Getting fired 101

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, apparently workplace rules are changing . . .

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/careerist/40342

my personal favourite:

2. Don't ask for time off, just take it.

When you need to leave work for a few hours or a few days, you don't need to ask for permission -- you're an adult, after all. Make sure your work is in good order and send an email to the relevant people letting them know you'll be gone.

This will seem discourteous to older people, who expect you to ask rather than tell. So be sure to give a reason why you're cutting out. People like to know they matter and where they stand.

The 10 rules in the article surely does not accurately describe new workplace etiquette, or do they?

bk

 

[farnham54]

I cannot believe that article is not Satire...

Just occurred to me; the more people who listen to that article means the more jobs for me...

Great read BK! Great advice in a well written piece of parchment on par with the secrets of the universe!....ahem....

Cheers
Craig

 

[scotrace]

The comments section indicates you aren't alone, Baron.

Author is a TWIT.

 

[Paisley]

All her tips sound great...if you're working for yourself.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Leave your headphones on???

I can't agree with that one under most circumstances.
But I do totally agree with skipping the so-called exit interview. In my case it would have probably led to fisticuffs, lawsuits and all sorts of other ugly drama. :rage:
Best to just leave some things unsaid, my ex boss knows deep down inside that he is an arrogant, selfish, dim-witted jerk anyway without me having to tell him so.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

admittedly....I do use headphones at work.

BUT......I use them when I need to concentrate on stats or database work.

And the fact that I work on a floor with 400 or so cublicles...means that I (with my super-hearing) have a hard time tuning out conversations 4 rows over without headphones. There are people on teleconferences on speaker phones almost constantly.

 

[Paisley]

My coworkers have two volumes: loud and louder. I've grown so accustomed to it that silence at work is eerie. I'm not opposed to headphones in some cases, but I don't sit still long enough to use them.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Assuming all this "advice" wasn't a gag, does this mean we older people now have to to fall in line and *enable* these clue-free kids? What if *my* authenticity is to be a hard-line by-the-books hidebound stickler for form?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

"Hey, new guy, you didn't turn up for work yesterday."

"Yeah i, uh, like, took a day off"

"Here's your pink slip, sonny. And leave the damn ipod at home"

bk

 

[imoldfashioned]

If only this were satire! The author is an obnoxious woman in my opinion, but she does a good job teaching others how to be obnoxious too. Numbers 2, 5, and 9 are my favorites.

 

[Samsa]

Looking over the profile of the author who wrote that, I don't think it's satire.

By headphones, could she mean a wireless headset for one's cell phone? That would make a little more sense, but not much more.

The only ones that sound like good advice are numbers 1, 4, 6, 7, and 10.

 

[Undertow]

"Hey, new guy, you didn't turn up for work yesterday."

"Yeah i, uh, like, took a day off"

"Here's your pink slip, sonny. And leave the damn ipod at home"

bk

lol No kidding!

 

[Paisley]

Don't you love how it's "older people" who expect to be asked if you want to take a few days off? You're either an authentic, socially adept adult who can call your own shots, or you're an old fuddy-duddy who has to be thrown a bone: "Well, Edith, I needed a few days to center myself, just so you know."

 

[Fletch]

The old days of office politics as a means of backstabbing are dead -- young people are bringing their team-player, I'm-competing-against-my-best-self mentality from their self-esteem-centric homes into the workplace, and there's nothing you can do except be nice back.

My dear Ms. Trunk, if you think bright, talented, ambitious, motivated people are EVER going to give up office politics OR backstabbing, you are living in a fool's paradise.

American homes these days may be centered on self-esteem, but not at the cost of achievement. And anybody who's achieved much of anything knows that you don't always have the luxury of believing in yourself or what you're doing. Things just have to get done, often over someone's dead body. Sometimes yours.

As soon as Generation X+1 moves into middle management in any great numbers, fostering self-esteem in the workplace is going to mean no more than it did in the days of the 3-martini lunch, and business philosophy books are going to start bearing titles like In Praise of the Toxic Boss.

The upside is that if LizzieMaine is really as much of a fire-breathing petty martinet as she claims to be, she'll be writing them, giving seminars, and making a tidy packet off it all.

 

[dhermann1]

The Rockbound Coast of Lizzie Maine

The upside is that if LizzieMaine is really as much of a fire-breathing petty martinet as she claims to be, she'll be writing them, giving seminars, and making a tidy packet off it all.

Ya know, I don't think she is, somehow. She just wants you to think she is.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Hey, I'm a regular Mister Dithers at work. I make the kids fill out a form every day attesting that they've cleaned the popcorn kettle, disinfected the soda fountain nozzles, and scrubbed out the butter-flavored-topping pump, and I don't let them listen to iPods or play games on the internet during work hours. And gawd help 'em if they don't show up for a scheduled shift -- they will get the hazing of all hazings.

In all seriousness, though, I think it's very important to show young workers that there's a right way and a wrong way to act in the workplace. This is the first job most of these kids have had, and the lessons I teach them will hopefully carry over in later life. The thing is, contrary to what media yahoos tell us, they seem to appreciate a bit of structure and discipline -- which does give me just a slight bit of hope for the future.

 

[TheKitschGoth]

Gotta love number 9, anyone tries that to me and they will find themselves in a lot of pain.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I believe her entire article was preparing the audience for number 9 . . . goo goo ga joob.

This is something i see more and more. The bosses are getting into this notion that any time is their time. They'll phone you when you're not at work, now? Since the industrial revolution they've been trying to crush the worker. Though thoroughly crushed already, apparently not enough. now workers need to "be available" at all times. Screw that. My phone is never turned on.

Sad thing is the number of people who buy into it.

bk

 

[griffer]

Her blog is HORRIBLE.

I liked her self-praise of her stunning writing ability.

Wow, what a twit.

Feel free to let her know.

penelope@penelopetrunk.com

 

[Lady Day]

Its a joke, right?

LD