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A Different Look at Employee Appreciation Day

posted 19th October 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Job/Career/Work, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

Navy Pier CruiseLast week I attended my company’s dreaded annual Employee Appreciation Day.  Each year, my company closes the office at noon and treats all the employees to a “fun-filled” Friday before the weekend.

Since my office is somewhat anti-social and people tend to stay hidden in their cubicles, there is really no socializing in the office.  For some reason, HR thinks that being outside of the office would get everyone to socialize. Sadly (well, not really), in the past years my fellow co-workers and I would sneak out of the office and ditch the afternoon’s events in exchange for an afternoon off.

Last year I ditched Employee Appreciation Day’s BBQ and kegger because I feared the open mic/karaoke would force me to witness one awkward moment after the next.  I also really didn’t want to see the CEO of my company sing “Don’t Stop Believing” when I could go home and take a nap in appreciation of my employment on my own.

This year, HR got smart.

They knew people had ditched out on the special day in previous years so they decided to check names upon arrival.  Those who were not present were charged a vacation day.  Yikes! I knew I had to attend. And luckily, this year’s Employee Appreciation Day sounded entertaining enough—a lunch cruise around Lake Michigan, leaving from Navy Pier on a semi-sunny day.

Reluctantly, I stood in line to board the cruise with my co-workers.  We made small talk and joked about how the ship would leave the dock in twenty minutes—trapping us all together for two hours on Lake Michigan with no escape unless we wanted to jump overboard.  HR had definitely thought this through.

I ate lunch with a couple others from the marketing team, and I was surprised to hear them joke about taking extra long lunch breaks and hating some of the projects they are asked to do.  I don’t know why I was thinking that I must be the only person who is not thrilled with their job, but it was nice to hear that others were in the same boat. I was worried I was being too restless or setting my expectations too high when it comes to enjoying a career. I actually even secretly despised my co-workers because I felt they were happy with the unchallenging, mindless work they do.  I thought they must be boring, ambitionless people!

For some reason, I bonded with them over how unsatisfied we all were, and it felt great!  My marketing team is now a support team for getting out of the 9 to 5 as well!

The rest of the afternoon, we took advantage of the open bar and laughed as some people had too much to drink and starting dancing with the servers on the ship.  We took photos of the views of the city from the ship’s highest deck.  Before we knew it, the ship was docking, and it was 2:30pm.

I even had time to go back to my place and enjoy a quick nap before heading out for the night.

photo credit: discoverdupage’s

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Stop Complaining and Start Doing

posted 3rd August 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

Jet skiAfter an amazing weekend at my friend’s lake house in Michigan, I have been attempting to snap back to reality. No more boating and jet skis and lying in the sun. I woke up to my alarm in my Chicago condo with a pile of dirty laundry on the floor and an empty fridge (must get to grocery store!).

Speaking of reality… My sister, Holly, is graduating from college in December. As she fancies up her resume and starts researching businesses, I’m trying to give her advice. I’ve only been out of college for three years, and I really only have two years of experience in the corporate world, but even after such a short period of time…

I have realized that I don’t NEED to sell out and sacrifice what makes me happy in exchange for a bi-monthly check.

If you are talented and motivated and have the drive… Take control of your own life.  Network and find where your passions and interests intersect with a way to make a living. Work for yourself!

Taking my own advice, I’ve decided to stop complaining about my job and, instead, start doing something about it…  Shocker! Here are my three action steps on the road being happier:

  1. I’ve been applying for more freelance positions and hoping to eventually have enough to work for myself, make my own hours, and have more control over how I spend my time.
  2. I’ve made it a rule to stop bringing my “work bad-itude” outside of the workplace. Once I’m out the door, I turn on my ipod and listen to something upbeat.  I try to do something that makes me happy in the evening—meet a friend for frozen yogurt, go for a run along the lake path, bake some cookies, or visit the puppy store down the street just to say, “awwww!” I’ve realized there’s plenty of time after work to squeeze in something fun and completely un-work like.
  3. I decided that I am happier with life when there’s something to look forward to, so I am going to plan a trip for myself. Maybe somewhere new, but close or maybe somewhere on the other side of the world or maybe just wherever the next best flight special is going…  Currently accepting any recommendations!

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photo credit: robert of fairfax

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Quest for Something More

posted 24th July 2009    Written by: Robyn    CATEGORY: All Posts, Quarterlife Crisis, Robyn, Season 1

By now you probably realize that I do not like my job. Lately I have been using time at my “9 to 5” to work on more enjoyable freelance projects and explore other ideas I have about starting my own business. My goal is to transition to working for myself while still working my full time job so that when I quit I never have to deal with a time when I have no income.

While I know these are the first steps to moving towards something better, and while I have confidence in this plan, I still seek the approval of my family and friends when it comes to these kinds of decisions.

My biggest pet peeve as of late is when people respond to my plan with doubt, saying: “You should just be grateful to have a job in this economy.”

This a slap in the face not only because it’s not exactly supportive, but also because people who I want to be happy are encouraging me to be unhappy and settle for a job that leaves me unfulfilled and just plain grumpy.

I think this kind of response tends to take over a person’s life, leaving them less than happy and settling for all kinds of things that are not worthwhile.

Ask yourself these questions:

If you were starving and ordered a juicy hamburger with mushrooms and blue cheese and got a bowl of cold oatmeal instead, would you just be happy just to have food in front of you?

If you have been unhappily single for a long time and start dating someone who lives up to zero of your expectations and desires, would you stay with him or her just to have company?

If you ordered the perfect pair of jeans online and then realized you needed a size smaller, would you keep them and gain weight to make them fit you?

I’m hoping all answers were “no.” Why settle for something, someone, or some job that does not make you 100% happy?

I don’t believe it’s idealistic to think there is a job out there that could be fun and have meaning and, on top of that, (Shock! Disbelief!) allow you freedom to do other things you love.  So I’m off to find it!


photo credit: monicamüller

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