If you need a two-week rotation of clothes for work or school, you may find yourself looking at several hundred dollars (20 pieces of clothing x $a modest 30 each = $600). In Second-Hand Clothes Get Brand-New Reputation, we learn that people actually buy second-hand clothes for work and school. Shocking, I know.
The National Association of Resale & Thrift Shops (NARTS) estimates sales in the secondhand industry have risen about 5% each year for the last decade. America’s Research Group says up to 15% of people shop at resale or consignment shops at least once a year; 21% visit a department store at least that often.
The article focuses on consignment and vintage stores, which are different than thrift stores, my shop of choice (I fear this may be a class distinction).
Buying second-hand clothes has a number of benefits. Second-hand clothes are generally much less expensive than new clothes, which is probably the reason that brings people into the stores in the first place. There is generally more variety. Second-hand clothes are an important element of recycling of clothes. Often the money you pay for second-hand clothes is part of keeping a non-profit or small business running (as opposed to say keeping Mervyn’s or Target running) and doesn’t contribute to the national trade deficit.
Russell, a resident of Florida, is proud of his body art, and isn’t ashamed to flaunt it, even to prospective employers. Problem is, it appears that employers don’t often share his enthusiasm for ink. According to Russell, he’s been rejected from numerous jobs, not because he isn’t qualified, but because of the way tattoos are viewed in the workplace.
In the United States, employers do have the right to discriminate on the basis of workplace appearance (and clothing), if that appearance (and clothing) isn’t related to race, color, religion, gender, age, or disability.
Earthpak offers bags that are made of 98% recycled materials, 100% made in the U.S.A., and with seams that are amazingly stronger than the major manufacturers’ bags. The environmentally conscious manufacturing process turns discarded plastic soda bottles into a valuable commodity.
I’d love to have a tour of one of their factories and talk to the workers. No mention of whether these are union factories, of course, which probably means they’re not.
Four members of the clergy react in In Theory: Practicing in Small Groups to the prevalence of house churches. Good? Bad? A replacement for mega-churches?
Why do we care about house churches? House churches, which are essentially small lay-led worship groups, use a model that is similar to what can be done in the workplace. According to one clergy person:
The informal setting reminds us that we should never feel that prayer is reserved for a specific time or place. We should strive to communicate with the divine on a regular basis, wherever we may be — whether it’s in a living room, at a workplace or on a freeway during rush hour — since God is everywhere and ever-attentive to our call.
On that latter point, yet another silly season study has appeared, where leading economists assert that good-looking people are paid better and promoted more, because they are generally judged to be more ‘co-operative and helpful’. They are calling it the Beauty Premium - where your looks translate into extra dosh, whatever your line of work. All of which is amusing (since when did ‘co-operative and helpful’ become a euphemism for ‘fuckable’?) However, are we really so sure that this Beauty Premium is always a cast-iron rule, or even such good news?
For, while the Beauty Premium plays its part in the workplace, who says it’s the only factor? What about the Ugly Premium - that just-as-distorted assumption that the good-looking are flighty and/or stupid, and not to be trusted with anything too taxing for their feeble fluffy brains? The Revenge Premium - pretty girls and boys held back from the top jobs by superiors with faces like bacon slicers and hearts of flint? And, lest we forget, our old friend, the Misogyny Premium - is there an office in the world where some woman has not at some point been accused of screwing her way to a better position?
I’m waiting to see the research on the Ugly Premium, the Revenge Premium, and the Misogyny Premium.
If you haven’t had your own home-based business, you may be under the impression that it’s mostly sitting around in your underwear collecting money. This is simply not the case.
Many of us who work in the for-profit world dread these two words: 1. merger and, even more so, 2. acquisition. Even when handled well, mergers and acquisitions provoke a great deal of anxiety in workers at all levels. And when handled poorly, mergers and acquisitions can be just devastating. Here are a few ideas for surviving a merger or acquisition in the workplace.
Accept that this is painful I’m not a fan of the Suck It Up variety of career advice, which seems altogether sponsored by the corporate overlord. (Of course, they want you to suck it up.) I don’t suck it up well. I don’t expect other people to suck it up.
If you don’t use tonglen meditation already, you might explore it as it’s one of my primary strategies for dealing with emotional pain. And mergers and acquisitions can be painful. You’re grieving for a job and work environment that is being taken away.
Keep Perspective Surviving a merger or acquisition really entails embracing a long-term perspective. In the forty or so years that you may work formally, there are going to be some bad days. And, hell, there are going to be some bad years. Keep in mind that you are only experiencing a small slice of the larger pie of work. And that occasionally you may get a bitter bite. Wait, wait. Perhaps I have another inept metaphor. A merger or acquisition is like a frame from a much longer movie. A frame can show something truly awful in a much longer and not-so-awful story. Keep the movie (and pie) in mind not the frame (or bite).
Be Active And I do mean active in several ways. Since a merger or acquisition is extremely stressful, please keep up healthy exercise habits (and sleep habits and food habits). And keep active in your work life. Maintain your networks, talk to others in the industry, let them know that you may be looking for a new job, and send your resume out. Activity in this fashion promotes a sense of well-being rather than a sense that you are doomed to be laid off.
Other strategies for surviving mergers and acquisitions?
Cary Tennis gives workplace advice in Cougher in the Office for someone who sits near a serial cougher (hack, hack, hack). Basically, Tennis stresses compassion and empathy for others, particularly those who can’t control their coughing, as well as looking at the bigger picture (which will become one of my themes today):
And does it not move us to consider the workplace itself, that hell of immobility, that sacred space underneath the courts of power where invisible lines of authority grip us, mute us, hold us bound in our chairs, where those “in the know” interpret visions and e-mails into a kind of gospel they believe will save them … from … what? The inexorable depredations of capital? Hardly!
I think it’s a prose poem. I love how Tennis writes.
Ai WeiWei, the architect of the bird’s nest stadium for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, comments to Al Jazeera on his views of China. Let’s just say he’s not pleased.
First, let me say that I’ve never heard so many horrible workplace stories within a three hour period. So if your workplace is freaking out today, you are not alone. I claim it’s a sign of Dog Days of August.
Onward to horrible workplace issue #1: The Narcissistic Boss. Boy there are a lot of narcissistic bosses. We reward narcissism in the United States, and we reward it greatly. The worse you act, the more brilliant we think you are and the more likely you are to be promoted. Not across the board, mind you, but CEOs tend to be narcissists.
Sam Vaknin is pretty much the narcissism in the workplace expert. He’s not a doctor or therapist, but when I had a narcissistic boss, I found his suggestions invaluable. One of the most important things about understanding narcissists is that you, yes you, need to change your own behavior in terms of how you relate to them. Here are Vaknin’s tips for dealing with narcissism in the workplace:
Never disagree with the narcissist or contradict him.
Never offer him any intimacy. You are not his equal and an offer of intimacy insultingly implies that you are.
Look awed by whatever attribute matters to him (for instance: by his professional achievements or by his good looks, or by his success with women and so on).
Never remind him of life outside his bubble and if you do, connect it somehow to his sense of grandiosity. Do not make any comment, which might directly or indirectly impinge on his self-image, omnipotence, judgement, omniscience, skills, capabilities, professional record, or even omnipresence.
Bad sentences start with “I think you overlooked…” “I think you made a mistake here…” “You don’t know…” “You were not here yesterday so…” “You cannot… “You should….” These are perceived as rude impositions. Narcissists react very badly to restrictions placed on their freedom.
Is it moral to change your behavior? Is this manipulative? I’ve become very practical in workplace issues. Your goal is to survive the workday. If these techniques help you to deal with narcissists, please use them.
If you’re uncomfortable with how votes are tallied in the United States, you probably should be. There is growing evidence that voting machines used by 30% of U.S. voters are not reliable and are easily tampered with.
Diebold, one of the makers of these machines, cannot find a buyer for its company. Apparently the market senses that Diebold has a few issues to iron out:
Diebold and other manufacturers of such voting machines have been hit by criticism that they are unreliable and vulnerable to tampering. Growing unease about the machines in the US has led to a number of delayed orders from states. Diebold said that as a result, its 2007 revenues would fall $120m (£61m).
This is a good interview with Chris Hedges, author of American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America. He traces the rise of a particular kind of fascist evangelicism to the outsourcing of jobs. Talk about connecting religion and spirituality to work! Also, he mentions Umberto Eco, whom I adore.
“I want to be a voice for those who are in fear, who don’t have the power or the courage to come forward,” she says. “There were a lot of people who helped me; I call them my angels. I want to be one of them for someone else.”
These are the words of Flor Molina, a thirty-four-year old woman, who was trafficked from Mexico and enslaved in a sweatshop in Los Angeles. She was forced to work seven days a week from 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. She was slapped if she didn’t work fast enough. Against all odds, Molina made it out of slavery. She now works as a security guard and wants to be a sheriff to help others.
Literally tens of thousands of people are trafficked from El Salvador, Mexico, Korea and China to the United States and enslaved as workers in fields and sweatshops. In 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) passed, which protects victims of sex and labor trafficking; the Bush administration has failed to fund and implement it.
The reality is that buying a T-shirt because it says Made in the USA does not guarantee that it’s free from exploitation of labor, inluding people just like Molina. You need to buy goods that are Union-made for the assurance that they are sweat-shop free.
It’s just about the end of the Dog Days of Summer, according to the Book of Common Prayer. It’s hot as blazes (my father’s expression), and we’re given to general crankiness at work. Too much work. Not enough work. Boring work. Fast-pace work. None of it seems quite right.
Before you snark at a coworker, remember that this may be totally normal and part of a natural cycle of increased workplace grumpiness mid-August.* It’s the Dog Days of Summer. Take a deep breath. Have a glass of water. Eat some grapes. Take a cold shower. It’s almost over (at least in the northern hemisphere). I promise.
*Much like in the New York Times, I’ve made a phenomenon out of a series of observations of friends and their workplace moods and habits. It’s not real journalism, but it is fairly entertaining to some of us.
And you could take my own survey in the side column based on a recurrent issue on this blog. Yes, it’s not the most eloquently worded. I know. I’m going to live with it.
Yes, it’s a lot worse than banning facebook or monitoring your Internet use.
In China Enacts a High-Tech Plan to Track People, we learn that Shenzhen citizens will now have the privilege of carrying identification cards with their entire lives on them, accessible to whomever with a simple scan:
Data on the chip will include not just the citizen’s name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord’s phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China’s controversial “one child” policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card.
Oh, that sounds like a good idea! Gosh, what a tribute to the dignity of every human being. No potential for abuse here.
I was just discussing Straight Jobs, Gay Lives with a friend, and how often issues of discrimination in the workplace around sexual orientation are phrased as “fit” (e.g., “We want to hire someone who is the best fit” or “We’re not sure that you fit here.”) when I came across How Open Is Your Office? in Forbes. This article is an attempt to navigate through coming out at work. Now research from Straight Jobs, Gay Lives demonstrated that it was often better for the population sampled to be out at work. But, how, exactly to navigate coming out? The advice from Forbes?
Employees looking to come out at work should ask human resources if their firm has a nondiscrimination policy and if there is an LGBT resource group. There are 20 states and the District of Columbia that protect based on sexual orientation. There are also numerous cities and counties where nondiscrimination laws have been passed despite the lack of a statewide law.
I’m not quite convinced it’s as simple (or positive) as it’s portrayed. Even if there are protections in 20 states, according to the Human Rights Campaign, it’s still legal to fire someone based on sexual orientation in 31 states. If I were navigating coming out in a conservative state or a conservative workplace, I might refrain from asking anyone anything in human resources. I might poke around in the employee handbook, I might ask friendly coworkers, but I don’t think you’d find me in human resources. But that’s me, and I’ve grown increasingly pragmatic about just about everything.
You might write to your lawmaker to support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, if you haven’t already. Because, honestly, this is ridiculous.
There’s an interesting discussion of employers banning facebook at work at Workplace Law, a British resource. Basically, employers can ban just about any sort of use of the computer use that’s not strictly work related, such as access to social networking sites like facebook, myspace, or friendster, as well as non-work email, such as hotmail, yahoo, or gmail.
Workplace Law points out that by banning sites an employer risks angering employees, which can be counterproductive:
Law firm Allen & Overy recently had to repeal their ban on Facebook after their IT department was bombarded with complaints from staff members. Staff at the firm are now allowed to go onto the site as long as they do not view videos, which may compromise the performance of Allen & Overy’s IT systems.
“A lot of people like to say, uh, scaremonger about China, right? A lot of politicians, and I know you talk about that issue all the time. I think people should be careful what they wish for on China. Ya know, if China were to revalue it’s currency or China is to start making say, toys that don’t have lead in them or food that isn’t poisonous, their costs of production are going to go up and that means prices at Wal-Mart here in the United States are going to go up too. So, I would say China is our greatest friend right now, they’re keeping prices low and they’re keeping the prices for mortgages low, too.”
