Comedian Robin Williams and estranged wife Marsha Garces met under somewhat unusual circumstances: she was the nanny to his kid when he was still married to his first wife (harsh!) and she then worked as his personal assistant before they married in 1989. They have two children, Zelda, and Cody, and collaborated on many projects together (in her case, producing), including Patch Adams and Mrs. Doubtfire. They are now divorcing, although neither will discuss the issue publicly.
The workplace advice website Office Politics has a letter that handles that most familiar term: office karma.
I work in a very small, family owned construction office (4 family members and 3 other staffers). One of the non-family members is a complete bully, spy, know-it-all, done-it-all, backstabbing, wretch of a person. I believe in office karma – but sometimes – especially when it comes to this person you have to wonder WHEN will she get hers?
This person is constantly watching, waiting for any little mistake. Then she immediately gets on her high horse and tells management how to do their jobs. Why they put up with her I will never know?!
If we were in a customer related industry she would have been gone long ago, I would like to believe. She can be extremely rude and racist and sometimes they will chime in right with her. I have gone to management with my issues about the lack of professionalism from this individual and things that really matter, but my concerns have fallen on deaf ears for 5 years now. She is constantly wasting time by being the office tattle-tale. They only come to me because they feel that if they do not address her every whim she will retaliate against them and it is better that I am her target all day every day.
Have you guys ever experienced a case of someone getting bitten by office karma? Let us know.
When we give workplace advice from movies, it tends to be from Swimming with Sharks or Working Girl or something. But Gradspot.com columnist Cheddar Ted makes a compelling argument for what assistants can learn from Bill and Ted.
This past weekend, I was chilling with some William Morris mailroom bros, and their conversation was so jarringly familiar that I couldn’t help but think of Rufus and the Circle K. As they waxed about sweeps, floating, and “getting a desk,” I romantically mused about these concerns, and how even though I used to feel them, they were now totally a thing of the past. I wanted to be like, “Bros. Haven’t you read Camus? NOTHING MATTERS!”
Celebrities don’t always have it easy, you know. As is the case with Britney Spears, a competent assistant is a valuable commodity, especially one who won’t sell you out and will still pick up your dirty undies.
But picking up panties is one thing… picking up your drugs is another matter entirely. What’s a highly regarded actor to do when he can’t pay someone to pick up his drugs??? Especially when he has such a voracious appetite?
Given recent events, you’d think he’d know better… and while I can certainly sympathise with a serious addict, how can you sympathise with someone who would rather compromise an employee than risk getting caught?
At least own your own sh*t, you know?
But it’s all about the image isn’t it? He is an acclaimed artist, who is involved and informed and aware, idolised by some for his impish good looks – a selfish junkie isn’t usually what comes to mind. Those in the industry however have surely seen him openly spread his blow all over the dinner table, at any given party, and put half of it into his brain. So brazen is he that he used to carry his stash on his body while travelling, tucked into a coat pocket, cavalierly going through security.
Over the last three months or so however he’s suddenly become a lot more paranoid. And so the task of transporting his happy across borders has rested on his personal assistants. It took her three carries before she finally put her foot down and refused. And got fired for it. The girl who took her place made it only once before quitting herself.
He’s still looking for a replacement.
Substance abuse is one thing. Allowing someone else to take the fall for your addiction is another. Selfish prick.
While we usually advocate that if you hate your job you should quit doing it, we acknowledge that that isn’t always the right approach. This article helpfully points out reasons why it might be worth it to stick around. For example, if you have a good relationship with your coworkers, it might help you out more in the long run than having a good relationship with your boss. (Note from Lilit: I get a decent amount of my freelance work through former colleagues, or friends I made through former colleagues.) Also, if your company is willing to train you on certain programs or pay for you to take work-related classes, you might want to stick around long enough to pad your resume with your new skills.
So before you march into your boss’ office and announce he can take this job and shove it, give this article a read first.
You know that part in Office Space when the consultants tell Peter he’s missed a lot of work, and he says “I wouldn’t really say I’ve been missing work”?
One guy may have taken that notion a bit too much to heart. Daniel Kuch, who lives in Washington State, was so eager to get out of going to work (his job has not been divulged) that he asked a friend to shoot him. Look, I’ve faked sick, I’ve lied about a family commitment…but I have never, ever been so desperate to weasel out of work that I asked someone to shoot me. I would rather quit my job than end up with a flesh wound. It seems that Daniel not only wanted to get out of going to the office, he needed time to stall a mandatory drug test.
Hey, Daniel? Maybe next time you could avoid a hospital stay and just send emails to STA instead. Get well soon, dude.
Check out this quiz on Beliefnet called “Are you in a toxic relationship?” It’s designed with romantic relationships in mind, but we find it’s highly relatable to the boss/assistant relationship as well. Note question three: “Does the person curse at you, call you names, humiliate you in public, or degrade you when he/she is unhappy with something you do?”
Granted, if you answer yes to question four (“Does the person force or manipulate you to perform sexually in ways you do not want to?”), then you should run, not walk, away from your job as fast as you possibly can. Don’t even bother finishing the rest of the quiz.
I spent a large part of this weekend reading Joshua Kendall’s The Man Who Made Lists, a biography of Peter Mark Roget. He’s the man who first wrote the eponymous Roget’s Thesaurus and thus helped generations of writers, college students, and crossword puzzle fanatics (Sylvia Plath even referred to herself once as “Roget’s strumpet”). And, because I am able to find a connection to assistantdom in just about everything, one interesting fact from the book stood out to me: Roget didn’t have an assistant. That’s right…all the initial work for the thesaurus was his and his alone. Compare that to dictionary-maker Samuel Johnson, who had no fewer than six assistants. You could make the argument that a dictionary is a much more intensive undertaking than a thesaurus, but I think the coolness (hipness, awesomeness, chicness, badassitude) of Roget is without question.
