The link between flexibility in the workplace and productivity

Posted on April 28, 2011
Filed Under Corporate Policy, Employment, Employment Law, The Workplace | 1 Comment

Are you familiar with the old adage, “A happy worker is a good worker?” Even in the face of a recession, employers have begun to take this adage quite seriously, offering employees a panoply of new benefits—even naps. In addition to avant-garde benefits (really only offered by a handful of firms), employers and policy makers have begun to acknowledge the connection between workplace flexibility (for example, a parent’s ability to flex hours if their sick child needs to be shuttled home from school) and productivity. Read more

A labor shortage?

Posted on April 25, 2011
Filed Under Employment, Finding a Job, Hiring Forecast | Leave a Comment

I know what you’re thinking—this is a retrospective, looking back at the rise of the West German economy in the post-war period. Or, perhaps you think this might be an examination of China’s ever-expanding economy. In either case, you would be wrong. As unbelievable as it may seem, certain segments of the American economy are in desperate need of workers, and while other sectors may be growing only slightly or even shrinking, these sectors—which are helping to cement America’s future as a knowledge-based economy—have experienced substantial sustained growth. What are these sectors, which are seemingly unreflective of the economy as a whole? Read more

Exploring the creativity-leadership debate

Posted on April 21, 2011
Filed Under Employment, Keeping your Job, Promotion, The Workplace | Leave a Comment

Have you wondered what makes a good leader? What are the attributes that all great leaders share? For example, is it possible to look presidential—that is, embody those physiological characteristics that we, as humans, innately look for in leaders? Are those we think of as great leaders actually great leaders, or is leadership merely a perception—a simple matter of appearance? Is it a matter of projecting the attributes we all believe are fundamental for great leaders? Recently, a group of academics came to a rather startling conclusion—one’s capacity to lead is not only a simple matter of perception, but specifically, creative people are not perceived by their peers as capable leaders. Read more

Seven tips to staying positive

Posted on April 18, 2011
Filed Under Employment, Finding a Job, Health, Recession | 1 Comment

Positivity is something I preach regularly on this blog. That is, while joblessness can be seen as a function of the state of the economy or perhaps a reflection on one’s qualifications, I regularly promote the idea that a key to finding a job is genuine enthusiasm and positivity. Someone’s ability to find a job (in combination with a number of different factors), can hinge on whether they allows their status as “jobless” to define them. Something not addressed quite as readily, however, is how to stay positive—what steps you can take to be and remain positive, even when things do not seem to be going your way. Read more

How to ask for the moon

Posted on April 14, 2011
Filed Under Corporate Policy, Employment, Promotion, The Workplace | Leave a Comment

The summer after graduating with my undergraduate degree, I returned to a small law firm as a summer associate. As a freshly minted graduate, I felt emboldened. Coursing through me was an energy and a new sense of entitlement—I had my first degree, in light of which, I wanted a pay raise. The first week back on the job I brazenly marched into the managing partner’s office to demand my just desserts. Before I had an opportunity to produce sound, the managing partner, with an almost prescient air, responded to the question I had not yet asked and congratulated me on my pay raise. Naturally, this discussion could have gone quite differently. In fact, the process of requesting “extras” from your boss—a pay raise, additional benefits, or virtually any perk not already awarded to you by virtue of your position—can be anxiety-ridden, if not thoroughly gut-wrenching. What if the boss says no? What if they respond poorly to my request? Can requesting more be interpreted as biting the hand that feeds? Read more

keep looking »

Recently


Categories


Archives