Work + Money
- Monday marks the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give up her seat and move to the "blacks-only" section on December 1, 1955. Though Parks' actions that day undoubtedly took an enormous amount of courage, she is often described as "quiet" and even "polite." A new book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Parks, focuses on Parks' more aggressive (and lesser known) activism. Here are a few things you might not know about Rosa Parks, before the bus:
Rosa Parks riding at the front after segregation on the bus was declared illegal.
Rosa Parks was raised by her grandparents, who believed in self-defense.
When a white man taunted a young Parks, she threatened him with a brick. When her grandmother reprimanded her, she responded, "I would rather be lynched than run over by them." Her grandfather would sit on the porch of their house armed with a rifle in case the Klan showed up. Rosa would often sit with him because "I wanted to see him kill a Klu Kluxer."
She worked for the civil rights cause for t...Read More » - I had set a lot of goals for the New Year and didn't make nearly half of them. That's the truth of it straight up. January found me tired, worn and haggard with not much energy or desire to meet my personal and professional goals for growth.
Writer's Block
Some would say that this is an affliction many fall under right after the holidays or during the long, dark, cold winter. Sure, there's some truth to that. Some other truths were that I desperately needed to take back some 'me time'. I needed to re-focus on what I really love about writing, outside of service posts and contractual deadlines. I needed to re-focus on my health and fitness in a way I haven't done since before my children were born.
I felt a longing to get get back to story-telling and felt bereft of the ability to do so. My mojo was gone. I could only see in lists and fodder and what was trending on the internets. Which are all necessary parts of my job - but can't ever be the whole of it.
The biggest part of me as a writer has ...Read More » - Unless you're on the set of Days of Our Lives, crying is generally something we all try to avoid at work. But, try as we might, it happens, and when it does, it's pretty awkward-not only for the crier, but for everyone nearby. As a manager, I was faced with the uncomfortable responsibility of calming a crying employee on several occasions, and while never would be too soon for me to want to do it again, I did pick up some valuable insight on handling an upset employee or colleague.
The Golden Rule
Now, as uncomfortable as you might be, the first and most important consideration when you're staring into the welling eyes of a colleague is empathy. I know, sounds obvious. But the first time one of my employees started to cry in front of me-and the entire team-my first reaction was nearly laughter. I was so surprised, not to mention completely unprepared to handle the situation, that all I could think to do was burst out laughing. Of course, this would've been the absolute worst thin...Read More » - Ah, the video bomb, a classic rite of passage for live television reporters. Most anchors regard it as a pesky occupational hazard of working in unedited television but on Wednesday one reporter took it very seriously when a video bomber interrupted her Superbowl segment.
Traffic anchor Jessica Sanchez of WKMG in Orlando unleashed her inner mean girl while reporting live from New Orleans on Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.
When a tipsy woman stumbled into the camera frame and began cheering for the 49-ers, instead of ignoring her or laughing along like a seasoned reporter might do, Sanchez seized the opportunity to insult and humiliate the woman saying, "We were just talking about the STD rate that's going on here. So how long have you had an STD?"
The woman quickly reacts answering, "I don't have an STD."
"Oooh, then why did you want to talk?" asked Jessica in a mock surprised tone.
"I don't have an STD; that is so disrespectful," said the woman...Read More » - Source: 6 Ways to Find Out What Your Peers Are Making
SavvySugar
More and more companies are revealing how much each employee is getting paid, according to the Wall Street Journal. Advocates say this helps employees "better understand their individual contribution to the whole group." This wage transparency is most often practiced by start-ups, but if you're keen to know how much your peers are making even though your company doesn't reveal the numbers, here are a couple of alternatives:
- Glassdoor: If your company is big enough, you may be able to find out the pay of employees through anonymous salary quotes at Glassdoor.com. What's great about this tool is it gives you specific information on what someone in your position is doing at your company, so the numbers aren't too generalized.
- College career center: Even if many years have passed since your graduation, you can approach your college career center and ask the counselors if they have any statistics of what your fellow
When my husband and I got married, we didn't really discuss who would handle our finances. We stood, rather awkwardly, in the lobby of our bank and almost wordlessly, switched over his name to all my existing accounts. Although my husband is a math teacher, I happily run much of our financial life. The bills, the credit cards, the checking accounts, retirement, and rather meager starts to our kids' education fund have all fallen squarely into the "things I do" category. I think it's pretty common for one partner to take the reins in the money department, but as I found out the hard way, it can also be a lonely and overwhelming business to run the financial show solo. As it turns out, talking freely about our finances was a boost to our relationship and our bank account. Click through for 8 financial conversations you need to have with your partner! -By Chaunie Brusie
...Read More »
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Aries (March 21 - April 19)
Choose the fastest means of communication possible today -- if you chose the slow route, you'll miss out, especially since everyone else is getting their info with lightening speed. Twitter, email, cell phone -- short and sweet equals speed.
Today's Aries Reading: Free Sample Astro Identity Reading
Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
Impulse buys could be the death of you -- well, the death of your budget. So do the right thing while you still can and keep your wallet tucked safely in your sock drawer. You just can't control yourself otherwise!
Today's Taurus Reading: Free Sample Karma Reading
...Read More »
Gemini (May 21 - June 21)
If you are all talk and no action, you just won't get anywhere today. You need to stay committed to boosting your bottom line -- and talking about it or 'making plans' just won't do the trick. Follow through is everything on a day like today!
Today's Gemini Reading: Free SWant to break your bad money habits and start saving? Sandy M. Fernández learned how three women set themselves a goal and the surprising ways they changed their financial outlook from iffy to awesome. By Sandy M. Fernández, REDBOOK.
Americans have always loved a life challenge, whether it's surviving in a cabin in the woods for two years (hey, we're still reading Henry David Thoreau's Walden) or dropping a hundred pounds in a few months (The Biggest Loser). Nowadays, hard-core experiments in self-improvement are more popular than ever. I admit that I find some to be a bit much-like the guy who swore his family off the power grid for two years while living on the ninth floor of a Manhattan apartment building-but money- saving challenges have an obvious payoff, and they're fascinating. It's no wonder that people around the country are finding extreme, spend-freeze methods to eliminate their debt and grow their financial willpower. These three savvy women overhauled their money habits ...Read More »
Ask stupid questions
Ten months.
That's how long I evaded making coffee at my first corporate job. Until that point, I'd been riding on the coffee-making coattails of my co-workers, making sure I was never the one who emptied the last few drops from the industrial-sized carafe.
Then, one day, the spout sputtered into my empty mug, and I had to suck it up and ask an embarrassingly easy question: "So, how do you brew a new pot of coffee?"
And no matter your level of experience, you're bound to encounter a similar situation at some point. Whether you never learned how to use a mainstream program, you don't quite understand something your co-workers can do effortlessly, or you've just entered a completely unfamiliar industry, you'll have to ask some "stupid" questions, too.
But while everyone will tell you "there's no such thing as a stupid question," you still want to phrase your inquiries in a way that helps you come across as capable and confident. So if you've been holding back on your quest
...Read More »
Level-headed at work
You get a rude email from a co-worker.
You read it once and start to feel annoyed, then you read it again, just to make sure. Yes: It's obnoxious. So, you hit "reply" and start dashing out a response to set the record straight, feeling your blood rise with every keyboard stroke.
Sound familiar? Whether it's getting angry with an annoying colleague, getting frazzled by a problem in a project, or just getting frustrated by little speed bumps in the day, there will be times when something minor grates on you in the office. And, like me, your first instinct may be to get angry, to snap, or to react.
But there's a better way to handle these moments. First-of course-don't send emails when you're upset. But more importantly, you have to relentlessly remind yourself to keep a level-headed perspective on the job.
I know-easier said than done. But next time something gets to you, try one of these three simple techniques for staying cool, calm, and collected.
1. Ask Yourse
...Read More »
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