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How to Stage a Vacation Coup
 How to Stage a Vacation Coup 
Jul 10, 2009 1:05 PM CDT

How to Stage a Vacation Coup

It can be done, with help from the expert

(Newser) - Planning a summer vacation? It may be harder than you think to get away from your needy colleagues, but with “aggressive, simultaneous upward and downward management,” it can be done, writes Stanley Bing in Fortune:
  • First, get the boss’s permission and make sure your subordinates know you’
...

At Office, Anything Beyond Handshake Can be Touchy

(Newser) - After countless bear hugs, fist bumps, elbow grips, and pats-on-the-back, Elizabeth Bernstein realized that she is her office’s “touchee”—someone co-workers know will be receptive to physical demonstrations of support, she writes for the Wall Street Journal. That got her thinking: When is such touching OK, and...

Firms Feed Workers to Boost Morale
Firms Feed
Workers to
Boost Morale
Jun 11, 2009 1:45 PM CDT

Firms Feed Workers to Boost Morale

It's not a raise, but perk goes long way in tough times, managers say

(Newser) - The way to employee satisfaction is apparently through their stomachs. Businesses slicing jobs and benefits in tough times are finding that free food is a cheap way to boost worker morale, the Boston Globe reports. The majority of financial officers recently surveyed—68%—is taking steps to boost employee spirits....

Etiquette for 2009: Don't Mention Your Job

Unemployment straining friendships

(Newser) - The onetime small-talk staple “So, how's the job going?” is liable to get you into trouble these days, reports Newsweek. Rising unemployment is straining friendships as the haves learn to interact with the have-nots. Among 30- and 40-somethings, discussing luxurious vacation plans is not a good idea, and for...

Working at Home Could Boost Layoff Risk, Some Fear

'Trend toward flexibility' makes about-face in rough economy

(Newser) - Workers who once had the flexibility to work from home are sticking to the office, worried that less “face time” could make them layoff targets, the Washington Post reports. To some women, the shift appears to be a step backward as pressure builds to “work as many hours...

Ousted Thain to Repay $1.2M Spent on Office

Lush renovation was a 'mistake,' says ex-Merrill CEO

(Newser) - Former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain says he’ll repay the $1.2 million he spent on office renovations last year, Bloomberg reports. “The expenses were incurred over a year ago in a very different environment,” Thain wrote in a memo to Merrill execs. “They were a...

Cash-Squeezed Calif. to Close Offices Twice a Month

Labor unions file suit opposing cost-saving move

(Newser) - In another creative and/or desperate budgeting move from the Governator, California state offices will close 2 days a month, the Wall Street Journal reports. The state is low on cash and facing a budget deficit expected to swell to $42 billion deficit over the next 18 months. The days off,...

New Maternity Leave Means Bring Your Kids to Work

Firms go ga-ga over not losing mom for months

(Newser) - Every day can be bring-your-child-to-work day, the New York Times reports, as more companies are allowing parents to bring their babies into the office. The move helps moms and dads dodge the financial hit of parental leave while simultaneously spending time with their kids. “I have not heard anyone...

Signs He's Your Work Spouse
 Signs He's Your Work Spouse 
Nov 11, 2008 4:44 PM CST

Signs He's Your Work Spouse

Looking at those platonic office relationships that mirror married life

(Newser) - Everyone has friends in the office, but not everyone has a work spouse—a fellow worker of the opposite sex with whom one has a close, platonic relationship. According to Vault.com, 23% of workers say they have a work spouse. CNN collects signs that you might have one, too:...

Herman Miller Says Phooey to Financial Crisis

Still have a job? Thumb your nose at thrift with a $1600 office chair

(Newser) - With a "bah!" to the financial crisis, furniture manufacturer Herman Miller has introduced a chair that costs $1,600—making you “all the more comfortable as you sit for eight hours staring in disbelief at your plummeting stock portfolio,” writes Stacey Higginibotham on GigaOm. The Embody,...

Watch for These Layoff Signs
 Watch for These Layoff Signs 
Oct 15, 2008 6:45 PM CDT

Watch for These Layoff Signs

Knowing it's coming could help you prepare

(Newser) - More than 750,000 American jobs vanished this year, and more cuts are likely amid the current crisis. MarketWatch offers red flags that a pink slip is coming:
  • Colleagues get fired: You are not immune, even if your boss says so.
  • Training budgets dwindle: They are "not sure if
...

Brits Working Longer Days
Brits Working Longer Days
Sep 3, 2008 7:07 PM CDT

Brits Working Longer Days

UK employees put in 41.4 hours a week, up from 40.7 in 2006

(Newser) - Britons are among the hardest working Europeans, with only Romanians and Bulgarians working longer than the 41.4 hours our former colonizers put in at the office weekly. That's 2 more hours than the average European, the Telegraph reports, and it's up from 40.7 hours in 2006. Workers in...

Brown-Bag Boom Makes for Stinky Office Fridges

Employees moan about offensive odors, liquefied carrots, missing pizza

(Newser) - A rise in brown-bag lunches is turning office fridges nationwide from a munchies Mecca into an oversized Petri dish—and workers are crying foul, the Chicago Tribune reports. Booming food prices and health concerns are increasing bring-your-own numbers, but the good stuff doesn't always get eaten. "I've found things...

Tech Firms to Fix Monster They Created

Email, IMs keep employees available and distracted

(Newser) - Google, Microsoft, Intel, and IBM are partnering are on a new initiative to help workers distracted by emails and instant messages improve their productivity, the New York Times reports. The Information Overload Research Group, a nonprofit launching next month, will devise cultural and technological solutions to reduce the digital deluge...

Bored at Work? Site Disguises Classic Lit

Readatwork.com lets you fool the boss

(Newser) - Business world got you down? Want to escape into a classic poem or short story? The New Zealand Book Council has made a website to help you: ReadatWork.com. The site brings up a fake Windows desktop with folders and PowerPoint files, the Wall Street Journal reports. Click on them,...

Employers Ask Office Lovers to Sign Off

'Love contracts' guard bosses against harassment claims

(Newser) - Bosses who see love in the air are asking workers to sign so-called love contracts to guard against sexual harassment claims, ABC News reports. "It is documenting the relationship," one employment lawyer said. "You need to define the relationship. Is (it) welcome?" The issue has gained attention...

America's 12 Germiest Places
America's 12 Germiest Places
Nov 1, 2007 2:15 PM CDT

America's 12 Germiest Places

It's enough to make the hypochondriac in all of us squirm

(Newser) - The trash smells worse than the kitchen sinks, but it's not necessarily less prone to germs. Health gives you the 12 germiest places:
  1. Kitchen sink and counters—Use antibacterial product.
  2. Airplane bathrooms—Flushing sprays germs everywhere.
  3. Wet laundry—E. coli, courtesy dirty skivvies. Use bleach, dry high heat.
  4. Public drinking
...

Have You Heard the Latest on Pet Peeves?

Gossip, 'reply all' abuse are driving your co-workers nuts

(Newser) - "MYOB" is great advice, say office workers who blame poor manners for making cubicle life so bad. Gossip was the biggest annoyance for 60% of people surveyed in a new Harris Interactive poll. More than half complained of co-workers misusing work time with personal calls and web surfing, and...

Keep Those Really Junior Execs Happy

The office isn't the only option for parents whose kids are at loose ends

(Newser) - Can't find a babysitter? Bringing your kid to work may seem the simplest solution—but first, consider these suggestions from Forbes.
  1. Check out employer-provided child care. Many places don't have on-site care, but they may have backup services.
  2. Work from home. Your boss and co-workers will thank you.

Office Rents Soar in US
Office Rents Soar in US
Jul 5, 2007 1:50 PM CDT

Office Rents Soar in US

Companies are bearing the brunt of a price surge for commercial leases

(Newser) - The price of office space has surged nationwide due to a dwindling store of vacant commercial property and picky landlords increasingly keen on attracting well-heeled tenants. Across the country, leases spiked an average of 3.1% in the second quarter, following an increase of 2.8% in the first.

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