work news stories on Newser

It's Time to End the 60-Hour Workweek

Matt Cantor — Sat, 05 May 2012 11:20:05 CDT

Putting in a 60-hour workweek may look impressive—but it's probably not helping the company, or you. Plenty of studies back this up, writes Geoffrey James at Time , who points to a turn-of-the-20th-century analysis by Ford Motor Company that concluded the most productive number of weekly hours for workers was...

10 Worst Jobs in USA

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:26:09 CDT

Hunting for a job? It may prove wise to avoid this list of toilsome occupations. Accounting for physical toughness, pay, stress, work environment, and hiring outlook, these are the 10 worst jobs in America, as deemed by career advice website CareerCast, and rounded up by the Huffington Post . Here's a...

Goofing Off on Your Work PC Not a Crime: Court

Kevin Spak — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:46:31 CDT

Good news, slackers: It's not illegal to use your work computer to shop on Amazon, set your fantasy roster, or, well, read Newser. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has shot down a Justice Department argument that a 1984 anti-hacking law covered not just hacking, but any unauthorized use of...

CEOs Get Paid Big Bucks to Sit in Meetings, Eat Lunch

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:58:05 CST

It's no big secret that CEOs can make completely ridiculous amounts of money; what is less obvious to some is what they do that's so darn valuable. A group of London School of Economics and Harvard Business School scholars decided to dig into one aspect of CEOs' work week, by...

Top 10 Wildest Excuses When We're Late for Work

Dustin Lushing — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:00:05 CST

Traffic, poor sleep, and bad weather are the three most common excuses for showing up late to work, according to a nationwide survey of employees and bosses. But what are the most outrageous reasons employees gave in 2011 for being tardy? Here are the top 10, selected by CareerBuilder.com...

Night Shifts Boost Women's Diabetes Risk

Dustin Lushing — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:52:45 CST

Women who work a night shift at least a few nights a month are more prone to type 2 diabetes, according to new research. The longer they work such a rotating schedule, the greater the risk, reports USA Today . The women saw their type 2 diabetes rates spike 5% over...

Investors, Not Laborers, Are Now the Heroes

Kate Schwartz — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:13:50 CDT

"Labor Day" is a misnomer, and we're the ones who have made it so, writes EJ Dionne for the Washington Post . Today, and every day in America, we no longer celebrate workers "as the real creators of wealth." We reserve the highest praise for "capital," he explains. "In scores of...

To Get Workers Working, Try Sarcasm

Matt Cantor — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:56:17 CDT

Hiring a new manager? Give Jerry Seinfeld a call. Sarcasm prompts employees to speed through tasks that require creative problem-solving, Israeli research suggests. Simple fury at your staff can also get them working quickly, but it’s only effective for more straightforward tasks. “The incongruent information inherent in sarcasm appears to...

Mobile Workers Toil 30 More Days a Year

Matt Cantor — Tue, 24 May 2011 16:33:56 CDT

If you work on the go, you’re doing an extra 30 days’ work a year, a study finds. That may be thanks to tablet computers: Some 41% of mobile workers own a tablet PC, and another 34% have plans to get one within 6 months, finds another study. That’s 75%...