With the ADA Amendments Act  (ADAAA) signed into law in January 2009, most health conditions that you can dream up can now be considered a disability.  I never thought I qualified under the ADA until the exhaustive list of “major life activities” was released.  New additions include sleeping, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating and the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine and reproductive functions.  These were all additional activities to supplement those in the original ADA (i.e., walking, speaking, breathing, hearing).

So what are employers to do?  Do they cease disciplinary action whenever an employee brings up a medical condition?  Do they ignore performance deficiencies, attendance and behavioral issues?  The answer is yes and yes.  Unfortunately.  At least in my experience managers tend to feel this is a legal landmine and they would prefer avoidance.  Rather than beginning the dialogue and attempting accommodation, the employee now has a get out of jail free card for whenever there is a problem during their employment relationship.

Accommodation only has to be “reasonable” under the ADAAA, so an employer doesn’t have to deal with the employee who shouts obscenities at customers (Tourette Syndrome), the employee who steals (Kleptomania Disorder), or the employee who no longer wants to work night shift, because it interferes with their circadian rhythms (Shift Work Sleep Disorder).

Yes, I’ve heard all of the above scenarios.   Employers who haven’t yet trained their managers on the provisions of the ADAAA are running the legal risk that managers will connect impairment or a perceived impairment to an employment decision.  Educating managers in terms of their role in accommodation under the ADA will help well meaning managers learn to keep quiet about any perceived disabilities and to attempt accommodation when presented with an employee with a disability.  They will also know when to pick up the phone and get some professional assistance (yes, I mean HR).  Personally, I automatically assume that those who don’t use subject-verb agreement have a condition.

I have a strong personality,I’m driven and passionate and as I’ve stated before, I have an opinion on just about anything.  I have high expectations of myself and others, which can lead to disappointment or great success.  This permeates both my work and personal life, so there are very few differences in this area.  The key difference, is that at work, I didn’t allow people to know “Mona.”  They knew Ramona, in a formal business setting and didn’t understand who I was as a person.  After I would move on to another position, the employees would invite me out to happy hour or other events and they were so surprised to see that I wasn’t this serious, “all business” person that they saw at work.  They saw a different person, and were pleasantly surprised.  However, it was too late to make amends with them professionally, as I had already left the organization.  They didn’t know me, and it was all my fault.  I put up walls and barriers, albeit unintentionally, and I lost the opportunity to develop a rapport with my work colleagues.

I’ll venture away from my personal story to help you understand my purpose of this blog post.  Most folks know that careers are about relationship building.  You have to show people who you are as a person (if that person is desirable at work, of course).  I thought it was ok to let people “in” in my personal life, but I didn’t really think that was important in my work life.  I have since changed my view as age and experience brings new wisdom.  It has also helped in my pursuit to be one happy person, both professionally and personally.  If you find yourself in a situation where you can’t be who you are in both environments, perhaps its time to pursue another job or career where you can develop your dual work/life personas into one.  It is harder in HR, where you are expected not to “mingle” with employees as you may one day have their professional fate in your hands, but many can find a careful balance and cultivate rich working relationships that will propel you to greater successes.  My goal is to manage and develop that balance.  I’m a Libra, it should come natural, right?

Successful negotiators (and managers) focus on the “it” which represents the crux of the conversation.  They don’t allow people to drift aimlessly from topic to topic without any apparent purpose.   Think of the employee who begins criticizing their own co-workers because they are being called to the carpet due to issues with attendance and punctuality.  It’s much easier to talk about Suzie’s attitude or James’ habitual lateness than focusing on one’s own issues.   Accountability sucks.  I get it.  Really, I do.

I find that as an HR professional, we often are unable to apply some of our own knowledge and skills to our own actions and behaviors either professionally or personally.  We counsel and advise managers to tread territory that we hope to never face in our own professional careers.  Honestly, its easier to tell someone how to handle an employee issue if you don’t have to communicate the message directly.  The manager is the medium, and we are often simply the coach helping the team to victory.  I on the other hand, not only apply my skills and expertise in my work life, it also seems to permeate my personal life.  The good news is that at least I don’t suffer from a dual workplace/home persona (which I’ll blog about later).  The bad news, is that I should probably draw the line somewhere.  I don’t think that commission hungry furniture salesmen who sell furniture at 400% markup is the place to start though, so I’ll have to rethink my approach in other circumstances that do not involve a financial impact.  So what is the “it” of this post?  Well, to sum it up, negotiations skills are highly valuable in many settings.  The Land of Bullshit is a crazy place that we go all to often.  And we should always strive to get to the “it” in our personal and professional lives but we should carefully consider our approach given the circumstances.

With the economy in the toilet, many folks have gotten a cruel wake up call.  Those workers who survived on luxuries such as overtime, bonuses, and generous merit increases are now struggling to pay their car notes, mortgages, and other numerous bills.  What I can’t understand is why people feel that they can determine what type of home they can afford based on their salary with overtime.  I’m all for individual accountability and I am amazed at how many people have fallen into this trap.  I’m a bit of a quasi social liberal (except when it comes to unions and handouts) but I’m not one out there blaming the lenders for people’s poor judgment and decision making.  Even before the economy took a nosedive, my husband and I made a conscious effort to buy a home back in 2004 that was far less than what mortgage lenders said we could afford.  We ran through every scenario including going from a dual-earner household to a one-earner household and put together our budget.  We never put together a budget and said, well if I get a new job and pay out my vacation time and then go to another company make 40k more a year, we can swing this.

Companies are now struggling to make their budgets and the first thing to go when business is not booming is unnecessary overtime.  The gravy train is over.  Now people are forced with the prospects of finding a second or third job, when finding even one job right now is a privilege.  Hopefully Americans will learn some tough lessons, similar to what the Baby Boomers learned in the 70s and 80s.  My message to those who blame their employer for cutting unnecessary overtime and implementing more efficient and lean processes, is to suck it up.  Honestly, if you’ve still got your job, you’re doing better than 13.2 million Americans. It’s not going away anytime soon and I’m sure you’ve learned a very important and difficult lesson in the process.

This is reason #4,232 that I plan to drive my paid off 2002 Jetta into the ground.  Figure out what you need, stop living in excess, and bring your own lunch.

I find it even more critical in the workplace to build relationships with those who share similar professional objectives. This may come across as selfish and it is in a way, but it’s not about mentoring or networking as much as it is about surrounding yourself with positive individuals who help you grow in an informal way. As an example, I once had a manager who had an incredibly insightful demeanor. She was a practicing Buddhist, and illustrated the values of respect, love, and compassion in everything she did. She embodied the attitude of selflessness, compassion, and goodwill. However, she was no pushover, and was very effective in her role and was a force to be reckoned with when it came to the work she was doing for the organization. While I have not sought to emulate her, I learned a great deal from her approach and put it to practice in my professional life.

In my personal life, I make it a point to learn about a variety of different types of people in order to better understand them, and to keep my mind challenged. In college, I surrounded myself with a mishmash of individuals from every age, ethnic group, country and socioeconomic background. You don’t want to surround yourself only with folks who are just like you and you don’t want people who will suck all of the energy and life out of you for their own pursuits.  It should not be untold that your personal associations can sometimes affect you professionally.  Oftentimes, it takes a long time to rebuild a professional reputation that has been harmed by actions inside or outside of work.   I would be resistant to any efforts one may have to create conflicting identities (e.g., serious and professional by day, a red faced drunk by night), as these tend to be transparent, so the best option may be to “be a better you, for you.”

So is it a good idea to have lunch every day with the office slacker? Not if you don’t want people to assume that you have a similar work ethic or approach to your work. Can you hang out with your slacker friend outside of work? Of course you can, but professional boundaries in this instance must be clear and you have to distinguish yourself from those who are not going in the same direction. Each person you encounter presents an opportunity, the opportunity to learn, grow, and develop positively or to create negative energy that will take you nowhere. It’s your life and your choice.

Choose wisely.

I always tell people that you can choose how you approach your day, every day.  Even if yesterday was the most miserable day at work and everything went wrong, the next day, you can choose to start fresh (with a smile) and put that positive energy towards building and cultivating relationships in your current field, profession or job as you call it.

Sure we can all sit and daydream about “dream jobs” and the ultimate opportunity, but in the real world, we work for a living.  We don’t do it for free, and if we’re getting a competitive wage for what we are doing, we should be more than gracious.  There are a lot of individuals out there who are working well below their skill set just to make ends meet, and if you’re going to be miserable about your job, there is a positive person out there who would happily take your seat. Remember, we’re all replaceable, no matter what you think.

The great takeaway from this message is, sure, you can truly “fake it” but there is a saying “fake it until you make it.”  I think its kind of what jr. executives do until they become successful in their roles because many of them take positions far beyond their initial expertise.  If you go to work and put on a smiling face and a positive attitude, it is infectious.  Now I’m not telling everyone to go in and end up with the nickname “bubbles” due to your new shiny outlook on your work/life.  However, you must think about what is most important to you and those you impact, and now more than ever.

The economy is causing many employers to think harder about expenditures and everyone is being asked to do more with less and to work smarter.  While this understandably adds an increasing level of stress on an already burdened workforce, moaning and griping about it never made anything better.  I commented yesterday on a co-worker who looks absolutely miserable every time I see her.  She is one of the most pleasant people I’ve ever met and she seems to be very negative about her day to day work.  It really affects how she is perceived by other managers and leadership within the organization, and it may potentially cloud their judgment of an otherwise stellar employee.

Consider how you can make an impact, positively.  These are the rules I live by:

1.  You can choose your attitude, every day.  Choose wisely.
2.  Use the 10-5 rule.  Make eye contact and smile within 10 feet of co-workers you encounter, and say hello within 5 feet.
3.  You can’t change other people’s behaviors, but you can change how you respond to their behaviors (either positive or negatively).
4.  Stop dwelling on things you can’t change or impact, instead, putting your energies towards the influence that you do have, and build on that.

Eventually you will find that it will impact your relationships with others and your overall happiness at work.  Food for thought.  Now I have to go get my lunch! The CNN video (and my inspiration for this post) is below.

Vice-President, Joe Biden was quoted yesterday as saying on CNBC, “I do believe–and I make no apologies for it–that over the last 100 years the middle class was built on the back of organized labor. Without their weight, heft and their insistence starting in the early 1900s we wouldn’t have the middle class we have now, in my view. So I think labor getting a fair share of the pie is part of it.”

I’m not sure what Joe Biden is inferring here, as I believe every American is well aware of the work that was done with support from organized labor to give us the very protections we have today. Anti-discrimination laws, OSHA, FLSA, were all part of the decades long workers’ rights movement. While I understand that these were hard fought, I believe that there is something disingenuous about what is going on in organized labor today. The fight isn’t about strengthening the middle class, its about strengthening the power of unions. With SEIU president Andy Stern being quoted as saying “We will organize your employees or ruin your reputation,” I’m hard pressed to believe that he has the employees’ best interest in mind. What exactly does a union achieve by trashing the employer that gives your members benefits, good working conditions, and a fair wage? If you’re trying to send people to the competition, you are undermining your own membership.  If you send your employees’ customers to a competitor, you may very well be helping your members out of a job.

Joe Biden’s quote almost speaks of reparations.  He speaks as if Americans “owe” organized labor for what they did for American workers in the early-mid 20th century. So first the middle class needs a fair share (which I think can be accomplished without organized labor) and now organized labor needs a fair share of the pie as well? The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) alone has over two million workers and millions in assets.  They spend their member’s funds on pressing legislation that will ultimately help pad the pockets of union, not their membership. Even key provisions of the Employee Free Choice Act is far more beneficial to unions than it is to the employees they serve.

How exactly will this help the middle class? I don’t think the union deserves “reparations” any more than I deserve 40 acres and a mule.  The decline in union membership is not due to the inability for Americans to choose whether they want to be represented in a secret-ballot election. Its because America has grown up, put on her big girl panties, and its workers have evolved from organizational loyalists to free agents, choosing their own destination.

1. Stop using illegal drugs (yes that includes weed folks). It sounds so simple, but I know many young people (21-35) who pass pre-employment drug tests and think that now that they are employed and random drug testing is illegal (in CT without reasonable suspicion), that they are free to use illegal drugs, including illegally obtained prescription drugs, once they are done.  You don’t want to be the “one who has a urine bag fall out of his pants leg as he’s going in for his/her drug test.”  It’s just not worth it.
2. Get in shape.  There’s nothing worse than an employee who has what my old roommate used to refer to as “civil service ass spread” when applying for a job.  This refers to the phenomenon that happens when healthy people take sedentary jobs. Take care of your health, eat well, and lose weight, if necessary.   Let’s face it, in today’s competitive market, you want to look and feel your best if you are faced with job loss.  It’s a confidence killer and no matter what people say, lookism is alive and well.  While you’re at it, get a fresh haircut, make a visit to the dentist and get some white strips to bleach out those coffee and wine stains.
3. Update your resume now! This is a world of worker complacency.  Smart individuals update their resume every year or so to ensure that their experience and accomplishments are captured.  Many others wait until they receive official news and while in panic mode, struggle to put together a resume that captures who they are as an employee.  Get a copy of your job description, if necessary, and your performance reviews that list your accomplishments and send it to your home.   This will be helpful, especially if you aren’t really sure what you do.  You laugh, but it happens.  Get your resume DONE, have it reviewed by someone (or several folks) that you trust.  And when you do your resume, list accomplishments, not job duties.  For professional and managers, no one really cares about the minutiae involved in your day to day transactional work.
4. Network in your field of expertise.  If you haven’t been to a professional networking meeting in 5 years, you might think that now might not be the time to go, but the opposite is true.  It’s best to network when you STILL have a job.  Networking is near useless when you’re surrounded by a group of folks who are all in transition.  Network and seek out those who are still employed or those who are influential in your field.  Network online AND offline.
5. Review job postings in your field to see whether there is a demand in your area/region.  If not, consider other ways to market your skills and customize a resume that will help you move into another arena.    Analytical ability, project management, and problem solving are examples of skills that are needed in many fields.  Many employers are willing to hire someone with a different set of skills if they feel that demonstrate the competencies required for success in the job.

If you do make it through layoffs, you have done a good exercise and you have more time to continue with networking and bettering your health.  If you get laid off, think of it this way, at least you have your health!  You also are far ahead of the game when it comes to beginning your job search and have already made some of those key connections.   Oh and if you are laid off and given a decent severance, don’t postpone looking for a job until severance money has run out.  The economic outlook likely isn’t going to be any better in 6 months than it is today.  Start now and if you get a job early, you’ll have extra money to put towards your savings, bills, or most importantly, your family.

Cory writes:

The dirty secret of corporate IT is that its primary mission is to serve yesterday’s technology needs, even if that means strangling tomorrow’s technology solutions. The myth of corporate IT is that it alone possesses the wisdom to decide which technologies will allow the workers on the front line to work better, faster and smarter — albeit with the occasional lackluster requirements-gathering process, if you’re lucky.

The fact is that the most dreadful violators of corporate policy — the ones getting that critical file to a supplier using Gmail because the corporate mail won’t allow the attachment, the ones using IM to contact a vacationing colleague to find out how to handle a sticky situation, the incorrigible Twitterer who wants to sign up all his colleagues as followers through the work day — are also the most enthusiastic users of technology, the ones most apt to come up with the next out-of-left-field efficiency for the firm

What a wonderful way to sum up how an organization’s IT department can stifle innovation. The unfortunate thing with technology is that it changes so fast it can be difficult to maintain a status quo. As an organization struggles to reduce the labor associated with time consuming tasks like removing malware from an employee clicking on a link in an email forward, they tend to resort to Draconian measures to lock down and “manage” their workstations through ridiculous policies, big brother monitoring tactics and obtrusive firewalls. While most of these issues can be proactively solved through communication and education, preventing employees from being able to experiment or learn new technologies only serves to create a culture of apathy and complacency.

Generally, there is resistance to new technology by IT leaders either through ignorance or paranoia. It took me forever to realize what the point of Twitter was. However, once I was able to spend some time to understand what Twitter does, it was fairly simple to understand how to apply ways to use it as another channel for outreach for an organization. Great IT leaders aren’t adverse to the changes in technology, and know how to understand a process and apply technology to it. I always say it is important never to put the technology before the process, but sometimes it takes some brainstorming and tinkering with technology (especially these new media and social media sites) to see how it can be leveraged to improve a way of doing things.