NEW YORK (Reuters) - With U.S. unemployment at a 20-year high, some Americans are working for free while looking for a job, but experts are split over whether it is a sign of dedication or desperation.
Unpaid job seekers can keep their resumes fresh by boosting their experience and learning new skills, experts say, but others warn businesses may take advantage of the jobless and that it is illegal for commercial companies not to pay workers.
Dana Lin, 22, is one of the 14.7 million unemployed workers in the United States. She lost her marketing job at a technology company near San Francisco in April and since then has been working for free for about five hours a week for Internet company Jobnob.com.
"Every company has thousands of people applying for each job, and I realized I needed more appeal," said Lin, a graduate of Cornell University. Since being laid off, she has applied unsuccessfully for about 50 jobs.
"In some cases companies might be getting the better end of it (by having unpaid workers)," she said. "But it's nice to have something occupy yourself with and when speaking to prospective employers it's nice to say 'I haven't just been sitting around all day, I've actually been doing something.'"
It's not only the unemployed taking on free work. Some employed people are being asked by bosses to go without pay.
British Airways last month asked its British-based employees to volunteer for up to a month's unpaid work. Some companies and U.S. state and city governments have made staff take unpaid furloughs, but some employees still work anyway to keep up or because they are worried about losing their job.
Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the Washington D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, warns that while people can volunteer time for non-profit groups and government, it is illegal for commercial companies to not pay workers.
"It's not just a bad idea, it's illegal," Eisenbrey. "The law says (companies) may not suffer or permit employees to work for less than the minimum wage.
"The more desperate people get, they will do things like this to try and make themselves more appealing to an employer," he said. "The short-term prospects for most of the unemployed are very bad. They aren't going to be made much better by working off the books or working for nothing."
Job seeker Lin started working with Jobnob.com, a website that tracks salaries, after the company held its first so-called "happy hour" -- to link unemployed people with mostly start-up businesses that have work but are unable to pay.
"The job seekers have time," said Julie Greenberg, co-founder of Jobnob.com. "It's really dangerous for them because once you are unemployed for a few months, there's this proverbial white space on your resume that's growing."
"They immediately see the benefits, they need references, they need to keep their skills sharp, a lot of people are learning new skills," she said. "I don't think there's anybody who feels taken advantage of because they understand that ... we wish we had revenue, we wish we could pay you."
Greenberg said more than 300 job seekers attended the first two "happy hours" and more such events have been planned.Alexandra Levit, workplace expert and author of "How'd You Score That Gig?" recommended volunteering at non-profit organizations to gain or build experience.
"I think you have to be careful that you're not undervaluing yourself. If you do have the experience, then you should be paid for it," Levit said. "I absolutely think companies are taking advantage."
Madeline Laurano, principal analyst at workplace research and advisory firm Bersin and Associates, argued that the recession-spurred trend of working for free is a great way for companies to build a "talent pipeline" to tap when the economy recovers.
"Employers need to think about the same strategies that they would if they were hiring someone who was getting paid. You still want a quality person," Laurano said. "Job seekers also need to think the same way, 'I still want to invest my time in a company I believe in, that I can grow and learn from.'
"The argument that people are making is, is it desperation or dedication," she said. "It's not necessarily volunteering at a homeless shelter, but it's contributing that might also bring you some benefits in the long run."
Crisis spurs people to work for free - good or bad?
Anatomy Of An Entrepreneur May Not Be What You Think
By Scott Austin.While some of the most famous entrepreneurs - Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, to name a few - were fresh-faced, high-school or college dropouts when they launched their companies, a new study from the Marion Kauffman Foundation shows most founders don’t fit this makeup.
More than 95% of entrepreneurs surveyed in the study had earned bachelor’s degrees, and 47% had more advanced degrees. Besides being well-educated, the median age of company founders in this sample when they started their companies was 40 years old, while the majority were married (69.9%) with at least one child (59.7%) as start-up founders.
The study, which surveyed 549 founders of “successful businesses in high-growth industries,” warns that the research from such a relatively small sample size cannot be generalized to the entire population. However, the Kauffman Foundation, whose mission is to promote entrepreneurship, said the findings may ”provide some clues about what conditions might be helpful in supporting entrepreneurs and helping them become successful.”
The study found that 71.5% of respondents came from middle-class backgrounds, while 21.8% said they came from upper-lower-class families. Less than 1% have extremely rich or extremely poor backgrounds.
As for the primary motivation for starting their companies, the entrepreneurs in the survey indicated overwhelmingly (74.8%) that they desired to build wealth. Nearly as important to these entrepreneurs with regards to starting up a business was “capitalizing on a business idea,” as 68.1% of respondents selected this factor. Other popular motivators include the appeal of a startup culture; a desire to own a company; and a lack of interest in working for someone else.
It would perhaps be more interesting if this survey, or one that canvassed a larger selection of entrepreneurs, correlated entrepreneur background with success or failure.
To view and download the study, click here.
E-mel Membunuh Perniagaan Sendiri
Apabila mengendalikan bengkel dan seminar di bawah kursusperniagaan.com, salah satu aktiviti yang saya kendalikan bagi tujuan pemasaran dan jemputan kepada pengusaha perniagaan kecil di negara ini ialah berurusan melalui e-mel.
Ini adalah medium komunikasi yang penting bagi memastikan survival perniagaan kita. Bermula daripada memperkenalkan perniagaan, menjalankan perniagaan dan mengembangkan perniagaan, e-mel adalah saluran kepada pelanggan menghubungi kita.
Satu perkara yang mengejutkan saya adalah sesetengah kad perniagaan yang saya terima mempunyai e-mel yang tidak berfungsi sama sekali. Ia bukan sahaja menggagalkan perhubungan malah menggagalkan potensi perniagaan sendiri. Terdapat beberapa sebab mengapa emel para peniaga tidak berfungsi seperti yang diharapkan.
Emel yang didaftarkan sudah lama tidak disemak. Sehinggakan inbox atau peti emel sudah mencapai tahap maksima. Setiap emel yang dihantar pelanggan tertolak semula atau bounce kepada pengirim.
Emel yang didaftar sudah lama tidak disemak. Meskipun inbox masih mempunyai kapasiti yang mencukupi, tetapi akaun itu dibatalkan serta merta apabila ia tidak disemak melepasi tempoh minima yang ditetapkan oleh pengendali. Sesetengah pengendali memberi tempoh sebulan atau pun tiga bulan kepada pemilik emel bagi menyemak inbox.
Emel yang didaftar pada pengendali yang mematikan sistem emel. Kebiasaannya ia berlaku pada pengendali emel percuma selain daripada pengendali yang mempunyai perkhidmatan enjin carian atau search engine seperti Google. Akibatnya seluruh e-mel yang diterima dan dibalas dipadamkan dan sistem ditutup tanpa apa-apa notis.
Emel yang didaftar dan yang tercatat pada kad perniagaan atau pada mana-mana risalah perniagaan adalah berbeza sama sekali. Ini disebabkan kesalahan ejaan pada emel yang dinyatakan. Ini menyebabkan pelanggan tidak dapat menghubungi peniaga kerana kesilapan ejaan emel. Kadang2 ada yang daftar yahoo.com.my tetapi beri alamat kepada orang lain hanya yahoo.com sahaja, menyebabkan tidak boleh dihantar
Zamri Mohamad adalah penulis 10 buah buku, jurulatih penulis bebas, perunding di Akademi Penulis dan jurulatih pemasaran perniagaan kecil di internet di kursusperniagaan.com dalam bidang penulisan iklan di internet. Sertai seminar, miliki buku dan ketahui lebih lanjut penulis buku di Malaysia di laman web rasmi.
Firm Yet Friendly the right recipe
source: The Star
I HAVE had maids for the last 50 years. In the first 33 years, I had five local maids – three Malays, one Chinese and one Indian – who worked for between three and nine years.Most of them left because their parents thought it was time they got married. We still have warm and close contact with four of them; one sadly has passed away.
Now we have an Indonesian maid who has completed her 17th year with us and we had her permit renewed for the 18th year.
Could all this be just sheer good luck? I personally feel that it cannot be. I strongly feel an employer has to have or practice certain basic human principles of life in order to achieve this so called “good luck”.
My recipe? I am firm, definite, clear, positive and yet friendly with them. I never nag. I am very patient with them, I keep teaching them in a very positive, interesting, encouraging, and cordial manner.
I get to see results, at times excellent results.
I keep close watch on their health; it could be just a headache, stomach ache or flu. Simple medication and rest will be given. If things do not clear up, I take them to the clinic, if it lingers, I take them to the specialist.
I pay them very regularly; a hadith says, “pay your worker before his sweat dries”. I allow them to keep their own money, shopping together and buying what they like.
I make a point to trust them and I always tell them to be frank with me, to tell me if they want to leave me.
Finally, I strongly believe in human feelings. Respect them, show you care for them, see to their ups and downs, share their family joys and sorrows. I am always with them.
We definitely need to give some special time of ours to them. We do not lose anything, but instead will benefit. I see they greatly appreciate this and they became more open with us.
I strongly believe that what I have practised has brought about and helped to build a strong bond between us and this is what has brought about the “good luck”.
So Good Luck to all employers.
HAJAH JOHARA BEE MOHD SHARIFF,
Ipoh.
5 Employee Motivation Myths Debunked
Motivating self, employee and group is a critical success factor. I would add motivating family, partners, suppliers and customers as complementing critical success factor. The following is a short article to kickstart that topic....
5 Employee Motivation Myths DebunkedBusiness owners need to ensure that their employees are productive and eager to do the best job possible--this is especially true during today’s challenging economic times. Yet every industry and every organization has people who simply do not produce work in the quality that they are capable of providing. That can create costly problems for a manager.
Leaders often miss the mark when trying to ramp up employee productivity. Let’s debunk some motivational myths.
1. Money motivates. Of course, if you pay some enough money, they will do almost any job. And when you give bonuses to reward past behavior, the recipients are usually very happy (unless they were expecting a larger bonus). The staff does a better job following the glow that accompanies added money.
However, studies find this happiness is short-lived. Within six months, individuals have difficulty recalling that bonus and it does not seem to have the same impact it did within the first few weeks or months of receiving it. That’s because money, in and of itself, will not continuously motivate individuals.
It’s the recognition and status that are the true motivators for the increased output. Take for example, the high tech salesperson who sold more product than anyone else in the department. The boss rewards that employee with a bonus. Everyone knows who the bonus recipient is, and she is proud of her accomplishments--the high earner gains recognition from colleagues and clients. Recognition and status are two key sources of motivation. So while money can serve to motivate, its effects are often short term at best.
What should you do? Set up situations that allow the employee to feel a sense of accomplishment. Employees respond most to opportunities for achievement, recognition, growth, job enrichment and job enlargement.
2. Just keep them happy. Employers often go to great lengths to keep their employees happy--some offer game rooms; others have phones with free long-distance access. The theory here is that if we can keep the employees happy during their break time, it will translate into increased motivation and productivity. Unfortunately, this is not very effective.
Employees actually enjoy their break times, look forward to them, and may even linger during them. But the satisfaction found during the break times does not necessarily translate into better or higher quality job performance.
3. Ignore Conflict. Few people, especially in the professional world, enjoy conflict. Most bosses and employees alike would rather “let something go” or “sweep it under the rug” than make an issue out of it. Too many managers are concerned about being liked that they don’t fulfill their responsibilities to catch problems quickly. Not addressing an employee’s problematic behavior doesn’t help any one.
4. Some people just aren’t motivated. This is a very common misconception. Everyone is motivated--but for different reasons. Walking through the offices, the manager may see someone playing computer games or sending personal email, this could be seen as the individual is not motivated because he’s not attending to the job tasks. But that may not be entirely correct. At that moment, the “aimless” employee is motivated, perhaps even highly motivated. But that motivation is not work directed, nor is it productive for the company.
The challenge here is for the leader to discover what actually motivates that employee and match up those elements with the worker’s job description. (This point also assumes that the employee is worth keeping.)
5. Smart employees don’t need to be motivated. Being “smart” carries an important cachet in American society. Everyone wants to have smart people working for them because these people are quick to learn, adapt and produce. Employers may erroneously believe that they don’t need to spend much time or attention on these staffers.
Unfortunately, intelligence and self-motivation do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. There are plenty of smart employees who haven’t been able to find out just what motivates them personally; they tend to get bored or frustrated easily. The result is a lack of interest and a lack of productivity.
So what does an employer do? A smart employer creates the atmosphere that allows and encourages the employee to be motivated. That employer also gets to know what his staff is interested in doing to advance company goals and what parts of the job description are interesting or exciting verses boring.
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