Gen Y Reclaims the Guest Room

13% of parents in a new Pew poll say they've had an adult child move back in with them in the last 12 months.

1 in 10 young adults (between ages 18 and 34) say the poor economy has forced them to move back in with Mom and Dad. Another 12% say they've gotten roommates instead - anything to keep from moving in with Mom and Dad, I guess.

I spoke with a hiring expert not too long ago who told me that it will take members of Generation Y 10 years to get their careers back on track after this recession. He pointed to my generation, Generation X, as going through the same thing after the downturn of the early 1990s. I have to agree; the early to mid 1990s were tough for us Gen Xers. The dotcom boom made up for lost time -- for a little awhile, anyway.

But 10 years to get their careers going? Man, the Gen Yers could be living at home for awhile. Hey, parents: You might want to hold off on converting your child's bedroom into a guest room...

The Streets of San Francisco -- in 1905

I came across this music video based on actual footage filmed in downtown San Francisco in 1905, about a year before the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed much of the city.

It's surreal to watch all these people - probably all long dead by now - going about their day.

Watching the video also made me realize how temporary things can be, and how much our lives have changed within 100 years. It's really quite astounding. And if you think driving in downtown San Francisco is crazy now, wait until you see this video.

The tall building at the end of the street survived the 1906 earthquake and is still standing today. It's called the Ferry Building and is home to the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, which sells organic food.

I can't help but wonder what the people in this video would have thought about fancy markets that sell food taken directly out of the ground without pesticides and processing, and the consumers who are willing to pay a lot of money for it. To them, organic wasn't anything special, it was what they ate everyday. $2.50 for an organic orange? Would they laugh at us?

Oh, and the song is cool, too. Enjoy.

Monday Workplace News Round-up

Here are some headlines catching my eye today:

Well, so much for that idea! IT survey concludes most workers aren't ready to work remotely in a crisis.

A Canadian IBM worker on paid sick leave for major depression has her benefits yanked after photos of her having happy fun times turn up on Facebook.

A new study finds one-third of workers are willing to steal company data to help a friend or family member get a job.

A recession by any other name is still a recession: Survey reveals one in five Americans were already living the recession lifestyle before the government officially called it a recession.

60% of employees currently working say they plan to seek a new job and 21% are already networking.

A group of economists announces U.S. GDP growth will be higher than expected in 2010, but will little or no job growth.

The price of gas is dropping in the United States because Americans can't afford to fill up their tanks.

No free lunch: Poll finds people in 27 countries are skeptical about the free market economy, saying it needs more regulation.

Data show suicides are increasing in the United States. Tennessee lead the nation in suicides committed between 2007 and 2008. Tennessee?

Half of drivers in the 18 to 34 demographic admit to texting while driving.

Ho, ho, no! Accountemps survey concludes 1 in 5 employees will do their holiday gift shopping while at work.

And the winning country of PWC's global fraud survey is...

U.S. consumer plan to buy fewer gift cards this holiday season. Most of these cards are a rip off since they lose value over time, anyway.

Uno, dos, tres, catorce: NEA survey asks kids which famous person they would most want as a substitute teacher and they pick Bono. Hope they don't let him teach math or Spanish.

Employees Are Ready to Bolt

A new Right Management survey of 904 employees finds that 60% plan to find a new job as soon as they can, and 25% are actively networking and updating their resumes.

Only 13% intend to stay with their present employer.

Okay employers, you'd better get your act together and start re-recruiting your employees. But it might already be too late...

Medicaid Enrollment Skyrockets

Things are bad out there: More than 2 million Americans enrolled in the Medicaid program in the first half of 2009.

Medicaid rolls swelled more than 5% in 25 U.S. states, including Florida and Michigan.

The Medicaid program now covers more than 52 million Americans. That's roughly one-sixth of the U.S. population. Wow.

Is the Recession Making Us More Ethical?

A new report out today from the Ethics Resource Center says employees have gotten more ethical during this recession. Bring on the nice!

The number of employees who have seen misconduct on the job fell from 56% in 2007 to 49% in 2009, according to ERC's report.

But that still means roughly 50% of employees think they have seen some sort of unethical behavior at work this year. What are they witnessing, exactly? According to the report:

15% have seen retaliation

14% have seen discrimination

10% have seen improper hiring

9% have witnessed stealing or theft

7% have seen sexual harassment

The report also finds that retaliation on the job has actually increased this year. Interesting.

You can find the report here.

Hands Up! Office Burglaries Are On the Rise

The poor economy is resulting in more criminals targeting offices.

Now that I think about it, I've noticed an uptick in stories about retail employees taking down customers who try to shoplift at their stores. The idea of robbing cube farms in broad daylight is a whole new angle, however.

Anyway, it's just another side effect of the recession for employers to ponder.