The Panda Bear on Debt, Politicians, and Work

The Panda Bear will be doing some short posts because she gets tired at night.    She had just read an article about how it works to the Capitalists advantage to work people long hours.   The Panda Bear actually thinks the economy would function better with more leisure because people would have more time to spend money.

However, the Panda Bear thinks that the Capitalists like getting people into debt where they are obligated to work to pay off their debts.    Also she thinks that politicians benefit by people going into debt because it provides the illusion that the economy is growing and that wages are rising which they have not been doing.   For better or worse in the post Keynesian era politicians are seen as being responsible the economy; consequently they do things to make the economy look like it is doing well.

Here is a link to  the article the forty hour work week which inspired this post. 

The Panda Bear returns to Blogging, Unemployment and the New Science of Job Hunting

The Panda Bear Blog, the populist blog of a humble office worker is back.

When the Panda Bear last wrote her last blog piece, she had lost her job and decided to go to school to upgrade her jobs skills.    She went under what is called Section 30 where unemployment lets you go back to school instead of job searching.   The Panda Bear successfully completed her program in August and since September has been job hunting.   She has learned much since she has started her new job hunt.

The first thing she learned that despite the official unemployment rate being at four percent, people are still unhappy with the job market.   The Panda Bear is surprised that so many people are still ashamed to say their unemployed, despite there being many layoffs and high unemployment rates(The Panda Bear thinks it is ashamed that so many people are still quiet about being unemployed.    These people are loosing some networking potential and it stops society from recognizing the extent of the unemployment problem.

The Panda Bear notices that two age groups have the hardest time finding jobs.   The first group are the young workers with no or very little experience.   Employers nowadays don't want to train people. The other group of workers that seem to be effected are the "mature" or not young workers(this group includes the Panda Bear).   Probably these workers are have more trouble finding work because of both ageism and this group can be costing companies more money earning higher salaries and being eligible for more benefits.

The unemployment office gives advise on how to get around age discrimination in the workplace.   The first suggestion is that one should remove dates on resumes of when one attended school and the work history should only go back ten to fifteen years.   Less obviously, the Panda Bear discovered that the fonts one uses could indicate age.    People should be using modern and contemporary fonts not the old fashioned Arial and Times Roman.

It is not without controversy about whether business practises are correct or outdated.    One young career counselor upset a lot of people in her class by saying that the use of the word "Dear" in cover/business letters had become outdated and suggested the person using it was old.   Many clients objected and said that using "Dear" was proper English.   The Panda Bear tried typing a cover letter and just addressing it "Hiring Manager" seemed abrupt.   However,  upon reflection that Panda Bear thought that modern cover letters probably are a shade more informal since they are uploaded into an application system rather than going through snail mail.   Also the Panda Bear has heard that the younger generation constantly abbreviates the language and many say they don't use proper English.   Therefore, the Panda Bear has decided to address cover letters to "Attention: Hiring Manager".

The use application(automated) tracking systems has in itself revolutionized the job hunting process.   The application is screened by a computer before it gets into human hands.    There is a whole series of strategies that one has to use to get it to clear the system sp the hiring manager sees it.    This
type of application does not bother the Panda Bear too much;  in her type of job one is expected to be good at computers.  However, even the simpliest types of jobs now require online applications which many people find difficult to use.

With the start of applying jobs, the Panda Bear has started to feel the beginnings or work pressure.   She has been surprised with how busy she has gotten job hunting.  

The Panda Bear on Vocational Training and College Education

The Panda Bear Blog is the blog of humble but kindly office worker who wants to reform the world.

As the readers of the Panda Bear Blog know, after a steady work history for twenty years, the Panda Bear lost two office jobs in two years.   She has recently been approved by Massachusetts Department o Unemployment to attend an advance office skills program which includes an internship.

The Panda Bear thinks that job training programs are very much needed nowadays even for people with job skills.   Organizations now want people to be up and fully functioning after the first week the employee starts.   Companies are now running very thin staffed so employees don't have time to train people.  With rising concerns about job security, many workers think that a form of job security is that no one else but you can do your job so they don't want to help other workers.     In additions, it costs money for companies to train people and nowadays employees don't stay long with companies.   When companies train people, they are taking a risk that employee may not be able to do the job.

However, the Panda Bear also thinks companies are being lazy in not training people.    Every company has a unique structure and culture which new employees need to learn.    Probably many employees simply don't know what they are doing and are afraid to ask.    In times of high unemployment jobs go unfilled because workers need a shorter training program.  (Also it is a source of job dissatisfaction for those that are working that the companies don't provide them with training and growth opportunities).

The Panda Bear in Massachusetts is seeing more joint industry and state educational ventures to give people job training that leads to jobs.   For example the Panda Bear is seeing industry-state bank teller training programs; banks used to to training in house but now they want experienced tellers.

The Panda Bear thinks that in the modern environment training is actually more important that "higher education".   Counselors at the Mass Unemployment Office(and from what the Panda Bear agrees from has seen) say that even if people with get college degrees the jobs are there for people with with very narrow skills.

The Panda Bear also thinks that companies not being willing to train people is leading to abuse of the practice of bringing on foreign workers on Visas.   There is no attempt to train Americans even if it is a very minimal training requirement.

The Panda Bear on Christmas in the Office and The Poor Economy

The Panda Bear since she has started a new and better job has less time to blog.   However, she will continue to blog in the future.   She will begin a series of posts attacking the privileges of academia elite.   Not that the Panda Bear is against education but she things that academics often regarding themselves as a priestly elite.    The Panda Bear Blog is the blog of a common office worker.

One thing that the Panda Bear is glad in her new job that not much is made of Christmas.   The Panda Bear was raised that it was wrong to celebrate Christmas.   Until about 2001 the Panda Bear did not have problem with the office Christmas. What went on even in the office was basically secular though this was called Christmas+.

However, after 2001, though the name was changed to “Holiday”, for one month, the Panda Bear get barraged about the “Christian” nature of the holiday.   These messages have included managers of secular organizations.   Through the Christians at work, the Panda Bear has learned about the “Christian” nature of some ornaments that the Panda Bear once thought of as simply pretty decorations.

Though Christians are the overwhelming majority of the Panda Bear’s workplace, they feel angry and persecuted.   They feel oppressed if they cannot express their religion at work even though the institution they work for is secular and is located in a large diverse urban environment which the includes many religions and nonbelievers.

The Panda Bear believes Christianity is not well served in offices on the holidays.   It does not come across as a religion of hope, faith, charity, love and goodwill.   Rather it comes across and self-centered, militant and materialistic (endless discussions of shopping for presents).

The Panda Bear on Her Return, Her Day Off and More Job Interviews

The Panda Bear is now back from her summer vacation.   So much has been going on in foreign affairs it is hard for the Panda Bear to stay informed.   However, she continues to say no to an imperial US and thinks the United States needs to focus on its problems at home.

The Panda Bear had an unusually productive last Tuesday.   She had a busy day at work, post a book review, voted in the local elections and watched a television show (The Panda Bear watches TV at most for about three hours a week).   She was in awe of her efficiency.   

Then she came down with a cold and was tired over the weekend.  This Tuesday she took the day off to do errands and she also had (ta-ta)-a job interview.   Furthermore, she was told both by the interviewer and a friend of hers who talked to the interviewer that the Panda Bear did well on the interview; the interviewer liked the Panda Bear's knowledge and personal style.

Of course, the Panda Bear has gone on many interviews recently and they have not led to anything.   However, the Panda Bear has been spending her day drafting her resignation letter- now her favorite piece of writing.

Dear Ms. Boss:

It is with mixed emotions that I am writing to tell you that I have accepted another position.   I am giving you my two weeks’ notice.   My last day of work will be on _____.  My new employer is very anxious to have me start as soon as possible.  I have given careful consideration to making this job change.

Regards,

Panda Bear

The position in question as well as some other positions the Panda Bear has for would be a pay cut.   The Panda Bear has been reading that salaries have been going down since 2008.     However, the Panda Bear is fortunate in that she can afford to take a pay cut.   She is glad she leads a frugal lifestyle.  The Panda Bear is not taken in with the false promises of happiness that the consumerist society makes.  , The Panda Bear feels it is time for a change and that she needs to learn new skills. (The Panda Bear thinks nowadays people too long in their positions are increased risk of layoffs)  She thinks some companies would offer her a more pleasant work environment.

However, in the unlikely event the Panda Bear gets a new job she will stop writing about her job in her blog.   Whenever, she goes on a job interview she promises herself try to be as happy as possible in her new job and have no expectations of advancement or promotion which has caused problems for her in previous jobs.  

She no longer needs promotion or advancement to feel smart and competent in her life; The Panda Bear has found her passion in the Panda Bear Blog.

The Panda Bear will Be Taking the Rest of the Summer Off. Publication to resume sometime in September

The Panda Bear Blog is about the importance of personal space in today's busy world.  Given that the blog is about the lack of rest and relaxation, the Panda Bear has decided to take the rest of the summer off from blogging.

She is exhausted.   Work has been busy.   Also surprisingly enough the Panda Bear has been getting a lot of job interviews.   Granted many of these jobs are at lower pay but the Panda Bear is getting hopeful that she may find a new position.   Though she is but a humble office worker, her skills seem to be in demand.

Even though getting job interviews is "good" it is making inroads in what little free time the Panda Bear has.  It is tiring and stressful.   It eats into the Panda Bear's "vacation" time as some of her time off is used for interviews.

The Panda Bear feels to enjoy her favorite summer activity of sitting outside and read.    She will return to blogging in the fall.

The Panda Bear on July 4th, the Office and Out-of-Touch Psychologists

Before the Panda Bear gets into her post she would like to offer prayers for world peace.   War is a terrible thing.   She can understand that countries need to defend themselves but she thinks war should always be a last resort.

 The Panda Bear would like to share this Op Ed piece by Mortimer Zuckerman in the Wall Street about how more and more people are only able to get part time jobs.  Janet Yellen of the Federal Reserve also states that unemployment is very high.   The Panda Bear has heard political conservatives state the economy is bad and complain that there are not enough jobs for people.   The Panda Bear things that if these people think the economy is bad (usually conservatives blame the unemployed for their problems), the unemployment rates must by sky high.   The Panda Bear has always felt that it was terrible that the look term unemployed don't get counted in unemployment statistics.   Also the Panda Bear has always felt that government economists (since they are hired by the government) have something vested in making the current regime's economy look good whether it is a Republican or Democrat in charge.

 Meanwhile the people who have jobs (such as the Panda Bear are not happy with them.   Employers take advantage of the bad job market.   The Panda Bear has recently heard a psychologist state that if people feel negatively about their jobs should get new jobs.   Where has this psychologist been?  Jobs are hard to get now.  The Panda Bear has believes that the "market rate" of some jobs has actually declined.   It is hard to take a pay cut and one really has no guarantees about the new job.

 A more realistic idea nowadays is to have interests outside of work.   However, this can be hard to do as many people feel compelled to work long hours.   Where the Panda Bear works they hardly ever close early for the holidays anymore and that included this this 4th of July.   The lack of early closing makes people less like to celebrate the holiday.

 The Panda Bear sees the American Revolution as being a victory against economic exploitation of the British.   The Panda Bear heard a biographer of George Washington state that George Washington was getting tired of sucking up to the colonial rulers.   The Panda Bear can understand the feeling of being tired of trying to butter people up.

The Panda Bear has an American Flag at her desk.   The reasons are in part patriotic and in part to contrast the freedom of the US with the lack of freedom in the office.   The Lowell Mills Girls in the 1830's wrote many statements to point; the workplace is no democracy.

Whenever the Panda Bear feels upset at having to work she thinks of a strike song the Lowell factory girls used to sing:

 Oh! Isn’t it a pity, such a pretty girl as I

should be sent to the factory to pine away and die?

Oh! I cannot be a slave, I will not be a slave,

For I'm so fond of liberty,

That I cannot be a slave.

 More directly contrasting the freedom of the US with the restrictions of work here are some of other quotes:

Let oppression shrug her shoulders,

And a haughty tyrant frown,

And little upstart Ignorance,

In mockery look down.

Yet I value not the feeble threats

Of Tories[British] in disguise,

While the flag of Independence

O'er our noble nation flies

 Those who work in the mills[or offices]...ought not have the status of machines ruled by private despots who are entrenching monarchic principles on democratic soil as they drive downwards freedom and rights, civilization, health, morals and intellectuality in the new commercial feudalism.

 The Panda Bear fully believes that the principal of feudal hierarchy is alive and well in US Business and industry.  

 In the Panda Bear's office, not only is there no right to free speech but there is little opportunity to speak at all.   People have gotten reprimanded for talking to their coworkers too much.   Headphones are ok but not talking to each other.   Nowadays even if one works in an office (as opposed to working at home) there can be very little social interaction.   The Panda Bear herself got a reprimand in March 2014 for speaking too loudly which has intensified her job hunt.

The Panda Bear feels that the US economy is heading in the direction of no one being able to:

1. Find a job
2. Find a job at a living wage
3. Find a job where one is decently treated.

The US has had a reputation for being hard workers.  However, we are heading in a direction of people being unable to work or people being overworked at disliking their jobs.   This can’t be a good thing for the future of the US.

 

 

The Panda Bear on the Emperors Clothes and The Light in the Managers Office

The Panda Bear Blog seeks to expose the social truths that people experience but like the people in the Han Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Emperor's New Clothes are afraid to express for fear of seeming to be unfit.  The Panda Bear is a humble office worker who is unafraid of telling the truth as she experiences it.   Most of the time the Panda Bear thinks she has a valid point of view.  If the Panda Bear is wrong she hopes her readers will pity her and help her see the world in a clear fashion.

The offices where the Panda Bear works are full of falsehoods that the organizations' leaders create.   The untruth that the Panda Bear wishes to explore in this post is the light in the manager's office.   The Panda Bear has experienced this phenomenon in several organizations she was worked in with different supervisors so she thinks this is the way mangers are told to deal with their employees.

What the supervisor does, when he/she is out of the office for part of the day, the supervisor leaves the light on in the office so their employees think the manager is still around.   The Panda Bear admits she has been fooled by this maneuver more than one time.   However, usually another employee will blurt out to the Panda Bear that the manager does this when he/she is out.    Sometimes the Panda Bear herself has caught on that the light is on the manager's office when he/she is out.   Often supervisors will answer e-mails from home and not admit that he/she is not in the office.

The Panda Bear and her coworkers chuckle with each other.   Doesn't the management realize that we are on to them and know they are not in the office?  Do they think we are that stupid?  (The Panda Bear suspects the answer to the last question is yes). There are differing opinions on why our supervisors want to create the illusion that they are in the office when they are not in the office.  One of the Panda Bear's coworkers thinks it shows they don't trust us.   Another coworker thinks that the managers think the workers will fall apart if they are not there.

The Panda Bear privately rejects both theories on the grounds that it seems to take the management along while to go after supervisors who really do have problems being at work when they are supposed to be there; if was really that necessary for the supervisor to physically be there these problem supervisors should have been sooner told to leave.     Also many supervisors now can supervise remotely and from long distances with modern technology.  Thus, Panda Bear rejects the notion that upper management feels that workers need a supervisor to be physically present.

Instead, the Panda Bear thinks the management is on a different kind of schedule then the workers who are on some version of nine to five.   The Panda Bear is aware that many of her supervisors have worked nights and weekends and they may get some additional time off as compensation for the additional hours worked.    She also thinks the management has a much greater flexibility then the workers in terms of hours worked.   The Panda Bear thinks the managers don't want disclose that they are on a totally different type of work week then the workers they supervise.

However, the joke is often on the management.  Many workers are convinced when the managers aren't there during the day they are being delinquent in the job duties which they may not be.   To the Panda Bear it shows that supervisors can lie about small matters when they could be telling the truth.   Supervisors aren't to be trusted.

Of course this longstanding illusion that when the supervisors aren't at work, the workers don't realize it persists because workers are afraid to bring to the management's attention that they can see through this manipulation.   The management would discipline the workers.

However, outside the workplace in the presumably free United States, the Panda Bear thinks we should not be afraid of speaking out against untruths as we perceive them.



  

The Panda Bear on Friday Afternoons and Out of Touch Economists

It is a Friday afternoon.   The Panda Bear feels the work week increases in sneaky ways.   The Panda Bear remembers a time when employers on a regular basis let employees out early on Fridays and the long weekends.   Now the Panda Bear's employers never let their employers out early.   The Panda Bear feels this "bonus" free time could add up to two or three weeks of extra vacation days a year.    The Panda Bear also feels she was a much more enthusiastic worker when employers gave their workers additional time off and seemed to want them to have a life outside of work.    It's karma.  What comes around goes around.   Even the Panda Bear's boss admits that the office nickels and dimes its employees in terms of time.  The Panda Bear feels the heads of the organization set the tone.  If they don't give her anything extra, she won't give them anything extra.   The Panda Bear advises her readers to be careful about give extras to employers; some employers are just takers.   Your above and beyond effort may be a volunteer effort for them.  The Panda Bear has nothing against volunteering; this blog is a volunteer effort.   She just thinks that when one volunteers it should be clear that it is a volunteer effort.

 However, the Panda Bear wanted to draw to her readers attention to an article she found on www.alternet.org about how off economists were about the job market.   Indeed the Panda Bear since the Great Recession has started in 2008 the Panda Bear has a hard time believing what was being said in the news about the economy.

 Just this week, the Panda Bear heard on the Wall Street Journal's radio show, one reporter say almost in despair that Americans were still unhappy about the economy despite the stock market doing well, the low inflation rate and the low rate of interest.

The Panda Bear wishes to defend the American people to this reporter.   First of all, many Americans who aren't wealthy are not directly effected by the stock market.   Their major source of money is their paycheck.  Some workers (including the Panda Bear) who work for nonprofits that have endowments that are in the stock market probably are indirectly benefiting from the good stock market.   However, for the majority of Americans who need their pay check to survive the stock market is not a major concern.

 Also the low interest rates are not benefiting everyone.   Many people are being hurt in that banks are not paying much in the way of interest on bank accounts.   Not everyone wants to put their money in an investment where there is risk of losing the principle.   A lot of people have lost a source of income because the banks are not paying much in the way of interests on their deposits.

In regards to low inflation, if you are unemployed you would rather have a higher inflation and higher employment rate.   Also many employed workers have not gotten cost living raise in many years so salaries are not keeping up with inflation-even if the inflation rate is low.  Low salaries and high unemployment keep the inflation rate low because of the reduced demand for goods and surfaces and labor costs are not increasing.  

 During 2008, the Panda Bear was hearing economists stating things that sounded straight out of Orwell's 1984.   She would hear on the news the economy was improving because it was the rate was slowing in which the economy declined.   Then the economists stated the recession was over when large numbers of people were acutely suffering.   When the Panda Bear heard that statement she thought there were probably a lot of unemployed economists looking for jobs in the Obama administration.

 The Panda Bear wishes to enjoy the rest of her Friday by reading a good book.  She hopes to resume posting on her regular bi-weekly schedule. 

 

 

 

 

The Panda Bear on Unengaged Workers, Capitalistic Socialism, and Job Interviews

The Panda Bear has found an article from a learned professor and former CEO called Fixing the 'I Hate Work Blues' on the Harvard Business School website.   It describes how most first level workers feel overworked and underappreciated.     They feel micromanaged and are disengaged from their jobs.    The article says poor worker morale hurts the organization.   Managers need to learn how to lead rather than nitpick at their workers.

The Panda Bear Blog is a blog by a humble first level employee who agrees with the article as she experiences these problems in her work day first hand.   She feels that all her energies are going to a job that is stressful and has gotten stale.   She feels more workers need to come out and express their dissatisfaction for there to be a change for the better in the nature of employment.

 Many social critics have complained that the US has gotten somewhat socialistic in that there is an alliance between business and the government.   The Panda Bear thinks the US has gone socialist with a certain lower level segment of the workforce.   We aren't supposed to be working for our own advancement and welfare but for the "good of society".   Growing up the Panda Bear always heard the idea of working for the social good while sounded nice in theory did not work in practice; workers did their best when they felt they profited from own efforts.

 However many workers the Panda Bear talks to nowadays feel that projects that may improve things for the organization are nothing but more work for and pressure for them.   The Panda Bear might accept some idea of working for the good of the society.   However, the Panda Bear feels that the rewards that she is not getting in terms of money and respect are not going to the disadvantaged but to higher ups who make a lot of money and coworkers who don't treat her very well.

The Panda Bear got this joke on Facebook from the Occupy movement.    The question is how many capitalists (the joke also works if you use the term manager) does it take to change a light bulb.   The answer is none-it takes workers.    (Another statement she got from Facebook from the AFL-CIO she liked was "If you can read a book thank a teacher, if you can read a book at night thank an electrician."). 

 Of course the problems of the employed are made worse by the high unemployment rate.   Employers feel little incentive to change because turnover is low.  Employees are supposed to be happily (happy that they have jobs) unhappy (they don't like their job and don't want to be there).   In a previous post, the Panda Bear stated that a high unemployment rate benefited the military in that military gets a steady supply of recruits because they can't find other employers.   A high unemployment rate also benefits employers.  Labor costs are kept low.   Managers don't have to constantly be recruiting and replacing employees.   Salaries are kept down.   In the Panda Bear's experience, employers are much nicer to employees when there is a high turnover.

As readers of the Panda Bear Blog know, the Panda Bear herself embarked on a job search when the office forbade the workers to have plants (micromanagement).   The Panda Bear has not yet found a job but she has been getting interviews which she has heard some people cannot get.  The Panda Bear has been in her job for nine years.   In a good economy she thinks the shelf life of her job would be four to six years. 

 The Panda Bear has found some elements of the interviewing process have change in the past nine years.   It has improved in that there is an initial phone interview where in the past first interviews were always done in person which required the Panda Bear to take time off from work. 

 In the beginning of the post, the Panda Bear said employees felt unappreciated for the hard work they do.  When going for interviews, the Panda Bear has heard from managers of other organizations that the Panda Bear has a heavier than average workload for the industry.   However, the Panda Bear hears no praise for this when she is at work.   The managers somehow make one feel stupid for working so hard.   Instead of thanking the employees for their hard work, the managers say they will automate the process to make it easier making the Panda Bear feel like she is stupid for doing so much.

 Since it a tight job market, the Panda Bear is trying to interview with as many organizations as possible to get practice interviewing so she would seem more smooth(in the past when the Panda Bear had a job she could be somewhat selective about interviews).   This strategy appears to be working as last week the Panda Bear went on an interview where the manager said she seemed very relaxed for the interview.  

 The Panda Bear has heard that it is a terrible mistake to seem nervous at an interview.   In general the Panda Bear has heard that at work one is supposed to exude confidence.   However, the Panda Bear thinks she has discovered a major problem in US industry.   It is overly concerned with "approach" not with results.   The Panda Bear has seem extremely incompetent people say they know everything; they get jobs and fail.   Some highly qualified people appreciate the risks and know their limits but don't get jobs because they seem apprehensive.   To paraphrase Alexander Pope-fools can rush in where wise people fear to tread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Panda Bear on Afghanistan, Freedom and Unions

The world today makes no sense today for the Panda Bear.   Like why is the US in Afghanistan why Kharzi does not even want the US there?   What is the US defending? It is not clear whether large groups of Afghanis even wants the US there or want Western type democracy.   And are we in the USA really free when people are afraid to speak freely against their employers?

In one previous post the Panda Bear said she wanted to stand on her desk and shout "Liberty, Equality and Fraternity," until she remembered they were from the French revolution not the American.  However, she found on some US stamps the motto "Liberty forever, Justice forever, Equality forever, Freedom forever" with the American flag.  She posts this on her desktop.   She hides the revolutionary nature of these American sentiments (she works for a very hierarchal organization) by putting it near some materials from the organization.  

Today is the day after the second anniversary Father's Panda death.   Father Panda felt the heads of US industry were both corrupt and incompetent.  His father helped organize some car worker Unions in Michigan (However, it should be noted that Father Panda and his father appeared not to have gotten along).   Perhaps, the anniversary of Father Panda's death is making the Panda Bear more upset about things than she normally would be but she feels the rebel’s blood flow through her veins and now she feels so proud.

The Panda Bear recently got a card recognizing her as an affiliate member of the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO has now realized that most American workers don't work for unionized places anymore and has opened an affiliate membership for all workers.   The Panda Bear works for a large publically funded institution and she is tired of hearing whenever she asks about a company policy regarding something as basic as attendance rule both HR and the managers say they don't know and to the Panda Bear this is pretty basic stuff.

The Panda Bear got a written up for speaking too loudly and being denied some bonus days at work.  If she had union there would there would be an advocate for her.   The Panda Bear has made a counter claim that she has a medical condition that is covered under American for Disabilities (which she really has this condition and her providers have supplied to the institution her medical information).  It has been two months she has declared her disability but the process for setting up accommodation has not yet happened. 

However, the Panda Bear still very hurts about those two bonus days.   She is trying not to let it ruin her weekend.  It is going to be hard to handle her angry feelings at work. 

The Panda Bear had a friend who thinks the Panda Bear's employers should be so glad to have her because she is a straight arrow and works very hard.  The Panda Bear had a hard time not laughing when she heard that-many employers badly treat their good works.

The Panda Bear knows of many good workers who are don’t feel treated well by their employer.

The Panda Bear Bear on Wage Inequality and Yes People

Today the Panda Bear’s work group had a meeting with the president of the Panda Bear’s organization.   The President of the Panda Bear's organization was talking to the employees about the rising wage inequality in the United States between the lower and middle classes and the very rich.   At the same time, he discussed a potential big project that the Panda Bear's section and the Panda Bear herself would receive. .   He kept on apologizing to the employees for the additional work.     However what bothers the Panda Bear is not the additional work but the fact that it appears that the organization will not give the workers any professional benefit for this increased workload(In fairness to the President of the organization said he would pay for an employee party and he seems to be a nice person).   The Panda Bear strongly suspects the upper management is getting better job titles and more money as the organization expands while the employees are not getting anything additional for expanding workloads.

The Panda Bear felt like saying to the President of the organization something like this:

With all due respect sir, I don't mind doing the additional work.   I am here to work.   What I do mind is that I am not getting any professional benefit from this project and an increased workload.   Of course more money or a changed title would be nice.   However, it really does not have to be money.   Just some kind of performance award or recognition would be nice.   Even just saying you value us as skilled employees would be nice.   I am not a dog or a child.  My weight is a problem.  I don't want food.  You talk about growing wage inequality in the US.  Good deeds start at home.   Give your employees some recognition and respect for the work they do to bring the organization money.  Let us have plants in the office [plants were banned in the summer much to the distress of the employees].

It is not the work I mind but the lack of acknowledgement and respect.

Of course the Panda Bear said no such thing.   The Panda Bear is a humble office worker who needs to keep her job.  However the Panda Bear remembers the time that even humble workers were recognized by organizational leaders.   She knows of many other employees who feel there is an increasing divide between upper and lower level workers in their organizations.   Also many workers are starting to believe that it is a myth that if you work harder that you will be paid more.

Also the Panda Bear is increasingly feeling that leaders like yes people; people who will agree with anything they say even if it is factually wrong.   At work the Panda Bear remembers an old sign.  It said:

Work Rules:

1.  The boss is always rights.

2.   The boss is wrong-see rule number 1.

The Panda Bear every day goes on bended knees saying she is so glad she is not a manager.   She does not understand why bosses like yes people so much; she thinks bosses would really be better off if people were free to tell them the truth so that certain mistakes can be avoided.

The Panda Bear does not have the soul of a yes person.   There are a lot of things in modern organizational life that the Panda Bear feels are mean and counterproductive.  

The Panda Bear might try to work at becoming a yes person if when felt it would help her get a promotion.   However, since she feels that she has been labeled as being unpromotable she feels there is no incentive for her to become a yes person.   Instead the Panda Bear aims at simply treating people respectfully and keeping her mouth closed in terms of her opinions at work.

The Panda Bear is actively hunting for a new job.   There will be more about her job hunt in future posts as she deals with the plight of the unemployed and how she feels the government is not doing enough to help the unemployed.

The Panda Bear on Lying Dogs, and Health Time

The Panda Bear is taking a break from household chores and tending to her cold to write a blog post.

The Panda Bear never has had a dog as a pet.   However, the Panda Bear keeps on reading that they are very loyal and true to their keepers.   The Panda Bear's mother grew up with a dog her appears to have knowingly deceived her parents(though one can say the dog was trying to be nice to Mother Panda).    When Mother Panda was a child her family had a dog.     The dog was forbidden by Mother Panda's parents to sleep in Mother Panda's bed because he had fleas.    However,  the dog slept in Mother Panda's room.    Every night Mother Panda's parents would put Mother Panda  to sleep and the dog would appear to be going to sleep in his dog bed in Mother Panda's room.   Then as soon as the house quieted down for the night and Mother Panda's parents went to sleep, the dog would jump into Mother Panda's bed and sleep for the night.   In the morning, when the there started to be noise in the house of people moving around and getting up the dog would jump out of Mother Panda's bed and go back to his dog bed.    When Mother Panda's parents came to wake Mother Panda up, the dog looked like he had been sleeping in his dog bed all night.   The Panda Bear thinks the dog knew he was deceiving Mother Panda's parents and make them think he was in his dog bed all night where he knew he should not be.  However, in the dog's defense one can say that he was trying to be nice to Mother Panda.   Mother Panda liked him sleeping in her bed.    She grew up in a war torn and occupied country.   So it was highly comforting to Mother Panda to have a dog in her bed.

Since the Panda Bear has had a cold she has been thinking about different companies sick policies.   She has been aware of there being movements to require companies to have sick time for their employees.    However, the Panda Bear thinks companies should also be required to have "health" or personal time where people can take work time for medical appointments and other health matters and workers be paid for their time.   Employers benefit greatly from having health employees and they should be willing to give some work time for matters involving worker health.    It burdens employees discourage people from going to medical appointments on work time and the time for mostly all health matters is on the employees own time.

The Panda Bear on Job Rejection, Nothingness and Colds

The Panda Bear was rejected for a job she had some hopes for getting today.    She was disappointed but she will get over the loss.

However, her job rejection is good for the Panda Bear Blog, a blog about a humble office worker who is an economic populist.   This is not a blog about someone successfully climbing the ladder of success.   It is a blog for people who feel they work hard and play by the rules but somehow happiness in this capitalistic society eludes them.

What the Panda Bear Blog is about people who feel trapped in jobs that have gotten stale. No emotional ties bind the Panda Bear to her employer.  

The Panda Bear was recently talking to a friend who was once a company person as was the Panda Bear.   Now this person is counting down the days until she retires in her Declaration of Independence from Paid Labor (see glossary of terms). The Panda Bear sees this a lot where people at work gleefully talk about their retirement.  The Panda Bear feels this workers are expressing some dissatisfaction with the workforce.

Alas, the Panda Bear is years away from retirement (if she ever could retire at all).    However, the Panda Bear in her own way will be expressing her own Declaration of Independence from Paid Labor.   Whenever, the office asks to do something "voluntarily" after work, the Panda Bear will say she has other plans which really is true.

The Panda Bear has picked up a new hobby.     She has gotten access to copies of books before they are published and reviews them for the publishers and different blog sites under the Panda Bear's own name.    Some of these books that the Panda Bear has reviewed have recently become bestsellers. The Panda Bear thinks that this is a pretty cool hobby to have and intends to tell her boss about it sometime.   She will her boss that she could spend all day doing this activity if the Panda Bear did not need to work for money.

In a previous post, the Panda Bear said her New Year's goal was to be less productive.  The Panda Bear is failing miserably in her new year’s goal of doing less.    She has over committed herself on the number of books she promised to review.    Some unexpected tasks came up that needed to be done.   The Panda Bear has been taking days off from work and they are packed full of things to do some of them fun and some of them chores.

Over the weekend the Panda Bear was in tears.     Where was her joyful nothingness?    Her mind was spinning with things to do and posts to write for her blog.    Everyone seemed to be out to have Panda do something for them.   Even the Panda Bear's cat up to her wanting to be petted.

Finally, the Panda Bear realized that she was coming down with a cold which is in part why she was feeling so stressed with things to do.    Her body was feeling tired. She has been treating her cold with diet ginger ale and Thai Kitchen instant mushroom soup and is feeling better.

However, the Panda Bear persists in quest for blissful, contemplative nothingness.

 

The Panda Bear on the New Year, Vacation Stress and Unemployment Insurance

The Panda Bear wishes all the best to her readers for the coming year.   2013 was a good year for the Panda Bear Blog.   The Panda Bear Blog has just past over 20,000 pages views and has 315 Twitter followers.    The blog has subscribers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China and Japan.    The Panda Bear feels this is very good for a blog by a humble and lowly office worker who is a mere amateur writer.

Since the Panda Bear is a critique of the cult of extreme business, she thought in this time of resolutions for the coming year to share this resolution the Panda Bear found on a meditation s website by a Zen writer:

 "This year, I am determined to be more unproductive. My goal is to do less and less – to move slower and slower until everything stops. I and the whole world will come to a sweet and silent stillness. And in this stillness, a great shout of joy will arise. We will all be free..." From the Ox and Window, by 17th century Zen master Hakuin Ekaku.

The Panda Bear wondered if instead of asking each other what we were going to do on the weekend we should ask each other what we are not going to do.   Maybe we should feel sorry for people who are doing something and praise people for doing nothing.

The Panda Bear went on vacation for the a few days at the beginning on the month.   People asked what she did during the vacation and the Panda Bear had the pleasure of saying not much.    Why should people are busy morning to night for most of the 365 days of the year not have a few days of nothingness?   Why do even vacations in our culture have to be busy?    Of course going away was stressful.    There was the packing and preparing to leave the apartment.  Getting Mr. Panda to go anywhere is a chore.   He is a home body.   Mr. Panda Bear told the Panda Bear he will only go places if he knows  exactly where he is going.   The Panda Bear told Mr. Panda if everywhere was like him there would be no one to explore new places on earth or outer space.

The few days away were relaxing.   Then coming back home and back to work was very stressful.   All the home chores remained.   The Panda Bear has the type of job that if you are off for the day it takes you a day to catch up with back work.

The Panda Bear believes that many of her other coworkers are also stressed out.   The source of this stress the Panda Bear believes is that work is no longer slow during this time of year.  In the Panda Bear’s line of work and for many other US workers the period between Thanksgivings to mid-January use to be slow.   No major changes happened during this period.  There was a holiday slowness.   Now the prevailing mood of the workplace to be business as usual for the holiday period.    Workers now have heavy workloads as well as the additional chores for the holiday preparation.   No wonder people are feeling so cranky.

Even a few years ago there was not much hiring or layoffs happened between Thanksgiving and Mid-January because of the holiday period.   This slowness no longer seems to be true.   The Panda Bear knows of people who recently have gotten laid off during this time.    In the Panda Bear’s line of work a lot of new people are starting between Thanksgiving and February which is keeping the Panda Bear busy.

The Panda Bear has some friends that are have some luck at getting job interviews during this period.   One friend of the Panda Bear’s thinks she may get a new job right now.   The job was posted in mid-December.   If this friend was to get the job it would probably start in mid-February.

In many lines of work the hiring process from posting the job, interviewing candidates, and making a job offer can take the managers two to three months if not longer.   The Panda Bear hopes the Congress extends unemployment benefits.   The standard unemployment benefit of six months is nothing if one considers the length of the hiring process even if the person is lucky in the job process.

 

 

 

The Panda Bear on Winter Blues, Holidays, and Job Stress

The Panda Bear has been reading more and more in different articles that the number one source of stress for Americans is their jobs.   The workloads are heavy and the hours are long.    People feel that their employers don't treat them well and as human beings with feelings.   The Panda Bear can confirm these findings with her own experience in the work force even though she is a Panda Bear not a human being.

Every winter the Panda Bear gets blue.   The days are short and cold.   From Thanksgiving to New Years is the holiday period in the United States where family is emphasized.   The Panda Bear will feel blue because her family is very, very small and she lost Father Panda almost two years ago.

One of the sources of tension at work in the winter are the holidays at the office.   The Panda Bear feels in a perfect world there would be some very generic "Winter" holiday events.   The Panda Bear does not see any put down of Christmas in saying "Happy Holiday" instead of Christmas especially as the Panda Bear does not celebrate Christmas.  She wishes all the best and joy for Christmas for those who celebrate it.   However, the Panda Bear also believes it is holiday not everyone in the office celebrates and people should not be differentiated in the office by the holidays they do or do not celebrate.   

The Panda Bear is Jewish and was raised not to celebrate Christmas.  If it were up to the Panda Bear no one's religion would be discussed at work.    At one time, the Panda Bear would have said there was such a thing as a secular Christmas.   However, for the past twelve years the holidays at work(really Christmas) have had very overtly Christian(birth of the divine Jesus) tones to them.   In fact the first year, in her present job the Panda Bear's manager gave her a Christmas card that stressed the importance of going to Church.   The manager asked then asked the Panda Bear what she thought about the message.  The Panda Bear just said the message was very nice.   The Panda Bear has no idea if the manager knew that the Panda Bear was Jewish.    (The Panda Bear now for unrelated reasons has another manager).      This is but one of many incidents that the Panda Bear recently experienced where she has received cards explicitly stating that the Christmas holidays were Christian should be celebrated as such.

The Panda Bear heard on the radio that now most Americans think of Christmas as being a religious rather than then secular holiday and the Panda Bear sees this at work.   Many of the Christians where the Panda Bear work feel that they should be able be able to express their Christian religion at work.   These Christians constitute the work majority.

The institutions the Panda Bear works for are supposed to be nonsectarian and respecting of cultural diversity.   They are located in a major metropolitan area where there are many different religious and cultural groups.  

The Panda is looking forward to the days getting longer.

The Panda Bear on Her Work Red Line, Declaration of Independence from Paid Empyment, and Office Plant Update

The Panda Bear will have to do a short post today.    Mr. Panda has had some time off which always gives the Panda Bear less free time.

Readers of Panda Bear know that this summer the Panda Bear's employer crossed the Panda Bear' red line in terms of her employment when they banned plants in the office(the reason give was that the plants led to spiders; many workers of the office dispute the plants as a source of bugs).   Many other offices of the same employer have plants.   

The workers of the Panda Bear's office all loved the plants.   They brought their own plants and took care of them.      The Panda Bear recently read that plants actually improved  productivity of offices by improving air quality and reducing stress.    The Panda Bear finds it hard to believe that there is any rationality to the decision to ban plants.

Anyway recently, the heads of the Panda Bear's organization came to visit.   One manager asked the heads of the organization about the plant ban saying that it terribly upset the workers not having plants.   The upper management initially left the decision to the managers of the Panda Bear's office who let the plant ban remain.   However, the next day the decision was made that each worker could have a tiny plant at his/her desk.

The Panda Bear dreams of working in an office full of plants.   The Panda Bear firmly believes that in a good economy that she would have left her job several years ago.   The Panda Bear predicts that in the near future employers are going to have to deal with more and more workers becoming stale in their jobs.

In the Panda Bear's field of work, in the good economy most workers stayed about five years and then left for another job.(The Panda Bear has been in her job for nearly nine years).   If one was unhappy in one's job, one could relatively easily switch positions.   The Panda Bear believes that the feeling that one could get another job if things were bad really improved the morale of the work force.    Now with the bad economy this escape hatch is gone.

Earlier tonight the Panda Bear was procrastinating in writing her post.   Then she remembered feeling somewhat sorry for someone who said she needed a boss to give her deadlines to get her work done.   The Panda Bear feels that in the modern workforce bosses are not benevolent people and one should not have to rely on them for anything.   The Panda Bear has read on she agrees with the theory that nowadays even if one works for an organization one has to view oneself as an entrepreneur working within an organization.

She thinks organizations are going to find more and more people are working for them strictly for the money-any psychological benefits of paid employment are virtually none.   The Panda Bear knows of people who have inherited money and quit the workforce.   She is beginning to think these people are right.   Who would put up with half hour lunches and heavy workloads but for the money?    The Panda Bear is finding offices becoming more and more unpleasant.

The Panda Bear has her internal Declaration of Independence from Paid Employment.   She does not need her job to feel useful, have friends, structure her time, be productive or use her mind.   She needs solely it for the money.   The Panda Bear has no problem subtly letting her employer know that the moment she goes off the clock she has other worthwhile activities to do.

The Panda Bear on Zen, Her Bathroom Repair and the Cleanathon

The Panda Bear is in her third day of paid leave from work.   She has gotten to understand how people who are not employed still say they are very busy.   The Panda Bear feels she has been somewhat hard on Mr. Panda.   He has about three times as much vacation time as the Panda Bear.    The Panda Bear at times will ask him what he has done with his week off and he will say he did not do too much.   The Panda Bear will not understand how he got so little done with so much "free" time.  The Panda Bear now feels it is harder to organize  oneself without a schedule.

When she was younger and had more free time, the Panda Bear did not understand the concept of Zen or doing nothing.   Wouldn't people rather be doing something?   Now after having been constantly busy she has come to appreciate it.   The concept of Zen is came from a busy culture.   A week of having nothing to do would seem like a totally mind altering experience to the Panda Bear right now.

Now here comes the part of the Panda Bear Blog that many readers have been waiting to hear; the Panda Bear will describe how her bathroom repair went last year.

The Panda Bear went to the website Home Advisor Inc, and asked for contractors for remolding the bathroom.   Mr, Panda interviewed the recommended contractors(because he has more time off).  He found one that he liked.  He made sure the contractor had worker's comp and general liability insurance.   We explained to him we did not want a full remodeling just a repair of what was broken.

This contractor very generously offered to go to Home Depot to pick out the material.   The Panda Bear and Mr. Panda don't drive so it is hard get to the store and pick out materials   Furthermore,  the Panda Bear felt she had no idea what to pick.    She explained to the contractor that she liked her old bathroom- it just needed to be fixed.   The contractor picked out the materials and warranted them for year.  He charged for his time and a mark edup on the price.  

The bathroom repair was quick and efficient.   In addition, they had some blinds replaced and some other small repairs.  The Panda Bear can say she is glad the apartment was fixed but she can't say it was an elevating and inspiring experience.   She feels she has acquired new skills but would rather the bathrooms did not break down.

For her next home project the Panda Bear has resolved to do a Cleanathon.   This is where the Panda Bear does a massive cleaning and decluttering so she can hire a professional cleaner to do the heavy cleaning.   Her goal is to hire a cleaner by this spring.  

She also needs to buy some new bureaus or have them repaired.   The Panda Bear finds it very frustrating that all the furniture stores -even in Boston proper where there are many people live in small houses and apartments-seem to have furniture for the McMansion.   The Panda Bear can't figure why since she things there would be a market for it in urban areas it is so hard to find furniture for smaller places.

The Panda Bear on her Glossary of Terms, Office Bathroom and Home Bathroom

The Panda Bear thinks series entertainment is an unnecessary source of stress in modern life.   The Panda Bear thinks one should be able to pick up a novel or watch a TV show without having read the previous book or seen the prior TV episode.

However, a blog is something like a ongoing series.   However, the Panda Bear is committed to try to make each blog post read as much of a stand alone piece as possible.   However, to make the blog more readable the Panda Bear has added two pages to her blog for the reader to reference.   The first page is her Cast of Characters where she lists her frequently repeating characters.    The second page is her Glossary of Terms where she explains many of her words that are unique to the blog.

The Panda Bear has unexpectedly this week has had three days paid days off from work this week due plumbing problems which lead to the toilet facilities not being able to be used.   Three unexpected paid days off from work!!!! This has not happened to the Panda Bear in her nearly thirty years of being in the workforce full-time.  Furthermore,  the Panda Bear has been working for past thirteen years for organizations that had a no close policy so the offices weren't closed even when many other businesses were shut down(i.e. for bad weather).   The Panda Bear has been too stunned to know what to do.   Should she do chores or have fun?   The Panda Bear has decided to try to do a mixture of both. 

The Panda Bear was told places of work had to provide bathroom facilities for the employees and the office had to have electricity to remain open.   What amazed the Panda Bear were not these laws but that her last employer did not follow them.  In the Panda Bear's last place of unemployment they kept the place open without bathrooms(workers had to go to nearby buildings).  Furthermore, once when they had problems with some workers not keeping the bathrooms clean, the organization closed the bathrooms on a temporary basis and to threaten permanently close them(the workers would have had to use the public restrooms in the building).   The organization also kept people working through power outages that last several hours. 

The Panda Bear's previous organization was not some puny small time organization but was affiliated with a large employer.    Its managers would be considered to be "nice" people and mainstream middle management.   However, not all of its actions appear to have been legal.  The Panda Bear wonders why Unions are having such problems today when there is widespread disgruntlement about the way employers treat workers.  

It is getting late.   The Panda Bear was going to give her readers an update on her bathroom.   The Panda Bear will violate her rule about not liking series and say stay tuned to the next installment of the Panda Bear Blog.

The Panda Bear on the Fall, Bullying and the AFL-CIO

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.-Martin Luther King Jr.

A few days ago, the Panda Bear was priding herself on escaping the tiredness and lethargy that comes with the Fall season.   Well pride cometh before a fall.   Today the Panda Bear feels both tired and hungry.  Her body feels like she is getting ready to hibernate.

The Panda Bear was talking with a friend about the number of people who are dropping out of the US workforce as soon as they come into some money.   The Panda Bear herself believes that most people are in the work force now solely for the money.   Gone are the days where bored housewives, rich people and retired people were in the paid workforce because they needed something to do.   Nowadays, the Panda Bear thinks people are in the paid workforce strictly for the money.

Recently more has been written about workplace bullying.   The recession is making it harder for people to leave jobs if they feel they are badly treated.   The Panda Bear has experienced bullying at work and has seen other people bullied at work.  She thinks most organizations have an unwritten policy not to intervene when a superior is abusive to a subordinate.   High level people who bully have to be very calculating and opportunistic in their bullying.   The could not hold the positions they have without being very sweet and agreeable to the right people.   They could not be a certain way with their bosses and keep their jobs.

The Panda Bear believes that only a minority of people are bullies.   However, if they people around bullies  who are not bullies keep quiet about the bullies behavior it empowers the bullies.   It makes both the bullies and the victims feel like more people support the bully than really do,   Let us say for the sake of argument that a quarter of the population has some tendency to be bully while another quarter of the population has some tendency to be bullied.   If the half that are neither bullies or bullied keep quiet about bullying, it can make the bully seem like they have the majority of people behind them when maybe the actual majority of opinion is against them.

The Panda Bear has read that for children the goal of some anti-bullying programs was to create an atmosphere where children feel empowered to speak up against bullying when they see other children being bullied.   Something similar should be done so adults feel free to speak up when they see other adults being bullied.

The Panda Bear has never worked for a unionized workplace but it has always been a dream of hers to work in a unionized environment for over twenty-five years since a supervisor once refused to correct the Panda Bear's production statistics for which the supervisor admitted that she total them wrongly and should have been higher.   The Panda Bear felt she might have had some recourse in an unionized office.  

Well the Panda Bear has just  joined the AFL-CIO's mailing list.   Will the union set her free?  Or are unions another branch of the corrupt oligarch 'that run the US?