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Life At Work

Are Vacations Less Risky For Workers This Year?

By: Sheryl Silver

Employed and planning a vacation this summer or fall? Not everyone can afford a vacation this year but if you can, should you take it? Is it wise to be away from your job for a week or more in this economic environment?

The answers depend on the workplace expert you ask. Brad Karsh, president and founder of JobBound and author of the book Confessions of a Recruiting Director, is encouraging employed people to take vacations this summer if they can financially afford to do so. According to Karsh, who also authored How to Say it on Your Resume, "Many people have been reluctant to take vacations because they're concerned their absence from their offices will make them vulnerable if their companies decide to downsize."

By: Sonja Mack

Job stress. We've all felt it at one time or another. It's where the expression "going postal" comes from. Well, a new expression that means just about the same thing might get added to popular American lexicon – "going flight attendant."

A few days ago, Jet Blue flight attendant Steve Slater got on his plane's public announcement system and told the passengers just how he felt about them – and it wasn't warm and fuzzy. Had Slater been quietly steaming about work internally, only to have his frustration bubble to the surface at an inopportune time? Or was there a particular trigger that made him come undone? Whatever the case, the incident brings an important topic to the forefront: how to deal with work stress.

By: Peter Weddle

Career Training Courses are a waste of time – at least, that's the conclusion of the U.S. Labor Department after studying the experience of 160,000 laid off workers who went through subsidized career training courses. After surveying how these newly-trained job seekers fared in the job market, the DOL found that their career training courses neither helped them get a new job, nor hang onto one if they were able to get hired.

By: Elizabeth Garone

Q: What is the best way to give notice at a job you haven't even started? I am an M.B.A. student who was offered a marketing position in December.

By: Taunee Besson, CMF, CareerCast.com Senior Columnist

Q: I've been doing some self assessment, and if feels like my career is stuck in neutral. The down economy has forced my company to lay off workers, and my job is no longer satisfying or challenging. I'm no longer developing and I don't know how to improve the situation, short of a career change.

By: Taunee Besson, CMF, CareerCast.com Senior Columnist

Q: I feel burned out and am suffering from some serious career fatigue. I'm worried about my career development, and want to make sure I try something new in order to improve my job skills and increase my marketability.