly normal.

"The headline conclusion reached is that journalists are undoubtedly subject to a range of pressures at work and home, but the meaning and purpose they attribute to their work contributes to helping them remain mentally resilient despite this," the study reads.

"Nevertheless, there are areas for improvement, including drinking more water and reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption to increase executive functioning and improve recovery during sleep."

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NOW WATCH: A habit expert says people come in 4 types — and figuring out yours is the first step to being happier

Managing a team can be a challenge for everyone. If you're young and it's your first time in a management role, it can be even more so.

You are likely to be in charge of people who have a range of different skills, different personalities, and different ages.

At some point, you'll probably have to manage someone who is older than you. This can get a little awkward to say the least.

According to Juliet Hailstone, senior product marketing manager at HR company MHR, being in charge of someone your senior can be intimidating because you assume they have more experience, more knowledge and more confidence than you.

She gave Business Insider five tips on what to do if you find yourself in this position, so you can get the most out of your team without anyone feeling uncomfortable.

1. You have been asked to do this job for a reason.

According to Hailstone, empathy goes a long way. Think about why you got the job and why they didn't. Perhaps they missed out, or maybe they wanted more time at home at the point they are at in their career. Whatever the reason, you got the job because you have certain strengths, but that doesn't mean that they don't have brilliant skills too.

"It is important to remember that you have been asked to manage your team for a reason — you have the skills and will prove this in time," Hailstone said. "Be patient and assertive about what you would like to achieve and how you would like your team to support those goals, but avoid being pushy... In my experience, managers that shout about being a good boss usually aren't."

2. Focus on minimising friction.

One of your most important roles as a new manager is making it clear what you want the team to achieve. Hailstone recommends adopting a democratic style of leadership to help keep friction low between team members.

"By focusing on tasks rather than on your role as a new manager, you can remove much of the uncertainty and emotion that drives negativity that is often directed upwards," she said. "There is clear direction and your actions are in context. There is clear reasoning behind the requests and decisions that you make."

If everyone is moving in the same direction, you'll probably work in a much more amicable environment.

3. Don't underestimate the power of your elders.

It's important to remember that all the experience your older employees have built up is valuable to you too. Everyone can bring different experiences and knowledge to the table, so use it.

You can start team discussions off assuming you can all learn from each other, and a good leader takes everything of value on board.

"Summarising how each team member contributes to your vision for achieving your objectives can ensure buy in and will make people feel good," Hailstone said. "By acknowledging the strengths of your team members you can make them recognise their importance."

4. Understand what motivates your team members.

You need to know what your team members are after in order to keep them happy and working hard. Of course, everyone is motivated by different things, so you have to ask them how they want to be managed and respect their opinions.

"Some managers underestimate the drive of older employees to learn and stay relevant," Hailstone said. "Regardless of age, knowing what matters to your team members will help you support them in the rights ways — with appropriate development plans and meaningful rewards."

Older employees might value flexibility, whereas younger staff might want more money. It's all about having the right conversations.

5. Plan to get the best from your team.

"Nothing demonstrates experience, knowledge and confidence like success and results," Hailstone said. "With a clear set of initiatives and plans to back them up, you definitely do not need to feel intimidated by anyone younger or older."

A good leader will be able to create a healthy environment within the team that brings together all the different skills each employee brings. And don't forget, you are included in that.

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There's nothing like trying to find your first job. Whether you've just left university or you're searching straight from high school, it can feel like you're sending your CV into the void.

You might start feeling like it's pointless going up against so many people who have a lot more experience than you, and it may seem like you'll never get your foot in the door.

However, it's probably not as bad as you think. Ed Mitzen, founder of marketing company Fingerpaint, has been in the advertising world for a little over 20 years. Over that time he has hired over 1,000 people, many of them recent graduates.

Business Insider asked him what recent graduates or students who are job-hunting for the first time need to know.

Here are his top 10 pieces of advice:

1. Don't stress out about how much time it takes.

Mitzen has three kids, two of whom are nearly finished college. He tells them they have 40 years of work ahead of them, maybe more, so there's no point stressing out if it takes you a few months to find a job once you graduate.

"A lot of these kids who I interview, they [act] like it's life or death if they don't get a job a month after graduating," Mitzen told Business Insider. "I try to tell them that you're going to have plenty of time to work, so just give yourself a little bit of a break, and don't get too stressed out in the process."

2. Know that rejection is part of the game.

Don't get too frustrated with rejection. Mitzen said it's just part of the game. Job applications and interviews take practise just like anything else, and it can take a while to get it right. So don't get stressed out if the first few interviews don't go swimmingly.

3. Focus on the industry, not the job.

Chances are, you're probably not going to be offered your dream job straight out of school — and that's fine. Mitzen says although it can be tempting to go for a role at the level you think you deserve, you should probably focus on getting an entry level position in an industry you really want to get into.

"You're much better off trying to get into an industry that you have some interest in, even if it's not the ideal job you were hoping for," he said. "I tell young graduates that if you want to be in advertising and an advertising agency in New York offers you a job answering the phones, take it. Anything that gets your foot in the door."

This way, you can get to know people, figure out what opportunities might be coming up, and show those higher up that you're passionate about the field.

4. Don't let money be the focus too early on.

It's hard to forget those student loans you're probably dragging along. If you're an overseas student, or you study in America, your fee may have been astronomical. This means it can be tempting to go for any job that seems to pay pretty well, or gives you lots of hours, like bartending.

However, Mitzen says you have to get into the industry you want to sooner or later, so doing this is just delaying the inevitable.

"Eventually you're going to have to take an entry level position somewhere, to begin your sort-of-real career," he said. "And if you need money, or if that's more of a driving force, then maybe bartend at night or on the weekends."

5. Do your research.

One big mistake recent graduates make in interviews is not doing enough research on the company, Mitzen says. It's pretty obvious whether someone's done their homework, because they'll ask pointed questions.

"They should at least know what we do, they should read up on some of our current happenings, or clients that we want, or press releases that have gone out, or relevant industry news," Mitzen said. "They should at least have some basic understanding of what it is we do and the types of people we're looking for, and what's new in our world."

6. Don't ask about salary/ holiday/ benefits too early.

Another error is when interviewees ask about the benefits of the job too early on. Mitzen says that sometimes candidates ask about these things in the first interview, and it sends a "really poor message."

"You have to be offered the job first before you really have a right to start talking about that stuff," he said. "It doesn't really show a real desire to come in and work really hard."

7. Be positive and confident.

Mitzen looks out for candidates who are high energy, are they looking him in the eye when they shake his hand, and appear confident.

"I was 22 years old at one point, so I know that they're nervous and it's uncomfortable," Mitzen said. "But can they get through that to show that they're really excited to be there, and really engaged and present?"

Don't take it so far that you're cocky, but you should at least show that you're excited about the opportunity. This is especially important in advertising, Mitzen says, because it's like a team sport and you work in a collaborative environment.

"We need them to have this air of positivity about them," he said. "If people come in and they look nervous, and they're quiet or they're not smiling, or they appear really reserved, it's challenging. You want somebody who's high energy, and looks like they're going to be excited to be there."

7. Remember the interviewer is rooting for you.

When you've got to the interview stage, that means the employer thinks they might want to hire you. They're looking for someone who's going to be a good fit in the company, is intelligent, and shows initiative. They're rooting for you, and they probably won't want to try and trip you up.

Of course, there will be tricky questions, but just be honest if you can't answer them, or you need some clarification.

"We're not trying to trip people up or put them in a really high stress situation and hope that they bomb," Mitzen said. "We want people to do well, and if you make a mistake, you laugh it off and you ask if that answers the question and try to move on."

8. Recognise that you're not experienced, but that's fine.

"I assume that when you're coming out of university, and you're new to the job market, for the most part you're not really qualified to do anything," Mitzen said. "Nobody is. I wasn't either."

Rather than worrying about how qualified or experienced the other candidates are, focus on what you can bring to the role. Mitzen says he's more interested in getting to know you as a person — whether you're hard working, friendly, or have some unusual interests and skills.

"I always think it's great if you can put on your resume things that are a little bit unique, like if you can juggle, or if you know how to do sign language," he said.

This actually worked for Mitzen's daughter. She got a job teaching kids because the employer liked the fact she would be able to teach them juggling.

9. Make the most of your connections.

Mitzen says he tells graduates all the time not to be afraid of taking advantage of personal connections. His company is only a few hundred people in size, but he gets five to ten resumes a day, and it can be hard to differentiate between them unless one really stands out.

"If we have a personal reference or recommendation from someone, that can make a difference, at least in terms of getting you through the door," Mitzen said. "I think kids are nervous to take advantage of people that they know or that their families know, because they feel like it's cheating, and they need to be able to do it on their own."

At the very least, it will probably get you into a quick interview or coffee meeting with someone at the company.

10. Show you want it.

Mitzen says he likes candidates to show passion by following up with a handwritten note thanking him for the opportunity to interview.

"I just think going that little bit of an extra mile matters," he said. "I think people can show how passionate and excited they are about the opportunity — those are the people that we want."

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NOW WATCH: A Navy SEAL commander explains what his training taught him about ego

Here's a skill set they don't often teach entrepreneurs: asking for help.

Maybe we want to do it all, or at least seem like we're doing it all. Maybe we don't want to impose, or be indebted to someone else. Or maybe our ego just has a hard time thinking someone else can do it better.

Whatever the reason, not asking for help or advice, and believing we can somehow do or know everything, prevents us from doing anything well. Not asking for help leads to distraction from what matters most, which means more time spent on low-priority things than on the things that actually move the needle and move us forward.

I'm so over it.

It didn't happen overnight but, as I've grown into my roles as both an entrepreneur and a parent, I see how crucial it is to ask for help. Here are three reasons why.

1. Asking for help deepens our interdependence.

If I ask for help, I expect to return the gesture at some point. Contributing to that cycle enriches my role and my investment in various networks that I want very much to be part of. In addition, I've found that people want to help and feel useful. I know I do. And they are glad you asked, because it implies a certain amount of trust.

2. Guilt is a total downer.

At a certain point, in the depths no doubt of Overwhelm or Exhaustion, I understood how deeply and variously guilt was holding me back. Feeling guilty about asking for help didn't leave enough time for the higher-profile, big-priority things that needed to get done if I was going to make noticeable progress. Once I made the internal decision to change that, the transition gained momentum quickly.

3. The P Word.

Pride, that is. Want to be good at everything, or at least look as if you are? That's just pride talking. And it gets in the way, big time. Certainly there are a (very) few things that I do want to be exceptionally good at. Writing, for example, and making my kids' favorite snacks. For everything else, I'm glad to ask for help, and let someone else take the credit. There's enough to go around. I promise.

There's no 10-step process for getting better at asking for help. The lightbulb moments that led to my shift in thinking about it happened at unplanned moments, like 1:30 on a Tuesday afternoon when walking back from lunch.

It was useful, however, to have planted the seed in my mind to be aware of occasions when I could ask for help. Small things at first, like seeking advice on commission-based sales from people who are already successful in that area. Soon I was also looking for occasions when I could offer help, which led to the sea-change realization of interdependence (Number One, above), which got the whole thing rolling.

Have you had a lightbulb moment about the importance of asking for help? What was it, and how did it affect your working life?

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NOW WATCH: 9 phrases on your résumé that make hiring managers cringe

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NOW WATCH: 9 phrases on your résumé that make hiring managers cringe

If you're a cat person, the Just Cats Veterinary Clinic may have the ideal job for you.

The veterinary practice, based in Dublin, is looking for someone to cuddle cats all day long. The advert says the ideal candidate should be a "crazy cat person" with "cattitude."

The clinic is a "no dogs" area, so dog-people need not apply. However, if you have "gentle hands capable of petting and stroking cats for long periods of time," this could be your calling.

You're especially qualified if you've fed stray cats in your area and you feel "warm and fuzzy" when you pet them.

The advert also specifies that it's looking for a softly spoken person capable of "cat whispering" to calm the nerves of the patients, and an ability to differentiate between types of purring.

Oh, and you'll also need a qualification recognised by the veterinary council of Ireland.

If you're interested in the role, visit the website here, or email your cover letter and CV to miaow@justcats.ie.

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NOW WATCH: Why being awkward makes you more likely to succeed

The automation of jobs has many advantages, like increased productivity. However, the main disadvantage is that people are concerned their careers may become obsolete in the next few decades.

A recent study showed that millennials in general choose professions that are more "future-proof," and less likely to be taken over by machines, but that still leaves many unsure of whether a robot will steal their job or not.

The world's number one job site, Indeed, has over 200 million unique visitors per month, which gives them an insight into what kinds of jobs are available, and what skills are in demand.

Based on this data, Indeed's EMEA economist Mariano Mamertino has come up with a list of nine career paths — exclusive to Business Insider — that are the least likely to be taken over by machines, or will complement their work.

Mamertino said that the occupations which will be harder to automate "often involve managing and developing people" and "decision-making and strategic planning, or creative work."

"Machines have the potential to make the workplace more efficient, by automating mechanical and routine processes, but humans will always play a key-role at the centre," he said. 

Scroll down to see if your career makes the list, which is ranked in ascending order by average salary, according to data from Indeed and job search site Glassdoor.

Chef — £18,730 per year.

People will always enjoy the experience of going out for dinner and trying new flavours. Without a chef who is able to taste, new and innovative menus wouldn't be so readily available.

A robot wouldn't be able to combine manual skills with creativity the way a chef does, no matter how hard they try.

In the UK, chefs are in demand, with 22.4% of Head Chef, 22% of Sous Chef, and 21.3% of Executive Chef jobs remaining on the Indeed website for more than 60 days.

Marketing, communications, and design — Around £25,000 per year.

Machines aren't great at critical thinking, or coming up with new and exciting ideas, so your creativity may well be future-proof.

People who design for a living, or who work with ideas, words, and images will probably survive the increase in automation, because machines don't function like humans. Not yet, at least.

Healthcare professionals — £26,380 per year.

Some roles are not going to be taken over by machines for a long time — if at all — because they require human interaction. Healthcare professionals are very much in this category. Nursing requires strong interpersonal and communication skills, which are things you probably won't get from any machine that exists now.

At the moment, in the UK home care nursing jobs are the hardest to fill in the sector, so if you have this job you are still rare and in-demand.

We are hiring a video-editing intern for the shows team at INSIDER, a lifestyle publication that delivers stories to readers across digital platforms.

This internship is at our Flatiron headquarters in New York City. The internship starts immediately (March 2017), and will run for six months. Interns are encouraged to work full-time (40 hours a week) if their schedule allows.

The shows team creates videos and series for INSIDER’s YouTube channel, and interns on the team produce, shoot, and edit video. We tell stories across a wide variety of subjects, including food, travel, beauty, design, pop culture, and style. We’re looking for a self-starter who can hit the ground running and adapt to new ideas and directions. You’ll have the opportunity to help shape a new department and tell exciting original stories.

Candidates should know how to edit on Adobe Premiere and Photoshop. After Effects experience is preferred but not mandatory. Candidates should have some experience shooting video on Canon, Sony, or Panasonic DSLRs. Experience with the Sony FS7, Canon C100 and C300 is desirable, but not mandatory.

Our interns are an integral part of our team. We seek out people who are enthusiastic about collaborating with reporters, fellow producers, social media editors, and other team members.

At INSIDER, our motto is "Life is an adventure." We tell stories for, about, and by people who seize life. That means they love to travel, try new foods, listen to new music, and fight for what’s right — and they admire people who do the same. INSIDER is distributed across social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, as well as on the web.

If this sounds like you're dream job, apply here with a resume and cover letter telling us why you should be a video intern for INSIDER shows.

See all of INSIDER's current job openings here.

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NOW WATCH: Here's why the American flag is reversed on military uniforms

The mind is the most powerful tool you have. Most people are aware of this, but sometimes employers forget that this is where the creativity, ideas, and value of their staff lies.

According to Christopher Harvey, the founder of professional coaching service Harvey Sinclair, companies should see the benefit in investing in their employees' mental health.

Harvey says the coaching he does doesn't just help people — there's a real economic interest to it as well.

"If you drain an employee, you beat that horse as hard as you want, it's going to do the best it can with what it's given," Harvey told Business Insider. "But if you give that horse more up front and you invest more in the horse as well, it's going to give you more in the race."

'From functional to exceptional'

Harvey got into coaching because he wanted to become "the guy that wasn't there" when he himself had needed help.

He wanted to be there for people who were reaching breaking point but didn't realise it. Harvey himself went through huge personal battles, including a marriage that only lasted five weeks, and his parents' messy divorce.

To get through all of this, he threw himself into his career, made his way up the ladder, and became very successful. He only realised this wasn't wholly fulfilling when he looked in the mirror one day and thought: "Why am I so dis-satisfied?"

"I got to the point where I thought, is life worth living? Until you get to that point, I don't believe people take you seriously," Harvey said. "They look at you and think, 'Spoilt kid, had a bit of a rough time, let's whack him on some medication.'"

In reality, coaching is about making people the best they can be, says Harvey. It's not about fixing people — it's about getting people to a good place mentally before they need medical professionals to make them better.

"I don't deal with broken people," he said. "I deal with people who are functional and I take them to exceptional."

The 'burnout economy'

Harvey refers to something called the "burnout economy," which basically means people let themselves get to a bad place because they simply chose not to do anything about it.

"It's like with a balloon — you can fill it up with water and then suddenly it bursts, and then at that point you look on the floor and it doesn't look anything like what it did when it was in your hand," Harvey said. "It's a shriveled up piece of plastic, and I'm not kidding, that's what people's minds look like after they've had a burnout, because they look at themselves and go 'How do I pick myself up from this?'"

The answer is, it's hard. That's when doctors and psychiatrists have to get involved. Harvey says it's his goal for people to get the help they need before they ever get close to this point. The best way of doing this is by having a "proactive economy."

"It's where we acknowledge that these people who have extraordinary talent, who are in these jobs, they are ordinary people," Harvey said. "They are flesh and blood just like you and me, anyone else. They just happen to have extraordinary talent. And they need to value their highest value asset."

It's not 'one-size-fits-all'

There's no one-size-fits-all to wellbeing coaching. Everyone is different, and everyone will have a different problem they are struggling with. In fact, blanket solutions like offering weekly meditation sessions or trying to get everyone to work on the same issues can actually be more damaging. This is why Harvey Sinclair is going for a more bespoke approach.

The first step is developing rapport with clients, and establishing what it is they'd like to get out of the coaching. It could be anything from improving your performance at work, to the health of your relationships, your opinion of yourself, or the way you deal with your family.

He then asks people to draw a "Wheel of Life," which has eight to 10 different aspects of life on a zero to 10 scale. Clients have to shade out an area of this wheel to represent the level of satisfaction in each of the segments.

"We don't want to throw someone in the deep end in coaching — it's about building a relationship," Harvey said. "You need to get off to a peaceful start and be honest and open. The challenging stuff comes later on."

Harvey explains that to see a change in coaching you have to push people to places they're not capable of going by themselves. He says it's different to therapy because clients don't necessarily know something is wrong. Usually, people just want to be happy.

"It doesn't make people feel like they're being treated for something," Harvey said. "People are exploring and you're creating something better than what you came in with. That's why we are able to make impact on people."

Also, employees are likely to feel more valued by their company if it takes a real interest in their health. When the best and brightest are coming out of university, if they're weighing up two different companies to work for, there's more incentive for them to choose the one that offers wellbeing coaching. It's also a good way of getting employees to stick around.

The 'stiff upper-lip' attitude needs to change

Harvey says that coaching is gaining traction in some companies like Google, but he would like to see it become adopted everywhere, even if it takes a while for people to come around.

He predicts that in 18 months coaching will become formally regulated, which could be the boost the industry needs to be taken more seriously. Many people, especially men, see wellbeing coaching as "fluffy" and a waste of time where people go around in a circle and talk about their feelings. Another common misconception is that coaching is for those who are weak.

"Our perception of strength is to not seek help," Harvey explained. "Our perception of strength, certainly in London, is that if you're a strong person and you're a capable person, then you are someone who can do it by yourself."

In reality, this isn't true. Boxer Anthony Joshua, for example, is at his physical peak right now because of his own talent, but also because of his team. He's always crediting his coach and the rest of his team at every turn. He couldn't do it alone, and Harvey argues nobody who is working a highly stressful job should be expected to either.

"If you were going to do a marathon, you wouldn't do it without training," Harvey said. "Yet when people walk through the door at J.P. Morgan, they're saying 'I'm ready for this.' And I don't think they are ready for that. I think some people get through it because they're more naturally resilient. But at some point, whether it's tomorrow, or in ten years, they will burn out."

Harvey says the stiff upper-lip attitude also has to change. He said Prince William and Prince Harry opening up about their struggles with mental health has started a shift, but there is still a long way to go.

For example, Aaron Lennon, a 30-year-old professional footballer who earns £60,000 a week, was detained under the Mental Health Act earlier this month.

"How unacceptable is that?" Harvey said. "That just shouldn't be happening, not to someone who is surrounded by an organisation that can afford all the resources to support people."

"I don't want to see that happen to people in the city," he added. "We don't need people getting to that place. And if it takes me getting an absolute battering along the way — because there will be lots of rejection and people sniggering thinking it's a load of garbage — I know the statistics speak for themselves. And if I can help some people, then it's worth doing."

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NOW WATCH: A flight attendant shares the reasons you can get bumped from a flight and the best ways to avoid it

For many people, firing someone is the worst part of being a manager. No matter how many times you do it, it is never easy. In her book "Radical Candor: Be A Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity,"Kim Scott explores finding the sweet spot in management, somewhere between obnoxiously aggressive and ruinously empathetic. She explains the most diplomatic way to fire an employee. Following is a transcript of the video. 

The most important thing never to do when firing someone is to go in with the mentality that you're firing them because they suck. The mentality to go into that conversation with – and it's one of the worst conversations you'll ever have in your life. It's really hard. I don't know anyone who doesn't wake up with an upset stomach on a day you have to fire somebody.

So, I think the most important thing you can do is to go in with the mentality that this is a great person, this is a great job but this is a terrible job for that person, right? This is a job that sucks for that person. And one thing that I have found really helpful to go into the conversation with a sense of compassion is to think about a job that I've sucked at. To think about a job that I've hated. And what a relief to was not to be doing that job anymore.

And the second thing that I try to think about before firing somebody is I try to imagine a job where this person would really flourish. And in fact if I can I'll even make an introduction to that person to help them find a job that is – where they can really be great.

I think those two sort of mental exercises before firing somebody are incredibly helpful. When you're firing somebody this is not the moment to be giving tons and tons and tons of feedback because that makes the conversation backward looking. You want to get the person and yourself moving forward to a better place.

Produced by Sam Rega.

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Not all states are created equal when it comes to making a living. While your income might be greater in places like New York or California, high tax rates and cost of living can greatly affect your lifestyle.

Personal finance site MoneyRates used several data sources, including the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, to determine the best and worst states for making a living in 2017. The ranking is based on five factors: average wages, state tax rates, cost of living, unemployment rates, and incidents of workplace injuries. (See the full list and  methodology.)

Check out the best and worst states below:

With no state-income tax and the fourth-highest median wage in the country, Washington took the No. 1 spot this year, beating out last year's winner, Wyoming.

For the seventh year in a row, Hawaii was named the worst state to make a living for its 67% higher cost of living than the national average.

SEE ALSO: The salary you need to earn to buy a home right now in 19 of the most expensive housing markets in America

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NOW WATCH: How to fix all of your sleep problems with science

Have you always dreamed about solving crimes? Did you grow up idolising Sherlock Holmes and Jessica Fletcher?

Well, those ambitions can now become a reality. For the first time, Londoners are being offered the chance to join the Metropolitan Police Service directly as a detective constable, without any prior policing experience.

The Met says it is looking to attract talented applicants from a range of backgrounds for 80 detective roles.

They are looking for people who can bring "diversity, skills, knowledge, and a wide variety of experiences to the organisation."

The application process will start from May 31 and close on July 3. Successful candidates would start working in "investigative policing" as soon as they complete their 18 weeks of training.

There are four key requirements for candidates:

• People applying should have lived in London for three of the past six years.
• Have a university degree.
• Be required to pass a National Investigators Exam within 12 months of being recruited.
• Complete a two-year development programme before being given the title of detective constable.

"London continues to change and so do its criminals. Increasing complex crimes such as cyber-criminality and the pressing need to protect vulnerable people mean our investigators need to develop new expertise,"said Detective Chief Superintendent Stephen Clayman, lead for the detective recruitment programme, in a statement.

"To meet these challenges and to face future threats, the Met will need to equip its officers, present and future, with the right skills and capabilities. We will need to ensure we are even more innovative in the way we recruit, and that we look and feel like the Londoners we serve."

Successful applicants will start on a salary of £22,896 with London allowances of £6,711. After training, their wage rises to £38,001, plus allowances.

Currently, the Met has 5,500 detectives out of 31,000 police officers. Earlier this year, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said there was a shortage of detectives and investigators at the Met, leading to a "national crisis" of strain on the force.

At the time, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons said the Met was short of around 800 detectives. Allegedly, investigations were being led by those who didn't have sufficient training or experience, The Guardian reported. This new recruitment scheme aims to tackle the problem.To learn more about the role,

To learn more about the role, you can apply on the Metropolitan Police website here.

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NOW WATCH: You can get hit with a $11,000 fine if you drink your own alcohol on a flight

Leadership is hard. Being the boss is hard.

(I know that makes me sound like Captain Obvious, but that doesn't make it any less true.) That's even more true when you own your own business, because all the leadership bucks ultimately stop at you.

Being a boss is stressful, demanding, and often overwhelming — yet also incredibly fulfilling and rewarding, as long as you do everything possible to truly inspire, serve, and lead.

And that means never saying things like this:

1. 'I shouldn't have to thank my employees for doing their jobs.'

Yes, you should. Praising employees is the courteous thing to do, and from a performance point of view, praise reinforces positive behaviors and makes it much more likely those behaviors will occur in the future.

By all means, expect your employees to do their jobs, but praise them when they do — because that's your job.

2. 'I shouldn't have to work under this kind of pressure.'

Yes, you should. Join the leadership club. Every boss is stuck in between, with employees the "rock" and customers, vendors, investors, and even yourself the "hard place."

If demands seem overwhelming and pull you too far away from your team, get your employees more involved in your projects and responsibilities.

They'll be glad to help, especially if they gain skills and exposure in the process.

3. 'I don't get paid enough to deal with this.'

You're right. Great leaders are chronically under-compensated and under-appreciated, and that will probably never change.

But great employers see the satisfaction they gain from praising, developing, mentoring, and helping employees reach their goals as a part of their total compensation package.

If you don't see it that way, rethink whether you want to run a business — otherwise you'll always be dissatisfied.

4. 'My employees do better when I leave them alone.'

If that's true, it means you are the problem.

Great employees don't need (or want) to be told what to do, but they do need to hear they do a great job — it will help them learn about new directions or strategies. Everyone likes some amount of attention.

Just make sure the attention you give makes a positive impact.

5. 'I don't have time to deal with all the politics/agendas/emotions.'

Company politics can be a factor even for a business owner in total command of the operation.

Tough. It's your company. If the culture is bad, fix it. If politics keep people from doing their jobs or performing as well as they could, fix it.

Taking care of any problems that make it hard for your employees to do their best is your job. Do your job.

6. 'I don't want her to get too much credit.'

Don't be afraid your employees might outshine you. Your goal is to have employees outshine you.

Great leaders surround themselves with outstanding talent. That's how they become great leaders.

The better your team, and the individuals that make up your team, the better you look.

7. 'I don't know why they're complaining. It was good enough for me...'

Do you train employees by tossing them into the fire simply because that's how you were once treated? Whenever you feel something was "good enough for me," realize that it isn't good enough for your employees.

Determine the best way to train and develop employees, and then make it happen. Any bad experiences you had should shape a more positive approach, not serve as a blueprint.

8. 'I need to be seen engaging with my team... so I'll go chat with Kim.'

You need to get to know employees on a personal level, but do you gravitate toward those with whom you share common interests? Maybe so, but the employees you need to connect with the most are often those with whom you have the least in common. Kim may be the path of least resistance... which means she shouldn't be the only person on your employee engagement list.

Every employee deserves your attention and respect. So take an interest. Ask questions. Find a common interest — even if it's simply trying to help that person reach his or her career and personal goals.

When you make a sincere effort, your employees will make it easy for you. After all, we naturally appreciate anyone who is interested in us.

9. 'He doesn't like me, so I'm not going to waste my time.'

Few things are more awkward than working with, or even just talking to, employees who you feel don't like you.

Reach out and clear the air. Say, "Mike, I don't feel our working relationship is as positive as it could be, and I'm sure that's my fault. I really want to make it better."

Then let Mike vent. Sure, you may not like hearing what he says, but once you do, you'll know how to make the situation better.

Making things better is what your job is all about.

SEE ALSO: 9 research-backed ways to be more persuasive

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NOW WATCH: 9 phrases on your résumé that make hiring managers cringe

Having the right credentials is crucial for any job search.

But your success also depends on where the best opportunities are.

According to a recent report from personal finance site WalletHub, landing a job is far easier in some states than in others.

WalletHub assigned each US state a score based on numerous factors, including median annual income adjusted for the cost of living, share of employees with private health insurance, and the number of workers living below the poverty line.

WalletHub also assigned each state an employment outlook score using Gallup's job creation index. The score is based on the amount workers say their place of employment is increasing or decreasing the size of its workforce, with the highest score of 42 indicating the best employment outlook.

To read more about the study's methodology, check out the full report here.

Here are the top 15 states for finding a job:

SEE ALSO: 11 big-name companies based in small-town America

DON'T MISS: The 20 best US cities for finding a job in 2017

15. Kansas

Median annual income (adjusted for the cost of living): $57,749

Unemployment rate: 4.2%

Share of employees with private health insurance: 84.1%

Employment outlook: 40

Kansas features a low statewide underemployment rate.

14. Connecticut

Median annual income (adjusted for the cost of living): $53,811

Unemployment rate: 5.1%

Share of employees with private health insurance: 82.8%

Employment outlook: 40

Connecticut has the third lowest share of workers living below the poverty line.

13. Utah

Median annual income (adjusted for the cost of living): $65,439

Unemployment rate: 3.4%

Share of employees with private health insurance: 81.8%

Employment outlook: 2

Utah features a high median annual income.

Facial hair has always been in fashion in one way or another. However, you'd have to be blind not to have noticed the upwards trend in beard growth over the past few years.

One company wasn't thrilled with workers turning up unshaven, and has just issued a ban on beards and heavy stubble.

In a letter to staff spotted on Twitter, UK building firm The Mears Group explains that excessive facial hair inhibits the correct fitting of gas masks. This makes it a health and safety issue, as contaminated air could leak through the gaps into the lungs, the company said.

A goatee may be acceptable, as will a beard if you're growing one for medical or religious reasons, but you'll need a note from your mosque, temple, synagogue or GP.

The rule will be rolled out nationwide to all 20,000 people employed by Mears, but the company has received negative feedback about its decision.

"The arrogance of Mears is hair-raising," said Unite regional official for London Mark Soave, according to Construction News. "This is a highly delicate issue, which has huge cultural, religious, and personal issues, and where sensitivity should be the watchword. Instead, members have been handed a decree from on high."

He added that the idea amounts to "penny pinching stupidity," because other masks are available if the company was willing to spend more money.

Mark Elkington, health & safety director at Mears responded by saying he was surprised and disappointed by Unite's opinion, and said there is no realistic alternative to the ban.

He said that no dust mask can work effectively if it doesn't come into contact with the skin, and the only alternative is a full hood over the head which carries its own risks because it affects hearing and sight.

"It is vital to note, however, that if a risk assessment shows that the hood is a better option for a job or a worker insisted on having one, then, if assessed to be suitable, we will supply that hood, so Unite’s reference to cost saving is absolute nonsense," Elkington added. "One has to question the real motives of Unite which has chosen not to take the safety of its members seriously in order to make a cheap point."

Beard health and safety

In 2015, scientific evidence appeared to suggest that the cleanliness of men's beards was comparable to toilets. Research conducted by Quest Diagnostics microbiologist John Golobic found that the bacteria taken from swabs was the same as bacteria found in fecal matter.

However, last year it was discovered that having facial hair might actually be good for you. A 2014 study resurfaced that showed clean-shaven men had a higher rate of harmful MRSA on their faces than their bearded counterparts.

It suggested that the beard acts as a kind of antibiotic itself, and in some instances found microbes lurking in the hairs that could kill certain kinds of bacteria.

While the health and safety concerns are up for debate, if you want to keep your job at Mears, it looks like you'll have to rock the clean-shaven look for a while.

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NOW WATCH: Why being awkward makes you more likely to succeed

Have you ever walked out of a meeting or get-together feeling thrilled and amazed...only to reflect 15 minutes later and groan, "I can't believe I agreed to do that!"? That is the power of charisma.

A truly charismatic person can almost hypnotize those around them, quickly influencing opinions, changing minds, even bending you to their will.

While personal magnetism is generally considered a positive trait, and it can be used to do great things, it can also be used to cause great harm.

How can you avoid being taken in and manipulated by another person's charm? The first step is to realize that charisma is something anyone can learn. Yes, some people have more natural charm than others, but there are emotional and psychological buttons that anyone can learn to push. Once you know what they are, and can recognize that someone is working hard to push yours, it will be harder for them to take you in.

Here's what to watch for and how to respond.

1. The messenger outshines the message.

Cambridge scholar Jochen Menges calls this the "awestruck effect." Magnetic leaders and powerful public speakers often have it. Their personal energy is so strong that they could be reading the phone book and you would be captivated. If you walk away from a presentation amazed, but you can't remember the speaker's 2-3 key points, you have hit by the awestruck effect. Beware buying anyone's argument if you can't recall and explain what it was. Try doing some research and reading on their ideas on your own, without the distraction of their physical presence.

2. The stories hit home fast.

A key trait of charisma is the ability to quickly trigger specific emotions in others. They often have a whole arsenal of stories — funny, sad, or distressing — and listening to them is as good as any Hollywood movie. Hey, there are few things more enjoyable than a good story well told! But check in with yourself. Do you feel your anger rising? Or are your heartstrings being tugged? The teller may be preparing to sell you on something, so they're manipulating you into a vulnerable emotional state. Take a step back and a few breaths. Ask some polite follow up questions before you commit to anything.

3. They always have the perfect compliment... for a price.

Who doesn't like to hang out with people who make them feel good about themselves? One sign of a true friend is that they see your best qualities and help you see them, too. But a talented charmer can use that same ability to lower your defenses. It is possible to become addicted to their approval, and you will do anything to get it. Beware the person who is full of your praise at first, then begins demanding favors, loyalty, or support in exchange. If they start to withhold their approval until you deliver, it's time to step away.

4. They never let you forget they're on your side.

Most people long for someone to say, "I get what you're saying,""You're absolutely right," or "You deserve better." This is especially true when a feeling of injustice or unfairness is involved. Charismatic people know that a little empathy goes a long way, however. Many people are satisfied just hearing "I'm on your side" without seeing any behavior to back up that claim. If someone swears over and over that they understand and support you, measure their actions against their words. If they don't match up, you might need to move on.

5. The mood and the moment make it hard to think.

They're too smart to say "don't think, just feel" but a charismatic manipulator is totally focused on making sure you do just that. Many scientific studies show that good decisions come from a balance of emotional and rational processes in the brain. They also show that strong emotions, especially negative ones, make it harder to think clearly. If someone is working hard to wind you up, it is time to start asking hard questions. Then get some space so you can think about their responses with a clear mind.

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