Media Criticism

I’m lucky that my co-workers are actually family members and I don’t have to tolerate their bad habits, I can simply make them stop, you know, they are after all, my own children.  That doesn’t mean I haven’t worked in some pretty kooky environments though.  You know, once upon a time I used to talk about my colleagues alot and one of my jobs actually involved me, as Cinderella and my co-workers were appropriately dubbed the seven dwarfs. 

Had it been the era of blogging, I might have even lost my job over what I had to say about those folks.  I did post about them on a lot of forums over the years, I just didn’t get caught.  But, if you happen to have a job where you have to get along with your co-workers, here’s a few tips.

One, if you are going to partake of the food that others bring in, then you need to pitch in and bring something yourself on occasion.  And, since I don’t cook, I have to say, people like bought food just as much as they do homemade stuff.  And, if you are really crafty, you can make it look homemade and even get big kudos for it. 

Another habit that seems to annoy people is workers who holler over their cubicles.  That one job I mentioned above, we didn’t have cubicles, we worked in one big room and it was annoying to just have to yell across the room.  Then there is the hanging out issue, that’s not so much annoying as it is simply not working. 

Put your cell  phone on vibrate and please oh please, don’t play solitaire on your PDA during a meeting.  If you bring in food, be polite and think of others especially if it is smelly food and there happens to be a pregnant woman nearby.  Having had severe hyperemesis when I was pregnant, smelly food…gah.

I think it goes without saying that borrowing things from a co-workers desk is a huge no no as is turning up your radio and not being respectful of others.  And, finally, the last two places you want to be careful, one, don’t leave water puddled on the counter in the bathroom and don’t leave the kitchen in a mess when you leave.  If you do, you might just find a note like this one below.

I know it is impolitic to speak ill of the “greatest generation� and the baby boomers because they helped pull America’s hide from the fires of war. People like Tom Brokaw have trumpeted the achievements of people growing up in the 1940s and 1950s ad nauseum and it is time to move on. We can recognize history without constantly reliving it and the Y generation is now taking hold of the workplace. I will remember the sacrifices of the “greatest generation� while I fulfill my own potential.

An article in the recent edition of the Utne Reader indicates that there is an inherent tension between the promises of the baby boomer generation and the realities of the Y Generation. The yuppie lifestyle and life of fulfilling work promised to college graduates is dashed from day one of an administrative assistant job that can pay for a studio apartment. As a member of this generation, I have to ask: were we sold a bill of goods or are we just a generation of whiners?

I think it is a little bit of both though I think the exaggeration of the importance of the baby boomers over the last two decades has cast a shadow over the Y generation. How can a 23 year old graduate living on a shoe string budget contend with a 55 year old professional deeply ensconced in the upper middle class lifestyle? The flower children and hippies of the past have turned into road blocks to progress for the Y generation as they clutch to their positions in a last effort to pay off their mortgage and their loan on a BMW. The referenced article states that the next few years will be heady for young workers but frustrating for companies due to a high number of vacant positions. This bodes well for Generation Y if its members can keep their eyes on the prize.

The Utne Reader article is accurate that the Y generation is impatient and easily frustrated with the grind of entry level work. As someone who has had many jobs before settling in as a writer, I have to say that my degrees meant little when I had to deal with ignorant co-workers significantly older than myself. The problem is that the Y generation needs to use this impatience as a virtue. Impatience and a desire to advance can be useful when converted into aggressiveness in the workplace. If that doesn’t work, do what many in the Y generation have started doing: start your own business. I would suggest retirement homes, adult diapers and other goods to reap the benefits of the baby boomer generation.