The rise of the smartphone hasn’t just changed the way we communicate and enjoy entertainment, but it now serves as one of the most convenient platforms for learning. Mobile learning is the latest way we can support eLearning experiences, with a range of benefits for today’s workforce. Here are some of the top advantages of using mobile learning at work.

With the growing mobile device market penetration and the increasing need for digital learning, mobile learning has recently seen exponential growth. Both academic and corporate industries are certainly utilizing this modern format of learning, but those looking for an edge in the workforce may find it particularly useful.

Whether you’re on the hunt for a new job or wanting to get ahead in your current position, mobile learning at work is one of the smartest ways to do so. Digital learning on the go means you have more and freedom to learn as you please… and experts have shown that you can actually retain the information easier when it’s served in this bite-sized format.

Unlike traditional learning methods, mobile learning can be enrolled in and accessed virtually within minutes. For the job seeker, having this edge over competitors means you can stay up to date with training and stay informed on whatever may be relevant to your potential employer.

Say you’ve just found an advertisement for your dream job and the employer mentions the importance of knowing a particular software (one that you have limited knowledge in). This could be the deal breaker that clinches the position for you, and you definitely don’t want to let it slide that easily!

With mobile learning, however, you can enroll in a course within a matter of minutes and get trained in just a few days - setting you apart from your competition.

Even if you don’t get that particular job, you’ve just added another skill to your resume that suits the line of work you’re interested in. Now there will never be a need to fall behind your competitors just because you didn’t have the correct training, and you can confidently discuss your new skill during your interview as well!

How Mobile Learning At Work Can Get You Ahead 

Mobile learning is the perfect platform for those who are already employed and looking to get the most they can out of their current position. Whether the training is being offered by your employer themselves or you take it upon yourself to do some up-skilling with a mobile learning module, there tons of benefits to this particular style of training.

With mobile learning, you can learn virtually anywhere you go so that you’re mentally at your sharpest when it’s time to study. Not only will this help you to retain information better, but it also gives you flexibility that you simply can’t get with other methods of training.

By showing your employer that you’re self-motivated and have the initiative to take on additional training to succeed, you’ll be placing yourself in a good standing when compared to others who only take on the training that’s offered to them. In fact, many times an employer will be more than happy to take on the cost of your mLearning modules, provided you can show them how it will make you a more valuable worker. It’s really a win/win for you both.

The Importance Of Mobile Learning For Your Employees

For employers, mobile learning really is a no-brainer. When considering how you will train your staff, there are several ways that mobile learning is the better option for employees of all ages and backgrounds.

Traditional corporate training may not suit everyone’s learning styles, causing some staff to shy away from getting involved in the first place. A solid mobile learning plan ensures that a range of learning styles are covered with lectures, podcasts, videos, text, and social collaboration so that everyone’s unique requirements are catered to.

2. Making The Most Of Your Employees' Downtime.

One of the key benefits of mobile learning at work is its convenience, giving your staff access to training literally any time of the day and from anywhere on earth. Rather than spending their downtime socializing or surfing the web, your staff can take in bite-sized portions of learning in their down-time. Studies have even shown that over 50% of employees have participated in mLearning while lying in bed, somewhere you would never have been able to engage them previously.

3. Ensures Your Staff Stay On Top Of Technology Trends.

A workplace that keeps its employees in the past will have a hard time making a difference in the real world - thus the importance of staying on top of trends in technology. By giving your staff access to mobile learning, you’re building on their technological skills and ensuring they don’t fall behind with upcoming trends.

Rather than having a scheduled training session on a specific day and time, mobile learning allows your staff to study at their own pace. When they’re actively engaged at a time of their choosing, they’re far more likely to retain information and stay motivated.

How To Get Started With Mobile Learning 

Since it’s predicted that by 2018 70% of professionals will do some form of work from their mobile devices, there’s never been a better time to invest in this technology. The first step is to consider your current skill set and areas where you might like to improve and then do your research on which course might suit you best.

For those who are already employed, having a chat with your supervisor about potential mLearning ventures at your workplace will not only show initiative on your part but also help to keep your entire workplace on top of current industry trends and skills.

With so many benefits to both companies and their staff, mobile learning at work is the smartest way to utilize the growing trend of smartphones and the eagerness for digital learning. By getting ahead in this movement, you’re guaranteeing yourself an edge in the workforce and you’re also giving yourself a huge stepping stone in your career at the same time.

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Mobile learning: the next step in workplace education

No one likes being manipulated. Whether it’s in our personal or professional lives, the idea of manipulation is generally considered to be a bad thing. 

Most of us associate manipulation with negative connotations, such as people trying to take advantage of us or push us into doing something we don’t really want to do. But have you ever thought about the potential of manipulation for positive change?

Today, we’ll look at how manipulation can sometimes be a good thing — as surprising as this may sound.

Whether or not you realise it, you’re most likely being manipulated every day, in both your personal and professional life. The power of manipulation is harnessed by marketers and businesses everywhere to convince us to buy certain things and live our lives in certain ways.

So, which of these cases of manipulation are good and which are bad? Is it wrong to encourage people to give up smoking or embrace a healthier lifestyle, or can we consider that a form of positive manipulation?

The difference between persuasion and coercion 

By definition, the word ‘manipulate’ — meaning simply “to handle or control in a skillful manner, or to control or influence a person or situation” — does not hold any inherently negative connotations.   

However, the use of this control or influence can become a negative or positive thing depending on whether it takes the form of persuasion or coercion. It’s important to understand the difference between these actions, particularly for employers and managers.

Persuasion is about getting people to do things they want to do

Coercion is about getting people to do things they don’t want to do

Managers and team leaders should be very aware of the distinctions between persuasion and coercion and avoid confusing these terms. While encouraging or motivating staff can be considered positive persuasion, coercion is unacceptable in the workplace and can be a form of bullying or harassment.

Good managers are always looking for ways to keep their teams engaged and motivated. It’s a vital part of professional development for employees, with many benefits for both the individual and organisation.

Positively manipulating your staff can be an effective management tool. Using a positive form of manipulation to motivate employees towards their goals can help improve their performance and allow teams to achieve organisational objectives. 

Jonathon Fields summarises the differences between persuasion and manipulation (where ‘manipulation’ is a form of coercion), saying it comes down to three rules: 

The intent behind your desire to persuade that person

The truthfulness and transparency of the process

Think about these three things when looking for a behavioural change from a team member. Ask yourself how transparent your process is and what your reasons are for wanting to manipulate this person’s behaviour. You’ll know whether your intentions are for the benefit of that person or not.

As a manager or employer, it’s important to maintain your values and aim to only ever influence your staff ethically.

Positive manipulation is also used by non-profit organisations and ethical companies to persuade people to act, thereby helping others in need and promoting positive change in the world.

In an article about manipulating people for good, Margaret Kelsey considers how individuals have the power to change people’s behaviour.

“But what’s the right way to use this power? How can you use psychology to persuade people ethically?” Kelsey asks. 

Non-profits and NGOs use persuasion to attract donors, raise funds and promote awareness of important issues that need action or change – surely this is the right way to use this power? 

Learn more about ethics in the workplace 

If this has got you thinking about ethics in your workplace and how you can bring positive forms of manipulation to your role as a manager, there are plenty of courses that explore the topic in more depth. 

Start your free trial with Go1 today to access dedicated courses on workplace ethics, persuasion, and many more. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

When we think of manipulation, we often think of something negative. But what if there was a way to manipulate people positively? Is it possible?

Can manipulation be used in a positive way?

Manipulation doesn't always have to be a bad thing. Today, we’ll look at how manipulation can sometimes be a force for good – as surprising as that may sound.

Right now job vacancies are at a record high in many regions of the U.S. However, at the same time we are seeing a huge influx of job seekers and unemployed workers. So what exactly is going on?

Simply stated, the skills most in demand for the new economy don’t match what these potential employees are offering, and employers are struggling to find candidates that can do the work! This means there’s never been a greater need for training and education than right now.

The Top 5 In-Demand Skills According to LinkedIn

What we can learn from these results is that a basic understanding of technology and data is going to be a huge part of staying relevant in the new economy.

Workers don’t want to be left behind in their future search for employment, but there needs to be a way to address this skills gap that the average American can access. While work experience is a great addition to your resume, workers will need to use a wider range of training, education, and on the job instruction to ensure they stay ahead of the curve.

Think about it this way: it’s time for the adult population to address their work skills and training just as they would their own children. Consider the wide range of swimming, music, and extracurricular activities that people enroll their children in to allow them to get ahead—and imagine what an impact if we took the same initiative in our own professional development!

Whether your employer funds the initiative or you enroll on your own accord, the easiest way to get ahead is to further your studies.

To truly understand the shifting economy and the areas that will be in high-demand in the future, it might help to compare the current skills required of employees versus those predicted in 2020, ranked in order of importance. These findings from the Future of Jobs Report highlight just how different the landscape could be for workers in a few years’ time.


A major standout from this table shows the importance of creativity in the modern workplace. With a wider range of new technologies, practices, and products on the rise, the worker in the new economy will need to be equipped with creativity and open mindedness in order to succeed.

So, what does this mean for you? If you’re looking to change careers in the near future or if you’re just getting started in the workforce, it’s never been more crucial to keep your skills updated. While work experience itself can get you ahead, there’s only so far you can go without up to date training and education.

Staying relevant in the workplace and the new economy isn’t just a matter of learning a new set of skills and hoping they’ll take you there. AT&T CEO Randall Stephen recently stated that there is a constant need to “reboot” yourself and those who don’t invest time with online learning each week may find themselves obsolete eventually. That’s the reality we are facing.

That may seem scary to some, but the nature of the new economy and the pattern of evolution in learning and training methods are handing us a roadmap to the future—and the opportunities we are being presented with are boundless.

If you’re currently in the job market, consider the needs of the new economy and consider how you can apply this to a skillset that interests you. By getting started now, you are making yourself an invaluable asset to the workforce of the future and ensuring that you have a place in it.

The 10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

To Stay Relevant, Your Company and Employees Must Keep Learning

What are the most in-demand skills for the modern workforce?

Providing meaningful feedback is a very important part of any learning environment, allowing learners to monitor and track their performance, while making sure they’re on the right path towards their goals. Feedback is also a valuable tool for educators, with discussions with learners helping content creators to assess the effectiveness of their materials and improve processes.

In a traditional classroom or training room environment, educators can provide direct face-to-face feedback to our learners, in real time. This can be harder for online learners, completing self-paced modules and courses in the comfort of their own home or office. However, having access to meaningful feedback is just as important for these learners.

With one in four college students in the United States studying online, and 77% of US companies offering online corporate training to staff, it’s vital that we think about how we’re delivering feedback to our  online learners.

So what steps are you taking to provide feedback to online learners? Do your online training courses contain effective feedback methods for eLearners?

Let’s look at the benefits of feedback for both learners and content creators.

Meaningful feedback is an essential component of keeping students or staff motivated and engaged with learning material. When students or employees can see that you’re genuinely interested in the success of your materials or program, they’ll feel greater levels of engagement and motivation.

Providing effective feedback helps eLearners get the most out of online materials, and can have a significant impact on overall learner performance outcomes.

When learning online, feedback allows the learner to assess their progress and determine potential areas of self-improvement. It promotes self-reflection, increases knowledge retention and encourages constructive discussion with instructors or other online learners.

As well as being vital for eLearners, feedback also provides content owners with important information they can use to increase the effectiveness of their online materials.

As a content creator, you no doubt want to make sure your online courses are as engaging, educational, and motivational as possible for learners. Proactively gathering feedback allows you to make continual improvements to your products and processes, improving the learning experience for your users and helping them to achieve their training goals.

You can successfully provide feedback to eLearners at all stages of their online journey –throughout a course, immediately upon finishing a course, and even a few months after completion.

Supplying feedback to learners throughout the duration of a course is a great way to keep users engaged and motivated. Providing performance indicators can help keeping individuals focused and on track, allowing them to see how they’re progressing throughout the course.

Choose, or create, an online course that uses interactive content in the form of short surveys or quizzes – learners will be able to check how successful they’ve been in retaining the content. This can serve to motivate and reward learners when they answer correctly, as well as helping them to grasp the right answer when they answer incorrectly.

For content creators, completion rates of different segments of an online course can be used to gauge feedback on the engagement factor – if users are not completing certain courses, or certain parts of courses, it’s worth looking at revamping and improving the material.

2. Immediately After Completing An Online Course.

Engaging with learners directly after the completion of a course is the best time to gather accurate feedback about their learning experience, while their thoughts and experiences are still fresh and unclouded.

A simple survey is a very quick and effective way to ask learners to take the time to reflect on their performance, evaluating their results in terms of their goals and expectations. The goal of most training courses is to improve skills or increase knowledge – ask participants to provide honest feedback on whether the course met their expectations, providing them with the skills or knowledge they need.

This information can also be of great benefit to educators, providing them with an insight into what worked and didn’t work throughout the course. Content creators will have a better understanding of potential improvements for their course materials from this feedback.

It’s well worth following up with eLearners a few months after they’ve finished an online course, to see how successfully they’ve retained the knowledge or skills acquired.

Another short survey or quiz will allow you to see how much content participants have retained. Learners will also be able to see how their performance has improved since taking the course and if there are any areas that need some more work.

For managers and team leaders, you can assess staff performance 3 months after completion of an online course, to see if it’s had a positive effect on an individual’s overall performance.

As you can see, having access to effective and meaningful feedback has many benefits to both learners and educators. Take a look at your online course materials and think about the steps you’re taking to provide feedback to eLearners.

If you’re interested in finding out more about creating a culture driven by meaningful feedback, check out the online course Delivering Employee Feedback. You’ll learn more about the different types of feedback and how you can help employees stretch and grow.

This article was originally published on eLearningIndustry.com

Why providing feedback is critical for online learning

General Assembly are known as leaders in education and providing the highly sought after skills needed to make carve out a career in the modern workforce. As individuals and companies can struggle to compete in an increasingly technological world, General Assembly have managed to bridge the gap between the learners and skills.

Go1 have teamed up with General Assembly to run some exciting events in both Melbourne and Sydney during September with Go1 CEO Andrew Barnes leading a discussion around The Future of Learning. Panelist appearing at the events include Will Dayble of Fitzroy Academy, Sarah Moran of Girl Geek Academy, Sascha Grey of Hired and many more!
If you would like to come along to the events, you can RSVP here:

In the lead up to the events we sat down with Garry Williams from Partnerships at General Assembly to learn more about the learning culture of the company, processes they have in place to utilize the talent within their team, and what they have learned about how people want to learn after running hundreds of events every year.

You can listen to the full interview here:

Blended learning is a key part of the education process for General Assembly.  Garry tells us that the learning culture is very hands on, but it allows members of their team to learn from their colleagues who have got backgrounds working with some of the biggest names in technology before arriving at GA. In order to keep up to date with current trends, GA lean heavily on their peep to peer programs to educate their team, in tandem with online offerings.

“There are many things to gain by complementing something like GA or Go1, with in-house experience” 

GA also runs a range of workshops every week which could cover everything from search engine optimization, to PR and gamification to ensure that their employees have the information that they need to succeed in their role.

A key aspect of how GA manages their learning is through their worldwide community, and communicating with their teams across the world to ensure that everyone is working together and sharing resources, or in some case, people as they travel between offices.

Having recently experienced the GA onboarding program, Gary says that there is a relatively intensive onboarding program in place for new team members, but the program utilizes skills of new hires that may have been over looked in the past. Moving from the corporate world into the startup scene, Garry notes that it was a challenging change of direction, however a lot of his skills crossed over and he was able to demonstrate that he was the right person for the role.

Running so many events give the GA a real insight into how attendees like to learn. When talking about how people love to learn at their events Garry, says that the top three reasons that people attend are to:

Feed off the knowledge being presented, and those in attendance through networking.

Explore their passions. They may not be in the career that they would like learn more about a subject and be involved with the community surrounding it so they can work towards making a switch into that profession.

Learn more about what is happening in the community. What are other companies doing, and what are they working on. This encourages people to push their own boundaries and develop new and exciting concepts.

When it comes to his own learning, Garry tells us that he enjoys keeping up to date with email newsletters from a select group of trusted writers who may only release new material every few weeks, even though he admits “it’s a bit of a nightmare for my inbox.”

“The common theme between all of the best material I receive is that they are all willing to share their content, but having something like Go1 is also very valuable for helping me quickly and easily learn new skills. “  

“There’s never been a more accessible time to learn. “

If you would like to be a part of the discussion around the future of learning, we’d love to see you at one of our events where you will have the chance to hear from some of the leaders in the learning industry, as well as ask questions and be a part of the conversation!

Interview: why learning culture and community are a priority at General Assembly

Being able to support a good cause is something that everyone at Go1 loves to be involved with, and being able to support Heart Research is no exception.

Along with major sponsor CGU Insurance, the Go1 team are excited to announce that we will be supporting this years Heart Research Australia Charity Golf Day.  The event will be held at Virginia Golf Club in Brisbane on Monday 12 September 2016.

The beneficiary of the event will be Heart Research Australia who funds pioneering first-stage research that aims to identify innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat heart disease – Australia’s biggest killer.  Right now, 1.4 million Australians are living with heart disease, and each year more than 55,000 Australians suffer a heart attack – We are out to change that!

Last year the event raised in excess of $120,000, so let's help to make this year bigger and better!

If you would like to help out and support Heart Research Australia you can make a one off donation by CLICKING HERE.  Your donations will help make our Golf Day a financial success of which 100% of all profits made will be donated to Heart Research Australia.

If your company would like to participate in the Golf Day, you can find out more information by contacting James Drake

Go1 supports The 2016 Heart Research Australia Charity Golf Day

A well-thought-out online learning strategy can benefit everyone. At first glance, that might seem like hyperbole. However, in reality, online learning is just that effective. While you might assume that online learning serves the learner primarily, the benefits of online learning are far more wide-reaching. 

Digital learning can improve the performance of individuals, businesses, and society by promoting vital, future-ready skills, such as communication, collaboration, technology, and education. 

Making online learning accessible for everyone from preschool students to post-graduate learners is in all of our best interests. Not only is digital learning creating a smarter, more productive civilization, but also one that is well-informed about new technologies and able to stay on top of emerging trends.

Online learning in the corporate world also has a substantial impact on society. Why? Because today's employees will be the innovators and trainers of our future workforce. By understanding the positive impacts of digital learning, companies can cater to the next wave of employees, offering them flexible and relevant learning experiences. 

From motivation to collaboration, here are five ways that online learning has a positive impact on society.

Online learning keeps you abreast of technology

In a world consumed by technology, there has never been a better time to embrace online learning. Not only are you equipping yourself with the core skills relevant to your field, but you’re developing your broader digital skillset too. 

Using computer software, navigating the internet, and learning via different forms of digital media are all great ways for online learners to improve their technological skills. As more people get access to modern technologies, society will become more tech-savvy overall. This increased digital literacy will allow us to stay up to date with the latest trends, develop future-ready skills,  think laterally, and critically evaluate important information.

Online learning is an innovative collaboration tool

Online learning uses podcasts, file sharing, discussion boards, social media, and more to prompt discussions about coursework and other relevant ideas. These innovative ways of sharing information herald the future of communication. As such, those participating in online learning can one day influence how society connects and collaborates.

Online learning helps make use of downtime and improves motivation

Online learning modules can teach students how to make better use of their downtime. Utilizing downtime is a vital skill that will be with them for the rest of their lives. Fostering a society of productive citizens who excel at time management may lead to significant improvements in organizational skills and a thirst for knowledge.

For further insights on how to make the most of your downtime, check out our article on why our brains need breaks to maintain productivity. 

Online learning helps us build a smarter workforce

A recent study by Harvard found that participants in an online learning experiment could retain more information when it was broken into segments, rather than forcing the entire lecture on them in one sitting. Other estimates find that digital learning increases information retention by up to 60%. 

These findings are highly insightful, showing that microlearning may play a key role in the future of online learning. With students retaining more information than ever thanks to digital learning, we’re ensuring a more intelligent and motivated workforce in the future.

Online learning gives children a headstart

Having access to digital learning modules in the classroom is a game-changer, allowing young students to access more information than ever before. With virtual simulations and models, teachers can communicate subjects that may have previously been out of reach. Similarly, video conferencing and social platforms allow students to communicate with others from different countries and share information like never before. 

Statistics: the positive impact of online learning on society

From a young age, students now benefit significantly from online learning strategies. Research by Mashable found a dramatic improvement in understanding when utilizing a mobile app for preschool kids. What’s more, college students are improving their grades with statistics applications that are incorporated into the coursework.

Likewise, many students have testified to their increased level of interest when engaged in online learning. Given this, online learning will play a central role in improving society and fostering our children’s love of learning.

Statistics also show that 77% of US companies have some form of online learning available to their staff, indicating a remarkable growth in this area. Additionally, the digital learning industry reached a value of $250 billion in 2020$250 billion in 2020 and is expected to continue to grow to around $1 trillion by 2027. In other words, online learning is big business. 

These statistics are only the tip of the iceberg. 42% of workplaces where employees are engaged with L&D also say their employees are highly engaged overall. Similarly, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their learning and development.

Moreover, companies with comprehensive training programs have 218% higher revenue per employee and 24% higher profit margins. Further, 42% of US organizations that have implemented online learning programs have seen increased profits. 

On an individual level, employees with access to online learning are 18% more engaged on average. These employees also save time and consume information more efficiently. On average, employees with online learning programs spend 40-60% less time learning while still achieving the same outcomes. 

As a bonus, online learning reduces energy consumption by 90% and produces 85% fewer CO2 emissions per student than face-to-face training, according to a study by Britain’s Open University.

Evidently, the positive impacts of online learning are far-reaching. From increased engagement and information retention to improved collaboration and even fewer CO2 emissions, online learning has a comprehensive positive impact on society. Therefore, a robust, well-funded online learning strategy is now non-negotiable for any high-functioning business.

By uplifting skill levels, communication techniques, and technological prowess, online learning is improving society rapidly. Whether this training is administered on an organizational or individual level, everyone can benefit from online learning initiatives.

Online learning has been around for decades but only recently have we begun to see its true potential. Learn why it matters now more than ever!

The positive impact of online learning on society

A well-thought-out online learning strategy can benefit everyone. From motivation to collaboration, here are five ways that online learning has a positive impact on society.

Finance is an essential component of any business or organization – we all know money is serious business. That’s why it’s so important, and valuable, for employees to have a good grounding in the principles of finance, even those working outside of the financial industry.

If you’re in a management or team leader role, or running a small business, knowing the basics of finance is absolutely essential, as you’ll need to prepare budgets, manage expenditure, create reports and negotiate with clients. Online courses can help you learn and improve these skills.

Setting aside a small amount of time to learn more about the world of finance can prove to be a very smart investment for your career and future.

For staff already working in the financial industry, you might be looking to refresh or up-skill as part of your professional development program. Online learning is a great staff development tool and can help you meet your goals and boost your job performance.

Whether you’re a beginner to the world of finance or a finance professional looking to improve your skill set, there’s an abundance of online courses suitable for your learning needs. With online courses, you can access high quality professional learning materials from all over the globe, offering you industry-relevant content and the fundamental skills you need to better understand this topic.

To get you started, we’ve hand-picked 5 of the best online finance courses, to suit managers and small business owners outside of the industry, as well as seasoned finance professionals. Read on to see which course could help you.

Targeted towards those working in a corporate environment, this intensive short course will bring you up to speed with the fundamental elements of finance. You’ll learn about the key financial issues related to companies and investors, as well as the interaction between them in the capital markets.

Corporate Finance Essentials will provide you with an understanding of the professional financial vocabulary of companies, allowing you to better understand what’s going on around you and in the financial press and media. After this course, you’ll really be able to hold your own around the finance table.

Perfect for managers who are responsible for the financial running of their team, without being financial managers themselves. Do you manage a HR or project team? You'll need to demonstrate a basic understanding of financial management to your own managers, even if you're not in a financial role.

Finance for Non-Financial Managers can help you grow your career and take on greater responsibility within your organization. In this course, accounting professor Jim Stice helps you develop the financial acumen necessary to:

Interpret financial reports and make decisions based on available data

Communicate your contribution to the bottom line

Keeping up with change: issues for the finance professional

Aimed at finance professionals, this 6-week online course identifies and explores a number of challenges to the finance professional arising from the ever changing business environment.

Keeping Up with Change: Issues for the Finance Professional first looks at finance in a strategic context, in terms of planning, monitoring and controlling projects and activities. It then covers Corporate Governance issues and challenges in relation to finance. Throughout the course modules, you’ll explore challenges facing finance professionals, including:

Challenges to internal control to better manage risk.

With Finance Essentials for Small Business you’ll learn to manage your small business successfully with finance essentials from accounting professors Jim and Kay Stice.

You’ll look at the 5 reasons so many small businesses fail and outline strategies that will help you manage your small business better. These include tracking your accounting, managing your operating cycle and forecasting cash flow

This information online course also provides valuable perspective on pricing strategies and the dangers of fast growth. You’ll cover:

Last, but not least, is a series of online courses. And as their name suggests, these courses focus on making finance accessible to everyone, whether they work in the finance industry or not.

Gain a better understanding of the financial world and what’s going on in the media, and learn the practical skills you need to run your own household and potentially a small business. The series contains titles such as: 

Finance for Everyone – Markets explores the world of interest rates, explaining how interest rates change the value of all financial instruments, while highlighting the role of the bond and stock markets. You’ll also look at the impact of interest rates on consumption, investment and economic growth, and the bizarre realities of negative interest rates.

Finance for Everyone – Value is a fascinating course about the universal frameworks that determine how ideas and money interact, leading to the allocation of financial resources. Through this course, you’ll identify components of cash flow for any project, business or venture as the most essential ingredients of value.

Finance for Everyone – Decisions looks at how to simplify important financial calculations and apply that knowledge to real-life decisions that can influence your life and business.

Get your finance journey started with online learning

Whichever online finance course you decide is best for your personal or professional development, you’ll know it’s been specifically built to get you up to speed within the shortest amount of time.

You may think you don’t have the time to take on more learning, between full-time work and your busy family or social life, but even one hour a week can be enough to greatly improve your knowledge and skills. As we said before, setting aside a small amount of time to learn more about the world of finance can prove to be a very smart investment for your career and future.

You can also take a look through more great courses, many of them free, in Go1’s marketplace – simply enrol and complete training modules online, at your own pace, in the convenience of your own home or office.

Learn more about finance with these courses

Do you seem to be dragging yourself to work every day? Feeling constantly tired, struggling to find any energy or motivation for your job, and running on coffee and adrenaline to get through the day?

If any of this resonates with you, there’s a chance you could be at serious risk of burning out – a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that brings with it a lack of motivation, low efficiency and feelings of helplessness for sufferers.

Look over this list of 13 signs of burnout, outlined by Vanessa Loder for Forbes – or read through the first four below: 

Feeling frequently on edge, with adrenaline constantly coursing through your body

Lack of engagement – you don’t feel motivated at work

Increased cynicism – feelings more negative, cranky and defensive or snapping at people easily

Distracted eating – eating your meals in front of a computer or on the go

Sound familiar? If you’re a manager or team leader, this could bring to mind someone in your team, or even yourself.

It’s really important for individuals, as well as managers, to be aware of any signs of job burnout and take action before it has any further effects on a person’s mental and physical health.

The impacts of employee burnout are considerable – organizations can expect to suffer from reduced productivity, higher employee turnover, financial burdens from absenteeism and the possibility of medical, legal, and insurance expenses.

For individuals, burnout can contribute to serious mental health issues, such as anxiety, insomnia, hyper vigilance and depression. These can in turn lead to problems with physical health, manifesting in high blood pressure, heart disease, gastrointestinal issues, adrenal exhaustion and chronic fatigue.

On top of all this, your physical and mental exhaustion can very likely lead to doubts about your competence and the value of your work, causing you more stress and creating a vicious circle. Basically, you’re not having a very good time at this point.

There are many factors that can contribute to burnout, including poor work-life balance, stress, mismatched needs or values, or a disharmonious workplace environment. Let’s take a closer look at the five major causes for employee burnout.   

Most people are aware of the importance of keeping a healthy work-life balance.

Striking a satisfying balance between work and family/social life is very important for an individual’s health and overall wellbeing. But many of us are still guilty of putting in an unhealthy amount of time and energy into our jobs, leading to poor work-life balance.

If you find that your work takes up so much of your time and effort that you don't have any energy to spend time with your family and friends, you’re at an increased risk of burning out.

Another factor that can strongly contribute to burnout is not taking the time to disconnect from work to renew your energy.

In the workplace, most of us are conscious of being switched “on” while on the job – especially if we’re dealing with time pressures, tight deadlines, high workloads and lots of meetings or negotiations.

Failing to fully disengage from work, by switching off at home after hours, puts you at risk of chronic stress and other elements of burnout. Earlier this year, France passed a labor reform law that banned checking emails on weekends, in the interest of employee health and productivity. This highlights the important link between disconnecting from work and maintaining positive emotional and physical health.

A recent study, released in August 2016, considers one of the main causes of burnout to be a mismatch between a person's unconscious needs and the opportunities and demands of their workplace.

These “unconscious needs” take into account our unique personalities – who we are and what motivates us as individuals. For example, you may have an unconscious need to feel in charge, to maintain discipline or to engage in strong discussions or negotiations. On the other side of the scales, we have people who seek a sense of warmth and welcoming from their workplace, needing positive personal relations, trust and a feeling of belonging.