Those of you who read “If You Knew the True Story” in the “Writing from the Cabin” blog https://lynnecurryauthor.com/2023/08/22/if-you-knew-the-true-story/ know my fiancé died in a plane crash three days before our wedding. That tragedy triggered my writing Her Next Hero. Although Jess Cassidy, the main character who comes to life in HNH is fictitious, I borrowed liberally from my HR work—when I battled with a Darth Vader supervisor on behalf of an employee struggling with stage 3 cancer; the time I confronted a knife-wielding abuser trying to drag an employee out of the workplace; when I took ..read more

“I simply don’t hire them.” According to research, that’s the attitude of 94 percent of business leaders who avoid hiring Gen Z employees, those born between 1997 and 2012, https://www.businessinsider.com/managers-avoid-hiring-recent-gen-z-college-graduates-unprepared-survey-2023-8. Why? According to 1,243 recently surveyed business leaders, Gen Zers bring with them have a sense of entitlement, a deficient work ethic and sub-par communication skills, https://www.intelligent.com/4-in-10-business-leaders-say-recent-college-grads-are-unprepared-to-enter-workforce/. Half of these business leaders ..read more

“I’m not my employees’ babysitter, their mommy, or their therapist,” the CEO insisted. The problem that led to his call—his company’s 2024 employee survey revealed large numbers of his company’s employees expected mental health benefits. Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com “What are these employees thinking?” he asked. “We offer a generous sick leave allowance and they’re asking for paid mental health days on top of that? Employees need to handle their own personal issues.” Employee expectations Good luck with that. According to national surveys, 61 percent of Generation Z employees, 48 pe ..read more

Question: My former employees’ lies cost me a job. I was a finalist for a senior position when the prospective employer searched online when checking references and read the derogatory stories posted on Facebook by my former employee. The hiring committee let me explain that after I fired a dishonest employee for cause, he and his friends came after me on social media. While the committee believed what I said, they explained they couldn’t afford to have their clients and employees see the stories, and not trust their hiring decision. With that job avenue closed, I opened a consulting company I ..read more

Golden Handcuffs Question: I hate my job. Because I work eighty hours weekly, my home life has become a joke. Exercise, what’s that? Sleep—I can’t afford the time. I started my career as a certified financial planner, became a broker, then landed a job with one of the country’s top wealth management companies. Since they’re national, they allowed me to relocate to Anchorage during the pandemic to serve their high-income clients here. Since I work in an industry ruled by compliance issues, the stress is sky-high. The problem? I can’t find a job, even at the big brokerage houses, that will offer ..read more

She came to work early, rarely took a full lunch break, and almost always worked past five p.m. Six of her nine employees considered her an effective leader. She ran a successful department until her other three direct reports drove her out. Empowered by their victory, this “gang of three” ran off two successive managers before the company’s senior leadership realized they had a problem. We rarely discuss upward bullying and its impact but should. Researchers estimate fourteen percent of all workplace bullying is upward and can result in career derailment for managers targeted by bullying empl ..read more

I get it. You love Facebook and when individuals you work with requested you add them as friends, you did. At first, you didn’t have any trouble. Instead, you had the fun of seeing your coworkers’ interesting endeavors and the reinforcing experience of so many colleagues wanting to be your friends and then liking your posts. But then it happened. Perhaps you stepped on a landmine when you posted an unwise comment, and the wrong person read it. If so, you paid a potentially hefty price for social media carelessness. You could, however, have saved yourself a lot of trouble by not Facebook friend ..read more

Question: At first, I believed my coworker’s bullshit. “Jenna” and I have been good friends for years, and I helped get her job as our general manager’s executive assistant. So, when Jenna said she accidentally left my name off the meeting invite, I believed her. But it happened again. And again. I can’t stand meetings, but they matter in our company and missing these meetings cost me. I wasn’t present when others made crucial decisions, and thus missed out on opportunities I would have wanted. We all work remotely, meaning I couldn’t walk down the hall and drop into Jenna’s office. I called h ..read more

Question: I finally left a toxic job after two years of trying to make things work. Three arrogant men ran the company. They kept our salaries artificially low by alleging financial problems prevented them from paying us what we were worth, but “if we stayed, they’d make it up to us.” They lied. Not only didn’t they make it up to us, but they made huge salaries and bonuses. They also didn’t promote based on competency, but instead rewarded employees who sucked up to them. I wasn’t willing to stomach doing that and so didn’t have a future there. I’ve only been on one job interview, but it went ..read more

You’ve met him. Despised him. Cursed him. Exploded about him to your spouse or friend. And now he’s no longer your coworker; he’s your manager. Where’s the justice, you wonder? How did this complete jerk with his outsized ego leapfrog past more competent, likeable colleagues to attain organizational power over you and others? If you’ve wondered why SOBs succeed while nice guys finish second, or how you can work for a manager who’s a jerk without losing your sanity or becoming a jerk yourself, read on. Why do jerks succeed? According to psychologists, “disagreeable” individuals often succeed wh ..read more