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Examines Northern Telecom's conversion of its one-story suburban industrial building in Toronto, (Ont.) into the company's head-office. What the building represents; Amenities available to employees; Design.

Suggests that with younger men in Canada, home and family are a growing priority in 1998. How many men are leaving jobs for ones that offer more time for family; Personal accounts.

Reports on the different behaviors seen in men and women who stay at hotels during business trips. How men tend to be neater and more courteous; Reasons why women may be messier during trips.

Examines the moral and ethical issues regarding the use of office e-mail. Using caution when sending and forwarding messages; The author's experience when he accidentally sent an e-mail meant for one to many; The notion that e-mail is private being wrong; An employer's right to monitor e-mail.

Comments on the issue of loyalty in regard to personal and organizational relationships. How loyalties can shift from organizational to personal; Impact of downsizing on corporate loyalty; Employers who try to foster an environment of loyalty to coworkers and specific tasks; Assertion that putting loyalty to individuals first should not completely replace organizational loyalty; The author's experience with accepting a position with another employer.

Comments on the annoying beeps that computers, cell phones and other electronic gadgets make. The author's way of dealing with the beeps and other interruptions; Mention of a study showing that random interruptions lower people's scores on intelligence tests; A colleague of the author who gets called accidentally from a co-worker's cell phone at all hours of the night.

Discusses the passages in the memoir `The Soccer War,' by Polish foreign correspondent Ryszard Kapuscinski on the socio-economic realities of desks in workplaces. How desks warp ordinary human interaction, tilt the balance of power and destroy friendships; Author's reflection on his own desk; What kind of desks are used by Canadian executives such as Maureen Kempston Darkes of GM Canada.

Discusses sports betting pools in the workplace. The author's decision to join the hockey playoff pool; The rewards of participation.

Presents information on Verticore Communications Inc. and their plans to equip elevators in Canada with view screens offering information and advertising to elevator passengers. Author's opinion of such a service; Verticore's product aimed at highly-paid executives; Secretaries, bike messengers and mail clerks seen as riding elevators most often.

Focuses on the increase in the use of surveillance cameras in everyday life. Comments of Frisco Bay Industries Inc. chief executive officer, Barry Katsof; Why cameras are increasingly being used in work situations; The great number of office cameras which are hidden from sight; Why companies use the cameras; Cost of video surveillance; When cameras are the only solution; Issues companies should weigh before committing to electronic surveillance.

Recalls the author's feelings about attending his high-school reunion. Meeting someone he recognized as a business associate; How nothing turned out as he expected; Being reintroduced to a former schoolmate he once thought of as cool and finding out he was a clergyman; How reunions are not a chance to go back, but a chance to build something new.

Wonders humorously if it is wrong to tell lies at work. When it's okay to lie; The Index of Untruth; Why people who never lie are ranked as zeros; Why no one has probably ever met a zero; How most people would fit into the one to four range; The danger zone, ranked at five to seven; The assertion that those ranking in the eight to ten range are sociopaths, stock promoters and software developers.

Comments on office morale and a possible link to the color of paint on the walls. The author's experience with workplace color; Psychological and physiological effects of color; Remarks from Eugen Bannerman, an environmental psychologist at Toronto's Ryerson Polytechnic University.

Comments on employee performance appraisals. Percentage of workers that don't receive appraisals; View of Ron Burke of the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto; How managers should handle employee appraisals; Importance of dialogue; Look to the future; Employee notice of an impending appraisal; Self-appraisals; Cynicism that surrounds appraisals.

Discusses the erosion of the secretary as a cultural icon. The reasons for the trend; The evolution of the executive secretary to the executive assistant, who may or may not provide the same spectrum of personal services; The response of executives to the trend.

Presents a humorous article on men's hairstyles. Lists the types of bad haircuts that a man can get; Barcode hairstyle; Comb-over; Rope-throw; How thick hair on a man over forty looks like a wig; Comments on goatees.

Discusses the importance of being a decisive boss. The human and organizational misery that can be caused by leaders who try too hard to be liked by employees.

Questions why some people adapt better to the business life than others. Valuing of a person's origins; Economic deterioration of small towns creating professionals with varied backgrounds; Need for social skills; Need to leave family baggage behind.

Reports on the author's experience joining bicycle messenger Tom Ellis for a day. Ellis' background; The day's routine; How the system works; Comments from other couriers; Couriers preference for being paid on commission; Author's reflections.

Discusses the difficulty of many ex-Olympians with adjusting to the workplace. The example of how Rod Davies, an Olympic sailor, prepared himself for becoming an investment banker with TD Securities Inc. in Tornoto, Ontario; The effort of Sue Wilson, an educator at Toronto's York University who trained in sport and psychology and works with elite athletes, in training Davies; The importance to handling pressure and taking personal accountability.

Questions the frequency of mentoring relationships in corporations. The complexity of the relationship between protege and protector; Examination of the arrangement by sociology doctoral candidate Bonnie Oglensky; Ostensible purpose of mentoring programs; Hurdles to the success of the relationships.

Discusses the lunch habits of the corporate world. Lunch at a desk, in the company lunchroom, food court; Boardroom working lunch; Business lunch.

Looks at corporate drinking during company festivities. The role of youth and formality in defining a corporation; Mention of a case of liability against Nike Canada Ltd. for an automobile accident after an office party; Comment of sociologist Walter Podilchak of the University of Toronto, Ontario on drinking and the corporate culture.

Comments on the nature of being pompous and its origins. Whether being pompous is a result of genetics or environment; How pomposity is generally a male disorder; Effect of corporate environments on the nature of pomposity.

Presents the author's views on the gender gap in equitable pay for comparable work. Reasons why women do not earn as much as men; Their bargaining abilities and questions as to whether or not these are weaker than those of men; Guidelines for compensation negotiation; Whether or not women should mimic men; The male ultimatum; Being prepared to walk if compensation is not fair.

Opinion. Criticizes the short attention span of many executives, and compares it to attention deficit disorder (ADD). Description of the condition `attention deficit benefit,' to describe ADD in the workplace, including attention span, obsession with details, imperfect fascination with technology, and anxiety.

Describes how some baby boomer generation employees are opting for early retirement to make room for younger generations of workers eager to get started in their careers. How workers born in the early 70s have had to wait for employment; A comparison of the resumes of new workers compared to the baby boomer generation.

Discusses corporate dressing for women and its relationship to their success. Mention of books on the subject, including `The Princessa: Machiavelli for Women,' by Harriet Rubin; The views of John Molloy, author of the books `Dress for Success' and `The Woman's Dress for Success Book.'

Presents information on techniques to improve job hiring practices. Author's experiences in job interviews; Work of Adrian Furnham of the University of London in the field of psychometrics, or measurement of psychological traits; His book `Personality at Work'; Personal chemistry and the so-called halo effect; Group interviews.