HRLori

Joey, a former hotel worker in Providence, RI and a member of What Cheer? Brigade, decided to go out with a bang after his complaints about workplace conditions allegedly went unheard by management.

The working conditions in the hotel are horrendous. In the kitchen, workers are regularly forced to work 10, 11, 14, 16 hour shifts that begin at 5:30AM and last well into the night. Housekeepers are reprimanded if they fail to clean 16 rooms or more in a 9 hour shift. Anyone who speaks up—especially anyone who is openly pro-union—is disciplined or fired. Managers, like Jared, scream down employees daily.

I worked extremely hard to change the conditions in the hotel. My co-workers and I regularly organized ourselves to push back against management and demand respect. I was also one of many workers who led the fight to organize a formal union at the hotel.

The hotel has yet to recognize our union, and they continue a vicious union-busting campaign. They punish and fire pro-union workers, spread lies in captive-audience meetings, and generally attempt to scare the workers out of joining the union. Still, through just being organized and threatening to form a union, we’ve won countless victories, including raises, new uniforms, lower housekeeper room quotas, etc.

Whether or not the allegations are true, Joey certainly found quite a memorable way to quit his job.

[via Laughing Squid]

From Shoebox Blog

That didn’t take long…

Yahoo CEO, Carol Bartz, was fired today. Over the phone. And she let everyone know about it.

To all,
I am very sad to tell you that I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. It has been my pleasure to work with all of you and I wish you only the best going forward.
Carol
Sent from my iPad

There are just so many things wrong with this HR-wise that I don’t even know where to start. Suffice to say that the firing of a CEO (or any termination) should take place in person rather than over the phone.

And to that end, perhaps access to the all-employee email list should be cut off immediately as well.

[via TechCrunch]

[via BuzzFeed]

According to Kym McNicholas of Forbes, jobs grew by 80% in New York.

Take a look at the list of top cities across the United States who saw an increase in the number of available jobs in December compared to a year ago:

• New York City: 267,000 jobs, 80% increase, 3:1
• Los Angeles: 169,000 jobs, 72% increase, 4:1
• Washington, DC: 153,000 jobs, 53% increase, 1:1
• San Francisco Bay Area: 152,000 jobs, 98% increase, 1:1
• Chicago: 122,000 jobs, 74% increase, 2:1
• Boston: 119,000 jobs, 78% increase, 1:1
• Philadelphia: 100,000 jobs, 69% increase, 2:1
• Dallas & Fort Worth: 95,000 jobs, 81% increase, 2:1
• Atlanta: 82,000 jobs, 75% increase, 2:1
• Seattle & Tacoma: 75,000 jobs, 68% increase, 2:1

SOURCE: SimplyHired

I guess moving back to NY was the right thing to do.

Smith Magazine, known as the “Home of the Six-Word Memoirs©” and Mercer, an HR Consulting Group, combined forces and sponsored a “Six Words About Work” contest.

The contest, conducted in phases over the summer, provided the opportunity to submit entries on four work-related topics for a chance to win an Apple® iPad or BlackBerry® PlayBook™:

• Why I do what I do
• What inspires my very best work
• The best boss I ever had
• Biggest lesson I learned at work

Mercer and SMITH received a total of more than 7,000 entries for the contest, which was conducted in the US, UK and Canada. During tough economic times, when many business decisions have directly affected employees and their jobs, the entries actually reflected positive and hopeful attitudes.

Among the winners:

• “Press every button until printer works.”
• “Follow your heart, not the salary.”
• “Make cups of tea, build bridges.”

But my favorite, the US winner, really knocked it out of the park.

“Promoted truth, justice and eventually, me.”

Those six words encompass what every employee should hope to have in an employment experience. A workplace doing what’s right and an employee’s chance to develop his career. A simple, yet genius, formula.

There are more wonderful six-word nuggets of absolute genius and insight here.

Brilliant.

Trent Kimball, CEO of Texas Armoring Corporation (TAC) in San Antonio, in order to prove the efficacy of his product, had one of his employees shoot an AK-47 at him while his stood behind a sheet of TAC’s T7-level bullet-resistant glass. Needless to say, his product works.

Shooting the CEO. Definitely an original perk. I don’t, however, recommend implementing such a policy.

Unless of course your company happens to make bullet resistant glass (and the CEO has a good sense of humor).

[via Laughing Squid]

My father always told me to never take anything personally in the workplace because when it really came down to it, all I would ever be to an employer was a commodity.

In this 2008 award winning short by Argentinian animator Santiago Grasso shows what life would be like when people become mere objects working for “The Man” – literally the commodities of which my father spoke.

A scary thought indeed.

[via Laughing Squid]

Ah, yes Labor Day is upon us and with that many thousands of employees flock towards a dried lakebed near Gerlach, Nevada to cavort and carouse to their hearts’ content while remembering to remain properly hydrated.

And while many of those aforementioned employees have scrimped and saved their vacation time to attend this event, some companies, like Traction just have a Burning Man Policy that allows employees to take the time even if they don’t have any left.

On page 10 of Traction’s employee handbook, right in between the sections on “Voting Leave” and “Military Leave,” is a little section called “The Burning Man Policy.”

This policy states that Traction will prioritize requests for time-off—even if people have no vacation time left—to attend events that inspire or enhance professional and/or creative development such as Burning Man or SxSW.

How fabulous is this? It’s evident that this company “gets” its employees and seizes upon opportunities for creativity and innovation in events like Burning Man.

Yes, benefits and compensation are important, but these days it takes more to be an employer of choice. Understanding what employees want along with what they need is crucial to employee retention and satisfaction.

Besides, what’s a few extra days here and there when you have a great team?

That spark is what makes us special. It’s what enables us to generate ideas. To think outside the 468×60 pixel box. To have a culture where people can embrace their own individuality and contribute it to a collaborative mechanism for the manifestation of creativity. To have a company that is ten years old and less than ten people have ever chosen to leave.

Exactly.

Photo by Scott Beale