1 Tough job market for class of 2014 (Douglas Belkin
& Mark Peters in The Wall Street Journal) As the class of 2014 enters the
job market, graduates, particularly those with a liberal-arts degree, face a
stubbornly high unemployment rate for recent graduates—8.3% last year, well
above that of the past several decades. Those who have found employment aren't
necessarily putting their degrees to use. In 2012, 44% college graduates aged
22 to 27 were working in jobs that didn't require a bachelor's degree, the
highest level in nearly two decades, according to the latest data from a
Federal Reserve Bank of New York study.
The elevated underemployment—skilled workers doing
jobs that don't require their education level—has been blamed on the economy's
slow recovery. And for recent graduates, the headwinds are growing. Jobs in
which a bachelor's isn't needed tend to pay less and offer fewer hours than a
generation ago. More graduates also are taking out heftier loans; their average
debt size has more than doubled to $33,000 in the past two decades.
The transition from college to the workforce has
long been bumpy. Underemployment has traditionally been higher among those in
their 20s than college graduates as a whole. The percentage of recent graduates
who aren't putting their degrees to use mirrors levels seen in the early 1990s.
But five years out from the 1991 recession, the underemployment rate was
starting to fall and eventually dipped to 34% by the early 2000s, according to
the Federal Reserve study.
Federal data in recent months show the unemployment
rate for young, bachelor's degree holders is moderating as overall joblessness
falls. The question remains whether underemployment will follow: Some
economists argue longer-term changes may be afoot and current rates of
underemployment may be here to stay.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303749904579580263397059866?mod=WSJ_hp_India_EditorsPicks&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303749904579580263397059866.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_hp_India_EditorsPicks
2 Need for gender equality at CEO level (Khaleej Times) All a
female leader should have to do to be taken seriously is the same as should be
expected of anyone: be earnest and competent, and take things seriously. Yet
tales of the obstacles women face only keep coming – and they reach the highest
levels of business.
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has written in her
book, Lean In, how often and easily women are labelled as “difficult”. In the
past week, the high-profile sacking of New York Times executive editor Jill
Abramson has furthered the debate. Former Sydney Morning Herald editor Amanda
Wilson wrote in a column for the Guardian how female editors struggle with a
lack of role models and a glut of doubt heaped on them. “It is, without doubt,
different and much harder for women at the top,” Wilson said.
If you’re skeptical, the stats can speak for
themselves. In America, just 4 per cent of CEOs are women. Among banks, Goldman
Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup have no women among their top five
executives. Even those who manage to climb the ladder aren’t equally welcomed,
a new study out of the US suggests. About 67 per cent of women in CEO positions
are forced out. Only 25 per cent of male CEOs are.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, too often the
burden remains on the shoulders of women to push for change. Phrased another
way, the senselessness should be clear: discrimination against women in
business isn’t women’s fault. But for some men, it seems, even this can be hard
to believe. If they’ve known a few women who didn’t dress or talk
professionally, it’s enough to damn a whole gender.
Simply, there’s an ocean separating the experience
of being one of the half that’s historically been dominant to being in the half
that’s been considered subordinate. The onus is now on men to right the
unfairness that has obstructed women in the workplace for so long. The steps to
be taken are obvious and easy, and it’s about time.
http://khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=/data/editorial/2014/May/editorial_May46.xml§ion=editorial
3 Dos and don’ts of working from home (Belo Cipriani
in San Francisco Chronicle) It’s unclear where it started, but there’s no doubt
the working from home movement is thriving in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yet,
the setup can create challenges for people who are new to working from home or
don’t feel as productive as they do in the office. Here are some dos and don’ts
of working from home.
When working from home, decide on an activity that
will start your work day and stick to it. It may be powering your computer as
you make coffee, walking into your home office and closing the door behind you,
or creating a mental to do list after walking the dog. Ensure the activity is
something that has to be done daily and only by you.
Take breaks. If possible, take your morning, lunch
and afternoon breaks at the same time you would at the office. Doing so will
not just help with building a routine, but it will help keep the mind fresh. For
those who are parents and have small children at the house, use break times to
socialize with them.
Let others know of your schedule. If you have
roommates, a significant other, children, or teens at the house, tell them
about your telecommuting schedule. Point out the times that you are free to
chat or even invite them to share a meal during the carved-out lunch time.
Informing others of the times you are free to chat or hang will reduce
distractions.
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