Things to do in 2010

In 2009, your dragon boss breathed down your neck every other day; your clients sent you a dozen mails an hour and your colleagues... well, let's just say if you start talking about them you'll SCREAM. In 2010, nothing's changed! So much for keeping your fingers crossed and hoping for new beginnings, huh? Well, if things haven't changed around you, may be it's time you did. Here are some tips you could use to stay spirited this year. Stick to timings You work till 8 pm every night so you figure you can walk in at 11 am. Not cool. You may be the best at your job but if you can't adhere to office rules, you'll only get on the wrong side of your boss. Also, coming in on time means you'll be able to leave on time. So you'll have more time to spend with family and friends after work. Lighten up Stop being such a grouch at work. We all know you go to office to work and so does everyone else. But that doesn't mean you need to tell people to turn it down when their voices are just above a whisper or start telling on your colleagues when they spend five extra minutes on a phone call. If you are finding it hard to gel with your colleagues, here are a few tips that might help you fit in at work. Stop b**ching Quit gossiping about your boss behind his back. Gossiping only makes you feel worse at the end of the day. So if you can't find something good to say about your boss, don’t say anything at all. Sure he can be a pain but if you could do better, you might have been 'boss' instead! Also, whatever it is that you b**ch, it's going to reach your bosses ears anyway. [There are enough snitches who want to get into your bosses good books!] So, refrain. Clear the clutter Piles of paper, tattered files and general clutter are just not conducive to work. Clear it all out and spruce up your desk a little. Bring in some funky knick-knacks and make your workspace a little colourful. Trust us; you'll feel a lot perkier at work! For more ideas you can check out Our Office Survival Kit for 2010! It's office property, not yours! Your company is doing well and they are paying you peanuts (or so you think). So you can afford to rip them off a little, right? No, you can't! Stop printing unnecessary stuff and taking home stationery for your kids. It's stealing for crying out loud. Don't faff It's okay to surf the Internet, play a game or listen to music once in a while but not at the cost of your work. If you think that's distracting you from putting in your 100 per cent, (hate to sound preachy but) it's time to turn it off! Also, try and keep your personal life out of the office as far as possible, except in case of an emergency, of course. Learn something new If you didn't get a promotion last year, the fact that you don't brown-nose your boss may not be the only reason. Have you taken on new tasks, developed a new skill, contributed to making things easier at work? Well, it's about time you did. Take our word for it - turn over a new leaf this year and you'll definitely start seeing things around you change for the better! Source : ET Bought to you by HRI Foundation 303 Motherland Building 3rd Main 3rd Cross Kamanahalli BANGALORE 560084 www.twitter.com/Raghav_HRGuru

Housework lessens earnings of women and men

Washington, Mar 8 (ANI): Doing housework not only affects salaries of women but reduces men's wages as well, says a new study.

Conducted by Vanderbilt professor of law and economics Joni Hersch, the study also found that women's salaries are negatively impacted by housework regardless of profession.

In the study, the researchers used time diary data from the American Time Use Survey, which provided detailed information on all activities performed over a 24-hour period.

In the analysis, Hersch defined housework to include activities like cleaning, cooking, childcare, pet care, house, lawn and garden maintenance, grocery shopping, and household management.

It was found that the total time expended by women on these activities was more than the time spent by men, and the bulk of women's total housework time was spent on cleaning and cooking.

On the whole, Hersch found that women spent 53 percent more time on housework than men.

Also, they found that married women completed an average of 97 minutes per day on housework and unmarried women spent an average of 67 minutes a day on housework. Men completed an average of 29 minutes per day, regardless of marital status.

Each extra hour spent on daily housework was found to reduce average wages by about 24 cents per hour for women and about 21 cents per hour for men.

Hersch said the most surprising finding was that housework had a negative impact on the salaries of women, regardless of their occupation.

"The effect is not limited to a few occupations, such as those requiring physical effort. Rather, the effect spans most of the occupations in which women are employed," said Hersch.

It was found that 85 percent of the women in the sample were employed in occupations that suffered a housework-wage penalty, including highly compensated women in managerial and professional positions.

On the other hand, housework was found to reduce men's wages in only some occupations - management, business, financial operations and sales-related occupations.

These careers employed only 24 percent of the men in the sample Hersch used.

Although this study shows that wages are lower for those who do more housework, and women do far more housework than men, Hersch said only a small part of the pay gap between men and women is explained by housework.

The study is published in an upcoming issue of the Review of Economics of the Household. (ANI)