Picked this up at the library recently: The Girl’s Guide to Being a Boss (Without Being a Bitch) by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio.

I like the real-world feel of it. The stories range from short little “oops” ones to interview style. The points are all full of good humor and life lessons.

For example, in the chapter “Playing Goddess,” the authors talk about reviewing. How useful are reviews? Really? Is it the only time you get feedback? Is that the only time you hear that you missed too many deadlines? And it’s now in your permanent record and affecting your chance at a raise! Frustrating, right? So, their company, YC Media, has a review process they call Begin, End, Save, Track (BEST). They also do this not just once a year, but twice. One for the money and one for the feedback.

Begin

Three actions. What should the employee do now? Later? What makes the boss type happy? Hopefully this isn’t “fetch me coffee in the morning” but more like “give more web training sessions.” (more…)

I’m taking a Stress Management class through the college. I figured if I need a class then that’s the one. The interesting thing is that I’m having problems coming up with stuff for the stress journals. Life is good right now. Every so often there is an “OH GOSH!” moment but I’ve learned, overall, how to deal with them.

The latest lesson was on Occupational Stress. Ah, lovely beast how we love thee!

Role Problems as a Cause for Occupational Stress

• Role Overload: Job demands are so great that the worker feels in inability to cope
• Role Insufficiency: Workers lack the training to do it
• Role Ambiguity: Aspects of the job and workplace are unclear. Workers should know the criteria for career advancement and what is expected of them
• Role Conflict: Two supervisors each expect something different. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”

My Lightbulb is Getting Dim! (How burnout develops)

• Stage one (the honeymoon): Worker is satisfied and remains enthusiastic. As this stage continues, the tasks become unenjoyable and the worker loses energy.
• Stage two (fuel shortage): Fatigue sets in. Difficulty sleeping is a symptom.
• Stage three (chronic symptoms): Overwork leads to physical effects that include constant exhaustion and susceptibility to disease and psychological effects that include acute anger and feelings of depression.
• Stage four (crisis): Actual illness can develop that results in the worker not being able to attend the job.
• Stage five (hitting the wall): Severe enough to cause illness that is life threatening. Worker now has so many problems at work that his or her career is actually threatened. (more…)