I know some people love Halloween, but can we keep it out of the office? This is not to say that you can’t go out and have all the drunken, costumed fun you want with your friends after hours — I just don’t want to deal with it at work. Remember, we’re not friends — I’m just barely tolerating you for 8-9 hours a day, and if I win the lottery, I’ll be flipping you off on my way out the door. I don’t want to be the killjoy, but it’s just... More »
Monday is Labor Day, a holiday created for workers to get a much needed day off. Of course in practice it doesn’t work out. On the holiday itself bosses will text or call employees with something they “need to review and give a POV on” prior to a Tuesday meeting “because it will be so busy when everyone gets back”. Sound familiar? This happens every time– Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Presidents Day– nothing is sacred. Then any rest you got is quickly lost because on Tuesday there will be twice the... More »
47 Shares My friend was late for lunch. She said her smoking cessation conference call ran long. Me: Smoking cessation conference call? Her: Yes, rather than making everyone meet like Alcoholics Anonymous, they just have frequent conference calls. Me: Is it working? Her: No, not really, but work is paying for it [through a wellness benefit], so I thought I’d try it. So this is what it’s come to now– the company so believes in the efficiency of conference calls, that they are proscribing it for the health care plan as well. Though I... More »
Watching how things played out in Washington recently, it all started sounding familiar. Too familiar. Some people like to say that private companies function better than government, but this latest display only points out how any large organization of humans, private or public will find ways to suck. Let’s review: A lot of bold talk by leaders creates a crisis and a deadline that otherwise didn’t exist. At the end of June we were all made to work the weekend because the project absolutely had to go to senior management before the holiday break. Then... More »
