So, here’s a story you also never see: Toyota Idles Factories. Apparently during the slow times, rather than laying people off, Toyota is letting them catch up on education and clean-up. Wow.
As the U.S. auto industry sheds workers, and even Nissan offers buyouts, Toyota is sticking by its proud—and expensive—tradition of no layoffs during hard times.
“This was the first chance we’ve really had to live out our values,” says Latondra Newton, general manager of Toyota’s Team Member Development Center in Erlanger, Kentucky. “We’re not just keeping people on the payroll because we’re nice. At the end of all this, our hope is that we’ll end up with a more skilled North American workforce.”
For the second day in a row, I have a comment on a workplace story that involves butts. I’m not sure what exactly this means, but this is the dumbest protest I’ve ever seen. Please take notes on how social activism can manage to lose the entire message simply by disrobing.
Warning: You will see some butts. It’s not sexy.
I do not wish to see butts in the workplace.
Why Marathon Meetings Don’t Work should be copied and given to every manager and meeting planner in the world. Also, funny artwork that makes me giggle (not necessarily the herded cats above, but in the actual article). How many times have I been brought to a marathon meeting from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.? So many times I can’t even count, and I’m not that important or useful.
And, yes, I’m feeling smug after reading Four Habits of Financially Peaceful People. These are good tips for financial well being and for sleeping at night. At least one involves your career and work.
Workplace Prof Blog has all sorts news on the world’s most delicious corporation (Wal-mart): lobbying and closing.
I’m reading Time Bank Takes Root in Echo Park, and sort of kicking myself for not moving to Echo Park a few years ago when we were considering it, if only for the time bank. As I understand it, a time bank is something that you donate your time to (through chores, cooking lessons, pet sitting, baby sitting in hour increments), and then can withdraw the time from the bank for other chores or things you need. You don’t directly barter with your neighbors; you trade with the bank.
The concept is simple: Members create an online profile that includes a list of the work they’ll do free, or “offers,” along with a list of services, or “requests,” they want in exchange. Dog walking, housesitting, guitar lessons, baby-sitting, help with Photoshop — almost any intangible is allowed. Members don’t exchange services directly with one another — they trade with the bank. So the person who picked up apples and artichokes for you at the farmers market isn’t waiting for you to return the favor.
Every hour volunteered earns a time dollar, which can be cashed in for services offered by any other member of the time bank. Crabtree, for example, did some cat-sitting last month, and now she’s hoping to spend her time dollars on cooking lessons, cello instruction or Volkswagen maintenance tips.
It just sounds like a great idea in terms of providing and receiving services as well as getting to know your neighbors. I’m now wondering how difficult it would be to set one up (e.g., What sort of software would be necessary? How big a population would we need?). More on Time Banks here, and a kit ($49) here with information on software.
I almost posted a link to 10 Things You Can Cross Off Your Worry List this morning, mainly because the article was so dumb and anti-research and anti-science, but I’m glad I waited because Treehugger has published the Five Ways New York Times Columnist Distorts Facts instead.
And, of course, you can worry about anything you choose to worry about!
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.Serving suggestions: Plain; as applesauce; or in baked goods like Pumpkin-Apple Breakfast Bread.
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.
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’m browsing through Our Milk Money, a directory of home-based businesses run by parents. It’s interesting to see what’s for sale in your area, as well as get some ideas for starting a home-based business. You can read more about Our Milk Money in an article in The Signal.
Not that I needed another reason to pay cash and avoid the credit card entirely, but apparently one credit card company will penalize you for the types of places you use your card, including marriage counseling:
The allegations, in part, focus on CompuCredit’s Aspire Visa, a subprime credit card for risky borrowers. The FTC claims that CompuCredit didn’t properly disclose that it monitored spending and cut credit lines if consumers used their cards at certain places. Among them: tire and retreading shops, massage parlors, bars, billiard halls, and marriage counseling offices. “The company touted that cardholders could use their credit cards anywhere,” says J. Reilly Dolan, assistant director for financial practices at the FTC. “What they didn’t say was that you could be punished for specific kinds of purchases.” The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is also seeking $200 million in penalties from CompuCredit in the matter.
Very creepy. And what is disturbing is that often trends like this start in subprime markets before they are picked up by the rest. I’ve had my own credit card denied at Sears while attempting to purchase a circular saw blade, supposedly because it was outside of my consumer profile of stores I shopped at. Nice. Again, not that I needed another reason to pay cash….
This sounds like a good idea: Employers offer aid to avoid foreclosures. It really does. I like the idea of employers being helpful, and one of the arguments in the article is that what’s good for the employee is good for the employer (in terms of “productivity” of course).
But there are some significant questions:
- Who determines who qualifies for aid at work?
- How is the aid repaid?
- What happens if you quit your job? (or are laid-off)?
- Do you really want to owe your employer money?
Here’s a funny overview of how yogurt is marketed towards women, in particular, women who wear hoodies and have master’s degrees.
I am wearing a hoodie, and have a master’s degree, but fight the urge to eat the Yogurt.
Via Feministing
Can someone vouch that this device actually works? I’ve seen the videos. I’m amazed, and I’m envisioning my life without each weekend devouted to hair removal from all surfaces. If you have one, could you see if it is labeled with Made in China too? Yes? And that it doesn’t hurt the animal? I’d love this to be a solution to the German Shepherd hair problem.
I’m not sure this post has anything to do with spirituality and the workplace. I’ll live with that.
Even though literally a quarter of my living relatives live in your lovely city of Toronto, I know nothing of your culture, especially this word, Timbit. And even finding out the meaning (donut hole), I fear you have picked up some management practices from your neighbors down south: fire first, ask questions later. You really can’t buy PR this bad. And, as always with a story from Consumerist, the comments are quite funny, including some folks waiting for the first person to blame the victim, a popular Consumerist commenter practice.
If you were to send your mother flowers rather than clipping them from your garden, you might give try California Organic Flowers. I sent ranunculus to my mom for her birthday, and due to my own zip code error, there were issues with them arriving on time, but California Organic Flowers sent another batch for free after I developed a relationship with Marc trying to track down the flowers, which became world travelers. Again, that was due to my error, not theirs.
You can also see Marc below, which is funny only that my husband stumbled across this video when looking for information on organic cover crops, and not organic flowers.
And why would you even care if the flowers you send are organic? About 70% of the cut flowers in the U.S. are imported, and often from countries that use pesticides and fumigants that are banned in North America. Furthermore, there are some serious labor issues with who cuts the flowers:
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Columbian and Ecuadorian workers suffer from problems associated with pesticide exposure, including nausea, conjunctivitis, neurological disease, reproductive problems, and birth defects. Plus, the International Labor Organization estimates that 20 percent of flower workers in Ecuador are children, who are even more vulnerable to hazards these chemicals pose.
I’ve been reading No Free Refills about packaging issues in fast food, and wondering about my own pet gift basket issues. Most people who took our survey thought that dog shampoo was a critical component of a Welcome Home gift basket, purchased on the adoption of a new dog. And, in my personal experience with Mia, the absolute first thing we did when taking her home from the shelter was give her a bath as she was coated in urine. And there are arguments using dog shampoos with essential oils to repel fleas and ticks and rather than human shampoo or dish washing liquid. So I’m sold on dog soap.
Dog shampoos come in solid bars with little wrapping except a slip of paper and in plastic bottles in liquid form. The bar is much harder to use, especially to work up a lather, and might be especially hard with a dog unused to baths. But the liquid soap comes in a bottle, which may or may not be recyclable, depending on where you live. So we have usability issues that bring us to liquid soap, but packaging issues that bring us to bar soap.
Any helpful thoughts?
In a battle regarding paying a living wage to tomato pickers, a Burger King VP used his middle school daughter’s email to trash talk the tomato pickers. I don’t use this word often, but what a L O S E R.
Not Made in China lists products that are not made in China. Many are made in the US; some are made elsewhere with fair trade regulations in place. Lots of kids stuff.
A restaurant review in Philadelphia has spurred a debate about the ethics of tipping. Or perhaps it’s about the ethics of a restaurant paying above what it has to in order to confiscate tips from its employees. It claims to be using the tips for remodeling. And, it’s important to note that customers don’t know that the tip doesn’t go to the server.
This is kind of a fun graphic from Good Magazine. You can see that most “organic” snack brands sold in big supermarkets have giant parent companies with names you’ve heard of. The great tragedy of my life occurred several years ago when I found out from a friend that Seeds of Change is really owned by M&M/Mars. Not the end of the world, but I prefer to buy from Johnny’s Seeds now. Just don’t tell me they’re owned by Halliburton. Please.
The Presbyterian Church has an official position on sweatshops, and they’re going sweat-free with their own group Sweat-Free Ts:
Sweat-Free Ts is inspired by our biblical faith and call to discipleship—as well as growing consumer demand within the modern-day garment industry for responsibly sourced products. “Clean clothes” and anti-sweatshop campaigns have also helped shape our work. Advocates in many places are encouraging manufacturers to produce goods in ways that respect the dignity, safety and rights of workers. There are many ways concerned Presbyterians can support our sisters and brothers in Christ who work hard on the production end of the garment chain.
Resources
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