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.

Sitting Pretty...

Here are some pretty (cute huh?) interesting findings regarding good looks and securing a job.  It's not enough to dress the part, this article says you must have an equally appealing face. 

I started wearing make-up to work 5 years ago to look more mature and be taken more seriously (I've always looked young for my age), but must I keep up this charade to keep my job??!!  

Check out this article about "How much beauty is worth at work". 

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/19/poll-how-much-is-beauty-worth-at-work.html?GT1=43002

10 Attitudes of Successful Workers
By Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor

I love careers section on msn.com.  I can always count on them to publish some really good career advice.  Here is one to check out:

http://msn.careerbuilder.com/custom/msn/careeradvice/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=666

Not so happy Monday

So today was the first day of work without my colleague, who resigned and her last day was Friday.  Although she left to go take on a great opportunity, I still wish she was right here beside me cracking jokes, lending me 25 cents for the vending machine and working with me to knock out implementation projects.  We were freakin' rock stars with our team work!

If you've ever made a good friend at work, you would know exactly how my day went - tremendously sad.  Last night I dreaded the fact that I would come into work and not find my BFF in the cubicle next to me.  No one to reciprocate my good morning, no one to recap the weekend, no one to mock our boss with (and this was the most important daily ritual we shared).   

I used to think that the friends I already had (a whopping) were all the friends I needed.  My best friend since 7th grade and then my college girls who double as my sorority sisters.  Yup, 3 that's it.  But boy, was I surprised when 2 years ago, I encountered a new good friend in of all places - WORK. 


Don't underestimate the genuine friendships and relationships that you can develop at work.  You are spending 40 plus hours a week with them, which is more than I am spending currently with my family who all live out of state along with my 3 besties! 

At the end of the day I spoke to my now former colleague, but even better my friend.  She had a great first day and since her new job is less than 3 miles away, I will still get to see her through the week.

Gracefully Unhelpful

When I sought out clarification on data provided to me in an excel spreadsheet at work today, I realized that sometimes you just aren't able to be helpful. 

This applies to any situation:  You may just not know the answer due to lack of knowledge on the subject, you may be familiar but it's not your expertise and you don't want to commit to an answer, or you may simply be new to a city, neighborhood, company and just clueless altogether.  No one can fault you for not knowing. 

BUT....there is a courteous way to be unhelpful.

Here are a couple of pointers:

1. Don't have an attitude and get irritated that someone had the audacity to ask you something you don't know.  They may not have known you didn't know.
2. If you have a suggestion on who might be able to help - share it. 
3. Don't tell a tall tale just to get the person off your back - it's OK if you don't know and you shouldn't send them down the wrong path trying to make yourself look good.