Category: Personal Essays
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It’s not all that much. Just 645%
Pay for executives skyrocketed 12.6% last year, dwarfing the 4.1% raises for rank-and-file employees. I had to read that twice for it to sink in. Average salaries for CEOs increased by more than 12% last year, but regular run-of-the-mill middle-class workers? On average, these workers received less than 5% of an increase. Not a cost…
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Problems with HR? Is Quiet Quitting the Solution?
The idea behind hiring a human resources director or manager is to gain and retain employees. The role is designed to recruit, onboard, and train new hires, manage and maintain performance, handle all the compensation and benefits, and resolve employee conflicts. Your human resources officer also ensures all staff comply with labor laws and employment…
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Isolation
Four years ago, the world isolated itself from connecting socially with people fearing a nefarious new virus, COVID-19. Eyes were what you saw in public. If worn correctly, another person’s eyes sit above the mask, covering their nose and mouth. Unless you dared expose yourself and your loved ones to the dreaded coronavirus. One hard…
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Follow the Leader – Sort Of
Mark, Joe, and Chris were all friends back in the day. We’re talking about the early 1970s when kids were shoved outside and told to play, often unsupervised and unregulated. But for the three boys, they didn’t think much about that. Mark was a bit of a loudmouth and opinionated on every subject. A fan…
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Reporter vs. Storyteller
When I tell someone I’m a storyteller, they automatically reply, “Oh. You’re a reporter.” “Uh, no. I tell stories.” “How is that different?” A reporter relays the facts relevant to the current situation, focusing on having every fact relevant and accurate to the event while maintaining objectivity through words, video, or an online report. A…
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Clear Communication
I get it. Information is a hot commodity. Data is equal to cash in today’s world. It’s the currency our world functions on because we all work together, trading, buying, and selling data. We need to ensure our active listening skills work. Data is transferred between people, from their heads into your ears. If they…
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First Date
“I don’t appreciate what you said about my friends.” Her voice was tense, borderline hostile. What I didn’t know then was that this conversation would change the trajectory of both of our lives, hers and mine. Between the abuse at home and the constant teasing at school, I was fed up. Mostly, I was tired…
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Any Other Holiday
DISCLAIMER: If there is something I will NOT do, it’s give anyone credit for the physical and emotional trauma they caused me. Therefore, you will not hear me name my biological mother for that reason. Like J.K. Rowling says in Harry Potter, the name only has power if you give it the power. So, if…
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You Don’t Know How It Feels
Walk a mile in their shoes. See what it feels like. So, first of all, eww, no. That’s gross! Second of all, what about all the athlete’s foot possibilities? Yuck! It’s like putting on bowling shoes – even though I know they spray them with disinfectant. It’s just, well, your feet. (The sarcasm is strong…
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Andy’s Close Call
High school. Acid-washed jeans. Polo shirts, more specifically, Ralph Loren. Bright, loud colors. Mini-skirts. Teased-out hair, if long enough, coated with enough Aquanet to freeze it permanently in place. Jelly shoes, no socks. The Don Johnson Miami Vice look. And more than enough drama to write four seasons of Saved By the Bell or 90210.…
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Paying Attention to Your Direct Reports: Mental Health Awareness Month
Struggling. It’s an understatement to use that term at work. Not that anyone would notice or care. Certainly not those working for a large organization that supports mental health. It’s ironic to think the same people who advocate for others to get help with their own mental health fail to recognize it in their own…
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Stop Using Platitudes!
“When God closes a door, another one opens.” “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” When I hear a statement like those above, it makes me cringe. People BELIEVE these clichés will help! I wonder, will these trite…
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Paying Attention
“Squirrel!” Her shout took me aback for a split second because, like most of the things she does, this was uncharacteristically within her character. Her glasses teetered on the edge of her nose, face reddened from the abrupt scream. She followed up her exclamation with a few puppy-like barks. “Holy crab apples, Jules!” I screamed.…
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Overheard At Starbucks
“Where are you?” Are you like me? I try to keep to myself when I’m in public, especially when I’m at a coffee shop. I’m not a huge fan of Starbucks, but it was my birthday. An acquaintance I’m not all that close with handed me a $50 gift card and said, ‘Happy Birthday,’ in…
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Incident at the Walgreens
I’m standing in line getting my morning coffee, and I see her. It was the same woman I saw a few minutes ago at Walgreens. A young woman stood behind the counter looking bored, chewing her gum and clicking her manicured nails on her left hand. Her right hand scanned one item at a time,…
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What Once Was
Four runners passed him as he sat on the park bench, sipping his hot coffee. Jones chuckled, remembering the first half-marathon, a 13.1-mile race he completed twenty-three years ago, holding the cigarette between the fingers of his right hand, a small paper coffee cup in the other. He smirked, not because their form was off…
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Ghostbusters Interrupted
Me and Jordan wanted to go see Ghostbusters. Will and Mikey? They just tagged along because they could. Heck, I figured, why not? It’d be fun. The four of us were always together at school, hanging out because our parents worked late. You couldn’t exactly call us latchkey kids like our GenX parents were in…
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Not By Accident
Today, it is unpopular to follow Jesus. I don’t know that’s it ever been a popular idea or opinion to tell other people that you love Jesus, that you believe he came, died, and rose again, all for your benefit because – and this is the kicker – because guess what? He loves you. Why…
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Carded For Cookies
Grandpa is a great guy, but he’s got this thing about Oreo cookies. He can’t get enough of them. Before we knew what an obsession was or a sugar addiction, there was what Grandpa called his sweet tooth. And every few days, when Mom, Dad, and my sister, Sarah, visited his condo on the shore…
