Archive for December, 2008

CANCER CHALLENGE

Dear Leslie,

I have been in the long-term care industry for more than 20 years but no longer choose to stay in the field. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2002 and am finally on the other side. I am in my late 50s and need to work for another 10 years.

My challenge is explaining the lapses on my résumé. I last worked at the end of 2006. I left my last job because of stress and received a severance package, then unemployment, and am currently on disability through the end of next month. If I say anything about being a cancer survivor, doors close. What should I do?

Dear Reader,

When you have an employment gap largely related to illness it’s important to be brief and upbeat. Mention the gap in a few sentences in your cover letter, so that it’s largely addressed before the interview. Stress your accomplishments and then note that you had to take some time off starting in 2006 to attend to your health. Now you are looking forward to returning to full-time employment. Your interview will be an opportunity to show off your accomplishments and your healthy glow.

(c) CTW Features

Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to leslie@ctwfeatures.com or write to P.O. Box 11156, Shorewood, WI 53211(c) CTW Features

Dear Leslie,

I have an ethical dilemma at the doctor’s office where I am the receptionist. After working here for three months, I was instructed to start taking payments from patients. While learning this new task, I discovered that the doctor was inflating certain patients’ bills, charging for a higher-level visit and submitting these charges to the insurance companies, to “help” the patient out.

Although they are spending only 15 to 20 minutes with the doctor, she charges them for a 45 to 50 minute visit, charging Medicare and other insurance companies $200 instead of $100 for a 20-minute visit. She gets reimbursed about $60 from the insurance companies and then charges the patient the other $40, so she gets the full $100 for the visit.

This does not seem right to me. I asked her about it and she told me I just don’t understand the billing system. I am looking for a new job. I need to work to help support my family. I feel guilty by association. What can I do to stop this from happening? I am worried about an audit. What can I do while I continue to search for a new job?

Dear Reader,

My advice is to do some further research before jumping ship. It is possible that the doctor is correct, that you do not understand the system. Perhaps there is someone else in the office who can explain it to you. You could also call the Healthcare Billing and Management Assoc. (HBMA), a Laguna Beach, Calif. trade association that represents third-party medical billers, or Medicare or another insurer and pose your questions. A couple of variables raised by an expert at HBMA:

Do you really know how much time the doctor spends on each person’s case? It’s possible that she is investing time doing research, reviewing lab work and other duties unbeknownst to you.

Is she coding her own bills or is a professional coder doing that work?

Medicare and private health insurers are constantly looking for irregularities in billing, which means that if there is an unusual billing pattern, the doctor is putting herself in jeopardy.

Dear Readers,

What’s more important, how you start or how you finish? That’s a key question in any career in which you measure results, whether by the season or the quarter. Professional baseball players who have a slow start, for instance, take it to heart. Their answer?

“How you finish,” is what Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder tried to tell himself earlier in the 2008 season. In July, this 24-year-old was struggling to explain the slump that followed his spectacular performance a year earlier. During that magical summer of 2007, Fielder was the youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season and was selected for the starting line up in the All Star game.

His hitting record had been stellar throughout his career. But during a slump in the early part of this season, his star began to dim. His friends and coaches told him to relax. But Fielder could not listen. “All that advice was bouncing off a stubborn, hard-headed masher who believed the harder he tried, the quicker he’d come out of funk,” wrote Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel sports reporter Anthony Witrado.

The best advice may have been to relax. But in a home game over July 4th weekend, the pressure was on. The Pirates had intentionally walked power hitter Ryan Braun to set up a double play, and Fielder was next up to bat. Brewers fans were rooting hard for Fielder, especially after the Pirates had shown such disrespect. Would he come through?

Fielder’s steely focus was impressive. After fending off a couple of fastballs, he hit a single, driving home the winning run. Final score: 2-1.

It’s the kind of drama that’s special to baseball but is a perfect metaphor for so many situations in life. Fielder’s focus made me wonder, What can we learn from this young sportsman?

“Swing easy as hard as you can,” is a famous quote from golf pro Sam Snead. In other words: You have to be relaxed enough to focus. They go hand-in-hand. That’s the advice of psychologist Dr. Marshall Mintz, a managing partner with New Jersey-based Springfield Psychological Associates, who consults with Olympic athletes, baseball players and CEOs on performance issues. “You need to be as comfortable as possible and be prepared to take a good swing,” says Mintz. The key is to focus on each swing individually rather than the larger consequences or the possibility of failure. “Those who have trouble focusing are not relaxed in the larger sense. Running through their minds are anxiety-producing scenarios like, ‘I hope I don’t strike out,’” Mintz says. “The most effective steps you can take are the ones right in front of you.”

Around the time of that July game, Fielder was beginning to relax enough to focus. At that point his average was .270 with 18 home runs and 52 RBIs. He realized that those numbers were respectable and there was still time for them to improve. His finish was more important than his start, he concluded.

Regardless of Fielder’s final numbers - not available at the time of this writing - he learned some valuable lessons along the way that will help him next year and beyond, both on the field and off. If you apply them to your own most demanding situations, they will help you, too.

(c) CTW Features

Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to leslie@ctwfeatures.com or write to P.O. Box 11156, Shorewood, WI 53211

Dear Readers,

Labor Day is one of transition, a time to switch gears from the lazy days of summer to the fertile fresh start of fall.

Established as a legal holiday by Congress in 1894, Labor Day also gives us an opportunity to honor our collective achievements. The U.S. Department of Labor boasts: “This vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy.”

These lofty words ring true, but as a nation, it is time for another type of transition. In addition to celebrating our accomplishments, we need to take action to shore up our current workforce. Due to the high numbers of immigrants and low numbers of high school graduates, literacy has become a national security issue. In June, the National Commission on Adult Literacy, an independent panel of business and labor leaders, government officials and educators, issued a call to action based on a two-year study, Reach Higher, America: Overcoming Crisis in the U.S. Workforce. Its conclusions warranted at least an orange - high - level of threat. “Our failure to address America’s adult education and workforce skills needs is putting our country in great jeopardy and threatening our nation’s standard of living and economic viability,” warns the Commission.

In addition to the stories of linguistically disadvantaged immigrants and high school dropouts struggling to qualify for jobs that pay decent wages, numbers tell the tale. In Milwaukee, for example, 27 percent of adults are “functionally illiterate,” which means they cannot accomplish simple tasks, such as:

• reading and understanding a newspaper

• finding an intersection on a map

• writing a simple letter explaining an error on a utility bill

“The numbers are severe,” says Michelle Erikson, executive director of Wisconsin Literacy. “It’s a quiet crisis.”

These numbers are replicated in cities across the country, threatening to build into a loud thud: the sound of our economy imploding. Nationally, more than 20 percent of American adults read at or below a 5th grade level. What’s more, we are falling behind internationally. “The U.S. is the only country among 30 OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] free-market countries where the current generation is less well educated than the previous one,” the Commission reports.

Similar to our labor history, our track record in literacy is impressive. In past decades, being literate simply meant being able to read and write. In 1870, by that definition, 20 percent of the U.S. adult population was illiterate. Broken down by race, 11 percent of the white population and 80 percent of the African-American population was illiterate. By 1970, the rate was 0.6 percent for the general population.

Today, however, we focus on “functional literacy” because having a basic level of comprehension, especially of common reading materials such as letters and instructions, is central to earning a living.

What action can we take? The Commission calls for a new Adult Education and Workforce Skills System to train 20 million adults in basic communication and other skills and English as a Second Language. Given our history, we should be able to accomplish that massive effort through publicly and privately funded programs, ultimately helping those we celebrate on Labor Day, all of us.

The estimated annual benefit to our nation’s pocketbook: $25 billion.

(c) CTW Features

Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to leslie@ctwfeatures.com or write to P.O. Box 11156, Shorewood, WI 53211

Dear Leslie,

I worked in a local church office for 10 years. I got sick and had to take a leave of absence. During my leave, the church hired another person permanently. I was told when I returned I could answer the telephone on Friday and Saturday. I said that would be a waste of time. It was just what they wanted to hear to make it sound like a resignation. Is this legal in the state of Maine?

Dear Reader,

One way to find out is to pursue a claim with the Maine Human Rights Commission, which is charged with enforcing the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

Pat Ryan, the Commission’s executive director, says that because your case may involve discrimination in connection with a disability, it “probably meets the first step.” The first step in pursing a claim is filing a charge, but your case must meet certain requirements. For more information, refer to the Commission’s Web site, http://www.maine.gov/mhrc and click on the link “File a Charge.”

Once a charge is filed, the Commission then conducts an investigation. It’s important to move swiftly. Charges must be filed within six months after an incident occurs.

To locate a civil rights agency or fair employment practice agency in your state, visit the Web site of JAN, the Job Accommodation Network, an online service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy:  http://www.jan.wvu.edu

Dear Leslie,

I work as a recovery nurse in a surgery center in New England. I will be having knee surgery soon, which may require as much as four weeks of rehabilitation.

The center recently hired a new CEO, who is maximizing the use of the current staff and not hiring new people, which is creating a somewhat inflexible scheduling situation.

I want to be honest with my boss about going out on medical leave. How much notice do I give them? I fear if I give too much time, they might find some reason to get rid of me. I have short-term disability to pay 60 percent of my earnings. I just received an excellent year-end review in writing. My CEO stated that our surveys of care were coming back off the charts and was very pleased. No performance issues here.

What should my next move be? I would like to keep this job. I know legally they cannot do much once I am out on leave. I fear that before that point, to save money, they may quickly try to eliminate me. Any advice?

Dear Reader,

It would be ironic for a splendid recovery nurse to be fired from a surgery center because she needs time off to recover from an operation. Is that really a likely scenario?

Assuming that it is not, figure out how much advance notice your supervisors need to adjust the schedule to accommodate your required absence from the rotation. Simply treat them with the same courtesy you would desire if you were managing the schedule, and express your desire to return to work as soon as possible.

If your fears are realized, contact the state agency that handles discrimination claims. In Maine, as stated above, that would be the Human Rights Commission.

“If an individual asserts that she was fired after she told her employer she would need time off for a medical reason, she could state a claim and ask for an investigation,” says Ryan of the Maine Human Rights Commission.

We wish you a rapid recovery and a quick return to work so you can help others do the same.

(c) CTW Features

Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to leslie@ctwfeatures.com or write to P.O. Box 11156, Shorewood, WI 53211

Dear Readers,

Pundits and politicians have hailed Sarah Palin’s surprising selection as John McCain’s running mate as a sign that the end of discrimination against women in the workplace is here. Even Barack Obama, McCain’s rival in the race for the U.S. presidency, cited her quick elevation to the national stage as “one more indicator of this country moving forward.”

Palin herself reinforced the idea: “Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all.”

Unfortunately, Palin’s selection is more hyperbolic than helpful. Breaking the glass ceiling does not mean elevating women to positions for which they are largely unqualified.  During her first few weeks in the limelight, Palin has proven that women can sound tough and look pretty at the same time. I suppose that is some sort of breakthrough for people with limited views of women’s strengths. But her behavior as a job applicant - which is comparable in many basic ways whether you aspire to be vice president of a company or of the United States - is littered with gaffes that may further sully the prospects of other women seeking to get ahead.

In her first few weeks in the race, Palin has committed three major missteps - enough to sink anyone’s job hunt:

1) Stretching the truth on your résumé.

2) Overstating your skills.

3) Being unprepared to answer interviewers’ questions.

Palin’s résumé for political purposes amounts to the public recitation of her responsibilities as Governor of Alaska and Mayor of Wasilla. Initial claims about her responsibilities as head of the Alaska National Guard  and her political stance on the “Bridge to Nowhere” have been widely discredited. The first was overblown, the second was misleading. Both types of misstatement would raise questions of honesty in any job interviewer’s mind.

Observed Donald Trump after Radio Shack and Bausch & Lomb executives lost their jobs over inaccurate résumés: “This is serious stuff. Good executives don’t want liars to lead their companies. And you can’t blame them. After all, if you don’t think twice about lying on a job application, chances are you cheated in school and maybe you cheat in your day-to-day business dealings.”

Palin’s second misstep is equally foolish, as anyone who has tried it knows. Overstating your skills can hurt you once you are on the job and cannot deliver as promised. Palin’s unfamiliarity with foreign policy is better admitted to than glossed over. If her employers -  in this case, U.S. citizens - are to trust her judgment, they need to know that she is as honest about what she does not know as about what she does.

Finally, Palin proved  by her lackluster responses in her first nationally broadcast interview that she had little beyond scripted answers to tough but logical questions about her record, including her views on the connection between religion and policy. Interviewees must be well-prepared both for expected queries and the inevitable surprises.

Of course Palin was hampered by the short lead time she had to prepare for the interview. But that only underlines the fact that her selection was premature. Rather than pick a woman who has the moxie to crash through the glass ceiling, McCain handed Palin a glass slipper. Over time her fairy tale appeal is sure to vanish as a more realistic assessment of her track record comes into focus. By overlooking the female politicians in his party who are truly qualified to do the job, McCain made more visible the persistent cracks in his - and our society’s - own thinking.

(c) CTW Features

Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to leslie@ctwfeatures.com or write to P.O. Box 11156, Shorewood, WI 53211

Dear Readers,

When my father retired in 1982 at age 56, he was the senior minister of First Church of Christ, Congregational, in New Britain, Conn. The church building, built in the 1960s, still seemed fairly modern at that time. Its interior was a cavernous white brick with thin opaque ribbons of windows on each side of the building. But what was most striking was the pulpit. The minister ascended a steep flight of seven wooden stairs to a perch from which to deliver his sermons.

He embedded each sermon with a funny story to make people laugh and better understand his point. Once he told this story about his parents, two Southerners. “My dad liked to smoke cigars, to my mother’s great dismay. So finally he told her he was going to quit. For seven years there was nary a wisp of smoke in the house. But one day, for old time’s sake, he decided to light up. When mom saw him puffing again she exclaimed, ‘I knew you couldn’t do it!’” His message that week was that God’s belief in us was sometimes larger than what we had in ourselves.

When dad was in his 40s he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which primarily affected his legs. At first he would labor up those pulpit stairs. After awhile, the trip became too cumbersome. Instead, he would preach from an armchair seated just below the pulpit. He lost his lofty perch.

All of this came back to me this week when I read for the first time “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson (G.P. Putnam Sons, 2002). It is a razor thin and simple, yet moving, not unlike a sermon. How do you handle it when things you never expected descend on you? When change is not by your choice?

So much can happen in life. You may doing a job you never expected to have, working through a crisis that snuck up on your industry, coping with an unexpected turn of events in your spouse’s career, or some combination of all three. Who moved your cheese?

It does not matter who moved it. It is your attitude about finding something new to nourish you. My dad eventually returned to his former vocation, art. He has since painted beautiful watercolors of Cape Cod, where he and my mom moved, and he has won numerous prizes.

Johnson gives us four choices. There are Sniff and Scurry, two mice who simply start running through the maze looking for new cheese when the old stuff runs out. The more cerebral “Littlepeople,” Hem and Haw, illustrate what humans are more likely to do. Hem is the bad example: He is furious about the way things have changed and stays in the same place, expecting them to return to “normal.” Of course, they never do.
Haw is a better model. After much deliberation and near starvation, he finally ventures out in the maze to look for new cheese, overcoming his exasperation at his unanticipated circumstances and his fear of failure. It takes him awhile to find new sources of nourishment, but he does not give up.

My Dad is only one of the millions of Haws out there. Look to the ones you know for inspiration when someone moves your cheese.

(c) CTW Features
Got a problem at work? Leslie Whitaker would like to hear from you. Send an e-mail to leslie@ctwfeatures.com or write to P.O. Box 11156, Shorewood, WI 53211