The workplace can be a tricky environment, and with the recent dip in the economy, many people are finding it a stressful place to be. Gayle talks with Bob Rosner and Sherrie Campbell of Workplace911.com* about navigating your office world.
Bob says the same problems that plague society—like power, ego, lust and greed—are also apparent in the workplace, making it a tough place to survive. "It's a very challenging environment, and it's getting tougher because of the economy," he says. "It's a more pressured environment because this is where your livelihood comes from."
Bob and Sherrie say the workplace is a very dysfunctional community that has, in part, been caused by technology and lack of communication. "We think work should be more sustaining and have more meaning than it currently has," Bob says. They recommend getting up and going around to people's desks to visit them in person.
Although you may think an unstable economy may not be the best time to ask for a raise, Bob and Sherri say go for it—just be prepared to get a no. "It's tough enough to ask for a raise at any point in time, much less a recession," Bob says. If you get denied, he says to ask exactly what it would take for you to get a raise in the next six months. Then, in six months' time, you can go back and ask again.
