8 meals to eat while working
I almost always take a break for meals, even if that means staying late in the office. Meal time is my time, and I want to enjoy my food. That said, I will occasionally chow down at my desk if I am overwhelmed with meetings, or if I am feeling unusually ...

Salami tactics: how to get anything you want, one piece at a time
If you go around asking for free things, you will occasionally get lucky. But if you habitually bother people, you will be labeled as a pest and your luck will run out. That's why it pays to be more subtle in your requests. This post is about a negotiating technique that ...

7 tips for working while sick
In a perfect world, no one would have to work while sick. Everyone could take rest and return to work once fully recovered. But in reality, most of us have to work at least a little bit while we are sick. There is a lot of financial pressure to work. Nearly ...

My new respect for freelancers, bloggers, and independent workers
This article is a little bit off topic, but it has been on my mind and I wanted to blog about it. About a year ago, I transitioned from writing as a side activity into a full-time pursuit. I knew from the start it would be hard to do the work, ...

All about economic consulting: what it is, how to get a job
Today I want to share a bit about the field of economic consulting. While this site already has a classified listing of jobs in economics, I wanted to highlight economic consulting because it will be of particular interest to readers of this blog. You should be interested because jobs can be ...

$10 if you guess who will be fired next – boss demonstrates how not to motivate employees
There are proper ways to use incentives to motivate employees. I have written about how incentives can help improve productivity and even reduce employee theft. Then there are the abysmal incentives that are dreamt up by sadistic bosses. This week there were news reports of a boss who made a contest ...

3 ways sleeping can help you get rich and save money
[Editorial note: I have posted the solution to the Monday puzzle in my comment here] At Stanford and in my office job, most people viewed sleep as wasted time. They would have preferred the time to be spent studying, exercising, or simply doing anything else. In fact, some people did just ...

How to reduce employee theft without nagging: 4 tips from behavioral economics
image by Nisha A Employee theft is extremely common. I would hazard that even the best of us has stolen something from an employer. Most people do not view taking a few pens or printing personal material as a big deal. In fact, some people view it as an unpaid benefit ...

A joke about why you shouldn’t make fun of co-workers
There are times where you might want to burn bridges. But often it's better to play it safe and avoid confrontation. Below is a short joke someone sent me illustrating why.

Year End Financial Checklist, 2010
The end of the year is an interesting time financially. It's a natural time to review the last 12 months and plan for the upcoming year. It's also a time to take action. Because many financial activities like taxes and insurance are based on the calendar year, it's important to take ...

Sorry, you cannot buy happiness with a $75,000 salary
There's an economics study about money and happiness that's getting a lot of attention. Here's a sampling of the headlines: The Perfect Salary for Happiness: $75,000 - The Wall Street Journal After $75000, Money Can't Buy Day-to-Day Happiness - BusinessWeek What does it take to be happy? About $75000 - Los Angeles Times These headlines ...

Why target-based bonuses encourage cheating, and how to motivate instead
Performance bonuses are often said to be a necessary evil. They are necessary to motivate and reward outstanding performance. But they can be evil as they can encourage cheating. Warren Buffett once wrote: "Managers that always promise to 'make the numbers' will at some point be tempted to make up the ...

The 4 most important resume tips
How many resumes do you need? How long should your resume be? What should you write about? How often should you update your resume? These are just a few of the issues involved when writing a resume. Even though there are many experts offering opinions, it is hard to find trusted ...

Why you can trust a woman with an MBA
My newlywed friend is applying for an MBA. She and I were discussing her application and general factors, like lost salary and tuition cost. But then the conversation shifted towards strategy. How would the MBA affect her employability in a game theory sense? We came up with a few ideas, and ...

Reflecting on Labor Day – Rich Man’s Burden
image by quapan This Labor day holiday, I am taking it easy and relaxing. And I truly appreciate the break. For in America, enjoying time off is the exception rather than the rule. And peculiarly, it is the rich who bear the burden the most. The more we earn, the ...