A male employee now says he’s a woman — what do we do? I have an employee that started cross-dressing. He wishes to use the women’s bathroom. He has provided a statement form his doctor that he is suffering from gender dysphoria. Are we obligated to allow him to use the women’s rest room?
We take our employees to lunch for their reviews — do we have to pay them, too? When an employee is taken to lunch, and given their scheduled review, is this considered their lunch break (unpaid) or should they receive an additional break that day and be paid for the time during the review?
How many hours per week can a salaried employee be required to work? I am from the state of Florida where I work in a store as a manager. I was hired with the understanding that I would be required to work 45 hours/wk. Is there a limit to how many hours I am required
At some point in our lives, we come to a place where we long to uncover our mission — a lifelong assignment that evolves from deep within our soul. My father, the son of a New England minister, described one’s mission in life as a “calling.” A calling isn’t exactly a job; that’s something you
For members of the jobless tribe, good impressions are becoming tougher to make during interviews. My advice isn’t the kind found in the slew of available career guides. Mine is an anthropological perspective. The subject of my study is that daunting hump in the interview process: the Untrained Interviewer.
Since markets turned shaky, a new round of jawflapping about the unseemliness of executive compensation practices has gathered steam. One business magazine that shall remain nameless even called it “The Great CEO Pay Heist.” Of particular fanfare was Apple’s bestowal on Steve Jobs of a stock-option package valued at $548 million. Something clearly has come
Executives in Fortune 1000 companies, as well as executives in transition, often are unaware that with the backing of a private-equity firm they have the potential to run their own business, and in so doing build considerable personal wealth.
In a recent edition of The Wall Street Journal, columnist Gerald Seib wrote that the campaign against terrorism is “slow and hard for good reason.” After spending a day providing advice to participants in a job fair in Fort Worth, Texas, I sensed that the nation’s other war — getting America back to work —
Maybe it’s the English major in me, but over the years I’ve derived more practical wisdom and guidance from the world’s great works of literature than from self-help, career and management advice books. I’m an employment counselor by vocation. I’m no snob — I glean words to live and work by wherever I find them.
At age 35, Paul Gauguin was working in a bank. A year later, he chucked that job, along with his wife, his children and his prosperous but predictable Parisian existence for a tumultuous life as an artist in southern France and then Tahiti. It was a life he later described as “ecstasy, peace and for
Switching from a military to a civilian career is a big step. It also can be extremely difficult. Military officers may be highly qualified for many business positions. However, their backgrounds are so different from those of typical executives that employers often can’t tell if — and where — they’d fit. To start with, military
Despite the corporate layoff announcements piling up, the overall employment picture is still quite healthy. What better time to go into business for yourself? If you’ve yearned for the freedom of being your own boss, be warned: Experienced independent professionals will tell you that there’s little that’s “free” about being a free agent.
Wendy Brawer was an English teacher in Japan vacationing in Bali when she noticed how peaceful, rural hideaways were turning into tourist hotels. When she returned to the U.S., she was determined to shift environmental attitudes. She eventually hit upon the idea of helping communities create maps of their ecological and cultural resources. In 1995,
One reason many people find it difficult to change careers is they think they have to do it in one big leap. Another is simple inertia — it’s easier to stay with the familiar pain of doing what they don’t like than brave the unknown. But you don’t have to change careers in one fell
So many people aren’t happy, fulfilled or even moderately satisfied with their work. The constant changes taking place in companies, including the temporary nature of jobs that were once relatively permanent, create a stressful work environment in which it’s difficult to feel satisfied, let alone happy.
A lack of jobs in a particular field or geographic region or simply the poor economy can stymie some b-school graduates attempting to make career changes. These factors have been working against Kathryn Wiyninger since she earned her M.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma’s Michael F. Price College of Business in 2001.
Merrill Lynch Wealth Management is the wealth management division of Bank of America. The firm is headquartered in New York City, and occupies the entire 34 stories of the Four World Financial Center building in Manhattan. Merrill Lynch employs over 15,000 financial advisors and manages $2.2 trillion in client assets. The firm has its origins in Merrill
Many of us dream of finding the perfect spouse, a fantastic place to live and the absolute best college education for our kids. But most romances, house hunts and academic pursuits aren’t as perfect as we’d hoped. Your spouse is loving and understanding, but snores. A house is large and airy, but expensive to heat.
I once had a sign on my office wall that read: “This life is only a test. If it had been an actual life, you would have been given further instructions on where to go and what to do.” Couldn’t we all use a little more guidance on our destinies? Many people decide their life’s
Are you happy with your chosen profession? Only about half of all U.S. adults are satisfied with their jobs, according to several recent surveys, so there’s a good chance you’d like to try another career. There’s an equally good chance that you don’t know how to change career direction without major pain and disruption. But
