Lee Bailey’s EURweb (Electronic Urban Report) June 20, 2014

*A 2013 Oxford study named “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs To Computerization,” claims 47 percent of total U.S. unemployment could see job loss or a decrease in employment due to technological advancements.

Where will that leave you?

“Job seekers should follow the wisdom of hockey great Wayne Gretzky who said, ‘I skate to where the puck will be, not where it is,’” says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and managing partner of career guidance organization Steve Langerud & Associates, LLC in Grinnell, Iowa.

The key lies in researching to explore which jobs will become obsolete and which ones are growing – and then preparing to pursue what’s poised to thrive.

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“The ‘best’ degrees are those that position people to address the dilemmas of the 21st century with both hands-on, solution-oriented skills and set the stage for continuing education and training,” says Steve Langerud, workplace consultant and principal of Steve Langerud & Associates. “Students who are willing to play futurist and tackle the issues of food supply and safety, energy issues, urbanization, health care, and education will thrive.”

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Will Obama’s overtime plan create more part-time jobs?

Quentin Fottrell write in his recent MarketWatch piece,  ”Under current rules, many companies don’t have to pay overtime to salaried workers who make more than $455 per week (roughly $24,000 a year). The Obama administration is expected to direct the Labor Department to raise that threshold, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal Wednesday.”

As I told Quentin,  “We will see companies working to bring this work in on a contract basis instead of a salaried basis” to avoid paying overtime, says Steve Langerud, workplace consultant and principal of Steve Langerud & Associates in Grinnell, Iowa.

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Some returning CEOs carry on the policies of their successors, but investors often have more confidence in the original leader to execute those plans. Howard Schultz returned to Starbucks Corp.  in 2008 after serving for CEO from 1987 to 2000, and continued an aggressive expansion program that began in his absence. However, he also vowed to close underperforming locations and cut down on the bureaucracy, expanded into tea and premium juices and opened a flagship store in New Delhi. The shares have risen from $20 when Schultz returned to around $58 today. “Clear communication, shared values and unwavering direction made it work,” says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and director of professional opportunities at DePauw University

The text notes, “Women currently hold 97, or 18%, of the 535 seats in Congress: 20 of the 100 seats in the Senate (an all-time high), and 77 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. By contrast, just 4% of women hold CEO positions in Fortune 1,000 companies.”

The piece concludes, “And it should be noted that for all of women’s advances in politics, no woman even been nominated for a presidential run by one of the two major parties. Even at a state level, says Steve Langerud, a workplace consultant and director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, ‘we’re not going to see that equity between men and women for a long time.’ “

“Has a colleague ever pitched your idea as his own? It’s only natural to get angry,” notes U.S. News & World Report. Ritika Trikha writes, “don’t get too hung up on the incident. According to Steve Langerud, director of professional opportunities at DePauw University, letting people take credit for your work is one of the best ways to succeed and advance in your career. (Full disclosure: Langerud is a glass-half-full type of person.)”The advice Langerud offers in the column includes, “Your value as a selfless team member sky rockets when you take one for the team.”

Read Ritika’s article