Spending way too much of your workday responding to e-mails? Mark Breier, author of the “The 10 Second Internet Manager” ($18.95, Crown Business, 2000), has some common-sense tips for quelling the deluge:
Reply to sender only, not to all. You don’t need to extend correspondence with everybody.
Be specific in the subject line. Tell the recipient exactly what is expected of them, Breier said.
Avoid sending attachments. “You’ve committed two errors. You’ve asked the computer to open another program and you’re asking me to look into a 5- to 10-minute discussion.”
The “to” section should contain one name. “It begs the question who is responsible for responding,” Brier said.
And finally, keep it short. The shorter the message, the faster the receiver is likely to respond, he said.
LONG GOODBYE
RETIREMENT A DAY AT A TIME
Employers are increasingly using phased retirement programs to retain valued employees in a tight labor market, according to new research by Watson Wyatt, a global consulting firm.
Workers at or near retirement age are able to reduce their work hours and responsibilities so that they may ease into full retirement.
“Our research also indicates that some employees are financially unprepared for full retirement, and phased retirement is a better fit,” said Valerie Paganelli, a senior retirement consultant for Watson Wyatt.
VANISHING VACATION
ALL WORK, NO PLAY
One in six U.S. employees end up not taking all their annual vacation because of demands of the job, according to a national survey by Oxford Health Plans, an East Coast health care provider.
Other indicators of how hard we’re working: 34 percent of workers report that they have no down time at work, and 32 percent don’t leave the building at all during the day.
In the survey, 19 percent of respondents said they feel obligated to go to work even when they’re ill; 17 percent said it’s hard to take time off, even for an emergency; and 8 percent believe they’d be fired or demoted if they became seriously ill.
And it’s not like Americans have vacation days to burn: The average number of vacation days for U.S. workers is 13. In Canada, it’s 26; Germany, 35; and in Italy, 42.
OCCUPATIONAL PERKS
WORKING TO MUSIC
The Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights is offering free admission to three separate Thursday performances of “Working,” a musical based on Studs Terkel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, to people who work in three jobs prominently portrayed in the play: construction workers, package handlers and teachers.
Occupational Therapy Thursday begins this week with construction workers. Those providing evidence of their occupation (a hard hat or a hammer will do) can get into to the 8 p.m. performance free.
On March 8, package handlers can get the same deal with a delivery uniform, clipboard, back-support belt, or an ID. And March 15, teachers who present a school ID, ruler or a red apple can leave their money at home.
Seating is limited, however, and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. The theater is located at 111 W. Campbell St. in downtown Arlington Heights. Tickets are normally $32. For tickets or information, call 847-577-2121.
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T. Shawn Taylor, staylor@tribune.com
