Archive for October, 2007

High pressure jobs lead to depression

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 29, 2007 
Filed Under Stress | Leave a Comment

The cost of workplace stress is counted in poor quality of life, reduced lifespan, social impairment and decreased productivity at work. High levels of workplace stress may therefore set off a vicious cycle leading to depression or anxiety, reduced workplace productivity, to even more stress.

Sleep loss and emotional fatigue

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 25, 2007 
Filed Under Work Behaviour | 1 Comment

While past studies have revealed that sleep loss can impair the immune system and brain processes such as learning and memory, there has been surprisingly little research into why sleep deprivation affects our emotions. Without sleep, the emotional centres of our brains dramatically overreact to bad experiences, research now reveals.

Salespeople and social awareness

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 22, 2007 
Filed Under Persuasion/Selling | Leave a Comment

The best salespeople, the best teachers, the best business managers have an innate ability to read body language and put it to profitable use. They adapt their presentation to the messages they pick up. For example, the most successful trial lawyers are those who can look at a jury and a judge and pick up little cues that tip off what people are thinking. Such signals are used constantly, even though people generally don’t realise they are communicating through their movements, posture and mannerisms.

The hidden cost of bullying

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 17, 2007 
Filed Under Leadership, Work Behaviour | Leave a Comment

Evidence that workplace bullying increases costs for organisations keeps mounting. Researchers at Florida State University surveyed more than 180 employees from a wide variety of professions, asking whether they had endured a history of abuse from their bosses, then asking a series of workplace performance questions. Employees working under an abusive supervisor tended to rebel quietly and indirectly by slacking off on the job and handing in sloppy work.

Literacy testing back-fires

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 15, 2007 
Filed Under Selection | Leave a Comment

A literacy test administered to job applicants by a US company was found to be discriminatory to African-American job applicants costing the company several thousand dollars in fines payable to those discriminated against.

Spying destroys trust

Posted by Ricki Sharpe on October 10, 2007 
Filed Under Work Behaviour | Leave a Comment

Bosses have declared war on the personal use of company resources, but this approach destroys trust, an important ingredient for success.

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