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If stress on the job is making it hard to stay motivated and productive, you might have considered quitting and just starting fresh somewhere else.

Unfortunately, leaving a job isn’t so easy.

In today’s economy, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a career change and find that job of your dreams.

Still, you do have some options when you think you can’t take one more day at your job.

Lining up another job or different career options might take some time but you can work towards it slowly. If you want to stay with your current employer, you might just need a fresh perspective on where you stand.

Here are some things you can do when job-related stress has become overwhelming:
Continue reading “8 Things to Do If You Can’t Take One More Day at Your Job” »

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A new study  from the National Center on Education Statistics shows that 10% of public school teachers quit after just one year on the job.

The study is based on data collected from the Census Bureau during the 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10 school years.

The survey also found – not surprisingly – that there were big disparities among better-paid and better-connected teachers versus those who weren’t.

For example, teachers who earned more than $40,000 a year, along with teachers who had a mentor, were less likely to call it quits than their peers who earned less money or lacked the supervision of a mentor.

We all know that teachers may leave a job for a variety of reasons – ranging from better career options elsewhere to not being able to handle the stress of the job.

But it’s interesting to note that being decently compensated seems to correspond with teachers’ job satisfaction – or at least their willingness to continue with the profession. This alone is one reason why all of us – parents and concerned citizens alike – should support the notion of teachers being fairly compensated.

And while we all think about “mentors” for kids, perhaps we need to think also about the importance of creating mentoring relationships for teachers as well. After all, they are charged with educating the next generation.

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If you’ve been working at the same company for more than a year, it’s likely that you’re eligible for a number of job benefits that could not only help you become more productive, but could also improve your career and overall financial and personal life.

While it’s true that U.S. employers have been steadily scaling back on costly benefits like healthcare coverage, it’s also the case that most American employers, nevertheless, offer numerous assistance programs free of charge to eligible employees. Some companies even go all out when it comes to heaping generous perks and fringe benefits on their workers in order to boost recruitment efforts and retain top talent. These company offerings may range from creative employee wellness initiatives to helpful work-life balance programs, such as childcare services or health club membership plans.

Here are five job benefits you may not be using, but should be taking full advantage of now:

1. Financial Literacy and Financial Education

Some companies offer free “lunch and learn” programs that could help you better manage your financial life. From retirement planning seminars to credit counseling sessions that explain the differences between debt management and debt settlement, you could learn some effective methods and strategies for improving your financial health. These programs can help you make sound financial decisions in your personal life, and may even motivate you to set some financial goals for your future.

If your company doesn’t offer financial literacy as a benefit, ask your boss or your Human Resources department to reach out to an organization such as the LFE Institute. LFE is a national provider of workplace financial education. Their offerings are low-cost to employers and free for employees.

2. 401(k) or 403(b) Matching Programs

One of the most attractive benefits an employer can extend to an employee is a 401(k) or 403(b) matching program. These help you save for your Golden Years because any contributions you make to these retirement plans gets matched–up to a certain amount–by you employer.

Although, since the recession hit, some companies have cut back on their matching programs, others still offer dollar-for-dollar matching, giving you a 100% return on your savings. Other employers match 50 cents on the dollar, or even less. Still, it’s free money so you should you’d be wise to take full advantage of this benefit and enroll in your company sponsored retirement program as soon as you can. Unfortunately, too few of us participate in such plans – and even when we do, we don’t save as aggressively as we should.

For instance, a 2009 Ariel/Hewitt study found that only 66% of Blacks contribute to their 401(k) plans at work, compared a 77% 401(k) participation rate for whites.

Also, among Blacks who do invest via company retirement plans, six in 10 African-Americans have less than $50,000 saved in those plans, while only 23% have more than $100,000 in these plans, according to a 2011 Prudential study called “The African-American Financial Experience.” Comparatively, 34% of Americans in general have $100,000 in company retirement plans, Prudential found. Read the rest of Lynnette Khalfani-Cox’s article on Black Enterprise.

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Just by talking to her, you wouldn’t know that Vivian Nixon is an ex convict.

Confident, articulate, and now pursuing a Master’s Degree in Theology, Nixon seems more likely to have spent time in a church worship hall rather than a prison hall.

But it wasn’t always that way.

Many years ago, she got into legal trouble and wound up with a felony conviction.

Nixon won’t say much about it — other than to note that she spent three and a half years in prison for a non-violent offense.

She now runs the College and Community Fellowship in New York, which helps female ex-inmates successfully reintegrate into society by bolstering their educational and economic opportunities. In her present role, Nixon encourages former prisoners not to dwell on their past — even as Nixon acknowledges her own atypical background.

“People have this idea of what the typical prisoner is: someone uneducated, poor, from the inner city or a rural area,” says Nixon. “For the most part, it’s true — but not everyone fits that profile.”

“I lived in a nice suburban community. I had a two-parent household, a great school system and a good education,” she recalls. Yet she still ran afoul of the law.

Once in prison, however, “I met women who could barely read and write and that had an impact on me.”

“It sent me into a period of intense self-introspection and I thought ‘Look at all the opportunities I had, and all my parents tried to do for me.’”

“For a year I was consumed with guilt,” she says. “After that, I decided that my role should be to have an impact on the lives of others while I was there.” So in prison, Nixon started helping people learn to read and tutoring inmates who wanted to earn a GED.

“I had dropped out of college, so I made a commitment to finish college as soon as I got out,” Nixon says.

It was a goal she achieved, earning a B.S. in Human Services Administration.

Though she has largely overcome her criminal past, Nixon says she and other ex-offenders still deal with the “collateral damage” of having a felony conviction. These individuals – roughly 13 million Americans with felony records – can’t vote, are frequently denied federal financial assistance, and face limited employment prospects. Many also are cash-strapped because they must pay court fines, fees and restitution tied to their crimes. Click here to continue reading Lynnette’s article on theGrio.com

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