|
When Life Hands You a Lemon
Monday, September 24,
2007
USA Today has an article about a man who grew up in a privileged
family, to then go study at Yale and land a job at a prestigious ad
agency.
At age 53, however, he got a taste of the hard life when he was let
go. His downward spiral then began: The consulting firm he set up
faltered, an affair ruined his marriage and left him with a fifth
child, his savings disappeared, insurance became no longer
affordable, and a cancer tumor was discovered in his brain.
That's when he took a job at a Starbucks and was forced to open his
eyes to the other side of America: low/ middle class multicultural
and hard working America.
Michael Gates Gill, that's his name, wrote a book about the story of
his life (How Starbucks Saved My Life) and sold that story to Tom
Hanks, who will make a movie out of it.
Looking at the Bright Side of Things
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
The following article is interesting because it brings a new
perspective to layoffs. Being laid off is always difficult. Yet,
we can choose to put things in perspective and look at work as only
one aspect of life. Life is bigger than work.
Layoffs are accompanied by periods of uncertainty. We can let the
uncertainty drag us down or we can choose to look at the uncertainty
as giving us the opportunity for a new beginning. "Uncertainty" is
about making decisions. Making decisions requires courage and
conviction.
Canadian Employment Figures Fell for
the Third Straight Month
Monday,
September 11, 2006
The fallout from the high Canadian dollar continues as Canadian
employment figures fell for a third month in a row, pushing
unemployment up to 6.5%. The manufacturing sector was hit hard with
the number of factory workers at an eight year low. Western
provinces continue to do better than the rest of the country,
however, as hourly wages have increased 8.3% on a year-over-year
basis, compared to 3.7% for Canada as a whole.
Reflections About Unemployment
Friday,
May 05, 2006
For many, the idea of being unemployed is hard to sustain - on a
monetary level, but also on an emotional level. In today's society,
some people see themselves as a reflection of what they do - the
notion of status partly emanates from that perception.
But shouldn't what we do be a reflection of us? When we look at
many of the very successful names out there, they seem to like what
they do, and somehow their occupation is associated with their name,
and not the other way around.
What does this have to do with unemployment you may wonder?
Sometimes, it is in hardship that we find the strength to follow our
true calling. Periods of unemployment are hard, but they sometimes
have a good ending, forcing people to reflect and question what they
have been doing up to that point.
The Gap Between the Poor & the Rich
Thursday, April 20, 2006
The growing disparity of income is a phenomenon that most capitalist
societies face, including, it seems, Japan.
The Japan Times article starts with the example of a writer and
assistant TV director now on welfare after his freelance jobs dried
up and four production companies for which he worked for closed. On
the other side of the spectrum, the article mentions two 44
year-old women indulging in a spending spree.
This reminds me of the situation in North America where the
manufacturing sector has been giving way to the service sector,
where lower wages and lesser benefits are the norm. Owners earn
more by shifting their production to developing countries and laid
off employees go back down the ladder at their new jobs.
The dynamics are difficult to grasp though... indeed, if it costs
less to produce something in China, why produce it in the U.S.?
Shifting the production to China will help alleviate poverty there -
isn't the capitalist way supposed to allocate resources more
efficiently, and isn't that what's happening? As human beings,
shouldn't we all be happy that there is less poverty, no matter
where it is? Isn't this "country vs. country" attitude the source
of all the wars throughout history?
It seems that world globalization is a zero sum equation however.
If one country gains, another must lose. In light of all the
prosperity in some western countries, look at Africa right now,
still struggling with poverty (Africa, yes, not a country, a whole
continent!).
What is the solution to the new world dynamic? Is building a new,
more human world possible when greed is at every corner? Is
capitalism the way to go? Even if we do not think it is, is there a
way to stop the immense underlying powers sustaining that ideology?
Targeting Employers
Sunday,
April 16, 2006
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has recently
commenced a shift in the way it deals with the employment of illegal
immigrants. It now targets their employers. The logic is simple
said Julie Myers, assistant secretary of ICE:
"They're doing it for pure greed, so we really need to go after them
where it hurts. If you're blatantly violating our worksite
enforcement laws, we'll go after your Mercedes and your mansion and
your millions. We'll go after everything we can, and we'll charge
you criminally."
Many illegal immigrants that currently work in the U.S. are being
exploited by their employers, earning below minimum wage and living
in unacceptable conditions. As an example, a Japanese restaurant
that employed as many as 24 illegal immigrants treated them as
follows:
"The defendants admitted to harboring as many as 24 illegal
immigrants, paying them less than minimum wage and using the profits
to buy luxury cars and property. Some workers were housed above
Kawasaki's elegant restaurant on Charles Street, where they lived in
trash-strewed quarters and slept on bare mattresses."
Notwithstanding the above, some immigrant rights supporters argue
that aggressive enforcement of worksite rules could actually have a
detrimental effect on them by curtailing their ability to find work
and make a living.
""I think they should go after employers who exploit workers and
violate labor laws, but we should not be going after legitimate
employers who are trying to maintain a business but cannot find
workers otherwise," said Jaime Contreras, a labor leader and
chairman of the National Capital Immigration Coalition, the umbrella
group that coordinated last week's immigrant rights rally on the
Mall. "The reality is that businesses like restaurants and hotels
would not be able to survive without undocumented workers.""
Close a blind eye and open the other one? So they argue, because of
necessity.
A UK Hospital Is Sending Work to India
to Cut Costs
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Wolverhampton's New Cross Hospital will send voice recordings to
India to have them typed. This is only the start; if things go
well, they intend to send more work abroad.
Will this pose a threat regarding confidentiality issues and safety
issues?
So What?
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Julie Miller wrote an interesting piece about rejection - job
rejection to be more precise.
But no matter what kind of rejection it is, it is what it is... So
she goes on with the five familiar stages of coping with rejection
in her own way: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally
acceptance.
Everything's good, however, as she wakes up the next morning.
Lesson: We all have hard days. Just let it pass...
|
