Even the shittiest summer job has something to teach you. It might be “never work in this industry again,” but it will be something. – Lemondrop
A boss in Virginia is being accused of bullying an employee to death. Just another incentive to leave terrible working environments. Yikes. – NBC
Germany has passed a law that forbids employers from looking at a potential hire’s social networking pages. However, they are still allowed to Google potential employees. – Speigel
Why do men still get promoted more than women? One woman says she is being “mentored to death.” Interesting, and leaves just as many questions as answers. – Harvard Business Review
Some guy who has obviously seen Office Space a few too many times went apeshit on his company’s computer server. By which I mean “he shot it.” – AOL
Having friends at the office is good for morale. But is it bad for business? Either way, you’re probably screwed, so go to happy hour already. – CNN
Save the Assistants officially comes out in book form next week! I’m excited to partner with the website Sorting With Style to offer a giveaway to a lucky STA reader.
Sorting With Style, who makes cute office supplies that I lust over, has kindly donated some stuff from their website. The winner of the giveaway will get an autographed copy of “Save the Assistants” as well as a swag bag from SWS. I won’t tell you all the cool stuff in it, but it includes:
How can you win? Send me your best (by which I mean “worst,” of course) office horror story. Your very best. Like, the one you’ve been holding on to all this time just in case of an event like this.
You can email your story to ashleylilit@gmail.com, do not leave it as a comment on the site. Put “STA Book Giveaway” as the subject line, and please keep stories under 800 words. They must be submitted by noon EST on Monday, August 30. I’ll announce the winner later that day. Good luck!
OK, I couldn’t make this story up if I tried: a Venezuela-born, Mexico-based telenovela star named Gabriela Spanic hired a woman, Marcia Celeste Fernandez Babio, whose job was to spy on Spanic’s estranged sister. When the twin sister caught on, Spanic hired Babio to be her full time live-in personal assistant. Fast forward a couple of months, and every single member of Spanic’s household started to get sick – except for Babio. Turns out that Babio was gradually poisoning the entire family with small amounts of ammonium sulphate (an ingredient in rat poison!). Luckily, they figured out something was up and nobody died, but that is some fucked up shit. I mean, why don’t we just add some kids who were switched at birth and a cloning subplot while we’re at it?
In a new interview, Devil Wears Prada author Lauren Weisberger talks a bit about her assistant days and how she mined them for material. This quote in particular is really good:
The reality starting as an assistant would have been the same if I’d started anywhere – they’re not asking you to write the cover feature. When you’re 22 and first out of college and told by your parents and teachers you’re brilliant and you start as an assistant making coffee there’s a disconnect. I wanted to capture that in the book. You’re primed to join the workforce but you’re not prepared to do menial tasks and work your way up, although everyone has to go through it.
This is basically the reason I started this blog and the reason I wrote my book. That disconnect is an incredibly hard thing to deal with and work through, and once you do there’s no telling how much ass you can kick.
While working on what would become their blockbuster album The Joshua Tree, U2 suffered a personal tragedy. Bono’s assistant Greg Carroll was killed while riding a motorcycle he was due to deliver to his boss. Carroll was a native of New Zealand. Bono penned the song “One Tree Hill,” the ninth track on the album, about Carroll and dedicated the album to him. Now, U2 is planning a huge stage show near that famous landmark. The show will take place on November 25th. Here’s the lovely song, in case you’re not familiar with it.
Larry King will be staying to host his CNN talk show through the end of the year, despite announcing his retirement. Why? Some speculate it’s because his rumored replacement, Britain’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan, needs more time to get his US work visa. Celebrities – they’re just like us! – The Guardian
Kimora Lee Simmons announced that she is leaving her company, Baby Phat… via Twitter. Don’t people send press releases anymore? – Styleite
Tokiko Shimizu, the first female head of Japan’s First Bank, says that women aren’t getting enough opportunities to get job experience early on, which hurts them when they want to take on management roles later. – Bloomberg
Trying to get a new job, even though you’re currently employed? Here are some tips for looking for a new job without getting caught. – ForbesWoman
Some brilliant person is encouraging lawyers to communicate with their assistants more. Hell, learning their names would be a good start. – Law.com
A bunch of New York City public school teachers got busted for taking fake sick days when they posted vacation photos on Facebook. For the billionth time, this is why you put your boss on limited profile. – New York Daily News
A Muslim woman is suing Disney, claiming she was fired from her job waitressing at one of their hotel restaurants because she wore a headscarf. – AOL Jobs
The very funny Allie Brosh has some tips for establishing dominance at the workplace Dog Whisperer style. And it’s in cartoon form, obvs. – The Gloss
Have you ever had to quit a job before you started it? For those of you in that enviable position, here’s how to do it without being a bad guy. – Wall Street Journal
Sure, you know what road rage is. As a New Yorker who doesn’t drive, I occasionally suffer from bursts of “subway rage.” (Dear woman across from me, your purse does not need its own seat!) However, my fellow disgruntled cubicle dwellers of the world should also be on the lookout for “desk rage.” As we spend more and more time at the office and those offices try to squeeze more people into less space, it’s only logical that people get more fed up with each other and become less patient. Via Psychology Today:
A U.S. News and World Report poll says that 89% of U.S. workers said incivility is a serious problem and 78% said it is getting worse. The cost of workplace violence to employers is estimated somewhere between $6 to $36 billion annually.
Ever said “Such and such coworker makes me so mad I could just kill her?” Odds are good you aren’t alone. So how can we curb this growing problem? I vote for things like flex time, more vacation, and, if possible, working with people who don’t finish off the last of the coffee and then refuse to refill. Seriously. I hate that guy.
For their September issue (the one with J.Lo on the cover), the magazine polled their readers about everything from beauty products to fictional characters. A couple of their questions touched on workplace stuff. A majority of readers chose Liz Lemon as the boss they’d like to work for over Grey’s Anatomy’s Dr. Miranda “The Nazi” Bailey. Wow – you mean people might want to have a boss who is usually too busy dealing with her own weird personal dramas to care what you do over one who who regularly yells at and berates you in front of colleagues? Color me shocked.
As for “Who Would You Most Like to Share a Cubicle Wall With?,” the results were:
Pam from The Office: 45 percent
Betty from Ugly Betty: 42 percent
Mary from The Mary Tyler Moore Show: 13 percent
I like all three of these ladies, but two of them are on shows that have been cancelled. (To be fair, Ugly Betty was only cancelled last year, so Betty is still pretty zeitgeisty.) Does this mean we need some more examples of strong women in the workplace on TV? The answer to that is pretty much always “yes.”
Jennifer Lopez is hiring a personal assistant. But like many celebrity assistant positions, this one requires a lot more than taking dictation and making phone calls. Life & Style magazine spoke to an “insider,” aka J.Lo’s former assistant, about what exactly the gig entails:
“The job is 6 days a week, at least 12 hour days with one day off, but you may not get off for weeks,” says the insider. “You’ll be on call 24/7 and you’ve got to be organized and always on point.”
And while hanging out with A-Listers may be glamorous – the insider notes the candidate must be comfortable around “very high profile people” – there are more mundane duties as well. “You have to change diapers, work on little sleep and cook if the butler is away,” the insider continues. But don’t worry, there will be some glamorous moments too; our source says qualified candidates get to help J. Lo dress for red carpet events and photo shoots. The salary for this gig? $55,000 to $65,000.
Sadly, that’s pretty typical. Although it was nice of the “source” not to mention that job duties include “being screamed at constantly.”
It’s exactly two weeks until Save the Assistants comes out. If you can’t wait until then, you can check out an exclusive excerpt on the Today Show blog. This excerpt is all about those rare but wonderful creatures: celebrities who are actually nice to their assistants.
