These days employees expect to be developed as part of the deal. Human Resource folk mumble (and sometimes grumble) about something called the psychological contract. This is an unwritten, tacit contract that sits alongside the formal, written employment contract and is just as important. The employment contract sets out the basic consideration which will be along the lines of “if you do what we ask you to do, we’ll pay you X”. In reality things are of course more complex and the nature of the work required will be detailed in role profiles and the like, while the reward part will be similarly defined as salary, bonus, etc. and a range of non-financial rewards such as holidays. The psychological contract is each party’s understanding of what each other will do to play ‘fair’. For most of the 20th Century that ran along the lines of ‘turn up for work and do a reasonable job and we’ll employ you for life’ But this contract was torn up as part of the way working life was transformed from the 1980s to date. The ‘job for life’ has gone forever and it is probably impossible and certainly unwise to assume that we will have only one or two employers throughout our working life. The psychological contract these days runs along the lines of ‘in exchange for my efforts at work I expect to be developed and build my CV so that I increase my overall employment prospects’.

In the UK at the time of writing, there is still a scarcity of skills which means that employers are having to work harder to recruit and retain the best people; the so-called war for talent. This makes the job market a seller’s market with potential employees in a strong bargaining position. Recruitment firms even talk of the ‘reverse interview’ where candidates size up their chances of development before considering whether to accept any offer. To match this expectation with only the orthodox training and development offering of classroom training and external qualifications would be dreadfully expensive and ultimately unworkable. There will always be a time and a place for such things in an overall learning and development strategy of course, but coaching – particularly when delivered by managers – provides a more cost effective,tailor made and timely solution.

The change to the psychological contract is but one of numerous changes that have been played out in the theatre of work in recent years. The current industrial relations climate sees the pendulum swinging back towards the employee and their rights, with some employers bemoaning the bureaucracy and red-tape that this entails. Nevertheless it seems that family friendly policies like Flexible Working and Parental Leave are here to stay; driven at least in part by people’s desire to want a better work-life balance.

Other social changes have also had an impact on working life. Work now has a very different role in people’s lives. Where once work was simply the way we made enough money to pay the bills, we now work for a host of psychological as well as economic reasons. For example many people now fulfil their need for social interaction through work – I guess because of the amount of time we spend there! Others fulfil their esteem needs through work; enjoying the satisfaction that comes from doing a meaningful work and doing it well. It’s as if collectively we’ve all moved up a level or two on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. In Western economies in general and in the UK in particular it is unlikely that anyone is going to fall on really hard times if they’re out of work – we have a welfare system that provides support, so a management style that invites people to be thankful they receive a salary is unlikely to prove very motivating. Instead we need to acknowledge that we need a more human approach; one that captures the variety of motivations for people to come to work. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a start but there is much work to do at the level of the fundamental relationship between the manager and their team.

Matt Somers
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/coaching-skills-training-making-the-case-for-coaching-part-one-688374.html

While no one can deny that internet is the right place where one can succeed through relatively many good home internet business opportunities, it is not irrefutable to say the contrary. In fact, a growing number of them are intended to deceive. Among these home internet businesses is medical billing business.Proclamed themself to be part of the best work at home Internet business ideas, these schemers are just out for your money. The idea is to charge an upfront fee to get you started, and then leave you to fend for yourself in an industry where you have little chance of succeeding. Other fraudulent business opportunity schemes such as envelope stuffing and product assembly take your money and then reject your work and thus its payment as substandard.

Advertisements touting these prepackaged medical billing centers show up on TV, on the Web and in newspapers. Major metro newspapers, probably the most savvy about these schemes, generally do not accept the ads. Responding to the ad for the medical billing work at home Internet business opportunity will result in your receiving a phone call, with a pitch about the burgeoning health care system crisis. Typically the hawker will tell you that claims are piling up and waiting to be processed. The result, according to the person on the phone, is to process these claims electronically, which is not being done often or expansively. This, the pitch goes, is what makes it a lucrative work at home Internet business for you.

The promise is that you’ll make a lot of money as doctors outsource their billing to you. You can, they say, work in accounts receivable, insurance claims and physician or dentist practice management. Including in the presentation is the assurance that not only do you not need experience but that their sales staff will kick start your work at home Internet business by putting you together with health care clients. The reality is that if you have any chance at all to make any money or even get your initial investment back you’re going to have to find your own clients.

The investment for this alleged lucrative work at home Internet business is not small typically $2500-$9000. Prior to your commitment you will be mailed a business brochure, the application and license agreement (contract), document of disclosure, diskette samples, references and testimonials and videocassettes. Your investment is supposed to result in training, software and technical support. The references are commonly shills the name for people that a company hires to provide favorable but dishonest testimonials.

The reality is that medical billing is seldom a lucrative work at home Internet business. Few people who purchase these programs are able to find enough clients to even recoup their investment much less make a living at it. It’s not that medical billing isn’t a legitimate business. It’s that the competition is fierce and the market is saturated.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/invest/homewrk.htm

Thierry Goho
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-opportunities-articles/using-a-little-common-sense-when-comes-the-time-to-choose-a-right-home-business-65199.html

Terrell Owens will be out of the football fields for the next 2 to 4 weeks since he broke the ring finger on his right hand last Sunday during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins at Texas Stadium.

Terrell Owens made his formal Cowboys home debut and he caught three passes for 19 yards before he left the game. During the season’s opening at Jacksonville, Owens had six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. The final result of this game was a 24-17 loss for Dallas.

The wide receiver was suspended or inactive for the last nine games of the 2005 season because of continuous problems with the Philadelphia Eagles front office, and then missed almost all of training camp and the preseason with the Dallas Cowboys due to a hamstring injury. Also, he has supposedly been fined $9,500 for not attending to a team meeting. The five-time Pro Bowl selection that used to disagree with coaches and management finished last season with 47 catches for 763 yards and six touchdowns over seven games.

Owens who may have surgery on Monday or Tuesday this week said he probably got injured on one of the first plays of the game when his hand got caught in one of the Washington Redskins’ jerseys. He played the rest of the game and had three drops, including a touchdown pass on the opening drive.

The Dallas Cowboys’ next game will be on Oct. 1st at Tennessee, and then, next week they will go to Philadelphia to confront Owens’ former squad: the Eagles. The football player signed a three-year, $25 million contract with Dallas during the off-season after he spent the last two seasons in Philadelphia.

Julie Smith
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/owens-out-of-the-fields-for-a-couple-weeks-57579.html

I know that the economy is still shifty. I don’t think reflects well on me to leave a job after only 3 months. And I need animal handling experience to go along with my degree. On the other hand, I am not learning anything and I may be one of 2 people that are more than mildly concerned with the animals’ welfare… (I think they quit yesterday).

Thanks for your responses ahead of time. Have a wonderful holiday.

Follow the trend…..quit………forget the 3 months on your next resume…….just a blip in your career goals………or you can start looking and a job that fits you……