Don't Hate, Appreciate! The first Friday of March is Employee Appreciation Day. But do you feel appreciated?This 'holiday,' established in 1995, serves as a day to honor workers across the country. After all, National Bosses Day is celebrated in October, so it’s only fair the rank and file employees have their moment in the sun as well. That’s why it doesn’t matter whether you scrub toilets or if you’re a budding advertising executive on Madison Avenue – Employee Appreciation Day is about recognizing people for a job well done. Every job and every worker.The question is how should you... view article details

FAQ: The 8 Hottest Salary Negotiation Questions Salary negotiation can be a complicated, confusing, confidence-rattling experience. There are lots of questions to be answered, and in nearly every situation, part of the answer is “it depends” -- on number of years in the workplace, what the salary level is, what the job and industry are, and how much leverage you have.Given that background, let’s look at eight quick-hit questions that might be on your mind.8. "How much is too much?" Q: When asking for a higher salary, how much higher is generally reasonable? $10,000? $15,000? ... view article details

1. You're Running on Empty Workers of the world, come clean: Who among us hasn't laid our head on the table, dozed off on a conference room couch, or curled up behind our desk in the middle of the day? Don't feel guilty. You're not alone. The Pew Research Center reported in 2009 that about 34 percent of adults surveyed had napped during the previous day. We are an exhausted crew. Most working Americans sleep six or less hours a night, instead of the recommended 7 to 9 hours.2. You're Working Longer, Getting Less Done Americans have the longest working... view article details

Are Young Workers "Lost?" A recent piece in the New York Times by Todd G. Buchholz and Victoria Buchholz calls 20-somethings the 'go-nowhere generation' based on their statistical reluctance to relocate for work. They note, 'The likelihood of 20-somethings moving to another state has dropped well over 40 percent since the 1980s, according to calculations based on Census Bureau data…According to the Pew Research Center, the proportion of young adults living at home nearly doubled between 1980 and 2008, before the Great Recession hit.'Whether or not you believe Millennials are sedentary... view article details

There are many hard and fast rules that a job-seeker can learn when preparing for a salary negotiation. For example, having the right mindset, the importance of doing research, and keeping compensation numbers open-ended, speaking in terms of salary ranges vs. naming a specific number.However, one of the more difficult aspects of negotiating a job offer is adapting your approach based on the personality of the person you are dealing with.There are three phases that you must master:Develop a negotiation mindset and learn the tips and techniquesPractice and role play with someone to simulate the... view article details

Pay Differences Between Telecommute & In-Office One persistent belief about work-at-home, or telecommute, jobs is that they almost always pay far less than in-office jobs. But is this really true?While it may have been the case many years ago when telecommuting was just starting to take shape as a movement, today’s at-home jobs pay salaries comparable to in-office jobs. Additionally, there are substantial cost savings that come with working from home, such as a reduction in commute costs, wardrobe and dry cleaning bills, eating out, and childcare costs to cover time spent commuting. I... view article details

In 1982, the Village Voice started the trend of offering domestic-partner benefits, or benefits an employer voluntarily decides to offer to an employee's unmarried partner of the same or opposite sex, to its employees. The cities of Berkeley and West Hollywood, Calif., followed suit in 1985. And since then, about 3,500 employers - including nearly one-fifth of Fortune 500 companies - have offered domestic-partner benefits, according to Kim Mills, education director for the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay and lesbian political organization.'[The trend] really took off in the IT sector in ... view article details

Ask anyone who's ever sold a home, and they'll tell you how seriously they took the process of selecting a real estate agent to represent them. It's likely they also took a proactive role in ensuring that the agent worked hard to market their home. When it comes to home buyers however, the number of people who end up with a real estate agent by accident is amazing. The person who helps you find and buy your house is integral to the success of the process, which is why buyers ought to put the same effort into finding an agent as home sellers would.Who's who in real estate agentsTo find the righ... view article details

If we can take anything away from the world of marketing and advertising, it’s that the right spokesperson can make or break an organization. Enter Kayla Tucker Adams, a public relations executive with more than 13 years of experience. She began locally through education, expanded nationally through non-profit, and has now garnered global reach working with CNN, CBS, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Huffington Post, and Associated Press among others. She is the Director of Public Relations for T.D. Jakes Ministries, the second largest church in the country.Adams attended Prairie View A & M, a histor... view article details

Q: Dear Heather,I really need to get out of where I'm working. It's toxic and completely reactionary. My boss (whom I'd worked with elsewhere in happier times) just resigned after only one month in her position! Sandy is known for her skill in improving business infrastructure but couldn't tolerate what she termed 'arrogant' and 'immature' behavior from management (they never listen to anyone and think they're always right). I feel like I have no control over things, especially now that my old boss has left. It's like I'm on an island all by myself. I'm single—no kids. All I really have to sho... view article details