I have contributed business and lifestyle content to Costco Connection, money management and profiles to PBS affiliate Next Avenue, work/life and member retention pieces to AExperience mag.
Your Business
With Generation Z entering the workforce, the divide between generations is growing. Experts say it’s an opportunity to take another look at training and retaining practices and focus on individual needs.
As Generation Z enters the workforce, the age span among employees is growing. But does the increasing generational divide among staff and teams really matter when it comes to training and retaining employees?
It does, but then again, it doesn’t, says Shay Runion, chief human resources offic...
Keeping your cool
Photos Courtesy of EMBR Labs
Embr Labs’ Wave wearable device helps you regulate how you feel temperature
After coming in from a blustery fall day, my home seems toasty warm. But after a few minutes, my body adjusts to the indoor temperature—and I start thinking about turning up the thermostat.
Your body perceives temperature changes caused from things like coming inside on a cold day, hot flashes, anxiety and stress as individual reactions. Those reactions may be relieved with the Embr Wave W...
Finally Out of Limbo
A biopsy revealed a problem with a patient's thyroid. She chose to have surgery to take charge of her health.
All About Retention
Member retention is as important as membership growth. How do you keep association members once they have signed on?
Don’t Let Yourself Get Smished
Maria-Kristina Hayden was visiting with her 70-year-old father when he received a text message on his phone. He seemed puzzled. "The text message was from an unknown number, and it said, 'Hey, do you want to golf later this week?'" says Hayden. "My dad is a golfer, and he has many friends that he golfs with throughout the month. But he didn't recognize the number."
Fortunately, Hayden is the founder of OUTFOXM, a Dallas-based cyber response company that helps individuals and organizations pre...
Where’s Your Heir?
Michael Zwick heard a story from an old friend whose wife had been a home health care nurse. One of her patients had taken a liking to her and left her some money in his will when he passed away. But it took some time for the estate's attorney to track her down to settle that part of the estate.
Zwick, a practicing attorney, realized there was a need for a company that tracked down missing heirs. In 2001, he founded Assets International in Southfield, Michigan, a licensed and bonded private i...
Disappearing Acts
'Ghosting' may now be common in employment and dating relationships, but it still hurts
By Rosie Wolf Williams
Several years after losing her husband in middle age, Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell decided to try online dating. She met someone on a dating service who seemed compatible, and they agreed to meet after chatting online for some time.
"Then he not only ghosted me, but he blocked me on the day before the meeting," says 59-year-old Campbell, a Next Avenue contributor who lives in Arkansas. "I...
Living Only on Social Security
Editor’s note: This is an installment of the “Retirement for the Rest of Us” series, a Next Avenue initiative.
Allen R. Smith says that he never planned to retire. Holding degrees in exercise physiology, he spent a decade in the wellness industry and worked as a ski instructor in Colorado. As he moved into retirement age, he planned to shift into a second career as an author and columnist.
"Years ago, I vowed never to be in the situation I'm in," says Smith, who lives in Oceanside, California...
Help for college students who have moved back home (and their parents)
Congratulations! You graduated!
And now you are moving back home.
The reason is probably financial. Tuition isn’t cheap and you may have tackled that bill on your own. Although some colleges and universities froze or lowered tuition during the pandemic, many cite lower enrollment numbers and inflation as a reason for raising tuition rates.
After college, the job hunt might be difficult no matter what type of degree you have under your belt. New college graduates often end up working in jobs t...
How to Manage Rising Food Costs
Gudrun Fortner has felt the sting of inflation. She is on a fixed income, and although her mobile home is paid for, the 73-year-old Florida resident says rising costs of living — particularly the rising cost of eating — have made it difficult for her and other older adults to make ends meet.
"Without my little food stamps and church, I would be in deep trouble," she says.
Others share her concern. Benefits that are known colloquially as food stamps and issued under the Supplemental Nutrition ...
'A Good Bra Isn't a Luxury - It's a Wellness Item'
Older adults who wear bras have to consider issues like mobility, arthritis, breast surgeries and even finances when choosing bras. Our breasts take on new shapes and sit differently in bra cups, and hooking a back-closing bra may be a literal pain for those with joint issues.
In addition, it becomes difficult to fit an unbalanced chest because of mastectomies or lumpectomies. "Research has shown that bra shopping is among the most stressful clothing purchases for women regardless of a person...
Seniors and Cannabis: Is Pot The New Martini for North America’s 50+ Crowd?
Seniors aged 65 or older are the country’s fastest growing age group of cannabis users, according to data collected by Statistics Canada.
Rosie Wolf Williams | Cannabis Health
Since its legalization, cannabis seems to have hit its stride in several age groups. But the older Canadian has embraced it. In fact, seniors aged 65 or older are the country’s fastest growing age group of cannabis users, according to data collected by Statistics Canada.
The poll involved 5,452 Canadians and asked wheth...
Seed Catalogs: The Promise of Spring
The arrival of a colorful seed catalog in the mailbox on a gray winter day just might make the gardener's heart beat a little faster.
"There is something pleasurable about leisurely flipping through photos of beautiful edibles and flowers during the coldest months of the year," says Kelly Funk, president of Park Seed in Greenwood, South Carolina.
Seed catalogs provide a great source of inspiration for all types of gardeners.
Seed catalogs provide a great source of inspiration for all types of...
Are You Drinking Enough Water?
Aging brings about physical changes that affect the body's ability to cool itself and to stay hydrated. You depend on water; in fact, it makes up more than half of your total body weight. It is necessary for temperature regulation, the elimination of waste, joint health, and more. Dehydration can occur if you do not have enough water in your body to carry out those tasks.
Older adults are more apt to experience dehydration due to diabetes or renal disease. Some medications can affect a person...