Happy 4th of July!

Is it really The 4th of July already? We hope you all are enjoying the holiday weekend! We are certainly thankful for the extra day off and opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep.

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Open 5 Days A Week

by Lawyer Working Girl

I hope all of you Working Girls had a great holiday break. I had 5 wonderful days off from work (including the weekend) and I enjoyed every second of it. However, all day Monday all I could think of was, "I sure don't want to go back to work tomorrow" (but in the same breath, I did give thanks for having a job to go to). Do you guys do that too? Usually, it's Sunday evening when it hits me that the weekend is almost over. Since I was off Monday, I just knew that I would have the post-holiday blues this morning. Well, imagine my surprise when I walked into the office today and I was in a very cheerful mood. It's funny that I thought that having 5 days off would put me in a bad mood upon my return to work, when in actuality, it was the exact opposite.

This made me think about how much we work in the U.S. I think we work WAY too much and I think that more days off would do wonders for productivity and moral (I personally found myself a lot more productive today than I'd been the last couple of weeks). On average, Americans get 17 vacation days a year. 17. The French get the most vacations days a year, averaging about 37.5. Wow! At first I thought, "we should be given more vacation days." But then, I remembered always hearing how many people don't use all of their vacations days because they are too busy at work or because they feel like things will fall apart without them. (Let's be clear. This will never be an issue for me. I'm taking every day that they give me.) So, giving more vacation days doesn't really help if people aren't going to take them.

So, what's my solution, you ask? I say we should have 4 day work weeks. 4 days to work, 3 days to rest. Think about our current weekends. We get off Friday evenings and have that evening and night to rest and unwind. I tend to find that I'm exhausted when Friday comes and enjoy an evening at home. Saturday comes and you try to cram a lot in that one day (errands, cleaning, etc.), because it's the only true full weekend day that you have (Sunday night you have to get in bed at a decent hour for work the next day). When Sunday comes you're already thinking about work on Monday. Am I right or is this just me? I think the 3 day weekend would allow workers to truly rest, relax and stay mentally sharp for the work week. Working Girls, what do you think? And who do I talk to about implementing this idea?

You've Lost That Christmas Feeling!

I started listening to holiday music immediately after Thanksgiving. Okay, fine. I started a few days before Thanksgiving. I had a tree in my apartment and decorated by the first weekend in December. But somehow, Christmas really snuck up on me this year.

It's always fun to receive gifts but I truly love to give them. This year, due to my unemployed status, I knew the giving part would be a little difficult. Thankfully, I landed a temporary freelance gig and started right before the holiday. Sure, it's only temporary but I'm thrilled.

After my first day, what did I do? Shop you say? No, I went home and cried to my mom on the phone. I was exhausted after working a full day. It had been months since I'd gotten up at 7am and worked all day. I was overwhelmed by the work. I knew I could handle it but I forgot how overwhelming is to learn a whole new set of processes.

And then I realized Christmas was just days away. At my old job, I always took a few days before Christmas off. My favorite days are the ones leading up to the holiday. (In fact, I had asked for a few of those days and they weren't immediately approved. It was the first thing that tipped me off that I might get laid off.) I was thrilled to be working again but a little part of me wished for a few more days of unemployment. After all this downtime, I was back at work during my favorite time of year.

I was worried that working would take away from the feeling of Christmas. The office was closed Christmas Eve and I was able to get out a bit early the day before and head to my Mom's house. As soon as I my sister picked me up, it started to feel like Christmas because we headed to the mall, of course! Had to get that Christmas shopping done!

Hope you all had a happy and safe holiday!

Decisions, Decisions...

As working girls, we are forced to make decisions all the time--from what shoes to wear with an outfit to how we effectively communicate and collaborate with others in the workplace. No matter what kind of working girl you are, these decisions happen constantly, whether we realize it or not.

Think about the last time you booked a flight or looked into buying a gift for a friend. You probably wanted to do a little research or compare prices before making this kind of decision. And chances are--you turned to the Web for a little guidance.

But as we all know, being a working girl leaves little room for hours of Web browsing. We hardly have time to go to the grocery store, let alone make a cost comparison chart complete with graphs and statistics to help us make the "right" or "best" decision on which computer is the better deal.

There are a number of online sites that help make our lives easier, and as Internet users and working women, we depend on these tools to help us compare and contrast without the hassle of spending tons of time perusing the Internet.

Earlier today, Mashable featured an article about a brand new Web tool that claims to make our decision-making much easier.

FindtheBest.com is a comparison engine that helps users make faster and better-informed decisions when looking for products and services--no matter what the topic.

So instead of worrying about which cookie you should make for the holiday bake-off, which e-Reader gives you the most bang for your buck, or where you and the hubby should travel for a little New Year's getaway, consider using this site (or others like it) as a way to simplify and ease your decision-making stresses this holiday season.

Happy December, working girls!

Office Parties

The holidays are just around the corner, and you know what that means working girls...office parties! This is always one of those times of year when people at work come out of their shell and let loose.

I have worked at companies big and small-and they have held parties to that matter as well. My most memorable holiday party though is from my first job out of college. Its not a story of someone hooking up with someone else or dancing on the table, no a superior got a freshly cooked platter of fish (juices and all) spilled on him from an Italian place. He was one of those people that just took it in stride and laughed it off with the rest of us. The rest of the night he smelled pretty fishy though! Guess you had to be there to think it was funny. Poor guy! :)

What is your funniest office holiday story?

Here is a little "how to" guide on how to not embarrass yourself at this years company party. Click the picture to see it larger.

Working Girl Holiday Gift Guide

Happy December Working Girls! It's officially holiday season so we thought we'd put together a little Working Girl Holiday Gift Guide. Really, it's little. But hopefully it will help you with some of your shopping or maybe even your own wish lists.

Personalized Stationary

"Not only is the stationary cute but this is a no-brainer. Everyone loves stationary with their name on it (proving that we are all narcissists)." - Working Girl Two

I Am Not A Paper Cup

"This is the perfect coworker gift and it helps

save our earth! It doesn't hurt that it's on sale at Amazon.com for $14.89" - Working Girl Two

School Pride

Holiday Cookie Tin

For your male coworker. "Guys can't resist cookies, especially if it comes in a tin with their favorite college teams logo." - Lawyer Working Girl

Linda & Harriett 2011 Calendar

"Typically calendars are quite boring, but Linda and Harriett's

calendars are beyond cute and I don't know any Working Girl that wouldn't want this hanging near her desk." - In Transition Working Girl

Shoe Pom-Poms

"Help a fellow Working Girl take her shoes from day to play with these adorable clip on pom poms by ban.do!" - Working Girl One

To Pay back or Not to Pay Back?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all are enjoying your day and have plans to eat lots of yummy food today. I can't believe it, but I am cooking my first thanksgiving meal EVER today. Wish me luck! Are any of you cooking your first one EVER too?

During this last week leading up to Thanksgiving, I have been giving a lot of thought about giving. Giving as it relates to many things but mainly when you are the beneficiary. Fellow working girls, I am talking about being on the receiving end in these tough times with so many unemployed or working paycheck to paycheck. It may be a loan from your parents or other financially well-off family members. The question I would like to pose is: How should we handle this: take it and be grateful OR pay it back?

I will start by letting you all know that I have borrowed money from my family before so this is something that I can relate to. My personal belief is that no matter how big or small the amount you should always pay it back, even if it is from the Bank of Mom and Dad or a wealthy Aunt.

Yes, I know that times are tough, and yes finding a job right now is even tougher. Our families are here to love and support us and have given us the tools to succeed. All too often I think people rely too much on these handouts. They don't understand that there is more to it than just paying back the money. It's about trust and showing those who we have borrowed from that we mean business, are motivated and understand this is their hard earned money, not ours for the taking.

An example of this is when my parents, who were young and in love, wanted to buy their first house. They borrowed a significant amount from my grandparents. At the time, my grandfather reluctantly said soemthing along the lines of "those kids will never pay us back". Well a few years later my parents paid back every penny they borrowed, much to the shock of my grandfather of course. But there was a trust built that if they ever needed to borrow money again my grandparents would be there to help out.

For me personally, I want to show my family that, yes I needed the money, but now I am ready to pay you back and show you I am a responsible hard working person. I know that if I am ever in a situation again where I need money, they will be more than willing to let me borrow it again because they know that I will pay them back. Again it's their money, not mine. It is simply a loan.

All too often I think young people rely on money flowing their way when times get tough. However, family members that continiously give money without ever expecting anything back are just enabling the situation. Sure we all go through hard times, but the more honest we can be with ourselves and pay back what we borrow, the less sticky everything gets.

So my advice is, borrow what you need and come up with a payment plan to pay back what you owe. Once you write that last payback check, walk away and hold your head high knowing that if you ever need to borrow money again, someone will have your back.

What is your take on this situation? To pay back or not to pay back?

Can I Be Transferred to Europe?

Lately all I can think about are vacations.

I think this is for a few reasons. The first being that I feel like everyone is going on vacations lately - WG1 is taking the week of 4th of July off to go to the Shore, one of my friends just got back from Miami, and another one of my friends is off to Disney World in a few days.

Second, I have my own very exciting vacations coming up. One is a trip in August to go visit my sister who is studying abroad in Spain. My family and I are going to meet her in Venice and then take a cruise to Croatia, Turkey, and Greece (don't let my calm facade surprise you - I can't stop thinking about this trip). AND in addition, WG1 has planned this fantabulous trip for us and all our college friends to go to Vegas at the end of September. Yes, color you jealous.

Third, and finally, one of my bff's just got engaged (eek! yay!) and asked me to be one of her bridesmaids (double eek! double yay!). And even though the wedding isn't going to be until next year, I still have started thinking about how I'll have to take a significant chunk of vacation time to be in the wedding since she's English and will be getting married in England...which translates to me taking like a week off for hen parties and dress fittings and tea parties (haha probably no tea parties, but it's just so English).

Which was the longest introduction ever to let you know that I would like to go live in Europe.

Yes, readers, I need to move there. Mainly, I would like to move there so I can have more vacation. Did you know that the average European gets 6 weeks paid vacation?

According to a commentary piece on ABC News's website, the average British worker gets 28 paid vacation days a year, Germans get 35, the French get 37, and Italians get a whopping 42 days to lay around in the sun (or just a few days off to do laundry if they feel like it).

In contrast, Americans get about 10 paid vacation days off a year and America doesn't have a set vacation policy for the country, unlike some European countries. (Which is most likely why last year at my first real job out of college in NYC, I got 5 paid vacation days, 1 sick day, and 1 floating holiday).

And I have to mention that those 10 paid vacation days are a starting norm for a full-time job. Part-time employees usually don't get any paid vacation at all. And even when people DO get full-time vacations, they can hardly find time to take them with conflicting schedules or they just take their computer/Blackberry with them so they can put in some "weisure" time.

According to the National Survey of the Changing Workface, US employees in 1997 were "working 3.5 more hours a week than they did 20 years earlier". Meaning, Americans work harder, do more overtime, bring more work home, and go on more business trips than ever, yet they still don't have enough time to get things done and still have to take work on vacation with them.

Juliet Schor makes a good point when she says, "American corporations seem downright ungracious about vacations when viewed in this light, or when we consider that they give their European employees the same month to six weeks that European companies do."


Which is so true! WG1 and I have one friend who works for a European company that is based in New York, and she gets the same amount of vacation that their European counterpart does. Why, oh, why can't we make this an American lifestyle change?

It makes sense! Europeans see the value in letting their employees take time to relax, unwind, and recover from working. We Americans like to burn out to the point where we are forced to take vacations - and Juliet Schor points out that even when we are on vacation we use the opportunity of vacation to "consume more" by staying at expensive hotels, spending absurd amounts of money, or going on adventurous treks to exotic locations because we only get one vacation a year so we may as well go big or go home!

In conclusion, I'm moving to England where they work just as hard as Americans but get vacation like Europeans. Sounds like a perfect solution to moi!

Valentine's Day is for Suckers

Dear Cupid,

Valentine's Day has always been pretty rough for me. I've never had a boyfriend to speak of when the holiday rolls around. And this year has been no different. 

Last year, I experienced my first Valentine's Day in the workplace which I observed was a lot like grade school. It's like all of a sudden we're keeping track of which girl got the most gifts, the most flowers, and the most praise on this day of 'love' than anything else. Last year, I watched as girls received bouquets upon bouquets of flowers, chocolates and teddy bears (yes, there were even teddy bears) at their desks at work. And my gay bff and husband at the time felt so bad for me that he gave me a tube of Dermalogica cover-up he found in the beauty closet as a gift. Lame, I know. 

This year, I could not be more excited that Valentine's Day has decided to give all us single Working Girls a break. This year, Valentine's Day is on a Saturday. Which means, yea, maybe a few girls will get flowers and balloons and singing telegrams tomorrow at work...but most boyfriends and husbands will be saving up their energy for the actual day. In turn, I not only will we be saved the humiliation of not receiving any gifts, but I also won't have to watch other women get all lovey-dovey, make faces like they want to cry from happiness, and jump for joy when they realize that yes, he really does love me. 

Can you tell February 14th makes me bitter? 

Maybe so, but Cupid thank you, thank you, thank you for letting us dodge the bullet this year. 

Love,

WG2 

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Working Girls! Have a happy and healthy holiday!

Love, WG1 and WG2

To Gift or Not to Gift?

Today, on my lovely day off, I began my holiday shopping. Before I dragged myself out into the cold and down to the holiday shops in Union Square, I made a list of everyone I needed to shop for. The usual suspects were there: Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother, Granny, Boyfriend, Friends.

As I shopped, I realized that I forgot to include my bosses on my list. Last year, I bought my two bosses a hand soap and lotion set from a small boutique. I spent about $20 of each of them. They gave me $500 cash. I cried when I opened there card and found five $100 bills.

This year, I don't expect to get $500 cash at all. Last year, my old bosses only had to give me a gift. My two bosses now are direct managers to nine people in our department. I highly doubt they'll shell out that much cash.

I plan on buying them each a little something. They are great bosses and I want to show them that I appreciate that. But, some people have told me that you should never "gift up," meaning you shouldn't or don't have to give your boss a gift.

What do you think?

Rosh Hashanah Cannot Make Today's Meeting

Remember the good old days of dial-up America Online? Using the only phone line in the house to go into a Hanson chatroom and discuss whether Taylor's favorite color was blue or red (answer: red)? Sending an email to your crush in the 8th grade confessing your undying love for him, telling him he looks like Leo in Romeo and Juliette? Realizing you're about to make a complete fool of your 7th-grade self and quickly hitting the "unsend" button?

No? I was the only one utilizing the unsend button?

If only we had that for work. Well, some of us Working Girls do have the ability to retract an email depending on our email program. However, these programs give the recipient the option of letting the sender retract it or reading the email and then allowing the sender to retract, completely defeating the purpose or retracting the email.

Let's be honest, we've all addressed an email to the wrong person before. Or made an embarrassing typo. But nothing I've ever done beats this email that surfaced last week on Defamer: 

I bet Michelle wishes she could have retracted this email once she realized that Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish high holy day which many people take of to observe. What I'd like to know is have any of you sent out embarrassing emails or is it just me and Michelle, the Dreamworks employee?