The Monster Blog

Top 12 Monster Blog Posts of 2007

It's the end of another year, and lists seem to be everywhere, including here at the Monster Blog. The following 12 posts were chosen based on page views, personal preference and reader commentary.

This list is an annual favorite around here, because it gives us -- and you -- a look at the diverse topics we've covered over the past 12 months. And for a fun look back at the events of 2007, check out this JibJab video (mild language advisory). Happy New Year!

#12 "Are Company Meetings a Waste of Time?": Bryan's somewhat cynical take on these corporate affairs got a lot of people talking -- and most agreed they are unproductive. Employers, take note.

#11 "Universal Health Coverage: A Real-Life Reality Check": Based on legislation passed this year in Massachusetts requiring residents to have health insurance, Ann wrote this thoughtful post about a friend in the middle who found the penalty for not having insurance easier to swallow than the premiums. Hopefully someday, this post will not need to be written. Are you listening, 2008 presidential hopefuls?

#10 "My Top 8 Tips to College Students": Gen-Yer and recent grad Brooke wrote this post, straight from the horse's mouth, about how students can make their time in college count. Even 11 years out of school, I learned a lot. And many of you agreed -- this is one of the top 20 most-viewed posts of the year.

#9 "Another Reason for Working Mothers to Feel Guilty": Ah, working-mom guilt -- another topic I hope we're not still writing about years from now. Norma hit the nail on the head about the classic struggle between work and family. And check out those insightful comments, too.

#8 "Workplace Memories of 9/11": Although this wasn't one of our most-viewed posts, it's a deeply personal one for me. Apparently it was for others too, as the comments will take your breath away, even six years later.

#7 "Why Is a Woman's Salary Lower Than a Man's?": With such a provocative title, a post like this is bound to generate both page views and comments. And Elizabeth's look at the salary struggle between men and women did not disappoint.

#6 "Is It Time to Fire All the Smokers?": Another pot-stirring post, this one written by Bryan, which brought out the fighting spirit in its commenters -- all 180 of them.

#5 "What Do Your Annoying Coworkers Do?": In the top 10 for page views for the year, Norma's look at irritating workmates -- and we all know at least one -- hit a lot of nerves.

#4 "Best Companies to Work For: Did Yours Make the List?": Everyone's interested in how others live (and work), so it makes sense that Ryck's post about Fortune's annual list of the 100 best companies was among the top five most-viewed of 2007.

#3 "Management Lessons from First Grade": Let's face it: Work can be a lot like grade school. Ann's ABCs of being a good manager boils it down to the nitty-gritty.

#2 "Top 10 Ways to Shake the Morning Grogginess": As an inveterate night owl, I read Dan's post on how to wake up with interest. So did a lot of you -- the post is the third most-viewed of the year.

And the number-one Monster Blog post of 2007 is:

"Don't Commit These 5 Career Killers": With 66 comments and far and away the most page views of the year, apparently a lot of people are trying to keep their careers on solid ground. (Disclaimer: I wrote this one.)

With Maternity Leave, the Waiting Is the Hardest Part

I’m 38 weeks pregnant this week, and I’ve been preparing for maternity leave most of this year. Here are just a few things I’ve done:

• Filed my forms with HR.
  

• Documented my responsibilities and made a handoff plan for when I’m gone, introducing my temporary replacements to the people they’ll need to work with in my absence.
  

• Forwarded so many emails out of my box that it’s groaning under the weight of all this data transfer, cleaned my desk and had my work shower.

Now it’s time for the baby to come -- the one thing I can’t control. But I think I’m prepared, and I hope my coworkers feel the same way.

So I have a question for you moms out there: How did you handle those last few weeks at work, where leave was staring you in the face but you had no idea when it was coming? Tips? Ideas?

While I wait, I’ll be checking out these Monster resources. I invite you to do the same:

• “Prepare Early for Maternity Leave”
  

• From the Monster Blog: “Five Things My Friend -- and Other Expecting Mothers -- Should Do This Week”

New Year’s Resolutions in 2008: Stick with One

Making a list of all your New Year’s resolutions for 2008 right about now?

Are you vowing to eat better, quit smoking, spend more time with your kids, work smarter, stress less, use all your vacation days and become a better team player at the office?

Then let me level with you: You’re wasting your time.

Now before you accuse me of being a cynical spoilsport, I’ll ask you to think back to your resolutions from years past: How many of them did you actually keep for more than a couple of weeks? I’m guessing not many -- or any.

I know that you wanted to keep that pledge to hit the gym three days a week during lunchtime. If only you didn’t have that all-important report to finish for your boss before Martin Luther King Day, you never would have fallen off the wagon, right?

You certainly intended to become a more efficient, more productive worker in 2007. But then that pesky online social network called Twitter came along and you couldn’t help but become distracted a half-dozen times a day. That was it, wasn’t it? 

Why So Many New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work

The real problem with New Year’s resolutions -- including those for the workplace -- is that we make too many of them and don’t develop a plan of attack for realizing our goals.

My solution? Make one workplace resolution -- not five, 10 or 20 -- for 2008 and then work like heck to make sure you achieve it. Here’s how: 

• Know How You Got Here: If you have some quiet time between now and January 1, ask yourself why your single resolution has moved front and center in the first place. Are you desperately seeking a promotion? Are you bored on the job?  Do you have a toxic relationship with your boss? Getting to the motivations behind the burning issue will ensure you’re ready to make true change in the new year.
  
  
•  Write It Down: You’ll be more committed to your goal when you write it out on a piece of paper. Speak the words of your resolution, too, and then engrave them into your visual memory for the year to come.
  
  
• Stretch Yourself: While goals should be realistic, they’re not worth much if you can achieve them without breaking a sweat. Be prepared to work hard.
  
  
•  Identify Your Allies and Opponents: Whose cooperation or partnership will you need to achieve your resolution, and who might stand in your way? Come up with a plan for working with both groups as you stay focused on your cause.
  
  
•  Visualize the Finish Line: Reaching your resolution by year’s end will require a mix of self-confidence, competency and dogged determination to not to get knocked off course. See yourself standing in the winner’s circle on December 31, 2008, and then walk backward through the year, charting the critical steps you’ll need to take along the way.

So don’t burn your energy making too many workplace resolutions for next year. Stick with one, make it meaningful and challenging, and then think through your strategy and tactics for reaching your goal.

Good luck.

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

I’m still settling on my single resolution for 2008, but what about you?  What is your workplace goal for the coming year?

Seasonal Depression Means We’re Not All So Jolly During the Holidays

Allow me to be blunt: I hate the winter.

And if you live in New England as I do, the months of December, January, February and March can be downright unbearable if you don’t deal well with the cold.

Shoveling snow? Can’t stand it.

Scraping ice off my car for 10 minutes before I head to work in the morning? Puts me in a foul mood.

Having to wear a goofy headband to keep my ears warm? A major crimp on my style.

Falling on my behind after unsuccessfully tiptoeing between patches of black ice? Definitely not priceless. 

But when I come into the Monster office each day, I try to keep my wintertime mutterings to myself. Because really, who wants to listen to a cranky coworker complaining about the weather all day long?

My grumbles are really quite trivial, though, in comparison to the seasonal depression that strikes many workers around the country every winter, particularly around the holidays.

Whether it’s due to the recent death of a loved one; anxiety over all the gifts that need to be bought for colleagues, family and friends; or an aversion to long, dreary, cold days, this time of year just isn’t very merry for everyone.

The impact of these seasonal blues starts with lack of motivation and lower productivity and often includes increased absenteeism. In some cases, the consequences are far graver.

So be kind to your colleagues who aren’t so jolly this month. They might not be the grinches you think they are.

For more on depression, check out these Monster resources:

• "Depression at Work"
• "Workplace Support for Adults with Depressive Disorders"
• From the Monster Blog: "It Pays to Stop Depression at Work"

Share Your Office Holiday Party Horror Stories

We’ve all been to our share of office holiday parties. At some, just enough food, booze and merriment are had by all. But others start out OK and then something goes really wrong.

For example, one of my first jobs out of college was in a small office of about 20 people. The holiday party was at a swanky Boston hotel. We all got dressed up and dined on great food, chit-chatting with our coworkers and meeting the spouses. And then, he showed up.

The he in question was a recently fired ex-employee who somehow convinced the powers that be that he should still come to the holiday party. He showed up tipsy and proceeded to get completely trashed, sitting in the corner, crying and literally falling off his chair. Then he came out of the closet to the entire office (most of us suspected anyway). He had to be escorted out.

Pretty embarrassing, huh? At least he didn’t have to face his coworkers on Monday. For example, check out Monster member bigboy01’s story:

Years ago, at this one very large company I was working for, each department was given money to have a Christmas party. But there was a stipulation no alcohol could be served. The reason being is that we were told the CEO did not drink and did not endorse drinking at parties. That was a hoot, because my sister knew someone in upper management, and she said at their company parties, the booze flowed freely.

So everyone chipped in to have a party. We did pot luck and BYOB at a hall. It was so-so until a lot of the people really started to pound drinks.

I do remember hearing some nasty comments from a few people, and about halfway through the party, my boss (who was really drunk) was hanging on my shoulder, saying, “Ya know, a lot of people hate you, but I like you. You’re a decent person.” Of course, there were a lot of other stupid behaviors, as in people falling down and throwing up because they were so drunk. This reminded of a drunken prom I went to once.

Needless to say, I left early and actually quit that job shortly afterwards. Monday morning at work, all I heard was OMG I drank way too much and I don’t remember a thing.

My rule is: I do not drink at office functions.

Got an office holiday party horror story of your own? Post it to our thread on the Office Politics message board. And check out our advice on keeping your head out of a lampshade at this year’s festivities.

Does Online Social Networking Level the Playing Field for Introverts?

Earlier this week, I was quoted in this Boston Globe article about social networking, in which Penelope Trunk writes about how online tools and sites such as blogs, Twitter and LinkedIn  enable introverts to connect with each other right alongside their more extroverted friends and colleagues.

But while social networking might “even [the] playing field” online, as Trunk suggests, I do wonder whether that parity transfers to face-to-face settings. Because I’m an extrovert who easily feeds off the energy of others at in-person events and doesn’t have to worry much about this question, I’m just not so sure about the answer.

For that shy person who has established good online rapport with a recruiter or potential client by way of Facebook, does the strength of an online connection ultimately make a face-to-face interview or chit-chatting at a cocktail dinner any less painful or awkward?

If you’re an introvert -- and try taking our extroversion quiz to find out where you fall on the extroversion scale -- then I’d like to hear from you. Are your newfound online social networking skills making you a better offline networker, too?

Getting the Job Done from Home

Here in New England, the snowy, cold months of winter have begun. This can make for some scary driving conditions. This morning, for example, the hill I live on was more passable with ice skates than my Camry. So rather than brave the weather at nine months pregnant, I stayed home to work.

Working at home can sound like a dream in theory. You never have to get out of your jammies, there's no commute and you can customize your home office any way you please. But it can also be a productivity nightmare. This College Journal article discusses how to stay productive -- and sane -- when working from home.

Based on my own experience working at home full-time for a short stint a few years ago, I agree with many of the points in the article, such as getting dressed, every day, keeping regular work hours and keeping your office separate from your living space. Here are some additional things I've learned:

• Stay in touch. There is something to out of sight, out of mind. Plus, while coworkers can be a distraction in the office, they can be a lifeline to what's going on when you're not there every day. Similarly, make yourself accessible to coworkers and, of course, your boss.
• Say no to people who try to intrude on your at-home workday. I can't tell you how many people assumed that just because I was home, I was free. I wasn't -- I was working.
  
• Don't feel bad if telecommuting doesn't work for you. There's a reason I went back to working in an office. Still, on cold, miserable days like this one, it's a nice option to have.

And here are some Monster resources about working at home:

• "The Pros and Cons of Working from Home
• "Create a Professional Home Office"
• "Help Your Family Adapt to Your Home Business"
• From the Monster Blog: "Thank Goodness for Telecommuting"

Attention Working Moms: Reach Out for Support

I won’t be entering the realm of motherhood for another month or so, but I can already see that being a mother is hard work, as is maintaining a career while raising a family. A mom can get burned out really quickly doing both.

I was thrilled when we put together these articles about how working moms can band together to support one another. Check it out for info on finding a mentor at work, negotiating a flexible schedule, getting your employer to accommodate your needs as a working mother and more.

So remember, working moms, especially at this hectic time of year: You don’t have to do it all on your own -- there’s help available. Check out these articles to get started.

Social Tagging: The Evolution of Face-to-Face Networking

If you’ve done any sort of professional networking -- and shame on you if you haven’t! -- then you know that online social networking and reaching out by phone aren’t nearly as effective as meeting or reconnecting with someone in person.

I was reminded of this lesson again last week when I attended a breakfast hosted by entrepreneur Jeff Pulver. Jeff recently began organizing real-time social networking events, where online social media’s practice of tagging and Facebook Wall postings are transferred to the physical setting -- something Jeff calls “social tagging.” Participants are asked to tag themselves and others using name badges and Post-it notes as a way of starting conversations (I was tagged as a “proud dad” and “podcast guy”) and getting to know each other.

Social tagging ensures you always have something to talk about a networking event. Imagine approaching someone who’s already been tagged as a “six-fingered bandit” or “shopaholic.” You’re being handed a hit-you-over-the-head entrée into a discussion with a perfect stranger -- what an opportunity! Don’t waste it.

For more resources on networking your way to career success, check out some of our related Monster Career Advice stories.