Truth In Reporting (or Blogging)

Yesterday, we celebrated Halloween at work by dressing up and having a companywide potluck lunch. I will admit, it was really, really fun. During the festivities, though, the subject of ranting about work on-line came up when one coworker had to add everyone back on to their Facebook page because they had wanted to rant about work but didn’t want to get fired for being disgruntled. Social media is rough when things aren’t going well in your life, and it can be easy to do something in a low moment that could haunt you for a long time to come. In the end, I waited until I had been working somewhere else for 6 months before I let the cat out of the bag about my unhappiness with my prior employer.

Personally, I think businesses in America really have it made in the shade. I know in Oklahoma, you can lose your job for no reason at all. The thought is, while you can’t fire people for many certain reasons, you can be fired if your employer states no reason at all. Common sense, of course, dictates there is always a reason, but by pretending there isn’t one, businesses are protected from the fall out of civil liability. How’s that for stupid?

I witnessed some of what happened with this particular employee, and the right to rant was definitely there. In the end, no rant was posted. Just like my own fears of confronting the blatant unfairness of my prior employer and the abusive coworker, the payoff would have not been worth it. Yet, for me anyways, the ability to write out the situation from my personal perspective, judge it with my own perceptions, and walk away from the problem with some clarity and closure, helps me deal with conflicts in a healthy way.

I decided when I wrote that article last week, I won’t be confined by fear any longer. By hearing the frustration of the slighted employee, my decision was strengthened. Often, I’ve been encouraged by other bloggers who state, if people know you will write about them honestly, they might behave better because of it. The same should go for companies, don’t you think? I hate feeling stifled by fear, and since the old writing career is going pretty well these days, I think being fired for being honest is a good thing, for me anyways.

I’ve found that I’m super effective as a marketer for Stand-By Personnel because our ideals match up pretty well. I love helping people who need a break, like felons, long-term housewives, and disabled people. Stand-By has built a reputation in Tulsa for hiring and placing the people deemed un-hirable by everyone else. There have been a couple of bumps in the road when dealing with other coworkers, but nothing impossible to work through. That will always be the case for someone as introverted as I am. I work best alone, uninterrupted, and when I have plenty of time to mull something over in my head. By being in a normal office setting, these qualities are irritated daily through no fault of anyone else. One thing the prior employer did that helps me these days is, he had all of his employees take the Myers Briggs, which are eerily accurate. By virtue of being INFJ, I found out, I will probably always bristle when dealing with corporate structural normality’s. Knowing that about myself has really helped when confronted by other people’s inability to understand how I tick.

So, fair warning. I plan to be completely honest on here, about myself, about companies I deal with in my life, and people who come and go through it. J Happy November, People! 2014 is almost over!!

~ Bird