Video: What Motivates Us to Work? Constant Progress and Sense of Purpose, Not Money or Joy.

What motivates us to work? Contrary to conventional wisdom, it isn’t just money. But it’s not exactly joy either. It seems that most of us thrive by making constant progress and feeling a sense of purpose. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely presents two eye-opening experiments that reveal our unexpected and nuanced attitudes toward meaning in our work.

It’s become increasingly obvious that the dismal science of economics is not as firmly grounded in actual behavior as was once supposed. In “Predictably Irrational,” Dan Ariely tells us why. Continue Reading

69% of Students Highly or Very Highly Stressed by College Admissions

Stressed student photo courtesy of Shutterstock

This is a very stressful time of the year for high school seniors and others who are waiting to hear back from the admissions offices of colleges and universities. Although some top students received “you’ve been accepted” letters months ago from schools with rolling admissions policies, most students are still waiting to hear from most schools. And the wait can be agonizing.

According to The Princeton Review’s 2013 “College Hopes & Worries Survey” – an annual poll of college applicants and parents of applicants – stress levels are high and worries about college costs are higher than ever.  Eighty-nine percent of survey respondents this year say financial aid will be “very” necessary to pay for college and within that cohort 66 percent say “extremely” necessary (a five percent increase over 2012).  Nonetheless, 100 percent of the respondents believe college will be “worth it” and 51 percent see a “potentially better job / higher income” as the main benefit of the diploma. Other findings were: Continue Reading

97% of Employers Have No Plans to Eliminate Telecommuting a la Yahoo! and Best Buy

Marissa Mayer of Yahoo!

When big box retailer Best Buy followed in the footsteps of Yahoo! Inc. by altering its telecommuting policies for employees, some undoubtedly concluded that there would soon be a flood of companies doing the same.  However, a new survey indicates that Best Buy may be in the minority, with the overwhelming percentage of companies planning to maintain their telecommuting policies.

According to the survey, 80 percent of the 120 human resources executives polled said their companies currently offer some form of telecommuting option to employees with 97 percent of them saying there are no plans to eliminate that benefit. 

The survey was conducted by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. in the days following Yahoo’s widely reported and controversial plan to bring work-at-home employees back to the office. Continue Reading

Higher Home Prices Likely to Lead to Surge in Employees Quitting Jobs

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

With the recent report on home prices showing the biggest year-over-year gain in more than six years, one employment authority predicts a surge in relocation by job-seeking homeowners in 2013, which could ultimately help to accelerate the decline in unemployment rates.

“One factor that has kept unemployment rates high has been the inability of underwater homeowners to relocate for employment opportunities.  With home prices bouncing back, even those who may now simply break even on a home sale might consider moving to a region where jobs are more plentiful.  This could spark a more rapid decline in the unemployment rate over the next year,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.  Continue Reading

30% of Those Date Who Co-Workers Get Married to One

Office romance photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Looking for love this Valentine’s Day? It may just be in the cube next to you. Thirty-nine percent of workers said they have dated a co-worker at least once over the course of their career; 17 percent reported dating co-workers at least twice. Thirty percent of those who have dated a co-worker said their office romance led them to the altar. This is according to CareerBuilder’s annual office romance survey of more than 4,000 workers nationwide, conducted online by Harris Interactive^© between November 1 and November 30, 2012.

How Many Dated the Boss?

While the majority of relationships developed between peers, 29 percent of workers who have dated someone at work said they have dated someone above them in the company hierarchy, and16 percent admitted to dating their boss. Women were more likely to date someone higher up in their organization – 38 percent compared to 21 percent of men.

Which Industries Have the Most Romance? Continue Reading

60% of Workers Find Romance in the Workplace

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

The approach of Valentine’s Day may have many human resource managers on the lookout for any evidence of budding or ongoing romances between co-workers or, even worse, between a worker and supervisor.

With some surveys indicating that as many as 60 percent of co-workers, casually dating, hooking up and/or finding love in the workplace, it is an issue that keeps many human resource executives up at night.  “Office romances are fraught with pitfalls that can impact workplace harmony, productivity, more and, in some cases, the bottom line if they end badly and a lawsuit is filed,” noted workplace authority John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.  Continue Reading

Telecommuting Benefits Environment, Worker Productivity, Job Satisfaction, and Profits

John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

With a new report detailing the growing cost of daily commuting to and from work, one workplace authority wonders if it is time for the nation’s employers to make a serious commitment to expanding the use of telecommuting strategies.

“Right now, a very small fraction of the nation’s workers who could viably work from home on a regular basis are actually doing so.  By not expanding the use of telecommuting, employers are negatively impacting the environment, worker productivity, job satisfaction and, most importantly, their bottom lines.  And, it is not a lack of technology or other resources that is holding back this expansion.  It is simply a lack of vision, a shortage of trust and an irrational adherence to antiquated notions of how and where work should be done,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Continue Reading

More Highly Educated People on Food Stamps and Other Forms of Welfare

Many people might not believe that college graduates with multiple degrees would have a hard time finding a job in their fields.  However, according to the following infographic, more of these graduates are having to settle for jobs not in their fields just to make it everyday. Continue Reading

Video: The Ultra-Flexible Hidden Corner of the Job Market

Plenty of people need jobs with very flexible hours — but it’s difficult for those people to connect with the employers who need them. In this Ted Talk, Wingham Rowan explains how the same technology that powers modern financial markets can help employers book workers for slivers of time.

Wingham is the Project Director of Slivers-of-Time Working, a U.K.-based, government-funded initiative that uses advanced (but easy-to-use) trading technology to help individuals who need to work on their own terms and at times of their choosing connect with employers who need their labor. Employers expanding their workforce in this new way include local authorities, housing associations, National Health Service Primary Care Trusts, retailers and caterers.

Rowan is the former producer and presenter of the UK’s longest running television series about the Internet, cyber.cafe, and the presenter of the children’s TV program Rowan’s Report. He’s is the author of two books about the social potential of online markets.

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#1 Professional Goal for 2013 Is Developing New Skills

Nicole Williams, LinkedIn career expert

Long after all of the presents have been unwrapped and the ball has dropped, a lot of attention is paid to resolutions — the most common ones being losing weight and drinking less — that most people won’t keep past the middle of January. LinkedIn surveyed more than 7,100 professionals around the world and found that 74 percent of people globally made a professional goal for 2012, and of that number, fifty-six percent of those professionals said that they actually achieved their goal last year. In the United States specifically, 70 percent of people made a professional goal for 2012, and 56 percent of those people succeeded at accomplishing that goal.

Here are the top five professional goals people in the U.S. said they want to achieve in 2013: Continue Reading