Don’t get me wrong, I love email.  However, there is a downside to it.  I am emailing with someone today and I have no idea what gender they are.

The fact that it is -25 degrees F here today may be impacting my cognitive ability which is fine as long as my car starts.

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We get many press releases every day that mainly announce new products.  However, I did get one from CareerBuilder.com that was fairly interesting.  The topic is sales hiring in 2009 and, not surprisingly, many companies are going to be “cautious.”

The format is basically a survey of 2009 trends and the press release lists highlights of their findings.  I apologize for not having a link though I suspect it may be on the CareerBuilder website now.

Here is what caught my eye:

2. More Flexibility – Flexible work options continue to be an important benefit for sales employers to provide workers. Nearly four-in-ten (37 percent) of sales employers will provide more flexible work arrangements for employees in 2009, including:

•Alternative schedules – come in early and leave early or come in later and leave later – 66 percent •Telecommuting – 44 percent •Compressed work weeks – work the same hours, but in fewer days – 37 percent •Summer hours – 21 percent •Job sharing – 17 percent

Two-thirds offer alternative schedules?  I find that remarkable.  I used to work for a manager who required promoted alternative work schedules – come in early and leave late.

It is interesting how all of the trends are moving away from the old-fashioned M-F, 8-5 work week.  We receive emails and phone calls from customers well after dinner time and they have the expectation that we will respond/talk that evening.  The ubiquitous nature of technology seems to be erasing the long-established boundaries of the “typical” work day.  Perhaps the saying “quittin’ time” will eventually disappear from our lexicon.

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