they dated a colleague.
Hm. I’m pondering this. I wonder if people would really enjoy work more, or if they think they would.
Along the lines of research to ponder, here is some totally unsourced research about office romances:
What are the pros and cons of office romances?
–33% would like the personal and professional convenience of sharing an office.
–65% feel their coworkers would look down on an office romance.
–90% are most worried about the awkwardness of a breakup.
–17% have had an office romance.
–42% would enjoy work more if they dated a colleague.
–80% are concerned about office gossip.
–47% want someone who understands their work issues.
–15% of office romances end in engagements.
Is this the most responsible group of people surveyed ever? All concerned about awkwardness and gossip and not inclined to date their coworkers.
I ask this sincerely: Where is Generation X?
Why don’t I have any friends in Los Angeles who are remotely close to my age? Why don’t I even know anyone in Generation X who lives locally? Okay, I can name two, but most friends and acquaintances are Baby Boomers. Our neighborhood is composed almost exclusively Baby Boomers. Everywhere I’ve volunteered was staffed with employees and volunteers who were exclusively Baby Boomers. My workplaces have been Baby Boomer heavy (and Generation Y). My writing groups are almost exclusively Baby Boomers.
I know that you Baby Boomers make up a very big group (especially along with Generation Y). And I like most of you as individuals. But I’d like to know more people my own age (whimper).
I suspect Generation X might be in the same two places that we are: at work and at home. However, I’m most likely not going to meet you in either place. So let me ask out loud to make sure: Generation X, Where are you?
For a long time, I worked in creative non-fiction as an editor and writer. I attended workshops, and wrote a lot before I realized this: I have no real story. You could say everyone has a story, and I suppose it’s true in some ways. However the memoirs that get published are the memoirs of drug and alcohol addiction, abandonment by parents, and behind the scenes in war. They aren’t the stories of ordinary lives with interesting episodes.
So what happens to some writers who want a memoir published? They exaggerate. They invent. They lie. The fact that it happens over and over again (look at this list of fake memoirs) makes me think that editors must be a bit dull that they don’t fact check the basic facts. And I know that editors say that they don’t have time to fact check or that they rely on the agent to check the truthfulness, but I know that when I worked in-house in publishing, I fact checked because otherwise things got embarrassing. Like this: Publisher Cancels Holocaust Memoir. Duh.
I love this sexual harassment story that ends well (perhaps because so few don’t–I can’t recall any that have):
Rachel Spicuglia, a five-year employee of Chili’s Restaurant (owned by Brinker International), reported to her manager the escalating sexual harassment she was receiving from the cooks, which had culminated in an assault that morning in the walk-in refrigerator, the manager asked Rachel if the offending employee had gotten a “full cup” when he had grabbed her breasts. Shocked that the manager would joke in such way, Rachel protested that it wasn’t funny, but he insisted that it was actually information that he needed to know.
Rachel ended up taking a leave of absence, filing EEOC Charge of Discrimination on August 12, but she continued to work with Chili’s to arrange transfer to another store. The transfer was approved, but Rachel’s calls to the store manager were never returned, and on December 9, Rachel received a letter from her health insurance, saying that her medical benefits were denied, due to the fact that she was terminated from her job. Two weeks before Christmas, without any warning, and still waiting for the EEOC to review her complaint.
The particular combination of firing her in absentia right before Christmas and firing her supposedly because of a sexual harassment complaint is an all time classic. But here’s part of what happened next.
Chili’s has reinstated Rachel Spicuglia, as a full-time employee, with medical benefits and all, at the location of her choosing. After the Huffington Post piece about Rachel’s case was posted at 12noon, Brinker International quickly backpedaled, commenting less than four hours later and contacting Rachel’s attorney to state that the letter Rachel received was in error, and apologizing for the confusion and emphasizing how seriously the corporation takes sexual harassment.
Now if I could only get that stupid Baby Back Ribs song out of my head….
I must say, I’m very disappointed by the lack of post-Christmas stories today. Then again, it’s early yet. My holiday wasn’t terrible, though the niece and nephews wore me out (and had a few tantrums), we had to deal with the Crazy Aunt, and there were quite a number of cranky people in the house. On the other hand, I ate a lot of prime rib and I got to cuddle my godson (smiliest baby in the world) and my day started with coffee and bagels so who could ask for more?
I have collected a smattering of news to tide you over. You’re probably either experiencing post-holiday hangover, or working, or saying, “Meh, Christmas, I’m Jewish/Hindu/Athiest/a Martian” anyway, so I guess it doesn’t really matter.
Lowe’s has been accused of firing a woman over a religious-themed Christmas pin she was wearing at work. Maybe she simply didn’t have enough pieces of flair?
At the Illinois Health Department Christmas party, more than half the attendees got food poisoning. And it wasn’t even a potluck!
Police in the UK are cracking down on the practice of handing out glasses of mulled wine to shoppers at a traditional late-night shopping event. Why do the police hate Christmas?
And, saving the best for last: my favoritest story of the season. Lance, Inc. purchased a closed-down Archway cookie factory at a bankruptcy auction. They then proceeded to hand out prepaid $1500 gift cards to all 300 former workers, rehired 60 of them at full pay, seniority, and benefits (from Day One, unheard of), and have promised to hire back ALL of the laid-off workers when they start getting enough orders. Here’s their web site. Don’t you want some cookies now?
Have a great weekend. Happy Boxing Day, Hanukkah, St Stephen’s Day, first day of Kwanzaa, and a very Happy Birthday to Phil Spector. Hmmmm.
I’m up early trying to get a file finished and sent. I’ve always worked right up until Christmas. I haven’t really figured out why because I do enjoy time off. It probably reflects the fact that I don’t manage to plan ahead and announce that I won’t be around for Christmas. Oh well. Zenta Claus understands.
I should also prepare for the upcoming storm by picking up any dog poop in the yard. If you have a dog, I trust you’ll understand why.
Any last minute Christmas preparations you’d like to share? Or other preparations?
We’ve lived in our neighborhood for almost a decade, and know some of our neighbors quite well. We exchange gift baskets of goodies with them, some of them quite elaborate in cookie variety and size. But here’s one thing I can’t figure out. Neither Jim nor I actually enjoy going over to the neighbors to literally give them the basket. We have to force ourselves to do it. I can’t quite figure out why. We enjoy making the basket. We enjoy eating items from their basket. And we like the neighbors. Something about the actual act of gift giving of this nature repels us. (Do we think we’re forcing it on them? Are we insecure about the goodness of our goodies? Are we reminded of going door-to-door with girl/boy scouts or some sort childhood memory? Do we know that the neighbors don’t like people intruding on them?) I like giving gifts to friends and family, but there is something about this neighborly practice that makes me really squeamish.
Thoughts? Comparisons? Sharing of similar (or different experiences)?
I’ve been forwarding GhostGirl some of the more heinous electronic “holiday” greeting cards for businesses that I’ve received, and she has coined the phrase “crad” to describe these crappy cards. I’m sure there’s a circle of hell reserved for us for this most ungenerous practice, but I prefer to think it’s because GhostGirl and I are both interested in marketing and how images are presented. A sampling of said cards included:
–a greeting card in which the identically dressed staff wore clothing prominently displaying an unrelated label (e.g., LL Bean, Gap, etc.);
–a greeting card that directed me to play a holiday game (the game did not work, and required intellectual work on my part—not interesting to me at this moment in time);
–the world’s most depressing view of a certain college campus, which almost prompted me to burst into tears ; and
–anything with crappy electronic music.
It’s the thought that counts. (Repeat three times). And, yes, that’s a hamster-powered shredder. The only redeemingly quality these cards seem to have is that they’re electronic and didn’t kill a tree.
My parents came over for an early Christmas yesterday, and my mom managed to leave her purse hanging in our foyer. Because I’m not willing to drive 100 miles in the rain to return the purse, I need to ship the critical parts of her purse to her, and they need to arrive by tomorrow morning before she leaves to visit my brother. I’m seeking shipping advice. I get a lot of work-related packages via FedEx or UPS next day, but if anyone has any suggestions on which is better (or US express mail?), I’m open to your ideas as long as they don’t involve a sling-shot.
I admire the storage possibilities in this desk, but I would end up bruised by the corners, and I always wonder about the chemical adhesive used with anything made of pressed wood.
Via Treehugger
Due to New York’s “Use it or Lose it is Totally Cool by Us–Sucks to be You!” laws, I have several vacation days to burn through before the end of the year… and I’m glad that I took one of them to coincide with 4-6 inches of snow. Our first big snowfall of the season. Also we got our Wii last night so that’s convenient. I have plenty of potato chips and computer games so I’m set.
So I thought I’d pump this out early for a change. This being the week before Christmas (gah!!) I’ve been collecting lots of Christmas-related news. So here’s the Pre-Christmas Edition of WWN. By next week, I’ll start posting the holiday fallout.
Here’s a brief (possibly cut off?) article about a man sentenced for stealing 4000 pounds of Pepperidge Farms stuffing (this may be Thanksgiving leftovers.) It was stolen from a warehouse so I’m going to say that’s workplace-related. Authorities stated he was apprehended while robbing the Two-Ton Turkey Farm.
Possibly one of the most entrepreneurial things I’ve seen in a long time: this guy has a giftwrapping business which offers to wrap gifts really badly–thus making it look like you took the time and energy to wrap the gifts yourself. The business is geared towards men, but I have to say I could easily find a job there, myself.
Here’s a cool story about a jewelry store leaving free gifts around town. Surprisingly, there is no followup story yet about the bomb squad being called in to shut down the town.
A Missouri lawmaker is trying to pass a bill to officially declare December 25th to be “Christmas.” Dude… wait.. what?
We’ve talked about holiday parties ad nauseam in this blog. Well, there are some things you need to watch out for that generally don’t make the lists. For instance, disgruntled employees, who might just make the party more festive by murdering their former boss right in front of the Christmas punch.
Not weird, but just to round out the holiday party theme here’s an article about how being jobless increases the dread of holiday parties. I know my husband has certainly been through that.
Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate (or don’t.) I know for a fact that MY holiday will be pretty farcical this year. Hope yours is every bit as entertaining.
In high school, a giant water heater blew up on a Sunday and the school was closed. At the time, I figured it was the closest I would ever get to a snow day in Southern California.
And then yesterday here came the snow. I was supposed to get some fillings replaced this morning, but the roads to town are closed due to snow. I could actually drive on the roads, as they’re always open to local traffic (and no one in rural LA County seems to follow rules), and we could use groceries, and my dentist appointment was really hard to get, but I’m taking the easy way out. Snow day! Snow day!
I offer this: Scientists debunk holiday myths (it turns out pointsettias are not so poisonous, most heat isn’t lost through your head, and suicides don’t spike during the holidays—who’d a thunk).
It’s snowing here, just outside of Santa Clarita, which is fairly unusual. I had set aside a block of time this morning to go to the Social Security office to straighten something out, but I’m thinking that the roads will be slick, and, to make a huge generalization, Southern Californians (I’m including myself here) are terrible drivers in the rain, so God forbid there is actual snow because that makes us THE WORST DRIVERS IN THE WORLD. I guess I’ll stay home.
I can offer this 12 things to throw at Bush
Five Signs You’ll Never Love Your Work from Psychology Today:
–It embarrasses you to tell people what you do. If it makes you cringe, then you hoped for better. Or at least different. Take that seriously.
–You’ve been at the job for over a year and you still feel like a total fraud. If the job isn’t new, and you still feel like you are faking it nearly all the time, well then, maybe you are.
–You connect with no one. Assuming that you have demonstrated a capacity to form friendships, if you have made no pleasant social connections in the workplace in what you consider to be a reasonable period of time, then you are probably with the wrong group of people.
–You are overwhelmed with rage or anxiety on a daily basis. Daily outbursts or inner explosions are a sign that something is wrong—maybe the job itself?
–The pay is lousy and you need the money. Though you need a wage to live, this is not the job for you.
I frequently hear these sorts of thoughts from folks who are complaining about their jobs (and I’ve certainly experienced some of these myself, though I’m partial to anxiety and lousy pay). Anything you would add to the list?
David Robinson of the Haas School of Business answers questions on business meal etiquette (apparently we are on somewhat of a food theme here at Surviving the Workday). In short:
-At a business lunch when someone else is paying (or when you’re paying, for that matter), avoid both the cheapest and most expensive items on the menu. Focus on what is easy to eat. I advise avoiding salads, which I love, but are unpredictable.
-At a fancy smchmancy business lunch at a restaurant, some people may expect you to eat french fries with a fork. I would suggest that these people are silly, but I’ve seen lots of folks cut up pizza with a knife and fork. If you’re seeking to impress someone, you could always follow her lead.
-At a business lunch, you may have to bring up business more gingerly than you might expect. Some folks would rather talk baseball.
I have to admit that I order occasionally from Amazon. I know they’re a giant store. I know they effectively force others out of business. But they are so freakin’ convenient! At least I used to order from them until the Diaper Incidents, but that’s another story. (Needless to say it involved cases and cases of diapers I didn’t order arriving at our door, prompting remarks like, “Oh My God, it’s more diapers. And more diapers. And, look, more diapers.” It was quite problematic to get rid of them. Quite.)
So setting the Diaper Incidents aside for a moment, which were probably just a computer glitch (or someone thinks we smell like poop), it turns out Amazon has some really squirm-inducing labor policies, particularly (or at least documented) in Great Britain). So Revealed: Amazon Staff Punished for Being Ill sort of made me ill too. The Sunday Times found the following:
– Warned that the company refuses to allow sick leave, even if the worker has a legitimate doctor’s note. Taking a day off sick, even with a note, results in a penalty point. A worker with six points faces dismissal.
– Made to work a compulsory 10½hour overnight shift at the end of a five-day week. The overnight shift, which runs from Saturday evening to 5am on Sunday, means they have to work every day of the week.
– Set quotas for the number of items to be picked or packed in an hour that even a manager described as “ridiculous”. Those packing heavy Xbox games consoles had to pack 140 an hour to reach their target.
– Set against each other with a bonus scheme that penalises staff if any other member of their group fails to hit the quota.
– Made to walk up to 14 miles a shift to collect items for packing.
There is far more in the article, but I see my least favorite first world labor violation in full swing (hiring more vulnerable folks as temporary workers to work them to the bone).
In another life, a better life, in which I cook more and don’t simply eat raw things from the fridge (Mmm..head of lettuce), I would have a bento-box lunch box (20% off this weekend with code holiday2008). These seem just about ideal for bringing your lunch to work.
Via LA Times Blog
Turns out you are not alone.
This condition, Office Potluck Repulsion Disorder (OPRD) or people who are grossed out with office potlucks, is extremely common, and this time of year brings out the worst for those with the disorder. If you’re attending a potluck this season, I’d stop reading now. If not, please continue. Here’s the best summary of this condition:
Instead of blithely helping themselves to mounds of casserole and slices of meatloaf, potluck haters head straight for the store-bought cookies, breads and beverages. They insist their aversion to homemade food isn’t capricious. Eating turkey and stuffing made by the co-worker who doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom or the gingerbread trifle created by the friend whose clothes are perpetually covered in pet hair is asking for trouble, they say. Even if the preparers seem clean enough, hardly anyone is as scrupulous as they should be in the kitchen, washing pots and utensils improperly and failing to keep foods at the right temperatures. And who knows what their rules are about tasting the dish while cooking?
I have to admit that after reading the entire article, I am now totally skeeved by potlucks.
Generally speaking, evangelical churches do better in recessions. And by “do better” I mean “have greater church attendance rates.” I’m not convinced that higher attendance is necessarily a goal in all churches (or they might be friendlier to newcomers). In any case, this recession is no exception. Evangelical churches are experiencing huge growth. Here’s the background:
In ”Praying for Recession: The Business Cycle and Protestant Religiosity in the United States,” David Beckworth, an assistant professor of economics at Texas State University, looked at long-established trend lines showing the growth of evangelical congregations and the decline of mainline churches and found a more telling detail: During each recession cycle between 1968 and 2004, the rate of growth in evangelical churches jumped by 50 percent. By comparison, mainline Protestant churches continued their decline during recessions, though a bit more slowly.
I would venture that one thing that evangelical churches manage to do better than certain other churches is find connections to daily life. However, there are a variety of other opinions on the the rate of growth in evangelical churches during recessions:
But why the evangelical churches seem to thrive especially in hard times is a Rorschach test of perspective.
For some evangelicals, the answer is obvious. ”We have the greatest product on earth,” said the Rev. Steve Tomlinson, senior pastor of the Shelter Rock Church.
Dr. Beckworth, a macroeconomist, posited another theory: though expanding demographically since becoming the nation’s largest religious group in the 1990s, evangelicals as a whole still tend to be less affluent than members of mainline churches, and therefore depend on their church communities more during tough times, for material as well as spiritual support. In good times, he said, they are more likely to work on Sundays, which may explain a slower rate of growth among evangelical churches in nonrecession years.
Msgr. Thomas McSweeney, who writes columns for Catholic publications and appears on MSNBC as a religion consultant, said the growth is fed by evangelicals’ flexibility: “Their tradition allows them to do things from the pulpit we don’t do — like ‘Hey! I need somebody to take Mrs. McSweeney to the doctor on Tuesday,’ or ‘We need volunteers at the soup kitchen tomorrow.’ ”
In a cascading financial crisis, he said, a pastor can discard a sermon prescribed by the liturgical calendar and directly address the anxiety in the air. “I know a lot of you are feeling pain today,” he said, as if speaking from the pulpit. “And we’re going to do something about that.”
I come to you, hat in hand, begging for forgiveness. My excuse for not posting last week was a backache. My excuse for not posting yesterday… Um… I needed a nap?
I’m lame. I know. But I promised Ms T that I would post today instead, to make up for it. I am feverishly searching for top quality workplace weirdness to make up for it. So here goes. Read the rest of this entry…
You might think in an era in which newspapers were dying regularly that newspapers might try and reach a wider audience than the rich. You might think that. Yes, you might. And you’d be wrong.
Here’s another choice article: Time to Tighten Things Up. It’s about how to save money in your second home. Second home? Yes, your second one. Because one isn’t enough.*
WITH the price of airfare, gasoline and, well, just about everything else these days, there’s plenty to worry about. Needlessly high energy bills at your second home — your vacation home, where there should be no worries at all — should not be on that list.
Because chances are, you shouldn’t own one.
Ronnie Kweller, a spokeswoman for the Alliance to Save Energy, notes that sealing your house with weatherstripping and caulking, in combination with sufficient insulation, can save up to 20 percent on heating bills in winter and cooling bills in summer.
Good advice for anyone with a home.
Once you have the house sealed up, turn your attention to the heat itself. “Invest about $100 in an Energy Star programmable thermostat,” Ms. Kweller said. “It can pay for itself in a year.” By programming the thermostat so that the heat goes down during the hours that the house is empty and only rises about an hour before you get there, you can save up to 10 percent on heating bills. “For a second home,” she added, “if you’re there on the weekends, you could definitely program it so that it’s a cooler temperature during the week, and set it to come on at 6 p.m. on Friday.”
Yes, that’s exactly how you should use a programmable thermostat for when you’re out of the house. At your first home. So why focus the article on second homes in the first place? A new angle, I suppose, on a tired topic.
The same logic applies to the water heater. “We recommend turning the thermostat on the tank down to 130,” Ms. Kweller said. Mr. Peterson goes even lower: “Normally if a water heater is set at 115, that’s plenty hot to get nice hot showers.”
Again, this is good advice for everyone. Not just second home owners.
*In the interest of full disclosure, we did look at buying a second home until I did some math and had a chat with my conscience. Not that a second home is necessarily unconscionable. But it certainly could be.