Nitty-gritty minute-taking
“I hate taking minutes. What do I write down? How do I know what’s important?” Streamline your minute-taking by recording notes as bullet points. Distill any conversation down to its essentials.
Pay check
Before you head into your boss’s office to discuss a raise—or negotiate salary with a new employer—figure out how much you should be paid. Here’s how.
Avoid ‘social gaze’ and mean business
Sometimes, the relationships between men and women in the office become more flirtatious than they should be. When that happens, it can seriously degrade a woman’s ability to be taken seriously, particularly if she isn’t in a position of power.
Dealing with ‘difficult’ co-workers
Even if you’re not the person’s manager, you can gently coach a “difficult” co-worker toward positive behavior. Try taking the employoee aside after a meeting and follow these steps.
Checking in not checking up on others
There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re being constantly monitored, says Jack Mitchell, author of Hug Your People. Better than checking up on people is checking in.
‘Work longer?’ Boomers defer retirement
Anyone revved up to work longer and retire later? Workers may not have a choice, suggests a new book, Working Longer: The Solution to the Retirement Income Challenge.
Kick up your meetings
Respondents in Britain deemed cookies more important than lighting, technology and artwork in a boardroom.
Music to your ears
If you do your best work with a tune in the background, pump up the volume with these web sites. They work like free, intelligent jukeboxes. You enter a song, band or composer you like, and the web site plays other music that it suspects you’ll like.
Make a good impression by copycatting
You’ve probably heard of mirroring, subtly copying someone else’s mannerisms to win the person over. When you want to make a good impression—fast—try these.
Suspect domestic violence? What to do
What if you suspect a worker has an abusive partner? Some companies, including Liz Claiborne, Kaiser Permanente and Verizon Wireless, have instituted domestic-violence policies. Here’s how to assist a domestic-violence victim at work.