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The Psychological Price of Unfair Pay
The Huffington Post: It's going to be a gloomy Labor Day for many this year. The national unemployment rate, now 9.1 percent, won't seem to budge, and many states are doing worse than that. The unemployment rate in California exceeds 12 percent, with some communities registering staggering rates of more than 30 percent. Yet jobs go begging. I see jobs advertised in store windows of my hometown, Washington, D.C., where 1 in 10 workers is out of work. Many working Americans find this perplexing. Isn't it simple economics that the unemployed would take these jobs -- indeed, welcome any job -- when times are rough?
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Do Happier People Work Harder?
The New York Times: LABOR DAY is meant to be a celebration of work. Yet, on this Labor Day, few have reason to rejoice. Even those who have jobs. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which has been polling over 1,000 adults every day since January 2008, shows that Americans now feel worse about their jobs — and work environments — than ever before. People of all ages, and across income levels, are unhappy with their supervisors, apathetic about their organizations and detached from what they do. And there’s no reason to think things will soon improve. Employee engagement may seem like a frill in a downturn economy. But it can make a big difference in a company’s survival.
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Creativity Not as Well Received as We Think
Discovery News: Using creativity to solve problems is usually encouraged and championed as companies' secret to success. But researchers have questioned whether people actually welcome creative tastes with open arms. At least among adult college students, the team found somewhat the opposite. Because creative ideas are also new, they seem to give rise to uncertainty or even discomfort for others who depend on the tried-and-true way of doing things. To reduce uncertainty, subconsciously rejecting a creative idea may be easier than accepting it. Even in cases in which creative ideas show promise, it's still hard for other people to accept them, researchers say.
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Women not risk averse, study finds
Financial Post: A growing number of studies suggest having women in a company's boardroom and executive suites fundamentally changes the corporation's decision-making process -and can improve the balance sheet. While this is usually attributed to the fact women take fewer risks than men, a study published this month suggests the stereotype of women as cautious risk-avoiders misses the mark. Bernd Figner, a scientist at the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia Business School who studies when and how people take risks, suggests women are every bit as likely to step outside their security zones as men - the two sexes just do so in different ways. Read the whole story: Financial Post
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7 Simple Ways to Stay Healthier at Work
ABC News: Spending an average of 40 hours per week at work can be physically and mentally draining, but the workplace can also be unhealthy in other ways as well. Sitting or standing for long periods of time can cause pain and other adverse effects, and there can also be nutritional traps, such as vending machines, that could contribute to weight gain. But experts say there are numerous things people can do to make their workplaces healthier. The following pages feature simple tips for keeping healthy at work. Check out 1-7 here: ABC News
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Does Money Make You Unhappy?
Wired: David Brooks has an excellent column on the diminishing returns of luxury living: Often, as we spend more on something, what we gain in privacy and elegance we lose in spontaneous sociability. I once visited a university that had a large, lavishly financed Hillel House to serve as a Jewish center on campus. But the students told me they preferred the Chabad House nearby, which was run by the orthodox Lubavitchers. At the Chabad house, the sofas were tattered and the rooms cramped, but, the students said, it was more haimish. Restaurants and bars can exist on either side of the Haimish Line.
