Recovery: Day in the Life Sunday

Is Sunday the end of a week or the beginning of a week for you? Do you use Sunday to wind down or to gear up?

Sunday is a wind down day for me. I savor my down time. Sunday mornings at home with the family, leisurely breakfast courses - coffee, oatmeal, eggs or whatever else we are up for making - that's the sweet spot of my week.

This Sunday, however, is more of a recovery day than a wind down down day because I've been down much of the past week - and the week before. Between #sinuswoes, neti pots, staff shortages and #trenchHR happenings at the workplace, I am a bit drained.

You know it's time to call it a day when you turn your head and it takes a few seconds for everything in your head to catch up, when you can't string 2 thoughts together and you forget the office birthday bagels - twice.

Thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, things are getting better. So, I am taking it easy, sipping my mint tea thinking about WomenofHR-ing, reading Gone Girl, and weeding the gardens - or not. I am not heading to south this week but safe travels to the Atlanta bound SHRMers who are.

Tell me, how are you doing today and what does the next week hold for you?

Photo credit iStockphoto

Hand Slapping HR

HR is on the move.

Open any issue of any HR magazine and you'll see phrases like "develop strategies that align with your organizational goals, mission and brand" and "identifying and rewarding the best and the brightest in the organization." On your favorite HR blog and you'll see tag words like "business, partner, people, innovation, problem solver and change."

On most days, we're running on possibility, vision, objective and goals. On other days, it takes a little something else to keep the train on the tracks.

On some days there's nothing like a good old fashioned "no."

No, you can not over spend your award budget. No, you can't discipline her without telling her what she did wrong and asking her why.

No, you can not charge him AWOL after you approved his leave. No, you can not promote her into a job that does not exist.

Does that sound too crabby? Ok, how about this?

Yes, you are most definitely the deciding official and I am only the advisor but no, I will not have your back when they haul you off to jail. Yes, you must notify the union of changes in conditions of employment and negotiate impact and implementation in good faith but no, you do not ask for their permission.

Better?

Is this the way you want your HR to be? No, not really. Not all the time but a little hand slap every now and then never hurt anybody.

Photo credit iStockphoto