Get even, get fired!

I've had my share of bad bosses, but I believe I've always had enough of a positive self-image to stop any ill feelings from showing up in my work. I've seen co-workers slack off and even intentionally sabotage production because they felt they'd get one over on a lousy supervisor/boss. I certainly agree with a particular point in this blog; in the long run the employee is usually the one to suffer the consequences - by being fired. This study mentions that some employees "hid" from their bosses - I'm really not sure what that means - how exactly is it possible to hide from one's boss for any lengthy amount of time? Can it be they just don't want to avoid confrontation as opposed to hashing out their grievances? In any case, I don't see how hiding would solve anything.

Get even, get fired!

I've had my share of bad bosses, but I believe I've always had enough of a positive self-image to stop any ill feelings from showing up in my work. I've seen co-workers slack off and even intentionally sabotage production because they felt they'd get one over on a lousy supervisor/boss. I certainly agree with a particular point in this blog; in the long run the employee is usually the one to suffer the consequences - by being fired. This study mentions that some employees "hid" from their bosses - I'm really not sure what that means - how exactly is it possible to hide from one's boss for any lengthy amount of time? Can it be they just don't want to avoid confrontation as opposed to hashing out their grievances? In any case, I don't see how hiding would solve anything.

What is wrong with American engineering and how to fix it

What happened to American engineering over the last 20 years?  It used to be such a great profession.  It used to be a secure profession where an engineer could spend his or her entire career at one company.  They were valued as the brain trust of the company where all the inside knowledge resides. 

What is wrong with American engineering and how to fix it

What happened to American engineering over the last 20 years?  It used to be such a great profession.  It used to be a secure profession where an engineer could spend his or her entire career at one company.  They were valued as the brain trust of the company where all the inside knowledge resides. 

Employees retaliate against bad bosses by slacking off

This research isn't a big surprise, but it should make you look deep inside your organization for "cancers" that need to be cut out. Research by Wayne Hochwarter, a professor of management at Florida State University, and research associate Samantha Engelhardt, finds that employees with bad ("abusive") bosses retaliate with lower productivity (OK, slacking off). What the study doesn't mention: The retaliation doesn't really hurt the bad boss; it's more likely to get the employee fired -- for slacking. The researchers examined the responses of more than 180 employees from a wide variety of professions who reported supervisor abuse. 30% of those who reported abuse slowed down or purposely made errors, compared with 6% of those not reporting abuse. 27% of those who reported abuse purposely hid from the boss, compared with 4% of those not reporting abuse. 33% of those who reported abuse confessed to not putting in maximum effort, compared with 9% of those not reporting abuse. 29% of those who reported abuse took sick time off even when not ill, compared with 4% of those not reporting abuse. 25% of those who reported abuse took more or longer breaks, compared with 7% of those not reporting abuse.

Employees retaliate against bad bosses by slacking off

This research isn't a big surprise, but it should make you look deep inside your organization for "cancers" that need to be cut out. Research by Wayne Hochwarter, a professor of management at Florida State University, and research associate Samantha Engelhardt, finds that employees with bad ("abusive") bosses retaliate with lower productivity (OK, slacking off). What the study doesn't mention: The retaliation doesn't really hurt the bad boss; it's more likely to get the employee fired -- for slacking. The researchers examined the responses of more than 180 employees from a wide variety of professions who reported supervisor abuse. 30% of those who reported abuse slowed down or purposely made errors, compared with 6% of those not reporting abuse. 27% of those who reported abuse purposely hid from the boss, compared with 4% of those not reporting abuse. 33% of those who reported abuse confessed to not putting in maximum effort, compared with 9% of those not reporting abuse. 29% of those who reported abuse took sick time off even when not ill, compared with 4% of those not reporting abuse. 25% of those who reported abuse took more or longer breaks, compared with 7% of those not reporting abuse.

Employees retaliate against bad bosses by slacking off

This research isn't a big surprise, but it should make you look deep inside your organization for "cancers" that need to be cut out. Research by Wayne Hochwarter, a professor of management at Florida State University, and research associate Samantha Engelhardt, finds that employees with bad ("abusive") bosses retaliate with lower productivity (OK, slacking off). What the study doesn't mention: The retaliation doesn't really hurt the bad boss; it's more likely to get the employee fired -- for slacking. The researchers examined the responses of more than 180 employees from a wide variety of professions who reported supervisor abuse. 30% of those who reported abuse slowed down or purposely made errors, compared with 6% of those not reporting abuse. 27% of those who reported abuse purposely hid from the boss, compared with 4% of those not reporting abuse. 33% of those who reported abuse confessed to not putting in maximum effort, compared with 9% of those not reporting abuse. 29% of those who reported abuse took sick time off even when not ill, compared with 4% of those not reporting abuse. 25% of those who reported abuse took more or longer breaks, compared with 7% of those not reporting abuse.

The joke was on me!

This CW article reminded me of something embarrassing that happened to me many, many years ago. At the time, I had a lawyer client who worked for a fairly large law firm where he was a senior partner. Jack was the kind of guy who liked a good joke, even ones that were let's say, "adult" oriented. One day he called me and I quickly proceeded to tell him an admittedly very funny, but still risque joke. Unfortunately, I did not know that he had on his speaker phone!  That wouldn't have been so bad but, of course, just like you'd see on a sit-com, he was surrounded by a dozen coworkers (many of them female) who each in turn proceeded to introduce him/herself with chuckles under their breath.

The joke was on me!

This CW article reminded me of something embarrassing that happened to me many, many years ago. At the time, I had a lawyer client who worked for a fairly large law firm where he was a senior partner. Jack was the kind of guy who liked a good joke, even ones that were let's say, "adult" oriented. One day he called me and I quickly proceeded to tell him an admittedly very funny, but still risque joke. Unfortunately, I did not know that he had on his speaker phone!  That wouldn't have been so bad but, of course, just like you'd see on a sit-com, he was surrounded by a dozen coworkers (many of them female) who each in turn proceeded to introduce him/herself with chuckles under their breath.

The joke was on me!

This CW article reminded me of something embarrassing that happened to me many, many years ago. At the time, I had a lawyer client who worked for a fairly large law firm where he was a senior partner. Jack was the kind of guy who liked a good joke, even ones that were let's say, "adult" oriented. One day he called me and I quickly proceeded to tell him an admittedly very funny, but still risque joke. Unfortunately, I did not know that he had on his speaker phone!  That wouldn't have been so bad but, of course, just like you'd see on a sit-com, he was surrounded by a dozen coworkers (many of them female) who each in turn proceeded to introduce him/herself with chuckles under their breath.

Web 2.0 Summit: Microsoft, MySpace, Facebook, Cisco, Twitter, Flickr, Google... (and ZERO-factor auth.)

It's an all-new-look IT Blogwatch: in which we taste a flavor of the Web 2.0 Summit. Not to mention how NOT to secure an online banking site...Heather Havenstein is here:Steve Ballmer ... unveiled a public beta version of the company's Popfly mashup tool while offering his take on the Web 2.0 landscape ... [it's] built with Microsoft's Silverlight rich media software and is aimed at allowing nonprogrammers to build applications without having to code. "This is designed for ... somebody who doesn't necessarily have to be a conehead."

Web 2.0 Summit: Microsoft, MySpace, Facebook, Cisco, Twitter, Flickr, Google... (and ZERO-factor auth.)

It's an all-new-look IT Blogwatch: in which we taste a flavor of the Web 2.0 Summit. Not to mention how NOT to secure an online banking site...Heather Havenstein is here:Steve Ballmer ... unveiled a public beta version of the company's Popfly mashup tool while offering his take on the Web 2.0 landscape ... [it's] built with Microsoft's Silverlight rich media software and is aimed at allowing nonprogrammers to build applications without having to code. "This is designed for ... somebody who doesn't necessarily have to be a conehead."

Web 2.0 Summit: Microsoft, MySpace, Facebook, Cisco, Twitter, Flickr, Google... (and ZERO-factor auth.)

It's an all-new-look IT Blogwatch: in which we taste a flavor of the Web 2.0 Summit. Not to mention how NOT to secure an online banking site...Heather Havenstein is here:Steve Ballmer ... unveiled a public beta version of the company's Popfly mashup tool while offering his take on the Web 2.0 landscape ... [it's] built with Microsoft's Silverlight rich media software and is aimed at allowing nonprogrammers to build applications without having to code. "This is designed for ... somebody who doesn't necessarily have to be a conehead."

IT pay around the world: Switzerland high, Vietnam low

10 top-paying countriesAnnual compensation for the "IT Manager" title (currencies converted to the U.S. dollar):Switzerland (US$140,960) Denmark (US$123,080) Belgium (US$121,170) U.K. (US$118,190) Ireland (US$108,230) U.S. (US$107,500)

IT pay around the world: Switzerland high, Vietnam low

10 top-paying countriesAnnual compensation for the "IT Manager" title (currencies converted to the U.S. dollar):Switzerland ($140,960) Denmark ($123,080) Belgium ($121,170) U.K. ($118,190) Ireland ($108,230) U.S. ($107,500)

IT pay around the world: Switzerland high, Vietnam low

10 top-paying countriesAnnual compensation for the "IT Manager" title (currencies converted to the U.S. dollar):Switzerland ($140,960) Denmark ($123,080) Belgium ($121,170) U.K. ($118,190) Ireland ($108,230) U.S. ($107,500)

We're forever blowing bubbles (and joke etymology)

It's Thursday's IT Blogwatch: in which people worry about the bubblicious Silicon Valley economy. Not to mention how those man-walks-into-a-bar" jokes get started...Brad Stone and Matt Richtel said what we were all thinking:Silicon Valley’s math is getting fuzzy again.  Internet companies with funny names, little revenue and few customers are commanding high prices. And investors, having seemingly forgotten the pain of the first dot-com bust, are displaying symptoms of the disorder known as irrational exuberance. Consider Facebook, the popular but financially unproven social network, which is reportedly being valued by investors at up to $15 billion ... Google, which recently surged past $600 a share, is now worth more than I.B.M., a company with eight times the revenue.

We're forever blowing bubbles (and joke etymology)

It's Thursday's IT Blogwatch: in which people worry about the bubblicious Silicon Valley economy. Not to mention how those man-walks-into-a-bar jokes get started...Brad Stone and Matt Richtel said what we were all thinking:Silicon Valley’s math is getting fuzzy again.  Internet companies with funny names, little revenue and few customers are commanding high prices. And investors, having seemingly forgotten the pain of the first dot-com bust, are displaying symptoms of the disorder known as irrational exuberance. Consider Facebook, the popular but financially unproven social network, which is reportedly being valued by investors at up to $15 billion ... Google, which recently surged past $600 a share, is now worth more than I.B.M., a company with eight times the revenue....Internet start-ups are drawing investment based on their ability to build an audience, not bring in revenue — the very alchemy that many say led to the inflation and bursting of the dot-com bubble ... The trend is described as a return to madness (by skeptics) or as a rational approach to unlimited opportunities presented by the Internet (by true believers). Greed, fear and a desperate rush to pick the next big winner are all adding fuel to the fire that is Silicon Valley’s resurgence.

We're forever blowing bubbles (and joke etymology)

It's Thursday's IT Blogwatch: in which people worry about the bubblicious Silicon Valley economy. Not to mention how those man-walks-into-a-bar jokes get started...Brad Stone and Matt Richtel said what we were all thinking:Silicon Valley’s math is getting fuzzy again.  Internet companies with funny names, little revenue and few customers are commanding high prices. And investors, having seemingly forgotten the pain of the first dot-com bust, are displaying symptoms of the disorder known as irrational exuberance. Consider Facebook, the popular but financially unproven social network, which is reportedly being valued by investors at up to $15 billion ... Google, which recently surged past $600 a share, is now worth more than I.B.M., a company with eight times the revenue....Internet start-ups are drawing investment based on their ability to build an audience, not bring in revenue — the very alchemy that many say led to the inflation and bursting of the dot-com bubble ... The trend is described as a return to madness (by skeptics) or as a rational approach to unlimited opportunities presented by the Internet (by true believers). Greed, fear and a desperate rush to pick the next big winner are all adding fuel to the fire that is Silicon Valley’s resurgence.

IEEE betrays American engineers and its members

American engineers feel the sting of a stab in their backs from America's largest engineering society, IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers).Last year IEEE-USA (the lobbying arm of IEEE) lobbyists called upon engineers from all around the country to fly in to Washington D.C. to ask their Senators and Congressmen not to raise the cap on H-1B visas.Once all the engineers sat down, the chief lobbyist began explaining that what engineers should ask their representatives for is EB-4 visas instead.  Most engineers became upset and started to argue why they should ask for more green cards instead of asking for less H-1B guest workers.  They argued that in both cases, American engineers are getting undercut by foreign labor.  Then the IEEE-USA lobbyist explained that legal immigration is better because it takes "much longer" to process.  So this would put the potential H-1B engineers on the slow track of legal immigration, which will give IEEE-USA time to lobby in favor of American engineers.  He argued that it is better for the foreign nationals and it is better for Americans.Most of the engineers were confused but believed that IEEE-USA was looking out for their best interests.  After all, nobody else seems to even care about American engineering careers.  So off they went to speak with congressional representatives or their staffers about this new EB-4 agenda, hoping that it will bring some relief to their career problems.  Some activists warned that IEEE was using the engineers as pawns to push legal immigration for engineers in addition to guest worker programs.  At the time, it was hard for most to believe that such a conspiracy existed.  Now, almost a year later it is revealed that the chief proponent of H-1B visas, the SIA (Semiconductor Industry Association) has joined with IEEE-USA to support more green cards for foreign nationals with the caveat that they are fast-tracked.