The Crow

6 Word Memoir: Worthwhile or Cheap Trick?

 
Ah, the power of a 6 word headline!

Mercer is doing a contest in conjunction with the sixwordmemoirs.com people: Devise a pithy phrase about your thoughts about work in -- you got it -- six words.

As if limiting ourselves to 140 characters wasn’t enough, we are now down to 6 freaking words. This sort of thing is very difficult for those of us who are not Hemingway-ish in our approach to speech.

However, I admit the challenge is sort of fun. Not being much of a joiner, I probably won’t bother to actually submit any, however. They make you register and that’s just one too many steps for me. I don’t have time for that. I do apparently have time to go off about it.

It is entertaining to read some of the more pathetic entries: “By teaching, I touch the future”, “People smile when I find them”, “Living my dream through HR impact”.  Really? Excuse me while I barf. Some are pretty good though: “I get paid to have opinions”, “To serve my hell on earth.”

http://www.smithmag.net/work/memoirs.php?q=dream

Not sure it's even worth the time it takes to think about it, but it's hard not to once it's in your head. What would your 6 word description of work be?

tracy

Have Fun Goddammit!

 

 
Image and Inspiration from the Economist

Someone sent an article from the Economist to me at work today. It was called "Down With Fun; The Depressing Vogue for Having Fun at Work." 

He told me I should be our Chief Fun Officer...I hope he was being ironic but you know, I just started here and…it’s hard to know for sure.

The guy in the article goes off about how lame “forced fun” is. I tend to agree.  If you have to force it…it just isn’t happening. On the other hand, as much as I admire the Madmen recipe for a good time (smoking, drinking to get drunk, and office romance run amok), I am not really sure that’s the answer either. Mostly because I no longer look that great in a pencil skirt and clingy sweater and really, hardly anyone looks good in red lipstick.

Seriously...Do employees want someone in charge of ensuring they have a good time? Do you need a slide at work to feel engaged? Clowns, perhaps?

How can and should employers make work fun without forcing the issue? Snide commentary from the author of the anti-fun post aside, what do you think?

Article here: http://www.economist.com/node/17035923?story_id=17035923&CFID=148951675&CFTOKEN=66063146

tracy c

Help, My Boss is Crazy!

www.facade.com

I had a casual carpooler the other day who started talking to me about her crazy boss. I think many of us can dig into our not so distant past for an easy example of a boss, coworker, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc., who falls into the crazy category. The question is, what is the best way to manage a situation like this at work?

First of all, it depends on what kind of crazy you are talking about. People who are literally suffering from  mental illness (like the woman at a previous job of mine who “protected” herself with plastic wrap all over her body and shot water into the corners to confuse the nonexistent cameras that were spying on her) are legally protected from jerks who would fire them for being annoying and need professional help. So, the best thing to do in that case is to try to get them the help they need. You can usually dump this on the HR person to figure out. HR people really enjoy that. Hey, whatever, it’s their job.

Now, if it’s more the kind of moody crazy, regardless of the underlying cause, you are probably stuck with them. This is where my carpooler’s brilliant advice comes into play.  She had a great idea for dealing with this type of individual: check their biorhythms on a daily basis, to see what kind of day they are going to be having. And then, map it to your own to see how compatible your rhythms are. If they are compatible, great, have your meeting, ask for that thing you need, deliver that bad news about the project you just screwed up. If they are not, be super busy and avoid the person until you are likely to have a better day together.

What? Did you have a better idea? All you need is a birth date. You can check out a quick biorhythm chart right here, on this crappy but very useful website: www.facade.com.  You never know. Maybe those biorhythm people are on to something. Or not.

tracy c

Crushn' at Work

We’ve been talking a lot about at “at work crushes” (AWC), mainly how this recession is disproportionately affecting the “hotty” population. 

Let me clarify what I mean by an “AWC “.

1. You are not going to sleep with them for whatever reason
2. The crush usually passes, without anyone being the wiser
3. They aren’t a big deal, just something to pass the time
4. If you are married, attached, dating  - it’s still ok because of rule #1

Can they have a positive effect on the workplace?  YES! It encourages people to come into the office, look professional, do their best work and not make an ass out of themselves!

I love having an “AWC”; work isn’t as fun without one.  You get to giggle with your friends, get nervous, create play lists that reminds you of them, call their home, stalk them, get fired, well you get the idea.

Now it’s your turn, Do you have an “AWC”?

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Happy V-Day.  Kari Girarde