World AIDS Day is observed every year on December 1st. The World Health Organization established World AIDS Day in 1988. World AIDS Day provides governments, national AIDS programs, faith organizations, community organizations, and individuals with an opportunity to raise awareness and focus attention on the global AIDS epidemic. AIDS/HIV is by no means a disease that solely affects gay men. Gay men though are still at a high risk for being diagnosed. Despite the notion that we are progressing as society, there is still a surprising amount of prejudice and discrimination toward the GLBT community and/or towards those infected with HIV/AIDS.
I imagine that most readers here have no tolerance for intolerance and there is no need for the reminder that this type of discrimination is wrong.
Instead I would rather take the opportunity to repost this excellent article A Closet With A View written by Eric Peterson that was posted on Michael VanDervort’s The Human Race Horses. If you have not read this yet, I encourage everyone to take five minutes and read it today by clicking on the above link. If you have read it, pass it along to someone you think could benefit from it.
Thanksgiving is the day where we gather with friends and family, to eat a feast, and to give thanks for what we have.
The day after (a.k.a. Black Friday) has been reduced to a day consumed with needing more stuff. It is this need that requires many people to go into work.
What kind of work is this? (Here comes the sarcastic part...)
If you are lucky, it is at a national clothing store chain that is opening at 3am on the Friday after Thanksgiving. (The only thing that should be open at 3am are convenience stores and gas stations - things people might need in an emergency).
Or if you are really lucky you get to work in a giant box store that is slashing prices just to draw big crowds...big mob-like crowds. And if providence is truly shining upon you, you will get physically hurt because you get to work where this happens:
By showing these, it may appear as sensationalism. But it's important to see what people have to endure in these situations. These incidents and more that will occur tomorrow draw a great deal of media attention.
I would like to say please think twice about participating in this charade known as Black Friday. There is nothing in these stores you NEED. There is nothing in these stores that requires this kind of rush.
Furthermore the people that are being rushed at, causing fear & possibly maiming is a person...at work.
More than likely you are a person at work. How would you like to get up a couple of hours earlier than normal. Chances are, you'd probably be more tired than normal. Only to come to work to find a lot of people in line as if they were ready to start a revolution. And know this - you are scared. Because you don't know who is in the crowd. Most likely there is going to be at least one person that sees this as a competition. And they are going to get That Thing. The Thing that everyone has to have. The Thing that as one person points out in one of the videos, "it will be that price by next year." And you are going to do all of this for a job that pays a wage that hovers around the poverty level.
Before you even come back with the retort...these people choose to work there...Don't. This is not open to debate. No one, no where, regardless of whether it was a choice or if it is the only job in town they have the qualifications for, should be put into any situation of fear or placed in harms way of physical violence at work. This is not cute, funny or entertaining. This is a sad state of affairs.
So have a great day on Thanksgiving. Be thankful for what you have. Hopefully you have everything you need and it's not harming someone else.
And on the day after Thanksgiving, think about that again. ______________________________________________________________ Before I go:
Second some trivia - The phrase Black Friday originally referred to the stock market crash on September 24, 1869. The crash was sparked by gold speculators, including Jay Gould and James Fist, who attempted to corner the gold market. The attempt failed and the gold market collapsed, causing the stock market to plummet. (Thank you Wikipedia)
I am 5'9" tall. I weigh 160 lbs. My tempeture is 98.6 My shoe size is 10 & a half. I am a HR Generalist
I am an Average HR Guy.
I am fine with that. I sing the praises of the Average HR Guy..."Mister I ain't a boy, No, I'm a man. And I believe in The Promised Land!" Some people (well one of the persons that works for me) call me the boss. Yes, my hair does look like that sometimes. Especially at the end of the day.
I like being this person because most of the people in jobs are average guys and gals. Most people have average lives. They want to go to work, earn some money, go home & be around people that love them. But to do the last two things, you have to do the first two things.
So who here wants to be treated like crap when they go to work?
C'mon, raise your hands.
No one? Really?
OK, SO WHY IS IT STILL HAPPENING?! (Yes I know I'm shouting)
I am constantly reading about lawsuits regarding folks who just wanted to go to work, earn some money, go home & be around people that love them. But instead, they were so humiliated, abused or otherwise at work that they have chosen the path of getting justice. In some cases, this translates into putting their lives on hold for years.
This is why I like what I do for a living. I believe through the HR work I do, I'm making a difference. I'm not saving lives in an emergency room. But if I can make someone's day at work a better day, or if you will, average out the day for them than I have done a lot. I've stepped in those shoes and I know how good it feels to have someone there to average things out. Work does not always have to be another four letter word.
I think about how people ask the same questions about their health benefits, or about FMLA, FSA, ADA, etc, etc. They ask because of 2 reasons: they know I know the answer & that it's my job to know. Secondly because they just want to go to work, make some money, go home & be around people that love them and not worry about every acronym in their employee manual.
All in all, they want me to average it out for them. And I deliver. Because I am the Average HR Guy.
Well sometimes they look the same...as in the case of Peter Gabriel and John Ratzenberger.... (Weird, huh?) ____________________________________________________ I don't know of anyone that I would consider to be a celebrity. But I have encountered them in my travels. And I would place those encounters into two categories. 1) While I was working 2) While I was not working
Let's start with number 2 first. Most of time this happens in NYC where I have seen celebrities shopping in Barney's, walking with a bodyguard in Soho, & carrying groceries in the East Village. Each time there is an air about them, an aura if you will. I recognize them. I try to be cool. They recognize that I recognize them and that I'm trying to stay cool. No conversation occurs. We each go our separate ways. I remember the encounter. They likely remember nothing. This is why they are celebrities and I am not.
Back to number 1, while I was working. This also breaks down into 2 categories. First when I worked at a book store almost every celebrity I encountered was rude. I was a clerk and was treated as if I was barely worth a hello.
But when I worked for a cd wholesaler, almost every celebrity I met was courteous and for the most part pleasant. My fondest memory is when I met David Coverdale (Whitesnake, Deep Purple fame). This guy was a multi-millionaire. He was adored and seen as a sex symbol. In other words, he needed nothing from any of us in that warehouse. But he was in the area and he just wanted to stop in and say thanks for the work we do. Classy.
I'm not a celebrity in any way. But in HR we operate inside a fishbowl, sort of like a celebrity. Everyone in the office knows who we are. Some people are naturally nervous in our presence. Some people see us as not friendly because we won't "friend" them on Facebook (sort of like not signing an autograph). And I try to remember this everyday. I try to remember not to take my position for granted.
David Coverdale may not be your ideal HR pro. But inspiration for doing your job well can come from the strangest of places.
Who is your strangest source of inspiration for being an HR Pro?
While you're thinking, check out Mr. HR Pro here doing his job.
Well here it is: the moment of truth.
(Is this where they separate the men from the boys?)
I fretted away most of the day in an offhand way ... thinking about the pain behind my eyes & the blank page in front of me. Well it's not really blank & it's not really a page. They actually are miscellaneous words typed on a bright screen made of plastic. And I am at a lost for coherent sentences.
So what's the big deal? Well it's because three days ago, no one knew this blog existed. Then I open my mouth on HRhappyhour & Kris Dunn mentions my blog and BAM!...ears are now pricked.
I am definitely not complaining in any way shape or form. (Thanks a million, Kris) I love attention.
But I'm feeling duty calling now for the future. And I better get cracking and think of something to say. NOW!
This angst over my brain freeze was furthermore not helped by being witness to a recent Tweet-versation (yes, I'm making up words now)about how often should bloggers post, why they don't post anymore & when should you unsubscribe if they are not posting. (Oh jeez!)
After the angst past, my thought was that it's solely a personal preference based on: who posted the blog (Barack Obama or Paul Smith); what were they talking about (HR matters or the pain behind their eyes); does it fit into your schedule (quick to the point or, Come on, already!)
If you have not gathered by now, I'm a Gen-X'er. (BTW: I'm the only one allowed to label myself). Which means I'm a certain age. As a kid, we had 5 TV channels. The TV news was not 24 hours. The "computer" played pong.
There exists now in my house a constant hum. It's my modum, router, the NAS server, the cable box, the Roku/Netflix box, the receiver on standby and a computer is on more than off in this house. The only time there is real silence in this house is when we go out of town for more than a day; I unplug everything.
Sometimes I miss the silence.
But I'm caught up in the slipstream of internet chatter & more home entertainment options than can be consumed in a lifetime. As much as I enjoy it, I think sometimes it's such a pleasure to having nothing to say. (Well maybe not today)
I reminded myself that sometimes it's better that way.
How many times in your life have you thought, I should have just not said anything?Since I never learn, this happens to me more times than I'd care to admit.
But as Human Resources goes (so much for quick to the point) this is definitely an art form. Good HR people are good silence artisans because:
1) We promote the idea at work, if you have nothing good to say about someone, don't say anything at all. We understand the value of that socially and legally.
2) We also promote the benefit of the doubt. Just because someone is silent, we know that it's not because there is nothing to say. Sometimes people don't know what to say, when to say it or who to say it to. We let those folks know that when that times comes, we are there for them.
3) We are also the keeper of secrets, whether it be something as simple as a home address or as complex as a medical issue.
In modern society, being this artisan is getting harder. As an HR person, it's not enough just to be a SHRM member. To stay current you have to enter the slipstream of social media stuff. Which comes down to: talk, talk, talk. It's very tempting to never stop talking. Not to mention, HR people are by nature some of the biggest talkers I have ever met.
So if you are an HR blogger, don't worry about what, when & how often. And if you're a reader, stay...just a little bit longer and remind yourself: you're supporting the arts.
I have no work/life balance right now. It is all work right now. This is not a complaint. It is a fact. I have my regular day job which keeps me busy. But I just accepted another job: Blogger with a side of Twitter. When I told my boss I had started a blog, she appeared pleased. When I told her the number one reason for doing so was because I have a lot to say, she laughed loudly and said she could not have agreed more.
But really don't we all have alot to say? What makes me think that I am doing society a favor by being another blogger? ___________________________________________________________________________________ Cue: Movie Soundtrack: ("Could it be that one small voice, doesn't count in the room?"-Shaking Through, R.E.M. 1983)
___________________________________________________________________________________ The world of HR blogs is thick with opinions. Some of it newsworthy. But I started to think along the same lines as Jason Corsello from Human Capitalist who recently tweeted, "not many HR blogs I read anymore. Just too much noise and little new thinking. Sorry...I said it!" ___________________________________________________________________________________ Cue: Movie Soundtrack ("From every dingy basement on every dingy street every dragging handclap over every dragging beat That's just the beat of time-the beat that must go on If you’ve been trying for years we already heard your song"-Death or Glory, The Clash 1979)
____________________________________________________________________________________ So where is the new thinking? I have been reading blogs for a couple of years now. Some of it is smart, some energizing, some lovely, some crazy and some just wrong. Just when I think it is all been said, a voice from the Oregon wilderness (Lance Haun) speaks and gets inside my head ... "I still think there is a lot of space out there for people to talk about business and talent. We’ve barely scratched the surface of possibilities." ...and set me back on track. I remembered this is why people keep writing, reading blogs & following tweets. New thinking may not be there on the surface. But new thinking is always right around the corner. And there is always another corner to turn. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Cue: Movie Soundtrack ("And the sun comes like a god Into our room All perfect light and promises"-New Sensation by INXS, 1987
_____________________________________________________________________________________ So what is the point of all this? Is this just another introductory blog entry, like a bad first installment of what will become a bad comic book/movie franchise? (think Daredevil or Fantastic Four) Or is it the start of a beautiful friendship? Hopefully it is the latter. Hopefully the HR society is served well by this & all of the other blogs. Hopefully it keeps you thinking.
But "you see us as you want to see us...in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal. Does that answer your question?... Sincerely yours" WTTO _____________________________________________________________________________________ Cue: Closing Credits, I walk across the football field, I raise my fist in the air. Freeze frame. (Hey, hey, hey ,hey...Ohhh..."
Someone asked me the other day, how long I have been wearing glasses. When they asked me, they couched the question by asking, "how long have you been blind?" At first I did not know what they meant. (I am not actually blind in the sense of visually impaired.) Since there was not a great deal of pretext to the question, my mind wandered quickly and I started thinking metaphorically. My response was for "as long as I can remember."
Then I realized they were talking about my glasses and I then responded with a proper answer of "since I was a teenager."
But I was left with the residue of this conversation, and I have been wondering, am I really blind? Metaphorically speaking.
I believe the answer is yes in the sense that I am unaware of so many things. And that I cannot possibly know it all. Especially when it comes to HR matters. Sometimes this is frustrating to me. I am a Generalist by nature so I feel compelled to stay abreast on every HR topic, which is exhausting. In fact, I just found out about HRevolution and bummed that I found out too late to make arrangements to go. Other things I do know but still have difficulty understanding. H1N1 for example. I am very tuned into the concern that people have about this. But I am having a difficult time sorting through what appears to be a great deal of media noise & the emotional reaction this is causing.
The point is everyone I have ever known in HR has knowledge gaps. There is nothing wrong with this. But because by nature, HR folks are an introspective bunch. We know that we set example. We are watching ourselves as much as we watch others. Hence we are naturally more self critical. Which brings me to the real topic.
Why must we go so far as to flog ourselves with these blog postings about HR being dead? First this is just overdramatic. Secondly I don't know of any other department in any company that I have worked that ponders it's own relevance as much as HR. Third if you really believe HR stands for Hardly Relevant, than you have lost sight.
HR is a fundamental part of every organization. We are not lawyers, but we can counsel on what is appropriate behavior and steer employees away from harassing and being discriminatory. We are not their mothers, but we are the most sympathetic and unconditional ear. We are not psychologists, but we know how to mediate and to read tell-tale signs. We are not economists, but we understand the most costly part of a business...its people.
Social Media is all the rage. At least in my world.
Yes I have traveled around the blogosphere over the last year & a half, dropping helpful suggestions, replying to those who rule over the url domains. I even had a LinkIn page for a few years. But I never did anything with it. And I have even been to the occasional HR seminar where I have heard the message, "if you are in HR and you are not using Social Media, then well it's your own grave." Since I typically don't take to threats and because by nature I am not an early adoptor, I turned my nose up. It's probably because I did not know what to do with it. Not because I hated it.
Last Summer, my partner introduced me to how Facebook worked. It was strange at first (long story for later)but eventually I realized how fun it could be & what an easy way to stay in touch with those who too easily fall out of touch. Eventually I updated my LinkIn page and now I have a Twitter account. So far this has all worked out well for me. Facebook for (real)friends. LinkIn for business colleages. Twitter for a happy medium between the two. And now I am writing my own blog. I have got this all sussed out. I understand my place in Web 2.0. I understand the ramifications of sharing and the depths I wish to share. A previous colleague said all the time, "nothing hurts you more than what comes out of your mouth." As in HR and in this new world, I understand this.
But unfortunately this cannot be said for everyone and this is what reminded me of disco in the late 70's. Disco was not invented in the late 70's, but it became popular in the late 70's. It became the dominate fashion in music, movies and clothes. People were into it because it was a fad. Parents started taking disco dancing lessons. Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Kiss all recorded disco-ish records. Ethal Merman recorded a disco album. Some people put together a movie called "Thank God, It's Friday." And they did it, just because they could. Make no mistake, I love disco. But let's face it and I think history can back me up on this, it was not for everyone. And it's still not. But it lives with us all the time now and no one gets upset about it anymore.
So when I see a story like this one, "Nursing Student Expelled for Blogging" I think perhaps this nursing student does not understand social media and does it because she can. And perhaps the school also does not understand social media and did what it did because it can. I agree with Stephanie Kempa's concern in a new blog Career Trail Guide "that today’s employees may make those crucial misjudgements in different ways if they’re not careful." And just like disco in the late 70's, some folks made some crucial misjudgements that haunted them for the rest of their lives.
"Here we stand and here we fight, All your fallen heroes, Held and dyed and skinned alive, Listen to the Congress fire." ---"Welcome To The Occupation" by R.E.M. 1987
My name is Paul Smith and I am an HR Director for a non-profit in Philadelphia. I have been in human resources for over 12 years. I worked in a generalist capacity in wholesale, nursing, and banking before I landed in my current position. I love where I work, and I love the work my organization does.
My HR philosophy is: people are complex; work is hard; so keep it as simple as you can.
Disclaimer
This site is intended as a forum only for my viewpoints on Human Resources-related topics. These opinions certainly may change over the course of time due to societal norms and national, state & local legislative actions. This site is also not intended to be inflammatory; defamatory to any person, group of people, organization or business; to incite an over-emotional reaction; or to choose one political party affiliation over another. The opinions that I express are only my own; I do not speak for the organization that employs me in this forum.
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