I’ve been floating around the pool at my tropcial hotel, reading the June, 2010 HR Magazine from SHRM. (This is a highly recommended way to read professional journals of all kinds, in case you’re wondering.)  Before leaving DC, I’d tabbed the article “Checking Passive Aggression: Refuse to be a Victim,” which I looked forward to reading, since I’ve known one or two passive aggressive co-workers in my time. Read the rest of this entry »

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I came across this great TED videoin which designer Stefan Sagmeister explains some of the many benefits he’s reaped from closing his studio for a year after each seven years of business. It’s worth watching, even if you think the kind of work you do is very different.

One point that struck me is the intentional way in which he decided to take five years from retirement and intersperse them into his working Read the rest of this entry »

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I was  on the train, chatting over a glass of wine in the observation lounge with my new BFF Sean when a putrid, acrid smell overtook the car.  “Brakes,” we decided, wrinkling our noses, not attaching much significance to the odor–or to the rapid slowing of the train; after all, trains stop frequently for reasons that are rarely explained.

In this case, however, explanation quickly followed.  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention,’ the voice announced,  ‘we have stopped Read the rest of this entry »

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My son Justin and friend after Earth Day fun.

My son Justin, who is on the cusp between Generations Y and Z will be entering the workforce in the next few years. Are we ready for him and his friends to flood our workplaces?

Here are some traits I’ve noticed about these young folks:

• Multi-tasking. They are the consummate multi-taskers, listening to their iPods while texting, playing interactive games online  and doing homework, all at once. While generation Y might do two or three things at a time, Generation Z does three or four. Read the rest of this entry »

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A good friend has interviewed for a Country Director position with the Peace Corps. If hired, she and her family will be packing up and moving to an as-yet unknown location to manage the Peace Corps program in her assigned country. She’s fabulously qualified for this specialized Federal job and I look forward to visiting her, especially if she ends up in Jamaica, Thailand, Fiji, or Madagascar.

Her possible move prompts me to think about dream jobs. Staying away from a few sophomoric hormone-induced fantasies (we all have a few of those, right?), here’s my top ten list:

1. Professional sleeper. You might not make a lot of money, but opportunities actually do exist. And maybe you could combine this gig with some of the others on the list and actually make a living.

2. Rock star. Sleep late. Travel. Play music. Be adored.

3. Taster. What’s your pleasure? Taste wine, chocolate, beer for a living or extra cash. Or become an ice cream scientist paid to develop new flavors. Read the rest of this entry »

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What’s the most fun you’ve had at work?

For me, it was when I worked on the summer maintenance crew at college. Planning a week’s vacation, our supervisor astutely (cough, cough) left me in charge. We cranked out a lot of work, but I must admit we also indulged in a bit of play while the cat was away. Some antics are perhaps best not discussed since they are not, in the strictest sense, legal. But here’s one situation I can probably talk about that still makes me smile today.

We were working on the second floor of the Oakwood dorm. Someone–I don’t remember who, but it wasn’t me–had thoughtfully brought a taped version of Dr. Ruth’s radio show for everyone’s edification. Because the crew was widely dispersed, we cranked the volume waaayyyy up  so that all could hear regardless of location.  We were scrubbing and shining and mopping to our hearts’ content when we discerned another subtler noise competing with Dr. Ruth’s thick German voice, which boomed throughout Oakwood issuing helpful but blushingly explicit  instructions to increase one’s romantic bliss.

Turns out that the other, quieter noise was an approaching tour, a group of prospective students and their parents checking out the college, this nice, safe, private, church-affiliated institution of higher knowledge. Hearing the approaching footsteps, the maintenance crew  all fled, diving into closets with displays of speed and agility that would make NFL recruiters salivate with longing.

The tour guide made the quick and very wise executive decision to visit the third floor instead. As the voices faded, we slowly emerged from hiding only to dissolve into hysterical laughter. And for some reason which puzzles me now, none of us seemed to worry about being reported and fired. That summer gig was one of the least glamorous I’ve ever held–and one of the most fun!

But enough about me. Tell me about you. What’s the most fun you’ve had at work?

Image credit: candrews

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Remember your first job?

Like many people, I started working as a teenager. Jobs were hard to come by in our African city, so I cleaned teachers’ houses on Saturdays. Each week as my friends slept in, I would wake up early, walk a couple miles, work a couple hours and walk back.

My first summer job was working in my dad’s office typing documents in a language I didn’t speak. That was an interesting challenge.

Then came college in the U.S.  All four years, I worked on the maintenance department. During the year, I swept stairwells and cleaned bathrooms. Summers I lived in a dorm and worked on a cleaning crew. We cleaned each student room one at a time, working our way through all the buildings, and cleaned them again as each summer camp departed. Believe it or not,  we had a lot of fun together on our crew! (Mark, Jackie, Rich, I still remember our crazy antics… More about that another time.)

I also worked in the dish room, did administrative work for the social work department,  in-home care for a professor’s elderly mother, and made pizzas and waitressed at the Italian restaurant near the college.

You may have noticed that many of my jobs were not glamorous. They weren’t glamorous, and they weren’t high-paying, but I sure learned a lot!  Such as how to operate a floor buffer–you never know when that might come in handy! No seriously:

• I learned to be disciplined and hard-working.
• I learned you can make almost any job fun.
• I learned the value of teamwork and camaraderie.
• I learned to appreciate good role models, supervisors, and training, because they were not universal from job to job.

What do you remember about your first jobs? What did you learn? As HR people, how can we apply those lessons as we hire young folks today?

Photo by Robert S. Donovan

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Have you read the Readers Digest series: Things your (hairdresser/waiter/boss) won’t tell you?

Let’s do thirteen things your HR manager won’t tell you. Write your comments below and maybe if we get good response, we can send them on to Readers Digest.

For example:

I’m human and it is not easy to give people bad news or to see people suffer after making mistakes. For example, I have seen people waive health insurance and later change their mind but it’s too late; the carrier won’t let them on. And on my desk right now is a request for an employment verification concerning a previous employee. The person was termed for falsifying timesheets. Maybe he is hoping I can spin it, but I can’t. It is what it is.

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