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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
May 13, 2008
/ 8 Iyar 5768 5768
Take this job and love it
By
Malcolm Fleschner
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Every so often I'll read a newspaper story about a recent employee satisfaction survey conducted by a large human resources consulting firm revealing that get ready for a shocker - American workers aren't particularly happy with their jobs. Generally speaking, I believe these results can be ascribed to one of two factors:
1. The HR firms that tend to conduct these sorts of surveys also happen to sell services promising to improve companies' employee satisfaction. The results may therefore be ever so slightly skewed by survey questions such as, "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your workplace satisfaction, taking into account any time you've been passed over for promotion, belittled by your boss, stabbed in the back by a coworker taking credit for your work or had your egg salad sandwich stolen from the break room fridge by a certain coworker who continues to denies it even though just last Thursday he clearly had a suspicious-looking dollop of mayonnaise on his tie and then you found your lunch bag, clearly marked with the words "DO NOT TOUCH!!! THIS MEANS YOU!!!" in big letters, right there crumpled up in the jerk's garbage can?"
2. Leading survey questions notwithstanding, the fact is that many American workers are miserable at their jobs. Why, just ask one of them, particularly if his or her job involves contact with the public, and you'll hear all kind of complaints. Or don't even ask frequently today's disaffected worker will thoughtfully share the details of his or her work-related gripes with anyone lucky enough to come within shouting distance.
The exception to this downward trend in workplace satisfaction is found at "forward-thinking" companies like Google, where employees receive a range of perks, including generous medical benefits, free meals, access to exercise equipment, laundry services, child care, massages, ski vacations and free use of company wheelbarrows for carting all their money home. Plus every week certain favored employees are invited to join Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page at the company's secret underground volcano hideaway for a banquet dinner and to participate in further planning for world domination.
Asked the source of their unhappiness, surveyed workers typically place the blame at the feet of bosses who are frequently described as "insensitive," "incompetent" "overbearing" or "much too uptight about monitoring which adult websites employees may or may not be visiting." When confronted with these criticisms, bosses typically defend their management practices, pointing to, for example, recently adopted worker-friendly policies like offering employees the choice of kneeling or merely bowing deferentially when begging for a bathroom break.
There are, of course, countless business books devoted to helping bosses improve their relationships with the employees they manage. Some of the suggestions in these management guides often strike me as remarkably similar to the advice I've seen in guidebooks for parents of small children, such as, "Reward the employee behaviors you want to encourage," "Be very clear about what your expectations are," "Give them the room to succeed or fail on their own," and "Always make sure their immunizations are up-to-date."
Frankly, I find the comparison of employees to small children a little insulting. To the children, that is. Say what you will about this nation's out-of-control toddlers, but one very rarely hears about three-year-olds pilfering office supplies, playing computer solitaire all day or skipping out with hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds embezzled from mom and dad (not until they go to college, that is).
Still, I have to admit there's some merit to the idea of treating children like miniature employees. For example, when our first child was a toddler, my wife and I were the quintessential "helicopter" parents, constantly hovering out of a fear of a range of potential hazards such as small items that could induce choking, electrical outlets, strangers, the hot stove or rabid raccoons that might somehow gain entrance to our house. But now that we have three kids, my wife and I have come to realize that much like employees, small children need the freedom to explore and learn on their own, even if that means occasionally tripping and falling or mistakenly forwarding a photocopy of their rear ends to everyone on their email list.
Unfortunately, much like new parents, many bosses are wary of giving employees too much freedom. One concern is that, without adequate supervision, employees might turn the workplace into a wild, undisciplined, free-for-all of sex, drugs and non-stop debauchery. Most companies, however, prefer to save that sort of thing for the office Christmas party.
Perhaps worse, bosses fear, employees might start genuinely enjoying their work and wind up doing such a good job and improving performance that, as a society, we begin wondering whether all those bosses are really necessary. And no one wants that. No one in charge, that is.
JWR contributor Malcolm Fleschner is a humor columnist for The DC Examiner. Let him know what you think by clicking here.
Previously:
04/17/08: News you can (re)use
04/02/08: Commercial (over)load
02/20/08: An overdose of reality
02/14/08: A developing situation
01/30/08: I can tech it or leave it
01/02/08: Confessions of a coke addict
01/02/08: Our bills are due
12/13/07: Going (to lunch) once, going twice…
11/28/07: Out with the old
11/06/07: My latest pet project
11/06/07: Can't tune it out
10/23/07: Something special in the hair
09/12/07: Can I have your attention, please?
09/12/07: Houston, we have an image problem
08/21/07: In the heat of fashion
08/09/07: Let's get in the game
06/13/07: You gonna eat that?
05/08/07: That's disinter-tainment
05/02/07:You Are (not) Getting Sleepy...
04/18/07: No time like Father Time
03/15/07: Deface the Nation
03/08/07: More gifts? You shouldn't have
02/22/07: Relationships can be such a chore
12/05/06: Who's calling the shots?
11/09/06: I'm taking selling to a whole new level
10/27/06: Some skills are beyond repair
10/18/06: You can't tech it with you
10/04/06: Award to the wise
08/24/06: Phrased and Confused
08/09/06: We're Gonna Party Like it's $19.99
07/19/06: Just Singing in the Brain
05/24/06: Who says you can't go home again?
05/11/06: When nightly news stories go off script
04/26/06: Cents and sensibility: A thought for your pennies
03/16/06: The day the Muzak died
02/23/06: Checkbook diplomacy begins at home
02/15/06: Today's toys: Where learning means earning
© 2006, Malcolm Fleschner
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