Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Posts focus on what not to do in the workplace, based on examples from television, film, and other popular media.
If you’ve seen The Shining you certainly remember the scene when Jack Nicholson’s character, now thoroughly possessed by the Overlook Hotel’s diabolical spirits, hefts an axe and chases his wife through the snowbound resort. Cornering her in a bathroom, he splinters the door and bellows, “Heeere’s Johnny!” Scary stuff, for sure. For me, though, I […]
David Letterman, a late-night staple for 33 years, aired his final episode on May 20, 2015. Whether you preferred Johnny, Leno, Conan, Kimmel, or Fallon, no one can deny Letterman’s impact on pop culture, and the fact remains that he retires as the longest-serving late-night talk show host in American television history. While there were […]
Joseph “Sepp” Blatter is a man whose name seems an adjective as much as a proper noun. Blatter, as you likely know by now, was just elected to a fifth term as President of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international umbrella organization for international soccer. The 79-year-old Blatter was his typically arrogant […]
With summer quickly approaching, it’s time to pull out those warm-weather clothes and dust off my copy of Dirty Dancing, one of my favorite summer films. Who can forget the summer of 1963 when Baby performed her triumphant lift, Johnny taught us about standing up for others no matter what it costs us, and we […]
The seven-season-long nonstop drink-and-smoke-a-thon that was Mad Men has come to a close. Were you entertained? Were you satisfied? Better yet, did you learn anything? I will spare you my personal thoughts on the merits of the ending as there are countless commentaries available on the Web. (Really, it’s amazing how many there are.) Suffice it to […]
After more than three months of waiting, we finally got the investigative report regarding the New England Patriots’ “Deflategate” incident that occurred during the NFL’s AFC Championship Game earlier this year. Was it worth the wait? Was the NFL’s subsequent punishment just? It’s pretty clear it depends on whom you ask. Authored by Ted Wells […]
Do I look like someone who would waste my own time? Robert California, The Office This post takes us back to “That’s What She Said,” Ford Harrison’s earlier and excellent chronicle of The Office. After Michael Scott’s departure for marital bliss with zany HR manager Holly Flax, Dunder Mifflin floundered about in search for a […]
With the NBA and the NHL heading into the playoffs and Major League Baseball’s 2015 season underway, one might think that the NFL would have a hard time breaking onto page 1 of the sports section these days. (For younger readers, that was a reference to something we used to call a “newspaper.”) Not so! […]
Mad Men can be tough to watch for an employment lawyer. I was thinking of this while watching the show’s most recent episode, “New Business.” In a particularly cringe-worthy scene, Harry Crane propositions Megan under the pretense that he can help get her acting career back on track. Harry is a buffoon and a jackass, and I wondered […]
The Comedy Central show Workaholics is currently in its fifth season of depicting a fresh (and hilarious) human resources nightmare week after week. The show is about three recent college dropouts (Blake, Adam, and Anders) who also happen to be roommates and coworkers at a fictional telemarketing company, TelAmeriCorp. To give you an idea of […]