Author Archive for LaurenS

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Published by LaurenS on July 7, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

      Experts in generational diversity in the workplace would say that unlike other generations Generation Y has a desperate need for a pat on the back and encouragement along the way in the workplace.  How would these same experts explain a woman in her sixties to seventies, working as an administrative assistant, weeping because she feels that her work is unnoticed and unappreciated?  What about the middle aged individual on a temp assignment who calls in on her first day on the job just to find out if her new supervisor has offered any feedback on her performance?                                                                          Human nature begs for affirmation.  I don’t believe that is simply generational.  There are some people, regardless of their age, who don’t give a flip about what anyone thinks.  And then there are the rest of us who beam with pride at the sound of encouraging words from anyone in the office who would swing in with a positive comment.  I believe that in the heart of every individual, regardless of age, there is some form of hunger for affirmation.                                                                      I’ve heard many ministers refer to that moment when Jesus came out of the water from baptism and the Father spoke through time and space and said those ultimately affirming words, “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.”  He had a great task to accomplish and received affirmation to prepare him for the journey.  This is not by any means to compare us to Jesus, but to bring attention to the fact that everyone needs a boost to keep going.                                    Life would be incredibly dull and mundane without receiving some form of encouragement once in a while.  What if we all went to work, sat at our desks and worked every day of the year with no recognition from anyone? That sounds torturous.  No one wants a job like that.  Do your part to encourage your co-workers and if you’re a manager, by all means give a pat on the back every once in a while.  You’ll see your people sit up straight and get a renewed sense of purpose in their work, no matter what their age.                           

Fixin to Defang your Spam

Published by LaurenS on April 30, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Vocabulary is known to change over time and with the culture.  There are words that we use today that are completely different than their original definition would suggest.  A prime and often used example is that Southern delight, ‘fixin’ to.’  Of course in Texas we all know that this means you are about to accomplish some given task.  It is the small minority of everyone else that believes that “fixing” is what you do when something is broken.  I recently pondered over these changes and how they affect the workplace. 

            I’m sure years ago if someone referred to something as being “defanged”, everyone would let out a great sigh of relief.  “Thank goodness,” your Mother would say.  “I always hated the fact that you insist upon having a snake in the house.  At least now it’s not dangerous.”  Now we see this term used when referring to e-mail attachments that come to our inbox and beckon our click.  I’m sure there are other non-technical folks such as I that see the “defanged message” and wonder what exactly this could mean.  After digging around online I have determined that it must refer to a message that has been quarantined because it is suspicious of carrying a virus.  So much for vicious animals and dangerous procedures; it has now morphed into a technical term.

            What about spam?  Back in the day kids would come running when spam was in the kitchen.  Gone are such innocent times when spam had such a delectable connotation.  Now when the term spam is mentioned, people cringe in pain.  “Not another e-mail trying to sell a designer watch,” says the business man, just trying to read his e-mails after hours of travel.  “I can’t stand those e-mails asking me to meet some person online for a chat,” says one gal after being assaulted by another useless e-mail.  Spam has been forever changed. 

            The web has long been stolen from the spider to become an interconnected internet galaxy.  What once was a gooey group of string used by spiders for rest and relaxation is now much more technical and used by folks all over the globe.  It would seem that this homonym could become confusing.  Fortunately as a culture we’ve become assimilated to the double use of this word and now can easily differentiate between a spider’s habitation and the information super highway. 

            As our culture changes, so do our vocabulary words.  The question is; are we becoming more sophisticated with our vocabulary or are words simply being shifted around into different niches of our society.  It’s too easy to simply surf the net looking for topics to blog about while picking through spam to find e-mails that have been defanged by your virus detector.  Maybe it’s time we shut down our computers and allow creativity to develop our vocabulary.