Links You Can Use: November 12-16

Find out how to establish a cohesive work culture, how to "manage up" when a supervisor seems difficult, and why it's best to have zero expectations about privacy when using work email. All this, and more, in this week's Links You Can Use.

What's the most important thing in establishing a culture at work? One expert says it is the people you choose to hire and offers tips on selecting candidates. (Chicago Tribune)

A clinical psychologist offers advice on how to "manage up," especially when dealing with difficult bosses. (American Psychological Association)

Plugging the Brain Drain

The statistics are breathtaking: according to the Pew Research center,  every day from now until 2030, ten thousand Baby Boomers will turn 65. (1) Every day.

In other words, hordes of working people are retiring, planning to retire, or thinking about retiring.

Who are these people? Very often, they’re the people in your organization who best know the whys and wherefores of your projects and procedures. They’re the ones who have so internalized tasks and deliverables that they’ve never even written the steps down. They’re the ones who remember why a certain project succeeded and why another failed and how that affected the company’s direction. In short, they are the holders of what’s known as organizational memory.

And they’re retiring.

What can you do to capture their knowledge? How can you make sure they don’t take the organizational memory with them?

Links You Can Use: September 3-7

In recent years, news stories of fraud, insider trading, and other dishonest business activities have prompted the question: are we doing enough to teach business students about ethics? In other news, human resource staff are struggling with filling in the gaps left behind by retiring Baby Boomers, and a worker survey reveals that job retention is largely the result of very personal preferences. All this and more, in this week's Links You Can Use.

Are business schools effectively teaching ethics to their students? Experts are saying no, but there are some ways to improve business ethics training. (Slate)

According to the Workforce Retention Survey, "Work-Life Fit" and "Enjoying What I Do" were two of the top reasons why people chose to stay with a job. These findings echo some of the points from our post about the requirements for job satisfaction. (American Psychological Association)

The Three Requirements for Job Satisfaction

Companies sometimes lose excellent workers and don't know why.

If you ask people what makes a job continually satisfying, you may hear answers like salary, benefits, or job titles. These are, of course, important to an employee, but what about less concrete considerations?

Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers: The Story of Success is about the rarely discussed factors that play into professional success. In one chapter, he discusses the three requirements for job satisfaction. And guess what—they have nothing to do with money or status.

According to Gladwell, the three magical ingredients are:

Links You Can Use: July 9-13

Every week, we’ll pass on bits of wisdom and food for thought* concerning today’s workplace, the economy, productivity, work/life balance, and many more related issues—all from around the web. Bookmark us to get a weekly dose of up-to-date news stories and online tips and advice. Here are some Links You Can Use:

It can be challenging to get started on saving up money for emergencies and long-term goals like retirement. Fortunately, Feed the Pig offers simple, interactive tools that makes personal finances, well, kind of fun. The website features financial calculators, free savings tips, and a talking pig, naturally. (Feed the Pig)

Reduce stress and enhance your emotional well-being with some of these suggestions for improving your work-life balance. (SavvySugar)

Managing an Older Workforce

Retire at 65? These days that’s doubtful! People now enjoy better health as they age and, as a result, are able to remain in the labor force longer. Also, economic factors—an uncertain economy and an increase in the Social Security eligibility age, for example—create incentives for people to keep working. But it’s not just about economics—many older adults love their jobs! They work not because they have to, but because they want to.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1977 and 2007, employment of workers 65 and older increased 101%, compared to a much smaller increase of 59% for all employees. The number of employed men 65 and older rose 75%, but employment of women 65 and older increased by nearly twice as much, climbing 147%. While the number of employed people 75 and older is relatively small (0.8% of the employed in 2007), this group had the most dramatic gain, increasing 172% between 1977 and 2007.

So what are the implications for your workplace? Do older workers add value? Do they require special considerations?

The answers are “Yes” and “Sometimes.”

Tips for Building an Online Personal Brand

Do you have a Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube account? Do you blog? Have you ever “Liked” an article on a news or media site or commented on an article using your real name?

If you have, you have an online personal brand. Your virtual footprint gives people a picture of who you are, what you care about, and what your values are—that is, your brand. It includes anything that might show up in a search, including where you went to school, articles you may have published, clubs you may have joined, and so on.

And your personal brand may have quite a lengthy history. Take a minute to type your name into a search engine. Those results are your brand’s first impression. Would you want a potential employer to judge you by it?

Hiring Veterans

Since the recent tragedy in Afghanistan, stats are flying in the media about the percentage of returning vets who have traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). All of this media noise can make the idea of hiring a vet intimidating. However, on the one hand, it is illegal to discriminate against vets in hiring. On the other, there are many excellent reasons to hire veterans:

• The vast majority of jobs in the military provide direct experience, training, and skills transferrable to civilian jobs
• Many veterans, particularly officers, have strong leadership skills
• Many veterans have four-year degrees and/or technical certifications
• In general, veterans make up a large population of smart, mature, and experienced potential employees

Luckily, there are excellent resources available to help your organization and veterans work together smoothly and productively...