View from the Cube

Dressing the part
When they told me not to wear a suit to the interview, I knew the "business casual" trend had gone too far. (Boston Globe, 3/2/08)

When jury duty calls: Third time's the charm
I pulled the envelope from my mailbox with a mixture of anticipation and dread, already knowing what it would contain from the bright blue lettering on the front: Jury Duty Summons. (Boston Globe, 2/10/08)

Just what are conference calls for?
I got together recently with my friend Kristine, eager to draw upon her expertise as a working mother. (Boston Globe, 2/3/08)

Year with difficult boss helps grow a career
It is really hard to admit, but my old boss prepared me for my new job. (Boston Globe, 1/20/08)

At work, doing trumps dreaming
It was time to leave my entry-level public relations job and take the next step in my career, but the move I wanted to make — from an entry-level position in a nonprofit organization to a manager's job at a Fortune 100 company — was roughly like earning a night school associate's degree at a local community college and applying ... (Boston Globe, 1/13/08)

A retreat to find peace before a new venture
Prior to beginning a new job at a magazine within the same publishing company for which I have been working for four years, I used all of my remaining vacation days and checked into a favorite inn in Williamstown. (Boston Globe, 1/6/08)

Time to make a difference - join the rat race
It was the day that I got the $100 gift certificate at my new job that I realized how much I loved corporate America. "I love the rat race!" I sobbed to my best friend via text message. (Boston Globe, 12/16/07)

A toast to the ghosts of Christmas parties past
Pull out those silly Santa ties and the tacky tinsel earrings. It's time for everyone's favorite compulsory event, the office christmas party. A time to bond with those you hold least dear, the people at work. There's no escaping it. As inevitable as FM Christmas music on Halloween, it happens every year. (Boston Globe, 12/9/07)

Younger, older workers have much to learn from each other
My first job out of college was at a young, creative nonprofit. Lunchtime brought lively discussions about who should win "American Idol" or where to find the best bargains on Newbury Street. (Boston Globe, 12/2/07)

When dreams come true: realizing the awful truth
My workplace view does not include cubicles, water coolers, office "personalities," or petty politics. I get to: choose assignments and employers (in theory); work at home (in the time I save by not commuting, I can watch TV); and cook during the workday. (Boston Globe, 11/18/07)

When the boss is also a great teacher
So far, I have had two bosses in my worklife who have taught me to be better at my profession as an editor, and an adult with good manners. (Boston Globe, 11/4/07)

Perks of the job often hassles in waiting
It was one of the biggest disappointments of my then two year-old career. Flush with the success of my first promotion, I was invited to a "management" training seminar in New York City. (Boston Globe, 10/14/07)

Faux pas at dead end job could be cue to job hunt
There are times in your life when you make a move so stupid you feel like somehow turning back the clock and screaming at yourself not to open that door as if you're in a bad horror film. For me, my worst situations have always revolved around work. Sometimes I wonder if I was an executioner in a past life ... (Boston Globe, 10/7/07)

Bug remover, cleaners and other assumed roles
Bug removal was never written into my job description, but there I was, face to face with a creature on the ladies' room floor. (Boston Globe, 09/23/07)

Metaphors at work hitting a high note
I once attended a meeting when someone mentioned a new term: Calling an audible. "Calling an audible?" someone asked. "I think it's a football term," someone else volunteered. (Boston Globe, 09/16/07)

Birthdays offer break from the office norm
There's something primal about birthdays celebrated at work, in terms of how they bring out the jubilant little kid in all of us. (Boston Globe, 09/09/07)

Discrimination comes in many shades of gray
When one of my favorite colleagues was fired, I asked her why, after 25 years with the magazine, she had been "let go." (Boston Globe 9/02/07)

Trip to editorial woodshed fosters career growth
I was young, ambitious, confident, and riding for a fall. Right out of college, I was ecstatic to have landed a job as a writer. (Boston Globe 8/26/07)

Making the most of summer with Boss's daughter
While I've never been labeled a slacker, I do have a unique ability to uncover opportunities that allow me to, let's just say, fully appreciate the more laid back approach to work that summer brings. (Boston Globe 8/19/07)

New job, day 1: 'How may I direct your call?'
I'm convinced. Even if you had an Ivy League PhD, on your first day at a job, they'd assign you to answer phones. That's a task most people want to duck.(Boston Globe 8/12/07)

Close quarters alter rules of polite discourse
Some conversations you just don't want to hear at work. There's the loud, full-of-himself manager joking that he doesn't know how to use the copier. (Boston Globe 8/05/07)

Temporary flare-up of on-the-job jealousy
I don't usually have anger management issues, but when I took an office job after nine years of stay-at-home motherhood, I confess I had difficulty subduing my "cubby rage." (Boston Globe, 7/22/07)

Deciphering the performance review puzzle
In one of my more baffling performance reviews, my boss wrote "Eileen needs to better organize her office so co-workers can find things." To be clear, my "office" was really a windowless cube about the size of a cocker spaniel crate. (Boston Globe, 7/15/07)

Hostile encounter evolves into an uneasy peace
Every day in the cafeteria of the building where I work, I see a former colleague from many years ago who I had hoped never to see again. (Boston Globe, 7/08/07)

Finding personal space at work can be tough
My life is divided into two parts: before and after I saw my boss naked. That's not something anyone should ever have to see -- especially on her lunch hour. (Boston Globe, 06/10/07)

Taking a break with doggie day care job
The doggie workplace, as it is portrayed in movies and television shows, sings a siren song to those seeking an antidote to the poisons of office politics. (Boston Globe, 06/03/07)

What to wear to work? Hellooo Barnes & Noble
I waited until 10 months had passed at my new job before confessing to my boss that the week before my start date, I had scanned the company's website looking for pictures of employees. (Boston Globe, 5/20/07)

Vacations are for daydreaming; I don't have to travel for that
I'm about to go on my spring break. Do I yearn for a Holiday Inn on Daytona Beach or a seaside condo in St. Pete's? No, I long for a far away, getaway, Mandalay kind of place. (Boston Globe, 04/15/07)

The blurring of two online mating rituals
The spring market is here -- in real estate and in relationships. Looking at houses for sale online, or potential dates on eHarmony and Match, it seems those two pitiless experiences have all but merged into one. (Boston Globe, 04/08/07)

Every office has one who listens
Every office has one -- that "go to" person who will listen to colleagues' problems, and offer encouragement and sympathy. (Boston Globe, 4/01/07)

Fear of being caught by a wide open Net
Ten years ago, before blogs and live journals, I'd print up my personal writings and mail them out like newsletters to a small group of friends. (Boston Globe, 3/18/07)

After a time out for child care, I'm glad to have a boss again
When I was closing in on the 10-year mark at my previous workplace, I found a lot of things were bothering me. (Boston Globe, 2/18/06)

Office playlist leads only to disharmony
One of the funniest e-mails I've ever received was written by a friend stuck on hold. (Boston Globe, 2/11/07)

Fun in the sun, it isn't
February is when companies fly you to a beautiful tropical resort and lock you in a windowless room where you can't see the beautiful outdoors. (Boston Globe, 2/04/07)

Admonishment still stings
No matter your age, serious talks with the boss are difficult. (Boston Globe, 1/21/07)

Receptionists often receive people's worst
The poodle was tethered to my desk. Impeccably groomed with a green bow, it tilted its head and eyed me with curiosity. (Boston Globe, 1/14/07)

She came on like a superhero, but had power only to annoy
"Here I come to save the day! Mighty Mouse is on the way!" Every time Meredith entered my office, I pictured the cartoon superhero. (Boston Globe, 1/07/07)

Heeding the siren's call of free food in the office
Every office has that guy. Whenever there's a big meeting, you'll find him lurking, ready to pounce on whatever food is left over. (Boston Globe, 12/24/06)

They hear you in cubeland; do they want to?
We all make personal phone calls at work. There are private things that must be taken care of between 9 and 5. (Boston Globe, 12/10/06)

Office mourning can be delicate, awkward
"Frank didn't make it." My boss said this one cold morning, shortly after New Year's. (Boston Globe, 12/03/06)

My trust grows, even as I keep a low profile
The magazine where I work recently moved to new offices. We now occupy one enormous open space where we all are in plain view of each other. (Boston Globe, 11/19/06)

There was a lesson to learn from lechers
Among the many office lechers I've worked with over the years, a guy I'll call Peter Robinson was a prime offender. (Boston Globe, 11/03/06)

At Halloween, we dressed up for success
My new department had a reputation for being a tight-knit competitive bunch and I was still struggling to fit in. (Boston Globe, 10/20/06)

Slowly, we turn into each other at the office
The other morning, while hard at work in my cube, I caught myself rubbing my hands together, the way a person might to keep her hands warm. (Boston Globe, 10/15/06)

My old space is better off, but I miss what I had
After six months, I have finally stopped referring to my former workplace in the present tense. (Boston Globe, 10/06/06)

Feeling a little under the weather? What would mom do?
Work is a place where we gather to be productive at our respective crafts, whether it's crunching numbers, writing copy, or developing code. (Boston Globe, 9/17/06)

Stand-ins get glimpses how the A list lives
Every time my boss is invited to go to a meeting and I'm sent in his place, the organizers sigh in disappointment . (Boston Globe, 9/10/06)

Wherever you go, someone was already there
Starting a new job means struggling with alien personalities, unfathomable politics, and what the Ghostbusters might have called "employee ectoplasm." (Boston Globe, 9/03/06)

I rarely duck calls, but I like knowing who it is
Each phone call is like a little brainteaser. Whenever an extension number pops up , I find myself frantically trying to remember whose extension it is. (Boston Globe, 8/20/06)

With monogamy, there must be benefits
If interviewing is analogous to dating -- then doing a temp-to-perm assignment is surely the equivalent of what earlier generations called living in sin. (Boston Globe, 8/13/06)

Losing the lights opened our eyes to each other
One Friday, our windowless office went completely dark. The power had gone out. (Boston Globe, 8/06/06)

What sounds better: 14 vacations or just one?
As the clock ticked down the last 48 hours until the start of my annual two-week summer vacation, my coworkers started asking the inevitable. (Boston Globe, 7/23/06)

Keep the faith, but keep it on your side of the divider
In all the talk these days about the separation between church and state, you don't hear much about the separation between church and work. (Boston Globe, 7/16/06)

Athletes know how game is played
Get some exercise and you'll perform better at work -- athletes do better in the workplace than non-athletes. (Boston Globe, 7/09/06)

Antiques dealers can be as fun as the deals
For the work I do as the arts and antiques editor at Country Living magazine, I visit the thrice-yearly Brimfield Antiques Fair in western Massachusetts, one of the largest of its kind. (Boston Globe, 7/02/06)