Archive for the ‘In the News’ Category
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1 in 4 Lost Job During Recession
New (rather startling data) out of Pew Research Center: Just over a quarter of the country’s workers were unemployed during the recent (Great) Recession. Re-employed workers were most likely to see themselves overqualified for their current jobs, and six in ten had changed careers or thought seriously about doing so once out of work. Read more about how the recession as impacted life in the U.S. by clicking here.
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Consumer Spending Behavior Changes Closer to Payday
How close or far away someone is from payday (money hitting the pocket) influences their buying/spending behavior. Research conducted at the University of Utah and the University of Iowa revealed “it is not the size of the paycheck received, but the time that has gone by since the last paycheck, that can sway consumer conduct. The proximity to payday makes consumers more aware of how much they have in the bank and how much products or services cost. ‘Our findings are surprising, because previous research has always considered preferences to be relatively stable, not changing much over time,’ said Himanshu Mishra, one of the two Utah researchers. ‘We find that not only do preferences change during such a short duration — paycheck to paycheck — but also that they fluctuate between a promotion- and a prevention-focus.’ Read more here.
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Switch Jobs, Take Paycut
Some new labor data analysis showing “middle-skill, middle-wage” – defined as entry-level white-collar positions, such as office and administrative support work, as well as certain blue-collar jobs (e.g., line workers, machine operator) – may be taking the hardest hit as to employment. Read more here.
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3 Qs to Ask When Evaluating a Business
Taken from here and excerpted below:
1. Does the target company produce positive cash flow?
2. Does the company cover its costs?
3. Can it be diversified?
“We have found that in making deals over the years, our chances of success are much higher when we have positive answers to these three questions. When we explored the Lexington deal, for instance, we liked the answers we got, so we moved ahead.
But I think this exercise can be useful even if you’re not looking at a potential acquisition. I believe that all business owners should be asking these three questions about their own businesses.”
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Confused by 20-Somethings? Others are too…
Why are so many people in their 20s taking so long to grow up?
That is the question posed by this informative (and lengthy) piece that ran in a recent Sunday New York Times Magazine… groups of youths often labeled as “failure to launch” and “boomerang” kids.
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More Coupon News…
Read on, from Business Week… about how bigger companies like AT&T are starting to get on the deals and discounts bandwagon.
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Thieving Ex-Employees
A new survey is out showing that employees are most likely to steal company data when leaving a job. The findings (and their implications for businesses) are summarized well in this article, excerpted below:
“Conducted by Harris Interactive, the online survey probed 1,594 full- and part-time employees and contractors in the United States and Great Britain about their attitudes toward accessing and viewing of company-owned data.
In response to the survey, 49 percent of US workers and 52 percent of British workers admitted they would take some form of company property with them when leaving a position: 29 percent (US) and 23 percent (UK) would take customer data, including contact information; 23 percent (US) and 22 percent (UK) would take electronic files; 15 percent (US) and 17 percent (UK) would take product information, including designs and plans; and 13 percent (US) and 22 percent (UK) would take small office supplies.
‘Companies should be gravely concerned with these survey responses,’ said Jackie Gilbert, vice president of marketing and cofounder at SailPoint. ‘I believe the survey illustrates that many employees may not believe that taking company data is equivalent to stealing. It highlights what I call a ‘moral grey area’ around ownership of electronic data. We see this in the fact that there are more workers who are comfortable taking various forms of company data, such as customer contact information, than workers who would take a stapler. As frequently as employees move to competitive companies, these attitudes are major red flags for employers.’
‘The survey highlights an ongoing challenge that companies face: how to balance business risk with the need to give employees access to sensitive applications and data in order to perform their jobs,’ said Gilbert. ‘As a starting point, companies need to clearly define policies in this area and educate workers about treatment of confidential data. Step two is to strictly limit and control what applications and data are accessible and to put automated systems in place to promptly remove access when an employee transfers roles or leaves the company. As a step three, companies should conduct quarterly access reviews to ensure that employees truly need the access privileges they have – especially for highly sensitive systems. Companies may also need to monitor the activity of employees who access highly confidential data in order to prevent incidences of fraud or data breaches.’
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Blackberry Use and FLSA / OT Risks
An interesting legal case (well, probably a downright scary one for many employers) coming out of Chicago … where a police sergeant is suing the city, as part of a class-action lawsuit under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Jeffrey Allen claims that he (and by extension any other workers in similar situations) is owed thousands of dollars in back pay (overtime) as a result of continuing to work by logging onto his Blackberry even though his official shift had ended. Read more here. Download the legal filing here.
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Gov’t Workers Paid More
Nothing better than getting paid fairly for a hard day’s work… but how about getting overpaid? How does that feel? Well, likely few Working Joes or Corporate Kathies ever complain about that. New data shows people who work for the government (local/state/federal) are rewarded rather handsomely, especially as compared to their peers in the private workplace… often making twice as much. I’m envious. Maybe it’s time to go talk to the boss to renegotiate my pay package.
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More Americans Staying Put – Home, At Work
A new report out by the Washington, DC-based Brookings Institution, arguing that the recent Great Recession (and few would argue that it hasn’t been monumental is scope, size and impact) has left many Americans “flat-footed” – with “would-be movers… unable to find financing to buy a new home, buyers for their existing homes, or a new job in more desirable areas.” Read more here and here (PDF).
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