Hapless Assistants
No doubt, Miranda Priestly was an impossible boss. The hyper-demanding executive played by Meryl Streep in last year's The Devil Wears Prada threw clothes at her cowering assistants, phoned at all hours, and consistently demonstrated a manage-ment style best described in the film as sadistic, "but not in a good way." Sure, there are real-life Mirandas (and plenty of Michaels, too), who can turn freshly minted Yale summas and magnas into all-thumbs incompetents. But there's a flip side to the boss-underling dynamic--the hapless assistant who could even slow down Martha Stewart (obviously, not for long). Forbes.com

Looking at Diversity in the Workplace
The history of this country is marked by blacks who have achieved success because they are focused, disciplined, prepared, dedicated, and uniquely themselves. To suggest that black men should shrink from visibility or not advance new and bold ideas, simply to appease colleagues who may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with our presence and personas, is disabling to a black person in a mostly white workplace. Boston.com

Workplace Psychology
American workers, hardened by more than 20 years of mass layoffs, are more likely today to be victims of a "psychological recession," according to Judith Bardwick, an expert on workplace psychology. Many workers today feel they are living in a chaotic world of job insecurity, she says in her book, "One Foot Out the Door." Relying on questionnaire data, primarily from 1998 to 2005, she claims those workers are no longer committed to their companies or their work responsibilities. Associated Press

When you’re thinking about changing careers remember that the key word is “change.” My first career was in fashion. I worked in the garment district in New York City and eventually became a copywriter for major catalogs. Strangely enough, my transition from fashion copywriter to computer programmer was not as hard as I’d expected. Probably because after I was hired as a programmer, I spent a few months in a training program before being assigned to a department. Then there was another period of transition between being a “junior” person and becoming a senior programmer.

A Balancing Act
Writing about life and work means receiving a steady stream of research on how women in the workplace are viewed differently from men. These are academic and professional studies, not whimsical online polls, and each time I read one I feel deflated. What are women supposed to do with this information? Transform overnight? And if so, into what? How are we supposed to be assertive, but not, at the same time? New York Times

Empathizing Employers
It is perhaps equally notable that Deborah Venable is willing to look vulnerable in front of her employees as it is that her male colleagues don't balk at telling her they're stressed out and exhausted. At the same time, a male employee told Venable he was coping with a sick child who was in and out of the hospital, and he was going to be absent whenever his son needed him. "The whole group understands nurturing and empathy," Venable said of her 22-person office. But it's key that everyone continues to pull their weight, she added. "I still have to pay the bills and run a profitable business." Chicago Tribune

A Shift in the Workforce
Why are Gen-X women so vital? According to projections, fifty percent of the workforce will retire within the next 10 years. On top of that, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's "Survey of Consumer Finance" and the Small Business Administration, one in 15 Gen-X women are leaving corporations, either to find a new company to work for or to pursue their own entrepreneurial endeavor. In other words, older workers are set to leave in droves over the next few years, and the younger workers on payroll today, especially the women, see their jobs as temporary. HR.BLR.com

“I accept things for what they are”, rolls off the tongue in a liberating sort of way. It feels refreshing, exhilarating and can be the sweetest thing one has ever known after a long struggle trying to bring about an unnatural change. Yes, acceptance is an absolutely amazing thing to achieve but the reality is it’s often easier said than done. Accepting someone or something means that despite how much you dislike their attributes you are willing to either love or leave them as is.

Healthy Workplace Bill
With research indicating some 54 million Americans are bullied at work, state lawmakers are considering a healthy workplace bill. Work bullies cost employers millions in stress-related illnesses, absences and lost productivity. And Ruth says bullying isn't the same as tough management, but rather dumping misery on someone else. "Verbal abuse, or conduct that is threatening, intimidating or humiliating -- it is the undermining of somebody's work, it is sabotage.," Dr. Gary said. Without a law protecting victims, they often wind up in court or quit. KEPRTV.com

Diversity Programs
White men, frequently shut out of the debate on workplace diversity, can be a major force for making positive changes, a consultant said Thursday. With white men comprising a vast majority of corporate decision makers, it only makes sense to include them in discussions of how to make women and minorities feel more appreciated and accepted at work, said Tim McNichol of White Men as Full Diversity Partners LLC, a Portland, Ore.-based company that helps businesses enact diversity programs. Birmingham News

Incorporating Humor Skills
One episode of “The Office” will show you how not to use humor in the workplace. But when done with the right touch, humor can defuse tense situations, create an atmosphere of trust and help people relate to one another, said participants at the second-annual Oregon Women’s Comedy Festival. Do it wrong and embarrassment is the least of your worries. Register Guard

In my early 20’s, I remember Dan Quayle was having his 15 minutes of glory. His seemingly negative statements about America’s “poverty of values” and the lack of “family values”, was laughed at by most people. Many thought he needed to loosen up and get with the times. Funny how our hindsight or his foresight was 20/20. Look at the times now. We are still bombarded with negative images of women all day long. I am sooo over the imploding celebrities like Britney, Paris and Lindsey.

Reasons Why More Women Call in Sick than Men
The good news: Workers are calling in sick less often than they did just a decade ago.
The bad news: Women are still absent nearly twice as often as their male counterparts in the work place. It’s been a perpetual problem in the worplace; women tend to call in sick more often than men. But the why — even though you may think you know the answer — isn’t that clear cut, nor should it be. MSNBC.com

A Conundrum Indeed
Women are expected to be interpersonal and nurturing in the workplace, but if they are, they can be labeled weak and ineffective. And while men are given the pass, even respect, when they are angry, women often are written off as out of control. Strong women also are seen as harsh and interfering, less abrasive women as push-overs and incompetent. So what is a woman to do? The Wichita Eagle

Family Responsibilities Discrimination
As the number of employees with elder and child care demands grows, more workers are filing lawsuits claiming they've been discriminated against on the job because of their family caregiving obligations.The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which recently issued its first guidance for employers about the issue, reports an "upsurge" in cases -- with many resulting in awards to plaintiffs. The guidance provides examples of how bias can occur so that employers are aware of the risk. Gannett News Service

Closet Gay Workers
Imagine coming to work every day and having to pretend to be someone else. Imagine you're Joe Smith from Indianapolis, but you have to remember to be John Sales from Boston. You've got to do the accent, to have a whole back story, cover up the inevitable slips. Stressful, right? That's what closeted gay workers say they experience every day, says a new study by Belle Rose Ragins and Romila Singh of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and John M. Cornwell of Rice University. The article, “Making the Invisible Visible: Fear and Disclosure of Sexual Orientation at Work,” was published in The Journal of Applied Psychology. Time Magazine

No Degree Needed
You don't always need that piece of Latin-laden paper to pull in six figures. You don't need to invent something to get rich. And you don't need to look far for a lucrative opportunity. There are plenty of honest livings to be made in the U.S workforce that can earn you six-figure salaries sans a college degree. That's not to say you won't be required to undergo extensive training or work long hours, but at least you won't be lugging around that student debt. It's important to note that they're not all "blue-collar" jobs, a term that has become outdated when describing skilled-trade work. Forbes.com

Job Outlook for 2008
Expect a mixed bag in the job market. Although companies are expected to be more cautious about hiring, no one is predicting widespread layoffs. And while the pace of job creation is expected to slow, companies are still planning roughly the same salary increases as they offered this year, about 3.8 percent on average, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting. But your job security and ability to snag a raise will depend a lot on your line of work. Money Magazine

A New Generation Heading Back Home?
On September 20, 2005, The New York Times published an article that reported many of the highly educated women of Yale just wanted to be housewives. This trend was touted as an example of the "opt out revolution" first floated in the '90s: women who rejected the life of a modern career women and chose instead a return to the traditional life of a wife and mother. Supposedly, the women of the country's elite universities were not making it to the top because they "chose not to." The Huffington Post

Preparing Our Daughters
As young parents of three girls, living in California during the late Sixties and early Seventies, Meredith and I couldn’t help but be aware of the rising level of dialogue, debate, commentary, and proclamations about the place of women in society and about how to raise females in light of this raised consciousness. It made the new experience of parenthood more interesting, and we knew that our daughters would be coming of age in a world very different from the one in which we were raised. But, like most parents, we were not prepared to accept every polemic on how to raise women. MSNBC.com

One Industry Seeking Diversity
Record numbers of women are taking up careers in science and engineering. Over the past two decades, the percentage of women in these male-dominated fields has more than doubled, from 12% to 25%, according to the National Science Foundation. Still, this shift is not enough to fill the growing need for engineering and manufacturing professionals. That's why there's a nationwide push to involve more women -- and minorities -- in these vital industries. One major reason women have avoided manufacturing and engineering careers is their perception of the workplace. Industry Week

Humor in the Office
Kidding around at work is commonly thought of as perilous, as the hit sitcom "The Office" often explores to wincing extremes. Now intense research finds light humor at work is a good thing. In their study, "The Case for Developing New Research on Humor and Culture in Organizations: Toward a Higher Grade of Manure," researchers analyzed theories on humor, emotion and mood from several hundred studies in the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, philosophy and communications. MSNBC.com

One Strong Wom--, er, Person
Can anybody tell me what a gender card is anyway and where you buy one? After last week, I'm beginning to think that none of us is playing with a full deck. Let me review the long, winding, XY-rated aftermath of the Oct. 30 debate in which most candidates focused their, um, attention on the front-runner. The Clinton folks had the gall to put up a video called "The Politics of Pile-On." For revealing the hitherto unknown fact that Clinton's opponents were all men, the campaign was accused of saying that the boys had ganged up on the girl. Cincinnati Post

Pregnancy-Related Discrimination
Despite federal and state laws to ensure fair treatment of pregnant women in the workplace, claims of pregnancy-related employment discrimination are on the rise. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saw pregnancy discrimination claims jump 23 percent from 1997 to 2006. Pregnancy discrimination cases are increasing at the same time that race and gender cases are declining. Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J., has a hunch why. Pennlive.com

On-line shopping, a dream come true for working mothers who don’t have time to shop in brick and mortar stores. My first step for many retail transactions is to search on-line to determine if I can make my purchase there. If not, to find the closest store. Lately, I’ve received promotional offers via email for an added discount if I shop on-line or use a particular credit card - Interactive Marketing Bonus! It’s a Win-Win for everyone.

Workplace Discrimination Banned
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill banning workplace discrimination against gays. An array of Jewish groups backed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which passed late Wednesday by a vote of 235-184. They included the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Reform movement and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Gender-Related Negotiation
It was this scholarly perspective that occasioned “Gender and Negotiation,” a two-day conference last week (Nov. 1-2) in the Peter and Isabel Malkin Penthouse at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Co-sponsors included the Kennedy School’s Women and Public Policy Program, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, and the Center for Gender in Organizations at the Simmons School of Management. Harvard University Gazette

Muslim Women and the Workplace
Women in predominantly Muslim countries are struggling to compete for jobs, win equal pay and hold political office, falling behind the rest of the world in eliminating discrimination, a report said Thursday. Nordic nations, by contrast, received the best overall grades for gender parity in education, employment, health and politics, according to the review of 128 countries compiled by the World Economic Forum. The United States received mixed marks. SignonSandieago.com

I have a collection of hats I wear, both figuratively and literally. When it’s literally, the hat must match the outfit. When it’s figuratively, the hat can be any style or color, since it represents what I do on any given day, going from blogger to marketer to publicist to memoirist to novelist to therapist, to mom, to sister, and to daughter—and not necessarily in that order. However, I’m not unique.

Managing Email
Every morning when he flips on his office computer, Thomas Boston rips with a fury into the hundreds of e-mails that have silently invaded his computer's inbox. But for every one he kills, reinforcements quickly pop up. "E-mail is the Trojan horse of office productivity," says Boston, an economics professor at Georgia Tech and owner of the EuQuant research firm. "Most people I know spend more time checking e-mails than reading for knowledge or pleasure. I can easily spend three hours each day on e-mail-related tasks." The Atlanta Journal Constitution

Manipulated by Alpha Males
Men may have created the glass ceiling in the workplace, says Christopher Flett, but women keep it there by kowtowing to men and allowing themselves to be easily manipulated by the alpha males of the world. If that statement gets your juices flowing, that's just the reaction the man some have called a ''management shock jock'' is looking for with a new book called, What Men Don't Tell Women About Business: Opening Up the Heavily Guarded Alpha Male Playbook, (Wiley, $22.95). ''I don't mince words,'' Flett says. ''I think too many people are trying to be politically correct and the message just gets muddied.'' Salt Lake Tribune

Equal Opportunity Abusers
Elizabeth White used to work for a boss who singled out a different person to ridicule at every meeting. "Every idea the person presented was wrong," she recalls. "For the whole meeting, the person's contributions would be shot down. Inevitably he would break out the phrase, 'What kind of idiot would come up with an idea like that?' "We would slouch down in our chairs and hope it wasn't our turn," adds White, a Chicago-area manager who quit for another job. "He was an equal opportunity picker-on." People who harass minorities or women do so at their peril because they risk running afoul of federal civil rights laws. Chicago Tribune

Management Positions and Multicultural Women
Although only two women of color now head Fortune 500 companies, their percentags in corporate management is growing. But is it enough? Not according to ASCENT, a bold new initiative to increase the number of multicultural women in management positions. Non-white women now are 17.6 percent of all managers in corporate America, according to the latest Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data. By comparison, they are 27 percent of the managers in The 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity®. DiversityInc.com

Women Exiting the Cable Industry
Despite an increase in awareness and programs designed to attract, retain and promote women employees, female workers have been slowly but steadily exiting the cable industry for the past five years, according to data from the latest Women In Cable Telecommunications' PAR Initiative study. The number of women in cable dropped across all categories, with the exception of women of color, which has actually seen growth over the past half decade. Broadcast Newsroom

Looking to Work for Yourself?
You don't need a fancy pedigree or specialized set of skills to launch a business. Some start-ups require more capital than others, of course, and all companies demand care and feeding. But if you can muster the courage, do a bit of research and secure a tax identification number (so Uncle Sam can take his cut), you can be your own boss.
Low-tech ventures that work best tend to target a devoted customer base and offer an easy-to-grasp product or service. Take dog walking (as in, walking dogs). Forbes.com

Ok, I have to admit that before I had children, I would wonder…. how do their parents allow that, or how does something like that happen? Now that I have joined the ranks of parenthood, I am the one who is probably being critiqued or criticized by others. With my busy schedule of working from home and balancing the lives of my young children, I have had my share of crazy situations.

“Never Let a Man Think You’re Smarter”
Perhaps smart women can take hope — as long as they’re built like Marilyn Monroe. Scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Pittsburgh have released a zany study on the zaftig, positing that men are drawn to hourglass figures not only because they look alluring, but because hips plumped up by omega-3 fatty acids could mean smarter women bearing smarter kids. Catalyst, an organization that studies women in the workplace, found that women who behave in ways that cleave to gender stereotypes — focusing on collegiality and relationships — are seen as less competent. But if they act too macho, they are seen as “too tough” and “unfeminine.” New York Times

One State’s Workplace Law
On Tuesday, Oregon issued rules to help businesses comply with a new law requiring employers to grant unpaid leave to workers who need the time to seek legal help, pursue a court order or move out of a home to get away from a violent partner. The rules come six months after the Legislature passed the leave bill, making Oregon only the ninth state with such a measure. Gov. Ted Kulongoski quickly signed it and made it effective immediately, and he has since directed state agencies to establish domestic-violence policies by February. Oregonlive.com

Cable Provider Given Honors for Focusing on Women’s Issues
For the fifth year in a row, Cox Communications Inc. sits atop the list of cable providers when it comes to women in the workplace. Women in Cable Telecommunications, an organization that tracks issues relating to women in the industry, ranked Cox ahead of other cable operators, including Comcast Cable and Time Warner Cable. The award was part of the 2007 Pay Equity, Advancement Opportunities and Resources initiative, a partnership between the women's group and Working Mother Media. Oxygen Media was named the best programmer for women in cable. Phoenix Business Journal

I think job interviews are like first dates. You’re on your best behavior, you make sure to look presentable and you laugh at the jokes – no matter how trite. Then when it’s over you either think you’ve found what you’ve been looking for, or you’re sorry you bothered to leave the house.

After those first interviews (or dates) there’s the honeymoon period. The new manager is attentive, the coworkers invite you to lunch, you don’t know enough to be stuck working extra hours. No pressure. You get your new cube, your new pc and if you’re lucky, office supplies. Then one day the honeymoon ends.

Disparaging Language or Slang?
Call a woman the b-word, and most likely she's offended. Or does it depend who's using that little word that rhymes with witch? "Today" show anchor Meredith Vieira recently greeted her former co-hosts on "The View" with, "So how are you crazy bitches?" But the term has been used to insult women since the 1400s and, since the 1500s, sometimes men, too, said John Baugh, a linguist at Washington University in St. Louis. The word was "the most offensive appellation that can be given to an English woman, even more provoking than that of whore," according to the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Seattle Times

Vacation-Interrupted Insurance
I JUST booked a brief vacation, to a warm place, now that the weather is finally turning cold and the holidays loom. I clicked through all the usual disclaimers on the travel Web site — the hotel is nonrefundable; changes to flights can be made only with a hefty fee. Then I turned my attention to trip-cancellation insurance, and something new appeared. Would I care to buy added insurance, I was asked, that allows me to cancel my trip if I have to work? New York Times

A Polyglot Society
Foreign language courses are booming on American college campuses, a new study finds, with enrollment in Arabic more than doubling from 2002 to 2006. Enrollments in languages such as Russian and Arabic have traditionally spiked with world events, but Karin Ryding of the MLA and a professor of Arabic at Georgetown said she thinks these increases will stick. "Young people today understand that the world is truly and inevitably smaller, and they're coming to the study of Arabic with serious, professional goals in mind," she said. Yahoo! News

Forget the fancy shoes and the handbag you’ve been eyeing. If you buy yourself one gift this holiday season, make it a shredder.

Yup, you read it right. A shredder.

Last year eight million people were victims of identity fraud in this country. It’s almost impossible to be among a group of friends or strangers these days where at least one person hasn’t had his or her identity stolen. In fact, every second, two more people become victims of identity theft, web threats or data loss.

I was one of them. My wallet was stolen and a clever crook opened more than a dozen new accounts in my name within 48 hours. A month later I began receiving statements from stores I’d never stepped foot in welcoming me and thanking me for my purchases. I spent endless hours sending in police reports and affidavits of fraud – assuring them these charges weren’t mine. It took many months for the mess to be cleared from my credit report, yet the chilling impact remains on my mind.

Assess Your Risk
On its website, Staples offers a 10-question quiz to measure your security risk. Click here and take two minutes to take the test. You may be surprised by what your answers about daily habits reveal.

Homemade Confetti
Since many security breaches occur close to home and work with thieves rummaging through trash, I no longer casually dump mail with account numbers or other personal data.

At home I take caution when disposing of those unsolicited credit cards that arrive pre-printed with my name. At the office we’re careful of how to throw out paper resumes when it’s time to get rid of them.

The Staples MailMate 3 Shredder is one of my favorite new office supplies. I’m going to buy one for home too. It’s small, yet powerful. Not only will it convert our paper and unwanted mail into colorful confetti, it also shreds CDs and credit cards. Even with space at a premium, the compact size is perfect.

Share Your Experiences
Most people think it’ll never happen to them. They’re sure that “those crazy things” only happen once in a blue moon to people who expose themselves carelessly. We want your help to dispel that myth. Ever been a victim of identity fraud? Share your tales of woe to others will take precautions to avoid a similar fate.

Another Workplace Issue: Arthritis
Often thought of as a condition affecting grandparents and retirees with creaking joints, there are multiple kinds of arthritis, many of which - like rheumatoid - affect young people, said Mary Wright, occupational therapist at the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center at Toledo Hospital. About a third of Americans with arthritis say the condition has limited their ability to work, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released last month. And as the U.S. population ages and starts dealing with osteoarthritis, the most common form, the condition will become a bigger issue for both employers and employees, said Dr. Harvey Popovich, an occupational medicine physician with Mercy Health Partners. Toledoblade.com

Gender Equity
Most businesspeople can cite the factors for smart economic growth: access to money, reasonable interest rates, sensible government policies. Andrew Morrison, a senior economist with the World Bank, adds another: gender equity. "Gender equity matters because it's a matter of intrinsic fairness," said Morrison, brother of Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce President Chip, who did the introductions at this month's Great Falls Forum. "A second argument ... is that it is not only unfair, it's inefficient. The converse to gender inequality is smart economics." Sun Journal

Career Penalty
With women delaying marriage and parenthood in favor of higher education and better careers, never in California's history have so many remained childless through their childbearing years. One in four women in California are now childless in their early 40s - nearly double the rate in 1980, the highest since record-keeping began in 1870, and a significantly higher rate than for the United States overall. And yet, never have so many Californians given birth in their 40s. With teen birth rates continuing to drop, the bulk of childbearing is moving out of the teens and 20s and into the 30s - or later. Birth rates for women in their early 40s have tripled over the past two decades, for reasons both social and economic. Mercury News

In a recent article in the NY Times by Maureen Dowd, "Should Hillary pretend to be a flight attendant?" there was a premise that first was shocking to me. As with evolution of digesting the information, I concluded it so wasn't shocking after all as I realized among my facebook buddies whom I shared the piece: it's actually empowering.

There it was in black and white print. A Columbia University economics professor conducted a two-year study on dating. The results, even in the 21st century, show that men still pigeonhole women into stereotypes. In other words, it's like the Sex and the City episode where Miranda went speed-dating. When she tells them she's a lawyer, men lost interest. When she says she was a flight attendant, however, they became more interested.

Is it About More than Gender?
Recently I infuriated a lot of people by pointing out that, now that women are being allowed to do things that have traditionally been the province of men, they're really not doing all that well. Of course, I know it's the duty of everyone to ignore the facts and make women feel like they're just as capable as men, no matter what the results. It's not as important that a firefighter be able to carry a 150-lb. adult out of a burning building as it is for women not to feel left out of firefighting. Men’s News Daily

Paycheck Size May Mean Less Housework
The more money a married woman earns, the less housework she will do regardless of how much her spouse earns, according to a new study. A researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that big paychecks equal less cooking and cleaning in a study of 918 women in double-income families. Married women who made $40,000 or more a year spent nearly one hour less on housework per day than women who earned $10,000 or less, according to the findings based on data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Reuters

It’s Okay To Seek Help
Reporting to work at 2:30 a.m. to anchor the weekend morning news meant 12-hour shifts, not enough shut-eye and too much time away from her young daughter for Allison Hatcher. But the grueling schedule wasn't the toughest aspect of the young broadcaster's years paying her dues at the WKRN-Channel 2 news studio. The hardest part was asking her mom for help baby-sitting. "It was not easy," said Hatcher, who eventually worked her way into the coveted chair of evening anchor. (She now anchors the 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. newscasts.) "I consider myself very independent. I don't like to ask for help and rarely do." Tennessean.com

The other day, my son brought home what his teacher dubbed a grade-wide "family project." It involved decorating a large cut-out of a turkey; the finished products would be hung up throughout the school for all to see. Now, I'm big on crafts. And, fairly artistic. I immediately envisioned the beautiful leaves of fall as the turkey's feathers, with some twigs as his feet and an acorn for the eye. But my son had other ideas.

Feminist Media
Thirty-five years ago, as the second wave of the 20th-century U.S. feminist movement burst into action, women were all but shut out of newsrooms, press clubs, editorial boards and broadcasting booths. Women did the research; men got the bylines. Feminists were determined to be included, and to change the media. They wanted to counter and correct the mainstream news -- and start their own press(es). Today, women are writers, producers, anchors, editors and publishers at every important newspaper, news magazine, television network, and local TV and radio station. So in an era in which women seem to have integrated into the mainstream, do we still need feminist media? Alternet.org

Identity Crisis
It's been years since I identified myself simply as Steve's wife or Tom's mother. Almost 40 years, in fact. Instead, I have identified myself as a reporter, a journalist, a writer, a book author, a television host, even the founder of a nonprofit group for women at midlife. My work is my life. And my work took me outside the home, unlike my mother who worked at running the household. Mother never really quit her job, of course. But sooner or later I know I'll have to walk away from my mine. I look at "retirement" – the end of my identity – with understandable fear. And I'm not alone. Orange County Register

Workplace Annoyances
If you have a job, you know all about workplace pet peeves. They're the daily, obliviously carried-out bad habits that drive co-workers to considerable distraction and often extreme dislike. Can't we concentrate on these annoyances, see them for what they are and then abolish them in the name of co-worker respect and better office harmony? NY Daily News

Comeback Moms all over the USA are praying that their spouses, sisters, brothers, and loved ones comeback home safe from the Middle East. A short article that ran in my local paper under, Around The Region, told of a 12-year old NJ middle school student, Joey Rizzolo trying to get one million text messages sent to those serving in the armed forces for Thanksgiving.

Whether individuals support the efforts in the Middle East or not, one thing is clear, the people working for the US government in the armed forces and in private industry deserve our prayers and well wishes for a safe return to comeback home. Visit the America Supports You site. Send a short text message “Thank The Troops.” The efforts continue until midnight through Thanksgiving Day. Don’t pass up the opportunity to tell someone “Thanks.”

Anita Hill’s Question
Today, the most immediate question the letters raise is whether the workplace has improved over the last 16 years. Working women regularly share with me their personal stories of how blatant harassment and discrimination, once the norm, has been eliminated. I also hear personal stories from women who have complained and prevailed, using policies set up since the hearings. But I still hear from women and girls and their lawyers about outrageous cases of abuse.Despite high-profile suits, a woman's chance of winning a valid sexual harassment case is by no means certain. My letters confirm that most women can't afford or don't care to file a lawsuit. Boston.com

Traveling with Your Office
One challenge of the work-anywhere lifestyle is that not everywhere is designed for people who need to do work. That is why you see women in skirts sitting awkwardly on the carpet at an airport gate, balancing laptops plugged in to precious few outlets. Or hear about grown men building the adult equivalent of a pillow fort to fashion a makeshift desk on a hotel bed. But hotels and airports are gradually catching on to the fact that mobile workers need more help getting their jobs done on the road. Hotels that cater to laptop-toting travelers are scrambling to add electrical outlets in easy-to-reach places, install better task lighting and design chairs with flat armrests that can double as desks. International Herald Tribune

Choices for Working Women
While undergraduate ratios of women to men continue at about 60 to 40 and close to half or more of the students in professional graduate programs (medicine, law, business) are women, less than 20 percent of partners in law firms are women. The same representation exists in other professional arenas — tenure-track professors, heads of medical practices, members of Congress, corporate executives and CEOs of businesses. In spite of attempts by second-wave feminists to eliminate gender discrimination, there remain significant disparities that are the subject of attention by the nation’s major newspapers and journals. TownHall.com

Who Is Holding Women Back?
Women possess many of the attributes necessary for the emerging role of the CIO, such as skills in communication, collaboration, and negotiation, says Susan Mersereau, senior VP and CIO at Weyerhaeuser Co.: "I think they're wired to move into this career." So why aren't there more women in high places in technology? According to Mersereau, some of the reasons are obvious and systemic: it's an old-boy network and women don't get promoted as often as men. But there are characteristics of women in the workplace that hold them back from moving into upper management, and not just in IT. InformationWeek.com

A Call for Flexibility
Decades ago, when many mothers didn't work outside the home, there was far less cultural anxiety about child development, safety and "parenting skills." Stay-at-home moms of the 1960s cheerfully sent the kids outside for hours of unsupervised neighborhood play while they did housework (or maybe had a stiff drink). Only when large numbers of mothers did the unthinkable — found paid work — did Americans suddenly "discover" that truly effective "parenting" requires at least one adult to be focused 24/7 on the children and their "needs." Hartford Courant

Bias at the Office
An Asian woman was on an elevator when one of the top bosses at her company got on and barked an order at her. She had no idea what he was talking about, but she did know who he was and what division he managed. So she went to the company directory, found the Asian woman in his department and then tracked her down. The two women walked to his office and stood side-by-side in his door and smiled. There was 6 inches difference in their height, one had long hair, the other short. Even their ancestry was from different countries, so they looked nothing alike. It was a lesson for him, and he never confused them again. That is how we solve the problems of bias in the workplace: by being open to the realization that there is bias and making it possible to address it. Scripps News

When people ask me, what is this reiki healing thing that you do about, it sends shivers down my spine. “Oh my God”, how do I answer this without sounding like a total wack job? I try to explain that it’s energy healing, kind of like Mr. Miyagi!

Women in Hard Hats
Olga Aguilar walked through a tunnel of scaffolding at 6:30 a.m. on a recent weekday and into the Brompton, a 20-story condominium building going up at 86th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan. Ms. Aguilar is part of a small but noteworthy shift in the construction industry: since 2005, more women have gone into the building trades in New York City than at any other period in history, according to trade union officials. New York Times

Should Women Lose Rights for Exposing Thighs?
Booze-infused office Christmas parties can be threatening affairs, according to Fox News guest Marc Rudov. But men should be more concerned than their female coworkers. "We live in an era when men have to rely on the sanity and the mood of a woman rather than the U.S. Constitution for his protection," he told the host of Fox's Your World. "Between the EEOC rules and the Violence Against Women Act, the workplace has become a dangerous place for men." Raw Story

Queen Bee Syndrome Passé
Successful female executives used to be seen as loners who shunned helping other women and dutifully stuck to entrenched rules to succeed. No one would make that charge today. A women's network has emerged in the corporate world that is working to counter the old boy's club. Its members, who include a fresh crop of female executives as well as corporate veterans, are helping one another advance and succeed — and on their own terms. The “queen bee syndrome” — the belief that ambitious women strive for the most powerful position in the workplace while excluding all rivals — is outdated, executives say. TheDay.com

It's a funny thing about getting back to basics. Take the thank you note, for instance. As a recruiter, it's almost customary to receive a thank you note from a candidate. While handwritten notes are a thing of the past, a succinct e-mail is fine.

Family Responsibilities Discrimination
As the number of employees with elder and child care demands grows, more workers are filing lawsuits claiming they've been discriminated against on the job because of their family care-giving obligations. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which recently issued its first guidance for employers about the issue, reports an "upsurge" in cases — with many resulting in awards to plaintiffs. The guidance provides examples of how bias can occur so that employers are aware of the risk. Asbury Park Press

How to Avoid Killing Your Career
Even with a small amount of insight, many aspiring professionals can learn how to maintain their good standing in the workplace and actually excel on the job rather than self-destruct. With this in mind, serial "labor losers" can benefit by knowing these 10 key self-destructive workplace habits sure to endanger one's longevity on the job: Chicago Sun Times

Don’t Let Them Leave
Why are minorities, women, gays and lesbians leaving their jobs? The 2007 Corporate Leavers Survey, a groundbreaking study conducted by the Level Playing Field Institute, shows that each year in the U.S., more than 2 million professionals and managers leave their corporate jobs because of workplace unfairness in the form of everyday inappropriate behaviors. The survey found that people of color are three times more likely than Caucasian, heterosexual males to leave solely due to unfairness, and that gay and lesbian professionals are two times more likely than Caucasian, heterosexual males to leave. Salt Lake Tribune

I have been debating a blackberry or iPhone type device for a few months. I have weighed the pros and cons, and tried to decide if it would be worth the investment. Just before we boarded a plan for a week of Thanksgiving vacation, I stopped at the store and made the big purchase. It could not have come at a better time.

Equal Opportunity Benefits Everyone
Having equal opportunities for men and women is imperative for justice and equality, but it is also now a condition for economic progress. Companies wishing to recruit and retain talent must put men and women on equal corporate ground. Today, women are now earning qualifications that equal or better those of their male counterparts, yet their presence is still disproportionate to their merits in the professional and corporate world. Spero News

Business as Usual
There is no federal law prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in the U.S., though 19 states have some form of antidiscrimination law. Indeed, today at least 282 cities and towns, across the country have added workplace protections that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation in both public and private sector jobs. While there is still a long way to go, when a private employer decides that inclusiveness should be business as usual, it's newsworthy. GFN.com

Maintaining Cool at the Office
Being tagged as a screamer used to be a sign of macho, a signal that you were demanding better performance or telling management to shove it. Think of apes baring their teeth at the competition — it's an age-old move to make others back down. Sadly, it worked. Who wants to bring up a controversial work issue with a colleague who has a reputation for exploding? That has radically changed. One of the key requirements for management candidates these days is an ability to stay calm and focused even in the most tumultuous circumstances. Anyone still yelling over daily work issues is considered a liability lawsuit waiting to happen. Seattle Times

Around this time of year it’s sort of expected that we’ll give thanks for the things we appreciate in our lives. I think we can also take this time out to consider being thankful for things we may not appreciate – at least not on the surface.

Dismal Statistics
The percent of women executives heading up top publicly traded suburban companies in the Chicago area have declined 2.2 percentage points to 14.7 percent this year, according to the 2007 Chicago Network Census released Wednesday. “It is really depressing,” said Hedy Ratner, the co-president of the Women’s Business Development Center in Chicago. “Here we have a woman running for president, and we are looking at these dismal statistics about women in leadership.” Medill Reports

Why the Paltry Paycheck?
Nowadays, women are just as likely to hold positions of power as men. However, they still make substantially less than their male counterparts, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a society where we pride ourselves on equality and dismissal of race, gender or sexual preference as qualifications, how does an injustice like unequal pay exist? There are even laws set in place that are supposed to prevent pay discrimination. Yet women still make less money than men. According to the National Organization for Women, women make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. Daily 49er

Environmentally Conscious at the Office
A growing number of employers are going green, putting greater emphasis on reducing their impact on the environment. The issue is important to many employees. Thirty-three percent of employees would be more inclined to work for a company that is environmentally conscious, according to a survey this year by Adecco, a Melville, N.Y.-based provider of workforce solutions. More than half of the respondents thought their company should be doing more. USA Today

Comfortable shoes are a match made in heaven for my feet. They enable me to walk and glide across the pavement effortlessly. My movement has a sway and air of confidence that speaks without me uttering a single word. My shoes eventually experience wear and tear and ultimately a new pair of the same comfort level is sought after. The new pair may be uncomfortable not quite the perfect fit of my previous shoes. My attitude and outlook slightly change due to this discomfort. As the shoes and my feet adjust to each other it is a struggle in which either the shoes win, or the decision to let them go is made. My resistance to new shoes is a glimpse into one of the ways I may initially respond to change in general.