National Edition - August 3, 2008
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Newsworthy
Brazilians chase "train of happiness"
Unwitting tourists in Brazil may think that the "train of happiness" is an all-night conga line. Well, wrong, it couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, Brazilians are actually referring to the more sober ambition of being life-long bureaucrats in their country's bloated state structure. Unlike the North American public sector these well-paying and stable jobs mean: two-hour lunches, big houses, shinny cars and domestic help. But it's highly competitive: there are 700 applicants for each position. Once they've secured a seat on this gravy train, it's back to perfecting their samba steps and decorating their carnival costumes.
(Source: Reuters)
Workplace Challenges
Resolving Co-Worker Conflicts
You can choose your friends but can't choose your relatives, goes the popular expression. The same wisdom applies to the workplace, where you can choose your lunch-mates but have to get along with all the members on your project team. Conflict's bound to arise. So, it's best to have a strategy for dealing with any unpleasantness rather than burying it under the proverbial rug. This includes identifying the problem, talking it out (involves an equal part of listening!), recommending positive solutions and, if need be, involving higher-ups. Remember your CPR: be calm, polite and rational.
(Source: Divine)
Work/Life Balance
Visions of your retirement years
A Winnipeg man created a website for retiring Baby Boomers. While they may have a solid nest egg accumulated from long and prolific careers, they require help and guidance in terms of what they'll do with all their spare time. The videos reveal profiles of people who work part-time, consult, start small businesses, compose music, write books or volunteer. NB. The website address listed in the article is wrong. The correct address is www.youngretired.ca.
(Source: National Post)
Office life
Manual for office pranks
According to a recent survey of senior executives and human resource professionals, Friday is the least productive day work-wise. So it is the perfect time to terrorize colleagues with playful pranks. It's best to err on the side of caution, not pulling off anything that will end in tears or termination. A new book, Cubicle Warfare, outlines in detail different ideas for tricking unsuspecting co-workers. To avoid being the targeted, the author recommends that employees keep a low profile and clear their workstations of any personal items that may be turned against them.
(Source: Jobboom, Career Zone)
What was your role in the last workplace prank?
To answer, click here.
Office life
Cheery staff likely to have dreams dashed
Do you find the instant popularity of new co-workers hard to bear? Never fear, it's only temporary, they'll be gone soon enough. New research revealed that the most cheerful employees are most likely to seek other opportunities when the honeymoon periods at their current jobs wear off. Instead of knuckling down, once the day-to-day reality sets in, they begin to look elsewhere, thinking that the next job will be better.
(Source: Jobboom, Career Zone)
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Do you... know what Brown can do for you? A deceased UPS man preferred a big brown truck to a black hearse for his funeral.
- A Chicago-area UPS delivery man, a 20-year veteran, loved his job but recently died
- His wife described him as "the happiest UPS man alive"
- A co-worker transported the body from the funeral parlor to the funeral service in a brown UPS truck
- The colleague will keep a picture of him in the truck so that they can keep riding together
(Source: Associated Press)
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August 3 - 6
National Agriculture Awareness Conference
St. John's, NL
August 7
Grants & Loans Information Sessions
Montreal, QC
August 10 - 14
World Library and Information Congress
Quebec City, QC
August 18 - 21
Call Centre Week Canada
Toronto, ON
August 21 - 24
11th Annual Social Justice Summer Retreat
Algonquin Park, ON
August 25 - 28
21st World Congress of Rehabilitation International
Quebec City, QC
August 27 - 29
Creative Freelancer Conference
Chicago, Il
September 13 - 14
Go Abroad Fair
Vancouver, BC
September 19 - 26
National Biotechnology Week
Canada-wide
September 22 - 26
Toronto Tech Week
Toronto, ON
September 29 - 30
Shifting Directions: Inside the Workplace
Vernon, BC
September 30 - October 1
The National Job Fair and Training Expo
Toronto, ON
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NOTICE: Jobboom and its sponsors do not necessarily endorse the opinions conveyed in the articles selected for this e-zine and do not assume any legal liability in consequence thereof.
Comments: info@jobboom.com
Research and editing: Austin Macdonald
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