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Tuesday, 07 October 2008 - 1:37 AM EST

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WORK SPACE ARCHIVES

 

The people are the stars of Work Space, a popular section in The Australian Financial Review every Tuesday. Edited by Fiona Smith, Work Space investigates the way we work and offers some insight into how organisations and individuals can find the right balance.

To read the latest on Work Space, pick up a copy of Tuesday's AFR. Archives updated weekly.

September 30

How to profit by keeping staff during downturns

Not every company thinks sackings are smart management worthy of a reward, writes Fiona Smith.

Find the good even in toughest times

Optimism, resilience - in times of adversity they are the key not only to survival but even happiness, writes Fiona Smith.

September 23

Oscar winners give the best service

What we want is a positive, smiling attitude and we want sincerity. So, cherished are those workers who have mastered the art of faking authenticity. By Fiona Smith.

September 16

The alternative to networking is failure

You may feel funny asking friends to help you get a job - but it's the only way, writes Fiona Smith.

Flexible? Take an AQ test . . .

When the heat is on, some people fall apart. Others rise to the challenge, take charge, look for solutions and emerge from the crisis stronger and better than ever. But what is it that makes one person resilient and another collapse? By Fiona Smith.

September 9

Pair splash in the talent pool

Nobody says executives need to work full-time, writes Fiona Smith.

Civility rules in the new era of negotiating

Unions and management are breaking the hostile mould of the Howard years, writes Fiona Smith.

Well-oiled machine

The relationship between unions and management could hardly be closer than that of Harley-Davidson's manufacturing operations. By Fiona Smith.

August 26

Telling tales gets the tails up

Fiona Smith looks at how business leader can distil company objectives into compelling stories.

When skeletons tumble out of closets

An error of judgement in the heady days of youth can later sink a career, writes Fiona Smith.

August 19

Getting into the flow helps to lift one's game

'The flow' means hard slog and exceptional results to athletes, but the technique is widely accessible, writes Fiona Smith.

August 12

Poaching the fruits during winter

As many sectors feel a chill wind, canny firms are poaching anxious staff in preparation for the inevitable upturn writes Fiona Smith.

Stockland sets a standard

At Stockland's head office in Sydney, you can lean over the third floor balcony into the atrium and look down into the reception area to see if your 10.30 appointment has arrived, peer across to see if there is a free table at the in-house coffee shop, and scan up and down the stairs in case there is someone there that you need to catch up with. By Fiona Smith.

August 5

A humane way to terminate 'surplus labour units'

Jobs will disappear and managers will have to dispense bad news,but it need not be all bad, writes Fiona Smith.

July 29

Ungodly power of boss's moniker

When it comes to nicknames, a surprisingly large number of male CEOs are known simply as "God". The names underlings bestow often point to the omnipresent nature of the boss, the power wielded and the leader's elevated nature. Fiona Smith looks at what's in a name.

Staff care about the company they keep

Asking what someone does for a crust is a sure way to ruin a dinner party. Fiona Smith looks at what employees say about work when the boss isn't watching.

July 22

Old business cultures die hard on the shop floor

As the new millennium dawned in 2000, accountants realised they had to move with the times and dump their old image in favour of a new credential and a revamped culture.By Fiona Smith.

Toiling towards an early grave

Young people are working harder than ever to succeed - and often it is at the cost of their health, writes Hannah Tattersall.

July 15

Daredevils get a jump ahead

There is a certain sort of person who chooses to work in the emergency department of a hospital - where the only thing you can be certain of is that the unexpected will happen. The same type will be in the thick of the bear pit at the stock exchange, loving every minute of it, or negotiating high-risk business deals in boardrooms across the world. These are the sensation seekers. By Fiona Smith.

Thrills and skills for Leighton chief

Every now and then, a couple of directors on the board of Leighton Holdings attempt to put the brakes on chief executive Wal King's adventurous spirit. "They say to me: 'You don't have approval to do these things you are doing.' And I say 'Is that right?' I don't create a storm about it or anything, but then I go ahead and do it anyway," says an unrepentant. King, one of corporate Australia's long-standing thrill seekers. By Fiona Smith.

JULY 8

Fun recipes for successful teamwork

From cooking classes to making cheese and wine, tastes are changing in corporate bonding, writes Rachel Lebihan.

It's OK to show some emotion

Leaders who are willing to reveal their human side, with all its frailties, can be far more effective, writes Fiona Smith.

JULY 1

Peck on the cheek out of order

A kiss at work is at best considered inappropriate, but it could also be seen as harassment, writes Hannah Tattersall.

A dirty job, and somebody's glad to do it

The founder of forensic cleaning company BVM Clean Scene loves her work, writes Fiona Smith.


AFR BOSS this month

AFR Boss magazine
DIRECTOR´S CUT

Making the cut in the boardroom is tougher than you´d think. Andrew Cornell reports.