Research/Trends

By Marlene Weaver

After more than 40 years of work experience I still look back to my early career and realize that a mentor had a huge impact on my success. My mentor gave me support, guidance, and self-confidence.

The link between money and happiness is tough to unravel. It's a tugging match between esoteric thirsts like love and satisfaction, and very real demands like food and shelter. But a recent report involving office professionals suggests that the old cliches are at least partially true: you don't need a lot of money to be happy.

I used to believe that all mature, working adults in modern business understand the value of professional development and certification. A surprising question I recently fielded proved me wrong. I've learned there are admins struggling to improve their careers by becoming certified because they work for people who are afraid of the consequences.

It used to be that our lives were fairly predictable. Go to high school, find a spouse, have 2.1 kids, live in a house with a picket fence, find a good job and stay there until we retired with a gold watch on our wrist, then gracefully pass away.