Saturday, October 18, 2008
Was Lincoln a procrastinator?
I came across this quote from Abraham Lincoln today, and laughed with recognition:
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
Labels: fun, history, politics, psychology, quotes, words
Thursday, September 04, 2008
McCain's "My Friends" Tic
On Slate, Paul Collins has explored why John McCain keeps referring to crowds as "my friends," saying that in American political discourse the phrase hearkens back to William Jennings Bryan.
Personally, I wonder if Senator McCain didn't pick up the habit from another source: Criswell.
Personally, I wonder if Senator McCain didn't pick up the habit from another source: Criswell.
Labels: fun, people, politics, words
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Coworkers are bigger stressors than work itself
When I tell people that I work at home, a common reaction is a sort of swooning: Oh, that must be nice, they say. Yes and no; I like setting my own hours and not having a commute, but I sometimes miss having colleagues whom I see regularly.
But perhaps I shouldn't long for coworkers after all. A survey (sponsored, almost inexplicably, by some mysterious Hormel lunch product), showed that 51 percent of surveyed workers identified their coworkers, and not the work itself, as the number one source of on-the-job stress.
Other findings:
Ah ha! That last point shows why a lunch-meat company sponsored the study. Another lunch-related data point from the survey: Nearly half of Americans who work in an office eat lunch at their desk at least three times a week.
The results don't strike me as all that surprising. What does surprise me is the casual use of the word "brownnoser" in the press release. Did the Hormel PR folks think at all about its origin? Then again, Houghton Mifflin on dictionary.com (linked above) says "Despite its scatological origin, today this slangy term is not considered particularly vulgar."
But perhaps I shouldn't long for coworkers after all. A survey (sponsored, almost inexplicably, by some mysterious Hormel lunch product), showed that 51 percent of surveyed workers identified their coworkers, and not the work itself, as the number one source of on-the-job stress.
Other findings:
Your Desk Is The New Water Cooler. A majority of office workers in America can’t get away from office gossip because most of it takes place right at their desk or a co-worker’s desk (53 percent), rather thansomewhere outside their workspace such as the water cooler (just 2 percent) or the kitchen or lunch room (22 percent).
Catchphrases That Drive You Crazy. The top three clichés that drive office workers nuts? “Think outside the box” (22 percent), “Team Player” (20 percent), and “Shoot me an email” (19 percent).
Flattery Doesn’t Get You Everywhere. Brownnosers are a major office offender. Among office workers familiar with NBC’s “The Office,” the character they’d least like to get stuck in an elevator with is irritating brownnoser Dwight Schrute, played by actor Rainn Wilson (27 percent).
A Lack of Long-Lasting Lunches. Unfortunately, many office workers just aren’t satisfied by their desktop dining: nearly half (46 percent) say they feel hungry again within just three hours of their midday meal.
Ah ha! That last point shows why a lunch-meat company sponsored the study. Another lunch-related data point from the survey: Nearly half of Americans who work in an office eat lunch at their desk at least three times a week.
The results don't strike me as all that surprising. What does surprise me is the casual use of the word "brownnoser" in the press release. Did the Hormel PR folks think at all about its origin? Then again, Houghton Mifflin on dictionary.com (linked above) says "Despite its scatological origin, today this slangy term is not considered particularly vulgar."
Labels: marketing, surveys, words, work, writing
