Chris Campbell discusses Particletree's decision to adopt a, wait for it, four and a half day work week, rather than going with either four or five days. And Fridays, the "half day", make sense when put this way: Fridays are for resting the analytical parts of our brains, discussing business topics, and engaging in the activities that we find are crucial to the overall health of our company ... Read full entry

This is what we really needed to be told at high school about "planning" journeys into the unknown. Career planning becomes painful precisely because it's such an important decision and we come to understand that we have only very limited useful information. The best strategy for career planning is this: make your best guess, try it out and don't be surprised if you don't like it. But for heaven's ... Read full entry

Being a Monday morning this may not be what you want to see right now, a list of workplace maladies, compiled by James Adonis. If you answer "yes" eight times, get out right now. :) A survey of 2000 people conducted by Robert Walters found that 80% of employees view meetings as a waste of time. The most incompetent manager I ever worked for spent 90 minutes in ... Read full entry

"I work from home... therefore I do nothing." The reason I have done virtually nothing here at disassociated this afternoon is because... I've not been here this afternoon. I've been out having coffee and chatting with a fellow freelance content producer, and comparing notes. Ordinarily I'd link to her website, but it will soon become apparent why I won't today. She was telling me about a would-be "client" of hers, who wants ... Read full entry

The couple of hours I spent working up on the UNSW campus last Friday were a blast, but mind you I seem to enjoy every visit I make there. It's always great to tap into the vibe that emanates on the campus. There's a certain rush, or buzz, and a slight anticipation even that something exciting is going to happen. It's a feeling that seems to evaporate once you've ... Read full entry

Last link of the week and time to head out of here... the Web Directions crew have recently launched a new job board, Web Directions Jobs, where you can post, or look for, web related jobs in Australia and beyond. With the network of web professionals that has built up around the Web Directions conferences, it goes without saying that this will soon become a quality source of ... Read full entry

For many of us, when it comes to career matters, this is a question we will be asking ourselves through out our working life, in an age when "our career paths are organic and will constantly change." I sure feel like I've been asking myself that question all my life. :) I told them that even though many people will pretend they know all of the answers, the truth ... Read full entry

Designers talk about their careers after ten years on the job. As always it's the attention to the seemingly smallest, and least relevant, of details that is the most important, knowing how those you work with like their tea. They say it takes 10,000 hours or 10 years to become an expert at something, which isn't long if you're working an 80-hour week. So what advice would people give ... Read full entry

Transplant is a "creative centre" in Norway where people who primarily transact, or do business online, can meet and work face-to-face. With a gradual move away from traditional workplaces, and working arrangements, it's a concept that could become a lot more widespread. With an increasing set of mobile businesspeople, places where idea creation and collaboration can occur will be jewels in the landscape. These individuals are not interested in ... Read full entry

How easy is it anymore to have a complete conversation without being interrupted by someone's mobile phone ringing? It's certainly becoming harder. I've also noticed that incoming calls on mobile phones increasingly take precedence over any face-to-face discussion that is in progress. Where people once told callers they'd get back to them, it is more common to hear the words "we'll get back to this conversation later", while they wander off ... Read full entry