My company has what they consider a brilliant way to motivate employees-They put a poster up with everyones name on it iINCLUDING the bosses-Everyone is supposed to run back and put a card on the poster anytime someone does something you think is nice.Every 3 months,the boss gets to pick who gets a shiny pin and gift certificate based on HIS opinion who should get it.These cards and bonuses aren't based on anything verifiable,measurable,or logical.Just opinion.The bosses think its dumb,the emplo... (more)

When businesses speak of budgets for certain expenses, I often hear: "Its in the budget so lets use it" and "If we don't use it, we loose it." A predetermined dollar amount has been allocated to handle the given set of expenses.

The same mentality is applied to staff. There are two ways this idea is applied. The more common one in recent history, applies this logic to justify terminating employees. Efficiency in a process is increased to allow less staff or less equipment to do the same a... (more)

There are 4 new management trainees in my store. They all need to go! There are smart motivated people that work for the company already. Pay them a decent wage and they will take the management positions. Stop farming the jobs out to these idiots who used to work for Steve and Barry's and KB toys. They are the reason the companies they previously worked for went under. I can't get anything done because I have to babysit the trainees. I had an easy job. Now I have to try to teach these idio... (more)

Attention all employees: The system you use to do essentially EVERY facet of your job will be down for the next 90 minutes. Please sit and stare at your monitor until it's fixed.

If this was a rare occurrence, it wouldn't bother me so much. The unfortunate truth is that it happens every few weeks -- and when it's not completely down, it's dragging/slow/white-screening.

How can they question low morale in the face of the facts? They provide us with poorly designed programs and ap... (more)

I saw an episode of Frontline last night on WLIW/PBS about charter airline companies and their unsafe practices. The highlights were basically that profits are greater than safety.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/flyingcheap/?utm_campaign=homepage&utm_medium=proglist&utm_source=proglist


One pilot interviewed mentioned an attempted to call in sick. Specifically the pilot called in "Fatigued and Sick", and had worked a certain number of consecutive 16 hour shifts, and felt uneasy a... (more)

So there's a big rush project where I work... All the power players are watching it close, pushing everything else aside to make sure this effort comes to fruition ASAP... I'm sure you know the drill.

Then I find out that this is to be used to push a message out to everyone in the company about the next round of cuts. That's right. Everyone has to perform magic, go above and beyond, and band together... to be broken apart!

And big corp America wonders why the workforce isn't as good as it... (more)

There are 3 people coughing non-stop in my row today. Two of those were coughing all day yesterday, too. I'm about to put Ziploc bags over their heads and usher their sick asses out of here. How many effin times do you have to be told, "stay home if you're sick."?! I have NO time to be sick. Between my final this week, and the seemingly endless Christmas shopping, plus social events, there's barely a minute to spare.

I swear to God, if this keeps up, I'm coming in here with a super-soake... (more)

:D

Angry Dan is now Happy Dan.

Today, right now I begin full speed ahead into working for myself. There is a tiny amount of anxiety that goes with the territory of starting one's own business of course. I am at peace though. There is no stupid questions to repeatedly answer 40 times a day. There is no one not reading the 7 emails I sent them that answered the questions they just woke me up at 3 am to ask me for the 15th time. There is no one bothering me. There is no worries. No dre... (more)