It made me realize how mixed together the media is in our personal and professional lives. You could be watching the ceremony and see your co-worker’s Facebook status pop up. The two worlds are mixing together whether or not we like it.

And then I came across this story in the Calgary Herald about a boss who fired her employee via a Facebook message. From the story:

The former spa worker, who concedes she was also hired via Facebook, had only been on the job for two weeks when she was let go with an electronic pink slip after failing to show up at a staff meeting on her day off.

It’s hard to say online communications are good for a hiring and bad for a firing…but it’s also hard to say that online termination is socially acceptable or preferable. Imagine opening your inbox expecting a funny forward with kittens in crazy hats, only to see you’re no longer employed.

So, as President Obama accepts his new job, I’m wondering how our job hunts will change in the future.

Is e-mail already a popular way to get hired that I’m unaware of?

Are people getting let go via Facebook and this is just the first time it’s made the news?

(Can we make it a rule that watching TV at work is always OK?)

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Here are some fictional books that focused at least partly on the workplace.

Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Devil Wears Prada.  These are two examples of funny fictional works with young professional women as protagonists. Bridget Jones and Andie Sachs both find their way into the publishing world, and the reader follows their journeys as they both try to fit into a new, competitive environment.

Mergers and Acquisitions. Author Dana Vachon’s subject matter parallels his own life: he was formerly an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase. The main character, Tommy Quinn, is also a fish out of water in his new role in the financial world, and navigates a complex web of co-workers and friends, with an unstable girlfriend to distract him.

Empire Falls. Richard Russo’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2001 book deals with a familar but disappearing workplace – a factory in the center of Empire Falls that employed and sustained its citizens and the town itself. Through its fictional characters, the book underscores the effects that the loss of those jobs can have on a small town.

So what are your favorite fictional books where the office, factory or workplace plays a big role?

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The contestants are still in Alaska, and they’re facing rough river currents and the occasional bear. It’s hard, back-breaking work. It’s also filled with danger. The contestants worked in teams over two days. Michaela and Sandy both emerged (again) as winners of this challenge, while Bryce, Phil, Steven and Ben are at the bottom of the barrel.

After an elimination round, Phil comes up with the least amount of gold and is sent home.

Were you surprised? Who do you think is winning the competition so far?

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But what about the average commute? Forbes.com assembled a list of the 10 cities with the best commute times and the cities with the 10 worst commutes.

The best:

1. Buffalo, NY
2. Salt Lake City, UT
3. Milwaukee, WI
4. Oklahoma City, OK
5. Pittsburgh, PA
6. Cleveland, OH
7. Hartford, CT
8. Kansas City, MO
9. Cincinnati, OH
10. Richmond, VA

And the worst:

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Detroit, MI
3. Miami, FL
4. Orlando, FL
5. Dallas, TX
6. Tampa, FL
7. Washington, DC
8. Houston, TX
9. Los Angeles, CA
10. San Francisco, CA

According to the survey, the cities with the best commute times overall were cities that had some advantages in terms of population and geography. The cities with the worst times often had antiquated roads that caused bottlenecks of traffic. Many of the “worst” cities also have experienced massive growth. As a result, demand has exceeded the capacity of the existing roads and transit systems.

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We use CBSalary.com as a salary range reference. But I think these salaries are far above and beyond any standard salary range!

Oprah Winfrey was at the top of the list, with an annual salary last year of $385 million. Simon Cowell from “American Idol” was next at $50 million, and late night talk show host David Letterman made $32 million.

You can see the overview of the TVGuide survey here.

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Professor Pausch and his family and friends are in our thoughts.

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The survey showed a continued trend of cautious hiring, and a gradual slowdown in the creation of new jobs. Matt Ferguson, the CEO of CareerBuilder.com, notes that “it’s a slower job market, but we’re not seeing aggressive declines in employment levels reminiscent of 2001.” 

Thirty-four percent of employers have slowed their recruiting efforts this year because of economic uncertainty. Employers are anticipating an upswing in the economy, but are divided on when it will occur.

Hiring trends

Several overall trends emerged from the survey:

• Many employers (29 percent) are retaining staff members they might not normally keep. Employers cited a lack of qualified candidates to replace the less-qualified staff. A surprising thirty-five percent of companies that responded indicated they had open positions that they could not identify viable candidates for. 
• On the flip side, a number of companies (26 percent) are taking advantage of the slower job market to strengthen their teams and replace poorly performing employees with better talent. 
• The passive job seeker contingent is growing, fueled by the economic slowdown and a growing fear of layoffs. Eighty-three percent of passive job seekers surveyed said they would consider a job opportunity if the right fit came along – up from 55 percent in 2006.

Demographics

A look at the survey data by demographic profile reveals some interesting trends. 

• Recruitment and hiring remain strongest in the South and West, while the Northeast and Midwest have seen the most significant rates of slowdown and reduction of staff. 
• IT is the industry with the strongest demand for new staff; 37 percent of IT employers indicated plans to add to their staff this year. A significant number of healthcare, sales and hospitality employers also said that they intended to add full-time, permanent employees.  
• Larger employers were much likelier to add to their staffs. Twenty-eight percent of employers with 51 to 250 employees and 27 percent of employers with more than 250 employees indicated they would add employees.

Compensation was an important component of the survey. As expected, high-demand industries like IT, healthcare and engineering were commanding the highest initial offers and subsequent raises from employees. Twenty-nine percent of employers indicated they did not intend to change compensation levels, and 2 percent said that they would decrease salaries.

In an atmosphere of uncertainty and economic slowdown, a significant number of workers (19 percent) indicated that they were actively looking for a new job. Retail workers were the most likely group, at 24 percent, to be pounding the pavement for new opportunities. Workers in healthcare, sales, and IT also indicated they were actively seeking new jobs.

And the pace of job changes continues to accelerate: Thirty-six percent of the workers surveyed indicated they changed jobs every three to five years. Half of those surveyed said they had worked for five or more employers, while one-in-ten had worked at 10 or more jobs. Patience was a must for job seekers, as 28 percent said it took two months or longer to land their most recent gig, and one-in-ten indicated that it took six months or longer to get a new job.

You can see more details and results of the survey here.

What does the future hold at your company? Tell us in the comments section.

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Here in our job seeker blog, we have talked before about some of the possible pitfalls of mixing alcohol and work-related functions. Whether you are blowing off steam after work or attending the annual holiday party, you can find great opportunities to bond with your coworkers and managers and become a solid team.

But sometimes, coworkers + large amounts of alcohol = serious trouble. Too many Pink Ladies just might land you a pink slip.  

Get happy

According to a new CareerBuilder.com survey, one in five workers say that they attend happy hour festivities with their co-workers at least once a month. Aside from the obvious benefits of happy hour, workers gave these reasons for getting happy at happy hours:

·         82 percent go to happy hour to bond with co-workers.

·         20 percent use their happy time to capitalize on networking opportunities.

·         15 percent say it’s all about getting the good office gossip.

·         13 percent of workers indicated they felt obligated to go.

·         11 percent of those who responded said they wanted to bond with the boss

Mixed drinks

Our survey indicated a wide range of workers who got happy at happy hour.

·         Men and women were equally likely to go.

·         Workers in the 25-34 age bracket had the highest attendance (29 percent) while those over 55 had the lowest (15 percent).

·         There’s a continental divide in happy hour attendance; workers in the Midwest were most likely to go (at 23 percent), while at 20 percent, workers in the Northeast were least likely to be seen out and about.

·         The industries with the highest rate of attendance at happy hour included professional and business services (35 percent), financial services (34 percent), IT workers (29 percent), the sales team (28 percent) and healthcare workers (24 percent).

Unhappy hours

Despite great intentions, there are some “unhappy hours” where the good times go bad. Our survey revealed a number of incidents and events where a happy hour ended with a stroll down the Walk of Shame.

·         16 percent of those who responded said that they talked negatively or inappropriately about a co-worker or manager.

·         10 percent shared a secret or confidence about a co-worker.

·         8 percent kissed one of their co-workers.

·         8 percent admitted that they drank too much and acted unprofessionally.

·         5 percent breached a confidence or secret about the company.

·         4 percent of workers admitted the scariest confession of all – they sang at karaoke!

Here’s a few ideas on how to make quality time with your coworkers be a buzz and not a buzzkill.

Eat, then drink and be merry.

If you’re heading to happy hour right after work, chances are you’re going to end up drinking on an empty stomach. That makes your body absorb any alcohol much quicker, which can have a big effect on your body and your behavior. To avoid this pitfall, try eating in the afternoon about an hour before the end of your workday.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Avoid any temptation to drink for an audience. You may have a competitive work environment or team, but assuming that you have to match them drink for drink is a bad idea. If you intend to have more than one drink, be sure to pace yourself. If “happy hour” ends up lasting for several hours, alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic ones.

Location, location, location.

Everyone wants a spot with great food and awesome drinks. You should also look for a place that has room to move around in and areas for games. Old standbys like pool and darts are one option. Many places with the space and resources will also organize games. You can still get your drink on, but engaging your mind and interacting with co-workers makes you less likely to be glued to the barstool.

Set boundaries.

To avoid any uncomfortable moments, set some expectations and boundaries for the experience you and your co-workers want to have. That may mean defining what is on the list of libations (shots are NEVER a good idea). It is probably a good idea for everyone to buy their own drinks, to avoid any hurt feelings if someone forgets to pick up a round (or always avoids doing so). And most importantly, you may want to define a time limit, so that everyone has a clear sense of when playtime is over.

Hopefully, these ideas will lead to some rewarding face time with co-workers – instead of a face plant in front of the boss!

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Not much seems to be going on in the world of work, but here are a couple of headline’s that caught my eye:

Pilot fired for buzzing Washington airfield

Anchor uses own newscast to unveil run for office

Assistant principal arrested

Mental facility employee investigated for bringing saw to work

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