If your office is anything like mine, you may have noticed a new co-worker has arrived early this holiday season: the cold and flu virus. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen a major pickup in the cold and flu season as it has crept its way into our office cubicles, common areas and is sweeping across the air.

The cold and flu season poses a major threat to businesses, big and small. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the flu alone costs U.S. companies $10.4 billion in direct costs including hospitalizations and outpatient visits. The CDC also estimates up to one-fifth of the U.S. population will get the flu in a given flu season, and more than 200,000 Americans will be hospitalized with seasonal, flu-related complications. Annually, it costs the average business about $1,320 per employee for absenteeism.

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Businesses are striving to encourage healthier workplace habits, which include proper hand-washing techniques and the sanitizing of immediate work areas. If successful, businesses can significantly reduce the frequency with which germs are spread throughout the office.

How does the flu spread? Many experts believe that flu viruses spread mainly by droplets made when people with the flu either cough, sneeze or talk. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby. A person could also get the flu by touching a surface or object that has flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or nose, but this is less frequently the case.

When I traveled this previous weekend, I found myself sitting on the plane, stumped on what to write for my next post. A sheet of paper lay bare on the drop-down tray in front of me and a fresh ballpoint pen in my hand and I started thinking, “I wonder what it would be like to work on a plane? What if I were the one giving emergency flight instructions while graciously suggesting specials on the beverage menu? How would customers treat me? What kinds of challenges would I have to deal with?” We’ve all thought about trading places before in one way or another: being the pilot who’s steering your flight, the police officer writing your ticket, the doctor listening to your heart beat or the cashier at the grocery store… the list goes on and on. And if you ever got the opportunity to actually live on the other side, how do you think you would feel?

In the case of the flight attendants on my plane, I thought about their responsibilities, challenges, worries and how I would treat them differently if I were in their shoes for just one day. If I knew what their lives were like, would I be a little more courteous when they asked for my drink order? And would I actually pay attention to their emergency instructions or continue flipping through my magazine? Needless to say, my thoughts of what I would do and how I would act changed for the rest of the plane ride once I took it all into consideration. I truly feel like I was much more understanding of their roles simply by stopping to think about it for a moment. And then I thought to myself, how would we all change our thoughts and actions if we simply put ourselves in others’ shoes?

One key to all successful relationships is to understand all sides. In the workplace, this also holds true. Everyone has different responsibilities and priorities and understanding where each person falls on the workplace spectrum will help you start to improve your relationships significantly!

Email is a primary method of communication for business and is becoming more important and widely-used than ever before. In 2009 alone, Royal Pingdom reported several staggering statistics on email use:

• 90 trillion – The number of emails sent on the Internet in 2009.
• 247 billion – Average number of email messages per day.
• 1.4 billion – The number of email users worldwide.
• 100 million – New email users since the year before.
• 81% – The percentage of emails that were spam.
• 92% – Peak spam levels late in the year.
• 24% – Increase in spam since last year.
• 200 billion – The number of spam emails per day (assuming 81% are spam).

In fact, email use is so immense that a recent study (conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with salesforce.com) showed that 38 percent of 1,000 British employees felt they suffered from an information overload with their work emails, among those were many that were not even relevant. So where do we draw the line on delivering efficient and effective emailing strategies instead of irrelevant fluff? And how can we find a solution to manage vast amounts of messages and help improve overall productivity?

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The first thing you need to do is develop an approach to how you process your inbox. Taking a more organized approach will help you gain more control, improve your responses and keep up with priorities. After all, a small amount of work towards organization up front can make things easier for you in the long run.

According to an article on Microsoft.com, the first step you can take toward creating a more organized inbox is creating a simple and effective email reference system of reference information and action information. What does this mean?

• Reference information is information that is not required to complete an action; it is information that you keep in case you need it later. Reference information is stored in your reference system—an email reference folder, your My Documents folder, or a company intranet site, for example.
• Action information is information you must have to complete an action. Action information is stored with the action, either on your to-do list or on your Calendar.

Now that you’ve got these general guidelines to follow, you may want to consider creating useful labels and folders that can instantly help you stay organized. For example, not every email is necessarily URGENT, so you may or may not have to answer it right away. Developing a ranking system can help you set your priorities and timeline for varied importance in email replies. You may want to have several categories for action information such as: “to do by tonight,” “to do by tomorrow” and “to do by end of week.” Or maybe you’d rather categorize emails by color categories – red as urgent, yellow as soon and green as later. You can place all reference information under “reference” or “documents.”

When communicating, it is also best to keep your emails short and sweet. If you want a quick reply from someone that you know may be busy, act courteous and make your inquiry short in the first place. You can keep emails short in length by cutting out unnecessary information, breaking up the information into paragraphs (makes it easier on the eyes) and only addressing the things that must be addressed.

Remember, you only get one chance to send an email. Another tip for keeping your emails effective and efficient is re-reading messages before you send them. You can make sure you’ve said what you needed to say and that you’ve also used correct capitalization, appropriate sentence structure and spelling.

Did you know Americans spend nearly a quarter of their time online frequenting social networking sites and blogs? It is apparent that these sites have streamlined into all parts of life, including the workplace. More and more employers are turning to these sites for help in the hiring process, forever changing the face of the working world.

This whitepaper will address how employers use these sites to obtain a more well-rounded view of job candidates, the effects of social networks on the current workplace, concerns associated with the use of social networking sites for both employers and employees alike and tips on how job candidates can make their online profiles employer-friendly.

For your copy of the whitepaper, click here.

Figuring out when to speak up in the workplace can be tricky: maybe you were asked about something controversial and were afraid to speak about it or maybe someone wanted constructive criticism and you chose to keep to yourself instead. Do you know what you would do in situations like these? People usually don’t speak up because of fear of risk and specifically, fear of offending those above them. Employees who are afraid to speak up and communicate ideas at work may miss out on amazing opportunities, because what they don’t realize is that these very ideas could offer valuable knowledge and experience to employers. Whether you’re naturally introverted or outspoken, we can all relate to times we’ve wanted to voice our opinion but have bitten our tongues instead.

In a study by management researchers Kathleen Ryan and Daniel Oestreich, 70 percent of people said they hesitated to speak up about problems at work or suggest possible improvements to their firms because they feared repercussions.

Simply saying “my doors are always open” can no longer be enough to open up the lines of communication in the workplace. In fact, the best environments for speaking up are those where risk-taking is advocated and visibly rewarded.

According to Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson and Penn State professor James Detert, the “up” in the actual saying “speaking up” comes from the term upward voice: communications directed at someone higher in the hierarchy of an organization with the perceived power or authority to take action on the problem or suggestion.

It also turns out that there are two factors that lead people to feel either more or less safe about speaking up: individual differences and contextual factors. Personality differences can include varied levels of extroversion and communication skills. Contextual factors include organizational factors outside of the individual that provide them with cues about how voicing opinions will be received.

What makes a leader in the corporate world? It isn’t holding an executive level role or supervising other employees. It isn’t something you can learn overnight or even with 20 years of work experience. A leader, in the most basic sense, is someone who can guide or inspire others. Many leaders are born with innate leadership skills but some learn how to lead from great role models.

In fact, leaders can be all around us from the bottom to the top of the corporate ladder. We all have the opportunity to express a number of leadership qualities, even if we don’t necessarily see it. Wherever you are in the working world, you may exhibit leadership in your everyday work.

Here are some of the ways you can LEAD without being in a “LEADERSHIP” role:

The most basic way to lead is to do it by example. If you want to lead, you should know that part of being a leader involves how you carry yourself and that others will always be watching what you do. As they say, “actions speak louder than words,” so the things you do and the way you act can be a perfect way to demonstrate your leadership characteristics.

Help others and be a team player. Offer to help in every situation that you possibly can. A good leader is someone who wants to make those around them successful and help them get there. Lending a helping hand will help you establish important relationships and trust amongst your peers, too. After all, gaining trust and establishing dependability are few of the most important factors for leadership.

Have a corporate event coming up? Heard a lot of talk but not sure what to expect? Whether you’re a twenty-something that’s new to the working world or a seasoned veteran out in the field, there are certainly guidelines every working professional needs to follow when attending corporate events. It doesn’t matter if it’s a social gathering, conference or a quarterly meeting, you should always follow these rules to keep the most professional appearance possible. But wait, what exactly are the rules?

Well, we’ve created a list and personified the five tips you do want to remember and the five things you want to avoid doing at your next corporate event!

The things you want to remember:

First Impression Frank – Remember the adage, first impressions count? In the working world, this certainly holds true. When you first meet others in business, how you appear right off the bat is extremely important. First Impression Frank is a perfect example of this. He has learned that if he wants to give off his desired first impression, he’s got to look the part. Want to be seen and respected as the professional that you are?  Look and act the part by giving a good, firm handshake, a friendly smile and wearing appropriate business attire to top it off. When it comes to first impressions, you can choose to either be remembered as the person who’s got it all together or as someone who’s a complete mess. You want to avoid being the latter.

Safer than Sorry Sam – Sure, corporate events are a time to meet people and show off your sparkling personality, but that doesn’t mean you should cross the lines of professionalism. That’s why Safer than Sorry Sam considers this a golden rule! You want to show people the “real” you, but use discretion too. Of course you don’t want to be a wet rag either, but being “safer than sorry” doesn’t mean you can’t have fun! Talk to people and enjoy yourself a bit at your events, but just be wise. If you’re not sure if a joke is appropriate, don’t tell it. If you’re not sure if you should have another margarita, it’s best to hold back. After all, you don’t want to set yourself up for disaster. Use tact with your decisions and be smart about your choices and you’ll avoid any trouble getting in your way.

If you’re working in corporate America, chances are you’ve traveled for business at one point or another. Maybe it’s been from coast to coast or even across foreign waters, but whatever the case may be, when it comes down to it, traveling for business can be stressful. While you can’t avoid traveling for work, you CAN learn how to make traveling a little less stressful and maybe, just maybe, even more enjoyable!

We’re actually hosting our 2010 Annual Conference in Cancun, Mexico starting tomorrow (hence the idea behind this post), and we’ve compiled a list of tips to help make traveling for business run as smoothly as possible. We plan on using these tips for our own travels and would like to share them with you!

Baggage

When it comes to traveling for business, less is more! If possible, try to use only carry-on bags instead of checking any in. The less baggage you carry, the more time you’ll have overall. There are many ways you can save space in your bags if you just use a little strategy to your packing! First, try to get a copy of the agenda for your trip in advance or maybe even consider creating an agenda of the things you think you’ll be doing while you’re on your trip. That way, you can designate one outfit for each activity and stick to packing only what you need.

Tip: To save space, you may want to consider bringing one suit and several pieces to change it up. Men can wear the same suit with various color shirts and ties. Ladies can create several different outfits around one skirt, one jacket, a pair of pants and various blouses and accessories.

Timing

A big part of your travel will have to do with timing. When you’ve got different timelines to follow, it’s always best to simply be prepared with the mindset that literally ANYTHING and EVERYTHING could happen and set you back, especially if you’ve got to be somewhere at a certain time. In other words, you want to be proactive and ready for whatever comes your way.

If you are a frequent business traveler, you may want to find out about airlines or car companies that offer things like “elite status” or “frequent flyer” deals. This will help alleviate some of the stress of travel by cutting the time you wait in lines, giving you options to wait for your flights at exclusive airline clubs and even offering you better pricing for better seating options.

Changing careers can be a tough decision. Sometimes, it isn’t even a decision at all. If you are considering a career change, by choice or because of unemployment, take a moment to stop, sit down and begin to imagine your ideal “Plan B” career. What do you see?

Here are tips that can help you stop feeling trapped by your current situation and start thinking about change:

• Evaluate your current job satisfaction. Think about the content of your work. Also think about where you work and who you work with. Who are the people with whom you’d like to surround yourself? Is your current situation where you want to be? What direction do you want to go in?
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On Monday morning, I woke up to a text message from a close friend who made me feel as if I were the Rachel Zoe of the business fashion world. She asked, “If you wear a black skirt to an interview, do you have to wear a black blazer with it?” I thought my eyes were fooling me (I’m not necessarily known as the most fashionable of the bunch), so I rubbed them a bit and yes, the words were still there… at 7:30 in the morning on a vacation day. Turns out, my friend was doing some Labor Day shopping (both online and in stores) for a job interview coming up during the week. I guess I have to say I was flattered that she (also my elder) was coming to me for career wardrobe advice. I know this question may seem silly to some of you, but I’m curious to know… is it something you can say you’ve actually considered? I like to tell myself I know every single “do” and “don’t’” for interview and career attire, but the truth is, there are still some things I’ve never even really thought about (this scenario being one of those things).

It’s been said time and time again that carefully constructing the perfect interview outfit is worth the effort because it can be a deciding factor in whether or not you land the job. In fact, appearance isn’t just critical to first impressions during interviewing, it’s also important throughout your entire career! For example, have you ever noticed people dress up a little more at networking events or social events after work hours? That’s because they recognize that what you wear can be what defines you when you first meet new people (similar to that of an interview), so you need to make the best first impression possible. It’s just the plain truth. Once you recognize this (if you haven’t already), you may find that your career could be suffering a closet crisis and now is the time to get help!

Going back to the original story at hand… I thought to myself, well, can you wear a different a blazer and bottom that don’t match? Honestly, many of us out there probably can’t rattle off a list of exact dress-code rules for job interviews and your career other than just knowing the everlasting rule that you need to dress “professional.”

It seems that we all might have our own slightly different perceptions of what’s considered the “right” thing to wear to a job interview. So how can you play it safe? I did some research and I’ve compiled a list of rules that are generally accepted as what to wear and what not to wear to a job interview and throughout your career (including the answer to the suit question!). Take a look below, you may actually find some you didn’t know about.

For women:

1. Bring a basic handbag in neutral or dark color.
2. Wear neutral hose with a skirt! Do not go bare legged in a skirt.
3. Use appropriate accessories such as small classic styled earrings, a thin necklace or strand of pearls, no more than one ring per hand. No tongue, nose or eyebrow pierced jewelry. Avoid noisy or chunky jewelry as it could be considered distracting.
4. Don’t put on too much makeup.
5. Avoid sleeveless tops and dresses as well as skirts that are too short (above the knee).
6. Leave the heavy perfume at home and stick to body splash or small dabs of regular perfume.
7. Make sure to wear close toed heels. Do not show up in open toe shoes, flip flops or sandals!
8. Make sure that the hairstyle you choose holds back any stray hairs from falling on your face. You do not want to play with your hair or have to touch it very much while speaking about yourself.
9. Avoid anything ruffled, frilly or lacy, along with accessories on shirts in the form of extra buttons or bows. You want to be classy, not cute.

For men:

1. Polish or clean your shoes – no scuff marks.

1. Be careful with cologne and aftershave! Most likely, your interview will take place in a small interviewing room with just yourself and the interviewer. You may want to consider using none at all.
2. Remember to trim your facial hair! If worn, it should be well-groomed. Observe men in your industry if you are unsure what’s appropriate.
3. Hair should be clean and well kept. Shorter hair is generally considered to be favorable.
   1. Do not wear too much jewelry. No more than one ring per hand. Wear a watch with a leather or metal band. If you wear cuff links, choose a classic style.

For both:

1. Stick to basic, conservative colors and fabric: Navy, dark gray and black work for suit colors. Button down shirts and blouses should be reserved to basic colors, avoid patterns. Wool and wool blends are generally the best fabrics in all seasons. Avoid acetate / rayon blends. Remember that simple, classic styles will save you money in the long run because they never go out of style.
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