county workforce

Arlington Named ’10th Unhappiest Place to Work’

By Ethan Rothstein

Aerial view of Rosslyn (Flickr pool photo by @ddimick)Arlington has been named the “10th unhappiest city to work” in the country, according to a new survey by career site CareerBliss.com.

Washington, D.C., comparatively, was named the second-happiest city to work in the country. Each city was evaluated by 10 factors, including “one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and control over the work done does on a daily basis,” according to Forbes.

Each factor was rated on a five-point scale by a survey of more than 20,000 employees. Washington D.C.’s 10 factors averaged to a score of 3.925, behind only San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., which came in with a score of 3.93.

Arlington’s score was not listed — the list only gave scores of the top and bottom 5 cities — but the supposed unhappiest city to work in America, Cincinnati, Ohio, came in with 3.32. Pittsburgh, Pa., the fifth-unhappiest city, had a score of 3.58.

Flickr pool photo by @ddimick

Local Couple in the Running for Bridal Contest

By ARLnow.com

A local couple is in the running for a Facebook contest organized by the national bridal store chain David’s Bridal.

Samantha Sissman and Clyde Wentling, who first met as students at Arlington’s H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, are getting married this summer. They’re hoping to win the $2,500 “Share Your Love” contest to help offset the expense of flying the mother of the groom-to-be in from her home in West Africa.

Sissman and Wentling both grew up in Arlington. Though they attended high school together, they only started dating in 2008 after meeting again years later through friends. Sissman, whose family still lives in South Arlington, has worked as an aide in the Arlington County Board office for nearly four years.

To vote for Samantha and Clyde, go to their contest entry page and click on the red ‘vote’ button. Additional information about the contest can be found here.

Photo via Facebook

Morning Poll: Should Arlington Raise Employee Salaries?

By ARLnow.com

A new analysis of county employee compensation, prepared by county staff, says that Arlington employees earn less than their counterparts in Alexandria and Fairfax County.

The Washington Examiner reports that veteran employees often earn thousands of dollars less than employees in Alexandria and Fairfax, the county’s two biggest competitors in terms of hiring. Despite the fact that Arlington often hires employees at higher starting salaries, the staff analysis recommends raising county employee salary ceilings in Arlington to compete for the best workers.

What do you think?