Happy Groundhog Day! It is no surprise that our favorite groundhog has seen his shadow!  Very disappoinging news for all of us that are yearning for the brighter and warmer days of spring and the flowers beginning to show their buds.  But, we when we get to this day it is a reaffirmation - spring is around the corner.  We have a little more to get through but it is right ahead.

It was a very exciting night in my household last night when the Jets won their second playoff game.  Despite being the underdogs, despite a rookie quarterback and despite being in the Chargers home turf - they won! I find myself as an HR professional making sports analogies more and more.  So here is one more - we are in very difficult times for people working and not working. Those working see no end in sight to the intense pressure being put on them.  Those not working see overwhelming odds that they are not the ones who are going to be chosen for jobs.

The economic pundits are predicting that the crisis of the past couple years has changed consumers and corporations permanently. As consumers we will continue to curtail spending and as corporations we have learned to function very lean to keep costs down. The problem from a corporate perspective seems to be – we may be functioning too lean. It is a rare employee you speak to who is not working harder and longer for less.

Think again! Corporate emails ARE NOT private. They are often monitored for poor work performance or for inappropriate content. Remember if you can’t say it to your boss or can’t show it to your boss, don’t write it. Unfortunately, people who forget this often are not in their position for long!