Yesterday's Outrage
I have two hours a week when I "have" to be online for instant access for my online students. It's a rare week when one of them actually contacts me during those times, so of course I blog, do Swagbucks, and read e-mail. Yesterday--crazy bored--I actually read our horrible HR newsletter. I even clicked on a link from a new HR subcommittee that had ideas to help folks through our state budget cuts--with millions and millions more hanging over our heads.
I was hoping for a small small tidbit of helpful advice on avoiding pension fund fees, maximizing benefits etc. This newsletter goes out to all our employees--most of whom have advanced degrees.
Here's a sample of their advice:
Try a frozen pizza for dinner
Bring leftovers home from your restaurant dinner to eat the next day for lunch.
Instead of that steak dinner, try pizza.
Get a second job. (No awareness that virtually all my colleagues have second and third jobs?)
I swear the whole darn thing was written by second graders. It was awful, horrible, snarky, stupid, and condescending. So, loving to rouse the rabble, I forwarded it to my colleagues' discussion list. Let's just say I set things off. In under three hours, 100 people e-mailed me--equally outraged.
It's not that it was bad advice, but their awareness of the struggles their audience faces was non-existent. The darn thing ended with a listing of FOOD PANTRIES! Thank you, my employer, that you acknowledge some of us are paid so badly we need a food pantry. I cannot even quite figure out my reaction--just that this enraged every single person that read it.
Again, let me say that many people may need to be told things like this--but man--as my boss said--it was a weapon of mass condescension. Someone suggested that our department fridge should have a sign on the front saying "I am bringing my lunch instead of ordering a steak dinner." When I got to work today--it did. And all the various leftovers made into lunches--many had post-its reading, "I'm eating this instead of a steak dinner."
So--I've caused one large uproar so far--and have another in the works.
Rousing the Rabble
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And why didn't I take a picture?!
Everyone especially enjoyed "Live on last year's income and save one year's raise." Given that everyone in my department took at least a $500/month cut in take-home pay beginning in September--and no one has had a raise in years, it seemed particularly stupid.
They must've copied it from somewhere else.
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