Unhappy at work?

Ask for more autonomy. From NBCNews.com.

Research Says This Is the Secret to Being Happy at Work

Every business owner, manager and supervisor in the country wants to keep their employees happy — but it's not as straightforward as it sounds. 

According to a Gallup poll, only about 30 percent of workers feel actively engaged or connected to their workplace, and low morale costs businesses anywhere from $450 billion to $550 billion per year. Unhappy, disengaged workers are more likely to be absent, more likely to take sick days, are less productive and are more prone to leaving prematurely. 

But what are the root causes of low employee morale? Some employers think it's all about money; they throw salary raises and cash bonuses at their employees to improve morale. And while that might be cause for temporary satisfaction, consistent raises may actually decrease morale and productivity, making employees complacent in a predictable environment where performance means little. 

Instead, new research shows that one of the true secrets to employee happiness and well being is an acute sense of autonomy in daily operations.

Infographic Friday

by HealthCentral.

From Visually.

Helicoptor parenting

Is a term no longer politically correct, evidently. As the cost of higher education goes up, direct parental involvment does as well. From The Atlantic.

The Ethos of the Overinvolved Parent

Is it possible for parents to be too involved in their children’s lives when they go to college? Parents have to help their kids without overpowering them, Cohen said. Kids need to become “comfortable with the uncomfortable” and learn to navigate tricky academic and social challenges on their own. He travels to schools around the country, including my neighborhood’s high school, giving talks to parents about when and how to get engaged in their children’s college lives. 

Excessive parental involvement in the lives of their college-aged children, Hamilton said, extends the timeframe for parenting past the 0-18 years. It delays adulthood in children. And, most importantly for Hamilton, it exacerbates socioeconomic inequality. Students without helicopter parents, she’s found, are less likely than those with them to translate their higher-education degree to a slot in the middle class or get enough support from their college. 

These drawbacks don’t faze Stacy. Her daughter is growing more mature and independent, she said; supervising her academic choices was critical. Oftentimes Stacy urges her daughter to first check with her adviser about professional questions, after which she’ll step in to do her own research. She compared her input on her daughter’s college choices to getting a second opinion for a medical procedure. 

“It’s a lot for them to navigate, and it wouldn’t be fair to tell them to navigate it on their own,” she said. “It’s not called helicopter parenting. It’s called Parenting 2017.”

Body language 101

Or how to become more fluent in langage du corps. Here are some tips from MSN.com.

8 Body Language Tips That Will Make You More Likeable

Body language is extremely important when it comes to making good first impressions. It's always helpful to know what body cues show you in a positive light, especially during interviews or networking when you're meeting someone for the first time. It can make a difference and even make you more likeable. Keep these tips in mind when you're interacting with another person: 

Smile slowly. If you're too quick to come to a smile or drop one, your expression may not look genuine. Real smiles happen gradually, but remember not to do it too slowly because it can also look creepy. Do your best to mimic a natural smile by practicing in the mirror. 

Speak in a deeper voice. When you're nervous or excited, your voice may come out in a higher pitch. Take a deep breath and lower your pitch, because a deeper voice is considered to have more authority and confidence. In fact, even dogs respond better to deeper voices when you are trying to give them a command. 

Make eye contact. When talking to someone, making eye contact shows interest and also confidence. Don't go overboard and gaze without breaking eye contact, because that can make people feel uncomfortable. Spend the majority of the time making eye contact, but remember to briefly take breaks.

Tales of the nontraditional

It's never too late for college. From InsideEdition.com.

Great-Great Grandmother Gets College Degree: 'My Mom Always Wanted Me to Go to College'

You’re never too old to learn something new. 

That’s what great-great grandmother Shirley Fuller of Raleigh, N.C., had in mind when she graduated from college this week. 

"I was helping my kids achieve their goals and I decided that I don't want to die without getting a degree," she told InsideEdition.com 

The 70-year-old is finally graduating from Wake Tech Community College after taking a break from school when she was in the 10th grade to get married. 

"I went back to high school as a full time student — I didn't want the GED thing," she told InsideEdition.com. "So when I graduated from high school two years later, I had two children already and I found out I was a month pregnant with my third child."  

Fuller said she had always been a straight-A student, but instead of continuing to go to college like her mom dreamed, she started working at her high school as the principal's secretary.

She went on to have three kids, nine grand kids, 10 great-grand kids and two great-great grandkids, but said she was never satisfied without pursuing a college degree. 

"My mom always wanted me to go to college and I felt ashamed I didn't go," Fuller said. "If my mom were still living, she would be delirious. As a child of my mother, I did not want to disappoint her any longer." 

Wanting to live up to her mom's dreams, she started pursuing her degree in business in fall 2014. 

ETSU is within driving distance

To several of the United States' best cities. Asheville (#10) and Nashville (#5). Charleston (#1) and Savannah (#3). From Travel+Leisure.

The Best Cities in the U.S.

One thing is perfectly clear in our list of the best cities in the United States: travelers (and locals, too) love the charming, historic cities of the American South. Of the top 15 cities on this year’s list, one-third are below the Mason-Dixon line, and two more are in Texas. 

Every year in our World’s Best Awards survey, T+L asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe — to share their opinions on the top hotels, resorts, cities, islands, cruise lines, spas, airlines, and more. Readers rated cities on their sights and landmarks, culture, food, friendliness, shopping, and overall value. 

It’s no surprise that New York City and San Francisco are in the top 10 — they’ve been on the list every year since the awards' inception. The growing popularity of the Pacific Northwest, however, shook things up a bit, as Seattle returned after a decade and Portland made the list for the first time ever. 

“Portland is a wonderful city,” wrote T+L reader Evan Peller, citing its noteworthy shops downtown, nearby hiking at Multnomah Falls, and “top-notch” food. “There's something for everyone, from gourmet food trucks to top-of-the-line restaurants.” 

The Big Easy also won over readers with its impressive, unique food scene. “I would go to New Orleans just for the food alone,” wrote one reader.
Southern cities particularly impressed survey-takers with their diverse offerings (hip art galleries, entire streets lined with restaurants) and welcoming residents.

Infographic Friday

Learn more about Summer Treats and Infographic Design from Lemonly.

Save the date!

I, for one,

Welcome our new robot overlords. But wait...your personality matters. Seems a good liberal arts education may keep the robots awary. From The Pacific Standard.

WILL YOU BE REPLACED BY A COMPUTER? IT MAY DEPEND ON YOUR PERSONALITY

Are you worried about being replaced by a robot? You've got good reason to fret: In one recent analysis, economists predicted 47 percent of American jobs are at high risk of being automated over the next two decades. 

Understandably, most discussion of this touchy topic has revolved around which specific jobs are in the computers' cross-hairs. But, given the ability (and, increasingly, the necessity) for workers to periodically change careers, two larger questions loom: What personality traits protect us against the threat of computer-driven unemployment? And can they be taught, and absorbed, at an early age? 

In a first-of-its-kind study that followed a large group of Americans for 50 years, a research team led by University of Houston psychologist Rodica Ioana Damian provides some preliminary answers. 

"Regardless of social background," the researchers write, "people who were more intelligent, mature, and interested in arts and sciences in adolescence selected into jobs that had a lower probability of computerization." 

This was partially, but not fully, explained by the fact that such people tended to have more education. Even after taking schooling out of the equation, personality still mattered.

Diploma mills

Are still a thing. And I see John Bear is still kicking. My first job in continuing education was an advisor in an external degree program (Way, way before the internet--hence the term external instead of online.). Our program was favorably mentioned in Bear's book, and we got a lot of referrals from in. That was just 37 years ago. Sigh. From CBS MoneyWatch.

Your MD may have a phony degree

There's little reason to doubt that sales of degrees have only become even more prevalent since a federal probe executed from 1989 to 1991. It was dubbed "DIPSCAM" for "Diploma Scam," and resulted in the dismantling of 40 phony schools, 19 federal grand jury indictments, 20 convictions and the purchase of 40 diplomas and transcripts.  

"Our best guestimate is there are 5,000 diploma mills at any one time, and probably the same number of fake accrediting agencies," said Allen Ezell, a 31-year FBI veteran who helped run DIPSCAM. "I'm not paranoid, but it's everywhere," he added. 

Federal agents identified 12,500 graduates of the 40 fake schools, and those who had purchased bogus degrees included "federal, state and county employees," Ezell (Bear's co-author) told CBS MoneyWatch. "Graduates were employed in business, education, law enforcement, military and in the medical field." 

A 2006 paper published in the Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal cited congressional testimony for some startling data, including an estimate from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education that one of six education doctorates are fraudulent.  

"Even more disturbing, an extrapolation of the percentage of people holding fake diplomas in the medical field revealed potentially 2 million 'bogus practitioners' in the United States," wrote Creola Johnson, a law professor at Ohio State University. "The testimonial evidence concluded that at least 500,000 Americans hold fake degrees." 

Many of those holding fake MDs are "small-town doctors that have military field medic training and can do stitches or an injection," said Bear, who like Ezell, works as a consultant. "Many are smart enough to know if they can't handle a case, they pass it on." 

But unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. Bear, who started tracking bogus institutions while writing a guide to earning a degree through distance learning, was an expert witness in a manslaughter case in North Carolina against two men who had purchased doctors' IDs for $100 purporting to be from the University of London.

Save the date!

National Council for Continuing Education & Training 

2017 Annual Conference

"Savannah Sizzles: Hot Topics, Tools, and Trends"

September 25-27, 2017

Savannah, Georgia

NCCET Annual Conference

Infographic Friday

From Visually.

Tales of the non-traditional

She had to choose between college track and love. Love won. From The Tennessean.

Gramma to graduate from TSU — 55 years after she enrolled

Darlene Mullins often wore TSU gear and jeans to class, just like other students at Tennessee State University. 

But Mullins is the only one who slaps the table and scolds her classmates for swearing. 

After an F bomb, she shouts, “Oooo!” and then, “You need to wash your mouth out with soap!” 

Graduating after a 55-year hiatus 

Mullins, 72, is set to graduate from TSU Saturday – 55 years after taking her first class. Mullins came back to campus four years ago to finish what she started. 

And she came back in full grandma mode, loving on the younger students – and correcting them when she thought it necessary. 

“I would listen to them, I would encourage them, hug on them, call them ‘son’ or ‘young man.’ But I never tried to be their friend,” she said firmly. 

Why she left TSU after her freshman year 

Mullins, a high school track stand-out in New Jersey, first came to TSU at 17 with dreams of making the U.S. Olympics team. She’d heard of the famous TSU Tigerbelles, star Wilma Rudolph and their extraordinary coach, Ed Temple. 

Those dreams disappeared with a glance. 

A month into her freshman year, Mullins, in skirt and blouse, walked with her roommate to lunch, passing the dapper male students leaned up against a wall to check out the ladies. 

That’s when she saw him. One quick glance. 

John E. Mullins Sr. In a suit and hat. A senior. Big man on campus. Popular, smooth, polite. 

“He is so fine!” Darlene Mullins gushed quietly to her roommate. 

“Is he looking? Is he looking?! Is he looking???” 

He was. 

In fact, John Mullins loved the freshman’s smile, and he told his buddy, “She’s going to be my wife.” 

About two minutes later, Darlene Mullins told her roommate, “I’m going to marry him.” 

'It's either the track team or John'

Tales of the non-traditional

Role model. From 13WMAZ.

Macon grandfather graduates from college

It's almost graduation time here in Central Georgia. 

 College students will don their caps and gowns to grace the stage for that coveted diploma. 

One Fort Valley State University senior who is preparing for this major milestone is just a little more senior than his classmates. 

While most retirees want to spend their golden years slowing down, Matthew Brown says he is just getting started. 

“You can always take your talents to another level,” he says.

Brown sits at the piano and plays a few notes. “It’s a little out of tune,” he laughs. “I can work with it.” 

Back in the 70’s, he was opening for big names like the Manhattans, Millie Jackson, Johnnie Taylor, and Eddie Floyd, who sang the hit song "Knock on Wood." 

He even recorded a gospel album at the famed Capricorn Records. 

The Air Force veteran turned music instructor says he wanted to take his skills beyond raw talent, so he came to Fort Valley State University four years ago. 

The Macon 70-year-old, however, is not a professor.
He’s a student. In fact, he’s an honor student. 

“I’m a wildcat for life,” says Brown. 

Brown has about five decades of life experience on his classmates, but it did not take him long to fit in.

Eshew the semicolon?

According to Vonnegut, it only shows "you've been to college." But I like me some semicolons. And I have been to college where I majored in English. That probably makes me the only person interested in this...From Ben Blatt, writing in Slate.

Do Semicolons Make You Pretentious?

For the purposes of this article, I decided to take a quick approach that is slightly less anecdotal than just glossing over the authors above. I created two samples. The first was all 36 Pulitzer Prize winners published between 1980-2016 (this is 36 books instead of 37 because there was no winner in 2012). I then looked at the Publisher’s Weekly best-selling novel of the year from 1980-2016 (this too was 36 books as I removed Diary of a Wimpy Kid since its only intended audience is young children). 

These are small samples, with some repeat authors, but the results are still clear. The Pulitzer Prize winning books use a median of 129 semicolons per 100,000 words. The best-selling novels use a median of 86 semicolons per 100,000 words.

The 50 percent difference between the two samples may not be surprising, but I think they echo Vonnegut’s point. The most accessible writers often do not use many semicolons. If you are writing with simple sentence structure you don’t need them.

While semicolons are more present in the Pulitzer winners on the whole, it's not a necessary condition to have them to appeal to literary circles. Some writers, like Larry McMurtry’s whose Pulitzer Prize winning Lonesome Dove had almost 650 semicolons per 100,000 words, choose to use them often; others, like Cormac McCarthy who a Pulitzer for The Road without using a single semicolon, choose to follow Vonnegut's advice and avoid them.

Happy National Pina Colada Day!

From Visually.

Infographic Friday!

From Visually.

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

Source: blog.surveyanalytics.com 

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

Infographic by Ghergich & Co.

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

Source: blog.surveyanalytics.com 

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

From Visually.

Celebrating the Fourth of July!

From Visually.