It is Boss's Day

By Diane Forrest,

Want a day off work?

So you want a day off. Let's take a look at what you are asking for. There are 365 days per year available for work. There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have 2 days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work. Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available. You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break which counts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available. With a 1 hour lunch each day, you used up another 46 days, leaving only 22 days available for work. You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days per year available for work. We are off 5 holidays per year, so your available working time is down to 15 days. We generously give 14 days vacation per year which leaves only 1 day available for work and I'll be darned if you are going to take that day off!

Some people have wonderful bosses, others not so great.  I have never been the boss of anyone (even if my husband would have disagreed with that statement) but I have had several bosses.  When I started my first real job at a grocery store when I was 15, I soon discovered the difference between a good boss and a bad boss.  Each day I had a different boss.  There was the store manager and then several assistant managers.  The store manager was a big grizzly bear type of boss.  He would walk around growling and employees would run and hide from him.  Then we had the fun guy party boss, and everyone had a good time.  There was a stressed out paranoid boss, and the not so bright boss.  I learned something from each of them, but the one I learned the most from was the grizzly bear.  I learned that once I did my job properly I never had to worry about him growling at me.  I learned to be the best at what I did and my hard work paid off by way of raises and promotions.

Today is National Boss's day.  It was started in 1958 by a secretary for State Farm Insurance.  She thought her boss (who happened to be her father) was the greatest, and deserved a day of recognition.  October 16th was chosen because that was her father's birthday.  It has traditionally been a day for employees to thank their boss for being kind and fair throughout the year. The holiday has been the source of some controversy and criticism in the United States, where it is often mocked as a Hallmark Holiday; however the first greeting card for this holiday was not made until 1979.

Today is a great day to let your boss know that you appreciate them, and also good for buttering up for a future raise or promotion.  You don't have to do much, a nice email card, or a batch of homemade cookies.

I have a great boss; he lets me come in late, leave early, take days off, talk on the phone, play computer games....of course it helps that I work from home.  So, Happy Boss's Day Terry, Hope you have a great day!  Oh...and about that raise???