Despite the fact that the Great Recession is already being referred to in the past tense, unemployment and underemployment are still high. Many Americans know, firsthand, the challenges of long-term unemployment and underemployment and the increased pressure to do more with less at work. As these work-related stresses continue, we all should be looking for ways to stave off the risks for depression, anxiety, and cynicism. One possibility for combating the negative effects of a difficult job market is by volunteering to help those less fortunate. Volunteering not only helps and motivates those you serve, but has the same positive effect on you, the volunteer.

Did you turn your clock back this past weekend, embracing the opportunity for an extra hour of sleep? If so, you are not alone.

After countless mass downsizings, there are many people who are beyond busy -- and squeezing more hours from the workday by increasing their waking hours. While skipping a full night’s sleep might increase your available hours to, ostensibly, make you more productive in the short term, you might be damaging your productivity - and your health - in the long term.

I was once told a story by a friend and very well known psychologist from Stanford. He was driving from his home in San Francisco to teach in Palo Alto. He picked up a hitchhiker as he got on the highway and began his 45 minute journey. The young man was pleasant and my friend started a conversation by simply asking where his new passenger was going? The guy was brief and said, “South.” That answer stood for a minute or two when my colleague asked the same question only to get the exact same reply.

How do you feel on Sunday evenings? C'mon, be honest.

For about 80% of working people, Sunday evenings usher in an array of mildly negative feelings such as irritability, fatigue, loss of interest in the things you generally enjoy. You may feel as though you have the blahs or the blues -- and you are probably blaming the fact that you need to go to work in the morning.

Not so fast. Needing to work in the morning might be only part of the cause.

While the Sunday slump is more pervasive and more severe among those who dislike their jobs, it is important to know that it is also felt by people who like their work and occurs among people from various income levels and professions.

Do you fall into this category? If so, your Sunday slump is probably caused by the contrast between the freedom you experience over the weekend -- and the lack of control you have during the week.

If I asked you "do you need a vacation?", your answer is probably “seriously, Caligiuri, of course. Who doesn’t?” Vacations can provide many positive benefits for your body, mind, and spirit. In fact, a meta-analysis by Professor Jessica de Bloom and her colleagues found that vacations have positive effects health and well-being (Journal of Occupational Health, 2009, 51:13-25). You probably didn’t need the research to tell you that.

Here is a tougher question: will you take a vacation this year? The answer to this question answers will vary tremendously, along our diverse definitions of what a vacation means (at home on a hammock or a climb up Kilimanjaro).

Isn't it great when science validates something you've thought all along? It's nice when your common sense and life experience get a thumbs up from academia. I've always appreciated the value of exercise as a way, not to become tired out and possibly injured, but just the opposite - a necessary nutrient my body and mind requires to lead a fast-past, vigorous life and to keep me awake and sharp.

For me, it was as plain as looking at some of the most hard working and productive
jobs in the world - the United States Presidency. Here's an ultra-high stress, energy-zapping job if ever there was one. And what U.S. Presidents always seem to make time for? Exercise! They jog, or shoot hoops, or get out on the ranch and clear brush. Politics aside, these top executives know the benefits of getting out into the world and moving their muscles.

Everybody's workin' for the weekend

Everybody wants a new romance

Everybody's goin' off the deep end

Everybody needs a second chance

(Lyrics from the 1981 song by Loverboy)

If you’ve never heard the song, or would like to trip down memory lane in red leather pants check out the YouTube video.

Work-related freedom over our time looks very different for each of us: Your child has a fever. (You stay home.) You need to study for an exam. (You go to the library instead of the office.) The surf’s up. (You head for the beach and work in the evening.)

Don’t most of us want a fulfilling career which would also enable us to flex our time, as needed, to attend to family, social, or other life priorities? Of course we do. Well, we think we do.

Full freedom to direct time, as needed, to balance the spheres of one’s life seems as though it should be positive for all. There are caveats, two specifically.

We all need vacations, time off to recharge our mental and physical batteries. I believe we all have a personal meter that tells us when we are over-heating and need to switch off for a while to avoid burnout. Research conducted by Air New Zealand in conjunction with former NASA scientists found that individuals’ post-vacation performance improved nearly 25% compared to performance before vacation.

You really do not need to be a NASA scientist to understand that vacations are good for the body, soul, and career. But, here’s the big question: what is your idea of a “great vacation”?

About 20 years ago I was given a piece of well-intentioned but rather bad advice. I was advised to tone down my positive affect in the workplace – specifically, to stop smiling so much. If you are reading this and know me personally you are probably smiling at the thought of me, in my 20’s, in front of a mirror working on not smiling. If you don’t know me personally, I’ll share data point: at the photo shoot for this website, the photographer noted that I had only one “look” that worked – smiling. The others, he correctly noted, looked unnatural (scary, if you ask me).