Ep. 101: Headphones, Nabaztag, MacBook Air = dumb, Jen’s employment update, fan mail, drunk people, more.
Links:
- Yamaha RH3C Stereo Headphones
- MacBook Air
- Drunk school bus driver
- “Lohan to Visit in Morgue As Punishment”
- “‘Mean Mom’ Sells Son’s Car After Misdeed”
- Music heard in this episode:
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Show length: 1:21:02
File size: 55.7 MB
File type: 96 kbps stereo mp3
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805-725-5085
Hey folks… great show, as always!
Jen, Jen, Jen… very sorry to hear that the new opportunity fell through. And I hate to say it, but Shawno’s assessment of what likely happened — someone there went through Book Sandwich and found not only the Haiku of Frustration, but the Inside My Head shows where you expound upon how much you hate your job, and subsequently thought it too great a risk to hire you — is probably exactly what happened.
Why could that be? It’s nothing against you your tremendous abilities. Instead, it has everything to do with “the station” being so high-profile, with so many public figures like anchors “Barbie” and “Ken” entirely dependent upon “image,” upon being personally non-controversial, credible and likeable to retain ratings. If an employee there had a blog or other high-profile outlet saying anything that would go against that image of likeability, and the station would feel threatened, whether or not folks mentioned in such a blog are clearly identified. (Although if someone were to write “That anchor has worse skin than Cameron Diaz,” chances are folks would know exactly who you’re talking about.)
I’ve heard too many stories of folks not being hired (or worse) because of the opinions they express online. It’s real; it happens. And whether or not that’s “right” is a question society has yet to address.
One other thing: to me — a former home-office employee of a major electronics retailer who ran afoul of the HR secret police — it sounds like the bookstore is simply tightening up its HR policies, perhaps in preparation for some job cuts. Bookstores in general — especially the big chains — have been under tremendous profit pressure for some time. When they feel that pressure they look to reduce expenses, the biggest of which are always wages and benefits.
But rather than simply “lay off” people, many companies prefer to avoid the expensive process selecting individuals for layoff by instead tightening up enforcement of their HR policies, all in the hopes of building “paper trails” on individual employees. The paper trails — showing violations of policies, no matter how trivial — then lead the HR powers that be right to those who can be terminated, all with a lower “wrongful termination” lawsuit risk, and with much less expense than a formal “selection and assessment” process for job cuts. If they’re building paper on you, watch your back.
So how about that. Companies routinely look for the lowest-risk employees, and even try to effect significant changes like layoffs in the cheapest way possible. Does that make me a cynic, or a dissident?
Sorry to ramble. But if all of my websites and opinions suddenly disappear from the Net, you’ll know why… it’d be because I’m looking for work. ft
Hey Jen! Sorry about the job. Here is a link to a comic that we can all relate to and might cheer you up:
http://www.shortpacked.com/d/20080118.html
Diana,
Love the cartoon! Five cent raise after three years? This cartoonist had to have worked at one of the big chain bookstores! That’s almost dead on!
Farris,
Yeah, that sounds like what happened. I didn’t fit in with the “cool”, bland, conformists they wanted to hire. God forbid, they hire someone who can think for herself! Not that big a deal, though. There will be some other job out there for me, somewhere. I was never super interested in the place I applied at *because* it was a tv station. It was more about getting better pay than what I’m getting now. (And, hopefully somewhat better job security). I can easily find that somewhere else. What I won’t do is compromise who I am and what I think to fit nicely into somebody’s idea of “the perfect employee”. The last thing I would ever want to happen is to change who I really am (and become someone I’m not) for a job, and then find the job downsizes, or cuts hours, or lays off employees anyway. The hell with that! I’ve always been one to speak up when I see people treating others badly, especially when the person or group doing the immoral, (or at least, “not nice”), acts has power over the group they are abusing. No situation ever gets better if everyone just ignores it, and stays silent, in order to stay “safe”.
Also, I think you are exactly right about big chain bookstores being under tremendous pressure to make sales. I don’t think you are a “cynic” or a “dissident” so much as a “realist”. Big companies feel that money is way more important than people (and how you treat people), and it shows! They have been spreading this bad karma for too long, and it’s coming back to bite them, now that we are entering “The big R word”.
Hi guys,
Great Show as always.
I sympathise with Jen with her job issues, one thing that did worry me about podcasting my intimate thoughts is that it could hinder me job wise. this is the reason why I dont specifically talk about work, alright the odd gripe or two.
Maybe you should look at running your own bookshop like Black Books . Did you watch any of that?
Rowley.
Shawno, I am with ya on the headphones! My favorite pair of recording headphones has ‘disappeared’ and the new set I got gives me the sqishy head too. If I were recording and editing an hour or so long podcast, my head and ears would be screaming! I HAVE to go get a new set.
Jen, the job situation just sucks. I feel for you! On a technical point though, you would think if they are requiring to come in and bring the note, that should be chargeable time. Probably not worth the argument, but I think it’s only right.
Keep up the great work with the show!
Lans
Great show, just finished listening. I’ve been trying to get caught up with the other “tech” podcaster, Leo Laporte. You mentioned how you couldn’t imagine someone listening on headphones sitting on the couch. I do that all the time at home because my wife doesn’t care much for podcasts, which is about all I listen to now (except when I’m in the car with her it’s music) or I listen to audiobooks when I stay up later than she does. Sorry about the job situation Jen. I hope everything works out for you. I’m working sporadically myself substitute teaching because I haven’t been able to find a teaching job last couple of summers.
Nathan,
Substitute teaching is hard! I did that for about four years, before I figured out that teaching just wasn’t for me.
Good luck!
Just listened to this episode re the sick note.
Here in Australia, some doctors have been writing “Erk is unable to attend work due to a medical condition” for at least 6 years that I can think of on their medical certificates.
If you are sick, you shouldn’t be in the workplace and that includes stupid requests to “drop the sick note” off. If it is that important that they call Jen every day to ask for it, why don’t they send someone to her house with her agreement to pick it up? Or fax it, or scan it and email it. But harassing sick workers is WRONG!
Erk,
Thank you for your support! It seems that since I bitched about this little problem on the podcast that most people see it the same way that I do, and that you do.
On a happier note, the last time I was sick and called in, no one felt the need to harass me about it. I actually got to rest, and fight off what was making me sick in the first place. A rare event, where I work!