I am Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist who specializes in human performance in the workplace. I have consulted with over 200 of the Fortune 500 including UPS, Morgan Stanley, and Best Buy. I can offer expert analysis and commentary in the following areas:

•Workplace communication
•Leadership training
•Management development
•Meeting Facilitation
•General workplace dynamics

Turkey Tune-Out Time
By Roger Cohen, The New York Times

I asked Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist, why reaching for a hand-held electronic device to e-mail or instant-message - an iPhone, BlackBerry, Treo or whatever — has become such a reflexive movement, one that makes it difficult to embrace vacation as vacation.

She told me: "A BlackBerry poses three problems. Can you manage your need for control? Can you manage your need to be important? Can you manage your need to feel in the know? These are real psychological challenges because at any moment you can jump in and fire off an e-mail and get closure immediately. But it's superficial closure."

So you thought you had a communication device when in fact you have an ego-meter? That's about the sum of it. Because let's face it, e-mail is a bummer and addiction to it perverse.

First, e-mail is reactive, a wait-and-respond thing, the surest guarantee of inside-the-box thinking. Second, it's a lousy tool for conflict resolution, a multiplier of misunderstandings. Third, it leads people to say things they would never say face to face. Fourth, once they're said, they're recorded in their colossal inanity for all eternity.

What you accumulate, said Thacker, is "interpersonal sludge."

Hi, I'm Joan, and I'm a workaholic
By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY

In cities such as Minneapolis and Denver, groups of residents gather regularly in church basements and hospital meeting rooms to talk about their addiction. They share stories about how their addiction has damaged their physical health, destroyed friendships and hurt spouses or children. All have different jobs, but there is one problem they share.

They are addicted to work.

But Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist and president of consulting firm Strategic Performance Solutions, disagrees that employees who engage in extreme work are necessarily suffering. She says an employee or business owner is a workaholic only if suffering emotionally or physically from work. Some people, she says, simply have a larger appetite for work.

"I really get irritated by all the workaholicism comments. You derive so many emotional needs from work," says Thacker, who is based in New York. "There is a feeling of being more satisfied in your life, more confident, (higher) social status, a sense of accomplishment. What feels balanced for me may not be balanced for you."

Many self-described workaholics attribute positive outcomes to their work drive, from a sense of giving of themselves to others, to getting a thrill out of the fast pace of their lives — even if the work seems overwhelming at times.

As $3-a-Gallon Gas Becomes Reality, More Americans Choosing to Work From Home
By Amy Braunschweiger, FOX News, June 28, 2007

As gas prices kept going up, her patience kept going down — Robin Rothstein had simply had enough.

After spending hard time each day behind the wheel working as a real estate agent near her home in Germantown, Md., Rothstein says trading in her life on the road to work from home as an independent customer service representative is one of the best things she has ever done for herself — and her wallet.

It's not surprising. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 an estimated 3 million Americans commuted more than 90 minutes to work each way — almost twice as many as in 1990. Fifteen out of every 100 Americans traveled 45 minutes each way.

But higher gas prices alone shouldn't inform someone's decision to work from home, said Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist and an adjunct faculty member at the University of Delaware Lerner School of Business.

"People thinking about just the cost of gasoline should also think about other perspectives like: Will I be productive and will it be fun?" Thacker said. "It's not for everyone, by far."

It takes a whole new set of skills to work independently, Thacker said. Working from home requires the ability to focus and ignore household distractions. Also, people working from home need to know how to effectively get things done via e-mail or conference call and combat feelings of isolation, which can harm productivity.

OFFICE SPACE: How to Work More Hours And Still Go Home Early
By EILENE ZIMMERMAN -- The New York Times -- February 18, 2007

WHEN we think of someone putting in long hours on the job, the image is often one of late nights and the proverbial midnight oil. But professionals would rather clock many of those hours early in the morning.

Face time at work, once considered essential for career advancement, is now less crucial because of technology. "It still matters, but there is now a tremendous variance in how much it matters to individual managers," said Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist and president of Strategic Performance Solutions in New York.

Ms. Thacker says managers now equate good performance with "the perception that you are on top of things."

"More and more I'm hearing, 'If he were on top of his workload he wouldn't need to be staying here until 8:30 at night,' " she said.

OFFICE SPACE: CAREER COUCH How to Turn Down The After-Work Party
By MATT VILLANO -- The New York Times -- January 22, 2006

Your colleagues often end workdays with get-togethers at a local watering hole. You don't oppose the outings, but you'd rather go home to your family. Can you decline without seeming like a killjoy?

Q. If you choose not to go [to an after-work party], do you need to explain why?

A. Don't ignore the invitation. Decline graciously. It is not necessary to make excuses for why you cannot attend, but if you do, truthful and apologetic explanations work best.

"Be clear about your reasons for not going," said Karissa Thacker, president of Strategic Performance Solutions.

"As opposed to saying, 'Family is my most important value,' " she said, "tell fun stories about your kids and be specific about what you're going home to do with them."

Men rule — at least in workplace attitudes
Even women seem skeptical of female bosses in Elle/MSNBC.com survey By Eve TAHMINCIOGLU -- MSNBC contributor -- March 8, 2007

The Work & Power Survey conducted by Elle and MSNBC.com suggests that stereotypes about sex and leadership are alive and well. While more than half our 60,000 respondents said a person's sex makes no difference to leadership abilities, most who expressed a preference said men are more likely to be effective leaders.

Of male respondents, 41 percent said men are more likely to be good leaders, and 33 percent of women agreed. And three out of four women who expressed a preference said they would rather work for a man than a woman.

The survey, conducted early this year, found a bonanza of stereotypes among those polled, with many using the optional comment section to label women "moody," "bitchy," "gossipy" and "emotional." The most popular term for woman, used 347 times, was "catty."

One of the reasons women might not be getting their leadership props is because there are still so few women in high level positions throughout the work world. "Familiarity is a powerful force," says Karissa Thacker, a management psychologist and president of Strategic Performance Solutions Inc. "We are much more familiar with men in leadership roles. The unknown scares all of us regardless of gender."

Bossing your friends around
To get chummy with subordinates or not? We get the experts' take. By LUCY WEBB Staff WriteR -- Washington Business Journal -- March 24, 2006

"My boss is my friend."

What's your reaction?

Local experts on each side of the debate weighed in by phone and e-mail, and we deliver their point and counterpoint, without judgment.

Karissa Thacker, a psychologist who specializes in performance issues in the workplace had these four thoughts:

"Thought One: If you want to motivate, you need to know and understand your employees as people. However, moving an employee relationship all the way into a friendship is highly counterproductive. Being friends with employees is too risky for the boss and the employee. Boss risks being partial or being perceived as partial. Employee risks the boss asking for information that would put him at odds with peers and risks the boss judging him or her too harshly in order to appear impartial.

"Thought Two: If you are friends with an employee, everybody knows. It is ludicrous to think that they do not. This is a common trap that immature managers get caught in. They think that no one will know that they are friends with a particular employee. They are deluding themselves.

"Thought Three: Being a manager is playing a role. The manager has on a 'jersey.' His personal opinions and life are separate. It is important that managers develop their friendships outside of the workplace for their own mental health.

"Thought Four: Employees should not misunderstand skillful social skills in the workplace for friendship. Skillfully managing relationships and understanding all the players is a critical skill for success. But it's not friendship and has nothing to do with friendship."

Office bawl-itics
A good cry may make you feel better, but it'll hurt your career
By DWAYNE STEWARD -- The News Journal (Delaware) -- August 21, 2006

Though crying can be an emotional release, most psychologists say leave the tears at the workplace door.

"You should keep your emotions in check," said Karissa Thacker, an industrial psychologist. Morford said it's all about perception. The crier may be perceived as weak and not in control, she said.

Thacker said crying at work creates problems because people don't know how to help, and co-workers can become too involved in calming the employee, ultimately decreasing productivity.

"It is perfectly OK for an employer to say that these emotions need to be put in check," Thacker said.

If you're at a point when you may lose control, go someplace private to regain your composure, Thacker said. Even take a day off. "Just do whatever it takes to get yourself together."

Under-35 crowd pushes limits of dress codes
By MAUREEN MILFORD -- The News Journal (Delaware) -- September 2, 2006

Many of the workers in need of Dress for Success 101 are part of the under-35 generation, a group raised on casual clothing for every occasion, experts said. Older workers were conditioned to have different wardrobes for various circumstances, such as different outfits for work, church, parties, the theater and backyard, they said.

As the economy began to shift to Internet companies in the late 1990s, the casualness of the dot-com era became associated with all things cutting edge, experts said. Delaware bankers who joined Internet startups suddenly starting showing up to work without socks.

The vast majority of requests Stephenson receives come from companies interested in educating employees about appropriate business attire. There's a legitimate business reason for setting professional business standards such as dress codes and personal hygiene standards. Studies have shown that employees perform better when they're dressed for the occasion, said Karissa Thacker, an industrial psychologist with Strategic Performance Solutions in Rehoboth Beach.

"The data shows that productivity, professionalism and focus improves," Thacker said. But clamping down can be a sensitive issue. Dress is often associated with status and rank in the company, Thacker said. People in higher ranks tend to dress better.

"It's about expectations and role behavior. If you're in a higher status role you tend to play the part. And if you're in a lower status role you tend to play the part. It's pretty predictable," Thacker said.

The Web: Working hard or hardly working?
January 25, 2006

Are you wasting time when online? Or working? A new study released this week showed that about 20 percent of government staff, while on the job, in one Malaysian state utilized the Internet for purely personal activities -- like downloading porn, games and music. This was one of the main causes of poor work performance in the Johor state, Bernama, the state news agency there said, quoting a top government official, Norsiah Harun.

That being said, it is also true that personal tasks are easier than ever to perform online. Though some employees may be looking at illicit images during the work day, others are checking their bank balance online, or ordering milk and bread for the home, said Karissa Thacker, president, Strategic Performance Solutions Inc.

For some companies, the Internet itself may not be the primary problem -- management thinkers say -- but rather the fact that workers aren't being properly challenged by the firm's work culture.