Will Increasing the Minimum Wage Hurt or Help Employees & Businesses? For many American workers, minimum-wage employment was a temporary, teenage condition, as we bussed tables or answered phones or cleaned rooms for tiny paychecks before moving on to more financially rewarding work. However in 2011, 3.8 million American workers -- most of whom were out of their teens -- earned the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour or less, according to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And recently, debate has heated up about whether the government should raise the minimum wage, increasin... view article details

Going back to school is a great way to invest in your future. Learning new skills can lead to better work opportunities and increased income and programs designed to help you attain a short or long term professional goal are helpful in giving you the edge you need in today’s competitive job market. Finding the right college or professional program is very important. You need to find a school that is affordable and flexible. But finding time for additional learning outside of the workplace presents a significant challenge to most employees. Here we highlight some terrific advantages to pursuing... view article details

It’s Thursday afternoon and you’re snailing your way to the end of the work week. One peppy co-worker remarks “this is my Friday” because they’re taking the real Friday off. You groan and begin to scrutinize society’s five-day work week. How did the universe decide weekends should only be two days? Well, maybe it’s time for the cosmos to reorder itself. Perpetual Guardian, an Auckland-based trustee company, became New Zealand’s first major business to experiment with “four days’ work for five days’ pay” earlier this year. Over the course of the two-month trial, researchers found that employe... view article details

Typically, the month of December brings a lull to the workplace. With school vacations and holidays resulting in time off for many employees, it sometimes seems futile to try to actually accomplish anything of value. In fact, some see it as a good time to 'resolve to get things done next year.' But it doesn't have to be this way if you use these tips to work smarter, not harder.Just because it seems like a ghost town around the office doesn’t mean you have to play dead. Consider the change of pace and disruption to the workplace routine a golden opportunity to be proactive, p... view article details

Sustainable energy and green technologies have been placed at the forefront of America Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the business world has taken notice.  To better facilitate modern professionals' connection with these emerging eco-friendly industries, MBA programs around the world have begun adopting curricula with a sharper focus on going green. The Aspen Institute Center for Business Education is reporting that the number of colleges requiring MBA students to take courses in ecological business and society issues has more than doubled in the past eight years, from 34 percent in 2001 ... view article details

Most employers conduct salary reviews as part of the performance review cycle. This is one of the best opportunities to negotiate for more pay. Startup companies and other employers may offer a salary review after the first three to six months on the job.Many companies believe in separating the performance review from the salary review, because one is an evaluation and the other is a negotiation. But the business world moves so fast that that the two discussions are often combined.Companies set budgets for pay increases. Usually the budget calls for the average employee to receive a 4 percent ... view article details

As a high school graduates decide what field of study to pursue, they may wonder what the job outlook will be after obtaining their degree. According to a report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, new graduates looking for a high paying job in a growing field should set their sights on Information Services and Finance. It is anticipated that these jobs in these fields will have the largest growth – actual increase in number of jobs – over the next several years. The top 5 jobs on the list that require a Bachelor's degree and their anticipated percentage in growth are:RankTitle% chang... view article details

Which Terms & Tactics Work? Within the language of every culture exists a sub-language – a collection of words, phrases, acronyms, slang, and jargon unique to that area of life, which must be deciphered in order to truly gain an understanding. The language of negotiation is no different.Wikipedia has a great list of negotiation terms and tactics, so let’s highlight some of them and frame them in terms of salary negotiation.8. Auction Anyone that has used EBay or watched the reality show Storage Wars is familiar with an auction, a bidding process designed to create competition... view article details

It might not be fair, but the way you look plays a part in how much you’re paid. Looks Do Matter Discriminating against people based on their physical appearance is wrong -- both morally, and in many cases, legally speaking. The way you look usually has no bearing on how you’ll perform in your job, and in a perfect world everyone would be judged solely on his/her merits. But the harsh reality is this isn't a perfect world, and discrimination -- whether intentional or inadvertent -- still plays a role in the workplace. And while it should never be condoned, job seekers and employees need to be ... view article details

A company's pay structure is the method of administering its pay philosophy. The two leading types of pay structures are the internal equity method, which uses a tightly constructed grid to ensure that each job is compensated according to the jobs above and below it in a hierarchy, and market pricing, where each job in an organization is tied to the prevailing market rate.A company needs job descriptions for all its positions so that people know where they fall within the organization. A pay structure helps answer questions about who's who, what each person's role is, and why people are compen... view article details