8 Ways to “Manage Up” — without Your Boss Knowing You’re Doing It

Beverly Flaxington

A Gallup poll (here’s the link) of more 1 million employed US workers showed that 17% of employee turnover is because of a bad boss or immediate supervisor. But the poll also concluded that 75% of all turnovers are influenced by managers — that is, a bad manager is often the tipping point in an employee’s decision to leave.

In my consulting and coaching work with employees, we spend far too much of our time working on “managing up” — helping employee deal with a difficult or incompetent boss. Oftentimes the boss has an unpleasant manner. The boss is a bully or a poor communicator. Sometimes the boss is disorganized and blames their employee as a result for any ensuing problems. Continue Reading

The Disappearing Act Supervisor: How to Get on Your Supervisor’s Radar

Interns, although it may be a challenge to communicate with your supervisor, there are ways to get his or her attention.  The following post shares ideas on how to contact your boss.

If it’s the first few weeks of your internship, it doesn’t help if you are confused as to where your supervisor is. You’re confused enough figuring out where the bathroom is! Everytime you go in for your scheduled hours, it just seems as if they’re not in their office! Unburdened with tasks seems nice until you get bored

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The Disappearing Act Supervisor: How to Get on Your Supervisor’s Radar

Bring the Passion Back to Your Job

Are you losing the desire to work at your job?  The following post has some tips to help make you more passionate as an employee.

High stress levels, increased workloads and long hours can impact your morale and lead to decreased job satisfaction.  Add on a competitive coworker or an overbearing boss and you might be wondering if the relationship is worth saving. Continue Reading

Being Happier At Work: 5 Ways To Get You There Now

Manager meeting with employee on the job. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Do you feel satisfied with your job?  If not, you might want to consider talking to your boss about how to make things better.  The following post offers five ways for becoming happier at work. 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

Employees Rank Effectiveness of Employee Training Programs

Where do industries rank on the effectiveness of their employee training programs?  Learn more in the following post.

Earlier this year, ON24 announced the findings of its 2013 Employee Training Survey of over 500 American workers, aged 18 and older, conducted online by uSamp.  The survey, which was aimed at revealing how employees regard on-the-job training, found that fully 100% of the respondents say that employee training is important – but that not all industries train their staffs successfully. Continue Reading

6 Workplace Tips for the Socially Challenged

Christina Steinorth, MA, MFT

Are you the type of person who hates to be interrupted at work with “good mornings” and other niceties? Do you routinely avoid the break room or eat lunch at your desk? Do your coworkers hang out socially, but rarely invite you for an after-work drink?

While you may think of yourself as an introvert, your coworkers may be interpreting your communication cues quite differently. They may feel that you’re impolite, snobby, or antisocial.

So often with people, simple interactions and misunderstandings may lead to negative feelings and poor workplace relationships. Here are a few cue cards, or quick actionable tips, that will make a big difference in the way you interact at work–and how others respond to you. Continue Reading

82% of Applicants Expect Answers From Employers Yet Only 25% Get It

Sanja Licina of Careerbuilder

Job hunting can be a frustrating process especially if you have no idea whether the employer made a decision or even saw your application. More than one in four workers reported that they have had a bad experience when applying for a job. The vast majority (75 percent) of workers who applied to jobs using various resources in the last year said they never heard back from the employer, according to a nationwide CareerBuilder survey.

While this speaks to the challenges of finding employment in a highly competitive market, it also brings to light negative implications for today’s employers. The survey shows candidates who have had a bad experience when applying for a position are less likely to seek employment at that company again and are more likely to discourage friends and family from applying or purchasing products from that company. The study of more than 3,900 U.S. workers was conducted online by Harris Interactive^© from November 1 to November 30, 2012.

How important is it to acknowledge every job applicant? 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

A healthier, happier you: 5 low-stress careers for 2013

Relaxed businessman on the job. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Stress does all sorts of terrible things to your body. This reaction, meant to give us the necessary boost to fight or fly when faced with a life-threatening situation, is a relic of a different era, as dangerous and vestigial as an appendix that’s ready to burst. Just a few of the things that stress can do to the human body when left unchecked:

-It slows and shuts down major bodily processes like digestion, growth and healing.

-It causes deterioration of everything from your gums to your heart.

-One of its major byproducts, cortisol, causes plaque to build up in your arteries.

-It puts you at risk for numerous health disorders, like heart disease, insomnia, digestive issues, depression, obesity, memory impairment, skin problems and many more. Continue Reading