Month: November 2023

I work for a fortune 200. Don’t work as many hours as they think. I’m guessing Microsoft is selling them tools to monitor my activity. Anyone have first hand knowledge?

It's that time of year when those with benefits are often seeing them roll over (or not) to the next year. Make sure you're using those up, people! If you have good insurance and an affordable copay, get to the dentist, refill your meds, book yourself into a meeting, but go to the massage therapist instead. Regardless of whether you have benefits, make sure you take advantage of your employer's other offerings. Have a shower at work? Shower there and lower your water bill. Do they offer coffee or snacks regularly or now and then? Fill a thermos and take some home. Heck, maybe you should replace your box of tissues a few sheets early, just so you don't run out. Put those remaining kleenex in your purse, just so you have some with you. Remember, only YOU can make sure your employer is providing you with as much as…

What do minimalism, the tiny house movement, vanlife, and homesteading all have in common besides being extremely popular with young people? They are a canary in the coal mine. Admittedly, I am no exception to the rule. I have an interest in all these things. Many young people are giving up on the conventional American lifestyle, and it is no wonder why. It isn't just America with this issue. Spend some time reading about the “lying flat” movement in China. Or consider the internet's “antiwork” movement. Boomers would like to imagine these groups as a small minority of whiney young people; the next decade will be a rude awakening. I can empathize with people who think this is a non-issue. I've contradicted my fair share of piers grumbling about “late-stage capitalism” or “corporate greed.” Any meaningful reflection quickly leaves these indictments feeling like low-hanging fruit, but I wrestle with the…

I’ve interviewed at 20 places and none of them hired me. I’m so stressed and discouraged.

Today should be a day spent with family, enjoying leftovers, and relaxing before the weekend. To all retail workers forced to show up today to accommodate the glorified consumerism of “Black Friday”, you are noticed and we care for you!

As someone who has worked since they were 21, nonstop, in corporate America (20 years), I have definitely seen a shift in my motivation to care about anything for my employer. Work has seriously sucked the life out of me. I used to be motivated and care (early 30’s?), but having to balance work and life has ruined me. I see others enthusiastically share ideas in meetings while I barely speak. I dread sitting at my desk all day and count down the minutes until I am out of there. I avoid my coworkers and employees because I just don’t care. How do people do this?! I’m not even close to retiring so I need to figure out how to get happy…

I have Thanksgiving off, as its a federal holiday. What is odd is the “curtailment” day that follows. On this Black Friday my workplace is closed. But I'm not paid for today. I either take my own annual leave, or take a pay cut for the day. Either way, I have no agency as a worker to make the choice to work or take time off. This lack of choice seems wrong to me. If my place of work is closing, either give me the day off or allow me to come in to work to get paid. Has anyone else experienced this treatment on Black Friday?

I got laid off by a big Fortune 500 company that boasts about having billion-dollar revenues every single quarter. The reason? Unprecedented economic times. Just threw me out, told me to fight to get back into the company and acted like I was some ordinary person off the streets even though I'd been recognized, went above and beyond, worked late nights, worked on weekends, went to forced corporate fun like kickball and stuff like that… But it didn't matter how much effort and time I had put in for the company, it was just here we're going to throw you out on the street and you can fight tooth and nail to try and get back in… So after 2500 applications all with cover letters, hiring a resume writer that had thousands of good reviews, making myself look like an all-around excellent candidate… I got a whopping 10 interviews, five…