Workplace Buzz: Today’s Headlines

Tattoos and the Office
Originally a preferred art form among sailors, soldiers, bikers and prison inmates, tattoos long ago made the transition from edgy expressions worn by rap artists, celebrities and athletes to fashion accessories on the bodies of Everyman and Everywoman. Thirty-six percent of Americans ages 18 to 25 — and 40 percent ages 26 to 40 — have at least one tattoo, according to a 2006 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. Chicago Tribune

Evolution of the Workplace
When we started out in the workplace, it was men oriented. Women basically provided secretarial support! Yea! Secretarial, not technical support. We took dictation and typed memos and briefs. We filed, answered the telephones, ordered supplies, and other duties. We were also taken out to lunch usually weekly, and we never paid! We were "hit on" constantly, and there were rumors that we worked in a "Peyton Place". Some of you will totally understand what that was about. We also had doors held for us, little gifts at appropriate times, and understanding when the kids were sick. On the other hand, we put up with the touchy-feely boss, making coffee, and lying to cover the boss' indiscretions. Pennlive.com

Hobbyists Make Better Employees
When people do things that make them feel good, like a hobby, it activates an area of the brain called the nucleus accumbens that controls how we feel about life, said Dr. S. Ausim Azizi, chairman of the department of neurology at Temple University’s School of Medicine in Philadelphia who studies brain activity and cell signaling. Hobbies also enhance self-esteem and self-confidence. Feeling that you are solely defined by your job — even if it is going well — can raise your chances of experiencing anxiety, depression and burnout, because you don’t have a perception of yourself outside of work, said Michelle P. Maidenberg, a psychotherapist and business coach in New York, and clinical director of Westchester Group Works, a center for group therapy. New York Times