Stressed-out on job? Relax, don’t get axed

By Associated Press

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Layoffs and budget cuts may make you anxious, but that’s no reason to triple your workload. In fact, there are many ways to look as though you’re working hard when you’re hardly working, says business humorist Stanley Bing.

His new book, “How to Relax Without Getting the Axe: A Survival Guide to the New Workplace,” lists such strategies to liberate yourself from boring and tedious work tasks.

“There is a tremendous amount of pressure in the workplace right now, so it’s really a matter of meeting the requirements of your job while also having control over the workflow of that job,” said Bing, a regular columnist for Fortune magazine.

● The easiest way to remove yourself from a small project you don’t want to deal with is asking, or even tricking, others into doing it for you. There’s a polite word for this: Delegation.

● Your absence could support the idea that you’re a busy beaver always on the road, especially if you take conference calls and are constantly available via BlackBerry. Don’t forget to shoot some out right before you go to bed to give the impression you work around the clock.

● To prove your value to bosses, find a small problem somewhere to which you are the only person with access to the solution. Then offer to handle it so that they don’t have to.

● Look into corporate programs involving mentoring, philanthropy, community-based activity and social activism. It can be a pleasant alternative to actual work.

Free Wi-Fi

The number of free public Wi-Fi or wireless local area network locations in the U.S. is 81 percent greater than the amount worldwide, according to a recent study.

Nearly half of those U.S. locations are cafes, bars and restaurants, while paid public Wi-Fi is more common in airports, travel centers, campgrounds, hotels and convention centers, according to the report from online media company JiWire Inc.

Based on data from approximately 280,000 public Wi-Fi locations, as well as 2,633 people randomly selected in about 80 U.S. airports, the survey found that 26 percent of business travelers visit social networking sites, compared with twice as many personal travelers. About a third from each group look for local information.

Less than a fifth of airport Wi-Fi users spent less than 30 minutes online, while about a third spend more than an hour on the Internet, the data said.

“The idea, particularly when it comes to business travelers, has been that they’re just checking their e-mail quickly before hopping on a plane,” said David Staas, the senior vice president of marketing for JiWire. “Actually, they’re connected for an extended time checking social networks, maybe gaming online, shopping, killing time and mixing business with pleasure.”