President of Child-Rearing

Today a colleague stopped by my office to say her goodbyes as today was her last day at the company.  She has resigned from her sales job after 5 years to be a stay-at-home mom.  "How cool and how lucky you are" I beamed.  I immediately thought of all the crazy reports I've heard on poor conditions and carelessness at day care providers and I can see why my colleague would not want to leave their newborn with strangers.

While I was a little jealous, (not sure why, I don't have any kids yet) I wondered how many stay-at-home moms are out there and what they do everyday.  Well, I did find that the U.S. Census Bureau reported 5 million stay-at-home moms in 2010.  That's quite a bit, but it didn't mention what exactly stay-at-home moms do all day.  I don't have any close friends or family members who chose to give up working outside the home to stay at home with their kids; but when I hurriedly venture to Target on my lunch break, I always envy those mid-day shopping moms who get to leisurely peruse the aisles and comparison shop in peace.  Is that what my "stay-at-home mom to be colleague" will do?  But what else?  Feed, change and play with the baby or toddler can only take up a couple hours; housework all day, every day, I don't think so.  Well, maybe these SAHMs are using the time to start schooling their kids, so that they can be super-genius kids who are overly prepared for Pre-Kindergarten.  Or, maybe the majority of that 5 million is really running some sort of home-based business.  So technically they are working moms...

Whatever it is SAHMs do, good for you and more power to ya!  Who knows, I one day may start a Power Apron blog and I will at least know for sure what a SAHM does then!

Jackpot - I quit!

Most people fantasize about winning the lottery and then quitting their jobs.  But, not just quitting, actually exiting the company in a fashion that includes flipping off your boss, turning desks, throwing files in the trash and pimp walking out of the building with your deuces in the air, like Chris Brown.  Well, maybe that's not everybody, but I have ran across some people who say that is exactly what they would do if they hit the mega millions.

Now, what would I do...hmmm...I know for sure I would not quit my job immediately.  I could see myself working for at least 6 more months after the win (and collection of funds of course) until I figure out what my next move would be.  Invest in a franchise, purchase investment property, I don't know but a plan would have be to made!  I probably wouldn't even want people to know I won, except for my mortgage company, because I would definitely be paying off my house!

One million dollars is not what it used to be and I've read that even millionaires are pinching their pennies.  So if you hit the power ball think twice before you utter those two words - "I quit". Today I ran across an article on Money.msn.com which highlights a couple (who has decided to remain anonymous - smart, right)who won the lottery and kept their 9 to 5 jobs.  Click on the link below and find out why they decided to keep working.

http://money.msn.com/saving-money/article.aspx?post=4173ee56-bbae-4e90-abae-79c9a2be2a60&gt1=33026

Bon Voyage... I think?

There have been a number of voluntary resignations at my place of employment recently.  Some off to other jobs - better in their eyes of course, some to take on their dream job completely opposite of what they were doing, others to retire and a couple to tend to their young offspring.  In this economy I think its great, when someone can decide to leave their job, for whatever reason they choose.  My question however leads to the good bye. 

The department that I work for (Human Resources) has this very strict policy to not acknowledge the person's departure if they are leaving to go to another company.  Not acknowledging is actually an understatement - sometimes I didn't even know the person was leaving until days before their last day.  I will have to do some further research on this school of thought, because I've seen departments in the same building celebrate the progression of soon-to-be former employees.  Unlike when someone retires, there of course is this great party, with decorations and a catered spread, or I even had a coworker resign because her husband received a great job offer out of state.  I totally agree that in these situations - food, some cake and punch or even an after work dinner would be in order - especially if they were a valued employee who did a great job!

But - then a part of me says, although an elaborate send off is not necessary for the employee who is mentally screaming "deuces" from the top of their lungs, off to their bigger and better job - an acknowledgement and thank you for their work and skills they brought to the company would be a nice courteous and ethical gesture.  No matter their choice - you can't deny their contributions to the company, you just can't.   

This clearly is not a direct science as to how you part ways with your staff/colleague, because some employees may have not have been the best employee anyway, but a little thought and your best judgement can come in handy when their last day arrives.  Even if it's just some bagels and coffee the manager can gather the team to say thank you for your services and best of luck to you in your endeavors!  OR if the company would be better off without them, an email blast to your team to say thanks and encourage the staff to drop by and say good bye and good luck.

That's not hard to do - it's really not.