Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·6 days agoMember-onlyWhat Are You Working for Anyway?Don’t ditch your day job — Shortly after my divorce, the recession of ’08 came along and wiped out my job and took my shopping habit with it. Utilities got turned off, life was a mess and it seemed hopeless. I remember face-planting on the floor crying out to God, “I can’t take this anymore!” I…Money4 min readMoney4 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Mar 19Member-onlyWe Were Essential Workers and We Resented the Rest of YouOne Pandemic Story — Early Monday morning in October 2020 I wasn’t feeling well, I called in sick with a horrible headache. Two hours later I got a call from HR strongly urging me to get tested for Covid. I had direct contact with a positive case at work the prior Friday. …Pandemic Stories4 min readPandemic Stories4 min read
Published in The Pet Cafe 🐾·Mar 10Member-onlyI’m Writing My Dog’s Bucket ListWhen Your dog has a chronic illness, every little nuance makes you wonder if this will be her last Day. I read a story of an owner who took his dog into the ocean every night to relieve her pain and offer her a peaceful night every night until her…Pet Cafe3 min readPet Cafe3 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Mar 8Member-onlyWhat Does it Take to be an Effective Trainer?Margaret was an impatient trainer. She would sit beside me twiddling her thumbs so rapidly I thought she was going to get them tangled up…Workplace1 min readWorkplace1 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Mar 7Member-onlyOne Minute ManagementThe Hot List — I remember a conversation with a management consultant at my first manufacturing position. He said he could tell how out of control a company was by how many hot lists they had. Here’s a hot list of raw materials we’re out of: “Everybody, work on this.” Here’s a hot list…Workplace1 min readWorkplace1 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Mar 6Member-onlyLearn From Your Past and Create a Better Day at WorkWe’re Not the Victim We’re the Result — How many of you remember the movie Groundhog Day? Stay with me here. Bill Murray’s character wakes up day after day and it's always Groundhog Day. Only he does one thing we don’t do at work: he learns from it and he changes the outcome. We’re more like the clown…Work3 min readWork3 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Mar 2Member-onlyMy Coworker Was Raped on Her Way to WorkI was unprepared as a manager to help her — My first management job was my dream job. I worked at a well-known fast-food restaurant chain. The mall maintained the dining area and we didn’t have a drive-through. We took the orders and served the guest. No late hours nor early mornings. It was heaven for a recent college graduate…Rape4 min readRape4 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Feb 25Member-onlyIt’s Time for Customers to Grow upThe service industry hasn’t changed much, and neither have you — Not much has changed in the food service industry, over the forty or more years that I’ve been working. We’ve added technology to make our jobs easier, but what have we done to improve the customers who walk through the doors? After all, the customer is always right, right? Of…Workplace Journal5 min readWorkplace Journal5 min read
Published in The Workplace Journal Some Experience Required·Feb 17Member-onlyThe Worst Job I Ever HadForced me to do my best work — Think about your worst position for a minute. Maybe you took work just to pay the bills, it wasn’t your dream job. We’ve all had those jobs we took just in case we couldn’t find anything else when times were challenging. …Workplace Journal4 min readWorkplace Journal4 min read
Feb 13Member-onlyI Got Blocked by a Medium WriterAgain — I’ve been writing on Medium for over two years and have made friends along the way and supported their writing. That’s what friends do, don’t they? At least that’s what I was taught. Be polite, courteous, and respectful of others’ opinions. Yesterday I responded to a story from a writer…Writing Life2 min readWriting Life2 min read
