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From the Jobacle inbox...Do you ever feel like telling people at your job to back the F up? Time and time again I have experienced a frustrating phenomenon: people, who don't have your level of education and experience, question what you do.Despite my solid track record as an award-winning graphic designer, I find myself being questioned at every turn.Why is it when it comes to the creative arts, do people who don't know what the heck they're talking about, have to push their nose where it doesn't belong?Do these same people tell their doctor how to identify disease?  Or their neighborhood dry cleaner how to remove a stain?  I'm not suffering from an inferiority complex, at least I hope not. I don't expect coworkers to take my word as gospel, but a little respect to let me do what I do would be appreciated. The same way I trust them to do what it is they do.Am I alone?  Thanks for entertaining my rant.  My goal isn't to conjure up sympathy or play the world's … [Read more...] about Respect Your Creative Coworkers!

One of the origins of this phrase- mind your p’s and q’s- states that it came from a rule of thumb for bartenders to watch their patrons (p) and the quarts (q) of alcohol that they consume.  So in other words, look out for those around you.  Even though alcohol doesn’t come into play at the work place (well for most of us), being cognizant of those around us should always be part of the professional demeanor we don. What do I mean by that?  Refill the coffee pot, empty the shred bin, and don’t steal lunches out of the fridge- not even coffee creamer.  Office consideration is an underplayed asset in the arsenal we carry around.  Most focus on completing their work; kissing up to their boss; and getting home. So many folks forget the basics: manners!  Getting ahead at work has to do with the whole package.  Your employees respect you not just for the quality of work you produce, but based on the type of person you are.  If the word gets out that … [Read more...] about Mind Your P’s and Q’s At Work

After selling my apartment and relocating to a temporary residence, I'm pleased to report that I am back in the saddle here at Jobacle. The home selling/buying experience put me in touch with more service professionals than ever before: lawyers, bankers, real estate agents, movers, etc. And just when I was beginning to think that we've all been programmed on auto-pilot to do our jobs and get home, I was pleasantly surprised. The individuals who shined (and there were several of them) all shared a common theme: passion. I love people who love what they do. It sounds like a canned statement that you're expect to slip out of the corner on an HR lifer's mouth, but I've never felt stronger about that sentiment.Let's take the case of the two home inspectors...HOME INSEPCTOR A: Arrived on time. Spent approximately 70 minutes surveying the exterior and interior of the home. If it was within his range of vision, he gave it a cursory look. A man of few words, getting him to explain things I … [Read more...] about I Love People Who Love What They Do

Whether you are physically carrying the baby or an expecting father, your work life will change when welcoming a child to the family.  Everyone understands that; everyone expects that.  However, enter a new policy by your company that allows you to bring your children to work, and you're looking at not only a change to your work environment, but a change to your fellow employees’ work environment as well. What?! How unfair, right?In an effort to become more “family-friendly” and promote “work-life balance,” non-traditional companies are allowing people to bring their babies into work.  I’m not talking about a soundproof daycare center located on the first floor either.  This is in the next cubicle over.  The next desk over.  The next office over.The real quandary is how does this affect the productivity of the parent bringing the baby in, and the cubicle neighbors of that parent? Don’t get me wrong; I’m … [Read more...] about Babies at Work: Work-Life Balance Overload?

Over the past six months, I’ve flown on roughly 10 roundtrip flights.  Excuse me for the ranting that is about to occur, but my last flight was the worst of them all.  Out of all 20 flights, only two came in on time and without any problems.   I couldn’t help but think, “What would I do if I was required to travel this way for my job?”  If your job requires you to travel, bite the bullet otherwise known as rising gas prices and DRIVE.  At least that’s the conclusion I drew.  It used to be that we flew for convenience, relaxation, and to get us to our destination quickly.  Well those days are over. The airlines lead us to believe that the majority of delays are due to occurrences out of their control, such as weather conditions.  However, taking a look at the year-to-date numbers (January - April 2008) from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, it shows a very different story. Out of the total number of … [Read more...] about Park the Plane. Drive Your Car.

Is it just me, or do offices never seem to have an adequate amount of space for all workers?I'm not even talking about comfort. I mean literally having enough desks and chairs to go around. People always seem to be shoehorned into a corner near a fridge, or offices are shared when they should be solo. And let's not forget about the shrinking distance between cubicles.At $100 a square foot in major metropolitan areas, I can almost forgive companies for dehumanizing us into sardines. However, what excuses do their suburban counterparts have? From urban centers to quiet suburbs, I've repeatedly seen this phenomenon, regardless of ZIP code.If that weren't bad enough, it appears many people never learned the limits of personal space. Thanks to some studies conducted with zoo animals in the 1950s, then adopted by anthropologist Edward T. Hall, the term "proxemics" was born. Studying spatial relationships between people, here are the general guidelines for human beings as they … [Read more...] about Dear Coworkers: Step Away From My Cube

 (Editor's Note: While we strike to help you make work better, sometimes a good ol' fashioned rant is in order.  Please excuse us.  Chris hasn't had the best day at work.)If Hitler was the as*hole of the 20th Century, then my boss is the rusty bullet hole of the 21st. It is beyond me why my company would hire such an inconceivable, gigantic, heap of steaming horse sh*t, to do the job that he apparently does. If you, like me, are fed up with your boss’s shenanigans, then you should use this article as a way to unleash your distain, anguish, and unventilated-raw-old-fashioned-anger. So, without further adieu, here are 3 ways to kill your boss.   Death by Dildo Invite your boss down into the basement of your office building for a chat about the state of today’s economy. Why you would select this as a suitable location is beyond me, but let’s continue none the less. Take one large black dildo (this set of criteria is important for no apparent … [Read more...] about Three Ways to Kill Your Boss

Ah, summer is right around the corner and along with that comes…VACATION!  Or does it?  We already know that Americans are working more and taking less vacation than they ever have before.  While companies are starting to recognize the need for a work-life balance and beginning to offer increased vacation time, many employees are reporting that those same companies have an unwritten rule to not use up all of that vacation time.  In fact, many employees feel as though they have to beg for the time off, or worse, hide their vacation like it’s a dirty little secret. Now this has always irked me.  As a supervisor at my last job, I earned 2 weeks paid vacation time plus a few flex days per year.  If I had a dollar for every time my boss or manager -  or even other employees - gave me a hard time about actually using it, I wouldn’t even need to write this blog.  The culture of our workplace flat out disgusts me at times.  My … [Read more...] about Do You Suffer From Vacation Guilt Syndrome

Politicians take heed: more than half of US workers say the American Dream is unattainable and nearly half blame the political system for the deterioration in their economic circumstances, according to a new national survey.The workplace poll, conducted in May 2008 by Zogby International for The Marlin Company, The Workplace Communications Experts,  found that nearly three-quarters of US workers (74.7%) say the American dream is not as attainable today was it was eight years ago; 52.4% say it is simply unattainable for the average American (see charts). The survey defines the American dream as "the opportunity to have a nice home, financial security for you and your family, and hope for the future."The workplace poll also found that nearly half (45.1%) of US workers admit to being "bitter" because "the political system has caused a deterioration of [their] economic circumstances." Nearly half (47.5%) of 30-49 year-olds surveyed report feeling bitter, … [Read more...] about New National Survey: U.S. Workers Are Bitter