I’ve learned that as a freelancer, if I don’t hear from a client, that generally means no: no, we don’t want to hire you, no, we don’t have what you need, no, please leave us alone. Of course, silence can also mean: I’m on vacation, I’m very busy, or, my personal favorite, You are bothering me. Sometimes it’s just hard to tell.
American Bob works for a German company. Whenever he makes a request for something he has learned that if the answer is “No,” he actually receives no answer. The issue is allowed to melt away over time.
While working across the Middle East for a couple of years, I realized that the word “No” was never uttered in any meeting I attended.
I watched a client’s sales presentation in Portugal. Suddenly the room filled with palpable tension. What happened? He responded with a simple, direct, “No” to a request from the client.
Does anyone have any experience with “no” in other cultures? I’m trying to remember hearing “no” when I taught at an Indian school in Santa Fe, but I have no memory of “no.” It may not have been done.
I never considered waffles for dinner a particularly bad thing…but Sarah has a lot of funny stuff to say about how dinnerish foods are marketed to women (love me? eat my takeout).
I’ve written before about wage clubs as a way of decreasing pay gaps between men and women. It occurs to me based on comments that wage clubs may also be helpful in terms of comparing your raise to the raises of others (providing you want to know).
A wage club doesn’t have to be a formal construction (though it could be). It simply needs to be a small group of people with whom you feel comfortable sharing how much money you earn, or how much of a raise you received. It is most helpful if these folks are in the same profession, and have similar jobs.
How do you start one? I’m not sure it happens formally, but over a beer or during lunch hour or in a more casual setting. It doesn’t happen overnight, and it may be impossible to force this to work.
I’ve also been wondering if there is a gender gap in terms of how much people share. For example, I think in every job I’ve ever had I’ve found out how much most people make, certainly how much my colleagues make, if not those above me. Not by snooping, but often there are salary tables, and people do share. However, I’m not sure in any of my husband’s jobs he’s ever known. Perhaps it’s just not talked about.
Keep in mind that it is generally in management’s best interest for you not to share. Often there are large gaps in pay for any number of reasons. And keep in mind that it is risky to share—sometimes there is a clause in your contract forbidding it.
It’s been a long time since I’ve found a fun survey for Friday. Here’s a Survey of American Jewish Language, in which you can sort of self-assess how you use language as well as contribute to academic research.
There’s no way to post any sort of score here, but if you’d like to leave an expression you use in comments that might be interesting. My mom grew up in Northern New Jersey, which is sort of in the New York Metropolitan area, and apparently that explains her use of Yiddish.
Most humorous and frustrating mail of the day: a brochure with “Does filling up your gas tank have your wallet running on empty?” Yes, my congressman is here to help! He’s cosponsored the following bills. I’m including their titles because they are both clarifying and confusing:
HR 3089 No More Excuses Energy Act of 2007 This opens new oil refineries in the U.S. Because it’s not a demand problem. It must be only a supply problem.
HR 2279 Expand American Refining Capacity on Closed Military Installations Yes, that too opens new oil refineries, but on military installations. Because having the military involved in oil has worked out so well.
HR 5656 To Repeal the Ban on Acquiring Alternative Fuels What kind of alternative fuels? Oh, the diverse kind that come from oil: oil shale and tar sands. God, I can’t imagine why we would have originally banned using them….
HR 2208 Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Act And then there’s coal. Because surely there aren’t any other alternative beyond fossil fuels.
HR 2493 Fuel Mandate Reduction Act of 2007 Removes fuel blend requirements and “onerous” government mandates. Oh, those government rules! If it weren’t for the rules, gasoline would be free and clean and we’d bathe in it and sing!
HR 6107 American Energy Independent and Reduction Act This opens the Arctic slope.
HR 6108 Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2008 This opens deep ocean exploration.
I can see what the problem is clearly now: government lefty regulation that keeps us from the oil that is rightly ours. God help us. And, I returned the response card to his mail already.
When I graduated from college, after four years in New England, I wanted to be in the southwestern United States (love the sun), and I knew that I wanted a small city with a growing economy (like being employed). It was 1994. Not exactly a recession, but sort of a recession-recovery period. I chose Santa Fe (see photo) based on a list in U.S. News and World Reports or something like that. Santa Fe had a lot of growth, it was a small city, had tons of cultural activities, and it was geographically ideal in terms of location and climate. It was also expensive as all hell, and the “growth” was entirely in the service industry (e.g., restaurants, hotels). Still, I don’t regret it. I met Jim in Santa Fe. I really like Santa Fe. And perhaps one day I’ll be wealthy enough to actually live there again, but somehow I doubt it.
This week several readers sent in information on their cities doing well on lists:
Milwaukee might not be a leading innovator, but it has the fifth-highest concentration of top companies in the country, by our count. And those jobs pay. Despite a below-average cost of living, salaries paid to professionals are comfortably above the national average, at $54,169. Sweetening the deal further, the city is in the top quartile for its population of never-married citizens between 20 and 35.
North Hempstead is a town that takes pride in its ports. Just south of the Long Island Sound and its many bays, the sprawling area of southeast New York is a seafarer’s paradise.
To balance out the bays, North Hempstead’s affluent community unwinds at the Harbor Links Golf Course, comprising nearly 7,000 yards of golf, or by taking a serene stroll through Clark Botanic Gardens.
Real estate is pricey here, but if you can afford it, you’ll appreciate the town’s world-class shopping at Americana Mall – Prada, Hermes and Tiffany & Co. are just a few of the tenants.
Perhaps the best part in these lists is reading the comments on each article in which people complain about why cities are on there or why their city isn’t.
Anyone want to send me an image for the post that’s in the public domain? And anyone want to share a city ranking?
This is the most elaborate list of tips to prevent jet lag that I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I could do more than two of these (carbo loading the night before, and protein loading the day after) without collapsing from exhaustion.
A federal judge in Oregon has granted class-action status for a lawsuit that claims Dell Inc. underpaid as many as 5,000 of its U.S. call center employees.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Coffin ruled last week that most employees who worked at Dell’s domestic call centers from Feb. 8, 2004, to the present could opt into the lawsuit. He denied class certification for another part of the complaint tied to Oregon state law but left open the option to re-file pending workers’ participation in the federal action.
The proposed class covers consumer service representatives at current and former Dell call centers in Oregon, Central Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Idaho.
A Dell spokesman declined to comment.
Well, the lack of comment doesn’t surprise me, although the fact that Dell has call centers in the U.S. does. And the fact that the employees were allegedly cheated out of wages explains some of the service. You hear lots of reports of big corporations not paying for overtime, yet requiring it in order not to be fired. Read more about the Dell lawsuit here.
Oh, I could be amused all day by the nonverbal communication of coworkers. A very cool slide show with narration including commentary on the akimbo position.
At my office, people tend to be quick to send emails (cc’d to the boss) when someone messes something up. I’m trying to start a tradition of sending positive emails (cc’d to the same boss) when someone does a good job.
I wrote this one this morning:
To: Secretary
CC: Partner
Subject: Your work on the Anderson file
I really appreciate how quickly you did that for me. You’re a lot of help, especially when things are busy, and you do a really good job.
Thank you!
But to me that sounds slightly awkward. Also, I keep thinking of that scene in “Baby Mama” where Steve Martin rewards an employee with “Five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact.”
Why is praising so much harder than criticizing? Any advice on making the praise e-mails sound more natural? I’d really like them to be memorable at bonus time, at least as much so as the criticism has been.
Thanks,
Wondering about Praise
Dear Wondering,
First, and most importantly, great tradition to start!
You know, Ms. Theologian wonders about this praise-fault-finding issue too in her worklife, but she thought it was part of the problem with her being an editor/writer. In fact, one time she started keeping track of all the praise she received in a little notebook, but because she received praise so infrequently, she became upset. At least she knew why. Apparently this is more widespread than she thought.
So there are two things here:
1. The Awkwardness Ms. Theologian thinks praise is often awkward if it seems contrived in any fashion. As a teacher, you learn that students know if you are full of baloney when you give praise. Adults can sense this too (though we may receive less of it in general). Ms. Theologian was just reading The Power of Written Praise for work, which describes how praise can be effective, but not all praise and not all the time. So you might read that and think of how to be sincere and grateful in your praise, which is the direction in which you were heading.
2. The Why Is This So Hard? question We live in a cynical culture where people are rarely praised (or given attention) for being good. At least it’s not necessarily routine. It’s not just a problem of cynism in our culture; it’s what many of us do professionally (e.g., editing, writing, reviewing, inspecting, checking, doublechecking). And those of us who don’t do it professionally often do it as a part-time task (e.g., teachers grade papers, managers review employees). What of course is problematic here is that spending all of our time pointing out what is wrong does not necessarily make anything right.
Keep up your positive feedback plan!
-Ms. Theologian
P.S. To write to Ms. Theologian, send an email to ms dot theologian at gmail dot com.
Fry’s always seems like a horrible place to work, but I thought that was because I don’t particularly like loud noises, crowds, and electronic equipment. An employee who details 100 reasons Why You Should Not Shop or Work at Fry’s gives more than enough food for thought.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge my sources. This data doesn’t collect itself! A lot of my links come via fark.com, a place where few on this blog will tread, I fear. What can I say, I like laughing at sexist assholes. There’s also Romenesko’s ObscureStore, Digg, The Consumerist, and my Yahoo and Google homepages amongst others. Anyway, just because I don’t always mention my ultimate source doesn’t mean I’m not grateful to all the fine internet denizens who make collecting weird news easy and fun in my spare time.
It seems as if most newly minted PhDs come to their first position without feeling prepared to teach undergraduates (no shock there). And there’s a bit of a gap between men and women: men feel better prepared than women (we don’t really know if men are better prepared, but they feel that way).
One of the really striking things that I remember from graduating from college and transitioning to teaching high school and taking graduate courses in education was how much I learned about pedagogy that seemed completely absent in the college-model from which I came. Not that some of us don’t benefit from having PhDs stand up in front of us and talk for 90 minutes, but….um…most of us don’t. At least not on a regular basis as the primary method for transmitting knowledge.
Here’s a list of the 20 Healthiest Foods for Under a Buck. I’m going to excerpt the ones below that work well for transporting to work. I mean, yes, you could bring a watermelon or sardines to work with you, but I’m just not going to go there.
2. Eggs
You can get about a half dozen of eggs for a dollar, making them one of the cheapest and most versatile sources of protein. They are also a good source of the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which may ward off age-related eye problems.
Serving suggestions: Huevos rancheros for breakfast, egg salad sandwiches for lunch, and frittatas for dinner.
5. Apples
I’m fond of apples because they’re inexpensive, easy to find, come in portion-controlled packaging, and taste good. They are a good source of pectin—a fiber that may help reduce cholesterol—and they have the antioxidant Vitamin C, which keeps your blood vessels healthy.
6. Nuts
Though nuts have a high fat content, they’re packed with the good-for-you fats—unsaturated and monounsaturated. They’re also good sources of essential fatty acids, Vitamin E, and protein. And because they’re so nutrient-dense, you only need to eat a little to get the nutritional benefits. Although some nuts, like pecans and macadamias, can be costly, peanuts, walnuts, and almonds, especially when bought in the shell, are low in cost.
Serving suggestions: Raw; roasted and salted; sprinkled in salads.
7. Bananas
At a local Trader Joe’s, I found bananas for about 19¢ apiece; a dollar gets you a banana a day for the workweek. High in potassium and fiber (9 grams for one), bananas are a no-brainer when it comes to eating your five a day quotient of fruits and veggies.
Serving suggestions: In smoothies, by themselves, in cereal and yogurt.
19. Pumpkin Seeds
When it’s time to carve your pumpkin this October, don’t shovel those seeds into the trash—they’re a goldmine of magnesium, protein, and trace minerals. Plus, they come free with the purchase of a pumpkin.
Serving suggestions: Salt, roast, and eat plain; toss in salads.
Bring hardboiled eggs, apples, raw unsalted nuts, bananas, and pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and you would be well stocked with snacks in the workplace.
This is a new take on tracking store closures in the current economic times.
You probably know Starbucks is closing 600 of its stores. Quietly too. Except the rumors of store closings are being tracked with a google map, so you can follow the developments (or lack of developments) in your neighborhood. And, of course, as much as I stay away from Starbucks, I do know these are real people losing their jobs in an economic situation that is recession-like.
Our Midwest correspondent has found part of the secret to happiness in a short commute: Milwaukee area’s short commutes appeal to working moms. Now our Midwest correspondent is male, but I think the short commute appeals to many of us, including the moms, but also the dads, the child-free, the unmarried, and everyone who hopes to spend more time on vacation this year than on commuting (current U.S. Census data suggests the reverse trend).
New research from the University of Chicago suggests that one of the “driving” (ha, ha) factors in whether women work once they are married is the commute time. (I suppose “the need for money” would be another factor.) Still, it sounds like things can be pretty good in Milwaukee:
“Commuting certainly does take a big chunk out of your life,” said Joan Skimmons, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Fiserv Inc.
Skimmons enjoys a 25-minute drive from her Oconomowoc home to the Brookfield headquarters of Fiserv, the financial data management company. That’s a little more than the 21.9-minute average for Milwaukee, according to 2003 census data. But for 12 years, Skimmons worked in metro New York, where commuters have an average commute of 38.3 minutes, and 4.3% travel 90 minutes or more to get to work.
The time and cost and stress it takes to get from home to work and back factor into decisions of whether and where to work, Skimmons said. And even at Milwaukee’s moderate commutes, employers are looking to make work more convenient.
“With Fiserv, we’ve made it easier,” Skimmons said. “We’re looking for more women. We have flexible hours. Telecommuting makes it easier to work. So if you have children with schedules, you can still take care of them.”
I keep meaning to write a little review of the documentary, King Corn, which we saw a few months ago, but I’ve been distracted. I did find a great review of King Corn on Treehugger though. Basically, after finding out from hair strand analysis that they eat a lot of corn, these two guys decide to follow corn through the food chain, including growing an acre of their own in Iowa.
I was supposed to fly twice in June, and ended up not going for a variety of reasons. And I have to say I’m tremendously happy not to be flying this summer, especially after reading this story: American Airlines Cancels Flight Because Their Customers Are Too Pissed Off to Fly. There’s a delayed flight, a late flight crew, and some angry booing passengers, all of which resulted in the crew’s decision not to fly with the passengers.
I’m feeling sort of “meh” today so we’ll see how this goes. Let’s see, we’ve got a lot of crimes today. That suits my mood.
