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Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Astronology - Holidaze: Beating the Holiday Blues & Stress
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Happy Holidays!
I wanted to wish all the readers of Astron a very happy holidays. We had a great year here at the blog and we thank you for reading and following along. Plenty more to come this next week and so much more in the New Year. Hope 2010 has been a good one for you and your family from everyone here at Astron Solutions!
-Andrew
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Do Something Nice for the Holidays
In this tough economic environment many companies are cutting budgets and tightening their belts. But one time they should be relaxing this is during the holidays. Although this is hard because of budget and time constraints before the end of the year, a little effort can go a long way to employee happiness in the New Year.
It doesn't have to be a large bonus or a lavish holiday party either. Do a dinner at a local restaurant or a happy hour at a local bar. Instead of counting days off until the end of the year, tell everyone they can either take a day between Christmas and New Years...or carry a roving holiday into next year. If you have employees out of town, help them to get to their families by buying their bus ticket or letting them leave earlier to make it on time.
And the good things you do don't have to be monetary in nature. Have everyone volunteer in a soup kitchen or do a bakeoff in the office with the donations going to charity. Surprise employees by shutting the office for an extra hour during lunchtime and putting on a movie in the conference room.
Trust me, little gestures will go a long way to employee satisfaction in 2011.
-Andrew
It doesn't have to be a large bonus or a lavish holiday party either. Do a dinner at a local restaurant or a happy hour at a local bar. Instead of counting days off until the end of the year, tell everyone they can either take a day between Christmas and New Years...or carry a roving holiday into next year. If you have employees out of town, help them to get to their families by buying their bus ticket or letting them leave earlier to make it on time.
And the good things you do don't have to be monetary in nature. Have everyone volunteer in a soup kitchen or do a bakeoff in the office with the donations going to charity. Surprise employees by shutting the office for an extra hour during lunchtime and putting on a movie in the conference room.
Trust me, little gestures will go a long way to employee satisfaction in 2011.
-Andrew
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Job Growth and Job Loss
Yesterday President Barack Obama pushed 20 CEOs to "start investing in job creating enterprises." According to the Wall Street Journal, though, "nearly half of the executives [in a quarterly survey by the Business Roundtable]—45%—expected to hire within the next six months, compared with 31% who said that last quarter." As the article says, US businesses are sitting on $2 trillion in cash. Although slack demand is adding to their reluctance, hopefully a new year means new jobs appearing in the market.
In good news this morning, Bloomberg is reporting that jobless claims in the US unexpectedly fell to 420,000 last week. The bad news, though: "the total number of people receiving unemployment insurance and those getting extended payments rose." So what does that mean for hiring in the new year? "Fewer firings signal employers may be gearing up to add to their payrolls and help reduce a jobless rate hovering near a 26-year high. While the economy is gaining momentum heading into 2011, Federal Reserve policy makers said this week it isn’t strong enough to reduce unemployment."
And if you decide to look for one of those jobs in the new year, Simply Hired Blog has the best 50 careers of 2011 (H/T Wendy).
In good news this morning, Bloomberg is reporting that jobless claims in the US unexpectedly fell to 420,000 last week. The bad news, though: "the total number of people receiving unemployment insurance and those getting extended payments rose." So what does that mean for hiring in the new year? "Fewer firings signal employers may be gearing up to add to their payrolls and help reduce a jobless rate hovering near a 26-year high. While the economy is gaining momentum heading into 2011, Federal Reserve policy makers said this week it isn’t strong enough to reduce unemployment."
And if you decide to look for one of those jobs in the new year, Simply Hired Blog has the best 50 careers of 2011 (H/T Wendy).
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Astronology - Bridging Generational Gaps Starts with RESPECT
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Friday, December 10, 2010
Encourage Employees to Talk About Themslves
I was speaking with a former co-worker this past week and she happened to tell me about some good personal news that she recently found out about. When I loudly gave my congratulations she shushed me and told me not to spread the news because she didn't want her company to find out. This wasn't something that would effect the company or a new job opportunity or anything of the sort and while I was confused I understood her predicament.
There is a very fine line between too much information at work and being personable and sharing. Most of us work collaboratively while at our jobs but very few of us know that much about the people we work with. Some of that is intentional with employees failing to share the good or the bad when it could really help foster better communication with others. An employer should know when something bad is going on in an employee's life so they can maybe give them some extra time to deal with a sick parent or allow them to get out a little early on a Tuesday so they can go to physical therapy for that ailing back. And an employer should know when good things are happening with their employees so they can share in their joy of a birth of a new child or an engagement.
The problem is that the workplace isn't always an atmosphere conducive to sharing. Health issues aren't supposed to be talked about with certain people and employees may worry that revealing bad health may open them up to discrimination. A new child or a spouse could mean higher healthcare costs and make employees think that employers will hold that against them. Employees usually don't have incentive to share and that is what employers need to work to change. Reward and announce good news--even if it is personal. Allow employees to stretch vacation times if a loved one is dying or give them a holiday present of a new chair if they have a chronic bad back. When employees feel like they all know each other better, collaboration occurs even more.
There is a very fine line between too much information at work and being personable and sharing. Most of us work collaboratively while at our jobs but very few of us know that much about the people we work with. Some of that is intentional with employees failing to share the good or the bad when it could really help foster better communication with others. An employer should know when something bad is going on in an employee's life so they can maybe give them some extra time to deal with a sick parent or allow them to get out a little early on a Tuesday so they can go to physical therapy for that ailing back. And an employer should know when good things are happening with their employees so they can share in their joy of a birth of a new child or an engagement.
The problem is that the workplace isn't always an atmosphere conducive to sharing. Health issues aren't supposed to be talked about with certain people and employees may worry that revealing bad health may open them up to discrimination. A new child or a spouse could mean higher healthcare costs and make employees think that employers will hold that against them. Employees usually don't have incentive to share and that is what employers need to work to change. Reward and announce good news--even if it is personal. Allow employees to stretch vacation times if a loved one is dying or give them a holiday present of a new chair if they have a chronic bad back. When employees feel like they all know each other better, collaboration occurs even more.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Jobs are a'Opening
The Wall Street Journal reported today that job openings increased in October to the highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis. "But," cautions the article, "the increase in job openings in October didn't translate into increased hiring. Companies hired 4.20 million people during the month, down slightly from September's 4.21 million. That could be a sign that companies are struggling to find workers with the necessary skills to fill the positions they have open."
Also from The Journal, a question whether the tax freeze for the wealthy will create jobs (answer: probably not). This will certainly be an issue debated for the next two years until they have to talk about this issue once again.
Lastly, USA Today talks about Baby Boomers who are going back to work after they turn 65, mostly because of the increased age at which you can file for Social Security. But about 25% of these workers are unable to physically work at that age anyway, says the article, which, ironically, means that they will have to file for disability which would increase the imbalances of Social Security. With 25% of Boomers equaling about the population of New York State, this is not a small issue.
Also from The Journal, a question whether the tax freeze for the wealthy will create jobs (answer: probably not). This will certainly be an issue debated for the next two years until they have to talk about this issue once again.
Lastly, USA Today talks about Baby Boomers who are going back to work after they turn 65, mostly because of the increased age at which you can file for Social Security. But about 25% of these workers are unable to physically work at that age anyway, says the article, which, ironically, means that they will have to file for disability which would increase the imbalances of Social Security. With 25% of Boomers equaling about the population of New York State, this is not a small issue.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Disappearing Jobs, Fiancial Advice and King James
Want to know if your job is being eliminated? Well, the first place to look is to see if the industry you work in is disappearing. To help with that, Yahoo! Finance and CBS Money Watch have put together a list of high-paying jobs that are disappearing (H/T Wendy). Let's just say that if you were planning to work in sports journalism, you may want to rethink that decision.
Want to know why you can't treat your employees better than their manager? Well, look at the situation going on in Miami with the Heat, their star player, LeBron James, and their head coach, Erik Spoelstra as told by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. This one passage should make most managers and Human Resources professionals cringe: "The fundamental problem for Spoelstra isn’t that James doesn’t respect coaches – he doesn’t respect people. Give LeBron this, though: He’s learned to live one way with the television light on, and another with it off. He treats everyone like a servant, because that’s what the system taught him as a teenage prodigy. To James, the coach isn’t there to mold him into the team dynamic. He’s there to serve him." Eek.
Most people don't want to invest their own pensions, 401(K)s or IRAs, but if you do, there may be a book by two former Wall Street honchos you may want to pick up. As told by the New York Times: "when Mr. Murray, a former bond salesman for Goldman Sachs who rose to the managing director level at both Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston, decided to cease all treatment five months ago for his glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, his first impulse was not to mourn what he couldn’t do anymore or to buy an island or to move to Paris. Instead, he hunkered down in his tiny home office here and channeled whatever remaining energy he could muster into a slim paperback. It’s called “The Investment Answer,” and he wrote it with his friend and financial adviser Daniel Goldie to explain investing in a handful of simple steps."
Happy Hanukkah to fall my fellow Jews out there. May your nights be full of light and your bellies be full of oily foods. Even without the presents, it's probably my favorite holiday.
Want to know why you can't treat your employees better than their manager? Well, look at the situation going on in Miami with the Heat, their star player, LeBron James, and their head coach, Erik Spoelstra as told by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. This one passage should make most managers and Human Resources professionals cringe: "The fundamental problem for Spoelstra isn’t that James doesn’t respect coaches – he doesn’t respect people. Give LeBron this, though: He’s learned to live one way with the television light on, and another with it off. He treats everyone like a servant, because that’s what the system taught him as a teenage prodigy. To James, the coach isn’t there to mold him into the team dynamic. He’s there to serve him." Eek.
Most people don't want to invest their own pensions, 401(K)s or IRAs, but if you do, there may be a book by two former Wall Street honchos you may want to pick up. As told by the New York Times: "when Mr. Murray, a former bond salesman for Goldman Sachs who rose to the managing director level at both Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston, decided to cease all treatment five months ago for his glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, his first impulse was not to mourn what he couldn’t do anymore or to buy an island or to move to Paris. Instead, he hunkered down in his tiny home office here and channeled whatever remaining energy he could muster into a slim paperback. It’s called “The Investment Answer,” and he wrote it with his friend and financial adviser Daniel Goldie to explain investing in a handful of simple steps."
Happy Hanukkah to fall my fellow Jews out there. May your nights be full of light and your bellies be full of oily foods. Even without the presents, it's probably my favorite holiday.
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