Team Taskmaster

It’s a lovely day, my meeting has been canceled, the sun is shining…and it’s FRIDAY!

In honor of the impending weekend, I’m sharing with you a brief video about the difference between your Friday attitude and your Monday attitude. It’s got penguins, polar bears, and a chuckle-worthy message. What’s not to like?

Enjoy the day, and see you next week.

Have trouble getting your Generation Y employees motivated? Here’s an approach that might energize employees who are used to instant gratification and short attention spans, courtesy of Coulter Video. Enjoy.

Who hasn’t fantasized about telling a bad boss exactly what he can do with his attitude as they walk out the door? Some of us have even drafted letters we’ll never send, just to vent on paper. But a few brave souls have actually done it.

Did it accomplish anything, other than to serve as a &*@%-you to a former superior? Doubtful. But I’m sure it felt good at the time.

If you’d like to live vicariously through their words, I’ve printed some excerpts here (click the headers for complete versions). I can’t vouch for their authenticity, but they sure make for good reading.

From a Frustrated Network Administrator:

“After your consistent and annoying harassment of my co-workers and me during our commission of duties, I can only surmise that you are one of the few true genetic wastes of our time. In a world of managerial evolution, you are the blue-green algae that everyone else eats and laughs at. Managers like you are a sad proof of the Dilbert principle.”

From a Bitter Receptionist:

“For nearly as long as I’ve worked here, I’ve hoped that I might one day leave this company. And now that this dream has become a reality, please know that I could not have reached this goal without your unending lack of support.”

From a Sensory-Overloaded Secretary:

“I have decided to resign…(because) Irene, our erstwhile receptionist has not stopped farting. Her flatulence has now reached record levels (the weathermen are now providing fart warnings for the Hertfordshire area) and except for management exclaiming ‘bloody hell’s fire’ every time they’re in the vicinity and the other ladies shouting ‘anyone seen the air freshener?’ nothing has been done about it.”

From a Cosmetics-Free Employee:

“Watching you bounce and parade around the office pretending to know what you were doing was more nauseating than my stomach could bear…I really pity you as a Director. You should have been paying more attention to your work statistics, weekly reports and your unethical staff. Instead you were busy instigating corruption in your office, as well as focusing on why I don’t want to wear makeup.”

From Former European Minister Caroline Flint to Gordon Brown: (and yes, this one’s real)

“I have the greatest respect for the women who have served as full members of Cabinet and for those who attend as and when required. However, few are allowed into your inner circle. Several of the women attending Cabinet — myself included — have been treated by you as little more than female window dressing. I am not willing to attend Cabinet in a peripheral capacity any longer.”

It’s the day before a three-day holiday weekend, and if you’re like me, you’re ready for a break from work.

Which explains why I’m leaving you with a couple of grins instead of a long and thoughtful post. I’m taking tomorrow off but will catch up with you again on Monday. Happy Independence Day!

(View more fabulous Demotivators posters at Despair, Inc.)

If you’ve got a complainer on your team, here’s one way to approach the problem. Thanks to Laurie Ruettiman at Punk Rock HR for sharing the snark!

As Laurie suggests: Feel free to send this to your clients, coworkers, spouse, or kids.

And, of course, it clearly has a place in your Workplace Harassment and Sensitivity Training courses.

Make sure you read the small print at the bottom for a good grin. If the clickable image isn’t clear, you can view a PDF of the hurt feelings report here.

Need a quick Monday-morning chuckle? Then check out this spot for Boost Mobile featuring Danica Patrick. You’ll never think of teamwork the same way again.

Are laughter levels in your office dropping? If so, you’re not alone. According to a study of over 5,000 office employees by Comedy Central UK, increased pressure and job-security worries are making the lighthearted workplace a thing of the past for many workers.

Depressed employees told the TV channel that laughter is down 50 percent, and almost half reported they’ve stopped sharing jokes due to fear of recrimination.

Worse, that staple of workplace humor, the good-natured office prank, is no longer a frequent occurrence in the UK; now, the average company plays just four pranks a year, down from an expected monthly dose of silliness a year ago. And a sad 42 percent say people in their offices never play practical jokes anymore.

Come on, managers! It’s time to lighten up and encourage some more enjoyment. Don’t you know that laughter boosts morale, and boosting morale lifts productivity? People who enjoy their work environment are more likely to be engaged and active in their day-to-day performance. Humor might be a distraction, but it’s a positive one.

Jill Offman, managing directory of Comedy Central UK, agrees with me:

“We spend such a large portion of our day at work so it’s important that we find some time to enjoy ourselves and have a bit of fun,” she says. “Studies have shown that jokes and laughter improve our mood and in turn can help raise morale, which is especially important at the moment.”

Offman and Comedy Central UK are putting their money where their mouths are by sponsoring an international prank event this Friday, May 22, called Flashprank (Flashmob + Prank, get it?) Friday. The goal: Inspire people to come up with great office highjinks and inject some humor back into their working lives.

To take part, join the Facebook Flashprank Friday group, come up with your own fabulous practical joke, and post pictures of the prank to the group page. The best prank from the UK will win an iPod Touch; pranksters from other countries will reap the satisfaction of putting the fun back into a dysfunctional workplace.

Oh, and if you need inspiration? Check out this YouTube clip of the best pranks on Dwight from The Office, NBC’s hit television series (which, not coincidentally, is now airing on Comedy Central UK). Or revisit my post about five classic computer pranks to get a leg up on the competition. And feel free to share your ideas in the comments section here!

Happy Flashpranking.

(image by agjiminez via Flickr, CC 2.0)

Ever get stuck in one of those endless e-mail threads where no one ever seems capable of refraining from just one more reply?

Comedian Greg Schwem illustrates the dangers of failing to end an e-mail conversation in this video. Enjoy a Friday chuckle.

It’s Friday, which means that many of you are sitting in an office counting the minutes until quitting time. It also means that many of you may be (gasp) pretending to work, rather than actually working, at some point today.

Well, then, this video is for you — three minutes of clever ideas on how to appear busy when you’re actually not, animated by Microsoft Office for Mac. Enjoy!

Seems like everyone’s jumping on the Twitter bandwagon these days. There’s been plenty written about the business benefits of Twitter, with its succinct “tweets” keeping everyone looped in. I’ve even blogged about how you can best maximize your Twitter time.

But what if you took Twitter to the next level? Then you’d get Flutter. Check out the video and let me know what you think.