ArcaMax

It's your first day at a new job. What do you think about?

If it's you, you think about how long it will take before you reach your last day at your new job. But I'm talking about normal people. Normal people want to do their best from Day One, so they can grow and learn and have long and fulfilling careers.

Or so I learned from Julia ...Read more

This has happened to you, I'm sure.

You have a problem with your cable company, or your telephone provider, or the emergency button on the key fob for your new Lamborghini Centenario Roadster has stopped working. You call customer service, and after poking your way through a phone tree of Paul Bunyan proportions, you eventually reach a human ...Read more

Has this ever happened to you?

Your company makes a passel of new hires, some of whom are earmarked for your department. Because you have no say in the hiring process, you have no idea who has been hired or what they have been hired to do.

The question is -- what do you do when the newbies arrive?

1. Welcome them warmly. They're human ...Read more

TGIFridays

It's not just a gourmet restaurant, where the Philly cheesesteak eggrolls alone are worthy of three Michelin stars. It's also an expression that sums up your entire working experience.

At the start of the workweek, you put your head down and muscle your way through a miserable Monday, a terrible Tuesday, a weird Wednesday and a ...Read more

We all make mistakes, or do we?

When it comes to doing your job, you're famous for doing everything right. You're perfect, and that's why everyone at work hates you. (Well, it's not the only reason, but it is one we can discuss in public.)

While your faultless record is admirable, there could come a time when making a mistake would not be a ...Read more

Companies are trying something new: artificial intelligence.

Sound scary? It is. But you have to admit, it's better for management to actually have some intelligence, even if it is artificial.

Or is it?

According to "What's on Your Mind? Bosses Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Find Out," a recent article by Imani Moise in The Wall Street ...Read more

You want to succeed at work. This is admirable. But will the traditional methods for getting ahead work for you?

Don't think so.

Maintaining a positive attitude is one frequent suggestion for strivers, but your "can't-do" attitude is based on years of failures, flops and boo-boos. To positively believe you have what it takes to get ahead is ...Read more

Ever dream of being stranded on a desert island?

There you are, totally alone, in the middle of the ocean, doomed to spend the rest of your days with no human company.

Sounds good, doesn't it?

Thanks to today's trend of open offices, the constant cacophony of co-workers can make work hell. Equally bad are the desk-side pop-ins from ...Read more

"Many young employees are frustrated when their first jobs land them in powerless positions at the bottom of the organization chart after years of leadership roles in school."

So reports The Wall Street Journal reporter Sue Shellenbarger in "How to Gain Power at Work When You Have None."

It is understandable that a new hire wants to think of...Read more

Be honest now -- at what point in your day do you realize that you hate your job?

Is it at 4:30 p.m., when you realize that all the clocks in your office must have stopped running because it feels like you've already put in a 12-hour day with 8 more hours to go?

Is it at lunchtime when you polish off your second Cheetos burrito, and realize ...Read more

Do you need a decision coach?

While you're trying to decide, let me introduce you to Nell Wulfhart, the author of "Decide This for Me," a helpful feature on The Muse website.

Wulfhart sees her job as helping people to "quit procrastinating, make important decisions, and move on with their lives."

Alas, I didn't utilize the decision coach's ...Read more

Does the thought of going to work fill you with dread? Does the mere mention of a due date set your heart aflutter? Does the sight of your manager coming around a corner turn you into a quivering lump of protoplasm?

If the answer to any of these questions is a big fat "YES!" you have a condition we workplace professionals call "nervosa ...Read more