We’ve all done it. Either in a rush, under pressure, or trying to save money, we’ve gambled with our
safety. Opting not to wear the bike helmet for a quick ride around town; skipping the sunscreen since it’s
really not that sunny; not flossing, despite the dental hygienist’s threats and pleas. While these examples
are fairly trivial and affect only oneself, other safety gambles have much more serious consequences.
Last year we happily reported that “despite continuing economic pressures that might have made lab health and safety a ‘nice to have’ rather than a ‘must have,’” there had been substantial improvements in lab health and safety practices. Unfortunately, we cannot report the same trend this year. In fact, what we learned from this year’s survey is that there has been a significant across-the-board decrease in all aspects of laboratory safety practices, which begs the question “Why?”
How we communicate with those we work for and those who work for us is dictated by a variety of
factors. Your boss prefers weekly face-to-face meetings, you prefer brief emails, others on your team
favor long-winded phone conversations, while your newly hired college grads are happiest texting.
Despite the many new channels available for getting your message across, all are not created equal
when it comes to the communication challenges you and your organization face. The takeaway from
this month’s cover story is that choosing the appropriate communication technique and medium
should not be left to chance. Rather, a lab manager needs to carefully assess every situation, every
business goal, every team, and every individual to determine the most effective ways of communicating.
“Telephones, email, and social technology modalities have their rightful place in labs as a quick
and easy means of conveying and/or broadcasting information, but managers who use these methods
to the point of minimizing or excluding real-time person-to-person communication on a reasonably
consistent basis should not be surprised if levels of staff motivation and trust start to flag.”
It’s the week before Easter, but outside my window there are still patches of snow on the ground. To which I say, enough already! Bring on Spring and make it snappy.
The good news from this year’s confidence report is that the laboratory industry, by and large, is moving in the right direction—forward—though in slightly smaller steps than we would have hoped. But as author Angelo DePalma writes in this month’s cover story, “Steady as She Goes,” “Survival is not a dirty word in a world recovering from catastrophic financial shenanigans, and toward that end treading water is not such a terrible strategy.” If you didn’t participate in this year’s survey, let me know if these results are in line with your own feeling of confidence as you head into 2013.
Talking to your staff, your customers, and to upper management is common sense, natural and instinctive, right? Think again.
In many quarters, bragging about oneself or one’s accomplishments is considered bad form. Modesty and humility are the virtues most ascribe to. However, things have changed.
In this month’s cover story, author John Borchardt describes the changes that have taken place since 2008 in priorities for hiring new laboratory employees. Most significant is that today’s employers, rather than hiring newly graduated
As in our previous Salary & Employee Satisfaction surveys, the results this year continue to reinforce the idea that laboratory professionals are for the most part happy in their careers and derive meaning and satisfaction from the work they do. However, there were a few surprises this year with regard to career growth opportunities. But before we get to those details, let’s find out more about the participants in this year’s survey.
Driving back to my office today, I heard an interview on NPR with Lisa Randall, Professor of Physics at
Harvard University. She was there to talk about new discoveries in the field of physics, including new
evidence for the existence of the Higgs
