This is my new standing desk. Yes, it looks like an ironing board, but it’s not. It’s my latest attempt at getting a standing desk without paying crazy standing-desk prices.

My husband saw this ironing board desk at his office being used by a colleague who’s health conscious and wanted to stand during the day.

He decided to buy me one from a local office supply store for about $30 because my makeshift standing desk was getting on his nerves. It was made of puzzle boxes and crates, but the worst part was I couldn’t rest my hands on anything and ended up giving myself tennis elbow. (more…)

There’s an article in the Wall Street Journal today about the former CEO of Olympus Corp., Michael C. Woodford, and how he was a big neat freak when it came to his employees.

When he was at Olympus, according to the story, “Woodford laid down the law about what personal items employees could keep on their desks—nothing but photos of family members and pets, as well as children’s drawings.”

This got me thinking of a guy I worked with at a newspaper in Florida who’s desk was considered a fire hazard. It was piled high with folders, paper, food, and lots of missing items from around the office, like the tape recorder I lent him which he was unable to find.

Despite all this, he was one of the best reporters in the newsroom, thorough and always on top of his beat. What if someone like Woodford decided to make him organize his space? Turns out, it wouldn’t be a good thing. (more…)

I spent two weeks testing a standing desk in my home office and my life is forever changed.

The desk made such a difference in my productivity, my back pain, and my general health that I had to have one. I couldn’t quite swing the $700-plus price tag so I rigged together my own standing desk.

Clearly, it’s not the most beautiful thing to behold, and I’m probably risking computer catastrophe if someone slams a door too hard. But I’m willing to face that risk in order to stand up for my health.

Here’s a video wrapping up my experience, the people I talked to and the overall benefits of getting up from a desk chair that may be killing you:

How will I ever go back to sitting in a desk chair?

I hit the seven-day mark with my standing desk and I’m already dreading my return to a sitting desk in one week.

I decided to test out a standing desk for two weeks because of growing evidence that sitting more than six hours a day is killing us.

Here’s a video update of how the experiment is going. Hope you like Elton John.

In this day and age, why is it still a no no for women to go topless?

I always found this law to be puzzling and stupid, especially having gone to beaches abroad that have no problem with women going topless.

Why isn’t this one law American women fight? Is it so ingrained in our society that breasts are just too sexual, too seductive, too scary to be exposed to the masses. People even freak out when a woman breast feeds for gods sake. I think it’s great that some companies have lactation rooms, but why can’t gals just feed their babies in the cafeteria or their cubicles?

We women are outraged over the fact that women make 75 cents on the dollar to men and the lack of women leaders in this country, but no one seems to care that we are denied a basic right that men have — exposing our boobs.

And now it turns out, transgender men who have breast implants and look just as breasty as women get a pass if they want to show off their bosoms. Time to stage a revolt ladies!! (more…)

We’ve all heard how commuting back and fourth to work in our gas guzzlers is killing the environment.

I’m here to tell you that retiring the car and working in your pajamas may end up killing you.

OK, maybe I’m being a bit extreme this morning. I mostly work from a home office and today both my kids are home from school because the school year ended yesterday. They start camp in a few weeks but I figured since I work from home it would be easy to have them hang out here while I do my job.

This is just one of many work-at-home delusions my friends. (more…)

Every year around this time I get an endless stream of emails for PR people pitching stories about March Madness.

The pitches mainly come from law firms and employment companies, and they are always the same.

“March Madness gambling is illegal and those who engage in it are breaking the law.”

or,

“Basketball fever is leading to a loss of workplace productivity.”

Seems you’re all a bunch of gamblers and layabouts around this time of year. But one guy thinks you’re not so bad. (more…)

Once upon a time, recruiters and hiring managers tended not to call workers on the job.

Most people respected the fact that employed individuals looking for a job wanted to be discreet about their job search.

Today, all bets are off and it’s mainly because of cell phones and PDAs. Before, a recruiter wouldn’t risk calling you up and getting a switchboard operator, or a colleague, or even a boss on the line.

Now, a call to your cell phone or a text message is commonplace.

But is it smart, cool, or ethical to be texting a hiring manager at another company while you’re sitting in a work meeting or even in your cube? (more…)

Don’t screw your coworkers!

That seems to be the consensus among most relationship gurus.

I typically get a steady stream of career experts sending me lists of dos and don’ts for employees when it comes to the matters of love. And as you can imagine, Valentine’s Day is open season. This month, I’ve gotten over 20 pitches from marketing people with news in some way related to Valentine’s or love or sex or romance.

It’s typically the same old same old — stay clear of office nooky. But one guy bucks the trend by saying workplace whoopee might indeed be a good thing. (more…)

There is this warm fuzzy feeling that comes over me when the kids scream in joy after hearing school has been canceled because of snow.

It reminds me of the joy I felt when I was a kid. I would celebrate when I woke up and saw my Queens neighborhood blanketed in snow, knowing there was no way the yellow buses were going to make it through the hood.

It also reminds me of the work world pre-Internet. A blizzard often meant you’d miss a day of work, or half a day at least. And of course, that was also cause for revelry.

But no more. A snow day is just like any other day for we weary telecommuters. (more…)