Did You Know?
Facts and figures from the working world
News You Can Use
Doesn't Anyone Want to Be a CFO Anymore? (CNN)
Chief financial officers have always been "next in line" for the coveted CEO spot. Last year, however, more than 12 CFOs at Fortune 50 companies left their jobs. What gives? The cumbersome and controversial 2002 Sarbanes–Oxley legislation—and the tedious paperwork that ensues—has largely turned CFOs from strategic thinkers to "high-profile bookkeepers"...to exit strategists.
Major Employers Go Electronic with Health Records (WSJ)
Managing medical information and delivering it to patients, families, insurers, hospitals, pharmacies, and health-care providers involves reams of paperwork and an often slow trek across separate networks. The nonprofit Omnimedix Institute has developed a more efficient, Web-based solution—Dossia—by which employees can manage their health records and securely share information with those who need it. Expected to launch by mid-2007, the system will host the personal health records of millions of employees, dependents, and retirees. Funding for Dossia was provided by five of the biggest American employers: Applied Materials, BP, Intel, Pitney Bowes, and Wal-Mart.
High Style Goes High Tech (BusinessWeek)
Coolmax and Gore-Tex aren't just for workouts. High-performance features that repel rain, wick up perspiration, shun stains, and ward off wrinkles are increasingly being woven into workplace attire and scooped up by consumers: 58% of men and a third of women have bought in. Have an important business meeting, long flight, or mid-afternoon interview scheduled? Skip the bleach pen and travel iron; try Brooks Brothers' greaseproof ties and creaseproof suites. Next up? Teflon trousers.
HOT JOBS, PLACES & TRENDS
Two of the least glamorous (think corns and colonoscopies) but most lucrative specialties in medicine are podiatry and gastroenterology. According to Salary.com, foot doctors and GI specialists pull down a cool $125,663 and $269,500 a year, respectively.
The cities where employees earn the most are (in order) San Francisco, Salinas, Boston, Hartford, New York, Anchorage, Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Providence, Sacramento, and Seattle.
Currently the two occupations requiring a college degree that have the greatest number of openings are registered nurse and college professor.
More than 94% of companies offer their employees tuition assistance, including fees for books, labs, and tests, according to a February 2007 survey conducted by the Institute for Corporate Productivity and HR.com. About a third of companies surveyed make tuition assistance available immediately upon hire, while the others consider employees eligible within or right after their first year of employment.
Work Design Collaborative estimates that 12-15% of employees are "no-collar workers," doing business from home or some other location outside the office. Working remotely can save companies and employees considerable time and money, and experts predict that by 2012, 40% of workers will be a part of the so-called "distributed workforce," reporting to bosses who might be thousands of miles away. Already, one-third of AT&T's managers have no office at the company.
A mere 2% of those who take the U.S. foreign service exam (required to become a career diplomat) actually pass the test. (No wonder private security contractors in Iraq—hired guns who protect diplomats—can earn as much as $10,000 a month.) Compare success rates for would-be diplomats to those of prospective lawyers (39% pass California’s General Bar Exam) and doctors of internal medicine (roughly 90% pass their residency boards).
WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY
According to the latest workplace fatality figures compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most dangerous work in the U.S. is commercial fishing.
A 2006 Church of England report warns of a new work-related malady among priests—"irritable clergy syndrome"—which it says stems from "having to be nice all the time, even when confronted with extremes of nastiness" from parishioners.
The National Safety Council has awarded UPS, the country's third-largest employer, its Green Cross for workplace safety. The Atlanta-based package delivery company, which originally developed safety guidelines for its bicycle messengers and distributed defensive driving handbooks as early as 1917, today invests more than $300 million annually in safety training for employees.
A Pew Research Center survey released in September 2006 found that 71% of American workers believe they have more job-related stress than workers 20 or 30 years ago; 45% of those surveyed feel that the quality of their family life is suffering.
Stress can increase your cravings for sweets and carbs. To ward off workplace worries—and burn off extra calories—nutritionists suggest getting up periodically and moving around.
Circadian Technologies, a research and consulting firm specializing in today’s 24/7 workforce, claims that 15 times more industrial and transportation accidents occur between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. For employees outside the traditional 9-5 schedule, Circadian recommends elevating alertness and energy by engaging in a 20-minute aerobic workout, snacking on low-fat foods (not pizza, donuts, or other common "shiftwork staples"), and maintaining a workplace temperature of 68-70°F.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is the only Big Ten College that does not offer health insurance to domestic partners. John Wiley, the university's chancellor, believes this puts his institution at a disadvantage when it comes to hiring and retaining faculty. The state legislature's recent ban on same-sex marriages and civil unions prevents the school from offering these benefits.
SCAM ALERT!
The FBI warns of an identity-theft scam in which you might be called by someone posing as an "official" regarding jury duty and asked for your Social Security number or other personal information. Do not give this information over the phone, warns the FBI, adding that court officials will never attempt to verify your Social Security number over the phone or via e-mail.
Job seekers, beware! A number of sophisticated phishing scams have recently targeted thousands of online job seekers. One such scam sends out legitimate-looking e-mails advertising positions such as "reporter," "IT assistant," and "quality control administrator" on employment sites such as Monster, HotJobs, and CareerBuilder. The offers are bogus and are meant to entice job seekers to share personal financial information. Companies to watch for include USA Voice, Internet Solutions, and Instant Human Resources.
The IRS reports an increase in identity theft e-mail scams from a fictitious "IRS Antifraud Commission." Messages appear to come from the IRS and claim that recipients are owed federal refunds or that thieves have attempted to use their credit cards. Recipients are then directed to links asking for personal financial information, including PIN numbers. To date, more than 8,000 bogus e-mails have been reported to the IRS. To report a suspected scam or learn more, visit www.irs.gov.
WORK & FAMILY
A November 2006 Working Mother survey found that one in three working moms has sent a sick child to school or daycare because of pressure to go to work; the majority, 70%, reported feeling guilty about their decision.
A study by Clark University and the Center for Creative Leadership finds that raising a family at home can enhance a person's managerial skills at work. Published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in January 2007, these findings contradict the conventional wisdom that parents are likely to be less dependable and more distracted at work.
DIVERSITY
Novations Group's Internet survey of 2,046 human resources executives found that three out of four planned to maintain or increase their spending on employee diversity and inclusion training in 2007. Previously, employers focused their diversity efforts on attracting and retaining a diverse workforce within the U.S., in compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity laws. That has changed. The driving force behind much of today’s diversity training is globalization, or the hiring of overseas workers.
Prejudice is not always black and white. Project Implicit, a joint research initiative, reveals that job seekers and employers alike have "implicit biases"—preferences toward people of a certain age, race, or gender, or body type that we are not aware of but that can manifest themselves in the job interview (how close we sit, how long we hold a handshake or maintain eye contact) and in the workplace (who is promoted, how employees’ performance is evaluated). The good news? Unconscious prejudices can be modified by experience. Read more at Project Implicit.
Wearing "white noise" earphones and rerouting phone calls to a voicemail (and responding at set times each day) are two ways employees with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can manage workplace distractibility.
HOT TIPS
Think the front desk is there only to let hiring managers know you've arrived? Think again. Hiring managers often ask receptionists, secretaries, and administrative assistants to observe job candidates' waiting room conduct—so abstain from conduct, comments, and conversations you would avoid in the interview itself. Fill your waiting time wisely, as by reading company literature or other materials displayed in the lobby. Treat your arrival as an important part of the interview process—and the staff member who greets you as a potential decision-maker…and a prospective colleague.
Have you been asked to interview over the phone? Smile when you speak! Smiling changes your voice, making you sound friendly and enthusiastic. It also helps you relax.
E-mailing your resume? Check your personal e-mail address first. While [email protected] works fine, [email protected] sends up a red flag. Even a seemingly innocuous address, such as "videojunkie" or "discodiva," might make prospective employers take you less seriously…and land your resume at the bottom of the heap.
Overall the busiest months for hiring tend to be January, February, September, and October. By contacting prospective employers at the start of these cycles, you can increase your chances of landing a new job. In the construction industry, hiring peaks from April through June, when the weather becomes more conducive to working outdoors.
Do you have a blog, personal Web site, or profile on a social networking site? If you've posted photos or comments intended for friends, family, or just for fun, there's a good chance prospective employers will see these too. More than 75% of executive recruiters use search engines to check job candidates' backgrounds, and 35% have eliminated candidates from their search based on negative information found online. Before applying for that next job, google yourself. Clean up your digital image.
The interview process often begins long before you and your prospective employer shake hands. One major airline reportedly screens job candidates by flying them out for a meeting—and providing "tagged" airline tickets. Company reps in the airport and on board observe tagged travelers' preflight and in-flight behavior. Though this is an unlikely situation for most job seekers, it points to the importance of conducting yourself professionally not only in the interview room but also in the parking area, elevator, and lobby.
Ready to roll? Fuel up and clear the clutter in your car. Just as some employers schedule interviews over lunch (as a way of evaluating your social skills), a select few will request a ride...with you in the driver's seat! This provides a unique "vehicle" for assessing how well you manage distractions, perform under pressure, and maintain your personal space.
Interviewing with a panel? As you are introduced to various people, repeat their names: "Nice to meet you, Janice. Hello, Frank." That will help you remember who's who.
New on the job? Trying to get coworkers' names straight? Watch and listen as people greet each other. If your company posts staff photos, names, and titles to its Web site, print these and keep them handy. Set a goal—for example, remembering ten new colleagues' names each week.
Learn more about your field and work toward becoming a leader in it. Join an association made up of other industry members and indicate your membership in business letters, in proposals, and on your business cards. Show that your job is more than just a job.
Successfully applying for a job online means adjusting your resume to incorporate language found in a company's job description. Employers' and recruiters' computers often use filtering software that checks for certain keywords—and weeds out resumes that fall short. Examples of general phrases to include are leadership, team-building, oral and written communications, problem-solving, and strategic planning. Add specific search terms for different fields, such as consulting (SAP, Oracle, Peoplesoft) and advertising (marketing, public relations, media, sales).
E-mailing or uploading your resume to a company's Web site? Stick to a simple font (Courier) and skip the bullets, which often get garbled in translation.
Cutting and pasting your resume from a Word document to an online form? Save it with a .txt suffix or create it in Rich Text Format to prevent your formatting from getting jumbled.
If you've posted your resume to our job board, tweak it every 60 to 90 days simply by changing a word or two. Refreshing will up your resume's visibility among employers.
"Resume blasting" services offer to send your resume to thousands of recruiters for a one-time fee, often as much as $200. The problem with these companies (many of which are not legitimate) is that they give zero proof of delivering on their promise. Even if they did, the value of blasting—unlike a focused search—is questionable.
FACTS & FIGURES
A Consumer Board study released in 2005 showed that only about half of Americans are satisfied with their jobs, compared to 60% a decade earlier.
In February 1999, 48% of respondents in Consumer Board’s monthly consumer-confidence survey believed that jobs were plentiful, compared to only 26% today. Curiously, the current unemployment rate is 4.4%, exactly what it was in February 1999. Economists suggest one reason Americans are increasingly insecure despite low unemployment is that finding a job takes longer now (more than 16 weeks) than it did in the late '90s (less than 14 weeks).
A report released in November 2006 indicates that one out of six students who are pursuing a degree enrolled in at least one online course last fall. The Sloan Consortium reports that 850,000 more students enrolled in online courses in the fall of 2005, a 40% increase over the year before.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that by 2010, there will be 10 million more jobs than people to fill them.
Ever wonder how your business packages reach destinations across the country or around the globe overnight? UPS uses barcoded labels that are scanned and sorted into piles, which in turn get loaded onto trucks (if they are traveling fewer than 200 miles) or planes (if the journey is longer). It takes only two people to move a four-ton UPS cargo container onto a plane, thanks to special floors made of ball bearings.
The Deloitte Research Leading Index to Consumer Spending announced a sharp rebound in employee wages last November, the first such jump in two years. The wage hike was believed to be tied to lower energy prices and the resulting boost to consumer spending.
Employees older than 55 make up 14% of the workforce but a full 26% of those working at home.
The current workforce can be almost perfectly divided into four equal age-based quadrants: 16-29, 30-39, 40-49, and 50 and up.
According to a United Nations study, half the world’s population (about three billion people) lives on less than $2 a day, which means that if you have just $61,000 in assets, you belong to the richest 10% of adults on the planet. The three wealthiest people in the world, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, investor Warren Buffett, and Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu, have more money than the poorest 48 nations combined.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans change jobs an average of 10 times between the ages of 18 and 40.
COMMUTING
According to a 2006 report by the U.S. Department of Transportation, 73% of commuters (more than 94 million employees) work in their home county.
More than 34 million employees work outside the county where they live, up from 20 million in 1980 and fewer than 10 million in 1960.
More than half of all employees who have entered the workforce in the last decade commute to jobs outside their home counties.
Small-town America has the greatest tendency (80% of employees) to work and reside in the same county.
Taxi or two-wheeler? Harley or home office? The latest report from the U.S. Department of Transportation finds that women are more likely than men to use cabs and mass transit and to work at home; men are more likely than women to commute to work by motorcycle or bicycle.
The percentage of workers commuting alone continues to rise, accounting for 70-83% of the workforce in 44 states. New York is in a class by itself at 56%.
In most states, somewhere between 9% and 15% of commuters carpool, with the notable exception of Hawaii, at 19%. Carpools are generally more prevalent in the West (with Phoenix at 15.3%) than in the East (with Cleveland at 8.7%).
Between 1990 and 2000, the average commute to work increased by about 2 minutes, to 25.5 minutes. All 50 states reported longer travel times, with the biggest increases (more than 4 minutes) occurring in the East.
More than 10% of employees in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois travel at least an hour to work.