Workplace

A New York Federal Jury hit the drug company Novartis with a multi-million dollar damage verdict Wednesday in the largest gender discrimination suit of its kind.

Being savvy about the practical uses, and pitfalls, of social media is becoming increasingly important as employers go online to check up on what their workers and prospective hires are up to. Career expert Nicole Williams explains why more and more people are taking a "less is more" approach to their online lives.

- The number of surgical complications fell by more than a 1/3.
- Washing your hands -- saved Michigan State more than $100 million and 1500 lives over 1.5 year.
- 8 different hospitals tested around the world -- urgent surgery -- deaths dropped by almost 2/3.
- Study introduced by World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 -- Safe Surgery Saves Lives program.

- Sleepiness is thought to increase the risk of traffic collisions, injuries on the job and medical errors.
- "It seems reasonable to assume that reduced errors are associated with fewer injuries, although we cannot quantify such a reduction,"
- The trials suggested caffeine improved memory, orientation and attention.

Emergency workers from the city are meeting this week with firefighters from around the world as part of the Ottawa Fire Symposium at Carleton University.

- Compliance firms say more companies complain about work rants on social media.
- Posting work gripes on Facebook could be grounds for firing, employment attorneys say.
- One woman who was the subject of his offensive comments believed she had been sexually harassed at work.

- Identifying certain types of behavior that are unacceptable and contrary to a statute.
- Part of a trend and a big shift in what is considered acceptable workplace behavior.

Overall, "homelessness is either a real or near threat" for millions of Canadians and getting worse, the report, titled "Poverty shouldn't be a life sentence," concluded.
- Levels were highest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan,
- Levels were lowest in Newfoundland and Quebec,

According to a new study from the Journal of Occupational and Health Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association (APA), women who experience job burnout and men who experience depression were found to have increased levels of two inflammation biomarkers – fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (CRP). Both of these biomarkers have been associated in numerous studies, with an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease and stroke, over and above the conventional risk factors like blood lipids and glucose.
- Blood levels of CRP and fibrinogen concentrations were used to measure levels of micro-inflammation.
- Fibrinogen is a blood-clotting factor that responds to vascular and tissue injury and CRP is a complex set of proteins produced when the body is dealing with a major infection or trauma.

Psychological manipulation, psychological harassment, criminal psychological harassment, stress, sleep deprivation, and homelessness are "invisible" weapons used in today's modern society.

The same psychological manipulation tactics and desires are combined with advances in technology from flashing computer screens to sound distortions and harassment with the goal to discredit victims and drive them to homelessness.

- Work stress was significantly associated with adverse outcomes, including depression and intimate partner abuse.
- Of these, lack of organizational fairness and job dissatisfaction were most strongly correlated with self-reported perceived work stress
- One interesting finding from this study was that officers reporting high work stress and who relied on avoidant coping mechanisms were more than 14 times more likely to report anxiety and more than nine times more likely to report burnout than were officers who did not rely on avoidance as a coping strategy

- Often, emotional abuse builds over a long period of time until it becomes so unbearable that victims lash out in frustration and anger, only to appear unstable and aggressive themselves.

- This, according to Hirigoyen, is the intent of many abusers: to systematically "destabilize" and confuse their victims (with irrational, threatening behavior that preys on the victim's fears and self-doubts), to isolate and control them and ultimately to destroy their identity. - psychiatrist Marie-France Hirigoyen, author of Le harcèlement moral

Terry Tate Office Linebacker tackles employees at the office

stress and stess management: laughter and humor

One thing we all bring to the job is the self, making conflict inevitable. Seize it as a sign to look inward.

Some companies pay their employees to start living healthier.

When workers know their work makes a difference, productivity rises and so does job satisfaction.