We all like to save money- it seems to be how Americans do things; this year is especially challenging with COVID-19. Black Friday has always been the hallmark of savings, where each store has their fantastic deals with only a certain number of them. In 2020 the big obstacle is safety, so many stores have turned to virtual, online events. However, some ardent shoppers want to pursue store deals, even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. Why Black Friday is Intense According to the International Business Times (IBT), there are three reasons that Black Friday is so intense: There is a rush of dopamine into the brain when we find deals. It is anatomically pleasing for us to find the right product at the right price – especially when there is a limited supply. Crowds get us excited...
Continue reading
Expert Witnesses Testify Via Videoconferencing [COVID-19]
The global coronavirus pandemic has and continues to have a profound effect on the way we do business, interact with others socially, and even how we conduct court cases, especially in the area of expert witnesses. In the past, the preferred method for this type of testimony was to fly the experts in, prep them for a day or two, and have them testify. They were not considered to be “experts” until the judge and jury could see them, and each side could grill their credentials. Since March, all of that has been tossed on its head. Depending on the state and case, expert witnesses have been eliminated or reduced for months. However, because there is no definitive end date to COVID-19 and many states are concerned about the escalating rates of this disease, remote appearances are...
Continue reading
How To Stop Workplace Bullying From Winning
Don’t Tolerate Bullying. How many of you have experienced these situations: You are in a meeting, and one person constantly interrupts or talks over someone else. They are the focus of attention, and no one can get a word in edgewise. You pitch a new idea to the team, and your boss tears it apart in front of everyone and makes you feel tiny. Internally you are frustrated and have decided not to share any more ideas with the group. There is someone constantly making snide remarks in the meeting, sort of under their breath. You can hear these comments, which are meant to shut you up, slow you down or discombobulate you altogether. What do all these situations have in common? These disrupters are workplace bullies, and unfortunately, they are tolerated in the workplace far too often. Why?...
Continue reading
How Bullying Happens to People with Disabilities
October is National Bullying Prevention Month. However, when mainstream media focuses on the bullying epidemic in our society, teenagers’ stories are traditionally publicized. The most tragic stories usually involve teens who seemingly have everything to live for takes their own life after being mercilessly bullied by peers. These stories of teenage suicide cause outrage because almost everyone can put themselves in the parent’s shoes. However, the people most vulnerable to bullies in modern society are those with disabilities. These are the silent, defenseless victims who are often quick to trust, making them the perfect targets for bullies. Someone with a physical, intellectual, or psychological disability is viewed as the perfect victim in the eyes of a bully because: They are more likely to “keep quiet” about the bullying for fear of making someone mad or not like them anymore....
Continue reading
How Diversity and Inclusion Can Drive Down Hidden Bias
Have you ever looked around your office and noticed that the managers are primarily men? The clerical workers are predominantly women? That you have very few people of color as employees? These observations may go unnoticed in the day-to-day work environment, but addressing these issues is the only way to change. What is Hidden Bias? It appears at the unconscious level based on upbringing, identity, culture, and mass media. It shapes the way you view people and how you behave towards them. These differences could include several characteristics, such as: height and weight, introversion and extroversion, marital status, disability status, foreign accents, hobbies and extracurricular activities, sexual identity, gender identity and race Hidden Bias Can Lead to a Tough Work Environment But how do these hidden biases lead to a non-diverse work environment? Think about the hiring process....
Continue reading
Beware of a New Trend in Cyberbullying: Roasting
Most adults are familiar with the entertainment version of the word “roasting.” Roasts are traditionally intended as lighthearted dinners where various guests take turns “roasting” a guest of honor with good-natured jokes at that person’s expense. The key here is the phrase “good-natured.” As we’ve all witnessed, it can get awkward and downright uncomfortable. A roast that turns from lighthearted to vicious is becoming all too common. Guess who’s catching onto it? Your teenagers. Too Young to Roast It all started with the hashtag #roastme. Teenagers would post a picture or video on a social media channel (i.e., Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, or a group text) of themselves with that hashtag. Like a traditional “roast,” they gave people consent to make funny comments about what they posted. However, like most things exposed online, the opportunity to post malicious, hurtful...
Continue reading
7 Steps to Stop Workplace Bullying
Have you ever repeatedly experienced the following at work: Name-calling Shaming in public Intimidation Verbal abuse Pranks People leaving you out of conversations Managers giving you partial instructions or Having your work efforts sabotaged? If so, you’ve been bullied. Unfortunately, none of the behaviors listed above are illegal. According to the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), 19% of all US employees have been bullying victims. 61% of bullies are bosses, which correlates with the statistic that 65% of bullying victims are either fired or resign. Bullying, left unchecked, decreases workplace safety, increases absenteeism, and impacts employee morale. It creates a psychological power imbalance between the person doing the bullying and their target(s). Once the bully cements this imbalance, it’s virtually impossible to fix. 7 Action Steps to Stop a Bully Train employees to recognize bullying. Everyone in your organization...
Continue reading
A Personal Account of Workplace Bullying
By Mark Adam Capretta Workplace bullying is a real problem, it happens all over the place, and it isn’t easy to manage. I know from experience. My Experience I just proposed to my wife, and she was wearing the engagement ring that I was still making payments. I just started a contract job with a small painting company and was very excited to do some hard work and get that ring paid off, so I didn’t have to worry about it come the wedding day. Little did I know that being a new contractor, I was in for some very intensive on-the-job training. Every day that I painted, I had someone watching and swearing at me. When I did something wrong, it got even worse. I learned some valuable skills, but once I got that ring paid off, I...
Continue reading
Is There a Link Between Domestic Violence and Financial Stress? [Updated]
Can Financial Stress Lead to Domestic Violence? As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, families are seeing their financial situation worsening. Unemployment rates are high, evictions are occurring, and businesses are permanently closing. At the same time, domestic violence (DV) agencies were reporting an increase in calls from women in need. The Facts This increase, unfortunately, should not have been a surprise. According to the National Network to End Domestic Violence, domestic violence is actually three times more likely to occur when a couple is experiencing high financial stresses versus low financial stresses. Women whose male partners experienced two or more periods of unemployment in a five-year time span are almost three times as likely to be victims of DV as opposed to women whose partners are in stable jobs. We also saw a substantial increase during the Shelter at Home...
Continue reading
Road Rage: 5 Tried and Tested Ways to Avoid It [Updated]
In Florida, two men exchanged words in at an intersection, pull into a nearby parking lot, get out of their cars, and start beating on each other. One man has a knife. He stabs the other man in the face several times, and the knife victim is rushed to the hospital. In Wisconsin, a woman is teaching her teenage son to drive. They have a minor car crash. The driver of the other vehicle shoots her to death. In Georgia, a man runs over another person he thought was throwing golf balls at his car. Unfortunately, incidents like this are reported to law enforcement every day. How can these incidents be avoided? Where did these cases go seriously wrong? Statistics are Alarming According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 80% of polled drivers express severe aggression, anger, or...
Continue reading