Upline Times
Coy Barefoot
News bytes in this edition of Upline Times:
- Hard Cold Facts About the J-O-B
- The Year of the Lay-Off
- Optimism for `99
- Flying the Wealthy Skies
- Sleep Facts
- More Merger News
"Despite utopian visions earlier in this century of technology freeing us all from the toil of work, we are now working harder than ever-- with little relief in sight. In a recent poll, 88 percent of
workers said their jobs require them to work longer, and 68 percent complained of having to work at greater speeds. As if all this were not grim enough, the most discouraging aspect of our jobs is that they seem to accomplish little of lasting value. Studies consistently show that as many as 80
percent of workers in our society feel their jobs, however fast and furious, are meaningless. The land of opportunity is fast becoming a nation of stressed out wage slaves."
(Source: "Break the Job Lock" by Andrew Kimbrell, in the Utne Reader, February 1999)
Thousands of Americans found pink slips in their stockings this past holiday season as downsizing, restructuring, and merger-mania continued to wreak chaos on the workforce.
Just a sampling of some of the numbers include: Johnson & Johnson, the health care giant, announced plans to cut 4,100 jobs and to close nearly 40 of its manufacturing facilities; Kitty Hawk, the world's largest operator of air cargo planes, will cut 1,500 jobs over the next year; even the Detroit Medical Center will pink-slip 750 staff members; Seagram Company will lay off as much as 3,000 employees in its takeover of Polygram; and despite good sales of its $35 million private jets, Boeing announced that it will fire as many as 48,000 workers.
According to a study by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a total of 677,795 job cuts were announced in 1998. Of that total, nearly 75,000 jobs were lost as the result of corporate mergers-- up 99.6 percent since 1997.
Nine of the ten highest priced mergers and acquisitions in US history occurred in 1998. And the sad fact is, company bosses often pay the hefty pricetags by firing employees. Face it, folks, there's no such thing as job security anymore-- not unless you own the company.
(Source: CNNfn, Associate Press, Reuters)
During the holiday season of 1998, the average American bought 25 presents and spent $814. Were any of them buying from you? -NBC News
"In a new global study of 30,000 consumers in 30 countries, the Roper marketing and public opinion company says 70 percent of the Americans polled think their finances will get better over the next 12 months. That's up from 63 percent at the end of 1997." They must have interviewed a lot of Network Marketers!
(Source: UPI, December 1998)
This just in from the Flying File-- Boeing is now offering its popular 737 commercial airliner for sale at only $35 million a pop, plus a few million more for the paint job and swanky interior extras.
Boeing has already sold nearly 50 of the spacious, private planes, including two for General Electric's top brass. With their outrageous salaries, CEOs, corporate bosses, and celebrities are
joining the ranks of the heads of state in purchasing these 807-square-foot flying hotels.
The jet planes can be equipped with whatever perks you design: a conference room, very
private master suites, a fully stocked gourmet kitchen, a library or even a sunken living room. Imagine whisking your top 50 Networking leaders and their spouses off to Paris for the weekend. Think about it. Dream big!
(Source: Associated Press, January 1999)
Ask anyone who has risen to the top in the Network Marketing industry and they will tell you: "One of my dreams was to toss my alarm clock out the window!" or "I wanted to get to the point in my life where I could wake up when I was done sleeping, not when some machine said I had to."
To reach that point of sleep-in bliss that all Networking stars enjoy, you have to be willing to do what they have done: work hard, work smart, work persistently and consistently-- and yes, even be willing to give up a little sleep now and then.
"It's a price I was willing to pay," one Networking leader told the Upline Times. "I did work more when I was building my business, and, yeah, that meant sleeping a little less on some nights. But it was worth it a hundred times over!"
Since sleep is at the center of so many Networking dreams, we thought you might be interested in some sleep facts that were uncovered in a recent poll:
- Average daily hours of sleep for most Americans: 7.5
- Percent who always get a restful night's sleep: 25
- Percent who sleep on their back: 14
- Percent who sleep on their stomach: 25
- Percent who sleep with two pillows: 42.6
- Percent who sleep with none: 3.2
- Percent who leave a light on: 3
- Percent who wear nothing to bed: 15
- Percent of men who snore: 36
- Percent of women who snore: 23
- Percent of couples who prefer twin beds: 6
(Source: American Demographics, October 1998)
On-line sales for the year 1998 rose above $13 billion. Holiday sales alone were three times as much as `97 figures. Total Internet sales for `99 are expected to rocket up to as much as $40 billion. Does your company have a website? Do you?
(Source: National Public Radio and Reuters)
More fallout from merger-mania is crashing through the corporate glass ceiling, but it's not breaking the glass. The invisible barrier that keeps working women from achieving the top power levels in American companies is stronger than ever-- and is even more apparent whenever mega-mergers take place.
Consider what happened to the ten highest-ranking female executives at BankAmerica Corp. when that company merged with NationsBank Corp. in October of `98. Six of the ten BankAmerica women resigned when their jobs were taken away from them and reassigned to men at NationsBank. Four of the ten were demoted and given new jobs with much less authority. < p>
(Source: The San Francisco Chronicle, December `98)
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Reprinted with permission from Upline, Upline Times-March 1999, 888-UPLINE-1, http://www.upline.com
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