Tag Archives: Family Matters

Holiday Lessons

November 18, 2014 by Joyce Richman
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The holidays bring families together. Grown children join siblings and parents, grandparents, cousins, nephews, uncles and aunts to exchange gifts, to warmly toast each other’s health, and to talk about good times. If the period of togetherness lasts long enough, and the shared space small enough, and the thermostat up high enough, the talk can get a little edgier, and memories of earlier and not such good times, begin to emerge. Uncle Jack’s not as Continue reading →

Guide for Boomerang Parents Receives Review

September 6, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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The slow to no-growth economy and high unemployment rates have kids of all ages returning to their parents’ homes as they transition from college to work or from lost job to new job. Co-authors Joyce Richman and Barbara Demarest have been getting some attention for their guidebook, Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job, which they wrote to help parents deal with these times of transition in their children’s lives. Steve Continue reading → Continue reading →

Anything Can Take You Off Course

July 19, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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A client  shared this childhood experience with me and described the  impact that it’s had on her life and career. She said I could share it with you. The only thing I’ve changed are the names… “Momma loved to get into her car and drive wide open. Only problem was she’d fall asleep at the wheel. She’d sleep anywhere she’d put herself and she was more apt to put herself at the wheel than anywhere Continue reading →

A View from the Inside

May 3, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Aana is  nine years old and bright. Really bright. I was interviewing her for a book chapter I’m writing about youngsters and their ideas about work and the workplace. She eased right  into our conversation and jumped at a chance to give me a crash course on Star Wars characters and the relative merits of becoming a Jedi Warrior. (She’s seriously considering the latter as a career choice. I was impressed.) We made a deal. Continue reading →

Retiring to…what?

November 30, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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“I can’t help but wonder what he’ll do once he isn’t working here anymore. This place seems to be his whole life; what happens when it isn’t?” I bet you know him. He comes to work early and stays late.  He’s known as a company man. He’s dedicated, loyal, with a work ethic that challenges the most diligent. His only fear is failing health even though he’s never had a sick day. (He’s never had Continue reading →

Women and Retirement

August 24, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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We were taking our weekly Sunday walk when my friend mentioned a column that I had written a few weeks earlier. “The retirement column you wrote was definitely about men. Women retire too. Why aren’t  you writing about us?” I didn’t have an answer and realized that I was uncharacteristically without words, which is probably why I hadn’t written any. So I’ve done some asking, and thinking, and asking some more. Here’s some of  what Continue reading →

Dedicated to Teachers Everywhere

August 3, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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By the time we arrived at our old family home we were bone tired. It was good to get off the road and open the door to a safe place of summer reflection. It was the perfect occasion to reminisce… I was entering elementary school and I still didn’t talk. I was born into a family that was extroverted, emotional, musical, and exhausting. There was so much commotion in our house I had no desire Continue reading →

Summer Employment for Teenagers

June 8, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Parents, from your calls and emails it sounds like finding summer employment for your teenagers is top of mind these days. Just be careful. If you get too involved, their search will become your search, and even worse, they could stop searching before they even get started. “I provide our family gracious living; a fine home, cars, vacations, club memberships, you name it. I’ve been in a family business for a long while so I’m Continue reading →

Questions from Readers for All Ages

April 27, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Q: My anxiety is through the roof. Yesterday I talked back to my boss, something I never do. I apologized and he said we’re OK but I’m not so sure. He seems to be avoiding me and now I’m more concerned than ever. Should I start looking for another job? A: Exhale. If looking for another job helps you feel more in control, sure, do it. In the time it takes you to find something Continue reading →

Rejoining Your Life After an Unexpected Layoff

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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I bet you know him. He goes to work early and stays late. He’s known as a company man. He’s dedicated, loyal, with a work ethic that challenges the most diligent. His only fear is failing health even though he’s never taken a sick day. (He’s never had a day that he stayed out sick. He’s had several sick days.) He’s just been laid off and never saw it coming. He was starting to think Continue reading →

Don’t Just Work Hard and Be Smart: Work Smart!

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Carolyn (not her real name) comes to work tied up in knots and goes home the same way. She’s worried that she won’t have enough time to get her job done. She’s worried that someone will ask her a question that she can’t answer. She’s worried that she’ll never be as smart as she needs to be. If Carolyn were the only victim of her angst, that would be difficult enough. But she isn’t. Everyone Continue reading →

Economic Shifts and Challenges

September 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Like it or not, employed or not, you’re in the middle of the busiest business intersection you’re likely to experience. It’s hard to know whether to wait for traffic to clear, cross against it, or jump in and go with the flow. One thing’s for sure, you can’t stay in one place for long, so what do you do? Let’s look at the possibilities. Wait for traffic to clear: The last time the economy went south Continue reading →

The Benefits of Social Capital in the Workplace

September 17, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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When Harvard University professor Robert Putnam authored the book “Bowling Alone” in 2000, he wrote that social capital (the collective value of all social networks) had seriously declined, that we weren’t visiting as much, joining as much, gathering as often at our churches, lodges, PTA’s and community socials. As a result, we weren’t as trusting, sharing, or cooperating. Several weeks ago his concerns were echoed in national surveys that sounded the same notes of concern: Continue reading →

Finding Balance

June 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Balance. Who cares and what does it have to do with your job search? Several clients have called, wanting to figure it out. The call for balance used to be the province of women in the workplace.  “I’m expected to do it all,” some whispered. “I expect to do it all,” others proclaimed. And it still falls to many a woman with spouse, child, or children, to be the point person in charge of cleaning Continue reading →

A List of Big Mistakes

January 24, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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One of the biggest mistakes you can make on an interview is to tell prospective employers that you can do anything they need you to do. No matter how able and willing you are, if you make a pledge like that you’re bound to fall short. The employer knows that and won’t hire you. Instead, ask the interviewer to describe the greatest challenges facing the department in which you want to work, then describe what Continue reading →