Sorry for the hiatus! Changing roles equaled some things slipping

Hi all, yes, we are still here, alive and well at Training Time! Sorry for the silence for the past week or so...we've had some priorities that shifted and our beloved blog fell through the cracks for a bit.

But fear not! We are here, and ready to continue bringing you the best in training information, advice, tools, and yes, the much needed giggles now and then.

One thing I would like to add to our blog is more of a dialog. What would you like to know about training? Send me the burning issues impacting your company's training program, or the hot button topics you see in the HR and training world, so I can include them in our blog. Credit will be given, unless you'd rather keep your name out of the limelight (in which case, Mum's the word -- we can just attribute the idea to "a reader" or if you wish, make up a fun name for you to cleverly disguise your identity.)

Have a happy HR day!

Smile Detectors Enforce New Employee Policies in Japan

Are workplace smile detectors on their way to a workplace near you?

Shut up and get back to work

No, we’re not trying to sound like your boss, just telling you about a great new iPhone application to download if you come across some free time later today.

Shut Up and Get Back to Work is simple. When Frank the Foreman shouts a command, you do what he says within the given amount of time. He’ll tell you to pinch, slide, press or swipe the controls in the order Frank tells you. As you play, the game will speed up and Frank will mix up his commands.

No iPhone? You can still have fun on the SUAGBTW website. Go ahead, press a button and see how much Frank appreciates it.

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!

Look like a pro and keep your cool with the "New Ice Suit"

You can now keep up with dress code during the summer months without looking like a hot mess with the "New Ice Suit" out of Japan.

(Image via CrunchGear)

It's specially designed to alleviate the usual discomfort that comes with walking around a steamy downtown during the hottest months of the year. A few, strategically placed ice packs keep any suit-wearing businessperson comfortable and cool. Read more at CrunchGear.

What will they think of next?

Does your office change the dress code during the summer? Would you ever consider dropping $520 on the "Ice Suit" to keep cool, but still look like a pro?

Bring your (inner) child to work day

Time to get your dodgeballs and jump ropes ready, this Thursday, June 18, marks the sixth annual Recess at Work Day.

Held every year on the third Thursday in June, it’s a day set aside for “employees and employers to take a break from the stress of today’s economic worries and celebrate their successes.”

“It has been proven that breaks are essential for satisfaction,” says Rich DiGirolamo, founder of Recess at Work Day. “Breaks lead to satisfaction; and satisfaction easily transfers to increase morale, reduced employee stress, more engaged and healthier employees; ultimately having a positive impact on productivity, absenteeism and profits.”

There are no set rules to the day, just a mission to take a break from our daily work routines and get engaged in something fun with your peers.

It could be as simple as starting up a game of dodgeball or adding a new event to your office Olympics competition, as long as it gets you away from your desk and into something fun.

What are your thoughts on Recess at Work Day? Just a silly idea, or something to get excited about? Could you see your office participating?

Leave a comment and let us know.

Just when you think you've got it bad...

If you ever start thinking you've got it bad, just remember there's always someone who's got it worse.

Take the employees at Canon Electronics, for example, who can't sit down while working and set off security alarms if they're walking too slowly around the office.

From Gizmodo:

The president of Canon Electronics, Hisashi Sakamaki, is also the author of a book proposing some of the same measures he takes with his own company. His theory is that forcing employees to stand not only saves money but increases productivity and enhances employee relationships.

In the hallway, if an employee walks slower than 5 meters every 3.6 seconds, an alarm and flashing lights are set off, reminding the poor startled worker that he's an inefficient waste of air. Even better (or worse), there's a sign on the floor in said hallways that reads, "Let's rush: If we don't, the company and world will perish." The big boss, as a reward for thinking up all this stuff, gets to lounge in a nice, relaxing chair.

(Image via Danny Choo, sign reads "Lets rush - if we don't then the company and world will perish.")

Like I said, just when you think you've got it bad...

Need a productivity boost? Take a table nap

We all know we're not getting enough sleep, but catching up with a "table nap" at work probably isn't the best idea.

Happy Friday!

Only in it for the incentives?

Think your employees are only in it for the incentives? Worry about it on Tuesday.

Have a happy Friday and enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend!

(image via Cubunga)

And the award for smelliest office fridge goes to...

The AT&T building in San Jose, California, where seven employees were sent to the hospital after one worker took it upon herself to clean out an office refrigerator on Tuesday. The odors were so noxious that another 325 people were evacuated from the building.

From the CNN article:

"It was like a brick wall hit you," employee Robin Leetieh told CNN affiliate KGO-TV. "Stopped you immediately."

The refrigerator had been unplugged for some time and moved into a conference room for cleaning. When the woman tried to scrub down the mess, the stench from the cleaning chemicals combined with the rotting food.

"It caused some to vomit, some to just get nauseous. And it, for us, activated a hazardous incident," Capt. Barry Stallard of the San Jose fire department told the television station.

Another office worker tried to cover up the odor -- and made matters worse.

"Someone also took some spray and tried to deodorize the air," Stallard said. "And it turned out that was spot cleaner, not a deodorant. So it made people very sick."

Firefighters set up a triage area in the building's parking lot. In all, 28 workers reported feeling sick. Seven were taken to hospitals for evaluation.

Not among them: the woman who volunteered to clean the fridge.

She suffers from allergies, firefighters said, and had had nasal surgery.

She didn't smell a thing.

No fake moldy sandwich bags needed here. Happy Friday!

Ditch the high five. Do The Xena.

When it comes to preventing flu in the workplace, you want to do everything you possibly can. But can you ever be too cautious?

Over the past few weeks, the fear of spreading the swine flu had people stocking up on hand sanitizers and face masks, led some colleges to take hand shaking out of graduation ceremonies or canceled them all together, and shut down dozens of grade schools full of healthy kids.

Swine-flu fears seem to be simmering down, especially after health officials announced that the current strain is no more dangerous than the run-of-the-mill flu that makes its way through our workplaces and schools each year.

So, isn’t it about time to take a deep (maskless) breath and have a good laugh about all of it?

Even some of the leading news providers, including National Public Radio (NPR), think it’s about that time.

Recently NPR health correspondent Allison Aubrey and All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen illustrated the most popular workplace greetings that will keep you social and safe during a contagious illness outbreak.

Your options include:

• The Xena - An alternative to the fist bump where you use your forearm instead. “Be like Xena, Warrior Princess.”


• Bow Nouveau - The “tete-a-tete,” forehead-to-forehead greeting, should be replaced with a Renaissance-style bow or curtsy.


• The Wave - Maintain a 3 to 6 food CDC-recommended distance and choose to wave instead of shaking hands during flu season.


• Smackdown - Because there’s never been a documented case of passing the flu from foot to foot, try a variation of the foot smack rather than kissing someone on the cheek.


• Self Hug - “Hugging yourself might seem odd at first, but surely it can catch on... maybe.”


• And our favorite ... the Snap and Flick - Because high-fiving can be just as bad as kissing when it comes to passing on the flu virus, try this alternative:

View all of NPR's new workplace greetings.

Skip the gross, stage greener office pranks

In the wake of possibly the worst workplace prank ever recorded and posted on YouTube (thank you Domino's employees), we'd like to take a less disgusting and much friendlier approach to the office prank.

Whether it's filling your coworker's cube with packing peanuts or covering their walls with sticky notes, most office pranks create unnecessary waste. Now you can still be funny while keeping the environment in mind by playing greener office pranks.

Here are just a few ideas:

• Stage a kidnapping. Kidnap all the plastic water bottles from your coworkers and replace them with eco-friendly reusable mugs. Leave a ransom note with the reason for the swap.
• Paper saver. This one's for that employee who always prints way too much. Get onto their computer and change their printer settings to ".pdf writer" or another option that doesn't go straight to the printer.
• Indoor guerrilla gardening. Pick up a bunch of indoor plants and do a little indoor guerrilla gardening on a coworkers desk by covering their workspace with a collection of greenery.

The video below by Grist's Umbra Fisk shares some great ideas for going green in the office, plus an added green office prank that should go over well with most of the eco-friendly pranksters and The Office fans out there.

April Fool's Day was only a few weeks ago and we know you were a part of at least a prank or two. Leave a comment and share your ideas for the greenest office pranks going around.

Warning! Happy employees may rap on the job

Want to see a great example of a happy employee who loves their job? Watch this ...



Think an unhappy employee would ever spend that much time putting together a rap about their employer? I doubt it.

Happy Friday!

Friday office humor: Play the “Layoff” game

A new game has taken the web by storm that gives average employees the power to “be the boss” and attempt to save their business from going under.

Tiltfactor Labs created the game, aptly titled LAYOFF, that examines our country’s current economic situation and how a bailout could potentially help.

From a Tiltfactor press release:

The key to the project is a focus on human values in games. "The game has an unsettling feeling,” said Mary Flanagan, the developer of the game as the Director of the Tiltfactor Lab. "It is cute and fun to play, but when you realize how frightening the situation is, the game in fact functions as a very dark portent."

In the game, players take the role of management needing to cut costs and cut jobs. Players match types of workers in groups in order to make “layoffs” and increase employee efficiency. If you eliminate enough workers in a row, their positions are replaced by financiers and bankers who cannot face layoffs.

Curious? Play the LAYOFF game.

What do you think of the Layoff game?

When going ‘business casual’ causes a wardrobe malfunction

For some employees, casual Fridays are one small benefit in corporate America that can make a big difference in your organization’s morale.

Everyone usually looks forward to that last day of the workweek, where they can shed those stuffy business threads for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, but it can also cause a lot of confusion if your rules are unclear.

What’s considered appropriate dress code for ‘business casual’ Fridays can greatly vary from company to company and from employee to employee.

In order to avoid any confusion, set aside some employee training time to remind everyone about your company’s definition of ‘casual’ dress. It could save a few employees from having an embarrassing day at the office if they show up wearing the wrong outfit.

We hope you’re having a great casual Friday and that you don’t come across a wardrobe malfunction as bad as this:

Friday office humor: Peanuts and a cube

What do you get when you have a few thousand pieces of packing popcorn and a coworker’s vulnerable cubicle? ... One funny office prank.

It’s Friday - watch the video below, have a little laugh and hope your coworkers aren’t planning to pull a stunt like this with your cube. Then protect yourself from any work-related brain damage and go home. Happy Friday!

Friday fun: Could your boss be president?

In honor of Monday's President’s Day holiday, we have a fun question for you:

If you could choose a boss similar to a U.S. president, who would you pick?

It turns out that most employees wish their boss was more like Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan, according to a recent survey by Randstad US, with 28 and 24% of the votes, respectively.

However, many described their real boss as a “Dominator,” someone who tends to be bossy, demanding and domineering, personality traits similar to Richard Nixon or Lyndon Johnson.

When asked if they would “re-elect” their boss if given the opportunity, 66% of respondents said they would. More than one quarter (27%) of respondents said their boss’ personality traits were worthy of impeachment proceedings.

Almost two-thirds of those who have a boss and have an opinion on the subject (63%) agreed that their boss handles stress and adversity well, while over half (51%) believe that their boss’ management style brings out the best in their work.

President Barack Obama was not included in the survey taken in late January, though almost a fifth of Gen Y employees chose an Abraham Lincoln boss, a choice that Randstad notes as a possible Obama connection.

We would like to know - If you could choose a boss similar to a U.S. president, who would you pick?

Friday funny: Musical tribute to HR, could it get any cornier?

As part of their “Up Close and Personnel Tour,” the award-winning* musical duo of Slimon and Carbunkle created the following video - a musical tribute to the pain and joy of working in human resources.

Before pressing play, I’d like to pass along a serious warning from Dawn Wolfe at george’s employment blawg:

WARNING: If you take your 70’s - era folk music seriously, this video may give you a facial tick. All, others, please refrain from eating or drinking anything while viewing so as not to ruin your company’s computer equipment…

*Award received for finishing 12th place in this year’s Skankleton County Bratwurst Festival Karaoke Contest.

Friday office humor: Leadership thought of the day

I was going to put up a long and detailed post on the importance of leadership during uncertain times today, but then I remembered that it’s Friday. The weekend is a few hours away and nobody wants to think any harder than they have to today.

So, we’ll hold of on the leadership during uncertain times post and instead give you something to smile about. Without any further delay, here’s a great new Dilbert comic strip on the wrong way to deliver a “leadership thought of the day” to your department:



Have a Happy Friday!

Tips for the holidays, HR-style

Tomorrow is Christmas and all of us at TrainingTime would like to wish all of you a very merry holiday and a happy New Year. Here’s a short list of the best holiday-related posts from a few of our favorite blogs:

Have a mixture of religions in your organization and don’t wan to offend anyone? Take Kris Dunn’s advice and wish them a Happy Festivus. Check out today’s post at The HR Capitalist, complete with a classic Seinfeld video.

‘Tis the Season … to start thinking about next year. Today, Tim Tolan at Fistful of Talent is offering a friendly reminder to get started on your plans and goals for 2009 before the ball drops on New Year’s.

Yesterday, Laurie Ruettimann gave some valuable Punk Rock HR advice on company holiday parties and corporate giving. Just remember, whether you’re having a swanky holiday party or an ugly Christmas sweater event, don’t call her to plan it.

From rigorous training to dealing with thousands of dissatisfied customers, Santa has his work cut out for him. From all of the clips Julie Ferguson at HR Web Café shared with us on Monday, you can see what a tough job the big guy has every Christmas season.