"The Dark is in the white"

A Russian advertising agency is under fire for creating this advertising campaign for Duet, a vanilla ice cream product with chocolate filling.  The campaign features a cartoon image of President Obama flashing the peace sign in front of the White House.  While some find the image troubling, its the tag line “The Dark is in the white”  that’s stirring up the most controversy. 

 President Obama has achieved celebrity status around the world, so its not surprising  that companies everywhere are capitalizing on his name, image and his historic presidency.  And, because he’s the first African American President, for many, there’s uncertainty surrounding what may be considered offensive or in poor taste.  But, no matter where you’re from, its probably never a good idea to refer to the leader/president/ruler of the country you’re commenting on as  The  “insert hue/color/complexion here.”  Thoughts? Comment after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Really bad bosses make their own rules

Recently, a friend told me about his wife’s really bad boss who was married to one colleague in the office while carrying on an affair with another.  Despite the company’s anti-fraternization policy, upper management turned a blind eye to the very same drama that routinely got lower level employees fired.   What became very clear was that there were two sets of rules.  One for those who made the rules, another for those who had to live by them.   We hear the stories all the time, bosses completely ignoring sexual harassment policies while subordinates are dismissed for the same behavior.  While some managers and supervisors spend their days shopping on Amazon and checking in with the kids, many employees now face possible termination for making personal calls, sending emails and accessing certain internet sites.  So why the disparity? And what rules are your really bad bosses breaking?  Discuss after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

Last time in “Coping with a Really bad boss,” I talked about the Reprobate and how he stormed around the office cursing and threatening to fire us all depending on what he’d had for lunch.  Not only was he verbally abusive, but he once asked a female colleague to try on a bikini in the office so he could determine whether or not she would be an “appropriate” model for one of our bikini wax products.   By EEOC (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) definitions, we were probably all being harassed.  The EEOC defines harassment as: 

Unwelcome conduct that is based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, and/or age. Harassment becomes unlawful where 1) enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or 2) the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive.

 That said, most of the time, my bosses were simply incompetent, rude and generally just really, really bad.  While working with them made my life miserable, for the most part, I didn’t feel as though their behavior constituted harassment. Ignorant of my rights, I tolerated the Reprobate for two years. In the end, I gained the kind of valuable experience only gained through fire, the kind of experience that led me to a new company where I was valued and respected.  Had I known my rights back then, I may have behaved differently.  So, when dealing with a really bad boss:

1. Know your rights.  You can learn more about your employment rights by visiting the EEOC website.  I’ve also found a lot of valuable information at Today’s Workplace. The site covers topics including workplace rights and a listing of resources by state.
2. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside.  Whether your boss’ treatment can be classified as official harassment or not, it helps to be able to bend someone’s ear.  Whether its a family member or good friend, blowing off steam at the end of the day can help you make it through the week.

… it would  be what a relief it was to finally realize that he was the crazy one.  It happened one day during one of our meetings.  We’ll call this really bad boss, Napoleon.  Napoleon said something so ridiculous, we all tried to pretend we didn’t hear it.   He’d said ridiculous things before, but it had always been one-on-one and I’d rationalized them by telling myself,  He is the one in charge, he must know what he’s talking about. Everyone else thinks he’s great.  I just must not fully comprehend his greatness.  It must be me, something must be wrong with me. 

And for a moment, when Napoleon, in a pitiful attempt at building company loyalty, encouraged …no, demanded that we “drink the Kool-Aid”, I thought maybe I’d  misunderstood him.  Maybe he wasn’t referring to the infamous Jonestown and its completely insane leader, Jim Jones, who led 918 members of his 1970’s cult, including children, to commit mass suicide by drinking the cyanide laced drink.  Maybe he was referring to the other cult incident where the mass consumption of Kool-Aid ended with everyone living long, happy, prosperous lives. 

So now here we were, a room full of people, all thinking the same thing…something about this man, this situation and this moment is very wrong.  And, it was a relief.  A relief  to finally get confirmation of what I’d been thinking for so long.  It was a relief to realize that I wasn’t the only one who saw it.  Today, if I had the chance to say something to Napoleon, it would be that the day I realized he was officially off his rocker, was the day that I confidently and securely climbed back on mine.

If you could say one thing to your really bad boss, what would that one thing be?  Here’s your chance to tell him or her, after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

St. Regis Hotel Atlanta

In a refreshing display of things really bad bosses would never do, the St. Regis hotel in Atlanta did a couple of really great things.  First, the hotel, scheduled to open on Aril 14th, hired 200 new employees.  In Georgia, where the unemployment rate is 9.3% ,those jobs spell much needed relief for families all over Atlanta.  Then on Thursday, the hotel put 186 employees in a police escorted limousine motorcade, formally welcomed their arrival with a French military salute and toasted  them with champagne for all. The hotel wanted employees to understand what their guests would be experiencing.

I’ve talked to friends over the past several months who all tell me the same story.  Management, at least in their cases,  has actually gotten worse.   One even said that when he brought his concerns to management, they asked him where else he could go “in this economy.”   How incrediby short sighted.  That’s why St. Regis’ treatment of their new hires is to be applauded.  What a great way to gain their loyalty, commitment and respect.  Lets hope management finds creative ways to keep the good sentiments going. Source

The opposite of a really bad boss

In our regular feature, The Friday Files, we take a look at the polar opposite of the really bad boss, the really good one.  Why highlight really good bosses?  Because sometimes its easier to define what something is by being really clear about what it isn’t.  Enter Leonard Abess Jr. , the picture of what a really bad boss is not. You may have heard the story of Mr. Abess, who after selling majority stake in City National Bancshares in November, shared the wealth , all $60 million of it…with all 399 of the bank’s employees.  Abess even tracked down 72 former employees to make sure they received their share.  In February, Abess was honored by President Obama when he was invited to sit with First Lady Michelle Obama at a joint session of Congress.

If there were ever a time for really good bosses to take the stage front and center, its now.  Those of us who’ve had bad boss after bad boss need to know that good bosses aren’t the stuff of legend like big foot and the loch ness monster, but that they do, in fact exist.  Good bosses can also teach a thing or two to the really bad bosses who think management is all about carrying a big stick and making a lot of noise.  So, submit your good boss stories, and submit them often.  Maybe we can help turn some neophyte manager around before its too late.

Bad bosses holding sick days hostage

I once had a manager who insisted that when you call in sick, you speak to a live supervisor. Leaving a voicemail was not an option, ever.  Easier said than done in a hectic office where supervisors often didn’t return to their desks until well after the start of the workday.  I think she felt that she would be able to differentiate the fakers versus the legitimately sick.  We secretly wondered if she had some kind of voice activated lie detector in her office.  I’m sure she also felt that having to speak to a manager would deter the fakers.  

On the occasions when I had to call in sick, my frustration level would escalate as I made call after call trying to reach someone in management.  Its the kind of  micro-managing you expect in elementary school, not as an adult in the workforce.  Remember the Reprobate? Once, one of our PR guys was out of the office for several days with walking pneumonia.  He insisted the guy send him a copy of his x-rays so he could take a look at it himself.   PR guy actually sent the x-rays and we all witnessed the Reprobate parading around the office, squinting at the x-rays like a bad episode of Grey’s Anatomy.  Read the rest of this entry »