Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
7.06.2009
6.25.2009
What do Brazilians Talk About When They Work in Cubes?
My office is comprised predominantly of female employees. On many days the only man I see between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm is the security guard who holds open the automatic door in the morning. I always take the security guard's gesture as a true sign of chivalry, as we really does not need to hold open the automatic door. Since there are many employees in my office, the HR department is actively on the promoting events that will hopefully inspire life-long friendships within the company. The HR representative in my office recently went to a conference that taught her that the best way to staff retention is to facilitate friendship and bonding moments for employees. The theory is that if employees share memories together they will be less likely to move onto another employment opportunity.
The HR representative tried to encourage camaraderie inviting everyone via email to "grab drinks" after work and possibly engage in a trivia contest or two. I appreciated the HR representative's enthusiasm and eagerness to put into practice what she learned at her conference (she wrote in the email that she was suggesting the outing because of what she learned at the conference...another secret to a corporate trick revealed). Little did the HR representative know, however, that one floor above her office the women were planning a team-building exercise of their own.
Sometimes working with all women leaves nothing to the imagination. I can learn more than I would ever care to know by sitting in a group of women for a few minutes. I believe that speaking from cubes has the ability to make women more vulnerable. The six foot barrier does wonders to get women to talk about anything. For some reason the cube seems to make women feel like they have privacy to speak about extremely intimate things. I'm not sure men act the same when confined to a cube.
The same day the HR email arrive in my inbox a woman began talking about waxing. Since she was sitting in her cube it was uncertain who she was directly speaking to. I think she was just throwing out her comments as bait to see who would continue the conversation with her. That's usually how it goes - one person tosses a comment out to the community, and then voices across the room start to chime in. The waxing comment interested a good portion of the cube community. I listened as women told some of their most embarrassing waxing stories. One woman recalled a horror story. Another woman raved about her experiences.
Without ever seeing each other face-to-face one woman convinced a group of women to get Brazilian waxed together. I wonder what HR would think of the unorthodox organization of such a team-building exercise. Memories are sure to be formed at the waxing salon. I think this could be a good case study for the next HR conference.
The HR representative tried to encourage camaraderie inviting everyone via email to "grab drinks" after work and possibly engage in a trivia contest or two. I appreciated the HR representative's enthusiasm and eagerness to put into practice what she learned at her conference (she wrote in the email that she was suggesting the outing because of what she learned at the conference...another secret to a corporate trick revealed). Little did the HR representative know, however, that one floor above her office the women were planning a team-building exercise of their own.
Sometimes working with all women leaves nothing to the imagination. I can learn more than I would ever care to know by sitting in a group of women for a few minutes. I believe that speaking from cubes has the ability to make women more vulnerable. The six foot barrier does wonders to get women to talk about anything. For some reason the cube seems to make women feel like they have privacy to speak about extremely intimate things. I'm not sure men act the same when confined to a cube.
The same day the HR email arrive in my inbox a woman began talking about waxing. Since she was sitting in her cube it was uncertain who she was directly speaking to. I think she was just throwing out her comments as bait to see who would continue the conversation with her. That's usually how it goes - one person tosses a comment out to the community, and then voices across the room start to chime in. The waxing comment interested a good portion of the cube community. I listened as women told some of their most embarrassing waxing stories. One woman recalled a horror story. Another woman raved about her experiences.
Without ever seeing each other face-to-face one woman convinced a group of women to get Brazilian waxed together. I wonder what HR would think of the unorthodox organization of such a team-building exercise. Memories are sure to be formed at the waxing salon. I think this could be a good case study for the next HR conference.
6.22.2009
Let's Keep the Leisure in Weisure
12.30.2008
Daily Life as a Wife
I have been a housewife for over a month. Actually, I have been a basement apartment wife for over a month. I never imagined that I would be a wife who stayed home while her husband went to work. I assumed that I would always be kept busy by some project. When I was first laid off I saw unemployment as an opportunity to explore my creativity that I have had to put aside over the years. I planned to use my unemployed days to explore all the creative outlets I longed to explore but did not have the time while I was working. I was on the fast-track to be like many folks in this hurting economy who have decided to take the risk and connect with the entrepreneurial spirit that is reportedly in every American. My career is at a stand-still, so I might as well take a creative detour, right? After all, a detour from my career may lead somewhere more substantial than just an unemployment venture.
Something happened to my entrepreneurial spirit, though. I got accustomed to the role of a basement apartment wife. My days quickly were taken up by grocery shopping, laundry, gift shopping, coffee time with friends. When I was employed I managed to get all the same things done, but for some reason as a basement apartment wife the seemingly simple tasks can take more time than expected, or necessary. As my days filled with standard tasks, I began to notice that I did not have as many dreams and quick ideas. I somehow dulled out very quickly. When I was employed I would travel all over the city. As a basement apartment wife my life only needs a four mile radius. The particular four mile radius I live my days within can be rather uninspiring.
Last week I listened to an episode of Story Corps by a woman in her 80s who told stories of her time as an adoption social worker. I immediately connected with this woman as she told her stories about going to obscure places to have a birth mother and birth father sign the adoption papers. I have many similar stories of my own as an adoption social worker. It struck me when I realized that my current daily life does not easily lend itself to experience such interesting and life-changing moments. As it stands now, the biggest news I have each day is usually related to the world news or something bizarre that happened while standing in line somewhere. Each day of my life is what I determine it to be, and that is great in some aspects, but in other ways it causes me to miss the unexpected experiences that are so enjoyable.
I grew up with a mom who had experiences outside of the home and outside of the family. I was not a latchkey kid by any means, but my mom was always working on the business she was building. To this day my mom has work projects and endeavors that I know nothing about. I appreciate that. I appreciate that my mom managed to live the entrepreneurial dream, while still maintaining a family and home. My mom has a dynamic personality that allows her to be both involved in business and be a wonderful mother. It is most likely because of my mom that I have never imagined being a housewife.
Even if my time as a basement apartment wife has been forced by the economy, and all the other factors that go into ‘downsizing’, it has been a good experiment. Calling this time an experiment makes it seem like it was my choice, but it is a time of testing things out. My hypothesis was that I would go stir-crazy if I did not have anything to do. I would not say that I am stir-crazy, but rather I am missing the outside world. I need to get out of this four mile bubble.
Something happened to my entrepreneurial spirit, though. I got accustomed to the role of a basement apartment wife. My days quickly were taken up by grocery shopping, laundry, gift shopping, coffee time with friends. When I was employed I managed to get all the same things done, but for some reason as a basement apartment wife the seemingly simple tasks can take more time than expected, or necessary. As my days filled with standard tasks, I began to notice that I did not have as many dreams and quick ideas. I somehow dulled out very quickly. When I was employed I would travel all over the city. As a basement apartment wife my life only needs a four mile radius. The particular four mile radius I live my days within can be rather uninspiring.
Last week I listened to an episode of Story Corps by a woman in her 80s who told stories of her time as an adoption social worker. I immediately connected with this woman as she told her stories about going to obscure places to have a birth mother and birth father sign the adoption papers. I have many similar stories of my own as an adoption social worker. It struck me when I realized that my current daily life does not easily lend itself to experience such interesting and life-changing moments. As it stands now, the biggest news I have each day is usually related to the world news or something bizarre that happened while standing in line somewhere. Each day of my life is what I determine it to be, and that is great in some aspects, but in other ways it causes me to miss the unexpected experiences that are so enjoyable.
I grew up with a mom who had experiences outside of the home and outside of the family. I was not a latchkey kid by any means, but my mom was always working on the business she was building. To this day my mom has work projects and endeavors that I know nothing about. I appreciate that. I appreciate that my mom managed to live the entrepreneurial dream, while still maintaining a family and home. My mom has a dynamic personality that allows her to be both involved in business and be a wonderful mother. It is most likely because of my mom that I have never imagined being a housewife.
Even if my time as a basement apartment wife has been forced by the economy, and all the other factors that go into ‘downsizing’, it has been a good experiment. Calling this time an experiment makes it seem like it was my choice, but it is a time of testing things out. My hypothesis was that I would go stir-crazy if I did not have anything to do. I would not say that I am stir-crazy, but rather I am missing the outside world. I need to get out of this four mile bubble.
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