Fired!

[Guest]

Why do you resent him getting a soccer schedule faxed to him?

 

Boss got angry because BO didn't tell him that the precious soccer schedule was in his inbox. If you are managing as a functioning adult, you understand that the IN BOX is where INCOMING things are put. How was BO to know that this piece of paper warranted special note? Should the boss, expecting this vital bit of paper, not have notified his 'assistant' that this item was of utmost value and that he was to be notified the moment it came in?

 

You have missed the point. Which is that the boss was at fault and blamed BO. Which is always a bad sign. Perhaps had BO been a longtime employee and had had enough discussions with the boss to know that the soccer schedule is a critical bit of paper that must be dealt with above all others, she might have been less innocent all this. But she was brand new and followed the rules she had been given.

 

 

Why is it so much trouble to just get it to him? What's the big deal? You don't have to LOVE being an assistant but why not just do it?

 

I don't want to sound harsh but i think it might help you to figure out how to keep a job and leave on your terms. It doesn't matter how smart you are, or even how right you are. You need to learn how to be a grown up and live in the world. I don't think it makes sense to be pure adn self righteous victim--the only person it hurts is you. Also, unless you have a trust fund or can live off family, how are you going to take care of yourself? There are millions of workers in the USA who don't have the privledge to let themselves get fired. It's not fair, it's not right but it is what it is. If you want to change it you need to first be able to take care of yourself. Then you can be in a position to do something about the fact that workers are treated like **** in the USA and can get fired for absolutely NO REASON. It's a paradox but it is what it is.

 

A very good friend of mine lost a well paying job with excellent benefits. Someone called about not getting a fax. It wasn't her fax so she didn't think it was her problem. Technically it wasn't her problem but it was more trouble to take the message than it was to run down what the hell happened to the fax. IT probably wasn't that particular fax debacle that got her fired--it was just indicative of a resentful attitude that the office didn't want to deal with. So they didn't. The company was wrong. They suck. But she's the one who doesn't have a job.

[blind_otter]

Do you take any responsibility for your inability to stay employed? Seems like it was more important to you to make a point to your boss that he shouldn't mix work and personal life than it is to just do the job. Why do you resent him getting a soccer schedule faxed to him? Why is it so much trouble to just get it to him? What's the big deal? You don't have to LOVE being an assistant but why not just do it?

 

How about this - I don't have to be an assistant. I can change my career and do something that betters suits my personality and allows me to keep whatever shreds of dignity I have left. I don't have to "just do it", as much as nike would insist that I do -- because this is all the life I get and I'm not wasting the majority of my waking hours hating what my life is and what I've allowed it to become.

 

I can't be so aware of my mortality and how short and precious life is....and still labor under the yolk of employment to toxic managers. Yeah yeah yeah, I just finished an article about toxic managers and I was laughing the whole time I was writing.

 

Then you can be in a position to do something about the fact that workers are treated like **** in the USA and can get fired for absolutely NO REASON. It's a paradox but it is what it is.

 

No, it isn't what it is. It's what we allow it to be. The cult of overwork in america is a reality. What can I do about the human resources and hiring and firing policies of companies run by people so entrenched in orthodoxy and personal psychological issues that they can't conceive of an alternative structure to their personnel? It's been proven that telecommuting actually increases worker efficiency yet some doctrinal hegemonies refuse to allow that flexibility and insist that the traditional 9-5 trapped in a cubicle model is better.

 

I give up on trying to save the world. Now I'm trying to save me.

 

But she's the one who doesn't have a job.

 

Hah, she's the one who got free from working for a bunch of self-absorbed, petty, maniacle micro-managing freaks. If she crawled out from her cloud of self-abasement and depression she would realize that this is an opportunity to expand her world, rather than restrict it.

 

I've survived off nothing for a long time. Hell, I lived out of my car for a while when I was a drug addict. I can live off peanuts. What I can't live off of, is drudgery and hating the majority of my waking hours.

[Craig]

I give up on trying to save the world. Now I'm trying to save me.

Leadership by example is the most powerful form of leadership.

[Flyin in Clouds]

...

 

People keep telling me to go back to school but I refuse to continue my education until I know what the hell I'm going to do with my life.

 

Well usualy you go to college to find out what you want to do with your life. College isn't vocational job trainging, though it can be. Education should expand your horizons.

 

And I think you have to find what you love to do. Steve Jobs said it well in a speech at Stanford. Well worth the read I think.

 

http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html

 

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

 

 

This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

 

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

 

 

The first story is about connecting the dots.

 

 

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

 

... (read the rest at the web page above).

[Flyin in Clouds]

How about this - I don't have to be an assistant. I can change my career and do something that betters suits my personality and allows me to keep whatever shreds of dignity I have left.

 

See Steve Job's speech. Find what you love. I haven't read the whole thread but your old boss was a jerk and a piss poor manager. But that is true of many bosses. I often wonder how so many of these jerks rise to the top... A good boss is a team builder, leader, coach, mentor ... anyway all that aside I had a couple comments on the state of affairs...

 

Then you can be in a position to do something about the fact that workers are treated like **** in the USA and can get fired for absolutely NO REASON.

 

Well yes workers can be treated like **** but any company that does is being stupid. Workers are what make one company out perform another. That's easier with happy workers. And yes, it's usually employment "at-will" meaning they can fire you for no reason. And that is as it should be. It also means you have the freedom to quit and work someplace else. And the freedom to be your own boss. Nobody has a right to a job. Everyhone has a right to create their own job.

 

No, it isn't what it is. It's what we allow it to be. The cult of overwork in america is a reality. What can I do about the human resources and hiring and firing policies of companies run by people so entrenched in orthodoxy and personal psychological issues that they can't conceive of an alternative structure to their personnel? It's been proven that telecommuting actually increases worker efficiency yet some doctrinal hegemonies refuse to allow that flexibility and insist that the traditional 9-5 trapped in a cubicle model is better.

 

No, it isn't what it is. It's what we allow it to be. The cult of overwork in america is a reality.

 

You can choose to do what ever you want.

 

What can I do about the human resources and hiring and firing policies of companies run by people so entrenched in orthodoxy and personal psychological issues that they can't conceive of an alternative structure to their personnel?

 

Start your own company. Then you get to make any policies you want.

 

What I can't live off of, is drudgery and hating the majority of my waking hours.

 

And why would you have to in the land of opportunity. Your only limits are the one's you impose on yourself.

 

The richest guy in the country (Bill Gates - Microsoft) was a college drop out. Steve Jobs, drop out.

[blind_otter]

sadly, i'm not a college dropout. I have a bachelor's degree but bachelor's degrees are about as good as an AA when it comes to my degree field. Sorry for the confusion.

[burning 4 revenge]

sadly, i'm not a college dropout. I have a bachelor's degree but bachelor's degrees are about as good as an AA when it comes to my degree field. Sorry for the confusion.

i know how you feel b.o.

 

a college degree is nothing

[napoleandynamite]

Some of you should see my post: "Fear of Getting Fired".

 

I have similar problems to BO in the Employment area. Therefore, I can understand her frustration with her recent new job not working out.

Like I said earlier, some assistant jobs are purely business, while others are more of a PA job. I have learned it's most important to ask your potential employer on the interview exactly what duties are expected of you. Never be afraid to ask if you will be invovled in his/her personal dealings,as these duties are not always listed in your job description and should a conflict arise with in the future, they will put you at fault because you never asked for details on the interview.

BO: Do this next time. Maybe you need to find the "right" assistant job. They are not all the same. Some could suit you. Maybe you should try temping? This way, you can see if you like the company, environment, and the actual duties of your job and the employer can see if they like you. If your temp agency does not have work for you, then you can collect unemployment until they do have work from you.

 

In regards to "finding a job you love" or a "job that is better suited for you". I could not agree more. I believe this is the best advice to give to someone in this situation. However, some of us have a problem with this. Suppose the job you love requires certain skills you don't have and you need to go back to school for this? In my situation, (dunno about BO, I can only speak for myself here) I need a full-time dependable job in order to pay for schooling/training do "do a job I love so I don't get fired yet again". It's a catch 22. How do I break the catch 22 cycle? Of course we need jobs we love and have a specific talent for, but if I don't have the skills to do what I would love, then I'm out of luck. I need the job that i am capable of doing, which is just "okay".

 

Any suggestions for BO or others in this boat?

[blind_otter]

I switched to freelance writing. I write all the time anyway, and always wanted to try it out, and I just never felt confident enough to work in an unstructured environment. But it is working out well for me becauseI find that my most productive hours are early in the morning and late at night. there's not many traditional jobs that would fit that schedule.

 

serial muse helped me tremendously, and I am working on my first contract right now.

[Flyin in Clouds]

sadly, i'm not a college dropout. I have a bachelor's degree but bachelor's degrees are about as good as an AA when it comes to my degree field. Sorry for the confusion.

 

The point was degree or no degree find what you love to do and do it. If writing is it then pursue it with all you have.

 

Good luck.

 

It's a catch 22. How do I break the catch 22 cycle?

 

Nobody said it was easy. And I understand that problem. But lots of people work at some low paid job, waiting tables for instance, working toward some other career.