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By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I have been working for a small company for six months. My duties expanded dramatically soon after I was hired. When I got here, I walked into a disaster. It took a lot...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I left a good job two years ago as a result of alcoholism and addiction. I received and completed extensive treatment and have been in recovery for more than 12 months. I have...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: Your company offered you a new job at headquarters in another city. Human Resources told you to have the lowest-priced of three moving companies bill the company directly and that it would pay...
Employees today need to strike the right balance for themselves between being available after hours for their company and having a life -- and they need to communicate those boundaries.
We've all heard the old adage: When life hands you lemons, make lemonade." If the lemon in your life is your current job, two local career coaches advise you to take stock -- and then take control.
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Most of your references are good. But you just got laid off, and you were fired from a job where the boss didn't like you. How can you overcome bad references?(polling) Q: Most of...
The fear of losing their job is making some Washington workers take a fresh look at their careers, says a study released in April. About 57 percent of respondents, with an annual income of $40,000 or less, said they would...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I've been a project manager running million-dollar software projects for 15 years. However, I'm sick of the stress, never-ending deadlines and frantic pace of technology. I'm 41, and I can't keep this up...
polls - Take Our Poll Q: You have been at your company for three years. New management has taken over and they are trying to make everyone sign a non-compete agreement (NCA). There is no existing NCA in place....
By Cindy Krisher Goodman The Miami Herald Here's something you don't hear the boss say often: You're forbidden from checking e-mail, making work calls and peeking at your BlackBerry. In these desperate economic times, more employers are forcing thousands...
surveys - Take Our Poll Q: You just started a new job. A recruiter lured you to another city from a very good job. Now you are seeing what your new job actually entails, compared to what was sold...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I'm considering leaving my company. I've been pretty happy here and the company has been good to me, but my expertise makes me valuable elsewhere, too. What I'm worried about is "the grass...
Amid one of the worst economic downturns since the Great Depression, layoffs are hitting all levels of many organizations. Now is the time to stand out as a top performer to keep yourself from becoming a statistic.
surveys - Take Our Poll Q: You have a great job, but you just received a great offer from another company. It's an increase in pay and it even comes with a grant of stock. The jobs are about...
polls - Take Our Poll Q: You were hired by a "consulting company," which in turn marketed you to one of its clients. You're now working at the client's offices. You just found out that your company purposely rewrote...
By Patricia Kitchen Newsday NEW YORK — With declining home prices, tightening credit and the meltdown of major financial institutions, experts say now may not be the best time to think about leaving your job — even if it's...
surveys - Take Our Poll Q: During an interview, you realize the manager has no clear definition of the job you're being considered for. But you like the boss and the company, and you want the job. What should...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: I've had more and more work piled on me until I'm a bundle of nerves and stress. I like my job a lot, and the pay is good. But I have now inherited...
By Daneen Skube / Syndicated Columnist Q: Every year, everyone in my company gets hysterical about finishing everything we didn't do all year long in December — performance reviews, finishing client projects and nailing down new business for 2009....
By Daneen Skube / Syndicated Columnist Q: People are comparing our economic crisis to the Great Depression. I find myself worrying about everything at work. How bad do you think it's going to get in our workplaces? A: As...
By Daneen Skube / Syndicated Columnist Q: I'm in a field where workaholism is normal. I've got young kids, I love my wife, and I don't want to blink and find my life is over. My boss tells me...
By Daneen Skube / Syndicated Columnist Q: Does your advice change if the co-worker bugging you (and other people) is someone you supervise? One of my employees eavesdrops, then comments about it, passes gas (loudly) and has lots of...
By Daneen Skube / Syndicated Columnist Q: My company and job seem to be lurching from one unexpected crisis to the next. Usually I can predict problems and be proactive, but the world seems to be going crazy. How...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I've lost three jobs in the last year. Two job losses were layoffs and the last one cut my salary to nothing, so I quit. I'm wondering whether I'm unemployable or if the...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: The national problems in our economy have me freaked out about my job (and the state of the world)! I work in the financial-services industry and feel like I'm on a bus with...
You have solid work skills, but your communication skills are lacking. You should: ( polls) Q: Your work skills have earned you great success, but an article you read suggests that communication skills are key to good careers. Your...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I've been reading several spiritual books that advise people to be present or "in the now." I don't know about others, but my "now" sucks. Can you explain how being present when my...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: One of our co-workers has decided that she will not take on tasks that bore her or that she sees as beneath her. This is creating a rift at work and morale is...
By Cindy Krischer Goodman Miami Herald Todd Friedman, president of a Miami marketing firm, was taken aback when a senior director handling several major projects told him she needed time off. The woman explained she would be undergoing cancer...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I'm wondering if my co-workers are stupid or self-destructive. It's obvious to me that the way they behave will create problems, but they continue to make bad choices. How can they not see...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I've been told by co-workers that I need to be more patient. The problem is I'm an impatient, goal-oriented guy. I don't want to change who I am just to get along with...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I value maturity in others but often notice I'm the one who's immature in the workplace. I try not to get upset, but sooner or later I get annoyed, offended or nervous, then...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I'm a perfectionist. My boss is telling me I need to be willing to make mistakes. Won't making mistakes at work make me look bad and ruin my reputation? A: No, most people...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I've got a co-worker who eats health food. She rattles the food around in plastic containers and crunches loudly. How do I ask her to stop doing something so personal? A: The most...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist The Wall Street Journal--> Q: I have a co-worker who is very immature. He seems stuck in his past, remembering his childhood perfectly but never talking about his wife or kids. He is constantly...
By Nick Corcodilos Syndicated columnist Q: My boss lies about the availability of projects, about giving bonuses, and about the help she has promised. This affects my motivation to work harder, and it hurts morale in our department. I...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist The Dallas Morning News--> Q: I've read a lot of self-improvement and spiritual books that talk about how bad it is to be angry or upset. Every day at work I find multiple situations...
Should I worry about the non-compete agreement I signed? ( surveys) Q: You're on the job hunt after several successful years at your company. But now you recall that you signed a non-compete agreement that restricts what companies you...
By Mary Ellen Slayter The Washington Post Work can be stressful. Even happy news, such as a well-deserved promotion, can take a toll if it means long hours while you learn the new job. To stay sane and healthy...
By Daneen Skube, syndicated Columnist Q: I work for a guy who thinks keeping his team terrified is a recommended management practice. In reality, we're all demoralized, jumpy and more concerned about safety than productivity. How do I get...
How can you survive when your startup sinks? ( polls) Q: Hank has lots of stock options and a great but taxing job with a startup. He has been a devoted employee for more than two years. Yesterday, management...
By Daneen Skube Syndicated Columnist Q: One of my co-workers has been thoughtless and rude to me. I think he owes me an apology. I always apologize when I make mistakes. How can I get the apology I deserve?...
Like a lot of employees, Sandra works in a cube farm in which nearby co-workers can pretty much overhear every word she says on the phone. This wouldn't matter so much if those co-workers didn't include one very malicious gossip.
It takes an impossible amount of effort to create a great team at work: To find the right people, to train them, to inspire them to excel, to keep them from being bored, to overcome difficult circumstances, to bond as a team. Inevitably someone has to move, someone gets a new job, someone else goes on maternity leave or sick leave.
Workplace bullies wouldn't exist if organizations didn't reward them. Robert Sutton, a Stanford University management professor and author of "The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't," wants employers to know that jerks do their companies more harm than good.
In her nightmares, Jaymie Lennon's former boss calls her an idiot, undermines her confidence, tells other employees that Lennon is "unstable" and "mentally ill," and regularly threatens to fire her. Just, she says, like in real life.
Work is a big part of our lives. Our financial stability, and sometimes even sense of self, depend on it. Unfortunately, the day-to-day tedium of paperwork, deadline stress, and office drama can take its toll on health and happiness. "If you work eight hours a day, that equates to a third of your total life," said Pedram Shojai, a licensed acupuncturist and president of Vitality Health & Wellness.
I have a co-worker who has decided I'm trying to undermine him. He has completely misunderstood several interactions and will only talk to me long enough to accuse me of my latest "sin." I've also discovered he lied to me about several facts. How do I fix this problem?
It could be a reaction to incompetence, unfairness, work overload. It could be from a thousand daily cuts that bleed your enthusiasm for your job. It could be one major incident -- a layoff, a demotion or someone else's promotion.
Sometimes just the word "communal" is enough to set co-workers on edge. Add "fridge," and they start spewing stories. That time Matt from marketing brought fish and stunk up the breakroom for a month. That lady Sofia, who tosses everyone's leftovers after less than a week. That guy who hogs a whole shelf with his grocery bags. That woman who borrows salad dressing and peanut butter. Whoever is taking bites from sandwiches and swiping Cokes, V8 and Vitamin Water. What is it about the office fridge that tempts its users to behave so badly?
This summer Erick Lopez won't be taking the two-week adventure trip he did last year to New York and Memphis. He will stay closer to home and shorten his vacation, maybe zipping down to Key West for a four-day weekend.
Melissa West remembers the tough time she had trying to find a job while her husband served in the Air Force. With degrees in marketing and psychology, she thought finding a job would be easy.
A new study shows a dramatic pay gap emerges between women and men in America the year after they graduate from college and widens over the ensuing decade.
A Muslim immigrant working on contract for Microsoft filed a complaint against the company last month, saying he was interrogated about his Muslim-inspired, anti-war Web site, then abruptly fired.
Bus drivers kick, step, clap and shout in unison during a spirited morning aerobics class at Metro Transit's South Base. Downtown paper-shufflers have their meetings walking down the street. Smokers attend classes to quit. Overweight folks sign up to learn about nutrition.
Many people are at a loss about what to do first when they lose a job. You know you'll need to start looking, but many skip over the thing that can make the process less painful: obtaining unemployment benefits. It helps defeat the desperation that unemployment creates and allows you to maintain a "you-can-do-it" attitude and spirit.
Mary called her friend in tears, crying, "I've lost my job." Tom called home enraged he'd been laid off. Shock. Denial. Anger. Betrayal. Fear. Guilt. Sometimes even relief. These are often the flood of feelings that come with losing your job. It's traumatic.
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