Self-Helpless: True Tales of a Working Girl: Self-Helpless Turns 1!

11/28/2006

Self-Helpless Turns 1!

Well, I was really hoping that my book would be out by now in order to have a “proper” celebration, but that’s unfortunately not the case. As a matter of fact, I wanted to do something special to ring in the new year of blogging, but with my dueling deadlines, I more or less missed the boat on that one too.

So, what I would like to do is take a brief trip through the past 12 months to see exactly how far “Self-Helpless” has come, and where she’s likely to go. As my hardcore readers know, this past year has seen a great deal of changes. When I started on 11/28/05, I was bitter and angry. Most of the early posts reflect this. Stories like the following clearly detail the miserable situation I faced everyday at the office. : This is a No-Win Situation, I'm Not a Micromanager, and The Ultimate Insult Pt II, "Miss Manager" to name a few.

Then I attempted some "advice" articles about Workplace Bullying and Verbal Self Defense.

Then, while going through a root canal, my dentist covered for me and wrote a “doctor’s note” while I actually went on an interview. Then I had random (but not so unusual) issues arising with my boss while I had my root canal. Lucky me, I developed an infection, had the tooth pulled, and realized that going through all of that was more enjoyable than going to the office everyday. Yes folks, it really was that bad.

Then I started giving serious thought to my departure from corporate punishment in a series of “resignation” posts back in February. During that week, I fantasized about leaving my job, starting my new career, and had a good laugh over the many ways to “say goodbye” when leaving.

Around that time I also pondered life elsewhere and the importance of going to a 9-5 job everyday (aside from the regular paycheck benefit, of course). Is it necessary to be so unhappy?

Piggybacking on that, I tried to pin down the things that bosses and companies can do to make things right with their people. I shared my Exit Interview - I, II, III (yes, those are more or less mine in their entirety) and gave everyone some tips on how to take advantage of their sick days. Then I talked A LOT about bosses and what they do wrong (ok, again).

Of course there were commentaries on all the stupid things that people have to say about management although have never worked in truly horrid situations.

That brings us into the fall of 2006, where I talked a lot about things that employees can do to protect themselves from the idiocy of their managers, how to roll with some of the idiot punches, and some bigger issues that need some attention.

Now the current trend for Self-Helpless is to continue addressing the issues that plague the workplace and the ongoing stupidity of those that shape so many of the not-so-positive work environments. Self-Helpless loves stupidity. As long as there are stupid people in the workplace, I'll always have a lot to write about. Stay tuned, folks.

# posted by The Pied Piper @ 10:23 PM

Comments:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Cheers to many more years of entertainment from stories about people and situations that are so stupid, there is no WAY they could be fiction!

# posted by