Buh Bye Cubicles, Hello Open Offices

The New York Times reports that average amount of space per office worker in North America dropped to 176 square feet in 2012, from 225 in 2010, and that real estate experts say there is no doubt that workers are being shoehorned into even less space. This means that everyone will get to hear those loud calls about how long your mother-in-law will be staying or why the $1,500 medical bill the collection agency insists you owe should really be covered by insurance, the paper says.

Career Stuck? Change your GPS in 2015

By Peter C. Diamond

The beginning of a new year brings the promise of a fresh start. However, like many others, you may struggle with a stalled career or lack of personal and professional growth. The prospect of initiating change is daunting. This is particularly true if you’re looking for a job, wanting to change companies or start a new career.

Read More

Rethinking Traditional Benefits

By Hayley Fisher

As the battle for top talent continues in the hiring space, it’s clear that money is no longer the only important motivator for jobseekers. As such, companies have begun offering unique benefits as a new incentive to keep their competitive edge.

Read More

Want to Get Ahead?

By Sara Leoni

Women have made huge strides in achieving leadership positions at companies, but still have a long way to go to close the gender gap. Here are some tips on how to take the plunge to move into leadership positions.

· Hard work is everything: The first rule of business is that you’re working for the company, they’re not working for you. Starting from the bottom and working yourself up the ladder is a fact of life. Work hard and soak in as much as you can at those lower levels. Working your butt off from the start of your career will help you drive forward and determine what you’d ultimately like to be. Good things don’t happen just because you say you want to become a CEO. They happen when you work hard to become a better leader.

· Take risks: From my experience, men seem to throw caution to the wind and take major risks. Women, on the other hand, are more conservative. We want to know if we’ll succeed before taking that first step forward. Unfortunately, that can make us our own worst enemies when trying to change things up. We need to throw our inhibitions aside more often and accept that even if we fail in the end, the risk and learning experience are worth it. Read More

Let’s Talk Out Loud

One of the most meaningful moments in the Oscars last night was almost missed as the producers turned up the music to signal time’s up.   But director Dana Perry kept going anyway.

When Patricia Arquette won for Best Supporting Actress, she used the worldwide Oscar stage to advocate for equal pay.

What issues do you think should be talked about openly with candor in the workplace?  If you were to speak up for what you really cared about, what would that be?

Share with us below.

Biden’s Touch, Appropriate or Not?

Joe Biden, Munich Security Conference,
CC BY-NC-SA

When Vice President Joe Biden put his hands on the shoulders of our new defense secretary’s wife this week, was it a giant etiquette faux pas or simply an innocent display of affection?

As her husband, Ash Carter, spoke a few feet away, a standing Biden put both hands on the shoulders of Stephanie Carter, then whispered something in her ear.

Biden’s fans say that his action signified nothing and that as seasoned politician he has a
long history of hugging women — and men — in public. But detractors and a Joe Biden variety of etiquette experts said he appeared to make Stephanie Carter uncomfortable and, as such, was wrong.

We’ve all seen men and women do exactly the same thing to other men and women at countless public events — without it raising eyebrows or having people immediately assume that one person is hitting on the other or invading his or her space.

Which raises this question: in our current culture of violence and hatred, is there anything wrong with public displays of innocent affection? Wasn’t there a time in our not-so-distant past when “bro-hugs” — now commonplace — raised eyebrows?

What’s your opinion? Did Biden over-touch or were his actions perfectly justified?