"What does a "boss" really do? I mean really, my boss really doesn't do anything. He comes in late, goes to the hospital, hob-nobbing, and gives me all of his things to do...even his mail...so my new goal...should it be to become..........a boss?" A quote from my dear friend who is a Physician's Assistant. She has is a legitimate concern and she got me thinking. What does a boss really do?

Well...... from my experiences they:

• Come in late (some) and turn around and leave early. They even lie about staying late, "working all hours of the night" yeah right. Failed attempts to trick you into believing it, as they make sure they are still there when you leave but in reality are seconds behind you out the door.
• Ask you to do useless tasks unrelated to your career goals such as "preparing an overnight envelope for their personal use" or "going to the soda machine to get them a Pepsi".
• Speak aggressively in a meeting about what actions they are going to take with a project only to impress the VP. You are even impressed at how your boss is going to develop and launch that wonderful idea and then when you least expect it, their exciting idea and the work involved gets dumped on you with a very limiting deadline to deliver; All the while never letting you forget that this is a deliverable of theirs. "Then you should make sure it gets delivered!" is what I want to say!
• Bring in lunch for the department - we're not stupid, we know we are now on a "working lunch". We end up not getting a break at all, while they take 2 hour "business" lunches.
• Lastly, ride your back to meet goals that affect their bonus. Going as far as to make you stop meaningful work that affects your performance review, to have you work on labeling a drawer (something they could do themselves) so that they can pass the office audit and get upwards of tens of thousands of bonus dollars, while we suffer for low pay and get nothing but another paid for lunch that we end up working through.

So to answer April's question - "Should her new goal be to become a boss"?

I say noooooo, don't sell your soul to the devil, don't turn to the dark side, save your character and good will. We shall overcome!

"Siesta, Siesta"

My recent work week schedule includes, working late, staying up even later once I get home to complete my errands and chores, and rising early to start the cycle all over again. I began to think that all who experience the same pain of sleep deprivation and unsightly dark circles and bags beneath their eyes as I, should ban together and demand "Nap rooms" be built for employees to take mid day naps to catch their second wind thus being more productive and better decision makers.

Those in the medical field have the privilege to take naps when working their long, most of the time around the clock hours - understandable. It's only people's lives and health that they are responsible for - which is the reason they need sleep. Medical professionals need to make sure they are in their right minds when making life altering decisions. But what about those who work in a manufacturing environment, running gigantic machines, cutting materials, welding metals, and assembling parts - can you say "Worker's Comp". In my corporate career path, I had to make sure I wasn't hiring thieves to work in banks, allowing benefits to be offered to ineligible dependents or negotiating inconsistent pay rates and benefits that could drive the company into bankruptcy affecting the financial health of the company. No matter what job you have being sleepy ~ is being sleepy and being too sleepy is a risk to the company and those it serves.

The Blueprint:

I imagine rooms designed at job sites similar to smoking areas mixed with the private phone booths at the airport with choices of windows/no windows lite or darkened to your liking. If you are like me, you are concerned about the sanitary aspect of this "Nap Room" endeavor, but to participate in this benefit, employees would need to bring their own bedding, sheets and pillows. Disinfecting of the rooms will take place between use by a mechanism that sprays disinfectants from the ceilings and walls. A locker room will be available to store bedding to prevent the inconvenience of lugging items to and from work. There will be timers that serve as alarm clocks only allowing one to sleep 15 to 30 (maximum) minutes a day. Once time is up - a loud buzzer sounds and the room illuminates with bright lights indicating your siesta is over and its back to work. Thirty minutes a day is the maximum allowed. Each employee needs to have a card with a code in which their time spent in the "Nap Room" is documented. It can work similar to a debit card- where you only spend what is on the card. Employees must charge up their cards in order to use it. Restrictions include: charging will take place once a week and there is no rollover time allowed. You must use it or lose it. Lastly, this would require a "Nap Time Coordinator" position to be created and added to ensure no one abuses this benefit, and is present to trouble shoot any glitches, malfunctions and discrepancies.

Ahhh - I'm getting sleepy thinking about it. I think I am going to take a nap.

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