By Barbara Corcoran, REDBOOK
Q: Our company recently downsized, and now I'm doing twice the work-for the same salary. I'm not being additionally compensated. Is there a way to address this with my manager?
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A: Times are tough-layoffs and salary freezes are more common than ever. Nevertheless, your job responsibilities have changed and grown, so you should address this situation with your manager as soon as you can. If you don't, you'll only build resentment and also miss a valuable opportunity for professional growth.
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First, find your original job description. If you don't have one, write one yourself, outlining as clearly as you can the job you were hired to do. Then on a second page, write a detailed outline of what you're actually doing. Now you're ready to ask for a five-minute meeting with your boss. Ask either in person or, even better, by e-mail-which keeps your boss from feeling ambushed
Blog Posts by Redbook
By Nicole Yorio, REDBOOK
Read More »from 5 Fun Day Trips to Take With Your Girls
Get some major girlfriend bonding time with one of these creative day trip ideas.
1. Swirl, smell, sip, repeat: The combination of your friends and a few bottles of wine guarantees your day will be filled with giggles. There are wineries in every state; go to allamericanwineries.com to find one in your area, and then tour, taste, and explore. Just be sure to designate a driver or hire a car-a few sips can go to your head fast!
Related: 5 Tiny Travel Beauty Tools
2. Go on a nature adventure: If your gal pals are an adventurous crew, plan a day full of activities to get your adrenaline rushing. At whitewater.com you can search for rafting, kayaking, and canoeing day trips in your state, or go to trails.com (you'll have to create a free registration) to search for local hiking trails for every fitness level.
Related: How to Throw Your Own Happy Hour Party
3. Say "spaaaah": A trip to the spa is the ultimate way to indulge. Meet up in the relaxation room betweenDear Whys Guy: "Why Does My Expect Me To Hang Out With His Friends When He Won't Hang Out with Mine?"
By Redbook | Work + Money – Tue, Jun 21, 2011 4:24 PM EDTBy Aaron Traister, REDBOOK
Read More »from Dear Whys Guy: "Why Does My Expect Me To Hang Out With His Friends When He Won't Hang Out with Mine?"
DEAR WHYS GUY:
Why does my husband expect me to hang out with his friends, but when I ask him to hang out with mine, he makes an excuse to get out of it?
Related: The Best Marriage Tricks from Couples Who Have Been Together Forever
DEAR REDBOOK READER:
I get variations on this question all the time, and I never know how to give one single answer. Maybe he doesn't like your friends. Maybe he feels awkward and insecure in large groups of women. Maybe he really wants to, but his excuses are real and he just can't get his schedule to work. Maybe he doesn't even expect you to hang out with his friends and would be cool with you bailing to go do your own thing.
Related: 25 Sexy Warm-Weather Date Ideas
This is one of those questions you have to go straight to the source with: Ask your husband.
There is one other thing I would add. Why do we feel it's important to be friends with our significant others' friends? I married Karel, not her friends. I kind of likeBy Jessica DeCostole, REDBOOK
Read More »from 4 Breakfasts That Fill You Up
A healthy breakfast should contain at least 5 grams of fiber, one serving of calcium (equal to a cup of milk or yogurt), and some protein and fat. Also, limit added sugars to about 6 grams (1 teaspoon equals 4 grams). The following meal suggestions fit the bill.
1. If you're on the run: Order a latte with skim milk and grab a Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber Bar (available at gnufoods.com).
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2. If you have a few minutes: Pour a bowl of cereal such as Kashi GoLean, Post Original Shredded Wheat 'n Bran, or Barbara's Bakery Original Puffins with skim milk. Toss in some thawed frozen berries.
3. If you're at your desk: Bring a Polly-O cheese stick and eat with a serving of whole-grain crackers and a glass of tomato juice.
Related: Fast Five-Ingredient Meals Your Family Will Love
4. If you like to prepare the night before: Put your favorite fruits and low-fat yogurt in a blender and stash in the fridge. In the morning, simplyTop 10 Hidden Benefits of Summer Vacation for Moms
By Redbook | Parenting – Mon, Jun 20, 2011 7:51 PM EDTBy Charlotte Hilton Andersen, REDBOOK
For the record, I voted for year-round school. I was a teacher for seven years, and it is my firm opinion that because the only farming kids do these days is on Farmville, there is no need for a three-month break in the middle of summer. (While I'm making myself unpopular, I'm also pro-uniforms and gender-segregated math and science classes.) But because I didn't get my wish, my kids are now home with me 24/7. I'll admit that my first reaction was to (dearly) miss the precious two hours of peace I had when all the kidlets were at school or napping, but now that the first week is almost finished I've begun to see the bright side!
Related: The Best Marriage Tricks from Couples Who Have Been Together Forever
This Mom's Favorite Things About Summer Vacation:
1. No socks! Socks are a pain to wash, match, and retrieve from all the cracks in the couch, but since socks and shoes are required for gym class we roll with it. But these
Read More »from Top 10 Hidden Benefits of Summer Vacation for MomsDear Whys Guy: "Why Is It So Hard For My Guy to Read My Emotions?"
By Redbook | Love + Sex – Mon, Jun 20, 2011 6:41 PM EDTBy Aaron Traister, REDBOOK
Read More »from Dear Whys Guy: "Why Is It So Hard For My Guy to Read My Emotions?"
DEAR WHYS GUY:
Why is it so hard for my guy to read my emotions? I'm not asking him to read my mind, but is it really so hard for him to know when I need a hug without my spelling it out?
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DEAR REDBOOK READER:
Yes, it is. Don't make him sit there and analyze your body language. He's not a feelings detective. He's not gonna say, "Through my keen powers of observation, I've noticed your slumping shoulders and frowny face. Thanks to those physical details and your story about your friend Tina drinking too much at work, I've deduced that you are sad! Why, it's elementary my dear girlfriend! Now come and receive your consolatory hug from your boyfriend, Jon Bon Jovi! The greatest relationship detective in the entire state of New Jersey!"
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(I'm assuming this letter was specifically about Bon Jovi.)
Anyway, isn't it much easier to just tell your boyfriend (or Jon Bon Jovi)
dad2That's me sitting on my dad's lap right in the middle! Ah, the '80's. You can't tell but I have my Rainbow Brite shirt on.
In the parking lot of the hospital where I was born, he dropped me while carrying me to the car to bring me home for the first time. I reciprocated months later by sitting on his face with a soaked diaper while he was napping. (And that was back when cloth diapers were the norm.)
Related: The Real Deal About Sex After Kids
In preschool he caught fireflies in a bottle for me. I serenaded him with my "movie star voice" and told him he was the love of my life.
In grade school he taught me how to knit by first teaching himself from a manual because I needed it for a Girl Scout merit badge. I rewarded him with a red scarf roughly shaped like Panama that he wore every day with his black overcoat for years.
In middle school he spent hours upon hours teaching me about magnetic-levitation trains and helping me craft a working model out of Legos and
Read More »from The Where of Being a Father
To find his own parenting voice, James Braly had to block out his father and listen only to his son.
I'm in front of my house, dressed like a 7-year-old San Francisco Giant, waiting for my dad to drive me to the game. (He lost custody of me - and any desire to ring our doorbell again - in my parents' divorce.)
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Up rolls a yellow dune buggy, a loaner from the car dealership where he works. An hour later, we're in our seats... in Oakland. It turns out he bought tickets to the A's versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. I'm the only San Francisco Giant for 30 miles.
Related: 9 Ultimate Family Road Trips
But I don't say, "Dad, you told me it was a Giants game!" Before he started selling cars, my father flew Air Force bombers in the Korean War. He once told me he came back from a mission and a cook screwed up his eggs - some white wasn't mixed with the yellow, so he mixed it up with the cook. "If I can drop bombs at night, that meathead should be Read More »from "I'm the Dad My Father Wasn't"Dear Whys Guy: "How Can I Deal with Being a Summer Sports Widow?"
By Redbook | Love + Sex – Thu, Jun 16, 2011 6:12 PM EDT
Read More »from Dear Whys Guy: "How Can I Deal with Being a Summer Sports Widow?"
By Aaron Traister, REDBOOK
DEAR WHYS GUY:
How do I deal with being a summer-sports widow? I'm just not into the outdoorsy stuff that my husband is, and I'm frustrated that we don't share the best part of Saturday together.
Related: What Men Really Think About (During) Sex
DEAR REDBOOK READER:
This was an issue in my marriage too. Karel was not a baseball fan when we met, and I didn't know (or care) much about gardening. But I quickly learned that it's easy to get into something that makes Karel so happy, and she learned that listening to a ball game while drinking a beer and dicing tomatoes fresh from the yard is a pretty soothing way to unwind after work. My advice? Start over with an open mind about something your husband is into, and ask him to do the same. Maybe you'll discover your inner rock climber/ fly fisher, and he'll embrace the air-conditioned splendor of mall walking.
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Need help decoding odd male behavior? Redbook columnist Aaron Traister, who lives in PhiladelphiaUninspired at Work? 5 Ways to Stay Positive in a Slump
By Redbook | Working It – Thu, Jun 16, 2011 5:31 PM EDTBy Anna Davies, REDBOOK
Read More »from Uninspired at Work? 5 Ways to Stay Positive in a Slump
Downsizing rumors at the office, slashes in health and retirement benefits, and fewer projects (or way too many!) landing on your desk can all lead to feeling uninspired on the job. Here, Bonnie Kelly and Teresa Walsh, cofounders of Silpada Designs, a $190 million home jewelry sales business, offer five tips for how to keep your chin up when work starts to feel like a downer.
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1. Take on new projects: From brainstorming cost-cutting initiatives to volunteering to helm a project, one of the best things you can do to lift your spirits is to pitch in where help is needed. Why? Taking action will give you a sense of control over your work life, while expanding your skill set will keep you motivated and energized.
2. Say no to negativity: Coffee-break chatter about layoffs or pay cuts will only fuel your uncertainty, say Kelly and Walsh. Save your griping for outside the office-with your husband or friends-and keep the
