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The 10 Questions You Must Ask After You're Fired
Tweet Share on Facebook July 31, 2008 Comment (2)"Your position has been eliminated. Your last day of work will be today."
If you haven't heard this line before, it may be in your future. It can be pretty traumatic, and you'll have so many questions, you won't even know which ones to ask. In case this happens to you, here is a list of things you need to know. You don't have to know the answers immediately after being notified, but you should find them out within the next few days.
Here are 10 questions you should have answered. Most (if not all!) should be answered by reading the paperwork you have. If not, call your manager or HR person.
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The Evilest E-mail Sin
Tweet Share on Facebook July 30, 2008 Comment (72)Animated smiley faces. The thoughtless "reply all." Signature lines with inspirational quotes. Passive aggressively cc-ing a person's boss. And, of course, THE DREADED ALL CAPS.
All email iniquities.
All of them bad.
But what's the worst thing you can do in an E-mail? What is the one unforgivable sin?
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Bad Bosses Can Ruin People
Tweet Share on Facebook July 29, 2008 Comment (8)Bad bosses ruin people. They are demanding, impolite, crude; they take too much credit and are adept at making our work lives a living hell. People can get "ruined"—OK, a bit melodramatic, that—because they start thinking that this how bosses operate.
Bad bosses destroy value—in their companies and communities but mostly in their people. The effects of a bad boss linger on a person's attitude over an entire career, like the smell of the dead skunk I almost ran over this weekend.
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Is It Too Much to Ask for Some Office Bathroom Improvements?
Tweet Share on Facebook July 28, 2008 CommentMy last two blog posts for Outside Voices have generated a fair share of criticism. While I know blog commenters are more likely to participate when they disagree with you, I've decided to write about something that only an insane person couldn't agree with: needed improvements to your office bathroom.
We're not talking marble tile, granite countertops, and Kohler appliances. Rather, simple changes that would make the entire experience a lot more human. My time (and hopefully yours) in the workplace lavatory is an infrequent experience, and I understand that employers don't want us to become too comfortable away from our desks. Or you might end up like the janitor at my job who nods off for several hours a day in stall No. 2.
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How to Resign Your Job Gracefully
Tweet Share on Facebook July 28, 2008 Comment (10)I get a lot of questions from people who are nervous about the best way to tell their boss they're resigning. Fortunately, there's a basic formula for doing it well:
• First, be sure resigning is the right decision. Don't do it in a huff, to make a point, or in the hopes that it will make them realize how much they need you.
• Do it in person. Unless you have virtually no personal relationship with your boss, this is not a message to send by E-mail or via a letter left in your manager's inbox. Request a meeting, and say it face to face.
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What You Should Learn From a Talentless Celebrity
Tweet Share on Facebook July 25, 2008 CommentThis post is for those of you who feel as if you are trapped within a bubble and that you have not been sufficiently recognized by the world.
You read of the careers of others and wonder: How did this person do it? That question is especially painful if the individual or celebrity seems to possess little talent aside from a flair for self-promotion.
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How to Make a Lazy Worker Move, or How to Move On From a Lazy Worker
Tweet Share on Facebook July 24, 2008 Comment (3)I have an employee who has been with us for 5 years. He has always been a so-so performer. He does his job, but does not go out of his way to contribute. It has now come to a point where he does not want to accept any more responsibilities nor does he want to advance in any other way but he complains about his salary and that he is no longer challenged. What do we do at this point? We have explained the possibilities of advancement which would thus increase his salary and give him more challenges but he refuses to take our suggestions. I want to salvage this relationship but I don't think he feels the same way. What do you think?
I once had a friend who had been married and divorced four times. She started dating a man who had been married and divorced five times. Of course, they got married after a few months of dating. So, would you like to guess if they are still married? Of course not! They divorced within two years.
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The Secret to Staying Energetic in Your Career
Tweet Share on Facebook July 24, 2008 CommentWhat if you had a way to make sure you'd never need to come to someone like me to help you figure out how to inject the energy back into your career? Better yet, what if the process were easy and painless? Would you want to know about it?
Well here's the secret sauce: Make your work a nonstop research experiment focused on you. As you go about your work, ask yourself questions like:
- What do I love about this? Why?
- What drives me nuts about this? Why?
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Playing Like the Big Boys
Tweet Share on Facebook July 23, 2008 Comment (5)So, you've just been pink-slipped. Or you've still got a job but you're worried it's not for long. What do you do?
You play like the big boys.
When times get tough for Google and Motorola and, heck, even General Motors, the first thing they do is diversify. Why? Because they know that when one part of the economy is tanking, another part is just taking off. Sure, jobs are being eliminated or sent elsewhere. But at the same time, whole new categories of jobs are being created.
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Attention, Bosses: Leave Us Alone on Friday Afternoon
Tweet Share on Facebook July 22, 2008 Comment (12)The majority of full-time workers in America are required to be at the office Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. While many of us have a minimum number of hours we must work, one thing is certain: We don't spend all of our working hours at work working. Since many bosses have unrealistic expectations or are simply in denial, I feel it's important to broadcast this message to every boss, supervisor, and coworker across the land:
NOTHING GETS DONE ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
Accept it. Embrace it.
We might physically be present, but mentally, we are somewhere far, far away.
