workplace environments – Samir Chopra

A Pleasantly Illegal Side-Effect Of A Humanized Interaction

For almost three years now, during those weekdays that I spend in the CUNY Graduate Center library trying to get some reading and writing done, I have, on occasion, been a participant in the following ‘encounter’ or ‘exchange’: I pour myself a cup of coffee at the dining commons and on arriving at the cashContinue reading “A Pleasantly Illegal Side-Effect Of A Humanized Interaction”

Work Ain’t Working For Us (And Hasn’t Been)

‘Work’ is a four-letter word, variously used to describe an activity for which a bewildering array of pejorative adjectives have been deployed over the years. Slogans abound, on bumper sticker and office cubicle alike: we’re working for the weekend; thank God it’s Friday; a bad day fishing is better than a good day working; andContinue reading “Work Ain’t Working For Us (And Hasn’t Been)”

Workplace Dynamics And The Treatment Of Support Staff

A couple of days ago, my Brooklyn College colleague Corey Robin asked (on his Facebook page): How many academics would get tenure if the review took into account how they treated the department’s secretarial staff? A year or so after I had begun work at Bell Laboratories, I told a new hire that she shouldContinue reading “Workplace Dynamics And The Treatment Of Support Staff”

The ‘Real World’: The Corporate Workplace

Dear Reader, do you know where the ‘real world’ is? Do you live in it? Do you work in it? Corporate recruiters and CEOs can tell you. If you are attending a school or a university of any kind, you do not live in the ‘real world.’ If you are a child, you are notContinue reading “The ‘Real World’: The Corporate Workplace”

Why You Hate Work (And Will Continue To)

Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath tell us why we hate work. (“Why You Hate Work“, New York Times, May 30, 2014; the “You” in their title article is less inclusive than it appears, for the primary focus of their study is white-collar workers. Still, perhaps there are lessons here to be learned by all.) TheirContinue reading “Why You Hate Work (And Will Continue To)”