Workplace

Three out of four drug abusers hold down steady jobs and most of those work at small businesses--companies that are least likely to offer drug treatment in their health plans, a private research group said Thursday. Nearly 60% of drug-abusing employees work for companies with fewer than 500 employees, according to the report by Drug Strategies, a Washington policy research institute. Many businesses find the cost of drug treatment prohibitive, the group said.

In many of its incarnations, technology is complicated, confusing and often more trouble than it's worth. But one of its original purposes was to make life easier by saving time at work, and there are simple ways in which it accomplishes this goal. "In general, technology saves time. There's no doubt about it," said Paul Edwards, a home-office expert who attributes the growth of home-based businesses to the availability of powerful, low-cost technology.

Many of the most popular home- based businesses require advanced technology both to run efficiently and to compete with larger corporations. A look at the top 10 home- based businesses and the top 10 reasons people start their own businesses: Top 10 home-based businesses: 1. Business consulting and services. 2. Computer services and programming. 3. Financial consulting and services. 4. Marketing and advertising. 5. Medical practice and services. 6. Graphics and visual arts. 7.

Few pieces of office furniture affect you as profoundly as your chair. A well-designed chair can help reduce strain on your back, neck, arms and derriere during those long hours at work. "You should be able to leave your work because it's time to stop, not because you can't sit there anymore," says Sean Bernhart, manager of the Relax the Back Store, a West Hollywood shop that specializes in furnishings related to spinal well-being. "The chair is 80% of the office."

This is not just job stress. This is something much more. The feeling that you have to watch your back every minute. The sense that you had better measure your words carefully. That walking-on-eggshells apprehension when you know that if you make a wrong move, it could be your undoing. Too often, this is how the schoolteachers of America's youngsters feel.

Teachers cannot resolve all the problems that lead to stress, but experts cite a variety of coping techniques: * Recreation and exercise. * Setting aside time at home in which job duties will not interfere. * Expressing feelings, confiding troubles to others (including to other teachers) and asking for help. * Saying no to unnecessary demands. * Admitting personal limits. * Seeking therapy. * Pacing efforts to avoid fatigue. * Trusting in one's abilities.

At first glance, the strip mall in Long Beach appears to be its own Little Southeast Asia, with Cambodian and Vietnamese grocery stores, sandwich shops and other businesses that cater to a largely immigrant clientele. But nestled alongside Dr. Dien Van Pham's Medical Clinic and the Mekong Pharmacy is a multiculturalist's dream. Step inside Mini's Hair and Nail salon and you enter a world that belies the notion that people from radically different backgrounds and races cannot get along.

A man dismissed from his job on the city's beach-cleanup crew more than a year ago opened fire on former Parks Department co-workers before dawn Friday, killing five and critically wounding one. He then killed himself. "Everyone is going to die!" announced Clifton McCree, 41, who then raised a 9-millimeter handgun and shot several men who were sitting around a conference table in a temporary office set up in a parking lot near the Intracoastal Waterway.

Microsoft Corp. receives about 12,000 resumes a month. Yet Chairman Bill Gates complains that the greatest limit to the company's growth is a lack of good people. David Pritchard, Microsoft's head of recruiting, says the software giant has 1,000 technical jobs available today, some of which have been open for six months. What gives? It isn't just the lack of good software programmers available. Microsoft is looking for a rare breed of person. Call it the "Bill Gates type."