More companies are expected to reward employees who adopt healthful lifestyles during 2008. Those workers may be charged less for their health insurance.
What's ahead for the workplace this year? Potential trends could include more environmental talk, healthful lifestyle programs and more.
RICHMOND, Va. – The party was held down the hall from the morgue. The color scheme was purple, to denote mourning. The chitchat over hors d'oeuvres was about really interesting autopsies. And the guests included crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, who was the life of the party, even if the business that brought everyone together was death.
Pictured on right: Dr. Marcella Fierro, Virginia's chief medical examiner and the inspiration for one of the most famous characters in crime literature, retired at the end of 2007.
Although accounting places an emphasis on easily translated numbers, the need to understand issues such as complex tax law or even to schedule a meeting can require language skills beyond English.
Not everyone's cut out to be a salesperson, but if you have those skills – the ability to communicate well, develop relationships and persuade others – your career path is unlimited.
Pictured on right: 'If someone has a sales background and they want to go into another area, there's plenty of opportunity,' says Francyenne Maynard of North Lake College.
Hui-Ju Jea knew she wanted to become a teacher even as a child growing up in Taiwan.
Pictured on right: Xinyan Liu teaches Chinese at Plano Senior High School. The Texas Education Agency began offering teacher certifications in Chinese and four other languages in October.
DETROIT – In a new ad campaign, the UAW is asking the public to shed the impression that the union is just for autoworkers.
Pictured on right: UAW president Ron Gettelfinger announces an agreement with GM in September. The UAW's new campaign seeks to show that the union is not just for autoworkers.
Truck driver Randy Walker fills his rig's tanks with biodiesel fuel at a gas station in Iowa. A shortage of truck drivers is leading employers to find new routes for recruiting.
The Internet offers many Web sites geared toward aspiring and experienced truck drivers. These sites are thriving because the nation's shortage of 20,000 drivers could shift into overdrive unless more people choose trucking as a career.
An editor suggested many years ago that I write a "greatest hits" column at the end of the year. This column has evolved into a tradition of gratitude for your insightful and thought-provoking letters. So – this column is for you, for your courage, creativity and tenacity in improving yourself, your workplace and the human race.
My son hopes to attend an Ivy League or other top school, but with tuitions ranging in the $40,000-a-year bracket, without dramatic assistance in student aid, the financial burden is a hardship. Will his career and financial success be damaged if a top-tier college doesn't work out? G.R.J.
The fact that 70 percent of workers in their 20s are unhappy with their organizations, according to Leadership IQ of Roswell, Ga., comes as no surprise.
LISA BILLINGS/The Associated Press 
REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor 
Daneen Skube
Joyce Lain Kennedy
Mildred Culp
