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Year: 2013

The big picture of job performance can’t exclude civility

Q: “My boss has been giving me verbal warnings unrelated to my work. For example, a co-worker interrupted my lunch when I was having a bad day. I got snippy with her and told her to go away and leave me alone. After she complained, my boss gave me a warning. Another time, my boss changed a policy that affected my job. I got mad and told him not to make any more changes without talking to me first. He said I should not have gotten so upset. These personality issues have nothing to do with my job performance. I plan to take this issue to human resources, but how do I keep from sounding petty?”  Offended

Turn meetings into relationship builders

Meetings tend to get a bad rap. People complain that they stir conflict and competition among co-workers and generally represent a waste of time. It doesn’t have to be that way. Executive coach Mary Jo Asmus offers six ideas for organizing better meetings that can help strengthen workplace relationships.

5 words and phrases to avoid

Languages are living things that evolve over time, with new words created and old ones falling out of common use. Still, just because a lot of people use a word, or use it in a new way, doesn’t make it correct. Veteran copy editor and “word nerd” Tom Stern offers words and phrases to watch out for.

Ponder this benchmark when considering a job change

If you’re wondering if it’s time to see what other jobs might be out there for you, but are hesitating, ask yourself this simple question: “What was I doing exactly one year ago?” The answer may either give you a quick shove toward the door if you feel no sense of progress, or a dose […]

Learn to get a little selfish during a major life change

Q: “After his company closed, my husband relocated to the West Coast. He is quite likely to land a permanent position in the next month or so. I plan to join him as soon as possible, but we need to sell our home before I can leave. I’ve been with my company for twenty years, and I’m not sure when to notify them of my pending departure. Business is bad, so they might lay me off if I tell them too soon. On the other hand, if I wait too long, there may not be time for me to train my replacement. What’s your advice?”  Moving On

What motivates you?

There are basically two types of people in the workplace—those motivated to do well by prevention and those motivated by promotion, writes Heidi Grant Halvorson, associate director of Columbia Uni­­ver­­sity’s Motivation Science Center. Research shows these two types of people need different strategies to succeed.