5 Lifestyle Activities That Can Get You Fired
by Larry Buhl, for Yahoo! HotJobs
Can having a bacon double cheeseburger and a cigarette put your job at risk? Maybe. It may sound surprising, but many off-the-job actions and lifestyles could put your job in jeopardy.
Fair Game?
Employment experts point out five key areas that a company may scrutinize:
Smoking, drinking, and overeating. Due to the cost of health insurance, more and more employers view "unhealthy" habits as a threat to their bottom line.
Risky behavior. Likewise, a company might see your bungee jumping hobby as a liability.
Speech. Will your employer consider your blogging to be destructive griping?
Romantic relationships. Dating someone at a competitor's company has landed employees in hot water. And some employers might take issue with unmarried coupling or even same-sex relationships (federal law doesn't protect employees from discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation).
Political activity. Volunteering for Obama could be trouble if you have a pro-McCain boss, and vice versa.
Job- or industry-specific behaviors can lead to termination as well. A Ford worker who drives a Toyota is probably safe -- unless he or she is president of Ford. But a bank employee who bounces a personal check could get the boot.
Cause or Just Because
If these reasons for termination seem unfair, they must be illegal, right? Not necessarily. Just because most employers don't let valued employees loose for off-the-job activities and lifestyles, doesn't mean they can't.
"Most workers in the private sector don't understand that, unless they live in Montana and Arizona, their job is at-will," Paul Secunda, an assistant professor of law at the University of Mississippi, told Yahoo! HotJobs. "At-will means an employee can be fired for good cause or no cause at all," Secunda said.
Federal job protections include gender, race, religion, and national origin, as well as disability. "Some state laws forbid discrimination on other bases, including sexual orientation, or status as a smoker," said Rick Bales, a professor at Northern Kentucky University/Chase College of Law. Smokers in the tobacco-growing state of Kentucky, for example, are safe from termination, he said.
Don't Be Fooled
Although union members and public sector (government) workers generally have more protections, employees in the private sector -- the bulk of the U.S. workforce -- can be fired at any time, and usually without recourse.
"Unless you were fired because you are a member of a protected class under federal law, or under another state statute, it's likely not illegal," said Kimberly Malerba, an associate who litigates employment cases with Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C., a law firm on Long Island, New York.
The good news is that most companies don't go out of their way to snoop into employees' lives, Malerba told Yahoo HotJobs. "A company is most concerned with (off-the-job) behaviors that directly conflict with business interests."
5 Tips to Consider
Legal experts have advice for protecting your job from unexpected dangers:
Understand the concept of at-will employment. Don't assume that termination must be illegal just because you think it was unfair.
Be fully aware of your company's policies and terms of employment. Read the employee handbook, and ask HR if you have any questions.
Be familiar with the company's internal dispute mechanisms (if any) for filing grievances.
Think before you act. Could your employer see your actions off the job as potentially destructive to the company?
Don't disclose. "You don't have to disclose lifestyle choices or off-the-clock activities unless there is a clear link to your ability to perform the job," Secunda said.
"My general advice is, don't do anything on your own time that, if reported in the local paper, would reflect poorly on you or your employer," Bales told Yahoo! HotJobs.
June 27, 2008
June 17, 2008
Enough
When do you reach a point in your career that you say enough is enough? whether its with a job you hate or a manager that mistreats you? We spend most of our day at work or thinking/talking about work, then why is it that so many people stay in unhealthy work situations?
It could be that you are just bored and need a change. However, how do you make an informed and rational decision? without jeopardizing your family or financial responsibilities? Maybe you just don't!
Does anyone out there have a perspective?
It could be that you are just bored and need a change. However, how do you make an informed and rational decision? without jeopardizing your family or financial responsibilities? Maybe you just don't!
Does anyone out there have a perspective?
June 15, 2008
Good Article: Balance
How to Get Ahead While Balancing Work and Family
by John RossheimMonster Senior Contributing Writer
For many professionals, it’s doable, though certainly not easy, to coast through their careers for some years while devoting most of their energy to raising small children. These sensible souls take care not to drop the ball at work, but they do forgo immediate opportunities to push that ball up the slope and land that next substantial promotion.
But the most ambitious of us may not be satisfied with the status quo, either because we need the money and personal satisfaction that come with advancement, or because we work at a company or in an industry in which our careers can wither and die if we don’t continuously advance.
If you do commit to continuing your upward trajectory while caring for your young kids or ailing parents at the same time, how do you carry out both commitments, each of which can seem all-consuming?
It begins with establishing expectations.
Set Ground Rules
“My employer knows that I’ll put in the hours at home in the evenings and on weekends when I need to,” says Jennifer Sheran, who became full-time general manager at Schroder PR in Atlanta in December 2006 while bringing up a 5-year-old.
Sheran’s professional portfolio is impressive: She oversees the firm’s business development, client relations and campaign project management, as well as implementation, staff training and human resources.
In exchange for some family-friendly arrangements -- she leaves the office at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. most weekdays to arrive home in time for dinner and works from home on Fridays -- Sheran’s employer expects she’ll put in all the additional hours the job requires, wherever she can fit them in.
“You have to sit down with your family and explain why you have to take up your work for an hour or two after the kids go to bed,” Sheran says. “It takes that to be able to get ahead.”Investigate Different Ways to Grow.
For some ambitious professionals with big demands at home, professional growth may be measured along a dimension other than the corporate ladder. For those willing to consider a nontraditional passage in their career trajectories, opportunities abound, says Susie Hall, Los Angeles-area manager for staffing firm Aquent. Rather than chasing the next promotion, Hall says, you can stay in the same position but take on projects with “higher-profile brands.” To do that, you’ll need to delegate aggressively and creatively, so that you can focus your work time on the projects that will afford you the most visibility. “Think about your unique skills and spend more time on high-value activities,” says Ellen Kossek, a professor at Michigan State University’s Graduate School of Labor and Industrial Relations in East Lansing. Find the Right Support.
But how do you keep your family onboard as you continue to advance your career? Two key tactics are to surround yourself with helpful people and to find an employer that values you enough to let you manage your own workday. For Sheran, family commitments are a two-way street. When she has to travel on business, “my husband makes adjustments to his schedule, and I live not far from my parents,” she says. “Without them, it wouldn’t be so easy.” For audit manager Liz Harper, the key was taking a job with a Big Four firm willing to grant flexibility by the hour, day and season.“When the kids are in school, I work five days a week for six to seven hours,” says Harper, a senior manager working 60 percent time at accounting and consulting firm KPMG in Short Hills, New Jersey. “In summer, I work full days but take one or two days off each week,” says the mother of four children, ages 6 to 14. “On the off days, I’m still pretty much online,” taking some phone calls and checking email occasionally. And There’s No Stopping.
Can executives already in key positions advance even further while their kids are still in elementary school? They certainly aspire to.“I would like to become partner at some point,” says Sheran.The next step for Harper would also be a move up to partner. Although that may not happen while Harper is working less than full-time, her employer doesn’t rule out the possibility.
by John RossheimMonster Senior Contributing Writer
For many professionals, it’s doable, though certainly not easy, to coast through their careers for some years while devoting most of their energy to raising small children. These sensible souls take care not to drop the ball at work, but they do forgo immediate opportunities to push that ball up the slope and land that next substantial promotion.
But the most ambitious of us may not be satisfied with the status quo, either because we need the money and personal satisfaction that come with advancement, or because we work at a company or in an industry in which our careers can wither and die if we don’t continuously advance.
If you do commit to continuing your upward trajectory while caring for your young kids or ailing parents at the same time, how do you carry out both commitments, each of which can seem all-consuming?
It begins with establishing expectations.
Set Ground Rules
“My employer knows that I’ll put in the hours at home in the evenings and on weekends when I need to,” says Jennifer Sheran, who became full-time general manager at Schroder PR in Atlanta in December 2006 while bringing up a 5-year-old.
Sheran’s professional portfolio is impressive: She oversees the firm’s business development, client relations and campaign project management, as well as implementation, staff training and human resources.
In exchange for some family-friendly arrangements -- she leaves the office at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. most weekdays to arrive home in time for dinner and works from home on Fridays -- Sheran’s employer expects she’ll put in all the additional hours the job requires, wherever she can fit them in.
“You have to sit down with your family and explain why you have to take up your work for an hour or two after the kids go to bed,” Sheran says. “It takes that to be able to get ahead.”Investigate Different Ways to Grow.
For some ambitious professionals with big demands at home, professional growth may be measured along a dimension other than the corporate ladder. For those willing to consider a nontraditional passage in their career trajectories, opportunities abound, says Susie Hall, Los Angeles-area manager for staffing firm Aquent. Rather than chasing the next promotion, Hall says, you can stay in the same position but take on projects with “higher-profile brands.” To do that, you’ll need to delegate aggressively and creatively, so that you can focus your work time on the projects that will afford you the most visibility. “Think about your unique skills and spend more time on high-value activities,” says Ellen Kossek, a professor at Michigan State University’s Graduate School of Labor and Industrial Relations in East Lansing. Find the Right Support.
But how do you keep your family onboard as you continue to advance your career? Two key tactics are to surround yourself with helpful people and to find an employer that values you enough to let you manage your own workday. For Sheran, family commitments are a two-way street. When she has to travel on business, “my husband makes adjustments to his schedule, and I live not far from my parents,” she says. “Without them, it wouldn’t be so easy.” For audit manager Liz Harper, the key was taking a job with a Big Four firm willing to grant flexibility by the hour, day and season.“When the kids are in school, I work five days a week for six to seven hours,” says Harper, a senior manager working 60 percent time at accounting and consulting firm KPMG in Short Hills, New Jersey. “In summer, I work full days but take one or two days off each week,” says the mother of four children, ages 6 to 14. “On the off days, I’m still pretty much online,” taking some phone calls and checking email occasionally. And There’s No Stopping.
Can executives already in key positions advance even further while their kids are still in elementary school? They certainly aspire to.“I would like to become partner at some point,” says Sheran.The next step for Harper would also be a move up to partner. Although that may not happen while Harper is working less than full-time, her employer doesn’t rule out the possibility.
June 7, 2008
Fulfillment
I know a number of people and friends that have launched their own businesses, and this got me thinking....is that the only way to find fulfillment in your work? Many of these people have spent so much time and energy into their careers and at the end they quit their jobs and go out on their own. So if you have an entrepreneur's spirit, why wait? take the plunge and see what happens. I have never talked with anyone that has regretted launching their own business; even if it failed, at least they tried.
Ladies Who Launch (http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/) may be an organization of interest to women who have or will have their own business. Hope it helps.
Ladies Who Launch (http://www.ladieswholaunch.com/) may be an organization of interest to women who have or will have their own business. Hope it helps.
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