Workplaces

The PSA test should be abandoned as a prostate cancer screening tool, a government advisory panel has concluded after determining that the side effects from needless biopsies and treatments hurt many more men than are potentially helped by early detection of cancers. At best, one life will be saved for every 1,000 men screened over a 10-year period, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. But 100 to 120 men will have suspicious results when there is no cancer, triggering biopsies that can carry complications such as pain, fever, bleeding, infection and hospitalization.

Julie Berebitsky's history of hanky-panky in U.S. offices over the last 150 years is an extraordinary achievement. To write about so much bottom-pinching, ogling and scandal without a single double entendre or levity of any sort must have taken considerable restraint. Instead, the history professor at the University of the South in Sewannee, Tenn., has chosen to present her treasure trove of saucy examples in such a relentlessly flat way that "Sex and the Office: A History of Gender, Power and Desire" is an effort to get through.

They ar rived by the thousands-- letters, postcards, handwritten notes on loose-leaf paper. Some bore biblical passages. Others featured pictures of flowers or clouds. And almost all of them--nearly 56,000 at last count--asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to scuttle its proposed guidelines defining religious harassment in the workplace. "I implore you, please come to your senses and DROP this item of consideration as 'harassment,' " wrote Alice Mahaffey of Warrior, Ala.

When John Tlapa looked in the mirror, his nose looked like he "could pick a door lock," he said. It resembled "a hook with a point on it. It was pretty ugly. " So two years ago, the San Diego-based screenwriter underwent rhinoplasty to improve his profile and fix a deviated septum that had plagued him for almost 40 years. Tlapa, 54, is part of a trend that, in recent years, has seen increasing numbers of men seeking cosmetic surgery. In 2011, 9% of surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures in the U.S. were conducted on men, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery - a 121% increase since 1997.

Fans of such gritty police shows as "NYPD Blue" or "Homicide: Life on the Streets" would certainly be disappointed by a visit to the sleek new home of the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th Division. The crowded and noisy squad room has been replaced by light and airy offices where investigators work in cubicles separated by forest green partitions. The boxes of police files that once lined dark hallways are now out of sight in large storage rooms.

The Irvine Medical Center has established a speakers bureau to address health topics at community clubs and organizations. Physicians and health care professionals will speak on topics ranging from "How to Prepare for Your Hospital Stay" to "Effects of Smoking in Public and Workplaces." To schedule a speaker, call (714) 857-6500. Irvine Medical Center is that city's first hospital and is scheduled to open late this year. The center is owned by American Medical International Inc., founder of investor-owned health care services.

A judge on Friday struck down as unconstitutional a set of sweeping regulations that would have limited smoking in most restaurants, workplaces and other public buildings in New York state beginning May 7. The regulations, touted as among the most stringent in the country, would have banned smoking in taxis, food markets, banks, auditoriums and courthouses, and limited smoking to designated areas in workplaces, larger restaurants, schools and other public places.

An ordinance that would regulate smoking in public places, including workplaces, for the first time in Orange County will go before the City Council Tuesday. The council, none of whose members smoke, has held public meetings on the proposal and will consider adopting the plan. The ordinance would require employers to prohibit smoking in portions of workplaces. It also would restrict smoking in restaurants with a capacity of 50 or more and would prohibit smoking in retail store lines.

Re "Taking liberties," Opinion, Jan. 29 Oh no, Jonah Goldberg, you're right! The sky must be falling! Governments are trying to promote healthier food, safer workplaces and efficient energy consumption. Please stop insulting my intelligence with overused hyperbole ("We must all surrender ourselves to the near-constant prodding, monitoring ...") and make the rational concession that government has a place in moderating our lives. The vilification of government intervention and the unmitigated championing of individualism are hallmarks of conservative rhetoric and really have no meaning.

In the series "The Chicken Trail" (Nov. 10-12), you mention that the annual turnover rate at the Hudson Foods factory in Noel, Mo., is 100%. In an economy not subverted by immigrant labor, Hudson Foods would have to improve working conditions and raise wages to attract and retain workers. It is no wonder that Hudson Foods is no longer the desirable workplace it once was to area residents. With American workers competing with cheap, disposable foreign labor, the situation is not likely to improve.

The cafe is narrow, with a dozen little tables and a gray concrete floor. Nothing too fancy. Nothing too shiny. No espresso poured into designer porcelain with a dusting of organic cacao and a layer of orange-infused, textured milk. No movie stars. Or hardly ever. But Kaldi Coffee & Tea is home to a community of dreamers who share a singular ambition: They want to be part of the movies. Since the silent film era, people have flocked to L.A., seeking stardom. Hollywood may change, but the calculus remains the same.

Lonnie Giamela received a phone call last year, just before the start of the NCAA tournament, from the owner of a manufacturing plant in North Carolina. A labor lawyer from Los Angeles, Giamela knew immediately this meant basketball business. The plant of 100 employees, located in a hoops-crazed region, feared the start of the tournament might drain worker productivity and lead to profit loss. The company decided to block all CBS-affiliated websites proliferating NCAA distraction action but wanted a plan to prevent a revolt.

How can you tell if a co-worker might have a substance abuse problem, and what should you do about it? Here are tips from experts: Watch for signs: According to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, indications that an employee might have a substance abuse problem include work absences without notification, frequent disappearances from the work site, work performance that alternates between high and low productivity, and progressive deterioration...

As Valentine's Day approaches, many workplace managers are keeping an eye out for workplace romance that can destroy productivity. But one group of workplace consultants said that there's another, bigger problem. Experts at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. released a cautionary essay this week that warned managers to be on the lookout for workplace hostility. The firm, which helps displaced workers make the transition to reemployment, said that because workplaces are so understaffed, employees become overworked and frustration abounds.

She shied away from the term "sexual harassment," preferring "seductive pressure. " "Women can't talk about the seductive pressure that men put on women, because it is a taboo in France," said the woman, pausing between sentences. A former company manager, she, perhaps tellingly, wished to remain anonymous. "As women managing directors, we've all been confronted with it. " As she spoke, she began to worry that her comments would create "generalizations" about France. She was only one person, and was sorry to be wasting a reporter's time, she added, with a tight smile.

Workplace drug testing data show methamphetamine continues to be a significant problem in the Western states. In data released Friday of U.S. workplace drug-screening tests in 2010, Hawaii ranked first in the highest rates of positive screens for methamphetamine--410% greater than the national average. The rates in Arkansas and Oklahoma were also high, 280% and 240% above the national average, respectively. California's rate was 140% above the average. Overall, positive methamphetamine screens in the workplace stands at 0.10% nationally.

Light your cigarette in a public place in Israel and you're breaking the law. But don't worry. Everyone else will be too busy smoking to notice. Americans may be kicking the habit in droves, but Israelis are dragging their feet as health officials try patiently to wean them from what has become a national pastime. "It is a slow battle," said Dr. Tuvia Lerner, chairman of the Jerusalem-based Society for the Prevention of Smoking, Israel's only anti-smoking group. "Israelis are stubborn people."

The difficulty of balancing work and family does not only affect people at the top, such as White House aide Karen Hughes ("A Woman's Place," May 13). It affects people throughout the work force. As the author of a study of work/family conflicts in nonprofit agencies, I know that women at all levels, because they work "the second shift" at home, experience great stress. We need changes in our workplaces such as flexible hours and child-care assistance. When men and women are in the labor force, we all have to learn how to work smarter.

Being stressed at work can take a physical toll. A study finds that being in high-strain occupations may be linked with making more trips to see the doctor compared with those in less-stressed jobs. The study, published recently in the journal BMC Public Health , included a nationally representative sample of 29,110 Canadian workers who were part of the Canadian National Population Health Survey from 2000 to 2008. Researchers looked at those in high-, medium- and low-stress jobs and the number of times they visited a general practitioner or a specialist.

Nearly every day for three years, Josue Melquisedec Diaz reported to work by going to a New Orleans street corner where contractors, subcontractors and people fixing up their places went to hire day laborers. It was there, one day in 2008, that a contractor picked him up and took him to Beaumont, Texas, just across the Louisiana line, to work on the cleanup, demolition and reconstruction projects that Beaumont was undertaking in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. Diaz was put to work in a residential neighborhood that had been flooded.