Do you know that some artists and designers have body dysmorphic disorder?
People with body dysmorphic disorder--an obsession with imagined physical flaws--are often drawn to careers in art and design. A group of psychiatrists compiled data about 400 mental-health patients, 100 with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and 100 each with severe depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Twenty percent of those with BDD were employed or educated in art or design, compared with 4 percent of those with serious depression, 3 percent with OCD, and none with PTSD. Parents might develop a more critical eye, which is then applied to their own appearances. Or they may have "idealized values about the importance of appearance, which have become overidentified with the self." Also undetermined is whether the artistic bent helps or hurts--deflecting attention from sufferers' own looks or making the preoccupation worse.
Read more...
Origin of Work-at-Home Lifestyle
Have you ever wondered who started telecommuting or work-at-home lifestyle?
Telecommuting", they call it.
And "telecommuter ", the term for one who works (for an employer or independently) from home, equipped with the basic gadgets (he may also be referred to as a "teleworker", "remote worker" or "distance worker"). Such gadgets are a telephone, a computer, and possibly a fax machine; with which one does his tasks and maintains communication with the office or person he works for.
A large percentage of American workers these days do their jobs (full-time, part-time, on contract or commission) at home. The jobs range from clerical, bookkeeping, accounting, billing, sales and marketing, to data entry, computer tasks, programming, to research, writing, public relations, to managerial — the list is endless. However, when the trend began sometime in 1963, it was mostly confined to computer programming.
According to June Langhoff, narrating the history of telecommuting, a programmer involved in an internet project (at that time known as Arpanet) based in Sta. Monica, California, quit his job to take care of his sickly pregnant wife. Realizing the programmer's importance in the project, a coworker persuaded management to set up an extra telephone line to the programmer's home and. to have him continue with the program through the use of a teletype machine. It was a decade later that the system was given the formal name "telecommuting" by a rocket scientist (Jack Nilles) connected with the NASA satellite communications project. Since 1990 Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia have adopted the work-from-home system.
Read more...
Telecommuting", they call it.
And "telecommuter ", the term for one who works (for an employer or independently) from home, equipped with the basic gadgets (he may also be referred to as a "teleworker", "remote worker" or "distance worker"). Such gadgets are a telephone, a computer, and possibly a fax machine; with which one does his tasks and maintains communication with the office or person he works for.
A large percentage of American workers these days do their jobs (full-time, part-time, on contract or commission) at home. The jobs range from clerical, bookkeeping, accounting, billing, sales and marketing, to data entry, computer tasks, programming, to research, writing, public relations, to managerial — the list is endless. However, when the trend began sometime in 1963, it was mostly confined to computer programming.
According to June Langhoff, narrating the history of telecommuting, a programmer involved in an internet project (at that time known as Arpanet) based in Sta. Monica, California, quit his job to take care of his sickly pregnant wife. Realizing the programmer's importance in the project, a coworker persuaded management to set up an extra telephone line to the programmer's home and. to have him continue with the program through the use of a teletype machine. It was a decade later that the system was given the formal name "telecommuting" by a rocket scientist (Jack Nilles) connected with the NASA satellite communications project. Since 1990 Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia have adopted the work-from-home system.
Read more...
10 Ways to Waste Time at Work
Yes. You read it right. Sometimes, there are days in the office which you have nothing else to do except some minor tasks here and there which can be done in an hour or even just for few minutes. So, to survive the boredom and to pass the time of the day, here are 10 ways to waste time at work:
1. Climb on your desk; shriek "Mouse!" and watch the office descend into chaos.
2. Volunteer to do the tea run. You'll be so popular when you return; no one will ask why you took an hour.
3. Pay frequent trips to the loo. When that gets boring, arrange a rendezvous with a friend for a gossip on the stairs.
4. Cultivate a slow, dignified walk. It will take you twice as long to get to the filing cabinet. You can stop for chats on the way too.
S. Take up smoking, then slip off for 10 minutes every hour to satisfy those cravings. Better still; pretend you've taken up smoking. It's cheaper, you don't ruin your health and you still get the cigarette breaks.
6. Say you've converted to a cult and must close your eyes and meditate for half an hour a day. If anyone queries it, say it is discrimination on grounds of religion.
7. Bring a nail file to work and file each fingernail for five minutes. Claim you've read a bong which says this will improve your typing speed.
8. Put on your specs, mess your hair to make you look busy and distracted, then sit at your screen e-mailing your friends around the globe.
9. Pick a story in the paper and start a debate about the case's rights and wrongs. Colleagues might come to blows and disrupt the whole morning.
10. Sneak into work early to make your desk really untidy, then spend half that morning conscientiously tidying it again.
Read more...
1. Climb on your desk; shriek "Mouse!" and watch the office descend into chaos.
2. Volunteer to do the tea run. You'll be so popular when you return; no one will ask why you took an hour.
3. Pay frequent trips to the loo. When that gets boring, arrange a rendezvous with a friend for a gossip on the stairs.
4. Cultivate a slow, dignified walk. It will take you twice as long to get to the filing cabinet. You can stop for chats on the way too.
S. Take up smoking, then slip off for 10 minutes every hour to satisfy those cravings. Better still; pretend you've taken up smoking. It's cheaper, you don't ruin your health and you still get the cigarette breaks.
6. Say you've converted to a cult and must close your eyes and meditate for half an hour a day. If anyone queries it, say it is discrimination on grounds of religion.
7. Bring a nail file to work and file each fingernail for five minutes. Claim you've read a bong which says this will improve your typing speed.
8. Put on your specs, mess your hair to make you look busy and distracted, then sit at your screen e-mailing your friends around the globe.
9. Pick a story in the paper and start a debate about the case's rights and wrongs. Colleagues might come to blows and disrupt the whole morning.
10. Sneak into work early to make your desk really untidy, then spend half that morning conscientiously tidying it again.
Read more...
Is Job Security Down?
Trusting your gut feeling is usually safe, but sometimes you can be led astray. And, if you trust your gut feeling that you have less job security today than in recent years, you would be both right and wrong.
A survey released showed that job tenure for male workers is on the decline, while the tenure for female workers has been holding fairly steady.
Pulling together census data and information found that job security for males dropped from 1983 to 1996 in all age groups studied.
At the same time, two of our female age groups showed slight reductions in tenure, while the other two age groups showed modest gains.
"I think what we see is the male-female differential for job tenure goes hand in hand with the differential in earnings," says Paul. "Men still have longer job tenure than women, but
women are closing the gap, just as they are closing the gap over time on earnings.
Paul says the study confirms the slipping job security that workers have been sensing in the 1990s, whether they have lost their jobs or not.
"Workers are changing jobs more frequently today and it isn't always by choice," he says. Corporate downsizings and restructurings have contributed substantially to shorter job tenures.
"A lot of job turnover today certainly had to do with the changing nature of the employee-employer relationship," he says.
But how do you explain why women's job security is not sliding, while men's security is?
Nancy, a San Diego psychotherapist and career counselor, believes that the job security measurements reflect workplace strides women have made in recent years.
"I think we are seeing women who have been in the workforce long enough to work themselves into the ranks of those who don't have to change jobs as often," Nancy says.
"In the past," she adds, "women didn't have the job-skill levels that protected them from layoffs or downturns."
At the same time, Nancy and Paul say that women might have benefited in recent years from family-friendly corporate policies that have allowed them to maintain their jobs while giving birth and raising children.
"I haven't seen any evidence to document that, but from our experiences in recent years, it certainly seems like that could be a factor," Paul says.
While job tenure for males is slipping from where it was 12 to 15 years ago, Paul points out that it is returning to levels it registered during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
"From a long-term historical perspective, what we are seeing is not 'so unusual," he says. "The increased churning of males in the job market in recent years is not without historical precedence. What's different this time, however, is the extended period in the decrease of job tenure for the past 13 years. We've never seen that before and that's probably linked to the changing work contract."
It may not be as easy to hold onto a job, but history has shown us that we've been through this before and survived.
Read more...
A survey released showed that job tenure for male workers is on the decline, while the tenure for female workers has been holding fairly steady.
Pulling together census data and information found that job security for males dropped from 1983 to 1996 in all age groups studied.
At the same time, two of our female age groups showed slight reductions in tenure, while the other two age groups showed modest gains.
"I think what we see is the male-female differential for job tenure goes hand in hand with the differential in earnings," says Paul. "Men still have longer job tenure than women, but
women are closing the gap, just as they are closing the gap over time on earnings.
Paul says the study confirms the slipping job security that workers have been sensing in the 1990s, whether they have lost their jobs or not.
"Workers are changing jobs more frequently today and it isn't always by choice," he says. Corporate downsizings and restructurings have contributed substantially to shorter job tenures.
"A lot of job turnover today certainly had to do with the changing nature of the employee-employer relationship," he says.
But how do you explain why women's job security is not sliding, while men's security is?
Nancy, a San Diego psychotherapist and career counselor, believes that the job security measurements reflect workplace strides women have made in recent years.
"I think we are seeing women who have been in the workforce long enough to work themselves into the ranks of those who don't have to change jobs as often," Nancy says.
"In the past," she adds, "women didn't have the job-skill levels that protected them from layoffs or downturns."
At the same time, Nancy and Paul say that women might have benefited in recent years from family-friendly corporate policies that have allowed them to maintain their jobs while giving birth and raising children.
"I haven't seen any evidence to document that, but from our experiences in recent years, it certainly seems like that could be a factor," Paul says.
While job tenure for males is slipping from where it was 12 to 15 years ago, Paul points out that it is returning to levels it registered during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.
"From a long-term historical perspective, what we are seeing is not 'so unusual," he says. "The increased churning of males in the job market in recent years is not without historical precedence. What's different this time, however, is the extended period in the decrease of job tenure for the past 13 years. We've never seen that before and that's probably linked to the changing work contract."
It may not be as easy to hold onto a job, but history has shown us that we've been through this before and survived.
Read more...
6 Rules on Office Romance
It's okay to get involved with somebody who works with you. But it will work to your advantage if you follow these rules:
• "Don't eat where you shit!" Have you heard of this saying? It means as much as possible, do not get involved with somebody who is in the same department, same cubicle, and same room! Do not get involved with somebody who stays only a few meters away from your table!
• Never fool around during office hours! Control your hormones until after you've punched out!
• Do not share a room when you attend company functions, even vacations!
• Avoid being alone in a room after meetings. Be with a group most of all, avoid Public Display of Affection (PDA) when you're still at the workplace.
• Do not wash your love linens in public! Quarrel if you must, but not in the office and not during office hours!
• Do not use company resources for your sweet nothings. Do not send romantic e-mails or faxes using company time and paper. Do not use company messenger/driver to deliver letters and/or gifts to one another.
Read more...
• "Don't eat where you shit!" Have you heard of this saying? It means as much as possible, do not get involved with somebody who is in the same department, same cubicle, and same room! Do not get involved with somebody who stays only a few meters away from your table!
• Never fool around during office hours! Control your hormones until after you've punched out!
• Do not share a room when you attend company functions, even vacations!
• Avoid being alone in a room after meetings. Be with a group most of all, avoid Public Display of Affection (PDA) when you're still at the workplace.
• Do not wash your love linens in public! Quarrel if you must, but not in the office and not during office hours!
• Do not use company resources for your sweet nothings. Do not send romantic e-mails or faxes using company time and paper. Do not use company messenger/driver to deliver letters and/or gifts to one another.
Read more...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
