The Best Investment Advice Youll Get All Year

The Best Investment Advice Youll Get All Year The Best Investment Advice Youll Get All Year Like most people, Ive seen my 401(k) drop in value, the few stocks I own have taken a beating, and the value of my house has surely fallen, although I havent asked since I dont plan on moving any time soon. None of these investments turn out to be worth what I thought they were and like, everyone else, Im now skittish about investing. Whats the point in saving for retirement if it can all be wiped out? Whats the point in investing in your home, if its value could drop below the value of your mortgage?If you feel the saatkorn way, theres one investment you can make that you wont ever regret an investment in yourself.Think about it if you invest in yourself, then the results are up to you. You wont be dependent on banking executives or mortgage brokers or politicians. Youll be dependent on you.What might that investment look like? That really depends on your circumstances and your dreams.For m e, it means investing in growing my business. For you it might mean investing in professional job search help a good resume and search strategy can increase both your interviews and the salary offers you get. Or it may mean investing in further education did you know that unemployment among the college-educated is currently only around 4%, while the average for everyone else is heading for 10%? Maybe you have let some of your technical skills fall behind and classes would help. Maybe you could take classes to shore up areas of weakness, such as public speaking or leadership.Perhaps youve always wanted your own business but havent wanted to risk your savings on pursuing that dream. Or maybe you have your own business, but havent updated your website or marketing materials in years.And if youre short of money, dont forget that an investment doesnt have to be financial. You can commit to invest time and effort in developing your self or your business instead.Whatever your situation, this financial crisis offers an opportunity to think about investing in the only person you can really trust to provide solid returns YOU

Your private office messages are never actually private

Your private office messages are never actually privateYour private office messages are never actually privateThe rise of instant messaging platforms being used in our workplaces has made communication mora efficient and productive- and casual.Its this factorthat can be especially dangerous for businesses and employees. We all get a little loose sometimes, treating work as if its home and maybe getting too familiar with coworkers. The integration of pictures and video, like GIFS and emoji, into office chats encourage acasual tone where lips get loosenedand gossip flows easily in a stream ofscreenshots and Michael-Jackson-eating-popcorn gifs.In this funenvironment, it can become all too easy to fool ourselves into thinking that our private communications of jokes and gossip are just between us.Theyre not.All of your internal communications on business software usually belong to your employer, no matter how banal, as seen by the trial between the Gawker media company and professional w restler Hulk Hogan, in which thousands of private messages between journalists became a matter of public record. Editor Max Read recounted the surreal experience of watching his former co-worker explain a Hogan joke he had made in a 2012 internal chat to opposing counsel.The chats were a bibles worth of career-compromising comments, some of which would make me very uncomfortable (if not unemployable) if it got out - a wealth of gossip and prattle I should have just conducted inperson, he wrote.Hislessonis one that has been reinforcedby a long line of people having their private chats and emails exposed youre being watched by servers and employers, so watch what you say.Have your sensitive conversations face-to-faceYou can avoid putting yourself in a precarious position by telling your colleagues to move a conversation face-to-face when a discussion could get dicey. That doesnt mean that you can say inappropriate things face-to-face and expect them to vaporize immediately people have memories and they will repeat your comments no matter where they hear them or see them. But it does mean youre much better off if people with bad motivations cant take a screenshot of your comments and take them out of context.Its also good practice in general to discuss sensitive subjects in person. Tone can be hard to read over messages.Although the onlineplatforms themselves foster thisparty environment where any GIF goes, they also caution against employees falsely thinking that theirfun communications are private. Slack, a popular platform with over a million users, stands for Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge.Through Slacks Plus plan, employers can access all of your direct messages, chats and files from public and private channels.It is important to remember that it is still business software, Slack Julia Blystone told NPR about the chat platformsprivacy limitations, and anything you communicate on a workplace device using a workplace network may ultimately b elong to your employer.One long-term stepto avoiding embarrassing fallouts is educating yourself about cybersecurity and what your companys Information Technology policies are. Surveillance is generally on the side of the employer and employee monitoring tools are only getting more sophisticated and lucrative. According to the tech firm 451 Research, employee monitoring is a$200 million-a-year industry.Your downloads and web surfing are visible to your company tooEmployee trackinggoes beyond just what you say. The future of employee monitoring is in trackingwhat you do in the workplace.Take the example ofAnthony Levandowski, who was accused of taking Waymo trade secrets to his new employer Uber. Analysts believe that Waymo used employee monitoring tools to figure out Levandowski had allegedly downloaded confidential files.Being cautious about what you communicate via instant message is one part of being aware of this new landscape. As any lawyer will remind you, anything written dow n can become asubpoenable, permanent record for the court of your peers to judge. Even if it doesnt go that far, it can be part of a paper trail that can cause you trouble. Think twice before writing down anything you wouldnt want to explain one day in court or in front of HR.If youre a manager, you can regularly remind employees that their communications at work arent private, especially on official equipment like company-issued cellphones and laptops.Network administrators can see every website and every bit of traffic that comes from the companys servers. And if you see a coworker not doing himself or herself any favors in their use of office chat, slip them a reminder.Your social media accounts are also not totally privateAnother risk is social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn in which users are easily identifiable even if you think an account is yours personally, what you say on it could get you fired, like one banker whose inappropriate overtures on LinkedIn resulted in him losing his high-paying job.And if you cant avoid doing a sensitive conversation online, consider using the secure, end-to-end encryption messaging platform ofSignal. But keep in mind in some industries, like finance, all your work-related conversations have to be visible for legal reasons. Even printers have a fingerprint that show where printed pages came from. Theres no way to really keep something private using technology.

The Rules of Being Friends With Your Co-workers - The Muse

The Rules of Being Friends With Your Co-workers - The MuseThe Rules of Being Friends With Your Co-workers If youre lucky, you dont hate your co-workers. In fact, if youre really lucky, you probably like them a lot, and maybe you even want to turn the relationships into full-on friendships (ah, scandalous). After all, you landsee these people all day, every day, so it only makes sense you want to take it to the next level.Its normal to want friends at work- and its actually crucial to your career success. Because as I said, you spend fruchtwein of your time on the job, so when you dont like the people you work with, it makes getting through the day a lot harder. When you enjoy each others company, youre bound to have a lot more happy (and productive) days.But before you start making friendship bracelets, there are a few rules to getting buddy-buddy with your colleagues.1. Dont Push the Boss-Employee RelationshipGIF courtesy of GIPHYIm going to get real for a second No matter how much you and your manager have in common, and how much fun you have together, he or she is still your boss. This doesnt mean you cant talk about non-work stuff or spend time together outside of the office- it just means you have to be a bit more cognizant of what you choose to discuss. The same goes for being friendly with your direct reports. Regardless of your company culture, you 100% need to remember that you want this person to respect you- and that a few, small choice comments can erode respect all too quickly.2. Do Be ConsiderateGIF courtesy of GIPHYYour work buddy may live in the same neighborhood as you, or they may live in a town youve never heard of. They may be married with kids, or they may cringe at the thought of a family.Friendship doesnt discriminate, but how you choose to hang out can. If, for example, your co-worker cant do happy hour with the rest of the kollektiv because they have to pick up their children, be open to suggesting ideas that happen during the workday- say, substituting happy hour for lunch at your favorite restaurant. Or, if you know they dont drink, plan to grab coffee rather than drinks. Acknowledge the fact that while everyone may want to hang out, theyre all coming from different places, with different priorities and different backgrounds. So rather than writing people off because they dont want to do exactly what you want to do, be flexible. Youll make way more valuable connections that way.3. Dont Be Clique-yGIF courtesy of GIPHYHaving a group of friends in the workplace is great But you know whats not so great? Being the adult who started a middle school clique in a grown-up office. By only hanging out with a few people and not making the effort to get to know others, youre likely alienating your other colleagues- and honestly, probably making your job harder in the process. (Josies far less likely to do that favor for you if she discovers that you invited everyone but her to grab coffee.) So, every once in a while, break the routine of only hanging out with your favorites and get to know the rest of your team. 4. Do Be YourselfGIF courtesy of GIPHYYou may feel inclined to act a certain way in order to fit into the company culture and make friends. But real, honest friendships form when youre yourself, not pretending to be someone else (I know, am I a Hallmark card or what?). Plus, if you want to bring the relationship to a second location- a.k.a., leave the office- you dont want people to be confused by the way you act when youre not sitting at a desk. Finally, putting up a face is just plain exhausting- and on top of everything else you have to do, a waste of energy.As a result of being yourself, you may not click with everyone you work with, and thats OK. As long as you find yourself in the company of people who like you for you.5. Dont Rush ItGIF courtesy of GIPHYLike any friendship, the ones you make at work take time. You may be only a few months into your new role and wondering why you dont ha ve a work wife yet. Or, you may be desperate to invite everyone you work with to your birthday party- before youve established your reputation as a hard worker first (what Im saying is that you want everyone to know that youre great at your job before you let them see you three beers deep). If youre feeling a little lonely, cut yourself some slack, give it time, and read this article on four ways to make friends. If youre more than a few months in and still struggling, you should ask yourself some questions, such as Are you attending optional social events? Have you asked anyone to grab coffee? Are you sitting at your desk all day with your headphones on? It could be that you work in an unfriendly office (and if so, Im sorry), or it could be that youre unintentionally sending the message that youre not there to make friends. As long as you follow these (highly recommended) guidelines, youre on the right track for forming meaningful connections with your colleagues- connections that wont just make even the worst job bearable, but your life outside work better, too.