Sixteen workers are killed a day "Every eight hour workday, two people are killed on the job. Most companies are never prosecuted for negligence, even after repeated warnings that their workers were in danger. Meanwhile, workers who blow the whistle face threats and retaliation at the workplace." In a short video examining several cases of worker deaths, David Uhlmann suggests the sanction for an offense that results in a worker's death should be as great as the sanction for killing a deer out of season.
posted by shetterly on Nov 16, 2009 - 104 comments

Domestic violence comes to work, whether executives realize it or not. Instead of firing employees who are abusers’ targets, some corporations in the US and elsewhere have instituted formal policies and programs to mitigate the impact of domestic violence, or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), on workplaces. [more inside]
posted by cybercoitus interruptus on Dec 2, 2008 - 14 comments

Sometimes, especially in winter, Kenneth Westhues can hear a flock of crows tormenting a great horned owl outside his study in Waterloo, Ontario. It is a fitting soundtrack for his work. Mr. Westhues has made a career out of the study of mobbing. Since the late 1990s, he has written or edited five volumes on the topic. However, the mobbers that most captivate him are not sparrows, fieldfares, or jackdaws. They are modern-day college professors. [more inside]
posted by parudox on Nov 11, 2008 - 58 comments

Federal Court rules Drug-Free Workplace Laws are unconstitutional. A federal appeals court ruled Thursday a city can't require all job applicants to be tested for narcotics and must instead show why drug use in a particular job would be dangerous. Decision here (warning PDF)
posted by parmanparman on Mar 14, 2008 - 87 comments

Is it cool to work in your underwear - or is it not?
posted by janetplanet on Nov 24, 2007 - 122 comments

Murder And The Masseuse. Jenny went into the massage business—actual massage, not a euphemism for selling sex—after she nearly murdered her boss.
posted by amyms on Oct 9, 2007 - 39 comments

ENDA House hearings start tomorrow --a record 94% of Fortune 500 companies now provide Sexual Orientation Discrimination Protection, and 89% of Americans polled believe Homosexuals should have equal rights in terms of job opportunities. Repeatedly introduced and then killed since 1994, the 2007 version--H.R. 2015--Employment Non-Discrimination Act (text of bill)--includes transgender protection for the very first time. The TVC is just one of many organizations fighting it. (there is a religious exemption, but groups like the TVC would be covered by it)
posted by amberglow on Sep 4, 2007 - 58 comments

I'm officially jealous of the people who get to work in this office workspace custom designed to look like Captain Nemo's Nautilus, from 20,000 Leagues. Via.
posted by jonson on Jun 14, 2007 - 30 comments

When the fascists embargo, when the boss pollutes, when the economy collapses, when the club plans to close, heck, when you're too high-tech for hierarchy, perhaps it's time you considered launching a worker-owned cooperative (pdfs). Or at least getting to know one near you.
posted by ioesf on Mar 26, 2007 - 20 comments

The "Revolution" that isn't. The idea that well-educated women are leaving their careers behind and choosing to stay at home is a recurring story- notably in "The Opt Out Revolution", Lisa Belkin's 2003 essay in the New York Times. A closer examination [.pdf, long] challenges the idea that women are returning home as a matter of biological "pull" rather than a workplace "push", and argues that how the media portrays the personal decisions of a few obfuscates the real social needs of most American working families. In 2007, the United States is one of the few countries in the world without paid maternity leave.
posted by ambrosia on Mar 16, 2007 - 55 comments

Language in Common thinks about quitting_[pdf]. Or starting a new job at your old job_[pdf]. Or becoming a better lover_[pdf]. At work. And they notice that others are thinking too.
posted by mendel on Mar 14, 2007 - 2 comments

Workplace health and safety dirty dozen (pdf) - profiles of companies that have demonstrated egregious disregard for worker safety. Today is Worker Memorial Day, commemorating workers who die on the job - an average of 16 per day. Workplace deaths are trending up, not down, which, according to an extensive report by the AFL-CIO, is the inevitable Toll of Neglect with this administration's rollback of worker protections. Confined Space offers a daily view of work safety issues in the U.S. for those who would like to learn more.
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 28, 2006 - 13 comments

Trapped in cubicles. Dilbert's Ultimate Cubicle. Cubicle etiquette.
posted by fixedgear on Mar 12, 2006 - 14 comments

Robert Oppenheimer agonized over building the A-bomb. Alfred Nobel got queasy about creating dynamite. Robert Propst invented nothing so destructive. Yet before he died in 2000, he lamented his unwitting contribution to what he called "monolithic insanity."
posted by PenDevil on Mar 9, 2006 - 47 comments

The Unspoken Language of the Office. Not to be confused with the BBC or NBC television programs. How to get back to reading MetaFilter as quickly as possible. [via lifehacker]
posted by FlamingBore on Mar 8, 2005 - 11 comments

Management methods, models, thoeries Kick off 2005 sounding and/or being smarter than everyone else. Minds will spin given the amount of info available here.
posted by Voyageman on Dec 25, 2004 - 13 comments

Bully OnLine: 'the world's largest resource on workplace bullying and related issues'.

Includes profiles ("Look, dad, it's a sociopath"). Describes why it's hard to stand up to bullying behaviour, how to do it, and why others won't help you.

There's also kickbully.com [previously discussed here], which offers basic ground-rules for dealing with bullies, and suggestions for dealing with specific situations (including one-liners you might want to try). But watch out, because the bastards are vengeful.
posted by iffley on Oct 13, 2004 - 5 comments

I've seen it happen where these types of managers have the nerve to hold this type of book up in front of a group of people and imply the problem is the workforce for not choosing to be happy about poor leadership. From an Amazon review of Fish!. I've been motivated with that twice. A friend of mine was encouraged to take The Flight of the Buffalo and another is going to a sponsored Dale Carnegie class. So, who's moved your cheese?
posted by pieoverdone on Jul 26, 2004 - 55 comments

Every gay and lesbian federal employee has just lost their protection from discrimination. Gay and lesbians in the entire federal workforce have had their job protections officially removed by the office of Special Counsel. The new Special Counsel, Scott Bloch, says his interpretation of a 1978 law intended to protect employees and job applicants from adverse personnel actions is that gay and lesbian workers are not covered. Bloch said that the while a gay employee would have no recourse for being fired or demoted for being gay, that same worker could not be fired for attending a gay Pride event.
posted by amberglow on Mar 17, 2004 - 21 comments

Are you being bullied at work? Would you like to fight back? Finally, a site "dedicated to advancing the understanding of workplace bullies and providing the tools to defeat them." (Testimonials too!) WARNING TO USERS: While kickbully.com is intended to guide you to a better life, we take no responsibility for anything bad that happens as a result of applying the attitudes and techniques provided in this web site.
posted by thatweirdguy2 on May 4, 2003 - 13 comments

Mommy, where do cubicles come from? Ever watch old movies, and feel a deep pang of resentment and envy at the open, spacious offices depicted therein? What ever happened to the human workplace? The ugly truth is finally revealed: it's all Herman Miller's fault. The introduction of their Action Office system in the late 1950s was largely responsible for the office cubicle as we know it today. While things are obviously not as bad as they could be, people could at least learn how to behave themselves in the modern cube-farm.
posted by majcher on Dec 10, 2002 - 28 comments

In a word, Google's goal is to do important stuff that matters to a lot of people. In pursuit of that goal, we've developed a set of values that drive our work, including one of our most cherished core values: "Don't be evil." We already know that Google can deliver the goods when it comes to services -- so what do you guys think? Is it possible that a company could actually be worthy of our trust?
posted by tweebiscuit on Jul 23, 2002 - 29 comments

Porn sites main cause of web-related sackings ... "The vast majority of sackings for internet misuse are due to workers surfing pornographic websites, a new British survey shows..."
posted by semper on Jul 9, 2002 - 8 comments

I have a bad feeling about this. The UK government has urged employers to be leniant to staff who want to watch the World Cup when they should be working. Isn't this instantly discriminating against people who happen to like football (Soccer) all that much? For example, I'm sure I know what would happen if I broached the idea of turning up for work late on May 16th after I've been to the first showing of this thing.
posted by feelinglistless on Apr 29, 2002 - 15 comments

"Bringing serenity to your busy workday". Bored with the view from your office? Kloudscape offers ten high-resolution images of clouds taken from 40,000 feet by photographer John Wang. These images are available in a variety of resolutions for use as desktop wallpaper.
posted by phatboy on Mar 1, 2002 - 4 comments

Been to a USGS site today? What about your favorite national park site? Probably not, since all are part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, whose external network connections have been severed due to electronic security concerns raised by the court in the case Cobell v. Norton (formerly Cobell v. Babbitt).

With no external email or access to the Internet could you do your job? How dependent is your workplace on electronic information access? (Since all their websites are down, I have no direct link to post. A copy of the memo was sent to the members by the admin of a USGS email distribution list.)
posted by carobe on Dec 7, 2001 - 16 comments

A Jacksonville aviation company and others are making daily prayer meetings, chaplains and burning frankincense a permanent part of the workplace. Should we thank God, or pray this doesn't happen where we work?
posted by rcade on May 9, 2001 - 29 comments

workplace disclosures interesting NYTimes article about the [potential] problem of public discussions for employees. mentions Vault, BrownCafe, etc
posted by greyscale on Apr 29, 2001 - 2 comments

Ergo Rules Not Right for Workplace or so the U.S. Senate has voted. Do they think workers don't vote, or won't remember in 2 years?
posted by vanderwal on Mar 7, 2001 - 7 comments

Noted without comment: 'The Italian Supreme Court has ruled that an unexpected pat on the bottom at work could not be labeled sexual harassment — as long as men didn't make a habit of it.'
posted by rebeccablood on Jan 26, 2001 - 16 comments

Privacy is an endangered species at work. Not that this is a surprise... but I'm wondering. Will we see a wave of MIS professionals who become conscientious objectors on this topic, similar to the responses engendered by 'defense' projects in the early days of computing?
posted by baylink on Jan 3, 2001 - 4 comments

Enjoy National Workplace Napping Day!
posted by veruca on Apr 3, 2000 - 2 comments