Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Spot and Fight Age Discrimination

Jack Gross’ case set a precedent. The insurance manager sued—and won—for age discrimination in Iowa after he was demoted in 2003. But later, the Supreme Court reversed the decision, stating that Gross now had to cite substantial evidence that his age was the decisive factor in his demotion. The Court’s ruling made it much harder for Gross, and everyone else, to prove a case of age discrimination in the workplace.

That’s too bad, because if you talk to any employee over the age of 55, you will hear that discrimination is alive and well.  For tips on how to spot and fight it in your workplace, head over to my column at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

What Happened to Hierarchy?

I recently got two reader e-mails. One was from a 20-something marketing professional who was frustrated by the lack of an organized chain of command at her company.

The other was from a 45-year-old who was thrilled that after more than 20 years in corporate America, he was at last working in a so-called “open environment.” No more offices, no more cubicles.

These messages really got me thinking: Are hierarchies dead?  Check out the full discussion in my post over at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

What Will Young Workers in 2030 Be Like?

Did you know that there’s another baby boom on?  Since the mid 2000s, the fertility rate in the U.S. has been at its highest since 1971, meaning that the generation preliminarily known as Generation Z is actually larger than its predecessor, the mammoth Generation Y. 

The new boom is thought to be caused by a confluence of factors including a greater number of procreating immigrants and a high population of childbearing-age women – including those who have put off having children until their 40s.

Generational expert Neil Howe coined the term “Homelanders” to describe today’s children, stating that they are growing up in a time of “greater public urgency and emergency, both at home and around the world.”

For more about the Homelanders and what they'll be like as workers in 2030, check out my post on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

Should You Gamble on the Next Business Fad?

Corporate America as fun and games?  Maybe, now that gamification has come on the scene.

Gamification is defined as the use of game design techniques to engage audiences. Gamification encourages players to engage in desirable behavior by dangling the carrot otherwise known as “winning.”

The reason we like online gambling so much is that apparently, human beings have a psychological predisposition to gaming. And many organizations are jumping on the gamification bandwagon in order to motivate employees and combat disengagement. 

What's gamification all about?  Find out what I uncovered over at the AMEX OPEN Forum.

How Much Should You Care About Your Employees' Health?

There really is a consulting firm for everything.

Engaged Health Solutions provides health and well-being coaching and education to employee populations. The company engages a client’s employees in their own well-being and keeps them engaged as they set and meet their goals. “Employers investing in innovative, different programs that will impact their employees' health is definitely a 21st century best practice,” says EHS communications manager Libby Lowe.  But is it effective?  That is, should you invest in a similar program for your employees?

Check out my recent Culture Beat column for my take.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Virtual Teams

A virtual team is a group of people who work toward a common goal and are connected by technology though physically separated. Virtual teams scare a lot of people, who have visions of spending their time on all-night conference calls and not being able to trust team members they can’t see.

Nevertheless, the trend is coming at us like a full-speed train. A Google search of “virtual teams” revealed some interesting 2011 research published in Hypergrid Business, a magazine devoted to virtual teaming.

The study, “Virtual Work Environments in a Post-Recession Era,” conducted on behalf of Brandman University by Forrester Consulting, revealed strong adoption of virtual teams. Forty percent of survey respondents said that 40 percent or more of their company’s employees work in virtual teams today, and more than half expect virtual teaming to increase in the next one to three years.

Managerial concerns associated with virtual teaming are many. 57 percent cited earning trust, 49 percent cited communicating effectively, 43 percent cited managing projects and deadlines successfully and 43 percent cited creating consensus during decision making as among the top concerns.

Considering that virtual teams are so pervasive and so many managers are losing sleep over them, my Culture Beat column over at the AMEX OPEN Forum includes some virtual teaming best practices.  Hope you'll check them out!

4 Steps for Success Working Overseas

Whether you’re a small business owner or an employee in a cast of thousands, you may find yourself working overseas at some point.

According to PriceWaterhouseCoopers, a  major uptick will occur in the number of cross-national business assignments in the next 10 years. This is an exciting development for some people, and intimidating for others.

But working in a foreign culture is not so different than simply taking on a new role in your country of origin. You have to hone your general business acumen and your communication, language and problem-solving skills.

Check out my post at the AMEX OPEN Forum for four steps to help ensure that you can assimilate effectively.

How to Get from College to Career: Advice from Lindsey Pollak

My good friend Lindsey Pollak recently released a terrific new edition of her well-loved book, Getting from College to Career.  In the midst of the craziness of having a new book and baby, she generously shared some thoughts about what college grads can do to improve their careers in 2012:

What made you decide to do a new edition at this time?  

We’re living in a time of such rapid change in the world of business and careers that five years ago, when the first edition of Getting from College to Career was published, feels like “the old days.” At that time the economy was good and we were at the very, very beginning of social media and smartphone usage. I decided to write a revised edition of the book to make sure that readers would have the most up-to-date, relevant and forward-thinking advice for their job searches and careers.

 What's the most important piece of advice readers should take away from the new edition?

The most important piece of advice in the new edition is the same as the original edition: take action every single day to find a job and build your career. More now than ever, the people who succeed are the people who take consistent action. Momentum matters.

The good news is that today’s job seekers have so many more tools they can use to take action – LinkedIn and Twitter have both grown tremendously over the past five years, more organizations are providing job postings by social media and text messaging and Meetup.com and other technologies make networking opportunities more plentiful.

 How has job hunting changed in the five years since you launched the original edition of Getting from College to Career? What new tips have you added?

The two biggest changes since Getting from College to Career was published five years ago relate to the economy and technology.

In 2007, there were plenty of available jobs for recent grads, so my advice focused on figuring out what you wanted to do and taking the steps to get hired into a full-time position. Since 2008, job openings are much more scarce so I added a lot more advice on alternatives to full-time employment, such as freelancing, post-college interning and taking on project work.

The recession has also meant that job seekers have had to become much better at marketing themselves to employers. I don’t think the phrase “personal branding” appeared once in the original edition and now it’s everywhere. Job seekers need to be able to tell a clear story of what makes them unique and how that uniqueness will benefit an employer. Generalists are out; specialists are in – even at the entry level.

In terms of technology, Twitter didn’t even exist when I wrote the first edition and now it’s a crucial tool for career research and networking. In this edition I also include recent grad-specific advice on using LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Apps, Skype and other tech-based tools for job seekers. Of course, technology is moving so fast (just look at the skyrocketing growth of Pinterest!) that job seekers need to keep an eye out for new tools that could help them stand out and get hired.

You interviewed a number of successful professionals and asked them to share what they wish they'd known before starting their careers. What answers most stood out to you?

I was really struck by the number of people who credited their success to two things – their relationships and their passion. Yes, a lot has changed over the past five years, but these are two elements of a successful career that are timeless: build and maintain authentic professional relationships and find a career where you’ll be doing work you love. I expect I’ll be giving that exact same advice five more years from now and fifty years from now.

In addition to being an author and speaker you serve as a global spokesperson for LinkedIn. Can you share your top LinkedIn tips for recent grads?

Absolutely! LinkedIn is a very important tool for recent grads and far too many of them are still not aware of how valuable professional online networking can be at the beginning of your career. Here are my top five LinkedIn tips for recent grads:

1. Write a profile headline that displays your desired career. Your headline does not have to be a job title. The best student headlines clearly promote who you are and what you want to do when you graduate. For example, "Honors Student & Aspiring Public Relations Associate." Or “Pre-MBA Finance Major Graduating in 2013.”
2. Include a ton of keywords in your profile. Recruiters search for candidates by keywords, so make sure your profile is full of them. Find relevant words and phrases in the job descriptions of the positions you want and then pepper them throughout your Summary, Specialties and Skills sections.
3. Connect with everyone you know. Build your network by sending personalized LinkedIn connection requests to everyone you know -- friends, family, neighbors, classmates, everyone. Next, send each personal a customized message (no mass emails!) to tell them you’re job hunting and to explain what position(s) you’re looking for. Request some advice or a phone call to talk further, or ask if they can refer you to anyone they know in your desired field.
4. Join your alumni group. Join the LinkedIn group of any college, university or graduate school you’ve attended. Once you’re a member, you’ll begin to receive updates on the activities taking place – discussions, job postings, event announcements and more. Jump in and start participating, just like you did in college!
5. Search the Student Jobs Portal. The Student Jobs Portal is a collection of all entry-level job postings on LinkedIn. Search by job function or check out postings from featured companies. When you apply for a job through this portal, the employer will be able to see your full LinkedIn profile along with your application.

Should You Come Out at Work?

A recent Harris poll conducted with Out & Equal and Witeck-Combs Communications indicated that only 35 percent of bisexuals said that they are out to their co-workers compared to 60 percent of gay men and 62 percent of lesbians. The same pattern plays out for those who are open with their bosses and managers with 56 percent of gay men, 44 percent of lesbians, and 21 percent of bisexuals reporting being out.

There are many people who believe that all homosexual individuals should come out at work.  I’m not sure I agree. While I’m not going to tell people how to live their lives, I would like to encourage you to use caution when your career or well-being could be at stake.

Bob’s Story

Last year, I came across Bob Johnson’s story online.  A few years ago, Bob interviewed for a marketing and communications position with the Lebanese American University, a university chartered in New York with campuses in Lebanon.  He had some reservations about working for LAU as it didn’t have an equal opportunity employer notice on its website or job ad.  But he interviewed for the position anyway, not volunteering information about his sexuality.

Through the course of Bob’s tenure at LAU, which included listening to a speech from the Iranian president that panned homosexuality and traveling to the deeply closeted city of Beirut, Bob learned that openness about his sexuality would not be tolerated.  Despite using discretion, though, Bob received a 45-day performance improvement plan from his manager outlining deficiencies in his work performance. Forty-five days later, LAU fired him.

It didn’t make sense, as Bob’s job performance was stellar.  When he discussed his confusion with a colleague, he was told that he was not actually fired for job performance, but because he was gay.

Discrimination Laws Are Not All-Encompassing

The LGBT community has come a long way.  Many states now have laws that protect LGBT individuals from job discrimination.  However, there is currently no federal law that safeguards people from being fired because they are gay as Bob was, so think before you open that door.

Safeguarding Your Well-Being

I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but your first concern is making sure that coming out is safe.  If there is already anti-gay sentiment at your workplace, you don’t want to be the target of physical violence or emotional abuse.  If you need help assessing how your organization feels about LGBT employees, check out the Human Rights Campaign website.

Share with One Person at a Time

If you determine that your workplace will be receptive, start gradually.  Choose a person or two at work and think through how you want to tell them.  Observe how your heterosexual colleagues talk about their personal lives, and model your own behavior after theirs.  This might involve mentioning it casually in conversation in the kitchen, or inviting your partner to Happy Hour with the team.

Have Reasonable Expectations

Be prepared for negative reactions, including people who seem disappointed or offended at first, or people who say something stupid in a moment of awkwardness (link to awkward conversation post).  Hopefully, though, your confidants will get used to the idea and the information will be absorbed easily, without affecting how you’re viewed as a co-worker and friend.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

Life at the Googleplex

I’ve always been an admirer of Sergey Brin, a Russian Jew like myself who landed in Maryland.  Just a few years older than me, Sergey co-founded one of the largest technology companies in the world: Google.  But what started as a garage project is now a multi-billion dollar global organization employing nearly 20,000, and it has been interesting to see how Google’s culture has evolved.

Google corporate headquarters, known as the Googleplex, is the center of the Google universe.  It’s located on an enormous campus in Mountain View, Calif.—or Silicon Valley—to which employees from the San Francisco Bay area are bussed daily via a free, Wi-Fi enabled and environmentally-friendly shuttle.

Google Feeds Its Brains

The Googleplex takes employee benefits to a whole new level.  For one thing, there’s the food. Google provides its employees with three gourmet, all-you-can-eat meals a day, in various cafes around campus. At one, Pintxo 47, employees can select from tapas-style entrees including steak tartare, rabbit confit and Porcini mushrooms. Googlers sit at whatever table has an opening and enjoy lunch as a time to meet new people and discuss their projects with members of other teams.

Work Made Easy

After lunch, going back to the office is a pleasant experience. There are very few closed doors, as Google favors shared cube areas and huddle rooms. If your laptop is acting up, there’s a Tech Stop on every floor that will fix it on the spot.  Management has decreed that 20 percent of employee time can be spent on a personal project. You can bring your dog to work and ride a bicycle or scooter to a meeting in another campus building.

Recreation Abounds

When you’re not working, there’s no real reason to leave. At the Googleplex, you can work out, swim, play pool and volleyball, get a massage, go to the doctor or get your hair cut.  You can drop your children at daycare or get assistance with financial planning, adoption or nonprofit initiatives. There are employee interest groups for everything, including meditation and salsa dancing, and—to peak your intellectual curiosity—Google sponsors lectures from visiting authors, professors, scientists and politicians.

A Startup Vibe?

On its website, Google says that it maintains a small company feel.  Every employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. No one hesitates to pose questions directly to Larry or Sergey in weekly all-hands meetings. Google claims to be aggressively inclusive in its hiring, and it publicly favors ability over experience.

As Chief Culture Officer Stacy Savides Sullivan told CNET a few years back:  “Google-y is defined as somebody who is fairly flexible, adaptable and not focusing on titles and hierarchy, and just gets stuff done.”

It’s easy to see how the Google culture might be ideal for a twenty-something employee, because the environment is very similar to a college campus. So concurs an ex-Googler who now works at Microsoft:  “These kids don’t have a life yet so they spend all of their time at work. Google provides everything they need, even clothes (clean tee-shirts are placed in bins for people to grab)!”

The downside of Google is its lack of career development and progression. Like a startup, the organization is very flat, and it’s not common to be promoted from an individual contributor to a manager. A good review might result in a salary increase and a higher title, but responsibilities don’t necessarily change. However, as long as you know what you’re getting into, the Googleplex perks are hard to pass up.

This post was originally published at the AMEX Open Forum.  Have you checked out my Culture Beat column yet?