Gifts for the boss you loathe so much

They're mean, they're malicious and they're definitely nothing like Oprah. But somehow you've been forced into buying a gift for that boss or coworker you hate working with. What do you do?

Try the Ugly Flower Store where you can "Send virtual Ugly Flowers for free to anyone who deserves ugly flowers."

There are six beautifully ugly arrangements to choose from:

• 1 Dozen Dead Yellow Roses
• Dead Plant
• Dead Rose Bouquet
• Single Dead Rose
• Dead Flower Arrangement
• Dead Yellow Flowers

Choose the arrangement that fits your situation, fill out a quick form and the ugliest flower arrangement you've ever seen will be on its way (via email) to your unsuspecting recipient.

Show someone how much you don't care today.

And have a happy Friday!

Negative feedback can be a gift

At least that’s how Sam Chapman, CEO and author of The No Gossip Zone, chooses to look at it. In Chapman’s opinion, positive and negative feedback both play important roles in our careers. Instead of looking at negative feedback and constructive criticism as an insult, we should be thinking of it as a gift.

“Without negative feedback, we would never improve ourselves and our lives,” said Sam Chapman. “And after enough practice at accepting negative feedback, you might even find yourself letting out an involuntary “hmm” noise as you realize the truth in a bit of negative feedback.”

Here are four of Chapman’s steps to dealing with negative feedback in a positive way (via Talent Management):

• Don’t blame the messenger. By accepting that everyone has something valuable they can teach us about who we are, we open up to a realm of creativity, growth and success that we never thought possible.
• Curb your defenses. Take a step back, a deep breath and remove yourself from the situation for a moment.
• Feel the emotions, but don’t get stuck. Be careful not to get so caught up in being angry that you don’t have the energy to realize what you need to do to improve.
• Turn your feedback into a request. Make sure your feedback isn’t in the form of a complaint. The gift of feedback is much easier to receive when it’s in the form of a request rather than a complaint.

And here’s some more great advice on how to handle negative feedback from Alissa Livingston, a merchandise planner for men's clothing and furnishings at Polo Ralph Lauren, from All Business:

A new outlook: How optimism at work pays off

After watching Barack Obama take the oath of office and become the 44th president of the United States, a renewed feeling of optimism has swept over our country.

Despite our economic situation and the problems it has caused in our workplaces, today is a day to put those issues aside and focus on the future.

"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier." -- Colin Powell

In his book titled, Straight Talk for Success, Bill Bilanich wrote a chapter on “Optimism” that provides useful advice given the economic situation we’re facing, according to Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace.

Bud notes that optimism not only propels us toward our goals but allows people to experience hopefulness. In a crisis, optimists see problems as temporary. They don't blame themselves and they don't feel doomed. He also offers some factoids related to optimism:

• 75% of Americans consider themselves to be optimists.
• 99% of workers prefer a positive job environment. (No surprise there!).
• 90% of people say they are more productive around positive people.

Though we can’t do much to fix the economy, Bilanich suggests there are a few actions you can take to stay optimistic during these times of uncertainty:

• Stop wasting your time on issues that can’t be changed. Instead, focus on what you can do to change the parts of your life that you have control over.
• Understand and tap into your natural strengths.
• When a problem arises, mentally rehearse how you will handle it.
• Concentrate on the positive things in life and work.
• Focus your thoughts on the possibilities of a situation rather than its limitations.

What techniques do you use to fight negativity at work?

How to deal with negative coworkers

Every workplace has one, that “Negative Nancy” or “Ned” who never seems to have anything positive to talk about. Whenever you’re in a conversation with that person, it always seems to turn down a negative road no matter how hard you try to drive it back in a positive direction.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic button that will completely eliminate negativity in the office, but there are ways to deal with it. Dealing with negative people in the office takes a good mix of sensitivity, objectivity and defense tactics.

Use these tips to help you deal with negative people at work:

• Smile. Don’t feed into someone else’s negativity with more negativity from your side. Smile and say something that will make the other person smile too, like a simple compliment. With the way our brains are wired, it’s difficult to smile and be negative at the same time.


• Don’t take it personally. It seems like some people in our world were born angry, and some of those people have managed to find a way into your office. Whatever that negative person is angry about, you had nothing to do with it. Let their comments roll off your back and don’t let their attitude have an impact on your day.


• Avoid negativity. If possible, do your best to avoid negative coworkers by taking a different route to the printer or leave for lunch a few minutes earlier than usual. Avoiding negative people all together will eliminate the risk of falling prey to their negative ways.


• Let them vent. If you can’t avoid the person and smiling had no effect, try to just let the person vent their frustrations to you. Sometimes people keep repeating negative sentiments because they feel no one has truly heard them. Actively listen to their rant with an objective ear and ask questions to make sure they know you’re listening.


• Lend a hand. Sometimes people have a legitimate reason for being angry. If you agree with the reason for their anger and think you could help (and want to help) in their situation, lend a helping hand or at least some advice on how they could resolve the issue.


• Set limits. Whether you agree to listen to someone’s complaints or agree to help them out, set personal limits to the extent of your involvement. If you sit and listen to someone vent for hours and hours one day, expect that person to come searching for you the next time they need to let out their frustrations.

There will always be negative people at work. It’s your decision whether to let those people affect your own outlook. Learning how to deal with negativity is an ongoing process, but just remember to keep smiling.

What is the best way you’ve found to deal with negative coworkers?