I was walking up the stairs at work when the twinge I’d been feeling in my left calf became more of twang (medical term for it hurt a lot more). I’d noticed it becoming a twang the day before when taking Savannah on an off-trail sprint during our Survival Workout. The prudent thing would have been to lay off at that point…but I’m no prude… so I did the picnic table hops and karaokied up the hill to complete the twangential possibility.
I limped to my office and spent the remainder of the day debating a bike ride. The temperature was again a record for winter’s last day…82 degrees. And it was sunny. I asked myself “what would Lance do?” already knowing the answer.
So I went home and read a book. I did get out to clean up the Jeep I’d been storing for the past two years so Savannah could take it back to Columbus after Spring break. It was full of stuff mice leave behind, and baked on tree sap that was resistant to her elbow grease (but not mine). She’ll be leaving behind her identical 2000 Jeep Cherokee for me to work on…and then use to take the kayak out. It wasn’t a workout, but I did break a sweat.
I have to comment on the Associated Press story from this morning’s PD regarding employers requiring job applicants to ‘friend’ them on Facebook. During an interview with a Seattle company, Justin Bassett of New York was asked by the HR Nazi to provide her with his login information because she was unable to see his “private” profile when she went to his Facebook account. Justin refused and withdrew his application stating that he didn’t want to work for a company that would make such a request. They incarcerated and tortured him until he provided the information…okay…they didn’t do that, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t assholes.
A law professor from George Washington University was quoted as saying “it’s akin to requiring someone’s house keys.” I don’t know that I’d go that far…no one would hire me if they could see the way I keep my toothpaste drawer…but it doesn’t take law professor…or a Pulitzer Prize blog writing author to point out the obvious…this is going too far. A sheriff’s department in Illinois couldn’t hire me, either. They want Facebook information to assure that their employees aren’t friends with ‘underage’ people. I happen to have a number of teens that I coach as ‘friends’, primarily so they can access the pictures I take at the track and cross country meets to use as their Facebook profile pictures (I get some great shots sitting on the infield and because I have press credentials). And just when I wanted to move to Illinois and join the sheriff’s department. The Chief defended the practice saying applicants have the right to refuse…and not get a job…but few do and it “speaks well of the people we have apply.” Not anymore…I withdraw.
Many companies are asking employees to sign non-disparagement agreements. E. Chandlee Bryan, co-author of the book “The Twitter Job Search Guide” defends this practice. “I think that when you work for a company, they are essentially supporting you in exchange for your work. I think if you’re dissatisfied, you should go to them and not a social media site.”
Funny…I thought they were just giving me a paycheck for the hours I’m clocked in. If they were ‘supporting’ me, they’d be on the line for things like student loans to get my kids through college, assuring me they’d always be there in good times and in bad, and loving me unconditionally. I suspect though that they’d downsize me in a heartbeat if the marketplace, a merger, or any other term you’d like to choose for the employer’s right to get rid of us…with little or no notice. And taking your complaint or gripe up with your company is problematic at best. Suddenly, you’re a trouble maker…depending on the recipient of the information. There are no perfect human beings…and if there were…they wouldn’t be working in HR departments. If you want to vent about your employer and you work for one of those, you’ll just have to do it the old-fashioned way…bitch out loud to anyone who’ll listen. I mean…c’mon. Griping about the place you spend over half of your waking hours has always been a national pastime. I’m almost sure it’s in the Declaration of Independence, or the Constitution of the state of California at the very least.
Anyway…I don’t feel too strongly about the whole Facebook issue thing…but I needed something to write about since I didn’t work out. By the way, I’ve never been concerned about anyone seeing my Facebook page because I’m so vanilla. I don’t drink or do drugs, sell favors for sex, beat my wife or kids…and I love my dog. I don’t bitch about my employer, not because I’ve been asked to sign something, but because I prefer to do it out loud if I’m going to. I’m not perfect…and neither are they. Facebook to me is more like a picture album. I post things for my friends to see…and if one of my co-workers is my friend…and some are…then they can see them. But it will be a cold day in hell before someone tells me that I “have to” friend them and I do it. Unless their name was Holly.
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