Who wears short shorts?
July 31, 2008
One of my coworkers recently attempted to break the workplace taboo against shorts. It was unsuccessful. (She asked me to note here that she believed the $60 price tag of the shorts would make them suitable for the office. So noted.)
And now she sends me a story from The New York Times, discussing whether the growing casualness of the workplace has finally opened the door for office shorts. The story gives some examples of the once-forbidden — sock-less loafers, tie-less necks and the entire concept of Casual Fridays — and a couple quotes from people who, I’m guessing, are painfully hip.
Then these few sentences bring us plunging back to reality:
“Yet none of the New York City banks, law firms, stock brokerages or hospitals contacted by a reporter last week considered shorts an acceptable part of a work uniform, and for reasons that varied from the need to preserve institutional decorum to hygiene (imagine a hairy leg in an O.R.)
Still, it is probably worth remembering that there was a time when politicians were seldom seen, even out of the office, without their decorous suit coats, and never in short pants (Nixon famously wore shoes on the beach). And it was only a short while ago that news anchors who ventured out on combat assignment did so in more protective khaki than a Victorian ornithologist braving the wilds of Borneo.”
So what do you think? Can you imagine a world where it will ever be appropriate to go to work at “banks, law firms, stock brokerages or hospitals” while wearing shorts?
JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist
Sphere: Related ContentIs getting mad at work only for men?
April 22, 2008
In 2006, I worked at a small publishing company with a female production manager who would often get visibly annoyed with fast-approaching deadlines. On a couple of occasions, she dropped a few four letter words with our boss present. And, five months into her tenure, she was fired after an outburst.
Her behavior wasn’t completely professional, but, to be fair, the company - a startup - demanded a lot from her. And new research shows that the scales might be tipped in favor of male employees when it comes to workplace anger.
When men lose their cool at work, they appear authoritative, the study from Psychological Science found. When women do it, they’re usually penalized.
When the study participants watched video demonstrations of ‘botched’ office situations, they labeled the angry women as incompetent, out of control, and overpaid. When men got angry, participants assumed it was reasonable.
The good news for professional women: when they explained why they were angry, women gained respect, while men lost it (for appearing weak).
Is it appropriate for an employee to get angry in the workplace? To what degree? And under what circumstances?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentWaterboarding as a motivational tool
April 15, 2008
When it comes to humor, there is a fine line between funny and tasteless. There’s also a fine line between being topical and yesterday’s news. The lines intersect at different points, creating enough angles to exhaust a protractor.
That said, I present this story from Sunday’s Washington Post about a lawsuit in Utah. It begins:
No one really disputes that Chad Hudgens was waterboarded outside a Provo office park last May 29, right before lunch, by his boss.
That’s right – as part of a teambuilding exercise, Hudgens was held down by co-workers while supervisor Joshua Christopherson “poured water from a gallon jug over [Hudgens’] nose and mouth,” according to the story.
“You saw how hard Chad fought for air right there,” Christopherson reportedly told his sales reps. “I want you to go back inside and fight that hard to make sales.”
Christopherson’s actions netted him a two-week suspension, WaPo said.
Hudgens said he’d volunteered because “the last time we did a team-building exercise outside, we did an egg toss,” according to the story.
Putting aside the obvious questions (What would happen if you forgot Christopherson’s birthday? What if you took the last Sharpie out of the supply closet?), I leave you with quotes from the firm’s general counsel and its president:
- “I don’t know if this would even be an issue if it weren’t for Guantanamo Bay.”
- “How many times did the CIA even do waterboarding? Three times?”
- “But look at the damage it did to America’s reputation. And it’s going to hurt our image.”
I still can’t decide if those sound bites create obtuse or acute angles according to my humor geometry, but I’m pretty sure they aren’t right.
Danny Jacobs, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentI don’t like Mondays… or Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays
April 8, 2008
Are you being productive today at the office? If not, you might just want to give up and call it a week.
According to a survey by Accountemps, Tuesday is by far the most productive day of the workweek. Or so say a whopping 57 percent of respondents. A mere 3 percent say Fridays are the most productive (nothing too surprising there).
I can understand answering “Tuesday.” It’s really the only day — for me, at least — where I don’t still miss the previous weekend, and don’t yet yearn for the coming weekend.
Of course, the answer also works if everyone was just guessing randomly at their responses. I vaguely recall learning in high school that a testmaker with the potential multiple choice answers of A, B, C, D, and E will most likely put the answer at B. The thinking goes:
- Most people are right-handed, so they will hide the answer away from the side where they naturally rest their hand. That knocks out D and E. And also C, just to be safe.
- A is the first answer someone sees, so too obvious. It’s out.
- That leaves B. Or Tuesday, if you’re dealing with the five days of the workweek.
Then again, I could just be over-thinking the matter, and both the glasses were poisoned the whole time.
Anyway, on which day do you get the most work done? Feel free to guess.
JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist
Sphere: Related ContentIs the workplace raunchier?
March 24, 2008
If it is, it may have something to do with miscommunication between male and female coworkers.
Not that I’m pointing fingers; I’m merely adding 1 + 1 = 2.
1. More women say they heard sexually inappropriate comments at work last year (38%, up from 22% in 2006. Source: Novations Group). The percentage of men who reported inappropriate comments held steady at 45%.
Why the increase? Well, it could be that male employees are lowering their guards around women they view as peers, says law prof Paul Secunda. The problem with that is what’s reasonable to a guy may not be reasonable to a gal. That difference “shows up in sexual-harassment case law,” he told BusinessWeek.
2. Or, it could be that the men are simply misinterpreting female behavior - something that happens frequently, according to a new NIH-funded study.
The young men who were part of the study had trouble noticing and interpreting the meanings of females’ non-verbal cues:
Rather than seeing the world through sex-colored glasses, men seemed just to have blurry vision of sorts, overall.
So, is the workplace less appropriate than in years past? Or are there simply differences in interpretation between genders that are biologically driven?
What else could explain the spike in sexual comments at work?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentFour decades of cubicles
March 20, 2008
Time magazine’s blog says the cubicle, our “soul-destroying workspace,” is 40 years old. So, apparently, it’s time for a face lift.
Dilbert’s Scott Adams and a bunch of office designers have created the ideal cubicle (there’s a hammock and a bunch of options for your feet, including shag carpet and freshly cut grass.)
I’d go with a sand beach to wiggle my toes in. And maybe a heat lamp.
What would you want?
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
Sphere: Related ContentWhat’s your biggest weakness? No, seriously.
March 7, 2008
Do you work too hard? Are you too much of a leader? Are you just too terrific?
According to a piece on AskMen.com, two of these three “weaknesses” are on the short list of ways to answer the “What’s your biggest weakness?” question in a job interview.
The five:
“I tend to talk too much.”
“I project self-expectations.”
“I get attached to projects.”
“I assume the leader role when it’s not designated to me.”
“I’m a workaholic.”
So, what do you think? What’s the best – or worst – line you’ve said or heard? Seems to me you could cover all these answers simply by claiming you suffer from “excessive awesomeness.”
JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist
Sphere: Related ContentThe benefits of bathroom-sharing
March 7, 2008
Does growing up with a shared bathroom give you better life management skills down the line?
I hope not. But that certainly would clear up a few things.
In “Lessons From the Family Bathroom” from The New York Times online, Tara Parker blogs on an essay that dissects the benefits of a shared family bathroom. Parker writes about the essay’s author:
“She sometimes longs for a lower person-to-bathroom ratio, but she has also realized that her shared family bathroom has been the source for teaching important life skills about sharing and time management, among other things.”
So what do you think? Did sharing a bathroom as a kid help you later?
Or were your interpersonal skills forever ruined because you never had to battle for the sink?
And don’t forget to read the full “The Family Bathroom Waltz” by Marie Hartwell-Walker.
JOE BACCHUS, Web Specialist
Sphere: Related ContentAttorneys: How do you know it’s time to go?
March 4, 2008
Attention, all you lawyers who have changed jobs at some point in your careers:
I’m writing a story about signs that you should leave your job and I want to hear from you.
What was it that convinced you it was time to head for the door? Did you find yourself driving in the right lane during the Monday morning commute just to delay getting to the office? Did a verbally abusive boss finally go too far? Did you realize that your professional goals — making partner, handling the type of cases that interest you, striking a balance between work and family life — were never going to happen if you stayed put?
Drop me a line at caryn.tamber[at]mddailyrecord.com or call 443-524-8157 some time in the next day or two and tell me your tale.
(For those who want to share but don’t want their names used, I need to know who you are, but we can talk about the possibility of anonymity in the story.)
CARYN TAMBER, Legal Affairs Writer
Sphere: Related ContentAsleep on the job? Not this week.
March 3, 2008
Here’s a national debt that gets little press: our national sleep debt. It affects all of us, and every morning we hit the “snooze” we are paying the price.
Today is the start of National Sleep Week, reports Sleep Services of America, a Glen Burnie-based company that is urging Americans to spend more time sleeping in bed rather than at their desks.
A survey of 1,000 people found participants average only six hours and 40 minutes of sleep a night on weeknights, and roughly one-third said they had fallen asleep or become very sleepy at work in the past month.
Personally, I’m surprised it’s only one-third.
Just how big a deal drowsiness is depends, of course, on your job, the AP writes.
Recently, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the NRC should have investigated a tip that security guards often took naps on the job at a Pennsylvania nuclear plant. (They did so only after a videotape of guards sleeping at the plant surfaced several months later).
And sleeping at work can dictate catching up at home; the study found workdays are getting longer and time spent working at home averages 4.5 hours each week.
Here’re some tips for good sleep:
- Establish a regular sleep schedule to help set your body’s internal clock
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime
- Exercise regularly but avoid doing so at least three hours before bed
- Create a sleep-conducive environment that is dark, quiet and cool
And maybe try to sleep in a bit more? The National Sleep Foundation says our average wake up is at 5:35 a.m.
JACKIE SAUTER, Web Editor
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