Gossip is the bane of the modern workplace, right? Gossip is pernicious. It undermines office harmony. You would be better off dying of dehydration than mingling with that klatch by the water cooler. Unless gossip turns out to be news that can save your professional hide. Then it’s an early warning system. Drink up.
Archive for March, 2009
The Office Whisperers
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009State of the Union
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009President Obama declined an invitation to this weekend’s Gridiron dinner, becoming the first president since Grover Cleveland to skip the hoity-toitiest of journalism soirees in his inaugural year. Nice example to be following…. In a completed unrelated matter, a new poll of economists sees no evidence that the economy is improving and several states now report unemployment cracking double digits.
Carnival of Suits
Monday, March 16th, 2009Intangible Effects
Friday, March 13th, 2009We remember the 1950s through the eyes of the Beave and “Father Knows Best,” and maybe we have a sense of the anxieties that formed that time from the Depression-era reminiscences of our grandparents, or our great-grandparents. But what will we look like to our grandkids after we emerge from the current economic quagmire?
The Bigger They Come, the Harder They Cut
Thursday, March 12th, 2009If it seems like big companies slash jobs faster than smaller ones, it’s because they do. Why? Maybe it’s because they are so big that the people making the decisions to cut don’t really know the people who will be getting the axe. Maybe it’s because the bigger you are, the more likely it is that you’ll be focused on the bottom line and not on whether what your organization is doing matters or not.
How We Are Faring
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009It ain’t easy out there. Parents are cutting corners and hoping the kids don’t know. Fresh recruits to the job market are already experiencing the woes of unemployment. Car payments are due, phone contracts are lapsing and the rent just might going up. If you’re coping with unemployment, these six vignettes will assure you that you’re not alone.
It IS Too Good to be True!
Tuesday, March 10th, 2009Make a Million from Your Couch! Six Figures for Stuffing Envelopes! Go Shopping in Your Pajamas for Pay!
Get a Clue! With the ranks of the unemployed swelling, work-at-home and other get-rich-quick scams are on the rise. Fore-warned is fore-armed
The Geithner Limbo
Monday, March 9th, 2009How Low Can We Go? How will we know when we reach the nadir of this plunge down the backside of a broken bell curve? Should we look at housing, stocks or employment for a signal? This is what the experts are saying … this week…
Greybeard in the Job Market
Friday, March 6th, 2009Worried that the 30-something on the other side of the interview desk is going to get the wrong impression about the gray in your beard? You have to demonstrate that you don’t have an old man’s energy level and a 20th century grasp of technology. And lest they think you’re one step away from retirement, stay focused on long-term goals.
Half a Job
Thursday, March 5th, 2009We have often dreamed of a 24-hour work-week – more time with the kids, more time to pursue personal projects. We would be able to say “work-life balance” and actually mean it! But this is not what we meant at all….