Less Work, Less Pay . . . Less Stress?

You know how great three-day weekends can be? Taking a quick family getaway, check things of off your at-home "to-do" list, or just enjoying some lazy relaxation.

What if I told you that you could have a three-day weekend every weekend? The only catch is that you don't get paid for the extra day off. That kind of takes the fun out of it, doesn't it?

Not always, apparently.

A number states, most notably California, are requiring some workers to take Fridays off without pay because of budget woes. But the Wall Street Journal reports that some of these furloughed workers are actually enjoying the extra time to spend with family, go shopping or patronize casinos and theme parks.

In fact, some consumer businesses are taking advantage of the "Furlough Fridays" by offering special Friday deals or deals particularly for furloughed workers. Not a bad business tactic, me thinks. 

Of course, it does make me wonder where these employees are finding this disposable income when they're getting paid less. But who am I to judge? 

Dust Off Your Jump Rope

 

 Remember recess from back in your school days? Climbing all over the jungle gyms, flying out of swings, picking teams for kickball or basketball, and 15 minutes of much needed freedom.

Well, why should kids have all the fun? UCLA Doctor Toni Yancey brought up the idea as part of a White House summit on childhood obesity. According to this article, Dr. Yancey's idea for bringing "short bursts of physical activity into the regular workplace" garnered a highly positive response from the attending audience.

It sounds like a good idea to me! Heaven knows I could use a little bit of physical activity during my workday.

I just hope I don't get picked last for office kickball.

Throwing Back a Cold One is Put on Ice

If you are like most people, when you think of the perks or benefits associated with your job, you might think about your 401k, insurance, bonuses, employee discounts or paid time off. But if you worked at Carlsberg Breweries in Denmark, you could add a unique perk to your list: the right to throw back a cold one at any time during the work day - at least until recently.

Workers at the brewery recently went on strike when company management unilaterally restricted the workers' right to drink beer on the job to only three pints per day, and only during breaks and lunch. I guess before that, the workers could enjoy a brewski pretty much anytime during their shift. And according to quotes from the Wall Street Journal article, this included forklift operators and truck drivers (who can still drink their three pints a day, as long as they can pass the Alcolock breathalyzer safety device for their vehicle).

Sounds to me like a non-stop party and/or accident waiting to happen. But representatives for the company claim that they have a low accident rate related to alcohol, and the change was made more because of recent studies that linked alcohol consumption with lower productivity.

For now, the workers have temporarily ended their strike, and management has agreed to revisit the restriction and negotiate with employees. Keep an eye on this story as it keeps brewing. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

You're Fired!

Imagine for a moment that you are called into the office of the Big Boss. When you show up, you see the rest of your team there.

After discussing with you the problems with your current performance, the Big Boss publicly proceeds to bring up your (arguably non-job-related) pending criminal charges, and then makes a couple of ill-advised racial, religious, lifestyle and cultural comments before finally finishing by stating those words we all dread: "You're fired!"

Think it would be difficult to convince a lawyer, or even a judge, that you've got a pretty compelling discrimination claim? Probably not.

But that's exactly what happened to former Governor Rod Blagojevich on the most recent episode of Celebrity Apprentice. Maybe being on a reality TV show and being Donald Trump gives you leeway that true reality doesn't.

Check out the third-to-last segment of the following video if you missed the show (or just check out my transcription below the video):

With the full team looking on (I know, that's just how the show is done) and while talking to Blagojevich, Trump states: "I think Rod is being extremely nice because, you know, you have some pretty big things to do when you finish this, right?" (referring to his pending charges)

Pointing at Michael Johnson, Trump goes on to say: "I think Rod doesn't want to get angry at you because, frankly, there may be some black jurors. And they may be angry that he got angry with you."

"He doesn't want to get angry with Goldberg," he continues, "because I assume you're Jewish. Are you Jewish, Goldberg?"

As Goldberg nods, Trump chuckles and continues: "Because otherwise you'd be the only guy with the name Goldberg that isn't."

"And he doesn't want to get angry at the rock star because he wants to keep . . . You know, it's a very . . . And I don't know what to say about Curtis. He's like a central casting WASP."

And then, a little while later, The Donald gives Blago the boot with the two by-now immortalized words: "You're fired!"

So, what do you think? If this really were reality, who would win the case of Trump vs. Blagojevich?