I don’t work in an office. I work from home and have been able to avoid office politics for a long time. There are many reasons that I’m glad for that but I’m particularly glad about it now because the recession has changed the mood in most offices. At least that’s what it sounds like from what my friends and acquaintances have been reporting from their own experiences in the 9-5 world.

What I keep hearing is that there is a climate of fear in most offices today. Employees are worried about layoffs and cutbacks in hours. There are a lot of closed-door meetings. Employers are scared of what’s going to happen and how to navigate their businesses through these tough times without adding to the climate of fear.

This has changed the way that people are acting in the office. Productivity levels have changed. Work habits have changed. Relationships in the office have change. And people feel really unsettled and unstable and unsure of what’s going on at work which makes everyone a little bit uncomfortable there.

It’s not all bad. There are some companies, particularly small ones, that have been able to create a climate of comradeship in the office and to foster the notion that working together to get through this can be a way to strengthen the core of the business. However, there are also a lot of businesses that either can’t or won’t approach the problem in this way. It’s a scary time and I have to confess that I’m a little bit glad not to be enmeshed in it on a daily basis.

Tags: business, economy, kathryn vercillo, office, people, productivity, recession, work

Everyone is talking about trying to save money these days. People are cutting back in all areas of their lives in order to adapt to the recession that we’re in. But the thing about money is that some people are just naturally better at earning it than others. There are some people out there who are leveraging the recession to their advantage and actually making money off of the fact that the economy is in a bad position.

For example, there are coupon queens out there who are earning an income for their ability to tell others how to save money. Through their blogs and lectures, they are getting people to pay them for advice on the things that they do every day to reduce their own spending. It’s a smart way to approach the recession and also an ironic one; they have people spend money on learning how to save money.

Other businesses are doing well because of the recession even they aren’t actually marketing themselves as being able to help people in this time. Businesses that supply churches with products (such as communion wafers) are seeing profits climb because more people are going to church in these tough times. It’s an interesting phenomenon; some businesses always have to thrive in any situation.

People who are having a tough time right now may want to ask themselves where they can make changes that can take advantage of the position that we’re in. If you can identify a way that the recession can be a money-earning asset in your line of work then you can ride the wave of these economic troubles and perhaps even make a profit doing it.

Tags: business, earn money, economy, income, kathryn vercillo, money, recession, save money

The recession is doing strange things to people. It’s causing many different types of changes – some positive and some negative. One of the things that seems to be affected greatly is relationships. People are handling dating, marriage and discussions about money differently than they did in the past.

For some people, this has been a good thing. Couples that are facing the recession head-on together may be strengthening their relationship as a result of undergoing these tough times as a team. Unfortunately, that’s not how everyone is handling this situation.

There are quite a few couples out there that find their relationship impacted by the recession in a negative way. They are fighting about money. They are fighting about things unrelated to money because they’re stressed out by their finances. They are letting the recession tear them apart instead of allowing it to bring them together.

At the end of this difficult economic time, we are going to see that the way we dealt with the recession says a lot about who we are and the lives that we lead. Those couples who opt to make use of this time to bring themselves closer could be the ones that end up having positive life-long relationships.

Tags: dating, economy, marriage, money, Personal Finance, recession, Relationships

I’ve been busy at the blog carnivals this week with all kinds of different posts. For example, my post about 15 Good Things That Have Come Out of the Bad Economy was included in the Recession Obsession blog carnival. And guess what? So was my post on hanging on to your cell phone to save money. This is basically a blog carnival of personal finance tips so my post was just one of many that were about the average person’s financial world.

Other topics covered by this economic blog carnival included:

• What to do if you get laid off and are dealing with unemployment, income problems and job issues
• Making money online with blogging and online marketing
• Saving money on food by not dining out and being smart about groceries
• Refinancing your home loans and using the home credit
• Ideas for selling your home with good advertising and avoiding foreclosure
• Dealing with credit cards and their fees appropriately
• Finance mistakes like wasting money in college
• Borrowing from your 401K in this economy
• Creating a long term savings plan by getting rid of your financial hidden leaks
• Potential fraud schemes like selling gold online
• Thoughts on renting to own
• Opinions on how the recession is psychological
• Various tax info such as info on refunds
• Information on money market accounts and mutual funds
• A few oddball topics like cosmetic surgery, iMafia, wine, coupon organizers, strawberries, the Snugglette and poker

Which one do you think is the best article in this particular money-focused blog carnival?

Tags: blog carnival, kathryn vercillo, money, recession