Sunday Best is a curated list of articles I’ve read over the past week or so that I find enlightening, educational or just plain interesting. This week’s focus is surviving and thriving at work. Enjoy! Office politics Urgh. Work politics. I must admit I suck at it. Colin Gautrey explains
This week, I left a job I had been in for three years. I came to this job licking my wounds from another workplace that didn’t work out so well. In that workplace—which I entered with the hope of finally building some sort of career—I exited within five months, feeling completely disempowered,
Along with sharing my WordPress stats, I have a quaint tradition (self-imposed) of doing a wrap-up of the year. You know, what I’ve learned or discovered about myself, what worked well, what I’d do differently… that sort of thing. I do this primarily to document my progress and growth, and
To my horror*, I have recently discovered that I have a sense of entitlement. If I examine where it comes from, I can see it’s premised on my education and being smart. I have several degrees, and when I work, I bring my education and my knowledge to the cubicle.
In the 21st century, the workforce of the western world is supposed to be forged around knowledge. You can see this trend very clearly, with the slow, strangled death of manufacturing (despite being propped up by handouts from the government) and the rise and rise of digital work. Who knew
We’ve all heard it: the “teamwork is great for business” and “we can achieve more together” mantras. And while I generally think this is true, this week, I’ve seen the negative side effect of teamwork: people going to work sick because they feel guilty for letting the side down. As
I went to university at age 26 because I thought having tertiary qualifications would mean that I would have better career opportunities. After all, that’s what all the rhetoric said, right? Before that I was worked in banks and took temp jobs to pay the bills. So I graduated from
I have been thinking a lot about apologies lately. Particularly how powerful they are to aid healing and restore relationships, and how an apology that is half-baked or underdone or passive-agressive is worse than no apology. I mean, an apology that doesn’t include the words “I’m so sorry for [insert
The One & Three Others is a short story collection that features two stories about unrequited romance and finding love (Must Have Hair and The One), one story about an office drama (That Damn Lift), and one story about an office romance (Office Ink).
Enjoy a fresh, new voice in fiction in this bite-sized collection, perfect for the office commute.
The One
When Tom Marshall knocks on Paton McLean’s door, she’s sure he is the one for her. Hiring him as a gardener and then a handyman, she keeps him around long enough for their relationship to develop into something more than friendship.
Tom has other ideas about their future, however, and struggles to come to terms with Paton’s certainty that they are meant to be together. It is only in one final karmic twist that Tom realises he’s made the wrong decision…
That Damn Lift
After a corporate takeover that results in new management and his demotion, Ross is biding his time until he retires. Unfit and unhappy that the lift in the building has been out of order for longer than necessary, he decides to confront his new boss, Ernestine, a cold woman brought in to manage staff layoffs.
Desperate to make Ernestine understand that the lift is a symbol of change (and not for the better), he commits an act of defiance that both redeems and costs him…’
Must Have Hair
Monique, approaching forty and desperate to be a wife and mother, is looking for love in all the wrong places. Adam, an unassuming artist, has been in love with her for three years.
Knowing that time is running out to make his move, Adam decides to share his feelings with Monique… but how can she reconcile the balding artist with the man of her dreams?
Office Ink
Office romances start innocently enough: an email here, a coffee there…
Caitlin Mills has had a crush on Mitchell Cooper, her handsome co-worker, for what seems like forever.
When Mitch breaks up with his girlfriend and asks Cait out to a music festival, she is thrilled. Hoping that this will be the start of something wonderful, Cait shares the details with Georgia Gallo, her colleague and friend. Georgia, and Caitlin’s boss, Alec Smart, have other ideas about this budding romance, and Cait discovers that her relationship with Mitch is not quite as it seems.
Why you should get this short story collection
If you’re new to my writing, this collection of four stories is the ideal, cost-effective, convenient introduction to my fiction.
And if you’re an avid reader of my non-fiction books, you’ll get a sense of how each genre influences the other.
I came across this essay in my reading last week and liked the form and wanted to try it. Coincidentally, I ran into an old spark a week or so ago and wanted write about that encounter. This essay kills two birds with one stone. *** As it happened, I
In 2011, I wrote a post that put forward a number of things that I knew for sure. These were observations and experiences over almost 50 years. I read through that post recently (I’m updating my blog, in case you’re wondering) and thought it was due for an update. Actually,
UPDATE: Submissions have now been published. Here’s mine – #659. Everything is there, except they have redacted the phrase where I said I had (undiagnosed) PTSD. I guess they are only publishing verifiable information. On 21 September, 2023 (my 60th birthday) Prime Minister Albanese announced that there would be an
