The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Workplace tidbits to keep in mind
Social media use, tenure with your employer can affect your career.
It’s summer. Attention spans are short. Vacations beckon. Here are some quickly digestible workplace bites.
Social media
Yes, it matters what you put on Instagram, Facebook or anywhere else discoverable online. It matters if you’re job hunting or there’s a possibility you’ll be vetted for any position.
Four out of five job recruiters recently surveyed by the workplace consultancy of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said they do social media and other internet searches to learn about candidates.
Three-fourths of recruiters said they search before they advance applicants to true candidacy status, using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Google searches for evidence of drug use, lawsuits, felonies and “unprofessional behavior.”
On the flip side, some employers said they were concerned if a candidate had no online presence. No tech savviness? False identity? Or clueless about a lot?
Workplace tenure
The average workplace tenure for workers under age 55 is 2.8 years. The length of time on a job has been in fairly steady decline, for employer and employee reasons.
A reminder: You have a better chance of raising your pay by changing jobs rather than getting raises in your current job. Job loyalty is a whole other issue.
Mental health
There’s lots of advice about how to handle jerks at work or other disagreeable encounters. Outside of advising, “Be nice” or “Don’t engage,” there’s a wrenching issue here.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that mental illness is the leading cause of disability in the workplace. Depression is the biggest factor, but that’s not the only reason why a co-worker may behave in off-putting or otherwise disagreeable ways.
Failure to understand and treat mental health conditions contributes to crime, homelessness, unemployment and workplace flareups. It’s a national burden that shouldn’t rest solely on the afflicted.
College
For the first time in U.S. history, more than one-third of adults hold bachelor’s degrees or higher.
The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey says that 33.4 percent is the highest level since data collection began in 1940. Then, only 4.6 percent had graduated from college.
Exposure to more knowledge is good, whether from school or selflearning. There’s also a financial reason to reach for degrees. In 2016, workers whose top level of education was high school had average earnings of $35,615; for those with bachelor’s degrees, $65,482, and for those with advanced degrees, $92,525.
-Speaking of college, 69.7 percent of 2016 high school graduates were enrolled in post-secondary schools as of October 2016. Compare that to the 33.4 percent graduation figure mentioned above.
There’s a big difference between starting and completing four-year degrees. University education is too costly for many students, and that needs to be fixed. Access to higher education is vital for America to stay globally competitive.