November 29, 2005
Articles
To Have and to Hold
"When it comes to finding and retaining talented workers, employers might want to start thinking less like recruiters and more like anthropologists. That's what Marc Cendella, president of TheLadders.com, a job site for high-earners, told a group of about 400 people attending a recent recruiting conference in Manhattan. That means not only identifying top talent but also learning what motivates them so you can take steps to keep them engaged. That, as well as learning more about their behaviors - what events they attend, what bloggers they read - so you can find and recruit others cut from the same cloth.” Mentions the Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.
Forget the Career. My Parents Need Me at Home.
"Until last February, Mary Ellen Geist was the archetypal career woman, a radio news anchor with a six-figure salary and a suitcase always packed for the next adventure, whether a third-world coup, a weekend of wine tasting or a job in a bigger market. But now, Ms. Geist, 49, has a life that would be unrecognizable to colleagues and friends in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. She has returned to her family home near Detroit to care for her parents, one lost to dementia and the other to sorrow.”
Companies Get Flexible to Keep Mature Workers
"With an estimated 64 million Baby Boomers due to retire by 2010, U.S. companies--whether they want to or not--are looking at possible solutions for the retention of these valued workers. Especially employees whose skills are difficult to replace immediately. And one of the ways smart employers are dealing with the challenge is by developing flexible work arrangements, according to a recent study by The Conference Board, a global business research organization based in New York.”
Go Ahead, Call in Sick--it Prevents 'Presenteeism'
"Employers have long worried about workers who call in sick so they can surf or watch TV. Now some experts say companies should pay attention to the flip side of that problem: employees who show up feverish and sneezing. They even have a word for this behavior, which can hurt productivity just as absenteeism does: ‘presenteeism.’ Though the worry isn't new, it has gained momentum with fears of a bird-flu pandemic. Should the disease mutate into a strain that passes from person to person, public health officials say, it could thrive in offices.”
For Gen Xers, it's Work to Live
"Jason Walker loves his job at Microsoft Corp. He finds the work interesting, and he gets to wear shorts and flip-flops to his Reno, Nev., office. What the 34-year-old commercial-account manager loves most, however, is his flexible schedule.”
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The Mall Had its Day; Now it's the Web's Turn
"Mary Moran, an executive assistant at a government commission, does it. Michael Sims, a commercial real estate broker, does it. So do U.S. Senate employee Beckie Whitehead, Catholic University student Daniela Manville and lawyer David Godschalk. They all go shopping online while at work. ‘Everybody does it,’ said Lara Swett, an administrative assistant at the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. The Friday after Thanksgiving may be the kickoff of the holiday shopping season in malls and stores, but online, the big day is the Monday after Thanksgiving -- today -- when people go back to work.”