The overused word of 2007 - devastation

Editorial Disclaimer: in no way is this article meant to harm or disrespect those who have lost property, livelihood or loved-ones.

May we please not label everything unexpected "THE DEVASTATION"?
Since at least hurricane Katrina, every newscast and talking head refer to unexpected and unplanned events as the above phrase. The magnitude of the event seems not to matter, rather it seems that "THE DEVASTATION" is the great equalizer. If it carries that tag, the event is the worst possible event ever, in the history of the world.

I cringe whenever I see the Special Report screen; I know when they cut away to the studio, I should go get another cup of tea but I do not. What has happened to our culture that we use such a phrase so often? Are we trying to make the survivors of natural and man-made disasters feel better? Does it convey compassion to use that phrase almost exclusively when describing events out of our control?



I confess, I just do not understand modern journalism on a number of fronts however; this one phrase really gets under my skin. Let's consider pulling the college thesaurus off the shelf and thumb through while listening to that boring pitch on the phone. Or maybe it could be a new reality show; "Journalism 101" sounds kinda catchy.












Perhaps some cash prizes could be squeezed out of the print journalism moguls, or scholarships maybe?



Having recently gone through several "big issues" at work; imagine my mental state when the perfect storm finally hit. Changes in regime, software expirations looming, disharmony among the ranks, [deleted] construction workers stomping, banging and clanging overhead for months then the BIG ONE . . .

Doors off their hinges, desks in disarray, tediously long fresh installations stalled, what had the world come to while mid-terms were going on?
















Seems the aforementioned [deleted] construction workers sprung a leak somewhere above the computers. One monitor had to have the
water p o u r e d out of it's insides.
Way to Go Boys!

Does this qualify as "THE DEVASTATION"? Hardly. Despite the fact that we had deadlines breathing down our necks, stalled upgrades, did we say deadlines?
Oh, right and then there were the turbo fans deafening us. Think "aircraft carrier deck" to add to the aforementioned [deleted] construction workers, our people were and still are, cranky. This personal event probably qualifies as something along the lines of; "dang, why couldn't this have happened at the begining of spring break, not the end? It's not like I went anywhere."

Hey, anybody remember our insurance agent's email address? No?

Slackers Need Not Apply

March 30, 2007 — "Good Morning America" is launching the "Take Control of Your Life" tour with co-anchor Diane Sawyer and workplace contributor Tory Johnson.

The tour will consist of "GMA" and Johnson visiting three cities: Chicago, Atlanta and Denver. At each stop, Johnson will report live on "GMA" with local women. They will cultivate strategies and present steps designed to motivate and inspire women around the country to bring balance back into their lives.

Here is something I would have put my mug on television to support. Good Morning America should make this topic a regular feature. The more the American public is made aware of the benefits of flex-time, the more corporate America will accept the concept as a 'healthy' alternative to the employment/lifestyle balance. The burden of proof so to speak is on the employee. Employees with ethics constructed of warm jello & pipe cleaners will ruin this intelligent lifestyle balancing choice if their work performance drags down corporate outcome goals.

Having pulled up my career choices by the roots and gone back to school, I find there are productivity patterns in which I excel and other patterns in which I slowly implode. 9-5 in a grey cubicle is one of those sure-fire implosion circumstances. I can either do 9-5 with alot of movement or I can do a cubicle but from 7-3. I cannot do both. I find one of my productivity peaks has to do with logistics and the other has to do with movement. Sitting still-concentration no problem, just let me do it earlier in the day. Business keeps banking hours? No problem, put me where I am required to move around alot.

Due to the quirky way life scheduling occurs during college, I have discovered
I like to take one class where I am required to meet a standard every week.
This semester it was an accelerated French class. My gpa actually benefited
from that type of focused learning environment. However, at the end of the
seven week term, I really needed decompression time. Fortunately for me,
my other classes require much less focused attention. I discovered I need
a day off in the middle of the week or a three day weekend when
I have that kind of schedule.

There is a seasonal component to this for me as well. I schedule my heaviest class load for spring/summer in our trimester system. I schedule half time student status for winter term.
I like the productivity outcomes when I schedule this way.

Once corporate America becomes aware of the cost savings in flex scheduling, more companies will buy into flex scheduling. There will be a period of adjustment where Human Resources will have to take a hard look at personal character references to determine if a particular employee should be considered as a flex time candidate.

Slackers need not apply.

Tags: flex-time, gma, healthy, lifestyle, productivity, work