My 1st grader comes out of school most every day chomping on bubble gum. When I was a kid in school, gum at any grade level was strictly prohibited, so this peaked my interest. “Where and how did you get bubble gum?” I asked one day when he got in the car. “I turned my penny in for it, my teacher gave it to me.” He said. Interesting. “How’d you get the penny?” I asked. “I helped clean up,” he said. I realized his teacher was using a method that is hot in HR now regarding employee rewards and recognition.
Is our elusive hunt for a work-life balance causing us undue stress in our lives and the lives of those around us? Generation X introduced the philosophy of the work-life balance in the 1970’s, and organizations and employees alike have spent the last few decades searching for that balance. But can anyone say they’ve found it? The major flaw with the work-life balance philosophy is that it’s based on the premise that your work self and your life self are two separate entities and to achieve balance, you must maintain that separation and seek a level of equality between the
Most people live in an “or” world. Whether we like it or not, we think in terms of always having to choose between two or more options or paths, rather than thinking in terms of “and”. I was reminded of this when hearing the CFO of Eli Lilly, Derica Rice, speak to a group of college students who have received scholarships he and his wife fund. He told them that he always thought in terms of “or”. I can have this career “or” that, but not both. I can have this life “or” this one, but not both. But
Working in career development, I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to work with individuals from all over the U.S., and I occasionally have clients that live or have lived abroad. It is eye opening to see how different cultures and areas of the country approach career planning. Embracing diversity and inclusion is important for job seekers, employers and career practitioners. Here are 3 ways to embrace Diversity and Inclusion: Job Seekers – Seek out companies that are searching for candidates based on culture fit. You can often recognize these organizations because their culture is evident in their marketing, mission statement
Returning home from the HR Tech Conference proved to be a challenge when it came to weighing our bags. One bag weighed too much. How did this happen? It wasn’t that way coming. It was all the swag from vendors! I was impressed by the vendors’ creativity in designing their gifts. I didn’t even have to buy a souvenir for my kids. I snagged a backpack for my son, nail polish (bright purple and pink, no less) for my daughter and a coloring book and colored pencils for them both. I got a monogrammed luggage tag for me, a personalized