Patagonia, the popular outdoor retailer, is providing its employees paid time off on November 6th so they are able to vote in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Following the same initiative for the 2016 presidential election, the company will close all its stores nationwide, its support center in Nevada, and its headquarters in California to give personnel uninterrupted time to travel to the polls. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, 35% of eligible voters said they were not able to vote in that year’s elections due to scheduling conflicts with work or school. In her own, candid word... view article details

Adopting a pet is a big commitment. When it comes to bringing a new friend home, it’s important to make the transition as smooth as possible so your pet feels secure in their new environment. Setting up a routine for your new roomie is key, but it can be hard to do so if you’re at work for eight hours a day. According to a Nationwide/HABRI survey of 2,002 full-time workers in the U.S., 90% of employees in pet-friendly workplaces feel highly connected to their company's mission, engaged in their work, and are willing to recommend their organization to others. This may be a big part of why somet... view article details

Here's Everything Your Assistant Wants to Tell You But Can't Administrative assistants (aka executive assistants, or secretaries if you're stuck in the Mad Men days) are essential for any successful business to run properly. They epitomize the phrase 'in the trenches' because they're the ones getting their hands dirty by doing all the things that need to be done that no one else can do quickly and efficiently. All the creative planning and brainstorming is great, but it's the administrative professionals who turn pie-in-the-sky pipe dreams into reality.But because they're so reliable ... view article details

Holiday Movies Have Some Good Work Advice If you're like most Americans, you enjoy one, most, or all of the holiday classics that play around the clock during the holiday season. But I'll bet you didn't realize it's more than just entertainment.That's right, your favorite holiday classic movies also contain some timeless and accurate advice about work, furthering your career, and work/life balance as well. I mean c'mon, did you really think Rudolph was just pulling a sled? Did you think there was nothing more to Frosty than simply being a magic snowman? And don't be fooled by Clark W.... view article details

The duties of a counselor are as multiple and various as the diverse populations they serve. From mental health facilities to your local high school to a police station, there is a counselor around with the kind of expertise to help anyone in need of listening or advice.Family and marriage therapists listen to individuals or groups of individuals who may be experiencing problems in their home life. They might offer advice for healthy behavior or more effective coping mechanisms.School guidance counselors advise students on how to transition into the next phases of their lives. They are expecte... view article details

You’re probably in a fantasy football league. If your league is really competitive, you’ve probably spent a lot of time researching the best players for your team by buying magazines, studying depth charts, analyzing position rankings, or soliciting advice from experts on Twitter.If all this is true, you’ve probably heard of Dave Richard.As the Senior Fantasy Writer for CBSSports.com, Dave has a job most sports fans and stat-obsessed fantasy football geeks envy---he gets paid to watch professional football and then discuss it. Dave is paid to pick out the best players in the NFL and estimate h... view article details

The teens and 20s are always a tricky time for young adults trying to launch careers, move into their own households, figure out their finances, and generally establish themselves as grown-ups. And when an economic crisis hits in the middle of the process, it can have significant and long-lasting impacts.The financial slump known as the Great Recession is no different. Recent economic troubles have left young people reaching some milestones of adulthood at slower rates, according to an analysis released last month by Pew Research. At the same time, however, the economic climate seems to have h... view article details

Dear Annette, I've been working on my income taxes, and my files are getting pretty big. How much of this stuff do I have to keep? Form 1-too-many Dear Form, When I found out a few years ago that Dickie and I were going to prison for failing to pay taxes on three years' worth of his a income from selling cosmetics door-to-door, my first thoughts were, What should I pack? Will there be mints under my pillow? Will there be someone to do the floors and bath? And why does an undocumented Maltese owe taxes in the first place? (After all, he does have his shots.) But I quickly realized incarceration... view article details

Q. My performance review is coming soon, and I would like to learn more about the do's and don'ts of performance reviews. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.A. The review process is normally broken down into two parts. The first is spent discussing your overall performance during a defined 'performance period.' The second part of the process is how much you will receive based on your performance.I always advise managers that employees should never be surprised by their review. The purpose of a performance review is just that: to review an employee's performance. In other words, your manag... view article details

Achoo!Dear Annette,Our manager keeps coming into the office when he is obviously sick, such as when he has an awful cold. We don't want to get what he has. How can we get him to stay home?Sick of ItDear Sick of It,Ah, the miracles of droplet infection. Just one tiny sneeze gone awry, or a revolting tissue placed for nary a second on a common surface, and all of you will be singing the same song, complete with a chorus of choking gasps, honks, and other noises. It is never fabulous to contaminate others, particularly if the company is planning to institute a 360-degree review process soon.Your ... view article details