What's Your Problem?

In a mid-August Special Issue, BusinessWeek will publish a groundbreaking collaboration between the magazine and its readers focusing on their most pressing workplace problems. Our readers have identified the topics that concern them most, now we’re looking for solutions. Starting today, you can submit comments, essays, pictures, or videos chronicling the challenges you face in any of the categories—and how you’ve tried to resolve them. BusinessWeek writers and editors will use the material, along with the input of experts, to produce a precedent-setting multimedia package—with content and videos online beginning Aug. 14, the Special Issue in mailboxes Aug. 15, and broadcast segments appearing on BusinessWeek TV Aug. 16 and 17 (check your local listing for the exact time and day). Below are all the ways you can join the conversation.

Business@Work: Submission Instructions

Post your essay and supporting materials in one of the six topics shown below.

Work-Life Balance

Staying Entrepreneurial

Time Management

Negotiating Bureaucracy

Toxic
Bosses

Generational Tension

 

• Click on one of the topics above to enter a blog on the subject
• Scroll down to the "Post a Comment" section
• Enter your name and a valid e-mail (we will want to contact you if you are selected as a contributor)
• Post your essay in the comment box. The text box can support up to 65,535 characters
• If you have uploaded video and photo files, copy and paste their URLs into the comment box as well. The text box will support embedded HTML links
• To post your entry to the blog, click the button "Submit Comments" under the text box
• Your entry is now posted to our blog directly above the comment entry section
• Remember that if you use a photo service such as Shutterfly, Snapfish, Webshots, etc., please make sure your photo is public.

Wacky Workplaces

You've told us about your workplace gripes and concerns. Now share what makes you smile, or simply shake your head. Post pictures of the world's wackiest cubicles, most luxurious offices, or most embarrassing offsite incidents on flickr—you can also e-mail them to us (see directions below). Or share stories of the most ridiculous T&E entries, cheapest cost-cutting measures, or most outrageous suck-up moves. Here are the topics we'd like your comments or photos:

Send us a photo

• Most inappropriate office attire
• Weirdest colleague/workplace character
• Waackiest cubicle in the world
• Most embarrassing offsite photo
• Most luxurious office

To send comments or photos directly to BusinessWeek, e-mail them to business_at_work@businessweek.com or save your Flickr photos to one of our BusinessAtWork Flickr Groups

Go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/725524@N25/ to join

• Join our group by clicking the link "Join this group?"
• Confirm that you really want to join our group by clicking the button "Join This Group".
• Now, go to your photos (just go to your home page to access your photos), and go to the photo you’d like to add to our group.
• You have to upload your photo before adding it to our group
• To upload your photo, log into your account and go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/upload/
• To add this photo to our group, click on the second icon directly above your photo, called "Send to Group".
• A dropdown will open; choose BusinessAtWork
• Click "OK" to confirm
• Your photo is now added to the BusinessAtWork group. To see your photo in our group, go to www.flickr.com/groups/725524@N25/pool/
• Remember to continually check your Flickr message box or keep your e-mail address current so you are able to receive e-mails alerting you of Flickr messages. We want to be sure we can contact you via Flickr if you are selected as a contributor.

Join discussions about workplace topics on our BusinessWeek: Business@Work Facebook Group.

• Go to facebook.com and create a Facebook account if you don't already have one
• Click "Groups" on left-hand side of any Facebook page, under Applications
• In the "Search for Groups" box, enter BusinessWeek:Business@Work
• Look for the BusinessWeek: Business@Work group and click "Join group" on the right-hand side
• On the BusinessWeek:Business@Work group page, scroll down to the Discussion Board, and click on a topic that interests you
• Read what others had to say, then click "Reply to this post" and share your own thoughts
• Remember to check your Facebook inbox periodically to see if you’ve been selected to share your opinions or stories in BusinessWeek.

Add your YouTube video to our Business@Work YouTube Group.

• Go to youtube.com and upload a video onto your own account
• You will have to create a YouTube account if you don’t already have one
• Go to www.youtube.com/my_videos_upload to upload your video
• Go to our Business@Work YouTube Group at www.youtube.com/group/businessatwork
• Join this group by clicking the button "Join This Group"
• After joining the group, you can add videos by clicking the button "Add Videos"
• Select the checkboxes next to the videos you want to add to the Business@Work group
• Click the button "Add to Group" to add your video to our group
• Your video is now added to the Business@Work group. To see your video in our group, go to www.youtube.com/group/businessatwork
• Remember to keep your e-mail address current so you can receive e-mails if your video receives a comment or video response. Check that the checkboxes next to "One of my videos receives a comment or a video response" and "I receive a private message or shared video" are selected: http://www.youtube.com/my_profile_email. We want to be sure we can contact you via YouTube if you are selected as a contributor.