When Your Friend Becomes Your Co-Worker - True tales of the good, the bad and the ugly

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/tr/ar5d2y568wn1gcbylbtr.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/tr/ar5d2y568wn1gcbylbtr.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>There's a time in most people's lives when working with their friends seems like a dream come true. Seeing each other all day, every day; exchanging horror stories about the boss you share; multiple lunches, happy hours and company events -- what could be better?<br /><br />For some people, nothing. But for many, nothing could be worse.<br /><br />What happens when your friend becomes your co-worker? Perhaps a better starting place is asking the question of how your friend became your co-worker. What happens when you recommend a friend for a job?<br /><br />Recommending a friend or family member for a position at your company is tricky. On one hand, if your friend does a great job, it reflects positively on you. On the other hand, if his or her performance is less than exemplary, that reflects on you, too. Not to mention the effect recommending (or not recommending) an acquaintance could have on your friendship and your reputation at work.<br /><br />"If your friend does a good job, it can help your reputation at work. You will be seen as having excellent judgment, because this is your friend and you suggested [her] for the job," says Jan Yager, author of "Who's That Sitting at My Desk? Workship, Friendship, or Foe?" "If you recommend someone and your analysis is a mismatch with that individual's abilities or with how he or she fits in with the company, it can negatively impact on the one doing the recommending."<br /><br />We asked our readers about a time when they recommended a friend for a job. Here, they share their stories -- the good, bad and the ugly.<br /><br />The good<br />When I first crossed over into PR, friends from my TV days marveled at how lifestyle-friendly my job is. I decided to share the wealth, getting my good friend Krista hired as a publicist. I knew I was taking a big risk -- if it didn't work, how could our friendship handle her being let go? Would she blame me? I took the risk. It's been almost two years now and Krista is one of our leading publicists. It's also been great for our friendship because now that we don't have TV news in common, we have PR. It's felt so good to help her get a mom-friendly job and in return, she has wowed our CEO.<br /><br />--Valery Hodes, vice president, Orca Communications Unlimited<br /><br />I have an Internet marketing company, Market Conversion. I hired my best friend about a year ago as a consultant. It has been such an amazing experience, that she is now my business partner. I know she is special. She cared about our business as much as I did from the beginning. Because of our close relationship, we are able to talk openly and honestly, even when it's not pretty. I appreciate that when either of us say or do something, the other is able to offer constructive criticism without emotional backlash. It is truly a great relationship.<br /><br />-- Denalee Bell, Market Conversion<br /><br />I have a friend who I babysat for several years when I was in high school. After she graduated from college, she decided she wanted to move to the Washington D.C. area, which happens to be my residence. Her father reached out to me and asked that I take care of her if possible, keeping my eye out for any jobs. I reached out to my top client and called in a favor with one of the managers. He looked at her résumé and said "Greg, she really doesn't fit our position, however if you're 100 percent confident in her abilities, I'll sneak her in." She's now been with that company for five years, and she's in a position that takes most people at least 10 years to reach. Recently I had dinner with that manager, and within 20 minutes, he mentioned how thankful he was that he took a chance on her, and said if ever I need another favor, he'd be more than happy to oblige.<br /><br />-- Greg Gary, managing director for Technisource<br /><br />The bad<br />One day, at the end of class, a student asked to speak to me privately. As she spoke of her divorce, her children and her low-paying job, tears streamed down her face. Sympathy overtook me and I tried to comfort her by saying that a good friend of mine, in the movie industry, was looking to hire a secretary. Salaries tend to be higher in the industry and my student was thrilled. Unfortunately, she did not perform well during the interview. The experience led my friend to forestall all future referrals.<br /><br />-- Marlene Caroselli, Ed.D., keynoter, corporate trainer, author<br /><br />I had a friend I'd known for 25 years -- someone who'd lived with me for free after she relocated, whose wedding invitations I addressed for her, who I'd traveled with -- who I got a job for at the small company where I worked. I was the director of conference management and she ended up as the director of operations, at a company of about 20 employees. After being there for a year, she engineered a "reorganization" that resulted in the elimination of my position. She never said a word leading up to it, and I was given only 24 hours notice that I was being laid off. She never bothered to follow up with me to see how I felt about it. I'll definitely think twice before I recommend another friend for a job at the same company where I work.<br /><br />-- Michelle J. Taunton, CMP<br /><br />The ugly<br />A friend asked me to get her a job in the [modeling] business. Although she had no experience, she was very beautiful and spoke Spanish as well as English, so I thought that with training, she would work well with our Latin accounts. What I did not count on was that she needed no training in sleeping her way to the top. Within months, she had been "promoted" past me and a company vice president was getting a divorce.<br /><br />-- Beverly Solomon, creative director, musee-solomon<br /><br />I did get a friend a job once and will NEVER do it again. I was a program manager for a defense contracting agency and we needed a new administrative assistant in my department. I was told by a congregation member that our mutual friend was in need of a new job and she was very qualified on paper, so we brought her in for an interview. I agreed that I could be a personal reference for her and based on my reputation, it was enough to get her the job. They never checked her other references.<br /><br />It was a nightmare from the first day when she showed up two hours late without calling and then left to go to lunch an hour early. Over the next few weeks she got progressively worse. Her supervisor spoke with her to no avail, so I stepped in. I told her that she had two weeks to make noticeable improvements or she would not be kept after her probationary period was up.<br /><br />She called my Father (yes, she told my daddy on me) and several congregational elders to tell them that I was threatening her because I was jealous, and that she didn't feel safe. When the time came to let her go, I made sure that I sat in on her exit interview, in which they enumerated the many times that she was late to work, her poor job performance and her general attitude. When asked if she had any questions or wanted to say anything, she looked at me and said, "I thought you were my friend and had my back on this."<br /><br />To this day, I will not hire people that I know. The only people who have a personal relationship with me that are in the company are my children -- and they know that I will fire them quicker than any other employee.<br /><br />-- Andrea Frayser, founder/CEO, ANDE Cosmetics & Natural Products<br /><br />I got my sister a job and now we work more closely together (I'm her boss's boss). I've been very careful at work. I never hired her or protected her job. In fact, twice I had to tell her manager I thought they were giving her too generous a raise and lowered it. But it has impacted our personal relationship. Work is always there. And right now is the worst ... she is ghost-writing a book that will come out in my name -- and she's the big sister. It also affects family time. At Thanksgiving, she was telling our dad she was worried about job security and hoped "they" didn't fire her. I, of course, am part of "they." She also doesn't take feedback from me like she does from her direct boss or other editors. People do tell me I'm tougher on her than others. I guess I worry too much about favoring her and the pendulum swings the other way. It is tough but we're both committed to it and we talk about the issues as they come up -- and try not to involve anyone else.<br /><br />-- Jenny Thompson, chief operating officer, Health Subsidiaries, Agora Inc<br /><br />By Rachel Zupek writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com and its job blog, The Work Buzz. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Follow her on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBwriterRZ. </div><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

When Your Friend Becomes Your Co-Worker - True tales of the good, the bad and the ugly

There's a time in most people's lives when working with their friends seems like a dream come true. Seeing each other all day, every day; exchanging horror stories about the boss you share; multiple lunches, happy hours and company events -- what cou…

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Team Builder or Time Waster? - Five Signs Your Meeting Is Sapping Productivity

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/7n/ar5c5qc77715sbdp7c7n.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/7n/ar5c5qc77715sbdp7c7n.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>Anyone who has worked in an office environment knows that meetings are inevitable. They also know that many of these gatherings seem to serve no purpose. In fact, executives surveyed by Robert Half said that 28 percent of meetings are a waste of time.<br /><br />Often, you'll be the person in charge of leading a meeting, so it's important to be able to distinguish between a gathering that's necessary and one that's taking time out of everyone's day. Here are a few signs that your meeting could be a time-waster -- and suggestions for how to correct that:<br /><br />1. You've left nothing out.<br />While it's a good idea to have a meeting agenda, it shouldn't start to look like a follow-up to "War and Peace." The onus is on you, as the organizer, to determine what must be covered and what can be left out. Ask yourself if each person who's attending has a stake in the majority of items on the agenda. If not, then you either need to trim the list of invitees or revise the plan. Also, just because you've set aside a certain period of time for the get-together, that doesn't mean you need to fill every minute. Look through the agenda for repetitive items, which can be combined, or topics that can be left for another meeting.<br /><br />2. You've invited everyone you can think of.<br />Look through your list of attendees to determine if everyone must be included in the discussion. Often, people are invited as a courtesy instead of out of necessity. A lengthy participant list also may indicate that you are trying to accomplish too much in a single meeting. For instance, say you've been tasked with scheduling a meeting about your company's Web site redesign. You decide to invite all the Web designers, software engineers, writers and editors. The problem is the technical jargon may go over the heads of those on the editorial team, while the discussion on types of content and article lengths won't be relevant to the IT group. In that instance, it's best to plan two separate, shorter meetings, both of which will be much more targeted.<br /><br />3. The meeting runs longer than an hour.<br />Time is a precious commodity, especially in a recession, when everyone is being asked to take on more work. So having people sit in a meeting for longer than an hour is asking a lot. Plus, it's likely that attendees will start to lose focus as the gathering runs on. If you must schedule more time, try to get people to interact, offer them snacks or vary the speakers to help everyone remain engaged. For very long meetings, schedule a break so people can stretch their legs and check their messages.<br /><br />4. There are too many visual elements.<br />Visuals, such as PowerPoint slides, can be effective for simplifying more complex ideas or reinforcing information. But they can also bog down the discussion. Instead, distribute the visual elements to attendees before the get-together, so everyone has time to review them. Because participants will be familiar with the information when they get to the meeting, you can simply highlight the most important parts, and move through the agenda more quickly.<br /><br />5. They're becoming a habit.<br />If you have regularly scheduled meetings, you may want to step back and determine if it's necessary to continue doing so. For instance, if you're having a difficult time coming up with enough agenda items for each gathering, or the meetings are getting progressively shorter, you may need to adjust the frequency.<br /><br />By paying attention to the various dynamics of the gatherings you schedule and making adjustments as necessary, you'll know that the get-togethers you organize are successful and that the participants will find them valuable as well.<br /><br />Robert Half International is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm with a global network of more than 360 offices worldwide. For more information about our professional services, please visit http://www.rhi.com/. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span></strong></div>

Team Builder or Time Waster? - Five Signs Your Meeting Is Sapping Productivity

Anyone who has worked in an office environment knows that meetings are inevitable. They also know that many of these gatherings seem to serve no purpose. In fact, executives surveyed by Robert Half said that 28 percent of meetings are a waste of time…

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How to Be Indispensable at Work

<a href="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/gf/ar5f4gn622tl3yvpw1gf.gif"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://emj.icbdr.com/artieimages/gf/ar5f4gn622tl3yvpw1gf.gif" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><br /><div>The global economy has taken a big hit, and millions of Americans have lost their jobs. All of us, it seems, are vulnerable. How can you increase the odds that you won't become a grim statistic of company downsizing?<br /><br />The answer? Create your own personal brand. In today's uncertain financial environment, if you're just another face at the water cooler, you run a far greater risk of ending up in the unemployment line. Branding yourself is one of the best preventive strategies to make sure you survive and even thrive in the workplace. Think of your personal brand as a bankaccount that will only increase in worth the more effort, thought, imagination, and resources you put into it. Here are a few tips on how to get started.<br /><br />Define who you are (and who you aren't)<br />Ask yourself what makes you different from your colleagues at work. Your punctuality and sense of responsibility? Your ability to juggle multiple tasks without losing your cool? One of the best ways to create a personal brand is to take two everyday tasks and combine them in an extraordinary way. For example, let's say you're a cashier in a big-box store and you enjoy sitting in its fast-food emporium during your breaks. Is there anything you've observed that might be valuable for management to know about -- for instance, that customers wish there were more prepackaged sandwiches and salads? Let management know. By sharing your observations, you'll set yourself apart from the competition.<br /><br />Real People, Real Salaries: Check out what everyday Americans are making across the country<br /><br />Become well known for one thing<br />Think for a moment about the high-profile brands that surround us every day. They each have a single phrase you can instantly apply to them: Google (search engine), Volvo (safe car), Coca-Cola (all-American), Marlboros (cowboys -- hey, sorry, but it's the truth).<br /><br />Now, what's the one adjective or phrase you imagine comes to mind when your co-workers think about you? Listener? Mentor? Funny? Dependable? Captain Crisis? If there isn't one, then create it. Next, begin to live it. Why just a single word? Because as a culture, we are flooded with too much information, whether we're tweeting, e-mailing, juggling cellphone calls. Amid this barrage of white noise, individuals who can attract attention via a simple association have a decided advantage.<br /><br />Communicate your brand<br />Once you've decided on the phrase that best sums you up, consider making an impression online. I can hear you now: "I can't start a website! What on earth would I put on it?" C'mon -- the Internet is the most influential medium in the world, and creating a personal website is easy and inexpensive. Ask yourself: What do I have to say that's fresh and provocative? If you can come up with some intriguing observations or a new angle or point of view, then you're well on your way to creating a solid online presence.<br /><br />For example: A young guy was working at the Gap when he got an idea for a video blog: a gay man giving advice about fashion trends. Hundreds of thousands of hits later (not to mention increased traffic across Gap stores nationwide), the employee had made his mark. By doling out free, useful, tongue-in-cheek advice from a novel perspective, he succeeded in creating an indelible personal brand.<br /><br />Create a signature look<br />Now that you've figured out what sets you apart from the other faces in the crowd, make sure you keep at it! Most famous people, for example, have one component or element that makes them instantly recognizable, appealing, or mysterious. It could be Clint Eastwood's squint, Barack Obama's cool intelligence, or Will Ferrell's goofiness, just to take three examples. Believe me, these elements aren't going anywhere soon.<br /><br />Sneak a peek at celebrity paychecks<br /><br />For most of my career as a global-branding expert, I've dressed head-to-toe in black. Apart from my work, it's how people recognize me, occasionally even in the streets. Every now and then, I mix things up by wearing other colors. And guess what? People walk right past me, completely oblivious. So, without being flamboyant about it, find a signature look that works for you, then stick with it. You'll become the equivalent of a celebrity in your office -- and ensure you keep your job long after the recession has become a distant memory.<br /><br />Leave a personal mark behind<br /><br />Most business cards bore you silly, right? You tuck them inside your wallet or purse, then promptly forget about them. My advice: Create a distinctive mark or "signature" that other people can't get out of their minds. It can be a logo, a symbol, or a saying you affix to the end of your personal e-mails. Once again, combine two elements that have nothing to do with each other -- flying monkeys, for example. Whenever I think about The Wizard of Oz, those horrible flying monkeys spring immediately to mind. Why? Because as we all know, monkeys don't have wings (at least the ones I know). If you create an equally dramatic mark or signature, I guarantee no one will ever overlook you.<br /></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a> </div>

How to Be Indispensable at Work

The global economy has taken a big hit, and millions of Americans have lost their jobs. All of us, it seems, are vulnerable. How can you increase the odds that you won't become a grim statistic of company downsizing?The answer? Create your own person…

Read more »

Difficult Co-Workers Getting You Down?

It's pretty easy to recognize when working with a difficult co-worker has gotten the best of you. Just consider the warning signs:<br /><br />You routinely "roast" that person with others over lunch.<br /><br />You have to unwind with a glass of wine at the end of the day.<br /><br />You've even devised an elaborate path to the restroom to avoid passing that co-worker's cubicle.<br /><br />The time to ditch these tactics has arrived. After all, has venting about co-workers or avoiding them entirely ever made them any more pleasant to be around? Chances are they're just as moody, emotionally-draining or as high maintenance as ever -- and you're still miserable around them.<br /><br />Robert Orndorff and Dulin Clark know your plight and have written an entire book, "The PITA Principle," on how to deal with difficult co-workers. They've even developed a nickname for these people -- PITA -- which stands for "pain in the ass."<br /><br />"We were drawn to the PITA expression because it says it all in a few simple words. It's a language spoken in private office chats, in whispered exchanges in mailrooms, at happy hours, during dinner-table discussions, or through self-talk in the most private recesses of our own minds," Orndorff and Clark say.<br /><br />They acknowledge that the world of work is made up of all kinds of difficult co-workers. From the whiney and the pompous to the prima donnas and the slobs, every workplace has at least one -- if not several -- employees who alienate others on a daily basis. In their book, Orndorff and Clark group these types of co-workers into various types of PITAs, such as "Overstuffed PITA" and "Crusty PITA", and outline unique coping strategies for each.<br /><br />"You might wonder why understanding a difficult co-worker is an important part of coping with them. Why not just act or respond? We believe that by understanding a difficult person or a specific interaction with them increases your likelihood of having a more desirable outcome. This way you can tailor your approach to them based on a reasoned strategy, rather than reacting emotionally," Orndorff and Clark say.<br /><br />Another important concept in dealing with difficult people is to avoid becoming one. In addition to "pain in the ass," Orndorff and Clark use the PITA acronym to stand for "professionals increasing their awareness." These types of PITAs are able to maximize their experience in the workplace because they work to evaluate themselves, accept others' differences and improve their behavior and attitude in the workplace.<br /><br />"PITAs of the pain in the ass variety do exist in a variety of types and behaviors. It's equally, if not more important, to understand that the only way to avoid this colorful label is to work on being more self-aware, less defensive and more willing to take an honest look at how well you are relating to others," they say.<br /><br />Selena Dehne is a career writer for JIST Publishing who shares the latest occupational, career and job search information available with job seekers and career changers. Her articles help people find meaningful work, develop their career and life plans and carry out effective job search campaigns.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a>

Difficult Co-Workers Getting You Down?

It's pretty easy to recognize when working with a difficult co-worker has gotten the best of you. Just consider the warning signs:You routinely "roast" that person with others over lunch.You have to unwind with a glass of wine at the end of the day.Y…

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Are You Burned Out?

Almost anyone who has held a job knows the twinge of dread on Sunday evenings as the countdown to the workweek nears its final hours. Friday afternoon becomes the light at the end of a dark, five-day tunnel.<br /><br />For most people, this is a momentary feeling that comes along when work is particularly stressful or when it's been too long since a vacation. Unfortunately, that feeling doesn't disappear for many workers. If you can relate, then you might be burned out on your job.<br /><br />"Most people will experience temporary periods of burnout or imbalance," says Jim Bouchard, author of "Dynamic Components of Personal Power." "Long periods of imbalance can be dangerous to your health, destructive to your relationships and can endanger your job."<br /><br />How do you know when you've crossed from a rough patch into a burnout?<br /><br />Burnout creeps up and you don't know until you're in the midst of it, says Dr. Todd Dewett, author of the book "Leadership Redefined."<br /><br />"It does not happen overnight. It happens in tiny little chunks slowly. This is why it is difficult to read any given instance for what it is, let alone judge where you are in the process of becoming burned out."<br /><br />If you're not sure whether you're just having a bad day or are experiencing something worse, here are some signs that you're burning out, according to Dewett:<br /><br />Your professional relationships don't matter anymore.<br />If the breakroom chats and hallway conversations with your colleagues went from fun diversions to nonexistent, your heart is obviously not in the job anymore.<br /><br />The quality of your work isn't what it used to be.<br />When you're disillusioned with your job, you're not going to perform to your best abilities. Maybe you don't notice the drop in quality or maybe you do notice but just don't care.<br /><br />You're no longer goal-oriented.<br />When your motivation is getting to the end of the day instead of getting that new job title, something's not right.<br /><br />Recognizing that you're burned out is a good first step, but it won't mean much unless you take action to change the situation. Talk about it, both to yourself and to other people, Dewett suggests. When you share your newfound realization with the important people in your life, you make a strong commitment to doing something about it, he says.<br /><br />Here are some other ways to beat burnout:<br /><br />Spice up your routine. Figure out what new responsibility you are capable and willing to assume and ask that it be given to you. "You may have to apologize and/or show a rejuvenated effort at work in order to get what you are asking for," Dewett warns, "but do it because new variety and stimulation is vital to overcome burnout."<br /><br />Rediscover your motivation. "Goals work. Be specific and set deadlines," Dewett recommends. Analyze each goal and figure out what skills you will gain, what new experiences you will have and whom you might meet. "Make the goals at least modestly challenging, and feel free to share them with others to increase your commitment," Dewett encourages.<br /><br />Have a plan. Create a list of skills you need to obtain, people you need to network with, financial items to take care of, and overall steps you need to take to get into a job or business that you are passionate about.<br /><br />Sometimes you need to remove yourself from the situation if you want to make any progress. If your boss has written you off entirely, if you don't have the resources to improve your skills or you were never a fit for the job, Dewett says there's no way to work from within the system. For example, if you're an accountant whose passion has always been photography and not numbers, you can't make yourself love your current job. So don't be afraid to make the jump to a better career.<br /><br />Anthony Balderrama is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. He researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a>

Are You Burned Out?

Almost anyone who has held a job knows the twinge of dread on Sunday evenings as the countdown to the workweek nears its final hours. Friday afternoon becomes the light at the end of a dark, five-day tunnel.For most people, this is a momentary feelin…

Read more »

What Do You Do When the Boss Isn't Looking?

"When the cat's away, the mice will play," is a term most of you can relate to. As employees, when your manager is gone – be it on vacation or just away from her desk – you're like a teenager whose parents are out of town.<br /><br />You sneak out early or come in late. You chitchat with co-workers more frequently, usually about nonwork-related things. You make personal phone calls, take extra-long lunches – heck, maybe you'll even enjoy a cocktail with your meal.<br /><br />Perhaps the most frequent misbehaviors that occur when your boss isn't looking happen on the Internet. Whether you're surfing the Net, checking your personal e-mail, paying bills, shopping or updating your personal blog – it's all happening under your boss's unsuspecting nose.<br /><br />Or is it?<br /><br />Fifty percent of all employers report they monitor employees' Internet usage, according to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey. Eighteen percent of employers have fired an employee for using the Internet for nonwork-related activities.<br /><br />Another survey by the American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute shows more than one-fourth of employers have fired workers for misusing e-mail and nearly one-third have fired employees for misusing the Internet in general.<br /><br />When the boss is gone, the world of technology is a worker's oyster. Here are the most common things we do when our bosses aren't looking.<br /><br />You "research"<br /><br />Sixty-one percent of workers use the Internet for nonwork-related research and activities while they're at work, according to CareerBuilder.com. On average, 20 percent of these workers spend more than an hour of their workday on nonwork-related online activities and 9 percent spend more than two hours.<br /><br />With those stats, it's no wonder employers are concerned with employees searching inappropriate Web sites from work computers. Sixty-six percent of companies monitor employees' Internet connections, while 65 percent use software to block connections to inappropriate sites, according to the management association. Employers who block content are concerned workers will visit sexual or pornographic sites (96 percent); games sites (61 percent); social networking sites (50 percent); entertainment sites (40 percent); shopping sites (27 percent) and sports sites (21 percent).<br /><br />Of the 30 percent of bosses who've fired employees for Internet misuse, 84 percent did so because the employee was downloading, viewing or uploading inappropriate or offensive content; 48 percent because of a violation of company policy; and 34 percent due to excessive personal use.<br /><br />You e-mail<br /><br />Many workers use e-mail as their only form of communication – not only with co-workers but also with friends and family. Sixty percent of workers say they send non-work related e-mails at work, with 20 percent saying they send six or more e-mails per day, according to CareerBuilder.com. Twenty-two percent of those workers spend more than 30 minutes during the workday doing so.<br /><br />The 28 percent of employers who have fired workers for e-mail misuse did so for the following reasons: violation of company policy (64 percent); inappropriate or offensive language (62 percent); excessive personal use (26 percent); and breach of confidentiality rules (22 percent), according to the management association.<br /><br />You instant message<br /><br />Everyone engages in a little chitchat now and then, but workers are using methods other than their mouths to do so. Twenty-one percent of workers say they send instant messages while at work and 45 percent of those people say IMing makes them more productive, according to CareerBuilder.com.<br /><br />You socially network<br /><br />Instead of opening your Outlook first thing in the morning, do you update your Facebook status? You aren't alone – 37 percent of employees surveyed by CareerBuilder.com have a social networking profile and one-third of them spend time on their social networking page during the workday. Nine percent spend 30 minutes or more doing so.<br /><br />Fifty percent of employers surveyed by the management association block social networking sites.<br /><br />You talk on the phone<br /><br />Are you calling Mom every morning from the office to check in? Start using your cell phone instead – 45 percent of employers monitor the time you spend on the phone and the numbers you're calling, while an additional 16 percent record phone conversations, according to the management association. Six percent of employers have fired employees for misuse or private use of their office phone.<br /><br />You blog<br /><br />The "blogosphere" is taking over the Internet and becoming a "must have" space for employers and employees alike. Twelve percent of workers have a personal blog and 20 percent of them update it at work, according to CareerBuilder.com. Of those people, 6percent spend 30 minutes or more blogging.<br /><br />By Rachel Zupek writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Search more than 100,000 Jobs by </span></strong><a href="http://jobs.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobResults.aspx?SB%3Asbkw=&SB%3As_freeloc=&SB%3Asbfr=30&sbsbmt=Find+Jobs+%C2%BB&lr=cbrockl&cid=US&excrit=QID%3DA3852768340946%3Bst%3DA%3Buse%3DALL%3BCID%3DUS%3BSID%3D%3F%3BTID%3D0%3BENR%3DNO%3BDTP%3DDRNS%3BYDI%3DYES%3BIND%3DALL%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPDQ%3DAll%3BPAYL%3D0%3BPAYH%3DGT120%3BPOY%3DNO%3BETD%3DALL%3BRE%3DALL%3BMGT%3DDC%3BSUP%3DDC%3BFRE%3D1%3BCHL%3DAL%3BQS%3DSID_UNKNOWN%3BSS%3DNO%3BTITL%3D0%3BOB%3D-modifiedint%3BJQT%3DRAD%3BJDV%3DFalse&IPath=ILM"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">CLICKING HERE!</span></strong></a>

What Do You Do When the Boss Isn't Looking?

"When the cat's away, the mice will play," is a term most of you can relate to. As employees, when your manager is gone – be it on vacation or just away from her desk – you're like a teenager whose parents are out of town.You sneak out early or come …

Read more »