Worklife

Toxic Workplace? It's Insult Your Boss Day.

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:59:58 GMT

So apparently today is "Insult Your Boss Day." And there’s a news release to prove it. We got the following press release from the holiday’s creator, A.C. Kemp, who is a lecturer in English Language Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; director of Slang City, a Web site on popular culture; and author of the March 2008 book "The Perfect Insult for Every Occasion: Lady Snark’s Guide to Common Discourtesy."

Since we would never insult our bosses, the day’s in your hands, readers. (Of course, given today’s economy, it may be wiser to keep your insults to yourself.) Either way, the list of horrible TV bosses at the end is an entertaining one. Can you think of any other — fictional would be wise — bosses to add to the "Bad Boss Hall of Shame"?

Insult Your Boss Day!: Press Release
If you’ve ever suffered under a terrible supervisor, you’re not alone. In a 2007 survey by Florida State University’s College of Business, roughly 30 percent of respondents said that their boss had criticized them to other managers or coworkers, and even more accused their boss of breaking promises or withholding credit for a job well done. (See the "Bad Boss Hall of Shame" below.)

"Most people can identify with ‘The Office’ because unfortunately, most of us have worked for a boss like Michael Scott," says author and MIT lecturer A. C. Kemp, who created a special holiday as a response to these workplace tensions. Insult Your Boss Day — which takes place today — gives disgruntled employees permission to let off steam. "In this economy, I’m not sure how many people will actively participate," says Kemp, "but hopefully, it will bring a little levity to employees who suffer in silence."

IYBD 2008 is chaired by Lady Arabella Snark, a fictional socialite who gives bad advice on the official Web site. "Of course, it’s tongue-in-cheek," laughs Kemp.

The main event of IYBD will take place at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today, when, according to the IYBD Web site, "all workers should insult their bosses simultaneously, followed by a communal drink at the nearest bar."

Bad Boss Hall of Shame
Does your boss deserve an insult? See how he stacks up against these fictional bad bosses.

Nigel Wick: Drew Carey’s boss at the fictional department store Winfred-Louder is a boorish lout and former cocaine addict who coerces Drew into a same-sex union so he can get a green card.

Gordon Gekko: The slimy villain of Wall Street destroys lives while spouting mottos like, "Lunch is for wimps" and "If you need a friend, get a dog."

Miranda Preistly: Played by Meryl Streep in the film ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ Priestly is a fashion magazine editor who sets her sleep deprived assistant the impossible task of finding an unpublished Harry Potter manuscript in three hours.

Montgomery Burns: Not satisfied to merely flout OSHA laws at his nuclear power plant, Homer Simpson’s evil boss once tried to increase the need for electric lights by blocking the sun.

Franklin Hart, Jr.: After the egotistical, credit-grabbing manager in the film ‘9 to 5’ spreads rumors that he’s sleeping with his sexy secretary (Dolly Parton), she threatens to change him "from a rooster to a hen with one shot." In the end, Parton and her cohorts are satisfied to kidnap him and use his authority to change the office for the better.

Happy Sports Cliche Week

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:17:29 GMT

So it’s Monday. Time to get your head in the game. Time to step up to the plate. The bar’s been raised, so bring your A-game. After all, no pain, no gain, right?

Happy Sports Cliche Week (July 13-19). We hope you’re ready to give it 110 percent and think of the best sports cliches applicable in non-sports arenas. According to Dr. Don R. Powell, author of "Best Sports Cliches Ever," sports cliches are used in at least 50 percent of corporate boardrooms and everyday conversations. Here’s Powell’s list (from 2007) of the top 10 sports cliches used in business:

1. He’s a team player.
2. He dropped the ball.
3. It’s gut check time.
4. He doesn’t pull any punches.
5. He always steps up to the plate.
6. He talks a good game.
7. He’s in a league of his own.
8. They want to play hardball.
9. The ball’s in your court.
10. He answered the bell.
(Source: PRNewswire)

So, the ball’s in your court. Knock it out of the park. And remember, there’s no "I" in TEAM. Tell us your favorite sports cliche to use in the office. Better yet? See how many cliches you can use in your comment. I used 10 in this post — but records are made to be broken ...

Are you the same person you were in high school? Has it impacted your job?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:38:28 GMT

So, back in high school, were you voted "Most Likely to Succeed"? Or "Most Likely to Get Fired For Goofing Off"? Do you think your status in high school impacted where you ended up in the workforce?

CareerBuilder.com asked more than 6,000 full-time workers age 30 and older to categorize their high school persona, and then compared those personas in terms of job level, salary, industry and job satisfaction. Categories included personas such as student government, athlete, geek, honor society, cheerleader, drama club, teacher’s pet and class clown.

"Thirty-nine percent of workers age 30 and older said their high school experience had an influence on the job they hold today," said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com. "While there are a variety of factors that determine one’s career path, high school involves learning experiences inside and outside the classroom that can shape interests and personal networks at an early age. It’s essentially a stepping stone into a world of opportunity."

Here's a look at what survey results suggest about the jocks, the cheerleaders, the geeks, the class clowns ...

Happy Hour: Karaoke, with a side of badmouthing the boss?

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:57:34 GMT

PRNewswire

With summer in full swing, more workers may be heading to happy hours. According to the new CareerBuilder.com survey, one in five workers (or 21 percent) say they attend happy hours with their co-workers. Of those who attend, nearly a quarter report that they go to happy hour at least once a month.

Why go?

It’s good for networking, right? Well, according to the survey, no. In fact, 85 percent said that attending happy hour did not help them get closer to someone higher up or land a better position in the company.

So why do workers go to happy hour?
• 82 percent — To bond with co-workers.
• 20 percent — It’s a great way to network.
• 15 percent — To hear the latest office gossip.
• 13 percent — They feel obligated to be there.
• 11 percent — To bond with the boss.

Of those who don’t attend happy hour, 39 percent stay away because they like to keep their work and professional lives separate.

Who’s going?

Who is going to happy hour? An equal number of male and female workers say they attend happy hours with co-workers. Workers aged 25-34 were the most likely to attend (29 percent), while workers aged 55+ were the least likely at 15 percent. The Midwest leads with the most workers (23 percent) saying they go to happy hour with their co-workers, compared to 21 percent in the West and the South.

The industries who ranked highest for happy hours were:
• Professional and business services (35 percent)
• Financial services (34 percent)
• IT (29 percent)
• Sales (28 percent)
• Healthcare (24 percent)

What’s happening?

When asked, workers reported the following incidents happened during a work happy hour:
• Bad-mouthed a co-worker or member of management (16 percent)
• Shared a secret about a co-worker (10 percent)
• Kissed a co-worker (8 percent)
• Drank too much and acted unprofessionally (8 percent)
• Shared a secret about the company (5 percent)
• Sang karaoke (4 percent)

Whoops.

Do you go to happy hour with coworkers? Which of the above office sins have you committed?

(This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 6,987 full-time employees between Feb. 11 and March 13.)

Leave the Office Early Day

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:05:14 GMT

In the very long list of bizarre holidays, here’s one we can get behind. Today is "Leave the Office Early Day," according to the Calendars That Be. Plus, it’s June. It’s sunny. It’s finally warm. So let’s hear it: Who’s sneaking out early to enjoy the gorgeous weather?

A quick search of the ‘Net found some tricks for stealing away before the day is done. (Disclaimer: Don’t actually try these at work, kiddos, or you may be spending a lot more time at home …) So for laughs and daydreams only:

• Tell a coworker that you’re having computer problems (curse a little or slam your pen down for effect). Tell him or her that you’ve called tech services and you’re going to another desk until it’s fixed. Then disappear.

• Bring in an old coat and leave it at your chair. Buy an extra wallet and set of keys and leave them on your desk.

• Brew a cup of coffee and leave it steaming on your desk. Or leave a half-eaten sandwich in plain view. They’ll think you've just stepped away for a second.

• Schedule e-mails for delivery while you’re gone. People will think you’re somewhere in the building.

• Make a doctor’s appointment for early afternoon, even though you’re perfectly healthy. Pay the co-pay and leave with the rest of your day free.

• Leave your car in the parking lot and hop a bus to get where you want to go.

• Create a diversion. Tell everyone there’s doughnuts in the conference room and then head in the other direction. (Hint: Providing actual doughnuts will buy you time.)

Sources: Link.Tip.Idea (linktipidea.com), GetOdd.com, KCblogging.com, Yahoo.com, and various other blog sites.

And of course, there are hundreds of time-management tips out there to help you FINISH your work early so you can legitimately leave, guilt-free, excuse-free. I certainly am not following any of them by looking for such foolish, sneaky tricks online …

Any more tricks for escaping early?

Slides, game rooms and conference-room igloos: A look inside Google's new office

Sun, 18 May 2008 00:24:59 GMT

SEE SLIDESHOW

By Sheila Norman-Culp, Associated Press

ZURICH, Switzerland — It’s the first question Google employees here must resolve when they want to go to the cafeteria or game room: Stairs, slide or fireman’s pole?

The next dilemma for so-called Zooglers: homemade pastry or exotic fruit juice? It’s all part of three free meals a day, with regular snacks, that Google serves at its new European tech center.

Then there’s the phone call dilemma. Should you use a former ski gondola that has been converted into a private phone booth? Shut yourself inside a blue igloo or giant purple egg? Put the call on a video monitor? Or just take it outside and walk along a rushing Alpine river?

If you want to tap into the maximum creativity of everyone you hire, Google figures it might just take a whimsical mishmash of colors, shapes, textures, nooks and crannies to do so.

"To be effective in a short innovation cycle, you cannot just be sitting at your desk," explained Matthias Graf, the company spokesman in Zurich.

That explains the pinball, foosball and pool tables, the Wii sports center, the air guitar video game, the massage tables and the aquarium water lounge. Or the cafe next to the technical center where you can eat, chat, read and play video games while you wait for your computer to be fixed.

Yet this is not dot-com deja vu, when Internet companies wasted gobs of money on outlandish toys before burning through all their cash and firing everyone. The Internet giant worked with a psychologist and design team to interview all 350 employees and incorporated their ideas into a new workspace — yet insisted the new design should not cost more than an ordinary office building.

"Everyone says 'Google is wealthy, you can buy a fancy office.’ But we wanted to show what anyone could do with some imagination," Graf said.

Would you take a pay cut if it meant more time with your kids?

Thu, 08 May 2008 18:44:47 GMT

PRNewswire

As working moms schedule family time for Mother's Day weekend, many will be hoping to receive the one present you can’t buy at a store: More quality time with their families. CareerBuilder.com recently surveyed 880 working moms. The results: 43 percent of working moms said they would take a pay cut if it meant they could spend more time with their kids, and 34 percent stated they would be willing to give up 10 percent or more of their salaries.

Other results:

• For working moms with more than one source of income, just over half (51 percent) of working moms indicated they would leave their job if their spouse or significant other made enough money to support the entire family.

• More than a third (34 percent) of working moms said they spend less than three hours per day with their children.

• 17 percent reported they had missed three or more significant events in their child’s life in the last year; 27 percent had missed two or more.

Even when working moms are at home, work can still get in the way of family time. Sixteen percent of working moms reported bringing work home at least three days a week, while one in five said work comes home with them every workday. Close to a quarter (24 percent) said work had negatively impacted the relationships they have with their children.

"More than 25 percent of working moms are dissatisfied with their work/life balance," said Mary Delaney, chief sales officer at CareerBuilder.com and mother of three. "As companies continue to experience a tighter labor market, the importance of retaining star employees is requiring them to implement benefits that actually encourage workers to improve the balance between their professional and family lives. From flexible work schedules to job sharing to telecommuting, company-wide work/life initiatives are becoming much more universal."

Delaney recommends the following tips for managing the working mom balancing act:

1. Sell your boss on a more flexible work schedule. Start by contacting your human resources department or consulting the employee manual to determine whether your company has a telecommuting program already in place. If one exists, you can build your proposal on actual policies.

2. Keep one calendar. Unfortunately it’s often easier to cancel on your child than on a potential client. Scheduling business and family obligations on the same calendar will lessen your chances of forgetting a personal commitment when you’re planning work activities. It will also help you avoid over-scheduling and alert you if your commitments are unbalanced.

3. Make time for family. Schedule activities for only your family on the weekends and when possible during the week. Also, try to schedule a few minutes each day to call your children to talk about their school day as well as plans for the evening.

4. Slow down. Stop and enjoy the activities and people around you, both inside and outside the office. Whenever possible, schedule time between meetings and leave your evenings free so you can refuel throughout and at the end of each day. Resist the urge to bring too many projects home over the weekends.

5. Share responsibilities. No matter how efficient you are, there is only so much you can accomplish in one day. If you’re a manager, make sure that you are delegating appropriately instead of trying to do everything yourself. Doing so will reduce your workload and help your staff build their skills.

Would you take a pay cut if it meant you'd have more time with your children? Who works more hours away from home: You or your significant other?