Social Media In the Workplace

I try to keep my social life and my work life as far away as possible. Nowadays, I am friends with only a small amount of coworkers. Before I was always Facebook friends with everyone I worked with but I’ve come to learn that that’s not necessarily a good thing. I think it’s important to have boundaries and not let just anyone into my life, even if it’s “just” Facebook.  To me, work is work. It’s not a time to frolic on Facebook, Twitter, or any other form of social media. It’s distracting and can lead to workspace drama.

BUT…

I can understand how social media, such as Twitter, can help promote certain awareness about a company. In today’s world, social media is almost crucial. If a company allows its employees to use social media, I think companies need to  be proactive and set some sort of guidelines as to what is okay to post about and what isn’t.

Stress in the Workplace

 

At one point or another, most of us have dealt with stress in the workplace either from external or internal forces.  Stress can be different for everyone. I myself enjoy being under pressure and constantly kept on my toes. But for people like my mother, for example, workplace stress can cause many health concerns.  Reducing job stress is important in order to maintain a healthy mental and physical state. It's important for managers to stay positive in times of stressful situations not only for themselves but for their employees as well.


 Four Ways to Dispel Stress

• Take time away. Taking short breaks and physically moving away from a stressful situation may help reduce stress quickly. Some fresh air never hurts.
• Talk it over with someone. Talking to someone you feel comfortable with about stressful situations may help to let off some steam.
• Connect with others at work. Maintaining friendships with coworkers is a great way to offer support when they are in need as well.
• Look for humor in the situation. Don't take things too seriously, find appropriate ways to lighten the mood in times of stressful situations.

 
A few statistics

• 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful
• 25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives
• Three fourths of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago
• 29% of workers felt quite a bit or extremely stressed at work
• 26 percent of workers said they were “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work”
• Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial or family problems.
• 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say they need help in learning how to manage stress and 42% say their coworkers need such help
• 14% of respondents had felt like striking a coworker in the past year, but didn’t
• 25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress, 10% are concerned about an individual at work they fear could become violent
• 9% are aware of an assault or violent act in their workplace and 18% had experienced some sort of threat or verbal intimidation in the past year

Las Maquiladoras

In the mid 80s maquiladoras began to pop up long side the US/Mexico border. "A maquiladora is the Mexican name for manufacturing operation in a free trade zone, where factories import material and equipment on a duty-free basis for assembly, processing, or manufacturing and then export the assembled, processed and/or manufactured products, sometimes back to the raw materials' country of origin."  Many women who were desperate for work moved from central Mexico and Central America to border towns in search of a better life. Working at maquiladoras gave women the independence and freedom that many of them longed for. 

Unfortunately, they were not prepared for the exploitation that awaited them: “slave wages; ten-to-twelve-hour shifts on their feet; working conditions that include dangerous levels of noise pollution, toxic fumes, and sexual harassment by management; manic production schedules and the constant threat of dismissal for not meeting quotas, for being late, for getting pregnant; demeaning beauty pageants disguised as work incentives and moral boosters; pregnancy testing at the time of hiring; enforcing birth control through pill or injection or Norplant implants; and the strict monitoring of their reproductive cycles through monthly menstruation checks” (Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. "Poor Brown Female: The Miller's Compensation for "Free Trade"").

So now I’m torn. Is globalization bad? The bottom line is essentially making money, right? Globalization makes rich people richer.  But why would any person allow another human being to work in such shitty conditions (primarily maquiladora workers)? Ladies, imagine having to show your boss a soiled sanitary napkin to prove that you're still menstruating. It's intrusive and unsettling! Cheap labor = cheap goods but at what cost?

 Below is a short video about maquiladora workers in Tijuana.