We can choose our friends, but we really can’t choose our co-workers. So inevitably most of us will discover a co-worker whose attitude or personality is strikingly different from our own. It’s easy and enjoyable to work with individuals whom we like and can “connect with.” But it can be a real challenge to work side by side with someone whose outlook or values seem alien! Vivian Scott, a professional mediator and author of Conflict Resolution at Work for Dummies, suggests nine perspectives that will reduce the likelihood of an ugly blow-up at work:

Your future: Most of us value our jobs as the vital link to economic security and a better future. Remembering this will help you look beyond the current situation and resist workplace conflict that can jeopardize job security.

Your perspective: It’s easy to get so wrapped up in on-going workplace conflict that you lose all perspective of the situation. Maybe you can detach from the daily drama and try to neutralize your personal negativity.

Your responses: You can’t control another’s actions, thoughts or feelings. But you have the power to control your own responses. Can you monitor the way you react and try to keep calm realizing that an aggressive response will not solve the problem, only make you look silly?!

Your investment: Consider how long you’ve lived with this conflict and how much effort you are putting into it. In order to reduce your stress and emotional pain, reduce your investment in the conflict. Spend less time thinking about it, talking about it and engaging in it.

Your role in the conflict: As tough as it is to admit, you probably have some responsibility in the conflict. Ask yourself, “What have I said or done—or not said or done—that has kept this conflict going?”

Your energy: Changing where you focus your energy can greatly diminish the conflict. Instead of putting 110% into “winning” the conflict, let it go and shift the focus to your work, your health and your family.

Your own story: When you read a good book, you create a movie in your head. With workplace conflict, you can do the same by choosing how to depict the scene to yourself or others. You don’t have to be the angry victim. You can be the cool-headed adult!

Your emotions: You can allow negative emotions to escalate—and make you increasingly miserable—or you can find a way to purge them. Calling your Employee Assistance Program to ventilate and examine your emotions with a professional counselor is a great way of reducing emotional pain.

Your character: When you find yourself saying, “He makes me so angry that I react like a jerk,” you are surrendering control of your moral fiber to that other person. Better to take personal responsibility and not give the other person the power to make you behave in a way that is unbecoming, embarrassing or dishonorable.

Receiving prime billing will be NAND flash, the report finds. “From data centers, where solid state drives (SSDs) sit alongside SAS and SATA hard drives, to NAND flash-based handheld devices, flash memory is proliferating in both corporate and consumer industries,” it explains.

According to new data from a research firm, worldwide solid-state storage industry revenue hit $5 billion in 2011, up 105% from the $2.4 billion mark in 2010. This trend is expected to expand further in 2012, and beyond.

From storage to security (of the cyber variety), 2012 might just mark a turning point in how information technology affects not just corporations, but consumers as well.

The President Takes on Cybersecurity
During the President’s State of the Union address, President Obama spoke of ramping up cybersecurity laws “to stay one step ahead of our adversaries.” Now the Obama administration is pressing for Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation in 2012 which would give officials the authority they need to combat “growing and increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats,” a recent report cites. Of concern are the outdated laws surrounding cybersecurity, which congress has “dragged its feet” in modernizing.

“Laws authorizing collaboration with the private sector—which the feds already are engaged in—are a key part of the proposal,” the report notes. Other parts of the plan place cybersecurity authority in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security and address data breaches and privacy protections. Companies would share cyberthreat information with the DHS, and they’d have the option of receiving critical needs from the federal agency, if necessary.

Many employees have a vague or murky awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment in the workplace. Others worry that they might inadvertently say or do something that will trigger a formal charge against them. But in reality, it is not difficult to steer clear of charges of sexual harassment by dispelling some major myths:

• Sexual harassment is always about how men treat women – NOT TRUE! In addition to how men treat women, the rules also apply to how women treat men; how men treat other men and how women treat other women.

• Charges of sexual harassment cannot be made toward an individual whose intentions were just to be “funny” – NOT TRUE! It is the perception of the behavior that counts. Since we cannot control another’s perceptions, it makes good sense to avoid making statements or gestures which could be perceived as offensive and unwelcome. Even though the goal may be to entertain, it is impossible to predict how another employee might react. Many have painful memories or personal values that can trigger an extremely negative reaction when confronted by such “humor.”

• Allegations of workplace sexual harassment always stem from verbal statements or physical actions – NOT TRUE! In addition to these, workplace harassment can involve obscene or provocative gestures, staring, leering or mimicking behaviors. It can include graphic and written items such as pictures, text, e-mail or instant messages that could be potentially perceived as offensive.

• As long as everyone is laughing, one can assume that no harassment is taking place – NOT TRUE! Smiling faces are definitely not the litmus test for determining if a behavior or joke constitutes sexual harassment. Some co-workers may be laughing “on the outside” while truly experiencing disgust “on the inside.”

• Once an employee has “slipped” and said or done something potentially offensive, there is nothing he/she can do except wait and see if someone lodges a complaint -Definitely NOT TRUE! A sincere, heartfelt and timely apology can very often undo any harm that has been done.

• We as bystanders can do nothing to stop sexual harassment when we see it occurring – Again, NOT TRUE! If you receive a suggestive e-mail from a co-worker, you can diplomatically inform him or her that the message could be offensive to others. Or if you “catch” a co-worker in the act of telling an off-color, sexually charged joke or story, you might think about a way to discourage or dissuade him or her from continuing. Example: “Joe, can I interrupt and ask you to help me with something?” While this may seem somewhat intrusive, you are actually saving your co-worker as well as his “audience” from a world of serious grief!

When an allegation of workplace sexual harassment occurs, it is extremely important not to publicly comment, theorize or discuss the situation with your co-workers. You could be ensnared into a charge of defamation or retaliation for making comments that are derogatory toward the alleged perpetrator or the victim. If you feel you have personally been harassed, consult your employee handbook or company policy to determine where to report your experience.

In the past two years alone, government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and other institutions have all had sensitive data stolen from them due to the increased malware-based attacks. Security professionals are warning more attacks are highly likely in 2012 and the years ahead.

Experts point to two recent, shockingly sophisticated (and possibly related) malware threats, Stuxnet and Duqu, as possible harbingers of things to come. Stuxnet’s “multipronged approach” and its use of vulnerabilities are believed to have set back Iran’s nuclear program by a few years, while Duqu acts as a Trojan that gathers information useful in attacking industrial control systems.

Despite the possibility of escalating cyberconflicts and retaliation, the report advices that companies and governments “should be more worried about cyber-espionage attacks that use simpler data exfiltration tools,” essentially “unsophisticated, yet effective, pieces of malware” known in the security industry as Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).

The number of APT threats is also expected to increase in 2012, prompting industry professionals to recommend better employee training and more effective protection technologies. Regarding the more sophisticated malware like Stuxnet and Duqu, the report calls for more vigilance and a plan of action once a significantly sophisticated threat is recognized.

To learn more about LTI’s Information Security services, click here, or contact us today.

In the months following the sudden death of singer Amy Winehouse, speculation focused on the likelihood of a drug overdose. However, a coroner’s inquest revealed that the 27-year-old died from an acute alcohol overdose. Her BAC at autopsy was over five times the legal limit for driving in the U.K. —well into the danger zone where fatal alcohol poisoning can occur. The toxicology report indicated no illegal substances were found in her system; however, police noted the presence of two empty vodka bottles near her body.

The take-away lesson from this tragic event is that alcohol is a legal beverage that poses no imminent danger to millions whose use can be characterized as moderate and responsible. However, alcohol overuse can have severe consequences. For example, the Centers for Disease Control cites the following research:

• Genetic mutations
  The membranes of cells are easily penetrated by alcohol and mutations can occur within the DNA of gene cells with prolonged alcohol use. In addition, heavy alcohol consumption can contribute to the spread of internal cancer because it promotes accelerated cell division and growth.
• Weakened immune systems
  Excessive alcohol intake significantly reduces the body’s ability to ward off disease by hindering the production of healthy white blood cells, while limiting the capacity of lymphocytes to kill bacteria. In addition, high alcohol intake depletes the nutrients necessary to strengthen and maintain the immune system.
• Hormone related cancers
  According to CDC research, a woman’s risk for the development of breast cancer tumors increases with excessive alcohol ingestion. Cancerous cells in the breast feed off estrogen and alcohol triggers increased estrogen levels.
• Enhancing carcinogens
  Researchers believe that abusive drinking tends to amplify the growth and strength of cancerous cells especially in the esophagus, mouth and larynx.
• Birth defects
  The CDC has stated that fetal exposure to alcohol is one of the main preventable causes of birth defects and developmental abnormalities. According to CDC statistics, as many as one in thirty pregnant women drink excessively or binge drink during pregnancy.

Apart from the physical destruction to one’s body resulting from alcohol overuse, writer Christopher Solomon in MSN Money (3/22/11) refers to DUI as “the $10,000 ride home” by tallying the average cost of bail, fines, penalties, court costs, towing fees and increased insurance premiums on a state by state basis.

If you are concerned about your alcohol consumption and would like to discuss it with a professional counselor in a dignified and nonjudgmental manner, please give some thought to contacting your EAP today! Remember that all conversations with the EAP are protected under federal HIPAA regulations.

A report from IDG.net recently discussed “big data,” large-scale data sets, and the tools to manage it, stating that enterprises need planning and preparation in order to gain the most advantage from their information. Described as data “bigger than previous-generation, non-parallel infrastructure could handle,” there exists huge opportunities for developing new tools that manage and exploit these new large-scale data sets.

While traditional business intelligence and ERP (enterprise resource planning) platforms are being adapted to deal with big data, the report opines, native applications developed specifically to handle and analyze this new data are critical. Not only is there more data to analyze, but it also comes from entirely new sources, says the report. Some of this unstructured data (in the form of blogs, Web comments and other information) can’t be crunched the way relational databases are, leading to new data analysis platforms which mine the different types of increasing content.

“New networked devices and applications are collecting more data than ever and more organizations are holding on to it, creating huge demands for storage. In the second quarter of this year, storage companies shipped 5,429 petabytes of disk capacity, up 30.7 percent from last year’s second quarter,” cites the report.

Among the innovative new tools being developed include applications that collect and analyze information from sources such as Twitter and Facebook, gauging trends and individual consumer preferences.

This new proliferation of big data is changing not only business, but earth sciences, biology, psychology and other fields. Enterprises need to better prepare by knowing what they want to find out from their data and then figuring out how to exploit their data.

Learn about LTI’s Global Infrastructure Services and Enterprise Solutions, including our expertise in High Performance Computing.

The plan, the IT Enterprise Strategy and Roadmap, “aims to replace the military’s branch-specific systems and networks with a more efficient, and ultimately more capable, enterprise model,” reports John Foley in the article. The strategy identifies 26 tech initiatives to be carried out over the next 10 years, and will require changes that go well beyond new IT systems.

Crafted by DOD CIO Teri Takai along with CIOs of the military branches, the new strategy was released in November. Takai’s four top priorities for the plan are supporting the front-line war-fighters, managing the IT budget, investing in new technologies and bolstering cybersecurity.

To achieve these priorities, the new plan identifies networking services, computing services, end user services, application and data services and business processes as areas of focus. It provides benchmarks for sought-after efficiencies, including a 30% reduction in servers. The department also wants to improve cybersecurity and broaden information sharing across the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines, cites the report.

Among the cost saving, cloud adopting and virtualizing initiatives are more than 50 mobile pilot programs (ranging from use of smartphones on the battlefield to iPads for military officers, says Foley) to the Army seeking to close 75% of its 300 data centers, enabling the Army to consolidate applications and virtualize servers, as well as transition its Exchange email environment to a DISA data center. “The Army’s switch to SaaS email is expected to save $100 million annually,” adds Foley.

Appointed to the DOD in October 2010, Takai was a former CIO of California’s and Michigan’s IT operations, and had worked in the private sector for Ford, EDS and auto parts supplier Federal-Mogul before that. (Source InformationWeek.)

Click here to find out how LTI can help you optimize your IT investment.

Plan—but not too much

“I think part of the problem with holiday stress is when the holidays are really blown out of proportion and people start preparing for them so far in advance,” says Carol Goldberg, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and president of Getting Ahead Programs, a New York-based corporation that conducts workshops on wellness and stress management. “Advance preparation is nice, but it shouldn’t take over your whole life. You shouldn’t be so focused that afterward you’re going to feel somewhat let down because the celebration didn’t match your expectations.”

Put it in perspective

“I think it’s important to put the holidays into perspective,” says Dr. Goldberg. “Be realistic. I mentioned that preparation shouldn’t be such that it takes over everything, but you should be prepared.” She suggests making lists—a different one for each event, celebrations and gifts. “That’s another thing you can do so you won’t feel overwhelmed, and that will reduce your level of stress,” she says.

Share the work

If you have people coming over for dinner or a celebration and they offer to bring something, let them, recommends Dr. Goldberg. “You’ll have less stress and people will feel that they’re doing something worthwhile and useful,” she says.

She adds that there’s nothing wrong with buying some of the food, if you can afford it, or considering a caterer. “Today, lifestyles are much more pressured than they were years ago. We shouldn’t try to replicate the kind of celebration we grew up with,” says Dr. Goldberg.

Being the host or hostess during the holidays can be a stressful role. Dr. Goldberg suggests sharing preparation and cleanup with others. “Hiring help if you can afford it can make celebrations less stressful. Otherwise, if guests ask how they can help, see if a few could arrive earlier to help set the table or stay afterwards to help with the cleanup,” she says. “It’s very hard to get up the next day to a dirty kitchen with all kinds of food already caked on. Let them know in advance so they can set their schedule accordingly.”

Start new traditions

“Ask the people coming to your celebration what they really want to do,” says Dr. Goldberg. “It’s very possible they don’t want to come and get stuffed with lots of calories. They might not even want to have turkey—they may want to have some ethnic food, like Chinese. There’s nothing that says it has to be turkey.”

Although Dr. Goldberg says there is something to be said for tradition, not everyone wants the same kind of celebration. “Some people might not want to stay home, they might want to go to a restaurant, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” she says. “They may not want to sit at home and watch football games, they may want to watch something else or do something else.”

Travel wisely

Most everyone wants to go home for Thanksgiving, and most everyone chooses the same day to do it—the day before the holiday. Dr. Goldberg suggests leaving on Tuesday and returning on Saturday to avoid the Wednesday through Sunday crowds. “You may even be able to save some money,” she says.

All in the family

“Another thing which people today find very stressful, because there are so many divorces, is the reconstituted family structure,” says Dr. Goldberg. “Holiday time tends to be family time, so people who are divorced have to face ex-in-laws and ex-spouses, and that can be very difficult.” If you’re divorced or separated, and your children are splitting the holiday between both parents’ homes, make arrangements to pick up or drop them off at a neutral location, says Dr. Goldberg.

When it comes to conflicts with parents or siblings, Dr. Goldberg says to keep in mind it’s only for a few days. “It’ll be over soon,” she says. “If you see the time as limited, it’s easier to take.”

Holidays can be difficult times when a close friend or family member has passed away. Setting aside some time to talk about the deceased person and share memories of them is one way of coping. “But move on,” says Dr. Goldberg. “Spend maybe a half-hour discussing this person and then stop that conversation and go on to the rest of the celebration.”

If you’re alone

Holidays are also difficult for people who are alone. “If people are single or far from their families, they could celebrate with friends. Friends are often a substitute for family,” says Dr. Goldberg. If you know several other people who are also alone, put together a group and share the holiday together.

“Another thing I think is nice is to volunteer for part of the day in a hospital or soup kitchen, because you’re doing something worthwhile, and you’re probably not going to feel as sorry for yourself when you see people who are worse off than you,” she says.

Exercise away your stress

“Exercise is a physical outlet for emotional stress,” says Richard Cotton, an exercise physiologist and former spokesman for the American Council on Exercise. “It’s a form of release.”

Although there isn’t one type of exercise that’s right for everyone, Mr. Cotton says that keeping your body in shape or keeping some level of conditioning can be beneficial when it comes to managing stress. “It’s physical movement to help resolve the distresses that are building within,” he says. “When we keep ourselves in shape, we’re more tuned up and we feel better, and when we feel better, we’re more able to cope with the stresses of the holidays.”

As with other aspects of the holidays, planning is important with exercise, too. “Preparing the mind can help enormously,” says Mr. Cotton. He warns, however, against making stress-relieving exercises a stress in themselves. “Figure out what’s realistic, when you can and can’t exercise, and do your best to stick with that,” he says. “Avoid making the guilt of not exercising an additional stress. Plan and make realistic expectations of yourself. It can certainly make a huge difference.”

Boss Hogg, the unethical county commissioner in the 1970’s television show The Dukes of Hazzard, uttered many outrageous statements during each weekly episode. However, his belief about “accydents” bears a strong element of truth, especially as it applies to the workplace.

The very word “accident” is probably not appropriate when referring to workplace injuries because it suggests that these events are random and unpredictable. However, statistics compiled yearly since 1999 by workers’ compensation insurers and the Bureau of Labor Statistics attribute the root causes of most workplace injuries to several very preventable scenarios:

• Overexertion – strenuous pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, holding or throwing.
• Falls – falling to the surface from the same level or to a lower level.
• Bodily reaction – strains, sprains and injuries caused not by falling but by free bodily motions such as bending, slipping, tripping, reaching or climbing.
• Environmental – setting the stage for injuries by improper lockout-tag out, slippery floors, failure to properly placard electrical and combustible hazards.
• Struck by object – includes objects falling onto, swinging into or otherwise colliding with unsuspecting workers.
• Confined space – includes being trapped, compressed or suffering oxygen deprivation.

In addition, human beings are subject to certain attitudes and behaviors that greatly increase the chances for a workplace injury to occur. These include:

• Ignoring safety procedures
• Overconfidence
• Taking “timesaving” shortcuts
• Operating with insufficient information
• Mental distractions

According to investigators, the embarrassing “accident” pictured above was attributed to a flightcrew attempting to taxi at night in heavy fog around an airport with complex, inter-connecting taxiways. Instead of consulting surface runway maps or asking ground control for “progressive guidance,” the crew opted to trust their memories and “save some time.” So clearly, the contributing factors included ignoring safety procedures; taking shortcuts; operating with insufficient information and most likely a heavy dose of overconfidence. The obvious environmental hazards (darkness, fog, fatigue) would not have been factors had the human element been more attentive!

Mental distractions include all the problems that your EAP can help you address, such as family or relationship issues; legal or financial concerns; stress; depression; childcare and eldercare challenges; gambling or chemical addictions; anger and guilt, to name but a few. Besides being painful in themselves, these conditions also reduce one’s job focus and concentration. We invite you to contact your EAP to reduce your pain and increase your workplace safety.

“Building on the progress of the last two-and-a-half years, my focus going forward will be to drive innovation in government and make investments in technology that better serve the American people,” VanRoekel is quoted as saying in this transcript of his prepared remarks. “We will use technology to improve government productivity and lower barriers to citizen and business interaction with the government, all while bolstering cyber security.”

Citing the “Cloud First” policy’s effect on IT spending, his own policy, “Future First,” aims to have the Federal government ahead of the curve on new technologies. VanRoekel envisions a set of principles “like ‘XML First,’ ‘Web Services First,’ ‘Virtualize First,’ and other ‘Firsts’ that will inform how we develop our government’s systems,” he said.

The CIO hopes that not only will these new policies help transform the government both internally and in its external engagements, but that they will also help federal IT professionals become a “future ready” workforce by learning the latest innovations in technology.

To see how LTI stays ahead of the curve, learn more about our Global Infrastructure Services division and Enterprise Solutions division. Contact us today for more information.