Workplace myths debunked: 9 things you should never assume at work

We often make bad assumptions and then become disappointed when situations don't work out.

My job completes me - It's not your whole life, avoid the Work, Sleep, Repeat cycle or else your sense of self will erode any time your job disappoints you, reports the New York Daily News.

Your Money columnist Carolyn Kepcher, author of the best-selling book 'Carolyn 101,' tells you the top nine areas in which it's important to maintain a healthy sense of reality:

My boss reads my mind - Lobby for your promotion and take the initiative of talking to your boss about it. Many workers make the mistake of not engaging in any self-promotion at all - and then suffer the crushing disappointment of not receiving a pay raise, or a promotion.

Co-workers are friends - Although you may find friends at work, it's very important to draw boundaries. Unlike friendships or romances gone awry, you have no choice but to see your co-workers every single workday.

Salaries are set fairly - It's your responsibility to negotiate for a higher salary. Employers will pay what they feel they need to pay to hire and keep an employee, and nothing more.

H.R. is here to help me - They will help you, but their true job is to protect the organization. There are certain areas in which it may be best not to seek the H.R. department's assistance, such as using them as a shoulder to cry on for your every workplace woe.

You aren't indispensable - Millions of workers learned that their jobs are not as secure as they once thought. Being valuable is realistic, feeling irreplaceable is not.

My personal life is my business - only as long as something that reflects poorly upon your employer. For example, you're probably not free to bad-mouth them on Facebook. Even if you do not face disciplinary action, your future career will take a hit.

I'll sue - Don't be naive. Filing a lawsuit alone takes a lot of money. Even if you are right, sometimes your only decision is whether to stay or to go. Righting wrongs can be a very costly mission.

My bosses are cool when i slack off - Do not take your job for granted. While you're accepting their pay, it's important to honour your end of the bargain, or expect them to reward your poor attitude by bestowing your job to someone who actually wants it. (ANI)

31 Ways To Make a Girl Smile

1. Tell her she is BEAUTIFUL

2. Hold her hand at any moment even if its just for a second.

3. HUG HER FROM BEHIND!!!!!

4. Leave her voice messages to wake up to.

5. Wrestle with her Visit Us @ www.MumbaiHangOut.Org

6. don’t go hang out with you ex when shes not with you, you might not relize how badly it hurts her.

7. If youre talking to another girl, when you’re done talking, walk over and hug her and kiss her….let her know she’s yours and they aren’t.

8. Write her notes or call her just to say “hi”

9. Introduce her to your friends . . . as your girlfriend.

10. Play with her hair.

11. Pick her up (she loves it)

12. Get upset if another guy touches her and she doesn’t like it

13. Make her laugh

14. Let her fall asleep in your arms.

15. If she’s mad at you, kiss her.

16. If you care about her, then TELL HER(don’t be afraid to)

17. Every guy should give their girl 3 things: a stuffed animal(she’ll hug it every time she goes to sleep),

jewelry (she’ll treasure it forever), and one of his t-shirts (she’ll most likely wear it to bed) or sweatshirts sprayed with

his cologne!! and flowers or something occasionally.

18. Treat her the same around your friends as you do when you’re alone.

19. Look her in the eyes and smile.

20. Hang out with her on weekends

21.Kiss her in the rain (girls love this)

22.Kiss her just for the hell of it

23. If your listening to music, let her listen too. =)

24. Remember her birthday and get her something,even if its simple and inexpensive, it came from YOU. it means ALL the world to her.

25. when she gives you a present on your birthday, Christmas, or just whenever, take it and tell her you love it, even if you don’t (it’ll make her happy.)

26. Always call her when you say you will, it may not seem like it, but it does hurt her and makes her think you don’t care so call even if you can only talk for a minute. Girls don’t necessarily have to have hour long conversations every night but its nice for us to hear your voice even for a quick hello.

27. Give her wat she wants

28. Recognize the small things . . . they usually mean the most.

29.DONT hug her friends or your friends that are girls cause she’ll feel left out.

30.hang out with her whenever you are free and u should be free to hang wit your girl friend all the time

31.If u care about her…SHOW her!(totally)

HIV test before marriage

The Kerala Women's Commission (KWC) has asked the state government to pass resolutions and, if necessary, a law to ensure that all those who get married undergo an HIV test.

'This is an issue that is affecting the entire humanity and hence adequate measures have to be taken to safeguard all,' KWC chairperson Justice (retd) D. Sreedevi said.

The commission made the request in the wake of several cases where men got married in spite of knowing that they were HIV positive.

KWC submitted an annual report with the recommendations to the state government last week. The panel also asked the government to support the children of the HIV affected.

According to the Kerala State Aids Control Society (KSACS), a total of 55,167 people have been infected by HIV/AIDS in the state.

The HIV prevalence rate in the general population is 0.26 percent, which is less than the national average of 0.34 percent.

The KWC expects that with the budget session of the Kerala assembly scheduled for the first week of next month, their demand will be considered by the government.

Ten Career damaging Habits ...

If you have been following the news, a recent news item said that loyalty among the top management was at an all time low .. That there were trust issues as far as top management was concerned especially with the high rate of switching jobs ...for greener pastures   Today's article in a way deals with some such career mistakes Ten career-damaging behaviours to avoid. "O, how full of briers is this working-day world!" is the famous Shakespearian quotefrom `As You Like It'. External pressures, thorns, obstacles and difficulties aside, how many of us are responsible for unwittingly hampering our chances of career successthrough our own misplaced and misguided attitudes and behaviours.   Below are ten common faux-pas that can ruin a career and should be avoided at all costs. 1. Poor Time Management Missing deadlines, failing to abide by agreed timelines, arriving to meetings late and generally disrespecting approved schedules is a surefire way to lose credibility and professional respect.   Try to value each and every minute on the job and recognize the inefficiencies that arise from procrastination and slovenly time management and the impact these have on the organisation as a whole. 2. Failure to Deliver on Promises A promise made should be a promise kept if your professional credibility is to remainintact. Avoid making promises you cannot deliver on. Unless you are known as someonewho can be strictly depended on to follow through and deliver on time you are likely to bepassed over for promotions and key assignments. When you do need more time or resources for an assignment communicate the requirement formally and professionally and manage the situation to show you are in control and will not be sacrificing on quality of delivery. 3. Poor Accountability Accountability, a close reactive of honesty is an essential character trait in today's workplace. Avoid becoming known as the sour apple who usurps all credit and circumvents all blame. If you have made an error, admitting to it in a timely manner avoids an unnecessary escalation, earns you the confidence and respect of those around you, and indicates professionalism, honesty and maturity. 4. Poor interpersonal skills All research indicates that emotional intelligence and people skills are an essential ingredients for success in life and at work. Whether it is suppliers, clients, superiors, colleagues or subordinates you are dealing with the quality and success of that  relationship will be largely predicated by how personable you are and how pleasant you are to interact with. If you have a reputation as someone who is difficult to work or interact with, chances are people will start to avoid you and your success at mobilizing people or resources to further your goals will be severely diminished. 5. Poor team skills A good team-player is able to work cohesively within a team framework and contribute,collabor ate, communicate and challenge to meet specific goals within that framework. Inability to see beyond one's self, work well with everyone, find the good qualities of others in the team, communicate persuasively and effectively, listen actively and attentively, give and welcome input, offer encouragement and assistance where needed and show respect, patience and courtesy inevitably leads to marginalisation and failure to meet personal and professional goals. 6. Lack of ethics or professionalism Conducting personal business on the job and any other activities that show flagrant disrespect for company time, resources and property are both unethical and unprofessional. Chatting endlessly on the job, office gossip, wasting office supplies, laying about important work-related matters, back-biting the boss, spreading office secrets, routinely bringing personal matters to the workplace all fall under this category. 7. Lack of initiative Complacency is a surefire road to professional mediocrity. To succeed it is essential that you continue to show enthusiasm, stretch the limits, be proactive and test the boundaries in the interest of innovation. Take responsibility for your personal and professional growth and continue to build momentum in your training and profession development activities. If you chose to simply lie low and casually bide your time while others race ahead in their careers you will most probably be overlooked for promotions and plum assignments and your skills may well eventually become redundant. 8. Inability to Handle Pressure Every job entails a certain amount of stress and pressure and failure to recognize and handle the strain may lead to a pronounced and sustained decline in performance.   Learn to recognize stress and cope with it professionally and effectively.   Take breaks and holidays when needed, learn to manage stress and cope with pressure so that it is not an ongoing problem for you. It may be that the pressures mounting on you are due to poor time management or delegation skills or weakness in a certain area in which case developing your skills in these areas is highly advisable. 9. Lone Ranger Syndrome Team skills are essential in today's marketplace as is getting along with others  and communicating your accomplishments regularly and professionally.   Do not try to isolate yourself and excel quietly in private as chances are your performance will not get the exposure and credit it deserves.   Personal marketing and effective relationship management are key to career success.   Aim to regularly and professionally communicate your private coups to your manager and others in a position to help your career advancement and do not assume your great work and personal victories will automatically get noticed and given the credit they deserve. 10. Stasis You may well be in your comfort zone and doing very well there but if you don't challenge yourself in pursuit of further growth and development and continuously move forward and upward you may lose your equilibrium sooner than you expected.   Have a vision in mind as pertains to your career and formulate a clear strategy and timeline for getting there which you can regularly benchmark and measure yourself against. Continuous learning, development and self-improvement is a necessity not a luxury for today's ambitious professional and it is imperative that you keep abreast of the latest trends, tools and technologies in your field and not risk losing ground to the star performers who take personal growth more seriously.

10 Commandments for good wives

1. Be careful when your husband is angry. At this point, do not be no fun, no grumpy - smiled and said softly.

2. Do not make your husband wait for food. Hunger - the father of anger.

3. Do not wake him when he sleeps.

4. Be careful with his money. Do not hide from him his financial affairs.

5. Keep it secret. If he brags, and keep it a secret.

6. I do not approve of his enemies and not hate his friends.

7. I do not mind him and do not claim that your advice is better than him.

8. Do not expect the impossible.

9. If you will be attentive to his request, he will be your slave.

10. Do not say anything that would hurt him. If you're going to treat him like a king, he will treat you like a queen.

Every woman’s A to Z Key to winter beauty

Here's a simple look good manual to help you sail through the harsh months

ANTI-AGEING: Forget Botox this season and switch to organic products to fight ageing. Kama Ayurveda’s Kumkumadi oil gives young and healthylooking skin and a natural radiance that is better than a frozen expression.

BEACH BUM: Get beach sexy even in eight degrees; use hydrating creams and body lotions. Try Marks & Spencer's Magnolia Liliflora moisturising body cream or moisture-enriched lotions like VanillaVelvet, CherryBlis, Cocoa Caress and Aloesoft from Lotus Herbals.

COMPACT: Don't let the weather make you blue, take to compact for a natural flush. Lakme’s limited edition Earth Rose Blush Trio offers a palette of complimenting earth shades that blend easily for a gorgeous flush or Guerlain’s Meteorites, it’s the perfect compact.

DELICIOUS: Be kiss ready at any moment, carry your ChapStick at all times. Try Almond, hazelnut and rose vaseline from Turkish Naturelles by Eka India or Nivea’s fruity shine lip balm.

EX-FACTOR: Get rid of the present and prepare for the future, exfoliate your way into a LBD. Try one from Turkish Naturelles body scrub, Marks ans Spencer's Royal jelly sugar scrub or Kama Ayurveda's Jwalini.

FACIAL: Even the best of skins can do with some monthly pampering, don't hesitate and go indulge in that facial. Kaya Skin Clinic presents “Radiant Resolutions”, that will help you hold firm on your skin care vows. At home, use Eminence Sweet Cheek collection, for that juicy hydration of strawberries and rhubarb.

GLOW: Get that post nooky flush... and there’s definitely an excuse for it. Try Guerlain’s Blush and Flawless Bronzing Powder for that discreet blush.

HOT CROSS BUNS: Don’t let the weather turn you on, pad up and slip into designer lingerie from Suman Nathwani’s latest collection. I: I, me, myself. Concentrate on what’s best for you and de-stress

JIGGLE ALL AWAY: Exercise, exercise and exercise. We cannot stress this enough and no, the cold is not a justifiable excuse.

KOHL: Play mystery girl for the day. Whether it's black, blue or brown it’s still smokin’ hot. Start with some therapy with Turkish Naturelles Eye Healer and follow   up with Lakme’s Black Satin Kajal and Eye Magic. Finish off with Chambor’s Eye shadow trio or dazzle eyeliner.

LEGGY LASS: Put your best foot forward, pedis cure every cold sore.

MANE ALERT: luscious, long and shinny. Sport the mane without the pain. Start by using Lakme Studio’s Sleek Mystique range from Catwalk by TIGI, their conditioner, Blow out Balm and Haute Iron Spray, protect your hair giving you smooth shinny look. If intensive hair treatment is required opt for KAMA Ayurveda's Bringadi Oil .

NAIL SPA: Brighten up your fingers with some nail art. Try out Nail Pops from Elle 18 that’s back with Color Bombs for young trendy girls or Lakme’s True Wear nail colour in Indigos and ruby reds.

 OH MY...: There's nothing like a massage in winter to turn up the heat. Have a coconut or olive oil massage or try L'Occitane’s Peony beauty milk or Nivea’s Smooth Body Milk.

PUCKER UP: You don’t need a mistletoe to pucker up, pout away with Colorbar’s Full Finish Long Wear Lipstick in six shades that are drool worthy or Lakme’s enriched satin lip colour and lip palettes to let yourlips do all the talking.

QUICK- FIX: Body mist, airbrushing, pony tails and fragrances are the best solution on a lazy winters day. Spray Paco Rabbane’s Lady Million smell like a million bucks

REJUVENATE: If you can’t get away for the holidays then make your way to the nearest spa. Visit “ Three Graces” spa for spa and lifestyle treatments that are sure to pamper, relax and rejuvenate you.

SHEA BUTTER: Butter up for baby soft skin with a dollop of shea butter, it works wonders.

TAN: Don’t shy away from soaking up the winter sun, bronze is the new fair. Guerlain’s self tan booster Huile Du Voyager is the perfect oil illuminating tan intensifier with SPF 8. UVA- UVB: Nonetheless, if your still prefer white then protect yourself from the strong rays with sunscreen from Neutrogena and Vichy.

VITAMIN E: To preserve, protect and prolong your youth, get some Vitamin E, whether it’s a tablet, oil, or gel. Guardian’s Aloevit- E capsules have a combination of Aloe Vera & Vitamin E extracts that act as an anti wrinkle treatment.

WHY WORRY: Hairfall, acne, blemishes, delayed cycles, and wrinkles are all after effects of stress, so don’t worry, be happy!

XFILES: Get under the covers with a good read. Snuggle up with Slam by British author Nick Hornby or get the chills with Stieg Larsson’s crime novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

YOUTHFUL: Besides products, there are a host of other goodies that make you look and feel youthful. Pack up on fruit, fun and a healthy dose of flirting.

ZZZZ: There’s nothing like a winter afternoon snooze or that extended slumber to keep you looking fresh.

10 myths about women: Go figure

We desire bigger breasts

Nope. Bigger isn't always better. No woman wants to be spoken to with the eyes firmly focused below her face.

We dress up to impress men

We dress either for our own confidence levels or to upstage other women. Even lingerie is worn so we feel sexy.

We always want to share our feelings

Post-coital, men aren't the only ones who want to watch TV or sleep. We don't want to know you felt hurt when you were behaving like a buffoon and we called you on it. You did it. We told you off. Now get over it.

If we are high strung, it's obvious we are PMSing

If a woman is emotionally high strung, it's because it's incomprehensible to her as to why she can multitask and her man can either change the bulb or take a bath or order the groceries, but not all three. And definitely not together.

We have a weaker libido than men

Men may have a stronger libido at 18 but as all women (at least the ones I know) have discovered, men seem to lose their "willingness to perform" by their mid-30s.

We are clingy and don't believe in space

We may want your full attention when you meet us but spending an entire day with you in our faces? No way. Also, our emails and our private conversations are not for your eyes and ears. We too need girls' night-outs.

Sex is about intimacy. Satisfaction is secondary.

Intimacy is all well and good, but if you want us to give, you've got to give some yourself. Also it would be nice if you educated yourself a bit on the female anatomy.

We want our men to be possessive

Boys, the wrestling pit is in the akhara, not the bar. We'd rather have a man who thumps his opponent with his wit.

We fantasise about our dream wedding from an early age

Only if it involves George Clooney or Brad Pitt. It's about the fantasy groom, not the fantasy wedding.

After 30, we are obsessed with our biological clocks

Modern science has ensured that women can have children even at the age of 42. The point is, will you have the energy to be fathers at a later age?

TCS plans to recruit 50,000 employees in 2011

The country's largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services, plans to recruit about 50,000 employees in 2011, the same figure as this year's, a top company official said today."This year we will add 50,000 people and next year we will add the same (number)," Tata Consultancy Services Managing Director and CEO N Chandrasekaran told reporters here. He said 30,000 of the 50,000 persons recruited were in the first quarter of this year.

Stating that there are good prospects in the overseas market, he said that TCS would recruit more number of candidates for overseas operations, but did not give exact numbers. "We plan to increase the number everywhere (in the world)," he said. Currently, TCS has a presence in the US, Latin America, China, the Middle East and European countries."In the first year of our operations in China we quickly recruited 1,000 candidates but it took us two years to add 200 more," Chandrasekaran said.

He said the company preferred to maintain the attrition rate at the industry lowest rate of 14 per cent. "Last two-three years it was 9-9.5 per cent. I would not like to see any kind of escalation (in 14 per cent..)", he said.Chandrasekaran was here to announce the first batch of candidates for TCS Research Fellowship Programme launched by them to promote research.He said TCS planned to fund about 200 doctoral candidates over five years to take up PhD programmes in academic institutions across India. However, he declined to comment on the funds they planned to spend for this programme.

On future plans, Chandrasekaran said they would soon make an official announcement of a new product in Small and Medium Enterprises. A similar launch was also planned in Business Process Outsourcing platform. Plans are also on to launch services in healthcare platform globally.

"We have launched the health care service in three top notch hospitals and they are already gone live. We want to launch it internationally...", he said.

Chandrasekaran termed the exchange rate as a major challenge and market volatility as a "big problem."

On the Rs 1,000 crore Passport Seva Project joint venture with External Affairs Ministry,he said it was doing very well. "It is being rolled out in phases and we will roll out in 77 sites. I hope in another 5-6 months we will cover pan India".

On implementation,TCS would offer end-to-end services, after which the Ministry expects issuing passports to be completed in three working days and passports under Tatkal scheme to be dispatched he same day.

TCS has about 1.77 lakh employees globally.

Management Tip of the Day: Cultivate Your Proactive Brain

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (http:\\www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters."Studies have shown that a good memory helps you better navigate the future. And in business, anticipating and negotiating future demands is an asset.A proactive brain uses details from past experiences to make analogies with your current surroundings. It then helps you determine where you are and envision future possibilities.We are all born with proactive brains, but these three things can help improve brain performance:

1. Give it a lot to work with. Create a richer pool of information to draw from. Expose your brain to diverse experiences and situations.

2. Borrow from others. Find out as much as you can about others' experiences by talking, interacting with, and reading about other peoples' lives.

3. Let your mind wander. Undisturbed time gives your brain the space it needs to recall and recombine past experiences in ways that help you anticipate the future."

- Today's management tip was adapted from "How Your Brain Connects the Future to the Past" by Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske.

Being good with numbers 'can make you rich'

Couples who score well on a simple test of numeracy ability are more likely to earn more wealth by middle age than those who score poorly, suggests a study.Researchers found that when both spouses answered three numeracy-related questions correctly, family wealth averaged 1.7 million dollars, while among couples where neither spouse answered any questions correctly the average household wealth was 200,000 pounds.Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts, and are skills typically learned during school."We examined several cognitive skills and found that a simple test that checks a person's numeracy skills was a good predictor of who would be a better family financial decision maker," said James P. Smith, of the Labor Markets and Demographic Studies at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization.Researchers found that choosing the wrong person as a family's primary financial decision maker can have consequences.While families choose the less-numerate spouse less than 20 percent of the time, when this does happen total household wealth is lower.Researchers said the skills needed to make successful investment choices are among the most cognitively demanding that a family has to make, especially as they get older and assume greater control of decisions about their wealth, pensions and health care.