Discusses increasing labor problems in the U.S. Postal Service, despite attempts to change the organizational culture. (JOW)

Because of increasing incidence of burnout among midlevel managers, many companies are reducing workload schedules, an arrangement that would have been unthinkable 10 years ago. Surveys have made the case that flexible work arrangements increase employee happiness and, therefore, productivity. (JOW)

Employers place less emphasis on experience and much more on adaptability. They want people who can learn. However, at the lowest stratum of the service sector, jobs are being dumbed down so that a worker has only to obey commands of smart machines ("Touch french fry icon now"). (Author/JOW)

Discusses how workers at manufacturing firms acquire knowledge and how much training the company should provide. Looks at a study on learning activities and learning cultures to identify traits of a "teaching firm," one in which teaching and learning are firmly embedded in the organization. (JOW)

Although federal funding for workplace literacy has ended, some companies offer some remedial instruction in English as a Second Language. However, because of the cost of getting employees to a point where they are comfortable with English, many programs are being reduced. (JOW)

Computers may have some value for screening potential employees before a face-to-face interview. Experience has shown that people respond more candidly to computers and employers have a better chance of selecting applicants who will be better employees. (JOW)

The balancing act between work and life away from work has gotten so complicated that few are able to pull it off. Employers are blurring the lines between the two by offering day care for aged parents or children and flexible scheduling that allows some to work at home. (JOW)

Some training failures may be attributed to lack of recognition that learning is a social activity and that collective learning results in communities of practice. The experiences of Dede Miller at Xerox Corporation and the gap that separates learning theory and common training practice show how hard it is to apply new approaches to workplace…