Many Employees Not Happy With Their Jobs.

Given the bad economy and poor job market most would think that people would be happy to have a job -- at least that's what our bosses and organizations tell us. Wondering whether this was the case, I recently asked AOL Jobs readers to share with me their feelings and attitudes toward their job and organization. The results are in and they are stunning.
Here are some of the highlights, or, should I say low points:

• Over 50 percent of respondents regret having taken their job.
• More than 70 percent of respondents would take another job tomorrow if they could.
• 62 percent of those surveyed are actively seeking other employment opportunities.
• 47 percent of people report that their job does not keep them engaged.
• Less than 50 percent of respondents respect their supervisor or feel respected by them.
• 42 percent of those surveyed do not believe in their organization or its future.

In addition, readers sent me hundreds of stories regarding their frustration and dissatisfaction. Here is one that falls into the category of "you can't make this stuff up."

"I worked for a hospital where my supervisor did not trust his employees to do their jobs correctly, did not believe anyone was honest and had so many rules put in place that it was impossible NOT to get fired. No one was allowed to get sick, even with a legitimate doctor's note. A woman went into labor during work and it was considered an unexcused absence."

Honestly, how is this behavior allowed to exist? It is as though in some organizations no one is at the helm when it comes to holding supervisors accountable for how they treat their employees. How could anyone do their best work under these circumstances? Here are a few more examples of poor behavior and the negative impact that it has on employee morale and engagement....

"I do payroll and was told by my supervisor to go talk to a few girls about their attire which was inappropriate for work. After doing a professional job, the CFO of the company had heard that I went to do my supervisor's job and told me that was not my position and to never do that again. 'Are you kidding?,' I was told by my supervisor, who praised the job I did, and made to feel like a child by the CFO, who talked to me like I was nothing."

"I did my job and cleaned up a mess left by another person and got in trouble for doing more than I was asked to do. My manager then asked me, like you would ask a 4 year old,"Now what would you do if you were me and you found an employee doing something they were not asked to do?" She was a b**** and I never went out of my way to do anything above and beyond at work ever again!"

"I made a suggestion on changing how an event should be run and was told: "That's not how it is in this town, darling."

"Just 2 days ago, I was told by my supervisor "not to get my panties in a wad." Great motivation!"

"My supervisor insulted me and told me that my brain was the size of a pea. Whenever something happens, he is NEVER at fault, it is ALWAYS my fault. I hate my job so much, I would quit right now if I could."

The Impact 

To say that people are dissatisfied, discouraged and disconnected would clearly be an understatement. During better economic times and a healthier job market dissatisfied employees were able to find other employment opportunities. For many people, such opportunities simply do not exist. As a result, tens of millions of Americans are in jobs they don't want to be in. Along with dissatisfaction often comes stress, which in turn affects employees' physical and psychological well-being and, consequently, negatively impacts their families. The situation is much graver than employees simply not liking their jobs.
Employees and their families are not the only ones who suffer. How could an organization possibly thrive when 50 percent of their employees regret having taken their job and 62 percent are actively looking for other work? Employee dissatisfaction and disengagement leads to lower levels of productivity, quality and customer service, and to higher rates of absenteeism, tardiness and employee theft. Organizational leaders need to wake up and realize that their bottom line is directly tied to employee satisfaction and engagement.

The Answer 

As grave as the situation is, the solution is not terribly complicated. If you examine organizations with high levels of employee satisfaction and engagement, they all have one thing in common: They treat their employees with RESPECT. There is no more powerful way to create a committed and dedicated workforce then by treating every employee with respect. I have never met a person who didn't care about being respected or who, when disrespected, didn't disengage.
Over the past decade of researching, consulting and presenting on the relationship between respect and employee satisfaction, motivation and engagement, my biggest surprise has been how ignorant supervisors, managers and organizational leaders are when it comes to how to demonstrate respect to their employees. People get the importance of respect but don't get how to actually show it on a daily basis. Hence, the reason for me creating the RESPECT Model and writing "Carrots and Sticks Don't Work." Below are the seven key drivers that supervisors and managers can use to show respect to their employees:

1. Recognition – at the most basic level, we all fundamentally just want to be recognized and acknowledged for the contributions we make.
2. Empowerment – providing employees with the training and resources, including communication that they need to be successful.
3. Supportive feedback – the primary job of the supervisor/manager is to provide ongoing coaching and mentoring to his/her employees; not doing so sends the message that an employee is not valued.
4. Partnering – developing a collaborative working relationship first within one's team and then across departments.
5. Expectations – providing employees with clear goals and objectives, and holding employees who fail to meet expectations accountable.
6. Consideration – consistently demonstrating care and consideration to individual team members.
7. Trust – acting in ways that build a culture of trust which serves as the basis for both personal and professional relationships.

Summary 

The United States is in a state of crisis when it comes to employee morale and satisfaction. The result is a highly disgruntled and stressed-out workforce who cannot possibly be engaged and maximally productive. While the impact on both individuals and organizations is immense, there exists a simple, low-cost solution, namely, training supervisors, managers, and organizational leaders to act in ways that leave employees feeling respected -- doing so is not only the right thing to do, it is also the profitable thing to do.

Source:  AOL Jobs

Truck Driver Earns Six -figure Salary!

We usually associate truck drivers with low paying salaries. However this article on CNN shows how with some creativity, and luck, a truck driver was able to turn his truck driving job into a 6 digit income.  

Read  article below:

Name: Jeff McGee

Job: Semi-truck mover

Salary: $160,000

Age: 37

Hometown: Duluth, MN

I got a degree in science and I wanted to be a physician. But when I had a kid, I needed money and I needed it fast.

Since I was getting very few job offers in the medical field, I got a job as a truck driver. I didn't get any sleep, I was overworked and gained lots of weight from sitting in a truck all day and night. And I only made about $45,000 a year.

One day, I got talking with a man in a truck stop who told me how he worked as a semi-truck mover and made over $100,000 a year. So I looked into it and applied for a job.

Now, I deliver semi-truck trailers from one place to another. Not many people know about this industry because it's so much more specialized than just regular truck driving. As a transporter you pick up semi trucks straight out of the factory and drop them off at individual dealers.

I love it. I drive 600 to 700 miles a day, have my own vehicle, get as much vacation time as I want and the company flies me to each factory and puts me up in a nice hotel.
 Source: CNN Money

People Get Comfortable with Part-time Jobs; Some Won't Go Back to Full-time.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Unemployment remains a huge concern, but the underemployment problem isn't as bad as it used to be. Fewer part-time workers are looking for full-time work -- because they don't mind working part-time after all.

"It's not massive, but there is a marked drop during a period when we're not seeing an increase in hours," said Heidi Shierholz, labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

Since hitting a peak of 9.5 million last September, the number of part-time workers who tell the Labor Department they are doing so for economic reasons rather than personal reasons has dropped to 8.4 million in July.

The vast majority of part-timers, defined as those who work less than 35 hours a week, are happy with their status. Those who would prefer full-time work make up only 31% of all part-time workers, according to the Labor Department.

That's still a lot higher than the 19% of part-timers who wanted a full-time job before the start of the Great Recession. But it's a modest improvement from the peak of 34% last September.
But economists don't have a definitive answer for why more part-timers are content to work fewer hours.

Where the jobs are 

Part of it could be that workers who had been looking for full-time work have now decided they prefer the flexibility of a part-time schedule. 

Shawn Boyer, CEO of SnagAJob, a job posting site for hourly positions, thinks some part-timers are discovering the advantages that go with the disadvantage of smaller paychecks.
"You get a person who didn't have a choice but to go into part time, and after adjusting to the lifestyle, they realize they have more of a work/life balance," said Boyer.

That was the case for Karen King, a suburban Chicago marketing executive for a midsize specialty retailer. When she had her hours -- and her salary -- cut by 25% in early 2009, she thought it was a disaster for her and her family.

"I was angry, I was bitter, I took it personally. I felt like I was taken advantage of," King recalled.
But soon she decided it was the best situation, even if it put a crimp in the family budget.
"I finally figured out the balance since it was forced upon me," she said.
Julia Claire was someone else who found herself changing her attitude about working part-time. A 2007 law school graduate who never intended to work part-time, she had trouble finding full-time work as the economy slowed that year.

So she started working for temp agencies that placed attorneys with firms for limited hours to help with big cases or big projects. She soon decided the part-time lifestyle was a better fit.
"When I saw the crushing schedules that firm attorneys are subjected to, I didn't think that's the way to live," she said. "I got used to living on less, and I found I was happier. My life was less complicated."
She recently started her own placement firm, Hire an Esquire, to help other lawyers who would prefer to be working on a part-time schedule.

Some employers say they actually have trouble convincing their part-timers to shift to full-time work. Eric Morgan, who runs Adaptivity Pro, a web design/Internet marketing business, said it would be easier to manage his staff if more of his 15 part-timers would want to work full-time.
He said some workers are spreading their hours between different employers and want to keep that flexibility. Others are students or semi-retired workers who are only willing to work a limited number of hours a week.
Another possible reason for fewer disgruntled part-timers may be (as amazing as it sounds in this job market) that more workers who had been on part-time hours who have finally found full-time jobs.

Despite continued high unemployment, businesses have created 1.6 million jobs since last September. And those with jobs, even part-time jobs, often have an edge when competing for jobs with the 13.9 million unemployed job seekers.

"We've also seen people who have taken part time jobs in different industries where they didn't have any experience before the downturn. They discovered they like the industry, they're good at it, and they've moved into full-time jobs," Boyer said.

Source: CNN Money

Don't Have a Will Yet? You're Not Alone. More Than Half of Americans Don't Have Wills.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow -- Americans apparently are in no rush to think about their last days.

The newly released 2011 EZLaw Wills & Estate Planning survey shows a fairly significant disconnect between our ideals and our actions when it comes to preparing for our deaths. While 60% of those surveyed said they believe all adults should have estate plans, only 44% said they have one. Why? According to the survey, the chief reason people can't think about tomorrow is because they're too stressed about today, trying to pay bills and buy groceries. Secondly, they said they don't have estate planning documents because it is too complicated to deal with right now.

What would motivate them to get going? Well, 75% said they would be more likely to create or update their will if there was an easy, valid way to do so online.

Of particular note was the fact that women and younger folks (ages 18 to 34) are more likely to be concerned about maintaining their weight than protecting their financial assets. The the under-35 demographic also said that it is less important for people to have wills because people are living longer, healthier lives.

It's not just college kids and young adults who have no real sense of urgency about estate planning, though. More than a third of those surveyed who have children under 18 said they don't believe that wills or estate planning documents are one of the most important documents to have in place. What mattered to them? Birth certificates, and titles and deeds for property and vehicles topped their lists.

Furthermore, despite the fact that plenty of people know that without a will, a court decides who becomes a child's legal guardian if both parents die, only 39% of those surveyed with minors in their households have estate planning documents, and 13% believe that their spouse and children will automatically receive the assets they have in the event of their deaths.

Financial planners must be squirming in their seats. The stats aren't pretty, and they portend a lot of potential headaches for those who are left behind to sort out all the unsettled issues.

Start With the Basics

"Make this a priority. Start with something basic, such as a will that names guardians for children and specifies who gets your possessions," says Niran Kundapur, director of Product Planning at LexisNexis Law Firm Marketing Solutions. "After that, add on other estate planning documents such as power of attorney, living trust and living will."

If you feel intimidated or overwhelmed, getting educated helps. You can find good info online at sites like Nolo.com, through the many books on the topic, and at financial websites. LexisNexis developed EZLaw, an online service that helps you create a living will, last will and testament, or power of attorney, and have the documents reviewed by an attorney.

What's important, says Kundapur, is to start the conversation. "Don't be afraid to discuss it: Ask friends and family who have done this already, trusted professionals such as CPAs or family lawyers or doctors. Why go it alone?"

The bottom line: "People are busy living their lives and do not want to think about their mortality," says Kundapur. "Yet, estate planning is not about our own self. It's about ensuring the best possible future for family and loved ones."

Source: Daily Finance

Glass Company can do Jewish glass designs

There is a glass company located in Lakewood NJ that has done beautiful jobs for synagogues and Jewish centers. Clearcut Glass  located in NJ has done recently banks, shopping centers and other glass jobs. They are also known for doing beautiful residential jobs.

Granite for a great price

I was looking to get a good piece of granite for a great price. Fabricators are already marked up so I eventually was able to get it at a granite importer and wholesaler located in NJ. They have a great selection of granite and marble slabs, but since as I wrote above, I wanted it for a great price I  was limited to about 10 slabs. I was however very happy with the choice that I made.

Immunocal Whey Protein patented natural nutritional supplement produced by Immunotec

First let me start with what is Immunocal. Immunocal is a patented natural nutritional supplement produced by Immunotec that is over 90% pure protein and has a biological value higher than any other protein supplement or food available. 

This Bioactive Whey Protein is not a prescription drug, but a powerful and unique patented highly bio-active whey protein dietary supplement that is loaded with glutathione precursors. 

Bioactive whey protein has been shown to differ from other whey proteins in its effect upon the immune system. Specifically, scientific studies on other whey proteins have not shown the same immune stimulating effects that are seen with bioactive whey protein. Bioactive whey protein is has been extensively studied in the clinical literature. Comparing bioactive whey protein to other commercial whey proteins clearly shows the superiority of bioactive whey protein.

Making your home accessible for elderly and handicaps

We were very glad to find out that there is a company in Lakewood New Jersey specializing in turning ordinary homes accessible to elderly people and for people with handicaps. Accessible Homes gives free consultations and does an excellent job installing ramps, wheal chair lifts and everything else needed to make your home accessible.

Accessible Homes does the entire job, they do also construction and everything needed to make the home accessible in New Jersey