ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > June
June 2006
Anger management or Angry management
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you find yourself having anger management issues at work?
People are dealing with more frustrating situations these days that add to stress.
Most commonly we are given more responsibility at work without reflected pay.
There are also pressures outside of work such as bills, health care issues, gas prices, bird flu and the war to name a few.
With all the pressure of work, world events, family and traffic, it is hard to find time to relax.
Relaxation allows us to release stress gathered each day, especially stress brought on within the workplace.
Pressure on yourself can be good to motivate others and yourself to complete tasks and get the ball rolling in certain situations at work, but do not allow the pressure to become anger.
You do not want anger to control you, you must control anger. Anger in the workplace usually starts with your direct report.
Is your boss an angry manager or does your boss control his/her frustration through anger management?
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Human Resources: friend or foe?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Last year, HR folks were all abuzz about a Fast Company magazine cover story in entitled, “Why We Hate HR.”
The writer portrayed HR as behind the times, not linked into company goals and simply ineffective in its role.
Many people use the term “HR Police.” It feels to many like being called into the principal’s office when summoned to HR.
Despite its problems, I think that HR has come a long way in recent years.
Let’s face it. They have a lot on their plates.
The successful HR professionals we interviewed for our book Shaping Your Role: Succeeding in Today’s Organizations (Elsevier, 2005), cited many challenges they face including compliance issues (helping their companies to avoid litigation), hiring outstanding talent (a huge concern for companies now), balancing the needs or management and employees and overseeing outsourcing providers.
It takes a special person to succeed in this field; one who is motivated to help people, solve problems and be in a continual learning mode.
When its working, HR partners with you, coaches you through options and provides expertise.
HR professionals and and any of you out there considering the field have resources like The Society of Human Resource Management and SHRMAtlanta where you can find answers to questions and gain certifications and training.
New sites crop up daily. Two blogs that I like are www.hiring-revolution.com and www.employmentblawg.com.
Are you seeing the HR role at your company evolve? Do you hate or love HR?
What could they do to improve their performance?
Wearing 15 pieces of flair?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the movie “Office Space” a nerdy restaurant manager lectures Jennifer Anniston’s character about her lack of “flair”.
He is referring to the goofy buttons on the suspenders of her server’s uniform. Restaurant protocol requires that all employees wear a minimum of 15 pieces of “flair” during their shift.
Because she is not interested in the job or the flair, she continues to wear only the minimum amount of flair…much to the chagrin of her manager, who continually challenges her to take pride in her job by wearing additional flair. “What do you think of people who always do the minimum?” he asks.
Anniston’s character, fed up with what she sees as an arbitrary requirement in an unfulfilling, dead end job, finally snaps back at her manager and insists that if he wants her to wear 37 pieces of flair; he should just change the minimum to 37 pieces of flair!
The following scene shows her dramatically walking off the job, flipping profanities as she storms out the door.
While Hollywood entertains us with its special kind of social commentary, most people would agree that in real life this behavior would not win anyone an Employee of the Month award.
Still, movies like this resonate with so many of us because we’ve all felt similar frustrations on the job.
In this example, the manager, who takes his position very seriously, wants his employees to exhibit the same enthusiasm that he personally feels about his company and expects his employees to go beyond the minimum.
How have you seen this played out in your workplace? Do your colleagues wear only the minimum amount of flair?
How has this affected your workload? Should employees be expected to perform beyond the minimum?
Do gender biases still exist?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gender is a biological thing! Yes! (Clenched fist pull down!) Thank goodness!!
But what’s the deal with gender differences in the workplace?
Some businesses used to be male dominated and may still be.
How is it for you women (and men)?
For the businesses that are no longer male dominated and used to be, how is it for you men? And women?
In some businesses, women dominate the workplace. What’s it like for you? YES, both of you?
Do men still have the upper hand when it comes to advancements/promotions compared to women? Is the good ‘ol boy network still alive and well?
I found that in business meetings when a man brings up an idea, he gets heard. Often when a woman brings up an idea, it’s passed by or down played.
Many times, the woman’s idea is brought up again at a later date by a man only to be listened to, and with the credit going to the man.
Hmmm!! What’s that about?
Or have “the tables turned” in some businesses? Meaning, in the scramble for companies to become “politically correct,” or have “diversity programs,” women are now getting more of the breaks, more of the pie!
Once during my career in the high tech industry, I joined a company whose sales force was woman dominated. I didn’t know it and I was in sales!
At the first national sales meeting, I freaked out! … I never did get into the good ‘ol girl network like I used to always get into the good ‘ol boy network.
When it comes to gender differences in the workplace, how do you fill in the blanks to: Men are from _, women are from _?
I have my opinion, but that’s for another blog!
Minimum wage boost vote falls shy in Senate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The need to increase the minimum wage has been apparent for many years as workers face raising living costs and higher gases prices.
This notion however, was thwarted in the Senate yesterday when a ‘52-46 vote in favor of boosting the minimum wage fell shy of the 60 votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles built in to prevent a simple majority vote.’ Read more.
Do you agree with this decision or do you think the minimum wage should be raised?
Have you participated in any polls or discussion about this issue?
Making the most of the summer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Through some really great circumstances, my wife and I have recently returned to the teen-parenting scene after a stint as empty nesters.
For a two-career family, summers can be a nightmare, especially through those early teen years when childcare with a nanny or teen in the community just aren’t an option any more.
I had forgotten the anxiety and stress my wife and I felt during that period between May and August, when keeping those early teens (who don’t have jobs or cars) occupied, safe and out of trouble becomes the single focus of your life.
We started the summer out pretty well, mapped out on the calendar, with great plans for a camp every week, visits to older siblings or friends in other states.
We also planned vacations to keep the guys occupied and out of trouble.
As the summer progresses, the mid-summer report is that we’ve done pretty well. The sibling visit fell through but everything else is in place.
July is sketchy but we have some options during the third and fourth weeks but Oh my God! We forgot about the first two weeks of August!
The thing I hate is this ever-present feeling of being pulled between family and the job and not doing a really good job at either.
As anyone in this situation knows, the impact of this stress plays havoc with the job, the family and your personal mental health.
Try keeping meeting schedules away from the dreaded 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. pickup time when many camps end their day and then you have lunch and the afternoon.
Even worse, what do you do when you have a day-long meeting on Friday and the camp is only Monday through Thursday? And what about those gaps when you have no coverage?
I find myself rushing from one place to another, worrying about my child, what I’m missing at work, if I’ll get back in time and what the boss will think.
MOST importantly, I worry about how my stress impacts my family life and my kids.
Luckily, my wife and I live relatively close to home and work. I’m also thankful that we have the income to provide the camp experience.
I cannot begin to imagine the stress felt by parents who have long commutes, rely on public transportation or do not have flexible schedules.
I’m sure my wife and I aren’t the only ones feeling this stress.
When did summer become such a challenge? Shouldn’t we just shut things down for the summer and really enjoy our family and the time we have together?
Sometimes I think the Europeans have it right . Are we are totally missing the best times of our lives?
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Wherever you go…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
…Look in the mirror.
On one of those days where I felt the ‘world wasn’t my oyster,’ someone said something I’ve never forgotten, ‘Where you go, you go.’
With every job change, you remain the constant in the equation.
You may be able to change your external environment but without changing yourself, it may only be a new address rather than a new outcome.
I believe the workplace requires us to face ourselves. It’s easy to look at what’s wrong with your employer’s products, training, strategy, boss.
What’s difficult is to ask ourselves how we have contributed to the undesirable circumstances?
Years of supporting others’ career transitions has taught me that real change begins from the inside.
If you don’t learn the lessons you need to in each job, you can count on having to learn it in the next one. If you don’t take criticism well, you’ll find you work for another critical executive.
If you fear authority, you’ll end up working for a control freak. If you have a hard time saying no, you’ll end up in a company where the mantra is “yes, when do you need it done?”
Your professional life gives you a classroom to gain new skills. With enough practice everyone can learn the job related tasks of closing the books, making the deadline, building a better product, or selling more widgets.
What’s hard is acknowledging your own areas of improvement. People often leave their job (or their job leaves them) because they need to grow as a person and deepen their understanding of both their gifts and their gaps.
Next time you think about making a career change, ask yourself what you could be running away from.
If you think the answer is you, learn more about how you can change yourself and your behaviors so that you can get more of what you really want, exactly where you are now and wherever else you go.
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Ways to channel office gossip
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Office gossip is an unintended consequence of people coexisting each day for 50% of their waking hours (at a minimum) within a cubicle environment.
Every office has the person that is the stereotypical office gossip.
She/he is probably sitting right next to you, watching you read this blog and telling others you are moving to Atlanta.
Since you can’t make office gossip stop, use it to your advantage. Here are some ideas to consider:
Office gossip can give you information that you are not privy to that will allow you to understand company changes before they are announced.
Beware of validity, but keep your ears open.
Befriend the office gossip to ensure your name stays out of the gossip. You never know who the information will reach.
Never act on information you hear in “office chatter.” We all know it is a version of events that unfolded. Be smart; don’t react on everything you hear.
Has office gossip ever worked for or against you at work?
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Clear communication is key
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As I was clearing my voice mail recently, I had to repeat a certain message multiple times in order to understand what the caller was saying.
I thought I could make out a first name, but the telephone number was a quickly muttered mess.
In the end, I was unable to return the call because I couldn’t understand enough of the message to take down a phone number.
Later, it occurred to me how many missed opportunities must go by daily due to poor communication in the workplace.
Rumors are started, revenue is lost, customers don’t return…all because someone did not communicate in a way that was easily understood.
First impressions are not always visual impressions. The impression you make with your voice is just as critical to your professional success.
This isn’t to say that everyone should speak with the same flat, Midwestern dialect you hear on television.
Someone can have a regional accent, but still be easily understood because he or she speaks clearly and uses proper grammar.
The colorful language and distinctive phrases we might use when speaking to our peers or our family is a rich part of our cultural heritage and may be perfectly acceptable in the right context.
Nonetheless, in the business world linguistic standards are viewed quite differently. Our customers and clients do judge us based on what we say and how we say it.
Sometimes hard-working, well-qualified employees are not promoted because their speech patterns don’t give the impression that they’re management material.
Have you had a similar experience? Do you have a co-worker who is constantly using bad grammar?
Have you made a serious professional blunder because you thought someone said “five” but you found out later they meant “nine”?
Business travel tales
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
People love to complain about traveling for work. They describe scenarios where they sat on the runway in overheated planes for 5 hours (“and they didn’t even serve us drinks!”).
Or maybe you were placed next to a chatty passenger or mother and baby, who won’t stop shrieking!
I have vented to others about bumped and cancelled flights, lost luggage and rude flight attendants, etc. etc. Certainly, missing family and social events and waking at the crack of dawn are some of the downsides of business travel.
But do we really have it so bad? As Atlantans, when we come home we are home.
Our seatmates trip over us to make their connections. We can catch up on sleep, work and even read for pleasure.
I do some of my most creative work during these uninterrupted times.
I see many fellow passengers just sitting there, thinking about who knows what? When they are earthbound, they are human doings.
Up in the clouds, they can just be in the moment, gathering their reserves before facing the world again.
More talkative passengers learn about career fields and may even sit next to a future boss. Not interested in talking? Just turn the music up.
So is travel a blessing or a curse for you? What is your worst travel story? Is it a necessary evil or are there some positives that you have experienced?
Injury ever affect the job?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
With news of the Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger’s motorcycle crash everywhere yesterday, it is hard to speculate if this will have an impact on his career.
Reports says he is stable, has broken his nose and jaw and ‘likely’ to play this season. Read more on the story.
A great number of people are injured both on and off the job every year.
A story we ran in ajcjobs earlier this year tackled job safety in Atlanta.
Is your workplace unsafe? Have you been injured on or off the job and had dire consequences to face on the workfront?
Any way the wind blows
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Body hygiene can be a real problem in the workplace. The first thought about hygiene is often about B.O. (body odor). But too much cologne, scent or perfume can be a real turnoff! For the purpose of this blog, we’ll consider any and all to be issues of personal hygiene.
We’re all used to our own “stuff.” We live with it every day. But how often do we consider those around us. Probably not a whole lot. If you do, you may be the exception.
And who speaks up? Too often we tough it out … day after day after day. Right?
For those of us that have had to “put up with it,” we think that the perpetrator must know what’s going on. Maybe so, but probably not.
Some folks who work in companies with shift work might have to walk into an office just vacated by someone with a personal hygiene problem.
For people in companies with shift work who have jobs that have them working in a small booth, like parking lot attendants, personal hygiene can be a real challenge. How often has either happened to you?
What’s been your experience with speaking up to the person with the hygiene problem? How did you deal with it? What was their reaction?
If you’ve been told about having a personal hygiene problem, how did you handle it? Who told you? Your boss or a coworker? What was the outcome?
What’s been your worst experience? Mine occurred on a long bus ride, but that’s another story!
I had to deal with this issue as a manager with several different employees and it was a real learning experience.
This is a malodorous issue! Which way is the wind blowing for you?
Can politics derail your career?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just three short years ago, The Dixie Chicks’ career fell off the mountaintop when singer Natalie Marnes spoke up on stage in London with a sentiment disfavoring George W. Bush.
There was immediate backlash as the Dixie Chicks were heavily criticized for what seemed an unpatriotic statement showing disrespect to the President on the eve of war.
From backlash to blacklist, the group who had been a lauded multiple Grammy winner and had sold millions of records, were being yanked from radio airplay around the country.
In a country that prides itself on ‘meritocracy’ in the workplace, these music artists were censured from the media avenue that has been the traditional means to launch and maintain a music career.
Well, it seems that meritocracy prevails.
Anyone who likes country music may already notice that for the second week the Dixie Chicks are ranked #1 on the country music charts.
With the advent of satellite radio, the Internet, and other ways to promote music, the Chicks found their mark without the help of traditional radio.
Whether you like country music, the Chicks, or their politics…do you think it is OK to speak out about your political beliefs with those who can influence your career mobility… like with your boss or others in the workplace?
Send me in coach
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coaching seems to be the new catch phrase in management literature.
Leaders have a new responsibility added to their job description - coaching their employees.
Life coaches are ubiquitous and of course, everyone needs one - just as much as that personal trainer.
Coaches advertise on the internet, promising to increase your presentation abilities, your entrepreneurial skills, and your success in life.
Enthusiastic team members give their coaches credit for helping them become better listeners, enabling them to give positive feedback to other team members, inspiring them to take risks and building bonds of trust among co-workers.
The bookshelves and magazines for management types reek of analogies of leader as coach.
In their book, Leader As Coach: Strategies for Coaching & Developing Others, David Peterson and Mary Dee Hicks advertise that they will provide quick tips to inform leaders how to be great coaches in the workplace.
Coaching websites describe leader coaches as authentic, self-understanding, wise, and trustworthy - wow.
Okay, let’s be real, everyone knows that every coach isn’t a winner or a paragon of virtue. That’s impossible, right?
With all this emphasis on coaching for leaders, how much of it is really sinking into the psyche of managers and being transferred to the workplace?
I have rarely seen a manager interested in their subordinate’s development, they tend to be more focused on the bottom line - what have you done for me lately?
Have you ever felt ‘coached’ by anyone? Is coaching just a substitution for being a ‘mentor’?
Are managers coached by their managers and on and on. I’m just not sure the workplace has reached this nirvana just yet.
I’m not really sure that good coaches exist in the workplace - convince me.
Last chance to win a $1,000 interview wardrobe!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Interviews alone can be stressful but who needs more pressure when you can’t decide what to wear.
Today is the last day you can enter to win a brand new $1,000 interview wardrobe!
Planning to look great for that all important interview has never been so easy.
Just play our interactive game, Nail the Interview and enter to a whole new interview wardrobe after you complete the game.
Good luck and see if you can top the highest salary! Contest closes on Thursday June 8, 2006.
Careers on caffeine
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s why you should say yes when a recruiter wants to buy you a cup of coffee:
When time is of the essence in a job search, you may not have time to meet with every recruiter in their office, but you may have time to slip out for a coffee break.
You may also find a cup of java with a recruiter in the morning is a far better strategy, than never finding time to look for a job after getting bombarded with countless phone calls and emails once your work day gets started.
Time is money. Long lunch or dinner interviews can be a time warp and therefore a big investment, especially without knowing whether you are really interested in a prospective job opportunity.
Yet, in-office interviews have a downside too. It isn’t always ideal to have the formality of a desk between you and a recruiter.
Being more relaxed and possibly less guarded in a coffee-shop setting may help provide the recruiter and the job seeker an ability to realistically assess what kind of job is a good fit.
As a recruiter myself, I love candidates who are responsive and flexible.
I once found a candidate online and invited her to meet me for a cup of coffee even though it was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon.
Despite being on the couch in sweatpants, she said “I’ll change and be there in 45 minutes.”
By Monday morning she had an interview and by lunchtime a job. Plus, let’s not forget she got a free cup of coffee.
Caffeine addict or not, a coffee shop interview may just get your career buzzing.
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Have an office stalker?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We all know that everyone has their little nuances. Some people like to blare their music and others don’t understand what the term ‘inside voices’ means.
But what happens when people bring their vices to work with them?
A friend of mine Sarah once had a coworker who would bark down the phone all day long. The same gentleman would also eavesdrop on her conversations and try to participate in them. Her iPod and even instant messenger couldn’t save her from this pest.
I myself attracted the attention of an annoying colleague, who I nicknamed my ‘office stalker’ at my last job.
Let’s call him Troy for the sake of anonymity. Troy was our office’s friendly administrative assistant, who could give ‘Herman from the Munsters’ a run for his money.
Troy was an odd heavy-breathing hoverer who was always looming at my desk.
Sometimes, he just wanted to give me a message or borrow my stapler but for god sakes don’t just perch yourself on the edge of my cube silently. Announce yourself or let me continue working!
I would bump into Troy in the break room and Starbucks daily!
I can’t fault Troy for being a nice guy and he always meant well but did he really have to stalk me at work?
Do you have a strange coworker who irks you? Are they always popping up in the cafeteria or restroom? Do their habits give you creeps or tick you off?
Do you have an office stalker?
Nightmare Interviews
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Preparing for a job interview is serious business.
Interviews are emotionally charged events and because the job seeker wants to make a good impression, even the most confident of personalities can still feel a little anxious.
So what happens when, despite careful preparation, your interview experience is a total disaster?
Job seekers and human resources professionals alike can relate to the nightmare interview.
Experienced interviewers typically have at least a few stories to tell about interviews that have gone very, very wrong.
Whether it’s the candidate who falls asleep during an interview, or the one who arrived in attire that is only appropriate in a nightclub, or who the one who speaks in a tone of voice audible from two miles away, their stories can be both tragic and amusing depending on the perspective.
But what happens when the interviewer seems to have taken a dive off the deep end and begins to act hostile manner toward you during the interview?
If you recognize that you are in the middle of a ‘Stress Interview’ and keep your composure, you can come through it with confidence and grace!
Stress interviews are used sometimes used by employers who are attempting to determine how a candidate might react in stressful or uncomfortable situations that may arise in a work setting.
They might ask confrontational questions, exhibit strange or rude behavior, or ask an impossible question for which there is no dignified response.
Advance preparation and research can help you feel more confident if you ever find yourself in a Stress Interview situation.
Keeping your composure and maintaining control of your responses are critical in such a situation.
Ask for clarification when you are unsure about the relevance of interview questions and don’t be afraid to re-direct the conversation back to your skills and suitability for the position.
The worst thing you could do is take it personally and verbally attack the interviewer.
Remember, if you find the situation offensive and inappropriate, you have the right to politely end the interview.
You may not get the job but the important question is, do you still want it?
Even a nightmare interview is valuable. At the very least you gained some interview experience and you’ll leave the office with a great story to tell your friends!
Do you have a great interview story to share? Does the word ‘interview’ cause your palms to start sweating? Has an interview caused you to have unpleasant dreams?
