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eOffice - Another Third Place Example
ur good friend Paula Bartholome just forwarded me a note with a link to the eOffice blog - eOffice appears to be a UK-based Third Places provider.
The blog itself looks very worthwhile, and it's more evidence that this whole third place phenomenon continues to grow exponentially. The blog also includes an interesting video clip from YouTube (in the post "Getting Maximum Impact from Your Office Space").
And I'm going to go boldly where I've never gone before and attempt to embed that video right here:
No time to blog...
I've had a few articles bookmarked for a while, so I'm just going to post them in case they interest anyone out there. Second Life as a venue for conferences. How businesses can get more from social networking.
Work-at-Home Companies
Diane Coles, our good friend and client at SCAN Health, alerted me to a recent posting at CareerBuilder.com that lists a number of companies - new and old - that have been aggressively promoting work-at-home programs - "teleworking," to use the most common term.
New Web 2.0 initiative for academics
New Web 2.0 initiative for academics - It's called - Acadmedia.edu Some details: - It displays academics around the world in a ‘tree’ format, according to what university/department they are affiliated with. - It enables an academic to have an easy-to-maintain academic webpage. He hopes people will use the site to keep track of what people in their field are working on. It's worth a look!
Richard hopes that the site will eventually list every academic – Faculty members, Post-Docs, and Graduate Students - in the world, and display where they are working.
An agenda for the workplace from the workplace?
Not an easy question to answer by anyone's standards and level of expectation. The TUC has attempted to do this, however, and presented it's findings in a downloadable report entitled, funnily enough: "What do workers want?" Some highlights from a survey of almost 3,000 workers: 1) Most people are satisfied with their jobs, but around one in four (6 million) is neither satisfied with their job, nor would speak highly about their organisation as an employer. 2) Almost one in three workers (30 per cent) say their organisation does not fully engage them and less than half (46 per cent) the workforce agree that their employer deserves their loyalty. 3) The top attributes that people look for in a job are fair pay, working with great people and the chance to learn new skills.
Winter of Discontent: 30 years on
Winter of Discontent: 30 years on - This weekend Radio 4's 'The Archive Hour' looked back at the so-called 'The Winter of Discontent'.Details:The bitter and intense industrial disputes of the autumn and winter of 1978/9 helped change the course of British politics.The Winter of Discontent, as it became known, saw a wave of crippling strikes across the country - and led to the election of Margaret Thatcher.
Academic book on blogs
Academic book on blogs - It's called Blogging by Jill Walker Rettberg. Details: Blogging has profoundly influenced not only the nature of the internet today, but also the nature of modern communication, despite being a genre invented less than a decade ago. This book-length study of a now everyday phenomenon provides a close look at blogging while placing it in a historical, theoretical and contemporary context.
Just came across this book on blogs today whilst browsing a few academic book brochures.
Indestructable
Indestructable - Or so I thought.
My poor Samsung phone has had numerous tragedies befall it. Least of all having a catheter bag emptied down my trousers while it was sat in the pocket (hence it was always inside a glove when at work).
It's survived being dropped, knocked and generally abused at the outdoor centre.
Sadly, it doesn't seem to like exploding cans of Sainsbury's diet pineapple and grapefruit canned drink.
Funnily enough, it now won't work.
Thankfully, I had insurance, but sadly there's a £50 excess. It's cheaper for a well known phone company to buy me out of my contract than claim on the insurance, as they told me today.
On the down side, if you had my number before, can you please text me yours again. I have lost all numbers but maintained my SIM card.
Blogging professors
Blogging professors - Alisa Miller at Biz.edu has just come up with a list of top 50 business professor blogs.Why gather such a list?In Alisa's words: Many of the best and the brightest in the field of business can be found teaching at universities around the world.Besides enrolling in one of these schools, you can reap the benefits of their knowledge by visiting their blogs where they discuss the topics that they know best.From management to marketing and everything in between, these blogs by business professors offer a wealth of information for anyone to take just by stopping by for a read.To view the list click here.Check out my web and work questionnaire here.
Web 2.0 as a knowledge management tool
Web 2.0 as a knowledge management tool - By using social networking sites staff can recommend colleagues for their specialist know-how. It seems that the traditional “corporate skill map”, which used tools such as competencies, is no longer relevant - in that reputation is the now the key to success and reputation can be achieved with staff scoring or tagging colleagues who are judged to be experts on particular things. For more details see IBM uses social networking site as a knowledge management tool (Laura Chubb).
Getting On with People
With out doubt one of the greatest business assets of any company or individual is the ability to get on with people. Bill Gates is obviously very good at but just about any person in business has to get on with people. What if though it crosses your social or religious views. Do you think you can still get on with them?
Many people find this a great problem. Somebody thinks or acts differently than they would like. What would you do?
Do you agree with them smile and keep peace or do you tell them what you think? How good is it to keep things hidden from others and how good is it to express it?
Many questions and know clear rule of thumb.
What Can Facebook Do for Your Business?
Charlie and I are beginning to develop plans for a major revamp of our website (but don't hold your breath; it's several months off at best). We've realized it's way past time for us to take advantage of all the new Web 2.0 tools that enable us to build a true online community, creaet a knowledge base, and host a series of conversations about the future of work (duh!).
Anyway, one of the obvious things we want and need to do is to "host" a meaningful social network, and one of the (many) possible tools for doing that is Facebook. I have to admit that for avowed futurists we're a little slow on the uptake here.
I should have an 'I told you so' dance.
Say hello to my sister. If anyone needed luck, this woman did. Crappy marriage, heart surgery, etc.
Last month she was bawling on my couch. "My life is sooooo hard."
So, what happens? Did she take my advice and 'Change it'? Yes she did. She got a line on a new job and went for it.
Okay, technically I had to send in the resume, after I dug it up from my hard drive and revised it. (Remember, she's the cute one.) Believe it or not, she is a welding inspector. I know, you would never guess by looking at her.
What's a penny really worth to you?
There has been talk about abolishing the penny. And, of course, much opposition.
How much of the tax payers hard earned pennies are you willing to waste to fight someone for your right to accumulate them? And as far as the Canadian Mint is concerned, the penny is the one coin that does not 'circulate'. People just don't spend them anymore. Aside from charitable
Personally, the only thing i use them for is to unplug the shop vac hose. When it stops sucking, I throw a handful of pennies down and it usually breaks up the blockage.
So, if they abolish the penny, what do I do (other than unblock the vacuum) with all those accumulated pennies?
Consider the copper content. If I were to melt down the pennies and take them to an exchange yard, what could I get for them?
Why does looking and feeling good have to cost so much?
Why does looking and feeling good have to cost so much? - 
I don't know how many of you eat right, or stay in shape but if you do, how do you afford it?
It is so much cheaper to be a lazy fat chick. Between eating 'right' and exercising I am going to go broke.
Working in a different environment?
It’s quite interesting having a Maltese background and working here in the UK. Not that things are so different here, but my experiences are different from the people around me. That gives me a double benefit. On one side, I’ve seen ideas and executions that are different to what the people around me have experiences. This helps me inject new ideas into what’s going on around me. On the other hand, it provides an opportunity for me to learn from initiatives that have happened when I wasn’t around, thus enriching my own thinking. I’ve read that the UK is making changes around letting Highly Skilled Migrant Workers into the country, hopefully this will have the effect of increasing diversity around us, rather than closing off this avenue.
Support strikers through Web 2.0
As low-paid public sector workers gear up for a major strike this week, the union is encouraging people from around the world to send in messages of support (including photos and videos) using an online form, or by text or even voicemail. For more details see Support the action on pay. Please complete a questionnaire on the Internet and work here.
Web 2.0 and HRM
social-networking-research.html">Web 2.0 and HRM - The paper is entitled - Web 2.0 and HR (by Graeme Martin, Martin Reddington and Mary Beth Kneafsey). The basis for the paper is that such technologies appear to have created 'more heat than light', mainly because Web 2.0 in organizations has until now been explored mainly through descriptive accounts, and that there has been little analysis of what is actually going on inside many organizations. The conclusion from the initial report suggests what is required now is: - An understanding of the extent that Web 2.0 represents a new idea. Is it different? - The development of a clear vocabulary and terminology
Steelworker union goes Web 2.0
What does this mean for the 'sisters and brothers'? Live streaming video, daily news, photo slideshows, audio reports, updated blogging and a wealth of USW information right at your fingertips. There’s a special section just for members where members can update their personal information, stay informed about union issues, get in touch with union leaders and participate in the movement like never before by sharing information, photos, videos and more through social networking sites such as facebook and flickr. A new multimedia section gives our union a place to showcase videos, photos, POWERcasts and other productions that help tell the story of working families and the issues important to us.
Lord Darzi : offensively inoffensive
Lord Darzi : offensively inoffensive Alan, Ara &
Gordon
Lord Darzi is a clever guy. Of that there is no possible doubt. He is a highly accomplished, pioneering laparoscopic surgeon. That does not make it intuitively obvious why he should be able to provide what is being trailed by the government as the single most important NHS master plan since 1997. I suspect he has been picked for his voice. There is something enormously relaxing about his mellifluous tone and his gentle Irish cadences. Such a shame, then, that his report is a load of meaningless drivel.
What kind of friend are you?
What kind of friend are you? - 
Bunnie and I were having a conversation about just that today. I was listening to this song
and I believe that that is the kind of friend I am. Not a push over, don't get me wrong, if you were to ask me for something stupid I would tell you to pound sand. But if you are ever in trouble, call and I will be there. Someone you can count on.
PUTTING A SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE?
Thanks to Fisher-Price, as babies we learn a concept that we seem to forget by the time we’re adults: you can’t put a square peg in a round hole.
We do it especially with relationships and with jobs. If we don’t know what we’re looking for, we become obscured by what we’re attracted to. And then we don’t realize we’ve reverted to pounding the round orange peg into the hole on that plastic table right in front of us when it's the square blue peg that fits.
Most people will continue to force it – and with a lot of hard work, sweat, and stress – it can be made to fit, but never very well and never for very long. Eventually that peg is going to explode out of the hole into which they’re trying to mash it.
'Photo' protest
In this instance, it's action taken in support of Zimbabwean trade unionists on trial for 'spreading falsehoods prejudicial to the state'. See Take action now to support Zimbabwean trade unionists on trial - We need your photo now! for more details. If you just want to take part follow these instructions NOW! Take a photo of yourself with your digital camera and email it to zim@tuc.org.uk. Take a photo of yourself with your cameraphone and send it by MMS to 07546 229055 (0044 7546 229055 from outside the UK).
Blogging and human rights abuse
Blogging and human rights abuse
According to the BBC News website the other day, "More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments".
The statement is based on the WIA Report 2008.
The graphic (click to enlarge) from the actual report says a lot, certainly in terms of blogging becoming a more and more dangerous activity.
Some further details courtesy of BBC News:
Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog.
In 2007 three times as many people were arrested for blogging about political issues than in 2006.
More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made in China, Egypt and Iran.
Carers get connected
Connecting for Care is said to be about providing:
"...resources and support to assist with the daily situations experienced by all carers.
By providing a forum for various groups of carers to communicate, we hope you will be able to provide and receive tips as well as share advice with other carers."
Further details:
"It provides ways to not only improve the quality of healthcare and reduce the burden on carers, but also to connect people and build a sense of community.
Electronic simulations and workplace applications
>The trend of employers taking an interest in Web 2.0 appears to be continuing.
An article in the CIPD's People Management magazine discusses how employers are using such technologies for mock-ups, or electronic simulations used for workplace applications ranging from sophisticated business games to psychometric testing.
Further details:
Simulations have long been a favourite in the learning manager’s toolkit – whether it’s role-playing a call from an angry customer or carrying out flipchart-based team exercises to solve a problem.
But technological advances have made it possible to create electronic simulations (sims) that, according to their enthusiasts, are more realistic, compelling and versatile than their traditional predecessors – thereby producing better outcomes.
For more details see Blogs and News]
Hard truths about medical entrepreneurs
Hard truths about medical entrepreneurs
50% plus USA workers say American dream is 'unattainable'
50% plus USA workers say American dream is 'unattainable' - I've not blogged for a while due to the usual high workload at the end of the academic year.Fortunately, from time-to-time, good work-related stories get delivered to my email in-box and I don't have go looking for interesting and new stuff.Today I got to hear via The Marlin Company of a new national survey based on USA workers.The report is available here by clicking on the heading - New National Survey: US Workers Report They Are Bitter and Blame the Political System for the Death of The American Dream.
Newsletter - June Issue
A Special Message from Charlie and Jim
And now for something completely different (apologies to Monty Python).
Yes, yes, we know; that's an incredibly overused phrase. But we are offering something at least slightly different this month.
In the interest of simplifying your lives (and ours) we've shifted to a new format. Here you'll find just a short synopsis of each of this month's articles; the full versions are online and just a click away. Each article is online on its own separate web page, as well as immediately downloadable in a pdf file. It's your choice.
Disability
Disability - We believe at Work Connexions that everyone has something to contribute to society. It just finding what they are good at….
Understanding Disability and How it can Increase your Company Value
When work blogging gets out of hand
It involved an employee of Cisco Systems who used his blog to wage 'a long, public battle against so-called patent trolls'. The blog was initially viewed as a 'forum for information, not invective', yet it eventually led to the blogger (or employee of Cisco Systems, as it turns out to be) outing the under-hand, possibly illegal, practices of his employer. It seems that both are likely to face criminal investigation. For more details see Busting a Rogue Blogger by Michael Orey of Business Week.
"Shit" degrees and government league tables
- It involves university staff being caught telling students to be dishonest in order to boost their college’s rankings. More details of the event includes: Two lecturers were secretly recorded urging undergraduates to give Kingston University a glowing report in the National Student Survey (NSS), which measures how satisfied students are with their courses. One lecturer told more than 100 students that their degrees would be “shit” unless Kingston, in south-west London, did well. The other member of staff said the survey, run by the Government funding council, was no place for students to vent “garbage” about how they disliked their courses.
Setting Yourself Up for Success in the Interview Process
Most people are familiar with the traditional interviewing advice and tips - make eye contact, arrive on time, give a firm handshake, etc. These cardinal rules of interviewing pervade job search information. While this advice is crucial, it is important to ask, is it really enough to get you a job in the current climate? Does arriving 10 minutes early really make you feel as though you have aced the interview? Does following these rules really set you apart from the rest of the candidates? Do they lower your overall anxiety and make you feel calm and confident? No, no, and no? Then, what are you to do?
Effective interviewing results not only from heeding the traditional advice, but also from taking control of the situation. You can do this by Interviewing from Multiple Perspectives.
Perfection
Perfection is an overrated concept. Even those who know it’s unattainable try for it when they interview. What’s the result? Nervousness. For example, fear you won’t be liked. Fear you’ll be asked a question but won’t know the answer. Fear that you won’t be asked back. Fear that you might, and they hire the other person instead.
Frequently fear stems from lack of preparation. It can also result from being too attached to the outcome. When you really want the job, but are afraid of not getting it, you try too hard and worry too much about pleasing the interviewer. Consequently, you lose touch with who you are and sabotage yourself, bringing about the opposite outcome from the one you consciously desired. A small incident can take on monumental proportions.
Employers create database of errant workers
Employers create database of errant workers - Later this month, the National Staff Dismissal Register (NSDR) is expected to go live. The NSDR is said to be an "initiative to reduce losses attributed to staff dishonesty." More details from the BBC: Organisers say that major companies including Harrods, Selfridges and Reed Managed Services have already signed up to the scheme.
A fresh take on job (in)security
A fresh take on job (in)security - It's also very funny.
Modern communication technology and 'digital distance'
Modern communication technology and 'digital distance' - A news release from the Royal Mail website claims that new digital communication technologies has made us a 'nation of cowards'.For instance, sacking staff by text message, dumping your partner by email, delegating difficult tasks at work by email and text, using these forms of technology to contact new business prospects, informing the boss of being sick via email or text message, etc.
Hate Job, Fired
Ever been fired and it was a complete surprise? If you have, it shouldn’t have been. You missed the cues. Whether you created it or the company decided it, you lost control of your career. Frequently those two are intertwined, and if you don’t dissect the experience, you may recreate it.
A Gallup poll found that 77% of Americans hate their jobs. After 20 years as a recruiter, I don’t find that surprising because most people, before they begin their job hunt, don’t do the examination to learn what their perfect job is. Instead of defining, actively seeking, and then choosing their next employer, they allow themselves to be chosen. So it’s no wonder that after a few years -- or sooner – disillusion and distaste set in. This, combined with fear of change, creates what they wanted: to be outta that lousy place. In other words, if you don’t tune in, you’ll tune out, and then you’ll be gone.
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