http://survivingtheworkday.com Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:53:36 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A letter in Consumerist highlights life under a bullying boss. Commenters ponder the options: to leave, to document, to go to HR (or all of the above). http://survivingtheworkday.com/2010/02/20/a-bad-boss/ There's an interesting discussion at the Harvard Business Blogs on the value of social media, Is Social Media Worth Your Time, in light of Beware Social Media Snake Oil in Business Week. I like social media, especially in the workplace, but I will be the first to admit that it's time consuming. I've ... http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/12/08/the-value-of-social-media/ Some of the most beautiful office spaces in the world are shown here. http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/12/04/best-office-spaces/ Apparently it may be in your best financial interest to default on your home loan if your home is underwater (worth less than you owe), but for emotional reasons (e.g., shame) many people will not consider it: Contrary to reports that homeowners are increasingly “walking away” from their mortgages, most homeowners ... http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/12/03/strategically-defaulting-on-a-mortgage/ When Being Positive Is Entirely Meaningless is a great post about the need to mediate incessant positivism with some reality. http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/12/02/positivity/ Our brains seem to fixate on the number three, and three is just enough times for something to be mentioned in a work of fiction for the reader to take note. In management, the rule of three can also be a general guideline for when to address a management issue. If ... http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/11/30/the-rule-of-three/ Several studies show that in order to increase "productivity,"* it is important to provide workers time for breaks, including around the water cooler. Through using badges with mics to monitor interactions, scientists recorded sociability as well as work habits: ....we monitored IT workers and their productivity using similar badges. Once again, ... http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/11/22/the-water-cooler/ Bob Sutton has a great post on the tension between getting it done and getting it done right. He describes this as the tension between the need for completion and the need for perfection. The discussion about perfection and completion reminded me of a job that I had as an editor ... http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/11/20/getting-it-done-getting-it-done-right/ Apparently those of us who still call our voice mails to check messages are in the minority. Many people have their voice mail electronically transcribed and sent to them. http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/11/20/is-voice-mail-obsolete/ Who knew customer service reps were so unhappy (you probably did) or had such dark senses of humor. Of course, AT&T says it's not true. http://survivingtheworkday.com/2009/11/18/a-very-unhappy-customer-service-rep/