The start of a new year is always a good time to set new career resolutions. No matter where you are in your career -- entry level, mid-career, or nearing retirement -- there are always new challenges to tackle and goals to meet.Make this year the year you shine at work and make some long awaited changes. Here are 15 resolution ideas to help make this the year you get ahead.Resolution 1: Conquer a fear Is there a pesky fear that's holding you back at work? Think about what that may be costing you. For example, if you're afraid of public speaking, it may be costing you opportunities to... view article details

Welcome Back for Another Round of Wasting Time at Work Do you waste time at work? Are you reading this in the office right now while you’re supposed to be working? Don’t worry, you’re not alone.Our annual “Wasting Time at Work” survey is back and better (or worse if you’re an employer) than ever. We asked people about their work habits, whether or not they take breaks during the day, what they do in that time, and much more. More than 750 of you answered us to provide some great insight into the habits of American workers.So, before you start filling out March Madness brackets, take s... view article details

Is Your Boss Actually Terrible? Everyone thinks they have a terrible boss, but how do you know if it's actually true.Do you like your job and company but dread your boss? Are you constantly taking the fall for your boss because of decisions you didn't even make? Do all of your coworkers agree with you regarding your assessment of your supervisor? Or could it be YOU who is the problem, not your boss?It's important to determine because most people don't quit jobs, they quit bosses. So if you can pinpoint your boss as the cause of the majority of your distress -- especially during the jo... view article details

When Should You Quit? There are all kinds of reasons people quit their jobs, but some are much better than others.There’s little doubt the days of working for the same company for 40 years and then retiring with a gold watch are long since gone. In fact, the average worker stays in a job for just less than five years, according to 2012 statistics from the US Department of Labor. So if you’re quitting strategically to avoid getting stuck in a career rut, good for you. But if not, you might be taking an unnecessary risk.But before you quit, think about a very simple question that far to... view article details

Many employers will be conducting their annual “focal” reviews over the next few months, which in layman’s terms means the time in which you sit down with your boss and go over your achievements against goals. For most people, it is an uncomfortable conversation that produces as much anxiety as going to the dentist or asking for a raise.For the majority of companies, the annual review is the only formal conversation employees have with their boss about their performance and usually ends with an overview of an employee's new compensation package such as merit increase, bonus payout and stock gr... 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

Last year, a Boston-area high-tech company saw its stock plunge from a record high of $58.75 on January 20, to a low of $1.13 exactly 11 months later in November. One employee, who chose to remain anonymous for this article, exercised 1,000 options at $10 a share when the stock reached its peak. With April 16 nipping at her heels, she still owns the shares. Imagine her terror upon learning that the spread of $48.75 multiplied by the 1,000 shares - a total of $48,750 - is subject to a parallel tax system called the alternative minimum tax, or AMT, at a rate of up to 28 percent. Even though her ... view article details

Sometimes Vacation is More Stressful Than Work The holiday season is filled with stress. Family gatherings, crowded shopping malls and 24/7 Christmas music on the radio are just the tip of the iceberg. But the one thing that should combat this stress -- lots of time off from work between Thanksgiving and Christmas -- has the potential to be even more stressful than being at the office. It's no secret the economy hasn't been stellar the last few years. That has led to many layoffs, which has resulted in surviving employees wearing many more hats and doing jobs that didn't used to be th... view article details

Working Hard or Hardly Working? A Facebook status update here, a Tweet there and maybe you find that perfect dinner recipe on Pinterest. In this day and age most jobs require a computer, most computers have the Internet and distractions to workers are plentiful. But how much time do employees waste on visiting personal websites that aren't work-related during the day? And on a more philosophical note, should that really be considered a 'waste' of time?We surveyed more than 3,200 people from February to March 2012 to find out.Blame It on the Internet As you can probably imagin... view article details

Pay Yourself Right When Being Your Own Boss The dream of working independently is a reality for almost 10 million people in the United States, or roughly 10 percent of the workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rewards of self-employment include independence from supervision, the ability to set your own hours, and the satisfaction of knowing you are writing your own ticket. And yes, if you want, you can often work in your bathrobe. Technology makes it easy to work wherever you go. With an up-front investment of a few thousand dollars in a computer, bandwidth (telephone,... view article details