According to the Harvard Business Review (HBR), the negative label sometimes given to Generation X – slackers – may be holding them back in the workplace. New data reveals they are being overlooked for promotions at higher rates than employees from other generations. Gen Xers follow the Baby Boomers and precede Millennials. Researchers use birth years ranging from the mid-1960s to the early-1980s. Although this generation of adults should be peaking in their careers, many Baby [...]

I read a great article by Richard Moran, CEO of Frost & Sullivan, titled: The Worst Workplace Label: Unresponsive. Moran says, “Lots of words come to mind when describing bad traits that show up at work, such as sloppy, lazy, and clueless, but one descriptor is even worse: Unresponsive.”  Why? Because an unresponsive person sends out a message to others that I am too busy to respond or that you are not important enough for me [...]

I read an article by Travis Bradberry, co-author of the best-selling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, in which he lays out common mistakes that organizations make that cause good people to quit. While some rules are necessary, some are not. According to Bradberry, rules tend to exist to halt the outlandish behavior of a few individuals and can alienate your entire workforce. What are some of the worst rules that companies create? The six-month rule: no transfers [...]

Many people are wrapping up vacations this week and heading back to work for one of the busiest periods for organizations: Q4. Although you may think that your post-vacation vibes will carry you through the end of 2021, they won’t. Two-thirds of respondents to a 2018 American Psychological Association survey said that their post-vacation positive vibes dissipated within a few days. What’s a better mental health booster than taking a week-long vacation once or twice a [...]

I read a fascinating article on the Ladders $100K+ Club website, which states that the employees you should worry about losing are the average ones – the large group of ‘middle’ employees, or Average Achievers. Most work groups consist of a handful of high performers, many average employees, and a handful of under achievers. Most supervisors spend their time focusing on their top and low performers, which the article points out, is a mistake. Why? Because [...]

A MSN.com poll asked the question, “Would you choose the same career if you could do it over again?”  Believe it or not, 70 percent of respondents said, “No.” As someone who lives, eats, and breathes employee engagement, I can’t help but wonder what impact this has on the level that these employees are engaged. Is it merely a coincidence that 70 percent of people would not choose the same career and 64 percent of U.S. [...]