A new study analyzed data on alcohol use by workers in various industries and found that workers in the hospitality industry were more likely to have issues with alcohol:
According to a new report by Ensuring Solutions to Alcohol Problems at The George Washington University Medical Center, “Workplace Screening & Brief Intervention: What Employers Can and Should Do About Excessive Alcohol Use”, alcohol-related problems are disproportionately represented in American business, with employees in the hospitality, construction and wholesale industries significantly more likely to be dependent on or abuse alcohol.
You can find other industries here (scroll down). It looks like workers in public administration have the least risk of issues with alcohol, which leads me to wonder if there’s a correlation between lack of job stability and alcohol use. Just wondering.
This article, Air NZ passengers fumigated, brought back some childhood memories. I’ve flown to New Zealand twice, and was fumigated twice, which means someone came on the plane once it landed in Auckland, sprayed us with some unknown chemical, and locked the doors while the chemical settled over us. It was very freaky. This is supposedly unusual (fumigation) nowadays because of biosecurity clearances. Remind me of the fumigation incidents when I get cancer.
Apparently adidas employs workers in factories in China, and violates China’s labor laws as well as its own corporate standards. Violations of labor laws and corporate standards include the following:
1. Forcing workers to work more than 70 hours a week to earn minimum wage in China.
2. Cheating workers in other ways in regards to pay
3. Discriminating against male workers, who are assumed to be criminals unless they have a certificate from their hometown stating otherwise.
4. Stifling the creation of a union.
It really goes on and on, which is particularly distressing because adidas has supposedly been working on these issues along with Nike for years. adidas is a sponsor of the Olympics in Beijing with the slogan, “Nothing is Impossible.” Information on contacting adidas is available at adidas.com
I’m going to see if I can come at the issue of church attendance and church non-attendance from a broader perspective as I think I’ve exhausted the personal approach (and the few implications of my laziness and entitlement for having “needs” at church really made me not want to go personal anymore). You’ll recall this is part of a larger discussion on the fact that 76% of the people who identify as Unitarian Universalist don’t attend church regularly.
In this post, we are talking about the unchurched in a broad sense, the people who don’t attend any sort of religious group meeting regularly, not just Unitarian Universalists. And they are about 75 million of these folks, including me, in the United States. This figure has doubled since 1991, so it’s a source of concern in some circles. In fact, more than 1 in 5 (22%) never attend (never ever ever!) church.
A couple of on-line retailers will rent you a textbook for your college class. This post on Treehugger Renting College books: Greenwash or Choice? argues that renting on-line is sort of like buying your books used and selling them back. A discussion ensues that is more interesting than my summary here.
At one point, I bought all of the books that professors required and suggested. Then I just bought the required books. Then, just the main book. Then I checked out the books in the library and used the copies on reserve. Much cheaper. What is funny in the particular Treehugger discussion is the Blame the Publisher attitude for the problem as if the bookstore wasn’t making a huge profit in their buy back program. But then I work for publishers.
Apparently the summer 2008 job market for teens is not so great:
Not a great summer option for teensNearly half of hiring managers say they have no plans to hire any seasonal workers this year, according to a study of 1,100 companies released today by SnagAJob.com, a job site for hourly positions. When asked why they wouldn’t be hiring, 31 percent of those polled said they didn’t have the budget. And a report put out this month by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University states that “the summer 2008 job outlook for teens looks particularly bleak.”
A new study by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University suggests that weight discrimination in the workplace is as prevalent as racial discrimination. Some additional details:
The study also revealed that women are twice as likely as men to report weight discrimination and that weight discrimination in the workplace and interpersonal mistreatment due to obesity is common.
The researchers found that men are not at serious risk for weight bias until their body mass index (BMI) reaches 35 or higher, while women begin experiencing a notable increase in weight discrimination risk at a BMI level of 27. BMI is the measure of body fat based on height and weight.
Co-author Tatiana Andreyava of Yale said weight discrimination is more prevalent than discrimination based on sexual orientation, nationality/ethnicity, physical disability, and religious beliefs. “However, despite its high prevalence, it continues to remain socially acceptable,” she said.
so here’s a quiz: The Work/Life Balance Quiz from the Canadian Mental Health Association.
I’m an 11.
I win! I win!
My friend The Headhunter just told me that a background search on a job candidate will now automatically search Myspace and Facebook as well as the more standard federal, state, and county searches. Of course, I’ve always assumed that Myspace and Facebook were pretty much open to anyone who wanted to look, including future employers, but knowing it’s become part of the standard search is another reason to be careful about what you post.
Recession-Proof Your Job in Forbes gives advice for keeping your job during a recession. I’m pretty sure you could follow this advice and still be laid-off as the first comment points out.
When the bully sits in the next cubicle is an overview of workplace bullying. Interesting tidbits:
In a survey released last fall, 37 percent of American workers said they had experienced bullying on the job.
- This month, researchers at the University of Manitoba reported that the emotional toll of workplace bullying is more severe than that of sexual harassment.
- Surveys also suggest that victims of office bullies call in sick more often — although it’s not clear whether they really are sick or just avoiding the abusive environment at work.
- A large share of the problem involves women victimizing women.
Here’s a full list of bullying behaviors (and read the comments on that post. Wow.) Although it may be possible to attempt some behavior modification with a bully, I think it is far more prudent to look for a new position immediately.
The Client Analyzer Tool allows you to enter basic information on your clients and discover the hidden vampires. I think of vampires as the clients that appear to be attractive on the surface, but stress you out and don’t pay on time. I went through a period of time about six months ago where I was forced to drop clients, and sort of intuitively did what this calculator does by figuring out which folks were using a lot of my time and energy and not providing much income.
Via the Anti 9 to 5 Guide
The real reasons employees leave claims that most of us leave jobs because we don’t get along with our bosses, connect with our bosses, or see them as real people. Thus the blame for employee turnover rests squarely on the shoulders of bosses (lucky bosses!):
Why do people leave teams and organizations? The number one reason people leave jobs is because they fail to connect with their bosses as leaders and as people. People are rarely honest about why they leave a company. Too many associates that depart follow Jimmy Conway’s advice (played by Robert DeNiro) in the 1990 hit movie “Goodfellas,” who told Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta), “Never rat on your friends and keep your mouth shut.”
There is no upside incentive for the employee to be open and honest. Think about it! The primary reason people leave companies is because of the relationship and lack of emotional connection with their boss. However, it is almost never talked about in the exit interview. Why? Who wants to burn a bridge with a boss they may need for a future job reference?
It is easier to talk about work/life balance, moving on to build your skill sets, or the need to make more money. Salary is much further down the list as a reason to leave than what is usually reported in exit interviews….
I’m not totally convinced that most people leave because of the boss, but perhaps that’s because I’ve always left for other reasons (organization is closing, I’m moving, going back to school). What do you think? Have you left because of your relationship with your boss? Is this really the primary real reason people leave their jobs?
I’ve been playing with this freelance calculator, which calculates both what you should charge and what you need to break even. It’s sort of a general calculator for all sorts of work from using a tractor to remove cement from a broken up driveway to writing. More specifically, I also use common rates for editorial services from the Editorial Freelancer’s Association on a regular basis to judge rates. Keep in mind the more technical the work, the higher you go in that pay scale. And, truth be told, I tend to stay away from hourly work because I work quickly. Interesting to play with though.
Via MoxieLife’s Twitter
Here’s an interesting thought for you if you visit a cafeteria today: apparently the cafeteria tray encourages you to buy more and frequently waste more. I suppose that’s obvious, but on college campuses, trayless cafeterias seem to be saving quite a bit of solid and liquid waste.
Starting this semester, Alfred University, in New York, has gone to trayless in dining halls across campus, with the exception being for students with disabilities or those who need extra assistance. Green Alfred, a student group that promotes sustainable practices, along with others lobbied for the change.
Students ran a test last semester showing that on two days when trays weren’t offered, food and beverage waste dropped between 30 and 50 percent, according to Kathy Woughter, vice president for student affairs at Alfred. That amounts to about 1,000 pounds of solid waste and 112 gallons of liquid waste saved on a weekly basis, according to the college.
I went to one school where we served food onto our plates sans tray and there seemed to be far less waste than the school with the cafeteria trays. Not that anecdotal evidence proves anything; just mentioning it. And, of course, sometimes meal plans in college are all-inclusive, so you may pay the same no matter how much you eat (or waste).
Via Treehugger
Here’s a rundown state-by-state of cases of monitoring by employers of employees in the bathroom and locker room. A casual reading suggests it is almost always female employees who have their bathroom and undressing habits monitored by male employers. Gross in so many ways, but, most of all, gross as an abuse of power.
It’s hard to say what’s my favorite part of this video: the disembodied bouncing McCain head? or when the lead singer washes her face with McCain?
It’s enough to make me think quadrupling the amount of funding for arts education in the public schools would not be enough.
A worker pursued federal charges against the Hilton Garden Inn in Ithaca when she was fired for talking to other employees about their rights, conditions at work, and unionization. The National Labor Relations Board dismissed her charge because coworkers weren’t willing to testify in her favor about the conditions at the Hilton, but they also uncovered evidence that employees were not informed of (aware of?) their rights to talk about workplace conditions. So apparently all the investigating in the world will not make up for the fact that you need corroborating witnesses in front of the National Labor Relations Board.
From The Tension Builds (It’s Almost Monday):
THE feeling is familiar: you are savoring the last of a leisurely Sunday lunch or a long walk in the park when you abruptly realize that your weekend will be over in a matter of hours. In an instant, you are deep in what John Updike called the “chronic sadness of late Sunday afternoon.” As you envision the to-do pile on your desk, the meetings on your calendar, and that trip to Topeka on Tuesday, your mood shifts again, your muscles tense and your head begins to ache.
I’m a bit too late for this feeling as it’s well into Monday morning, but thought it was worth sharing.
Check the schedule for receiving your stimulus tax rebate. I’ll be using mine for dental work. If you file your taxes early and electronically, you’ll get it sooner. How soon? Check here.
