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Happy Boss's Day
Posted Thursday, October 16, 2008, at 11:39 AM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
Have you taken time to thank your boss lately? Today, October 16, is National Boss's Day. Patricia Bays Haroski registered "National Boss's Day" with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1958. Unbelievably, greeting card companies did not depict this day as another marketing ploy. In fact, Hallmark did not offer their first Boss's Day card until 1979.
In seems that Ms. Haroski worked for a very good deserving man in the State Farm Insurance business. She appreciated working for him and in honor of his birthday, she chose October 16 as the secular holiday. Her State Farm Insurance boss happened to be her father as well. Over the years National Boss's Day has grown to an international celebration and is recognized in several countries such as England and Australia. According to statistics reported in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 14 million individuals are employed in management positions, and about 37 percent are women. Think about that little bit of information, roughly 5,180,000 women manage others in the workplace! I wonder how many of those women are in the financial sector. Nope, I will not go down that road of women being poor money managers! By the way, what would be wrong with a woman in the White House? Thinking back over my 27 years of work history and the very few bosses that I actually have had, I cannot begin to say thanks enough. During my high school years, working at a local fast food restaurant, there was a time for growth and the boss/owners took it upon themselves to guide their young employees in the right direction. We were trusted with the store, their reputation, and in return received valuable experience. After college, I began my "career" in Kansas City and the first boss I had in corporate America could almost be forgotten except that he made a better employee out of me with his tireless tirades, public belittling attitude, and constant strive for perfection. I always knew where I stood with that man and before he left the company, we developed quite a smooth working relationship to the point that he would not allow anyone else to do his work during my absence. Today I still have the benefit of working with a good boss who has never hesitated to give praise when deserved, encouragement when needed, or an occasional attitude adjustment. Okay, he might say more than an occasional adjustment. Let me be honest, I do not know whether or not he reads my blog so any "sucking up" ideas should just be dropped now. Think about praising the person or persons you work for today, National Boss's Day. In my situation, I work for my God, my family, my customers, and my employer. Thanks to all of them for making my job easy. K Mullins-Lamb Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
Karen Mullins-Lamb was born and raised in Marshall. Her blog focuses on hometown events and happenings or national and regional events that affect Marshall residents. She says, "I would like to highlight working toward making Marshall a more attractive place to work and live for future generations. How do we keep our youth here or to return here
after college?" She is very interested in hearing from readers on these issues.
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Karen: I've had managers and supervisor all up and down the scale - some were well beyond horrible and some were outstanding. I learned something useful from all of them, though. Sometimes I learned what NOT to do as a manager, and with a few of them, I learned a lot of patience.
My very first boss drove me absolutely crazy with her insistence on attention to even the most minute detail. But she was right - the details do count. Another boss later on did the same thing (apparently, I'm a slow learner), but when I moved on to another job, everything he taught me came in very handy.
One supervisor, towards the end of my days with a large, multinational corporation, taught me to despise him, which I did, with great pleasure. No "Happy Bosses Day" flowers for that jerk.
Kathy,
Do you find it more difficult to work for a woman? Sounds as if you have worked for both, I was just wondering. I worked for a woman in Kansas City that was difficult. She too was a perfectionist but I think the biggest issue was that everything I could do, she could do as well. I find the men I have worked for in the administrative arena appreciate my assistance skills and knowledge.
KML
I have worked for both, yes. On my very first job, my direct supervisor was a woman, who, as I mentioned, sometimes made me crazy. In the end, though, I had great respect for her.
What makes a good boss, I think, is whether or not the person in that job (male or female) is equipped to do the job in the first place, and whether they are happy doing it. If they're not happy, no one who works for them is going to be happy, either.
One thread that runs through all of my working life, which began in 1966, when women were not at all on the same footing in the workplace as men, is that those women who tried to be more like men were the hardest to work for.
a good boss is someone who sees your potential and still hires you
5w's-
Your comment is referencing the idea that the boss might be threatened by your skills but hired you anyway? I think I also had a boss that thought along those lines of thinking. He had a difficult time relinquishing tasks to be to be completed because he thought I might do the job better.