Robert Collins, a Maryland man who works for the Department of Corrections, was told he had to give his supervisors his Facebook password as part of a re-certification process. While I’ve talked a lot on this site about being smart on social networking sites, giving your password to your boss is totally not OK under any circumstances. The Maryland ACLU has taken up Collins’ cause:
Tag Archive for 'facebook'
The movie Made in Dagenham is about women pushing to get equal pay for equal work in 1960s Britain. – Picktainment
You know who else wants equal pay for equal work? Batgirl. – Comics Alliance
Napping at work is good for you. Someone tell my boss that the next time I get busted nodding off in a meeting. – Yahoo
To cut costs, many companies are making holiday parties employee-only, not allowing significant others to attend. But does this increase the likelihood of drunken coworker hookups? – CNBC
Can you get sued for unfriending one of your coworkers on Facebook? I don’t know, but this is why I warn you against accepting their requests in the first place. – Geekosystem
Two words: “underearners anonymous.” Where I’m from, they just call this “everybody.” – Bundle
What do chick flicks have to teach you about work? Lots, like “don’t take your bad day out on your cat” (Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and “never cry at the office” (A League of Their Own). – Flavorwire
A quarter of women in the UK say they hate nicknames at the office. The most hated nicknames include “love,” “babe,” and “hon.” – The Daily Mail
Is it a good idea for a boss to play a joke on his employees by bringing a “poop cake” into the office? The answer is always, always “No.” – The Stir
Not getting enough sleep, combined with working late, makes for unproductive employees. If you need be, I’ll be napping under my desk. – Huffington Post
The Black Cloud, The Feeder, The Jezebel. No, they’re not pro wrestlers – they’re some of the coworkers you should never, ever be friends with. – Lemondrop
The Grateful Dead have a lot to teach us, and not just about drugs. They’re great managers! – The Atlantic
One upside of the recession? Failure doesn’t really mean what it used to. Yay? – Newsweek
Has anyone contacted you via Facebook claiming to offer you a job? Like most things on the internet, it’s probably a scam. – BizJournals
For some reason I have yet to figure out, Real Housewife of DC and White House party crasher Michaele Salahi has a personal assistant. – Monsters & Critics
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
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
I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – be careful what you post on Facebook and other social networking sites, because you never know who’s going to look at your profile. Now that the site has changed their privacy settings, it’s even easier for people to peek at your “private” photos and information. One Canadian woman recently learned this the very hard way. Nathalie Blanchard, who was on paid leave from her job for depression, lost her government benefits because the agent in charge of her case saw Facebook photos of Nathalie on vacation and partying. When her checks stopped coming, Nathalie called her insurance agent and found out why she’d lost her coverage.
For the record, Nathalie says that going on vacation was part of her treatment – after all, a nice sunny holiday can do wonders for depression, right?
If you’re unemployed, self-employed, or otherwise don’t have a business card for whatever reason, you can now get some of the Facebook business cards designed by Jean-Baptiste Gouraud. The card, which looks like the top part of someone’s profile (or the little box that pops up when you click on a person’s name but don’t have access to view their profile), is a good way to remind people of your name and also encourage them to add you as a friend on Facebook. If you really use your profile to network with people and not just to post embarrassing drunken photos or figure out which Grey’s Anatomy character you are, this is a great way to get the process going and also give people a cute momento to remember you by.
Being unemployed has many upsides – free money from the government, sleeping late, People’s Court reruns – but it has major downsides as well. When you’re broke and hitting a brick wall with your job search, the last thing you want to do is rehash all the humiliation. However, you are most likely not an island. Your friends love you. So here’s a guide for talking to them about your unemployment:
- If someone offers to help, let them. Your friends are your friends because they like you. And when someone says they want to help, they usually mean it. However, they may have no idea how to help. So if there’s something specific they can do – proofreading your resume, giving you some contact info for that job recruiter they worked with last summer, just being there when you need to vent – say what it is, and let them do it.
- Be straightforward about your finances. If you’re too broke to keep going out to fancy restaurants, you need to be upfront about it. Don’t sound like you’re blaming your friend, though – instead of simply declining invites or waiting until the bill comes to fight over whose half comes out to more, maybe suggest cheaper alternatives or recommend another activity that you would both enjoy but costs less, such as a free day at a museum or cooking dinner at your place while you watch American Idol.
Continue reading ‘talking to your friends about unemployment’
A recent survey of 18-24 year olds in the UK (no word on whether they were assistants) got some stats on what people do at work when they’re not working. 80% of 18-24 year olds log onto social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, jDate, etc), 63% download music, and 58% watch videos on YouTube during working hours.
About 40 percent of people in this group said they would quit a job that banned personal internet use, and another 20 percent admitted they would be annoyed.
I wish I had the option of quitting any job that banned me from looking at my email. However, I think it’s pretty unreasonable to assume everyone is working 100 percent of the time they’re at work. Even if your boss can’t figure out how to use the intertubes, he or she is taking a personal call on their work line or reading the newspaper. When you force people behind a desk for eight or more hours a day, how can you expect their attention never to waver?
To his credit, the CEO of Telindus (the company that commissioned the survey) said, “An outright ban on personal internet usage is clearly not the right approach to tackle a sluggish corporate network.”
Oh, that reminds me: speaking of Facebook, join the STA group!
