the NALS docket July 2011 : Page 9

The blogosphere is ripe with bloggers venting about coworkers, bosses, and mysterious entities who constantly steal from the communal freezer. Sometimes just reading these stories makes me feel better about my own workplace problems. The copy machine on my floor might break down on a weekly basis, but at least no coworkers are plotting to get me terminated...that I know of. Apparently not everyone is so lucky. Momalegal 1 balances the adventure of motherhood with the everyday possibility of being “thrown under the bus by an attorney for something that was not my responsibility or I had no control over.” She wonders in her entry “Burnout?” 2 whether her current apathetic feeling toward work is “a product of just doing the same type of law for the past 15 years or so, or if it is this firm.” No matter the reason, the feeling of not caring about work is not a good feeling, but one to which we can probably all relate. Every once in awhile, as Momalegal suggests, we need a vacation, or possibly a new interest. Without those things, burnout is nearly inevitable. Meanwhile, like any good super hero, anonymous blogger Super Legal has a nemesis of her own: Secretary X. Secretary X’s subtly mischievous actions constantly cause Super Legal tons of grief. Her May 13 entry entitled “Friday the 13th is Blame Someone Else Day!” 3 suggests that we rename the holiday to Secretary X Day. A few of Secretary X’s devious schemes include jamming the copier, failing to schedule a court reporter for a deposition, transcribing a report full of grammatical errors to a client, and then blaming others for all of it— especially Super Legal. Basically, Secretary X is the fabled worst coworker villain who lives to mess up the work day for everyone else in the office. If you think you have it bad (if your office mate talks too much or if someone always makes the coffee a little too strong), a healthy dose of Super Legal Fun 4 will remind you things could always be worse. On the other hand, we do not all have to have (or be) terrible coworkers. In her blog entry “Communication is Key to Keeping People (and Yourself ) Happy,” 5 Haley Odom 6 explores the benefits By Melissa K. Hinote, CP of healthy communication in the workplace, even (I imagine) with people like Secretary X. Her advice is easy to follow: “Simply communicating when you can get things done keeps people happy.” Talking to coworkers and supervisors about your workload can help you keep your desk in order, as well as help them to understand your priorities and limitations. Haley meets with her attorneys at the beginning of every week to make sure everyone is “on the same page.” While this ideal may not be attainable for many of us, the overarching theme of communication most likely is. When we make the effort to communicate our time constraints, according to Haley, three things happen: “1) priorities are realigned, 2) deadlines are moved, or 3) work is redistributed.” And stress melts away. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Mom-Alegal’s Blog, http://mom2tomtom.wordpress.com/ “Burnout?” http://mom2tomtom.wordpress. com/2011/05/17/burnout/ “Friday 13th is Blame Someone Else Day,” http:// superlegalfun.blogspot.com/2011/05/friday-13th-is-blame-someone-else-day.html Super Legal Fun,http://superlegalfun.blogspot.com/ “Communication is Key to Keeping People (And Yourself) Happy,” http://haleyodom.com/2011/05/14/ communication-is-key/#more-134 Haley Lobs Law Bomb, http://haleyodom.com/ July 2011 9

Blogworthy

Melissa K. Hinote, CP

The blogosphere is ripe with bloggers venting about coworkers, bosses, and mysterious entities who constantly steal from the communal freezer. Sometimes just reading these stories makes me feel better about my own workplace problems. The copy machine on my floor might break down on a weekly basis, but at least no coworkers are plotting to get me terminated...that I know of. Apparently not everyone is so lucky. Momalegal1 balances the adventure of motherhood with the everyday possibility of being “thrown under the bus by an attorney for something that was not my responsibility or I had no control over.” She wonders in her entry “Burnout?”2 whether her current apathetic feeling toward work is “a product of just doing the same type of law for the past 15 years or so, or if it is this firm.” No matter the reason, the feeling of not caring about work is not a good feeling, but one to which we can probably all relate. Every once in awhile, as Momalegal suggests, we need a vacation, or possibly a new interest. Without those things, burnout is nearly inevitable. Meanwhile, like any good super hero, anonymous blogger Super Legal has a nemesis of her own: Secretary X. Secretary X’s subtly mischievous actions constantly cause Super Legal tons of grief. Her May 13 entry entitled “Friday the 13th is Blame Someone Else Day!”3 suggests that we rename the holiday to Secretary X Day. A few of Secretary X’s devious schemes include jamming the copier, failing to schedule a court reporter for a deposition, transcribing a report full of grammatical errors to a client, and then blaming others for all of it— especially Super Legal. Basically, Secretary X is the fabled worst coworker villain who lives to mess up the work day for everyone else in the office. If you think you have it bad (if your office mate talks too much or if someone always makes the coffee a little too strong), a healthy dose of Super Legal Fun4 will remind you things could always be worse. On the other hand, we do not all have to have (or be) terrible coworkers. In her blog entry “Communication is Key to Keeping People (and Yourself ) Happy,”5 Haley Odom6 explores the benefits Of healthy communication in the workplace, even (I imagine) with people like Secretary X. Her advice is easy to follow: “Simply communicating when you can get things done keeps people happy.” Talking to coworkers and supervisors about your workload can help you keep your desk in order, as well as help them to understand your priorities and limitations. Haley meets with her attorneys at the beginning of every week to make sure everyone is “on the same page.” While this ideal may not be attainable for many of us, the overarching theme of communication most likely is. When we make the effort to communicate our time constraints, according to Haley, three things happen: “1) priorities are realigned, 2) deadlines are moved, or 3) work is redistributed.” And stress melts away. 1. Mom-Alegal’s Blog, http://mom2tomtom.wordpress.com/ 2. “Burnout?” http://mom2tomtom.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/burnout/ 3. “Friday 13th is Blame Someone Else Day,” http:// superlegalfun.blogspot.com/2011/05/friday-13th-isblame- someone-else-day.html 4. Super Legal Fun,http://superlegalfun.blogspot.com/ 5. “Communication is Key to Keeping People (And Yourself) Happy,” http://haleyodom.com/2011/05/14/communication-is-key/#more-134 6. Haley Lobs Law Bomb, http://haleyodom.com/

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