Work

A few items of note on the Working For The Man book:

Mediabistro’s GalleyCat blogger, Ron Hogan, posted a nice piece about the book and the book launch party tomorrow (Wed., Nov. 7). If you haven’t already rsvp’d, do so now.

I will be on Felicia Sullivan’s Writers Revealed program this Sunday (Nov. 11) at 6 pm (Eastern Time). She posted a nice item on the book, and is offering a free copy of the book to the person who leaves a comment with a question that is used on the program. So post your questions now.

Thanks to Jennifer Perkins of Naughty Secretary Club and A Work in Progress for both mentioning the new book.

The News & Observer wrote up the book in its "Check It Out" section. The article zeroes in on the 146 Working For The Man Rules featured in the book, and posts six of them. NOTE: The rules are probably my favorite thing about the book.

There’s a quote from me in a fun story by Patrick White in The Globe and Mail: "Stick It To the Boss: You (Likely) Can’t Be Fired." Lilit Marcus, co-founder of the awesome SaveTheAssistants.com, is also quoted in the article.

And a few weeks back The Inside Flap (the excellent blog of the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops) posted a nice item on both the Working For The Man book and the 52 Projects book.

More to come. Please be sure to check out the book’s website (but only when you’re on the clock).

Now that the Working For The Man book is out, I’ll be doing more posts here about the subject of, you guessed it, work. Here’s a quiz to get you thinking about how you feel about your job.

1. The first thing I do when I arrive at the office is:

1. Dig right into my work.
2. Read the news/gossip sites online.
3. Check blog stats / myspace or facebook comments.
4. Stare into space and feel like no matter what, it’s going to be a really bad day.

2. I say "I need a new job":

1. Not very often.
2. Occasionally.
3. At least once a day.
4. Constantly — too many times to count.

3. When I complain about my job to my partner:

1. He/She is supportive.
2. Is polite, but doesn’t really listen.
3. Tells me in stern voice that I really need to do something about it instead of just complaining all the time.
4. Becomes enraged that all I do is bitch and moan about my job, tells me to stop being such a loser, to just shut the hell up, and that I’m not getting any sex until I get my shit together.

4. I think my co-workers are all:

1. Good, hard-working people that bring fresh, innovative ideas to the table.
2. The usual mix of good and bad workers.
3. Decent people, but not very motivated or innovative.
4. Complete idiots, the whole lot of them.

5. I think my boss is:

1. A good leader who motivates his/her employees.
2. Gets the job done but is not a nice person.
3. Doesn’t do much work, but makes it seem like he/she does.
4. A total moron who accomplishes nothing, lies to make it seem like he/she does get things done, and is hated by everyone.

6. When asked if I like my job, I say:

1. "I love it." (and then I proceed to talk up what I love about it.)
2. "It’s okay." (and then quickly change the subject.)
3. "Not at all, but it pays the bills." (and then I justify why I stick with it.)
4. "Fuck no!" (and then I keep on spewing a curse-word laden diatribe about just how awful I feel my job is.)

7. When I’m at work, I feel:

1. Productive.
2. Overwhelmed and stressed.
3. Bored, yet stressed out.
4. Overworked, unappreciated, and hateful.

8. How close are you to landing your dream job:

1. Have it right now.
2. Haven’t quite figured out what that job is, but I feel like I’m getting closer to knowing.
3. Years and years and years away. It is but a dream, indeed.
4. Feel there is no such thing as a dream job.

9. The first thing I think when I walk into the office is:

1. "I’m ready to get to work!"
2. "Another day, another dollar."
3. "Is it 5 o’clock yet?"
4. "This fucking sucks."

10. When I leave for the day, I feel like:

1. I got so much done.
2. I didn’t get anything done.
3. I need a drink.
4. Total fucking shit.

Add up the numbers corresponding to the answers you circled.
10 — You are either lying or delusional or the best damn office worker there ever was.
11-20 — Possible that you just started a new job, or that you are one of those shiny, positive people. Depending on your demeanor, you are either inspiring to those around you, or despised, possibly both.
21-30 — Time to dust off the resume and start looking for a new job, and at the same time, focus on the things that do actually make you happy around the office.
31-35 — Get to work on finding a new job immediately.
36-39 — Yes, you should definitely start trying to find a new job, but you should also take a hard look in the mirror. It’s not just about the terrible job.
40 — Oh boy, are you unhappy. Don’t just find a new job — make some major life changes.

No matter how you score, I do believe you will find the Working For The Man book helpful:

Buy now: Amazon | Powells.com | BN.com | Booksense |
More on the book.

Some more of my ideas regarding the celebration of Boss’s Day were included in a post on Time.com’s Work blog run by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen — “What To Say To Your Boss on Boss Day.”

Special thanks to The Morning News, Felicia Sullivan and Save the Assistants for giving a shout out to my earlier post on Boss’s Day.

Have you interofficed your card yet?

Probably not… Because you either didn’t know of the existence of Boss’s Day (yes, it’s a real day), or you simply refuse to have anything to do with it, for legitimate reasons galore, I am sure.

Well, here are some ideas (incentives, maybe?) in case you are thinking about sending one:

By the way, this seems like a very appropriate time to start talking up my forthcoming book — Working For The Man — Inspiring and Subversive Projects For Residents of Cubicle Land:

The book comes out on Nov. 6. There’s going to be a launch party on Nov. 7 in NYC, sponsored by MediaBistro — you can view the details and rsvp here. I do hope you’ll come out for the party if you are in the area.

You can pre-order now: Amazon

And you can find out more details about the book at workingfortheman.com.