It is easy to take health and safety in the office for granted, until someone gets injured in an accident that could have been prevented. The Occupational Health & Safety Administration, also known as OSHA, has a comprehensive set of guidelines that every office can follow to keep workers safe.

When it comes to office safety, there are some key areas to consider. Your office desks, cubicles, and office accessories all need to be treated with the proper respect if you are going to avoid accidents and injuries. The worst mistake you can make is assuming that you are safe from danger just because you are in an office.

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When you’re in business, you learn the importance of saving money wherever you can. It’s a matter of stability and fiscal intelligence that cannot be overlooked if a business is to remain solvent. Even the smallest changes can result in huge savings over a long-term stretch of time. Nowhere is this ethic more applicable than the lowering of the utility bills in your office. Just a few small changes can help save your office a lot of money over time.

Efficiency

Any business owner who has performed research on saving money on utilities has heard one term repeatedly: efficiency. Efficiency is one of the most important factors when it comes to saving money on utilities. Efficient appliances use less electricity to produce better results. Efficient windows and insulation allow for lower rates of thermal exchange, saving business owners on heating and cooling.

Business owners should consider hiring an efficiency expert to perform an energy audit on the office. This audit will cover all of the usual energy wasters that can be found in any office around the world. The expert will then be able to provide an actionable list of steps that can be taken to create a more efficient office space. Read the rest of this entry »

No one wants to just tread water for their entire career. Doing “just enough” to get by at work doesn’t just hurt your career, it hurts you personally. After all, the amount of money you make can directly influence your quality of life. If you are unwilling to put in the work it takes to get ahead, then you can more or less expect to be unsuccessful forever.

InnerWork Team Expeditions
InnerWork has been providing great corporate retreat options for quite some time now, and they offer the most customizable trip of any in the Orlando area. Your retreat can be shifted and geared toward the exact principles you’re trying to get across through sending your employees to a retreat in the first place. This control over the value of the trip is a big part of why InnerWork is so successful.

Marywood Retreat and Conference Center
This is an interesting place to consider for your corporate retreat, especially if you are a corporation with a faith-based mission statement. The interesting thing about Marywood Retreat and Conference Center is that it allows you to have a relaxing, team-building experience in a beautiful setting that comes with a gentle guidance of religious faith. This may not be the perfect choice for everyone, but it is definitely something to consider. Read the rest of this entry »

Whatever variety of corporate entertainment an organization desires is available in Dallas, TX’s. An elegant evening meal and dance to present awards and recognition or a fun and entertaining team building venue can be booked any time of year for visiting VIPs or local firms.

One of Dallas’s newest event centers for both corporate and social occasions is Ashton Gardens. Their event specialists assist with theme suggestions, meal planning, audio/visual needs, and set-up for the venue. The experience their people provide keeps the event moving smoothly, impressing all in attendance with the excellent food, the quality technology available and always first-class service.

Ashton Gardens culinary team prides itself in preparation of original recipes consisting of the highest quality, fresh ingredients. Then their service staff takes over with 5-star pampering for every guest and anticipating their every need ensuring the event’s success. They have all-inclusive pricing packages that eliminate surprises for the corporate budget. Read the rest of this entry »

A look at some of the most popular business lunch venues in Seattle, Washington.

Bistro Baffi Italian Fine Dining

Bistro Baffi is one of those amazingly well-kept secrets of the Seattle dining scene. While it does the majority of its business during the dinner hours, there is a great lunch menu that allows you to have a professional lunch out with clients. They specialize in northern Italian cuisine at Bistro Baffi, and there are a wide range of menu options to satisfy any type of craving in your party.

Georgian

Georgian is one of the more expensive lunch options out there, but they are definitely worth it. The atmosphere is one of supreme class, and it presents an air of finesse that will make any business lunch go off without a hitch. While there are some extremely fancy things on the menu here, there are a lot of very basic options as well. Read the rest of this entry »

As tech companies offer higher pay for developers, ten cities stand out in the U.S. as the highest paying for IT jobs. San Jose, San Francisco and New York offer the highest salaries. Those who are searching for the highest paying IT jobs obviously need to head west. Statistics from the recruiting company CyberCoders points out that the average salaries in San Jose and San Francisco average $14,000 more than in third ranked New York City.

The top 10 list does contain cities scattered throughout the U.S. where lucrative jobs can be found. Major cities like Boston, Washington D.C., Dallas and Chicago are included on the list. The greatest increase in salaries has come in mobile development positions. However, IT salaries have gone up across the board in the last year. Individuals who acquire multiplatform skills and are able to design and code within the constantly changing world of mobile applications become the highest paid workers.

The cities that rank highest in pay for IT jobs in high-range, mid-range and low-range salaries are:
1. San Jose, CA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. New York, NY
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Boston, MA
6. Los Angeles, CA
7. Brooklyn, NY
8. Philadelphia, PA
9. Chicago, IL
10. Dallas, TX

The Roche Group is pushing back the frontiers of healthcare in 150 countries, employing about 80,000 workers. It has become one of the largest research-based healthcare groups. Genentech, a subsidiary, has led the biotech industry for over 30 years. They use human genetic information to develop specialized medicines for life-threatening diseases. The headquarters for Roche pharmaceutical operations are located in the U.S. Their philosophy is that the employees are their most important asset and they are dedicated to maintaining a great work place along with providing the best salaries for IT workers. Their CRM Techs provide expert technical information for Genentech’s Commercial Operations. They are responsible for maintaining project work, enhancements, and problem solutions. They work with onsite contractors and a Poland-based development team. These workers must be familiar with a variety of databases, with a strong technical foundation that includes advanced structured programming. Salary compensation for these positions is among the highest in the field.

CompuTech, located in Clarkstown, NY offers Desktop Support Tech positions with a world renowned computer manufacturing company. These are contract positions requiring backgrounds 5 years’ experience in both HP hardware and software, Windows XP and Windows 7 maintenance. Salaries are commensurate with experience and skill levels.

Similar positions may be found in any of the cities listed above. Depending on the applicant’s skills and training, and where he wants to work, high-paying IT jobs are available throughout the country.

The Three Airlines With the Best Lounges in the U.S.

Business travelers need the perks of high quality airport lounges where they can unwind and rest between flights. Space for meeting with colleagues provides an additional advantage. Competition between different airlines for business and first-class passengers means that their lounges provide the best possible amenities including massages, limos to passenger’s next flight, and five-star dining. The question then becomes which airlines actually have the best lounges? These three top the list for those in America.

The Virgin Atlantic lounges rate number one with most passengers. ‘Air America’ Business Class Lounge at Miami International Airport offers all the expected amenities desired to soothe the spirit and relax the body of passengers after their flight. The latest movies are available for viewing on wide-screen while the traveler relaxes in elegant comfort. A sauna and massage will get any passenger ready for the next leg of the journey. Read the rest of this entry »

From the 30th of April, 2012, most employers in the US private sector will be required to display posters stating the rights of workers to form a union. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule states that under federal regulation, an 11 by 17 inch poster must be displayed in a prominent position, informing each employee of their rights to engage in collective bargaining and form a union. This regulation will apply to both non union and union workplaces.

The NLRB Employee-Rights posting rule has gathered some controversy and has been challenged by a number organisations including the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) argued that the National Labor Relations Board’s Employee-Rights notice posting regulation is in violation of an employers First Amendment rights, and the organisations filed a complaint in the US District Court. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, the US District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, rejected the argument and upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s Employee Rights posting requirement rule.

Government owned corporations including the U.S. Postal Service and the Federal Reserve System are exempt from the NLRB Employee Rights posting rule. In addition stock brokerage firms, airline and agricultural employers and professional sports teams are also exempt from the ruling.

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent five member federal agency which has been authorized by the US Government to protect employee rights, ensure employer and union rights and obligations are upheld and promote jurisdictional standards. The NLRB conducts elections, investigates charges, decides cases, facilitates settlements and enforces orders. The current National Labor Relations Board memebers are Mark G. Pearce (Chairman), Sharon Block, Richard Griffin, Brian Hayes and Terence F.Flynn. The President of the United States, with the consent of the Senate, appoints the board members for a five year term.

References for this article: The National Labor Relations Board and JDSUPRA

Rockville, MD
Rockville is a small suburb of Maryland that has a population of a little over 50,000 people. While it may not be the biggest place in the world, its location is what makes it such a hotbed of startup activity. Its proximity to a number of major national laboratories makes Rockville specifically a hub of the biotech industry, and it means that there are a lot of funding sources available for the right type of startup.

San Francisco, CA
San Francisco, California, is known mostly for its art and culture, but it also has a bustling economic scene in these tough times. The real benefit of operating out of San Francisco is the convergence of academia and business. There are a lot of established universities out here, as well as a lot of giants in the technology industry.

Franklin, TN
Franklin, Tennessee, is a small town about the size of Rockville, but is more of an entity of its own. There is a major biotechnology push in Franklin, with the university putting up state-of-the-art facilities to push development in that sector. More than half of the people living in Franklin have at least a four-year college education, and the technology industry here is on the rise.

Bellevue, WA
Close to the home of such giants as Microsoft, Bellevue, situated in Washington, is one of the hottest spots of activity in the technology sector in the country. Bellevue’s residents hold more patents than any other city in the country, and there are a lot of tax incentives for small startups, especially in the technology sector. Being so close to many of the larger, older technology firms gives startups the ability to utilize a wealth of industry information that is more readily found in this area than in other areas.

Cambridge, MA
Cambridge will be recognizable to most people as the home to both MIT and Harvard, two of the most prestigious universities in the world. As a town of roughly 100,000 people, Cambridge maintains a very low-key persona that carries an air of growth. The town has a reputation to uphold as one of the hotbeds of advancement in the country, and the incentives for small business development here are ample.

Irvine, CA
Irvine, California, has a number of things going for it that make it very attractive for startups. It is right outside of Los Angeles, so it is mostly populated by technology and entertainment-based startups, but there are many different businesses here. One of the most attractive aspects of the city is that it gives entertainment and technology startups access to Los Angeles without actually having to be located in the city itself.

Bend, OR
Bend, Oregon, has experienced a growth rate of 50 percent over the past decade, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. The town itself used to be centered around logging, but has since become very involved with the technology, aviation, and biotech industries.

Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica, California, has become very popular for film startups over the past decade. The proximity to Los Angeles is the big draw here, with business owners getting all the benefits of Los Angeles without the stifling taxes that come with living in the city. Digital media production companies find that they are able to compete with larger film companies while operating out of Santa Monica.

Boca Raton, FL
Looking to shirk its reputation as nothing but a paved old folks home, Boca Raton, Florida, is very welcoming of startups, especially in the technology industry. There are a lot of smaller companies that work here that have been started by employees of IBM, which has operated out of Boca Raton since the 1970s.

Boulder, CO
Boulder, Colorado, has become something of an icon of the technology startup community. As the university has advanced its technology base over the past ten years, more and more businesses have been developing here from the resulting boom in startup grant funding. There are a number of national research labs maintained in Boulder, and these labs bring in a swathe of talent from around the globe– making Boulder a hotbed of activity in the technology industry.