I’m a cookie monster on my own birthday!?
September 7, 2008 – 12:20 pm
Dear Office-Politics,
I work in an office where there is a double standard. I feel as if I am being “picked on” by the boss (who is old enough to be my mother). It has been going on for a long time; I won’t bore you with past details. My most recent frustration came when “Boss” blindsided me with a “Can I see you in my office?” email. More…
Oldest Americans Gain Jobs Even As Other Age Groups Suffer Losses
The slowing economy has dampened the demand for older workers, but not much. The number of workers 55 and older is still growing significantly while those younger than 45 struggle with widespread job loss.
An analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. found that employment among those 55 and older grew by 3.7 percent from 25,686,000 in July 2007 to 26,631,000 in July 2008. The number of employed 20- to 44-year-olds declined by an average of 1.3 percent during the same period.
The new report shatters the myth that older workers are particularly vulnerable in this economic downturn.
The fact is pared down companies may increasingly rely on seasoned veterans to get them through the downturn. They may cost more in salary and benefits, but their experience and knowledge make them highly valued.
Am I being demoted?
Dear Office-Politics,
I’ve been working in this new field that I really like for the past 6 months and according to my boss “performing very well”. However, one of my experienced teammates resigned and will be replaced by a very senior person who will take on a “supervisory role” – nice way to say I’ll be demoted.
When I confronted my manager with this, she said it was more a “coaching role” than an actual supervision and no additional layers will be added to the structure of the department (which I find hard to believe). My other teammate is also confirming my doubts.
Are you the best person to be the manager?
Dear Office Politics,
I have just been hired as marketing manager of a team of 8 in a finance-related company. This is my first team leader experience. I have 10-years very generic experience in marketing, in various industries but not that one.
One member of my team was hired only 2 months before me. She has as much working experience and equivalent diploma as I have, and she is also more skilled than me in finance. She has previous team managing experience and knows some marketing techniques I have not yet mastered. Basically, she could perfectly have been hired at my position.
Am I the (pregnant) fall guy?
Dear Office-Politics,
I took a job 3 years ago with a start-up tech company as a software engineer.
Dream job, but my boss turned out to be not so good at business and less good at managing people. The business is losing money like crazy, and worse, my relationship with my boss is souring. I have a coworker with whom I have never worked well despite my best efforts, and he’s threatened to quit if I’m not fired. The boss’ response? To ream me out for “not getting along with others”, despite a reluctance or inability to tell me exactly what the problem with my behavior is or what I have supposedly said or done to offend. As of today I have been told that I may not have any discussion with any co-worker in my department or any other. I must dress “business casual” whereas my co-workers (and boss) may continue to wear t-shirts and jeans or shorts.
Did I mention that the office to which we are moving does not have running water or flushing toilets? I’m beginning to think I’m just the fall guy for the company’s financial problems, especially when he can’t come up with specific examples of how I am lacking in my dealings with others. I am no longer being given tasks because I “can’t work with others”, and there is no work to be done that can be done by just me. It’s only a matter of time before I am fired for being dead weight.
Snake removal failed
I wrote to you last year, “Snake Handling Not in Job Description”. You tendered good advice. Since then, the agency has ruptured. Tragically, one Animal Control Officer committed suicide as a result of the toxic culture, gossip and loose lips at work. Last August, the Field Supervisor resigned. Six weeks ago, the Division Manager (my boss) resigned after having a mental and physical meltdown. I’m next. The “snake” is still there…
The Office Crab criticizes everyone
Dear Office-Politics,
I am writing on behalf of a group of diverse and hardworking coworkers among whom morale is at an all time low. Our often bumbling managers have a history of granting knee jerk behind the doors promotions, creating new positions without posting them and making surprise staffing changes. Some of us have had four different supervisors in five months. After a recent escalation of this behavior the office crab complained that these job changes were never posted. Alas, when a management job opened up, this time upper management briefly posted the job but quickly gave it to the complainer.
The office crab is a highly opinionated snob who glowers and sulks and spies, tells tales and criticizes everyone in writing to upper management. She glowers, e-mailing unsolicited and scathing critiques to peers about their conduct and work product. This individual who is highly disliked has a pattern of making herself superior by contrasting herself to the rest of us.
Looking For A Job? Go Green Collar
Students preparing to enter or return to the nation’s colleges and universities in the coming weeks would be well advised to consider educational paths that lead to careers in burgeoning fields related to the environment, ecology and alternative energy.
These areas are expected to fuel significant economic growth and job creation over the next decade, rivaling that of the late 1990s dot.com boom and the housing boom of the early 2000s.
As $4.00-per-gallon gasoline and growing concern over global warming spark calls for short-term and long-term solutions, more and more companies are going “green,” not only with their products but also with operations. The movement is creating increased demand for workers in so-called “green-collar” jobs in the form of engineers, architects, project managers, and consultants. As this trend continues, more workers will be needed to implement designs and build projects, potentially creating thousands of jobs.
Wanted: Green Collar Workers
Would you — or your kids — rather work at a ‘McJob’ or a ‘Green Collar’ job? Let’s hope we can convince lots of young people that green collar jobs offer far brighter opportunities than any McJob, because the world needs a lot of cleaning up (even without further disasters like the November 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay and the Black Sea).
I happened to be visiting San Francisco on November 8th, 2007, the day after a cargo ship crashed into the Oakland San Francisco Bay bridge spilling 58,000 gallons of heavy bunker fuel oil into San Francisco Bay. The spill is a tragedy that has damaged wildlife, fish stocks, plants and tourism. It may take years, and an unknown number of man hours, to clean up. Beaches were closed, police cordoned off sensitive areas, and numerous signs were posted warning of the environmental damage.
The Active Go-Giver
Wouldn’t it be great if the more you gave, the more you got back in return? If that were true, imagine how it would transform your workplace, your career, and even your family life. All of a sudden there’d be an upsurge in people wanting to give, give, give, instead of always taking (from you)!
Well, that little scenario is the seemingly implausible idea behind a recently published book, The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann. It’s written in the business parable style popularized by the bestsellers Who Moved My Cheese, the One Minute Manager – and more recently, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko.
After reading it, I agreed that the underlying message was worthwhile and good… But somehow, I was skeptical. Sure, I can believe it. But will other people buy the ‘Go-Giver’ message’? Does it have any ‘new’ or fresh insights that would persuade people who are not ‘natural givers’ to adopt a giving mindset? Could it convince those people who routinely put their own interests ahead of everybody else’s to change their ways?
So, I put the book aside and mulled. I decided to put it to a test. I would observe people I come in contact with to see if I could spot any true Go-Givers.
The Go-Giver List
The Go-Giver List: It’s amazing what you can see when you start looking. I realized I know a lot of Go-Givers. And this is just MY list of Go-Givers. Who would you put on your Go-Giver list? The Go-Givers listed below are included because of something they’ve given me, done for me, or taught me. My thanks to each one for being a Go-Giver and enriching my life.
Tattoos Are Here To Stay
“Even as a slowdown in the economy threatens to curtail hiring, recruiters across the country still face difficulty finding the right people with the right skills to fill job openings. With skilled labor shortages worsening as baby boomers leave the workforce, employers will be left with no choice: they will have to welcome the growing number of tattooed candidates with open arms. Body art, including tattoos and piercings, are becoming more popular, especially among the generation entering the job market now. With some surveys indicating that more than one third of young people sport tattoos and other forms of body art, companies will be forced to become more accepting.” writes John A. Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
