PM360 January 2010

LIFE STYLE

Blast from the past

Blast from the past
January 7, 1789
Our nation’s first Presidential election took place on this date. Only white male land-owners from the 10 eligible states were allowed to cast their votes for state electors. North Carolina and Rhode Island were ineligible because they had yet to ratify the U.S. Constitution, while New York failed to appoint its eight electors in time. George Washington won with 69 of the 138 votes cast, and John Adams became his vice president by finishing second with 34 votes.

January 11, 1922
The first injection of insulin was given to Leonard Thompson, a 14-year-old diabetic, at the Toronto General Hospital. Called isletin at the time, the hormone was a purified ox pancreas extract and caused a severe allergic reaction. After making improvements, his doctors administered a second dose on the 23rd, which was completely successful. In April, the drug’s discoverers accepted Eli Lilly’s help and by November the company was able to produce large quantities of pure insulin.

January 21, 1976
The world’s first supersonic airliner, the Concorde, entered commercial service on this date for Air France and British Airways. The first flight from Paris went to Rio de Janeiro, while the first flight from London Heathrow went to Bahrain. The transatlantic flight to New York City at twice the speed of light reduced airtime to three and a half hours. —Andrew Matthius

HEALTH
Let There Be Light
When the sun starts to rise later and mornings FEEL more like nights, an estimated 6% of Americans suffer from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD. Symptoms include depression, lethargy, irritability, and a desire to avoid social situations. Experts still are uncertain what exactly causes SAD or why symptoms peak in January and February, but there are several treatment options, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Light Therapy
Use a light-therapy box (which provides intense illumination) for 15 to 20 minutes daily for at least three weeks. This treatment works best when synched to your circadian rhythm, which can be calculated at the Center for Environmental Therapeutics Website (www.cet.org).

Dawn Simulation
A device gradually increases light to simulate dawn in your bedroom. Although there are inexpensive dawn simulator alarm clocks, the CET recommends a model that attaches to an overhead fixture.

Negative Air Ions
Research has found that these extra electrons can work as well as light therapy. One generator model can be strapped to your wrist and used 30 to 60 minutes daily, while others work overnight.

Antidepressants
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs, such as Prozac, can be as effective as light therapy. But light therapy works faster and has fewer side effects.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Researchers at the University of Vermont used a CBT program in which patients chose to overcome their negative thoughts and behaviors and embrace enjoyable winter activities.

Vitamin D
Researchers agree more study is needed on the effects and doses of Vitamin D, but some experts recommend daily intake of at least 4,000 IUs of D-3.

Outdoor Exercise
Some experts advise taking a morning or noontime walk.

Diet
Don’t indulge your urges to carbo-load. Eat more vegetables and keep meals light to improve insulin regulation and your mood. —A.M.

WORKLIFE
Back in Force
As the economy begins to improve, the time is approaching for companies to start hiring new employees. Joel Capperella, vice-president at Yoh Talent Solutions, offers five suggestions in BusinessWeek to help managers make this transition while fulfilling the need for more efficient ways to manage their workforce.

Evaluate your workforce segmentation. The best workforces are split into segments such as professional contingents, administrative temporaries, independent contractors, technical consultants, business consultants, and deliverable associated contributors. Examine your current breakdown and begin to make a plan for what skills and type of workers you need the most.

Refine your recruitment strategy. Identify acceptable time-to-hire and cost-per-hire metrics. Begin by evaluating how talent is currently brought in, but also review the metrics during past staff increases. Make sure hiring managers are involved in only 15% or less of the recruitment and assimilation process, the rest should be handled by a third party.

Identify your employment brand. HR managers should be working with marketing and PR colleagues to communicate employment brand through advertising, job postings, the press, social media, and other outlets. Provide adequate information about expectations, milestones, and other internal initiatives to all new employees.

Differentiate deliverables versus skill requirements. Examine all projects and statements of work (SOW), since they can be abused to get around headcount restrictions. Since most companies have only 3% to 5% of true SOW assignments, there may be an opportunity to save money by converting some of these teams’ work into standard skills requirements.

Brush up on the rules. Ensure hiring procedures and management policies are well documented for independent contractors by performing audits and creating strict guidelines for dealing with them. This could save you from a hefty IRS fine later. —A.M.

A Dish Best Eaten Cold?
The Internet continues to make things easier—and that includes revenge. Long gone are the days of glove slaps and duels. Spreading rumors by word of mouth just takes too long. Now we have what’s been dubbed Webtribution, where former friends or current enemies use Facebook, Twitter, comments, and blogs to spread false and malicious rumors in the click of a mouse. People who know your password or how to steal it can pass as you—and before you know it, your good reputation could be gone. Even businesses aren’t safe from online attacks on their reputation. Here are some tips from the Wall Street Journal and BNET to stay protected:

Stay alert. Use tools such as Google alerts or Trackur to find your name online, Technorati to search the blogosphere, BackType for blog comments, and Twilert for Twitter.

Create a brand name for yourself on sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Ziggs, and Naymz. Set up a blog and a Twitter account. Even if you don’t stay active, it’s important to own as much online property in your name as possible, but the more active the better.

Buy the URL for your name from a site such as GoDaddy.com.

Don’t fuel the fire by responding online to anyone who is clearly out to get you. If they’ve defamed you, check out the code of conduct for the site and report any violations. If it’s about your company, inform your legal department.

Correct a mistake by anyone who just seems to have posted wrong information. If someone posted accurate criticism, explain yourself through a comment on their site or your own blog. To be really proactive, hire an online management service such as ReputationDefender. —A.M.