Business
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How Many Shopping Days Until You're Fired?
Is there a law saying you have to give gifts to the people you work with?
Absolutely. It's called the law of the jungle.
I'm not saying that a gift will pacify the bloodthirsty predators who roam your office, but it certainly couldn't hurt.
Or could it?
Like many of the employed and confused, I get my gift-giving advice from Alison Green, ...Read more
Out-of-Office or Out-of-Your-Head? You Decide.
Oh, goody! It's holiday season.
That means you'll be spending quality -- and, hopefully, quantity -- time away from your desk, unless you have a Scrooge for a boss -- or a Santa. (Yes, this column supports the elves in their fight to unionize.)
If you don't want to be bugged by endless emails while chugging a jug of kombucha wassail, you ...Read more
Someone Needs a Job. Her Name is Alexa.
Looking for an employee who is responsive, knowledgeable, works 24/7, never complains and never takes a vacation?
Meet Alexa.
Alexa is currently employed by Amazon, but I'm not sure she'll have that job for long. According to a recent article by Karen Weise in The New York Times, the high-tech megaretailer is laying off some 10,000 workers, ...Read more
Take This Fake Job and Hug It
Thinking about getting a new job? It certainly seems like the right time to start sending off resumes.
According to recruiter Jack Kelly, "It's been widely reported there are more than 11 million jobs available."
This is a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that with 11 million jobs available, surely there is one for you. The bad...Read more
Turning Work Fiends into Work Friends
Good news!
If you're one of the 300 million people globally who, according to Gallup, don't have a single friend, I'm ready, willing and able to be your friend. And what a wonderful friend I will be!
I will provide free advice on every aspect of your career, even when it's a subject I know nothing about (especially if it's a subject I know ...Read more
Doing Better at Doing Worse at Your Job
Don't deny it: You're perfect! And if you're not perfect at everything, you certainly do try your hardest to dot every "i" and cross every "t," which makes you a perfectionist, which makes you vulnerable to what could be a very big problem.
Or so says Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, Ph.D., in " Perfectionists: Lowering Your Standards Can Improve Your ...Read more
You're Not Just an Employee. You're Inventory.
Does your boss like you?
Do they smile when they see you strolling in the front door, even though you're arriving two hours late? Do they chuckle when you sneak out the back door, even though you're leaving two hours early?
In other words, do they put up with all your nonsense, even though your performance is spotty and your attitude is not ...Read more
Your Job is Changing. Are You?
Don't hate me!
It's not my fault I'm a warrior.
In fact, "warrior" is one description of my performance at work that has never been used, not even once.
"Waste of space," "lazy bum," "total loser" come up most frequently -- and those are the positives. But that's going to change.
"I'm an asset to this company," I'm going to say, "and I can...Read more
Seven Workdays Make One Weak
"Work expands to fit the time available to do it."
That's what they say, and it's true.
What they don't say is just as true:
"Leisure expands to fit the time available to enjoy it."
This is the problem with the typical workweek -- five days on, two days off. Stand back and you will see that the reason the workweek is five days long is not ...Read more
Stopping Starting at Work
It's a gigantic project and you're responsible. Everyone is counting on you, including your manager.
There's only one problem.
You can't get started.
What we have here is a serious breakdown in the phenomenon psychologists call "task initiation," and bosses call "a darn good reason for termination."
Which brings us to "If You Struggle to ...Read more
Getting Noisy Over Quiet Quitting
It's a radical idea! You do the job you're hired for.
And that's it.
No late nights. No early mornings. No weekend work. No after-work boozy, schmoozy confabs with managers and co-workers. No nonessential meetings. No unnecessary Zooms. No futile business trips or frivolous off-sites. In short, no anything, anywhere or anytime that is not ...Read more
Fired Up About Getting Fired
Well, it's happened. The conference tables have turned.
It seems like forever that we've heard about a shortage of workers for a plethora of jobs. You want to work from home? No problem. You want to work Tuesday afternoons and every other Thursday? Be our guest. As long as you'll stay on the payroll, no one is going to pester you about why, ...Read more
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