As year-end rolls around, no matter when your fiscal year occurs, you know it equates to one thing: Feedback!

Well, if the review is not so sunny and bright, there are a few pointers to keep in mind as per The New York Post.

For starters, keep your cool. Jodi Glickman, author of Great on the Job explains, “If you can’t keep your composure, say that it’s not what you expected, that you’re disappointed and excuse yourself.” You can always continue the conversation later on when you’re less emotional.

Once reality sinks in, Dan Schawbel recommends taking stock if it isn’t your first negative review with this company. The author of the forthcoming book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success, tells the newspaper, “But don’t quit until the new job is in hand.”  Read more

If you’re accustomed to a traditional performance review, it may be time to adjust your thinking.

Eric Mosley, author of The Crowdsourced Performance Review, tells The New York Post the traditional annual review as we know it “remains frozen in time.”‘

He explains:

“There have been revolutions in knowledge and information management over the past 50 years, but areas within human resources, like performance reviews, have changed surprisingly little. Crowdsourcing has fundamentally changed the perception of value in the business world today. Incorporating this technology and approach to performance reviews via social recognition gives HR leaders the data they need to more accurately measure employee performance.” Read more

When we read this post on LinkedIn, we couldn’t agree more. Tim Brown, CEO at IDEO, made a list of pros and cons of freelancing from a worker’s perspective.

Yes, freelancing is terrific in terms of creating a flexible schedule and work-life balance. As for the cons, there are very few benefits (if any), a lack of community and unstable work as well as pay.

From a company’s perspective, they save some cash by not providing benefit packages and then they can hire talent on demand as needed. It’s not all rosy for them either since there could be conflicting timelines such as wanting to hire a contractor who’s already working on a project. Factor in steep learning cuves and some legal constraints for long-term help and you’ve got a mixed bag.

By talking with his colleagues at IDEO’s Bay Area contract talent team, Brown created answers to the question as to how we may make the experience of freelancing better for both the individual and the client. Read more

How many of you (go ahead and raise your hands, we won’t tell anyone) scarf down a sandwich at lunch with food in one hand and your mouse in the other? Even if you go online shopping or quickly peruse your Facebook feed on your mobile phone, let’s face it, that’s hardly a lunch break.

Instead of staying connected and remaining chained to your desk, a FastCompany piece may inspire you with a few ideas to get your lunchtime groove on.

1. Take your team out. If you’re a manager, go ahead and build team bonding over lunch. It’s more casual than staying in the office and an alternative to outings outside the work day like happy hour which eat into personal time. And hey, who doesn’t like free food?

2. Take a yoga class.The piece mentions a one-hour class that people slowly make their exit at the 50 or 55 minute mark. Think about how much more relaxed and happier you’ll be after the class ends.

If yoga’s not your thing or if you don’t have a full hour by the time you get to class, change and vice versa, consider taking a bike ride or even a 20-minute walk. You’ll boost your mood and clear your mind even during that short period of time.

3. Go on a date. Yes, you read that right. If you’re in a relationship and work nearby your significant other, why not make it a point of having a nice lunch once a week to reconnect?

If you’re not in a relationship, you can always use that time to go on a date. For instance, in downtown Manhattan the pop-up shop Matchmaker Cafe caters to singles looking for love.

Proprietor Nancy Slotnick writes in a Huffington Post piece, “My philosophy in my dating business is that people have to connect in the real world, out in the public domain. We have online dating and social media and that’s all so great and efficient. But it’s no replacement for the power of true human connection. Public space is a perfect hotbed for communal interaction, but they need the design and stewardship that a private entity or person has to bring.”

4. Meet new people. The piece mentions leveraging your lunchtime to meet new people through your network, invite new people at the office to lunch or meet someone completely new. For instance, Tim Gutwald developed Network Shuffle, a new service assigning members a new contact every month for face-to-face interactions. He tells FastCompany,“The randomness ensures people’s networks are constantly expanding (beyond just friends of friends).”

5. Own your time and pursue your passion project. That’s right, own it. Leave your cubicle and run some errands or if you’re really productive, leverage that time to write your unfinished novel. Pursue your passion and turn off the work mindset and tune into your creative zone. If you’re concerned you’re always crunched for time, think of it this way: Five full hours each week equate to about 20 per month. In six months that’s a lot of pages that may get written.

Happy Monday one and all! If you’re a new boss to a group, listen up. A few of your employees may not be on board and thanks to some tips in today’s New York Post, there are a few strategies to consider.

Gregory Giangrande, an executive human resources officer in the media industry, explains the first key is evaluating one’s staff to identify strengths and weaknesses “while articulating a vision and strategy for what needs to be accomplished.”

If you really want your team to succeed and thrive (and who doesn’t, right?), you’ll need to let them feel like their contributions count. Per the piece he points out, “But in order for a team to really thrive andthe business to succeed, people need to be bought in and feel passionate about the goals and strategy—otherwise they can’t put forth that discretionary effort to really make a difference.”

If they still maintain a poor attitude, then one bad apple may indeed spoil the bunch. He adds, “Threats don’t work, but if they’re not ‘all in,’ you’d do better to have them all out.”

At long last, messy workers can unite!

How many times have we heard the benefits of being organized and consequently more productive? Blah blah blah.

(Okay, yes we know the importance of a very tidy desk but go with us here, okay? It’s very rare to hear about benefits of being disorderly and we simply must bask in our brief but shining moment.)

If you’re like us and tend to um, embrace the clutter, you may get a kick out of this study. A piece about workspace on 99u mentioned a study conducted at the University of Minnesota. Apparently participants in a messy room were evaluated as more creative than participants in non-messy environments! Read more

Lazy. Passive. Unresponsive. Whatever adjective you use to describe your lackluster co-worker, chances are it boils down to laziness.

According to a post on Forbes, there are several ways to deal with your nonchalant colleague.

1. Stay focused. For starters, they may try to distract you. Instead of focusing on your colleague slacking off, tune into your work instead. Executive and personal coach Stever Robbins tells the site, “Human beings are funny that way. We will spend more time focusing on the fact that our colleague isn’t doing their work than it would take to just do it ourselves.” Read more

Okay, we got excited when we first heard this news and then had to pause. Shouldn’t pay raise increases surpass the inflation rate anyway?  I suppose it’s all good but we needed to take a step back for a reality check. Yes, it should be an assumption but given the recession, it’s certainly a sign we’re getting back on track.

As per a survey conducted by WorldatWork (via Fortune), a human resources trade organization, the average salary increase this calendar year is 2.9 percent. The increase represents about 25 percent above the average 2.2 percent pay increase in 2009. Four years ago that number represented a rock bottom low since 1973, the first year WorldatWork launched their annual survey. Read more

The Wall Street Journal outlines a few ways for employees to survive that annual company picnic. After all, it’s casual and has the potential to be a lot of fun but it’s most likely happening during a weekend.

As you relinquish your precious personal time to be with colleagues, you might as well make the most out of it. Here are four tips to not only survive the outing but enjoy it as well.

1. Your go get ‘em attitude! At a social event this like this you’re very visible so although you can still be yourself, your boss and your boss’ boss are watching. Your behavior will impact your reputation so if there’s a team sport like volleyball, why not participate? If you have an injury you can partake in the action by cheering on your team and/or taking photos. Read more

Ever wonder what your privacy rights are as an employee? Can your boss read your emails on your work computer but not your personal computer?

Our friends at AOL Jobs set the record straight. For starters, if you’re sending messages to and from your email address at work, then it’s not your property. That email address belongs to your employer. Read more