by American College of Veterinary Behaviorists

Non-fiction

I read a lot of books and articles about cats, but this started teaching me a few things I didn't know pretty quickly. For example, highly bred cats who are bred for temperament gets theirs from the father cat. Who knew?

The one big disappointment in this book was when it came to talking about cats who don't get along over a sustained period, it told me to ask my vet. My vet would just say re-home one of them which isn't an option! I was hoping they could give me some insights on how to get two cats at war in the same house to make peace, or at least manage to tolerate each other. To be fair, it did mention there are medications that might help.

There was some good related advice about making sure each cat has their own space and places to hide. The information was laid out in bites that made it easy to read, although it was sometimes repetitive and a lot of the information is already known by cat enthusiasts, but people new to cat ownership will certainly benefit from it and some things that seem obvious sink in better when put in writing. I'm not sure how the format will work with referring back to specific information but perhaps a paperback would be easier to flip through for that.

Overall it is a valuable source of information with something for cat veterans and a wealth of information for new cat owners. It would probably be my first choice for books I should have read when I first became a cat slave.

For many of us, the coronavirus outbreak is the most significant event of our lives and also the most traumatising one. It has affected us as an individual, society and professionals immensely. While the end of this pandemic is difficult to picture right now, eventually everything is going to settle and return to the way it was before. However, a few things will be changed permanently, especially the way we work and act in our office.

Here are a few pointers that have entirely transformed our workspace and working

perspective amidst the pandemic.

1.   More Flexible Environment

Ever since the government imposed lockdown, business owners were left with no choice but to search for an alternative to keep their businesses running. In this case, working from home became a new normal and almost every company adopted this trend. Even organisations who were against the idea of remote working were seen offering this flexibility to their employees.

It is said that this culture is going to remain popular even after this pandemic subsides due to its vast benefits. One of the reason being, it takes less than 30 seconds to commute to work using electronic devices and a stable internet connection. Moreover, remote workers have proven their abilities by acing their productivity which makes it difficult for the managers to take away this opportunity from them.

2.   Distance Learning Opportunities

Surely, nothing can beat in-person learning but e-learning has gained popularity ever since the professionals were restricted to their homes. More and more employers recommended online courses to their workers to upskill their talent in the right way. Be it innovative or strategic, there are thousands of lessons, workshops and seminars available on the internet for training purposes.

This is one way for the business owners to ensure that their workforce was working on their skills and developing professionally during the quarantine. However, one on one learning will likely return as a small portion of the learning curriculum when the in-house operations are resumed.  

3.   Modern Business Attire

To be honest, nobody has dressed up while working from home during this pandemic. From upper to lower management, no one wore heels or suit and a tie to just sit in front of their laptops to work indoors. And maybe remote workers might have gotten a little too comfortable in their comfy clothes. After all of this is over, it is expected that employees will focus less on their physical appearance and this trend towards formal attire will break down. Moreover, a few of the organisations who have started working from office have allowed their employees to come in casual dressing. But the condition is that they don’t have any meetings lined up with the clients for the day. Those employees who have to meet clients every day, of course they’d follow the same formal attire ritual.

4.   New Workspace Structure

With the modifications in the work processes, the office outlook is also not going to be the same again. Employers are making sure that when the workers continue their operations on-site, they are provided with every facility to keep themselves safe. Many companies are transforming their workspace according to social distancing measures. They are also making use of temperature checking tools to ensure all entrants are healthy.

Moreover, the meetings and conference rooms are being redesigned and only limited employees will be allowed to enter on a specified time. It will encourage community engagement and promote interaction but in a much-protected manner.

5.   Integration of Digital Tools

If there were no instant messaging and video conferencing applications, the virtual office environment would never be a reality. Just like a normal interaction at work, these tools helped the employers and employees to stay connected even from a distance. Today, video conferences have become a daily routine to report and receive feedback on performance.

Besides, many companies plan to continue this custom even in their post-pandemic work life as it is efficient and requires no human interaction at all. The managers only have to set a feasible time and day for the remote team to gather online and discuss their issues and daily productivity.

All in all, despite all the good things, the line between personal and professional life has been disappeared. Because homes that were meant to be a space of comfort and peace are now transformed into workspaces. However, it was this pandemic that taught the professionals the importance of staying connected and sharing their anxieties and worries. Even though it was a tough ride, but it made us more compassionate, understanding and empathetic. And this is what that makes this experience unique and sophisticated from all the other tragic events.

If you liked this article and want to read more, search for UK online essay help and enlighten yourself with the current happenings around the world.

Talking about Behaviour Coaching in Bangalore, India, It facilitates in exploring our behaviors, values, attitude, perceptions, beliefs, motives, emotions and actions that can help us make significant changes in our behaviors.

What an odd book. 

I had no idea what this book was about and the beginning really had me stumped as to what the story would be. 

Now, I am really enjoying it even tho I don't believe there is much of a story here - it's mostly a character study through the eyes of an unreliable narrator. 

It's Friday night after a crappy week at work, which saw a departmental restructure that can only be described as A Game of Thrones...but without dragons, and therefore just stupid. So, I have resorted to watching films (The Two Popes is excellent) for comfort since I've come home, and I am planning to make the most of the weekend before work brings another week of madness (I have some new people starting and need to travel abroad for a meeting with another colleague, while trying to keep an eye on goings on ... preparing for another new start and the company's big office move in three weeks' time). 

Anyway..... It's also Granite Noir weekend. So, I am out with friends tomorrow to see Dial M for Murder at the theatre, then have a guided walk around town which is lead by one of my favourite local historians, and lastly, I have finally managed to get a ticket to Katheryn Harkup's Poisoned Tea Party on Sunday. I've been to her Poisoned Cocktail Evenings before but have never been quick enough to get tickets for the tea party.

I am very excited.

As for reading, I really, really want to start the Kelly book, but I just can't at the moment - it's a mood thing. 

The C.S. Lewis biography has turned out to be surprisingly good so far. Nothing entirely new, but I very much enjoy that Duriez has included quotes from correspondence that gives much more insight into Lewis' life so far, and has refrained from giving meaning or interpreting events in his life against Lewis' later work and faith. This is something I very much appreciate. He is also not coming across as a "fan-boy" of Lewis', which puts Duriez at an advantage (imo) over other biographers I have read. 

And I know that I won't have much time to read anything else this weekend, but I really want to pick up something else. Something from the category of "comfort read".

And of course, I will need a book for the flights on Monday/Tuesday.

And this month's book club read is due on Wednesday.... Erm.