While the number of people working from home has tripled in the past 15 years, it’s grown leaps and bounds in the past several weeks, at least temporarily. With the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon encouraging at least some of their employees to work remotely during the coronavirus outbreak, supporting the social distancing recommended […]
I have never liked calling people on the phone. So, imagine my chagrin when I found myself in an occupation that required an occasional phone conversation. I would put off these calls repeatedly for more important things, like picking lint off the carpet or lining up all the notebooks on my desk. We all have tasks […]
It’s easy to decide to pause your job search over the holiday season. You’re busy, you could use a break from it, and no one’s hiring anyway, right? Not exactly. Companies Are Hiring for the Holidays. Some companies find, with business slow around the holidays, they finally have time to screen candidates and interview people. […]
Rejection is never fun, whether we’re talking love or careers. But it’s a necessary part of the process at some point in most of our lives. And while it’s healthy to admit disappointment, people have an inborn tendency called “negativity bias” that causes them to over-focus on rejection. We spend hours overanalyzing what we did, said, […]
When your boss approaches you and asks you to take on an additional project, your first inclination might be to say “yes.” You want to be a team player, make a good impression, and show you are willing to work hard. But “yes” isn’t always the best response. Extra tasks, outside what you were initially […]
Stress. We talk about it a lot, usually as a negative thing. Too much stress, or the wrong kind, definitely hurts our health and happiness, but stress is also an essential part of who we are as humans. The phrase, That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, is based on scientific evidence. According to one study […]
The Changing Landscape of Vacation and Sick Leave Paid Time Off (PTO) Whether you’re an employee or employer, you may have noticed the age-old two-weeks vacation a year formula is no longer ubiquitous. A lot of companies are switching to a combined vacation time/sick leave PTO (paid time off) bank, in which all paid time […]
There are a ton of forum threads where people debate the merits and disadvantages of a long commute; it’s a common sticking point for accepting a new position or considering a move. Can I drive an hour-and-a-half each way for a year without losing my mind? Two years? Indefinitely? While most people eschew the idea […]
Work/life balance is a buzz phrase thrown around a lot these days, and that’s a good thing. We’ve come a long way since the Industrial Revolution era of 12-hour, sweat shop shifts. Most of us would agree that paying some mind to your personal and family life makes for a happier, more content society all […]
I was once told that managing people means giving up control of a project but maintaining responsibility for it’s being done properly. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? The stress of being responsible for something — possibly something big and expensive — means that managers may want to maintain close scrutiny of their teams. Whether you’re the manager […]