3 Dumb Moves That Can Hurt Your Career

3 Dumb Moves That Can Hurt Your Career

New Line Cinema
By Brian O'Connell, MainStreet

What's the most common way to breach workplace etiquette and curb your career growth, if not derail it altogether?

AccountTemps says employers and staffers don't always see office etiquette the same. But bosses certainly have more leverage in the matter, since they can fire employees who buck the rules, and a company survey finds U.S. chief financial officers are most often bugged by workers "being distracted" on the job (27% of CFOs say so) and "gossiping about colleagues" (18%).

Other top offenses cited by CFOs:

      • Not responding to calls or emails.
      • Being late to meetings, or missing them.
      • Not crediting other staffers when appropriate. 

    Employers and workers may not see the top etiquette breaches equally, but they agree on professional decorum more than they disagree, and the shared message is easy to sum up: "Most jobs today require teamwork and strong collaboration skills, and that means following the unwritten rules of office protocol," says Bill Driscoll, a district president of Accountemps. "Poor workplace etiquette demonstrates a lack of consideration for coworkers."

    Related: Modern Etiquette: Outclassing the Competition

    Of course, the list of workplace professional breaches exceeds the AccountTemps list.

    "I've seen it all," notes Nicole Williams, a workplace consultant and a career contributor to NBC's The Today Show. "Employees who lie on expense reports; who badmouth the company or boss on social media or to clients; proofreading mistakes; missing deadlines. Just to name a few."

    If you do trip up on the job, it's best to be accountable. "If you really screw up, you have to suffer the consequences in silence," Williams says. "Don't protest, don't try and get out of it, and don't put the blame on someone or something else. People will respect you more for owning your mistakes."

    This article originally appeared on Main Street

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    The Phantom Billionaire Who’s Richer Than Warren Buffett

    Getty Images
    By Millie Dent

    A practically unheard-of billionaire, Amancio Ortega, just blew past household name Warren Buffett to be the second-richest man in the world, according to Bloomberg. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who is worth $85.5 billion, remains first.

    Oretega, who has amassed a net worth of $71.5 billion, is the founding chairman of the Inditex fashion group, the world’s largest apparel retailer. Inditex is best known for its chain of Zara clothing and accessories shops, which had sales of $19.7 billion in fiscal 2014.

    Related: Bill Gates Is the World’s Richest Man Again. Or Is He?

    Worth noting is that Warren Buffett, whose net worth of $70.2 billion puts him at third place, would be in second-place if not for his philanthropic giving.

    A native of Spain, Ortega refuses almost all interview requests and until 1999, no photograph of him had ever been published. However, Zara is not so low-profile. The world’s biggest fashion retailer operates over 6,600 stores in more than 88 countries.

    Inditex has shown strong growth year over year. In March, it reported net profit up 5 percent from the previous fiscal year. In addition, the company said it planned to open up 480 more stores this year.

    Related: America’s Highest Paid CEO Is Not Who You Think

    Key to Ortega’s success has been keeping Zara’s manufacturing close to its home base in the ancient port city of La Coruña, rather than outsourcing production to China to cut costs. This allows Zara to act quickly on new trends and put new products into stories right away. Zara shops receive new shipments of clothing twice a week, virtually unheard of among retail stores.

    If Inditex brands continue to grow and Zara’s popularity extends to millennials and beyond, the mysterious billionaire’s wealth could eventually push him to number one on the list.

    Commerce IG Accused of Whistleblower Retaliation Suddenly Quits

    Flickr/sciencedemocrats
    By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

    Embattled Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser, who has been accused of misconduct and retaliation against whistleblowers, just announced that he is stepping down after seven years at the agency. 

    In an internal email to his staff, Zinser said he would be leaving his watchdog post to “pursue opportunities outside of government service,” GovExec first reported.

    Zinser, the top watchdog in charge of keeping tabs on the Commerce Department, has been under intense scrutiny for nearly a year amid allegations of whistleblower retaliation and improperly hiring a woman with whom he was said to be romantically involved.

    Related: Corruption in Commerce Dept? Lawmakers Want Him Out

    For months, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and two independent watchdog groups, have been calling on President Obama to fire Zinser over the alleged misconduct, which has been the subject of at least one federal probe by the White House Office of Special Council.

    The White House has not responded to comment on whether Zinser was asked to leave.

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers have been probing into multiple allegations brought by whistleblowers against Zinser for the better part of a year.

    “The Committee has uncovered evidence questioning whether the Commerce IG’s office is functioning with integrity. We must determine if these allegations are true and if so, they are the result of systemic issues that may require legislative action,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter published last year.

    Related: Why This Government Watchdog Needs Watching 

    In one instance, the IG reportedly failed to discipline two employees in his office who intimidated potential whistleblowers.

    Another whistleblower told the committee that the IG improperly hired his “girlfriend” for a senior role in the office, which had an annual salary of $150,000 plus bonuses. Zinser maintained that he and the woman were not romantically involved and defended her employment. 

    He told the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) that she was hired solely “on business necessity.”

    There is currently a Government Accountability Office investigation into Zinser’s office conduct that is expected to be published in the coming months. 

    Zinser previously served as the Transportation Department’s acting inspector general and deputy inspector general.

    6.6M Homes at Risk of Hurricane Damage This Year. Here’s Which States They’re In

    REUTERS
    By Beth Braverman

    As hurricane season gets underway, real estate analytics firm CoreLogic is warning that there are more than 6.6 million U.S. homes at risk of being hit by a storm surge. That could lead to as much at $1.5 trillion in damage.

    The homes are in 19 states and the District of Columbia along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Six states account for more than three-quarters of all at-risk homes, with Florida having the most (2.5 million), followed by Louisiana (760,000), New York (465,000), New Jersey (446,148), Texas (441,304) and Virginia (420,052).

    Related: How Climate Change Costs Could Soar to the Billions

    “The number of hurricanes each year is less important than the location of where the next hurricane will come ashore,” CoreLogic’s senior hazard risk analyst said in a statement. “It only takes one hurricane that pushes storm surge into a major metropolitan area for the damage to tally in the billions of dollars. With new home construction, and any amount of sea-level rise, the number of homes at risk of storm surge damage will continue to increase.” 

    The District of Columbia has the lowest number of properties at risk (3,700), followed by New Hampshire (12,400) and Maine (22,500

    State Table (Ranked by Number of Homes at Risk)

    Rank

    State

    Extreme

    Very High

    High

    Moderate

    Low*

    Total

    1

    Florida

    793,204

    461,632

    524,923

    352,102

    377,951

    2,509,812

    2

    Louisiana

    97,760

    104,059

    337,495

    138,762

    82,196

    760,272

    3

    New York

    127,325

    114,876

    131,039

    91,294

    N/A

    464,534

    4

    New Jersey

    116,581

    178,668

    73,303

    77,596

    N/A

    446,148

    5

    Texas

    45,800

    70,894

    112,189

    116,168

    96,253

    441,304

    6

    Virginia

    94,260

    115,770

    98,463

    84,015

    27,544

    420,052

    7

    South Carolina

    107,443

    57,327

    65,885

    46,799

    30,961

    308,415

    8

    North Carolina

    73,463

    51,927

    48,595

    40,155

    37,347

    251,487

    9

    Massachusetts

    31,420

    65,279

    74,413

    49,325

    N/A

    220,437

    10

    Maryland

    47,990

    39,966

    27,591

    28,975

    N/A

    144,522

    11

    Georgia

    41,970

    52,281

    28,852

    19,190

    8,465

    150,758

    12

    Pennsylvania

    1,467

    45,776

    37,983

    32,426

    N/A

    117,652

    13

    Mississippi

    14,809

    20,643

    29,387

    27,507

    10,588

    102,934

    14

    Connecticut

    25,292

    23,656

    22,230

    26,529

    N/A

    97,707

    15

    Alabama

    7,403

    12,707

    10,182

    13,749

    14,086

    58,127

    16

    Delaware

    11,523

    10,854

    13,528

    13,811

    N/A

    49,716

    17

    Rhode Island

    6,595

    5,988

    6,720

    7,187

    N/A

    26,490

    18

    Maine

    5,159

    2,753

    7,368

    7,211

    N/A

    22,491

    19

    New Hampshire

    2,514

    3,470

    4,234

    2,272

    N/A

    12,490

    20

    District of Columbia

    N/A**

    N/A**

    545

    3,123

    N/A

    3,668

    Total

    1,651,978

    1,438,526

    1,654,925

    1,178,196

    685,391

    6,609,016


    * The "Low" risk category is based on Category 5 hurricanes, which are not likely along the northeastern Atlantic coast. States in that area have N/A designated for the Low category due to the extremely low probability of a Category 5 storm affecting that area.
    ** Washington, D.C. has no Atlantic coastal properties, but can be affected by larger hurricanes that push storm surge into the Potomac River. Category 1 and 2 storms will likely not generate sufficient storm surge to affect properties in Washington, D.C. 

    Jamie Dimon Is Now a Billionaire

    REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
    By Robert Frank

    The vast majority of the billionaires in the U.S. made their money in one of two ways—they started a company, or they inherited their fortune or business.

    But Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has shown another path to riches. As a corporate manager, he may have amassed enough stock and boosted the share price enough to join the 10-figure club.

    According to Bloomberg, Dimon is now worth $1.1 billion. His stake in JPMorgan through shares and options is worth $485 million and he also has real estate valued at $32 million. In addition, he has wealth from "an investment portfolio seeded by proceeds" from his previous stint at Citigroup

    Related: America’s Highest Paid CEO: It’s Not Who You Think

    While highly unusual, Dimon isn't the first billionaire professional manager or executive who gained his wealth from stock in a company he didn't found or take public. The first manager-billionaire in the U.S. was believed to be Roberto Goizueta, CEO of Coca-Cola during the 1980s and 1990s. During his tenure, Coca-Cola's stock jumped more than 70-fold and Goizueta had stock and options totaling more than $1 billion.

    More recently, the billionaire managers have been from finance. James Cayne, the colorful CEO and chairman of Bear Stearns became a billionaire on paper—before Bear Stearns collapsed during the financial crisis.

    Richard Fuld, CEO of Lehman Brothers, also became a paper billionaire in 2007—before the investment bank became the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history in 2008.

    Plenty of other finance chiefs have become billionaires—from hedge-funders to private-equity kings Steve Schwarzman and David Rubenstein. Citi founder Sandy Weill was a billionaire, but he created the company.

    So while he may not be the first, Dimon may make history another way—by becoming the first manager-billionaire in finance to run a bank that thrives for decades after his leadership. 

    This article originally appeared on CNBC.
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    Most Americans Think Our Morals Are Going To Hell

    iStockphoto
    By Millie Dent

    Ask anyone about the state of moral values in the U.S. and you’re likely to get a response along the lines of, “we’re going to hell.”

    Most Americans — 72 percent — are convinced that moral values in the U.S. are decaying, according to a new Gallup poll, and most people believe the current state of moral values isn’t all that great to begin with. Nearly half of those polled, 45 percent, called the state of moral values in the U.S. “poor,” while 34 percent said they are “only fair.”

    Just 19 percent rated American morals as either “excellent” or “good,” and only 22 percent say the state of moral values is getting better.

    Unsurprisingly perhaps, social conservatives have consistently been most likely to tell pollsters that the nation’s moral values are deteriorating, but the latest Gallup findings showed an uptick from 2014 to 2015 among social moderates and social liberals who believe moral values are regressing.

    Related: How U.S. Morals Stack Up Against the World

    Gallup also found that Americans’ views of the moral acceptability of a number of key issues has been shifting to the left since 2001. The largest shift was on gay or lesbian relations, with a 23 percentage point increase in the share of people who say that behavior is morally acceptable. The change coincides with a sharp increase in support for same-sex marriage. 

    Sex between unmarried people has also become more acceptable, as has having babies outside of marriage. Polygamy and divorce are also now acceptable to a greater portion of the population than in 2001. On the other hand, the views of married men and women having an affair haven’t changed much, with just 8 percent of Americans saying it’s morally tolerable.

    However, respondents to the poll about the current and future state of moral values weren’t necessarily responding with those charged social and political issues in mind. In many cases, Gallup suggests, their views of the moral direction of the country were rooted in something much more basic: “That is, their views have less to do with greater acceptance of same-sex marriage or having babies out of wedlock and other hot-button issues, and more to do with matters of basic civility and respect for each other,” Gallup’s Justin McCarthy wrote.

    Clearly, the Golden Rule is still the bedrock of our moral code: Love thy neighbor as thyself.