

Social media is booming with opportunities. For some business professionals, it could mean networking that will boost your career to new heights. For others, it could mean the end of your career. Don't be a part of the latter group. Avoid these seven social media mistakes. Complaining About Your Job or Boss

Whenever the idea of working from home comes to mind, it's natural to fantasize yourself lounging around in pajamas, taking long lunches and embracing extended sleeping hours. Unfortunately, the reality for successful home workers is very different. It's important to realize that even though working from home offers some amount of flexibility, it is still a professional job and needs to be treated that way.

All too often, people enter into a career with high expectations and find themselves burnt out after only a few years. Many of these same people will decide to just “stick it out” with these unfulfilling jobs, their dread of work growing with each passing day.

Organizations function when decisions are made with consideration of their ethical and moral impact. Organizations are in crisis, as many currently are, unethical decision-making often takes place. You may find yourself right in the middle of an organization’s unethical decision-making, with the results include increased stress, job dissatisfaction, and concerns about your own job security.

If given the choice, would you choose to work hard or to work smart? Provided you’re not a masochist, you would probably choose to work smart. In our culture, that’s a common bit of advice, and most people see the wisdom. But, what if “hard” and “smart” aren’t the only ways to work? What if working these ways isn’t the most likely path to success? Rather than working hard or smart, we need to turn our attention to working “happy.”

A BBC study examining the impact of sleep schedules on volunteers emphasized what many of us already know—more sleep is good for our bodies and brains. Nevertheless, it never hurts to have another reminder that the magic number of eight hours isn’t just ideal. In several crucial ways, ample sleep is necessary to make us more productive in our work day.

When interviewing for a new job these days, you should expect to be assessed just as much on how well you fit in with an organization’s culture as on your qualifications and experience. Of course, the shoe also is on the other foot: if you knew the "culture" of the organization, would you still want to work there?

If you’re like a lot of professionals, you start your career with a roar right out of college, full of energy and willing to put work first. But after several years -- and perhaps several different jobs, or promotions, or career changes -- your priorities shift. How does one strike an increasingly important balance between work life and personal life? Workplace flexibility, whether in your current position or a new one, is essential to find that balance. Five steps can help you achieve that goal.