Overtime can really weigh you down

Overtime can really weigh you down - Women, younger people and those on a low pay grade with a drink habit most susceptible - Workers who spend long hours at the office are more than twice as likely to develop depression as those who do a standard day, according to a study.

British researchers found those who spend more than 11 hours a day — or 55 hours a week — at their desk faced a higher risk.

The most susceptible were women, younger people and those on a low pay grade with moderate alcohol consumption.

More than 2,000 Whitehall civil servants with various jobs, salaries and working hours were recruited in the 1990s for the study of employees aged 35 to 55. When they were followed up six years later, scientists at two London universities and colleagues in Finland found a ‘robust association' between overtime and depression — even allowing for other factors such as unhealthy lifestyles, marital status and job stress.

Of those questioned for the Whitehall II study, which is one of the most detailed on working hours and health in Britain, 66 had experienced a ‘major depressive episode' during the follow-up period, a rate of 3.1 per cent.

Time factor

Those who worked 11 or more hours a day were two-and-a-half times as likely to have one than those who worked seven or eight.

The researchers said it seemed some who earned more could be ‘buffered' from depression by having a job they enjoyed, or by having staff who could do things for them.

Women in high-earning jobs were more likely to suffer depression, the researcher found, attributing it to multiple responsibilities outside work.

Co-author Professor Stephen Stansfeld, of Queen Mary, University of London, said: "People working very long hours may be working less efficiently, and need to be thinking about their health and stress it may be causing in their home life as well." ( gulfnews.com )

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Cyber-school students: Pentagon snubs our service

Cyber-school students: Pentagon snubs our service – Students graduating from the growing ranks of online high schools are running into a hurdle if their goal is to join the military: The Pentagon doesn't want many recruits with non-traditional diplomas.

Many would-be soldiers like Ryker Packard, 17, of Fassett, Pa., say they weren't aware the armed services have a policy of not taking more than 10 percent of recruits with a non-traditional high school diploma. Critics, including some in Congress, say the military is behind the times and point to the growth on online teaching and testing at all levels of education, including college degrees.

"It just grinds my gears," said Packard, who wants to become an Army diesel mechanic after graduating from Pennsylvania's Agora Cyber Charter School in June.

Packard said his conversation with an Army recruiter came to a brusque end after he told him he was due to graduate from a virtual school. "He just wouldn't talk to me," said Packard.

Packard's mom, Sherri, said her son switched to online classes after floundering in a geometry course at his brick-and-mortar school. Once he got the attention of online teachers, his grades improved, she said.

Packard said her son's school is fully accredited by the state of Pennsylvania, which requires students to pass the same tests and meet the same curriculum requirements as those in traditional schools.

Jarad Dennis, 18 - Jarad Dennis, 18 , logs onto his school website in his home in Lexington, S.C. Saturday, May 7, 2011. Dennis, who will graduate from the South Carolina Connections Academy virtual school this June, was told by an Air Force recruiter that he would need to complete one year of college-level classes before he could join. Students graduating from the growing ranks of online high schools are running into a hurdle if their goal is to join the military: The Pentagon doesn’t want many recruits from alternative or home schools.

"It's part of the public school system," said Sherri Packard, 43. "It's considered one of the best in the state."

Job prospects amid the rolling hills and farms of northern Pennsylvania are slim, Ryker said. "My options are to work for the gas company or on a pig farm," the dejected teen said in a telephone interview.

Ryker and his family unknowingly ran into a policy the Department of Defense has that ranks graduates of traditional high schools as "Tier 1" and those from alternatives as "Tier 2" status. Tier 1 graduates now make up 99 percent of all recruits for all military branches, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez. The secondary status includes virtual and homeschoolers, as well as those who've left high school and earned a GED or General Education Development certificate.

Lainez said the Department of Defense limits all branches of the military to accepting no more than 10 percent of recruits with what is known as an "alternate high school credential."

Those who've opted out of the traditional educational system just don't stick with military service, she said. That includes students from what she called "any computer-based, virtual-learning program."

"Years of research and experience show recruits with a traditional high school diploma are more likely to complete their initial three years of service than their alternate credential-holding (Tier 2) piers," Lainez said. Data collected since 1988 shows only 28 percent of graduates with traditional diplomas leave military service before their first three years in uniform, while those with non-traditional backgrounds have a 39 percent attrition rate, she said.

It comes down to money because its costs $45,000 to replace someone who hasn't met their full term, she said.

But some members of Congress and supporters of online schools say the Pentagon should reconsider, in particular given the military's penchant for computerized weaponry and cyber warfare.

"We are dealing with new technology," said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., head of the House Armed Services subcommittee on personnel. "We just need to keep adapting."

Former Marine and Rep. Duncan Hunter, Jr., R-Calif., who is the only member of Congress to have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, said it's unbelievable that potential recruits are being turned away during wartime.

"Their level of education is often right on par with traditional public school graduates," said Hunter.

The congressman, who serves with Wilson on the Armed Services and Education Committees, said he doesn't want to tell the military whom to recruit, but he thinks it will have to broaden its thinking when an improved economy starts pulling applicants into the job market.

Their subcommittee has inserted language into its portion of the Pentagon fiscal year 2012 budget bill instructing the military to treat students from online high schools equally if the schools are in line with state education laws. The full committee is due to take action on the bill on May 11.

One of the main backers of virtual schools says it has been seeking a change in the military's policy because the number of students attending online is growing.

Peter Groff, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, said his organization estimates 168,310 students attended virtual schools in 2009-2010. They know of 219 charter schools that are purely online, and 134 that are a hybrid of bricks-and-mortar and virtual schooling, he said.

Projected enrollment is expected to increase next year by 7,000 students, Groff said.

States such as Minnesota have had programs for 20 years, while Utah, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania also have seen strong growth, he said. In all, 40 states and the District of Columbia have some form of charter school program allowed, he said.

Jared Dennis, Lexington, S.C., said he was devastated when he sought out an Air Force recruiter, but was told he was in "Tier 2" status. He was told he could enlist only after he took about a year of college-level classes.

"It was heartbreaking to say the least," said the 18-year-old, who said he wants to follow a family tradition of joining the service and become a military policeman. He is set to graduate from the Connections Academy in Columbia in June, one of South Carolina's five virtual public charter schools.

Dennis's mother, Alice, said she sought out the virtual charter school after her son was barred from returning to his public school on a weapons violation. He left a pocket knife in his jacket, violating the school system's zero-tolerance policy. They sought an alternative where Jared could continue with honors-level classes, she said.

In California, 19-year-old Mandi Jenkins of Long Beach, said she gave up trying to join the military after graduating last year from Connections Academy in San Clemente. The message she got was the same as that given to Dennis: Go get some college credit.

Attending a virtual school fit Jenkins' schedule because she played competitive tennis. Now, she is thinking of becoming a professional tennis player instead of donning an Army uniform. Heeding her experience, Jenkins said her 17-year-old brother is staying in his local traditional high school because he wants to join the Marine Corps.

Jenkins said she's upset with the idea that students with a cyber-education are considered less capable of fitting in or following commands.

"You still have to get your work in, you have to turn it in on time," she said.

One student who was able to get the military's attention is 20-year-old Greg Bush, who is attending Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, on a four-year Army ROTC scholarship.

The Delaware, Ohio, native said he thinks attending Ohio's Virtual Academy was a plus, both academically and socially. He was able to take Advanced Placement courses in English and literature and was able to feed an interest in military history and earned a 3.7 grade point average.

"I was a very introverted person, and doing so much course work on line drove me to reach out" to make friendships, he said. "It really benefited me." ( Associated Press )

READ MORE - Cyber-school students: Pentagon snubs our service

Test your job-searching smarts with this quiz

Think You Have Job Search Savvy?. Think you've got job hunting down to a science? Test your job-searching smarts with this quiz:

1. What is the most effective way to e-mail a résumé to a potential employer?

A) Copy and paste it into the body of the e-mail
B) Attach it as a plain text file
C) Attach it as a PDF file
D) Attach it as a Word document

Answer:
A. Sending an employer a virus that crashes his or her computer will kill your chances at landing the job. Plus, the hiring manager might hesitate to open attachments from unknown senders.

2. What percentage of hiring managers automatically dismiss résumés or cover letters with spelling or grammatical errors?

A) Nearly 25 percent
B) Nearly 33 percent
C) Nearly 50 percent
D) Nearly 66 percent

Answer:
C. Forty-nine percent of hiring managers said résumés and cover letters with errors or typos go straight into the trash bin. Proofread carefully.

3. True or false: Hiring managers count volunteer work as relevant experience.

A) True
B) False

Answer:
A. In a CareerBuilder.com survey of more than 600 hiring managers, 63 percent said they consider volunteer work to be relevant experience when evaluating a candidate.

4. An employer will likely discard a résumé that leaves out:

A) Hobbies or other personal information
B) An objective statement
C) Dates of employment
D) Fancy formatting

Answer:
C. Omitting dates of employment raises a red flag to employers who may believe you have something to hide -- incessant job hopping, for example. You're better off telling the truth.

5. True or false: An employer can choose not to hire you because of your credit score.

A) True
B) False

Answer:
A. Employers are increasingly using credit checks as part of the screening process. But don't worry: An employer must request your permission before running your credit report. If a hiring manager rejects you because of your credit, he or she must show you the report and tell you how to get a free copy from a consumer reporting agency.

6. Which of the following is NOT an illegal interview question?

A) You have a very unusual last name. What is its origin?
B) Have you ever been fired from a position?
C) Are you planning to start a family in the near future?
D) I notice you're wearing a Star of David necklace. Are you very religious?

Answer:
B. While an employer can't base a hiring decision on sex, religion or national origin, your employment history is fair game.

7. Hiring managers have seen a lot of bizarre job seeker tactics. Which of these stories is a fake?

A) Candidate sent flowers and chocolates to hiring manager's home.
B) Candidate brought Starbucks for the entire office.
C) Candidate photocopied his face as background for his résumé.
D) Candidate brought references -- in person -- with her to the interview.

Answer:
A. Some people go to extreme lengths to try and land a position. No word on how successful these candidates were.

8. What percentage of hiring managers would think less of or outright reject a candidate who didn't send a thank-you letter after the interview?

A) 12 percent
B) 28 percent
C) 36 percent
D) 47 percent

Answer:
D. Politeness counts: Nearly 15 percent would automatically dismiss a candidate who didn't send a thank-you note, and an additional 32 percent would think less highly of the candidate.

9. How many days do Americans receive, on average, as part of their compensation package?

A) 10
B) 12
C) 15
D) 18

Answer:
B. According to a survey by travel site Expedia.com, Americans receive 12 vacation days and give back an average of three per year.

10. According to a survey of more than 875 hiring managers, what percentage of employers say the first salary offer is final?

A) 30 percent
B) 40 percent
C) 50 percent
D) 60 percent

Answer:
A. Nearly six-in-ten hiring managers say they'll extend a new salary offer once if a candidate asks for it. Nearly one-in-ten say they'll extend a new offer twice or more if they really want a candidate.


Score:

• 8-10: Congratulations, you're a job-hunting guru!
• 6-7: Nice work, but there's room for improvement.
• 4-5: Not bad, but be sure to brush up on your skills.
• 0-3: Better get back to the drawing board.

( msn.com )

READ MORE - Test your job-searching smarts with this quiz

Keeping Boomers in the Workforce

Mission Possible: Keeping Boomers in the Workforce. For 20 years, Rick Wilcox worked 70 hours per week and traveled 90 percent of the time. He had no time for family or community activities. Even on the weekends, he was too tired to enjoy the little time he did have at home. Needless to say, he was burned out.

Then he found Jefferson Wells, a professional services firm based in Wisconsin. Now, there is rarely a night he misses dinner with his family.

"I knew I needed a change in my lifestyle," Wilcox, 47, says. "I am now able to compartmentalize my work life and my home life, making it easier to leave problems at the office. I still work a full work-week, but it translates to fewer hours due to less travel time. This has given me more time with my wife, kids and grandkids, which means more to me than anything else."

Wilcox, managing director of the Houston and Austin, Texas offices of Jefferson Wells, says that now he has balanced his work and personal life, there is no rush to retire.

"Retirement used to be more about returning to my family than it was about quitting work. Now I realize that I can actually have a very fulfilling, challenging career while still spending time with my family," Wilcox says. "It is possible to have it all."

As many baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) like Wilcox approach retirement age, they're deciding they aren't ready for the green pastures of retirement. Yet few employers are implementing retention and recruiting strategies to reach out to them, according to new research from Manpower Inc., an employment services company.

Merely 18 percent of U.S. employers have a strategy to recruit older workers; while only 28 percent of survey respondents reported having a strategy to retain workers past retirement age, according to the Manpower survey. With boomers comprising more than one-third of the U.S. workforce and the lack of younger workers to replace them, why aren't employers seeking to retain the talent that already exist in older workers?

"There is a real contradiction occurring in hiring trends right now," says Melanie Holmes, vice president of corporate affairs for Manpower -- North America. "Employers acknowledge that they are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions, but we are learning that they need help implementing programs that are tailored to older workers. With the first wave of baby boomers on the cusp of traditional retirement age, there is still time to engage a generation that is willing and able to continue working."

Though boomers want to continue working, employers perceive cost and productivity as primary issues when it comes to hiring them, according to Manpower's research.

"Business-savvy employers are right to consider the time and money that goes into establishing retention and recruiting programs aimed at older workers," Holmes says. "However, to make a fully informed decision, the business impact of unfilled positions and the value of the knowledge and productivity that mature professionals offer must also be weighed. Even though it may require extra effort, employers are likely to come out ahead in the return on investment."

Aside from gaining financially, there are other benefits to incorporating older workers in the labor force.

Not only are they available to work and their numbers are increasing, elder workers have accumulated knowledge about their jobs, companies and about life in general, which may also make them more efficient and productive, Holmes says.

"Many studies have shown that mature workers have a better work ethic," Holmes says. "That means they are loyal, reliable, show up on time, act professionally, pay attention to task, have perseverance, good work habits and are emotionally mature. They are generally good at those soft skills that are so important in the contemporary workplace."

Modern employers, like Jefferson Wells, that include older workers as part of their talent strategy have found success with programs that attract the wants and needs of the workers. Companies considering retention and recruiting programs that appeal to older workers should explore successful practices such as training programs, flexible scheduling options, job redesigns and/or targeted recruiting strategies, according to the survey.

"Employers who respond to the aging workforce will fare better in the competition for talent and find that they benefit from a richer, more diverse workforce," Holmes says. "The key is to start planning now for future talent needs."

Are you a baby boomer looking to expand your employment beyond retirement age? Holmes offers these tips to those looking to...

Achieve career success

• Keep skills up-to-date and keep learning.

• Be flexible and creative.

Find rewarding work

• Call an employment services company.

• Be open to all options, including consulting, mentoring and volunteering.

Decide how to retire

• Ask yourself if you're ready -- mentally and financially -- to retire. Do you want to go cold turkey or ease into it?

• Consult with a variety of sources -- your employer, your family, your financial advisor, etc. ( msn.com )

READ MORE - Keeping Boomers in the Workforce

Chase Your Dream Job, Keep Your Day Job

Chase Your Dream Job, Keep Your Day Job. Corporate America relaxing the rules to let workers follow their passions. Meet Allen Sheffield. He has a lot of passions -- accounting, his family, helping disadvantaged kids. But in 1995 he realized he couldn't do it all.

His managers at Coopers & Lybrand in Detroit tried but were unable to give Sheffield the flexibility he needed to spend more time with his growing family and his local youth ministry. "As an inner-city kid growing up in Detroit, I wanted to give something back," he explains.

So, even though he was on the partnership track at one of the nation's biggest accounting firms he gave it all up. "It broke my heart, really. Since I was 15 I always wanted to be a CPA," he says.

He took a job in the audit department at Kmart instead that offered a scaled-back workload compared to the 65- to 80-hour weeks he was putting in at Coopers. But after four years working for the discount retailer, his calling to do more for the youth ministry where he was a board member brought him to yet another crossroads.

"I ended up sitting in church one Sunday night and I thought to myself, 'I can't wait until I retire so I can spend more time with the youth at the ministry,'" he recalls.

"A little voice inside of me said, 'Why wait? Why not do it now?'"

In 1999 he talked to his wife, and the couple decided they would start saving as much money as they could and pay down their debt so Sheffield could take an 18-month leave of absence from Kmart. Instead he worked at ministry, doing administrative functions for a fraction of the salary he and his family had become accustomed to.

"No more time shares and vacations to Florida," says Sheffield, who had three children at the time and a hefty mortgage.

The way the couple saw it, it would be a year-and-a-half deal, and then they could go back to the life they had before.

In July 2001, he realized there was no going back to his former life and he took over the helm as president of the ministry, called Joy of Jesus, a three-building campus on the east side of Detroit that offers computer training, tutoring, after-school programs and a Head Start program, as well as a camp in Kingston, Mich., for 400 kids every summer.

"This is a safe haven for kids on the streets of Detroit," he explains.

Giving up his corporate job meant the family, now including four children, had to make a lot of sacrifices, cutting back on Christmas presents and eating at home more. When times were really tough Sheffield admits he was late on a few mortgage payments. His salary at the ministry was $30,000 at the time, compared to his $95,000 annual take at Kmart.

Even though he felt fulfilled by his job at the ministry, he thought about his former life at Coopers, now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, and stayed in touch with the partners there, talking to them on the phone and joining many former colleagues at golf outings, sometimes soliciting them for donations to the ministry.

In the summer of 2005, partner Mark Matthews asked if Sheffield wanted to meet for lunch to discuss the possibility of him coming back to the firm.

"I laughed at him," he recounted, because he had already tried and failed to get the kind of flexible schedule he needed. "Mark told me things had changed."

Sheffield decided to check it out, calling former co-workers and managers at the company to make sure they had indeed changed their ways when it came to work and family initiatives, and after discussing it with his wife, Paula, came up with a schedule that would fit his many obligations and proposed it to the managers at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"I put my plan on the table," he says. He would work a 60 percent schedule, or three days a week during the fall and 100 percent in the winter, the busiest season for accounting.

"But during the summer months, when the camp was in full swing, from May to August, I'd work one day a week," he says.

The plan was accepted by the company and he went back to work at the accounting firm in September 2005, still maintaining the presidency of the youth ministry. He gets 60 percent of a full-time salary from PricewaterhouseCoopers, paid equally over 24 pay periods during the year.

His dream is to make partner at the firm.

"I would describe it as having my cake and eating it too," he says. ( msn.com )

READ MORE - Chase Your Dream Job, Keep Your Day Job

How Fantasy Life Can Get You a Real Job

How Fantasy Life Can Get You a Real Job. Online community Second Life becomes venue for recruiting, interviewing. Ray Giordano was able to land a job as a chef for a major food services company by not being himself.

In real life, the nearly 40-year-old Giordano has thinning hair, is 5 feet 6 inches tall, slightly overweight and sometimes stutters during job interviews.

In the virtual world of Second Life, he’s a strapping 6-foot-plus, muscular man named BellagioChef with a bushy head of hair and oodles of confidence when he comes face to face with a recruiter.

Giordano recently created a computer simulation of himself, called an avatar, allowing him to attend a virtual job fair, meet with a virtual recruiter and land a real job.

Your head is probably spinning. Mine was too when I first started investigating Second Life, owned by San Francisco-based Linden Labs. But this virtual community, which boasts of millions of inhabitants who meet and socialize, is also becoming a new way to get a job.

A few major companies have begun experimenting with this virtual world as an additional tool to find employees. In May TMP Worldwide, a recruiting firm, hosted its first virtual job fair called Network in World on Second Life.

“To date, more than 1,800 candidates have either registered for a NiW job fair and then applied for open positions, or have expressed interest in a position and then left their contact details for employers,” says Russell Miyaki, a vice president of the recruiting firm, adding that about 214 interviews have taken place and about four people have gotten jobs as a result.

Companies that have interviewed candidates at the virtual job fairs included Sodexho, the food management company that hired Giordano, as well as Microsoft and Verizon, among others.

"Competition on a global scale is forcing companies to look at innovative ways of both marketing and recruiting,” says Andrew Mallon, executive director of the Social Research Foundation, a consumer research firm that conducts opinion polls of Second Life members.

“Some industries will have a greater advantage or relevance in a virtual world like Second Life." he says. "For example, a high-tech recruiter in a virtual interview gets to see the initiative and interactive skills that job candidate put into creating the look of their avatar. But candidates should study the company in advance and come to the interview knowing what value they can bring to the employer. Following that standard rule still is a big plus. Then, instead of the old ‘Dress for Success,’ an avatar must ‘Impress for Success.’”

So you thought you had your hands full trying to figure out all the social networking groups out there like Facebook and Linkedin? Now you have to figure out how to dress fake computer people and how to impress hiring managers during virtual job fairs.

These job fairs are beginning to provide job seekers direct, albeit limited, access to recruiters at major companies. In most cases, a job applicant has to be invited in, but people looking for work can also just virtually walk over to a company’s virtual building in Second Life and drop off their resumes. You have to become a Second Life member first, although basic membership is free.

“When I first started looking into it I thought, ‘This is weird,’” says Giordano, who was a chef in Las Vegas and was looking for a job in California. But weird turned into a real job opportunity, and now he’s a Second Life cheerleader.

Giordano began his job hunt the old-fashioned way. He learned about a job opening at Sodexho online and sent off his resume. A recruiter then contacted him via a real telephone and suggested he join Second Life and attend an upcoming virtual job fair the firm was having on TMP’s island. (Many businesses have bought so-called islands in the virtual world of Second Life, for which they pay real money.)

Navigating through Second Life isn’t easy and requires some time playing around with your avatar to figure out how to make it move properly. It took Giordano about a day and a half to master the process.

He created his BellagioChef avatar fairly easily but the hardest part was moving the guy around. “I was walking into walls,” he says. But he got help from other avatars that move through the virtual world, communicating through instant messaging as they encounter each other.

When he was ready to attend the job fair in May he felt he had mastered most of the avatar’s movements and was able to follow the recruiter up a few flights of stairs to an office where he was virtually interviewed.

Not all the applicant-avatars Sodexho interviewed virtually were as adept as BellagioChef. There were some avatars that stood during the entire interview because they didn’t know how to sit down.

The recruiter who interviewed Giordano was Myra Rosa, also known as “Hula Bing,” her avatar’s name. “I originally spoke to Ray on the phone, and I thought he was a candidate I wanted to interview so I invited him to our career fair,” she says.

Giordano felt relaxed communicating with Myra through the avatars and instant messaging.

“I could joke around with her and she would laugh,” he recalls about the 90-minute interview. He realized things were going well when Myra invited a senior director to meet with him at the virtual office.

At the end of the meeting, Myra showed him out, and Giordano was feeling positive, although he admits he didn’t know how to shake her hand.

While the encounter may sound odd to many of us, some workplace experts say it represents the future of the job search. Joyce L. Gioia-Herman, a strategic business futurist, predicts virtual interviews will become a mainstay in 10 years, especially for the younger set.

But others believe virtual interviews with avatars are just another Internet flash in the pan.

"In my experience, virtual interviews are more gimmicks than anything,” says career counselor Anna Ivey.

“They can be fun and sometimes funny," she says, noting that avatars are not always easy to control and can sometimes be seen floating above their chairs.

"But I have yet to hear about a virtual interview where anything meaningful was accomplished," she says. "You're basically just instant messaging each other with some cute visuals thrown in for fun — not a great substitute for a real interview."

Even advocates of virtual job fairs see avatars as unprofessional.

“We instead emphasize professional networking," says Brent Arslaner with Unisfair, a virtual event provider that uses icons rather than avatars. "The easiest way to think of this is we use the most business-applicable aspects of Web 2.0 and social networking to enable attendees at our event to be able to network professionally. There are too many stories of people showing up naked to interviews in other virtual job fairs, so Unisfair doesn't go there.”

For Giordano, his meeting of the avatars with Sodexho was just the beginning of the interview and screening process.

Myra told Giordano that he would contact him by a real phone, and a few days later did just that. “She said I scored high on the interview and that other people in the system were watching,” he recalls. That led to a few more phone calls back and fourth, and then a real-life interview with a district manager on the West Coast in late July.

On Aug. 20, he started his job as a chef in the senior services division of Sodexho and he says he loves it so far.

Having an avatar that didn’t look quite like him may have been the clincher for Giordano. “It gave me more confidence,” he says. ( msn.com )

READ MORE - How Fantasy Life Can Get You a Real Job