Business
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Getting a Promotion? Here's How to Get Out of It.
No question, getting laid off is terrible. In fact, there's only one thing worse:
Getting promoted.
When you're laid off, everyone comforts you. When you're promoted, everyone hates you. They're all hoping you screw up, which may very well happen.
Let's face it: You're the kind of employee who works best in darkness. A promotion shines a ...Read more
Want a Bigger Salary? Just Ask!
You're in a job interview and you're killing it. You aced the dreaded "Tell me about yourself" question" with a riveting narrative that ties your obsession with success to the humiliation you felt after your second-place finish in the third-grade spelling bee. You brought the interviewer to tears with your answer to the always challenging "...Read more
Happy at Work? We Can Fix That!
Full disclosure: We're negative about people who think positive. And that goes double for people at work.
The manager is a maniac? The positive people don't notice. The company is going under? The positive people don't care. No matter what's wrong with the job, the positive people are optimistic. The maniac manager will come to his senses. ...Read more
Why Weekend Work Doesn't Work
Your manager may not care if you're happy, but somebody does.
It's The Washington Post. Why else would they publish articles, like "To boost happiness, treat your weekend like a vacation" by Tara Parker-Pope?
I hope the idea of blissful weekends brings joy to the Washington Posties, because it sure isn't my concept of a happy work life. If ...Read more
Think Your Job Can't Get Any Worse? Try Making it Better.
Congratulations! The first two months of 2023 are almost over, and you still have your job. Or, maybe, you don't. No question, the master chefs in the executive suite have their Ginsu Knives out. They're ready to start slicing and dicing.
De-acquisitioning big chunks of their workforce is definitely the plat du jour in the world of high tech, ...Read more
Read Your Boss Like a Book
Does your CEO know how to read?
In the unlikely case that the answer is yes, you will want to pay attention to the list of 19 "essential books recommended by today's top CEOs, executives, and leaders" from Scribd.com.
Most people will read these books to improve their management skills. For me and thee, the purpose is to give ourselves ...Read more
Take This Job and Quit It!
Are companies today on a hiring frenzy or a firing frenzy?
The answer is -- both.
If you're a high-tech type with a sky-high salary, you are suddenly at risk of receiving a job-canceling email between your no-cost lunch at the company cafeteria and your free hot-stone massage at the company spa. If you're a low-tech type with a salary sinking ...Read more
Choose Your Poison: What You Can (and Can't) Decide at Work
Before we begin today's sermonette, let's find a place in our hearts for James Gorman, the CEO of Morgan Stanley, who recently saw his 2022 pay slashed to $31.5 million. According to an article by Prarthana Prakash in Fortune, this represents a 10% reduction from the CEO's 2021 compensation of $35 million.
Ouch!
I certainly hope Gorman will ...Read more
Procrastinating at Work? We'll Discuss It Tomorrow.
Really, I don't mean to pick on Ben Franklin, but what choice do I have? It was the aphorist from Philly who came up with this piece of phenomenally bad advice: "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today."
It's catchy, sure. It's also dead wrong. And dead backwards. It should be: "Don't do today what you can put off until tomorrow." Or...Read more
How to Make -- and Break -- Work Friends
Our buds at The New York Times have been publishing a "7-Day Happiness Challenge." I sincerely hope it makes them happy, because the entire endeavor makes me miserable.
Jancee Dunn is in charge of the Day Five joint, "The Importance of Work Friends." Personally, I have no problems with friends and I have no problems with work, but mixing the ...Read more
Sick of Your Job? Getting Healthy Won't Help.
Q: What could be worse than an endless, meandering, ultimately useless meeting with your manager?
A: An endless, meandering, ultimately useless meeting with your manager in an ice bath.
Guess what? It could happen.
If you haven't grasped the desperation and insanity that is gripping the denizens of the C-suite today, you haven't understood ...Read more
Don't Get Mad at Work. Get Even.
2022 is dragging itself to a soggy, sorry finish. Time to come up with a list of totally upbeat, 100% positive New Year's resolutions to make the 2023 you even better than the 2022 you.
This won't be easy.
Let's face it: You're pretty darn perfect. Really! I can't see anything you need to improve.
Well, maybe one little thing.
You could ...Read more
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