Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

Dream Job Series: Karyn, Outdoor Adventure Guide (Part II)

This post continues our interview with thirty-two year-old Karyn, who is a Mentor Field Instructor for Second Nature, a sophisticated wilderness therapy treatment program for teens. 

Alex:  What personality traits and skills do you think it takes to be successful in your job?

Karyn:  I think it’s important to be outgoing, a good listener, patient, fun-loving, giving, caring, adventurous, supportive and kind.  Actually many of the people who I work with do not have backgrounds in either wilderness or therapy! I think the profession is pretty open to people of all skill sets and interests.

Alex:  What challenges have you faced, and how have you managed setbacks in this job?

Karyn:  Probably the biggest challenge I have faced is not knowing with happens to our students when they leave our program. It can be emotionally draining to work with the same student for several weeks, and then they leave. I can only hope they don’t return to their negative coping patterns and find a successful aftercare treatment (usually boarding school). We very rarely hear back personally as instructors as to how the kids are doing. Other challenges include routine stuff – I get tired of our staple foods like beans and rice and pasta and oatmeal, and I’ve learned some creative recipes from few ingredients. Finally the weather can be tiresome sometimes – Georgia in the summertime with its heat and bugs is not the most comfortable place for a northern girl to be!

Alex:  What's the compensation like for those who are successful in your job? Explain the trajectory once one breaks in.

Karyn:  Compensation tends to be on a daily rate – the averages of various companies are something like $90 - $175/ day (working about 200 days/year). Most companies include health care, and mine has a 401K package and quarterly bonuses. A few bonuses – this is not generally seasonal work – most companies are year round. Because of a fairly high turnover rate, it’s fairly easy to work your way up in the field to become a senior level instructor relatively quickly. Another advantage of the pay is that you are not able to spend any money while you work in the woods, so the smaller dollars go a little farther.

Thanks, Karyn!

Stressed? It Might Not Be For The Reason You Think

Most people know that high levels of stress are associated with a number of negative physical and psychological consequences.  Physical problems include high blood pressure and cholesterol, and an increased risk for heart disease, ulcers, and cancer.  Psychological side effects include anger, anxiety, irritability, and boredom as well as sleep and eating problems and increased smoking, drinking, and drug abuse.  In the world of work, high stress levels are linked with decreased productivity and increased absenteeism, turnover.

While some jobs are clearly more stressful than others, it might surprise you to learn that top executives are not prone to more stress and stress-related problems.  Rather, employees who are at greatest risk are those who have very little control over their tasks or work conditions.  A research study I came across in my I/O Psychology review actually indicated that sawmill workers performing machine-paced tasks were the most stressed out of all!

Overall, though, you should know that work is not the primary culprit when it comes to people’s stress levels.  Events related to marriage (death of a spouse, divorce, etc.) are the ones that really send stress through the roof.  Another interesting research finding showed that stress induced by daily hassles actually has a stronger impact on health than stress due to traumatic events.  So the next time you think about taking a job that requires a three hour a day, traffic-filled commute, maybe keep that in mind.  I remember my dad saying that one of the reasons he was quitting his job was that he believed the daily drive from suburban Maryland to suburban Virginia was shaving years off his life.  It looks like he might not have been far off. 

30/20 Vision: New 20-Something Podcast Series!

I am really excited to share the debut of the new 30/20 Podcast series - especially for the 20-something woman who wishes she had a couple of big sisters to clue her in on the ins and outs of life after college.

The series will feature me and my fellow authors and pals Christine Hassler (20-Something, 20-Everything), and Lindsey Pollak (Getting From College to Career) as we dish about everything from careers and relationships to celebrities and news of the day.  Hindsite is 20/20, and now that we've turned 30, we're looking back on our 20s and talking about what we've learned from our own experiences so that we can help to make life even sweeter for the next generation of 20-somethings.

The series will officially launch on BlogTalkRadio in October, but in the meantime we're soliciting feedback on our first episode, which you can check out here.  Please have a listen and let us know what topics you'd be interested in having us cover in future episodes.  Thanks and enjoy!

Millennials: The Future Looks…Complicated?

As we move toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, members of the largest generation in American history, the Millennials, will enter their thirties.  And in many ways, they will face more challenges as mature adults than they did in their freewheeling twenties.

Specifically, Millennials will find themselves folded into a sandwich, caught between the demands of work and family. Told in their twenties to explore their career choices, they may still lack fulfillment in their current job situation and want to find an occupation they feel passionate about.

At the same time, the baby boomer brain drain will leave many companies rudderless, and Millennials will be thrust into leadership positions that increase their levels of responsibility and accountability.  Millennials face a mountain a debt from school loans and escalating housing costs, and are pressured to save for retirement now because of the impending demise of social security. Most savvy young Americans will put off getting married and having children until their late 20s or early 30s, and just as the needs of their immediate family come to the forefront, their baby boomer parents will increasingly require their attention and care.

Taking all of these factors together, it’s easy to see why seventy-five million thirty-somethings could be headed for a breakdown at some point in the next 5-10 years.  My question to Millennials is: if you think your life is tough now, are you ready for what’s next?

Dream Job Series: Karyn, Outdoor Adventure Guide

Thirty-two year-old Karyn has the job she’s always wanted.  She’s a Mentor Field Instructor for Second Nature, a sophisticated wilderness therapy treatment program for teens. At Second Nature, Karyn and her colleagues provide insight, direction and hope to troubled teens and their families. I had a chance to speak with Karyn during the process of writing How’d You Score That Gig? and here are some of the highlights from her interview:

Alex:  Describe some of the day-to-day activities of your job.

Karyn:  I work an 8 day on (24 hours/day), 6 day off schedule with a group of other instructors (usually 3 or 4 total) with a group of approximately 8-12 teenagers. We live in the woods and backpack 3 or 4 days a week. The wilderness is used as a therapeutic intervention for our students who are usually facing some sort of challenge in their lives. We sleep under tarps, hike frequently, hold therapeutic groups, and work one on one with the students.

Alex:  How do you feel about your job and why? 

Karyn:  I love my job as it gives me a chance to work with kids at a point when they are struggling with their identities and security. It also means I get paid to be out in the woods! Sometimes I get stressed out when we have lots of students or my staff is demanding, but I cannot imagine a job I would rather have.

Alex:  How did you get your first paying job in this field?  Did you do anything out of the ordinary to break in? 

Karyn:  My first job in the outdoors was when I was 16 and worked for a Boy Scout camp. My first job as a wilderness therapy instructor was with this company. I started three years ago and worked my way up the levels of the company.

Alex: What in your childhood, adolescence, or college experience prepared you for this career?

Karyn:  I grew up participating in Girl Scouts and later in a co-ed division of Boy Scouts. I went camping 10 – 15 weekends a year and several weeks each summer. Any activity in the woods was a favorite hobby. College took me down a completely different path, and in an urban setting I did not get a chance to be outdoors very often. I worked two summers at a Boy Scout camp during college, but it was not until five years after I graduated that I left the city and went to work in New Mexico for the boy scouts for four years. While in college, however, I honed my listening skills, and with a degree in journalism, I gained some general communication skills. The journalism part at least helps with the paperwork I do now!

Stay tuned.  We’ll hear more from Karyn next week.

On the Lookout for “Groupthink”

Continuing my investigation into I/O Psychology, this week I’m reporting on Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis in the 1970s.  Groupthink occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because of group pressures.  Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups.  A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.  Janis documented eight symptoms of groupthink:

1. Illusion of invulnerability –Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
2. Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
3. Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in the rightness of their cause and therefore ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
4. Stereotyped views of out-groups – Negative views of “enemy” make effective responses to conflict seem unnecessary.
5. Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
6. Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations from the perceived group consensus are not expressed.
7. Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
8. Self-appointed mindguards – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

According to the organization Psychologists for Social Responsibility, examples of groupthink “fiascoes” studied by Janis include US failures to anticipate the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Bay of Pigs invasion, the escalation of Vietnam War, and the ill-fated hostage rescue in Iran.  Current examples of groupthink can be found in the decisions of the Bush administration and Congress to pursue an invasion of Iraq based on a policy of “preemptive use of military force against terrorists and rogue nations”.  The decision to rush to war in Iraq before a broad-based coalition of allies could be built has placed the US in an unenviable military situation in Iraq that is costly in terms of military deaths and casualties, diplomatic standing in the world, and economically.

Now might be a good time to consider if you’ve been the victim of groupthink.  I’m thinking of a recent situation where my team was on a high from a really energizing meeting, and the atmosphere was so “feel good” at the time that we were ready to agree on anything – even though the decision at hand really should have required substantial debate.  As a result, we were careless, and the outcome of that decision was not as positive as perhaps it could have been.

Just some food for thought.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Scot Herrick over at Cube Rules is doing a great series of 30 career management tips.  I especially liked the post this week on watching what people at work do more than what they say.  Scot tells the following story:

“My father, when I was very young, told me something that has worked well throughout my life. We were driving along the Chippewa River, three blocks from my father’s law office and he told me that you can listen to what people say, but it is far more important to watch what they actually do and act accordingly.  My favorite story on this was when I started working with a manager at the beginning of my career. On our initial meeting after I was hired, he specifically told me that it was really important to come to him not with just a problem, but with potential solutions.  We’ve all heard that, right? 

So that’s what I did. Every time I went into his office with an issue, I’d always have figured out 2-3 ways that the problem could be addressed and all we needed to do was figure out which way was the right way to attack this one.  Imagine my surprise, then, come review time when I was chastised for ‘always having the answer’ to an issue and ‘cutting my manager out of the decision making process’ when I came to him with a problem! Just like he asked me to do!  So the first time I had an issue that I needed help with after the review, I supplicated myself to the wisdom of my manager.  It was like the world changed. Now my manager could grandly suggest different alternatives, debate with himself on the merits of each, and then come to a conclusion for me to go and implement.”

Like most people who routinely give career advice, I too would normally suggest that Scot approach his manager exactly the way he did at first, and I feel that his story goes to the heart of a critical truth about workplace relationships.  There is no standard operating procedure, and if you want to get along with your boss and colleagues, it’s important to assess what’s really important to each one of them and then behave appropriately.  Scot’s father is right: people’s actions often speak louder than their words, and human beings are known for being contradictory.  What’s great about Scot’s response in this situation is that he was able to pick up on his boss’s true nature and adapt his response to be more effective with the guy.  This is a skill that takes years to develop, and unfortunately there’s no better way to learn than to find yourself faced with one of those “difficult” people.

I/O Psychology and Job Satisfaction

As you’ve heard me mention from time to time, my husband is a clinical psychologist. He’s currently studying for the Illinois licensing exam, and in this study materials I found a great section on industrial/organizational psychology (I/O).

What is this, exactly?  Wikipedia defines it as the application of psychological theories, research methods, and intervention strategies to workplace issues. I/O psychologists are interested in making organizations more productive while ensuring workers are able to lead physically and psychologically healthy lives. Relevant topics include personnel psychology, motivation and leadership, employee selection, training and development, organization development and guided change, organizational behavior, and work and family issues. I/O psychologists who work for an organization are most likely to work in the HR department. However, many I/O psychologists pursue careers as independent consultants or applied academic researchers.

I’ll be talking about I/O a bit more over the next few weeks, but I thought I’d start with mentioning the results from a bunch of controlled research that was done on job satisfaction. According to these studies – and this is probably not a surprise to you – specific worker characteristics are linked to job satisfaction. They are:

• Disposition:  There is evidence that job satisfaction is an enduring disposition. Satisfaction levels of over 5,000 men remained relatively stable over a five year period despite changes in occupations and employers. In addition, studies of twins raised apart suggest that there is a genetic contribution to job satisfaction.
• Age:  Some research suggests that there is actually a non-linear relationship between age and job satisfaction. For example, for non-supervisory employees, there is evidence that job satisfaction peaks in the early work years, decreases during middle age, and then increases again in later years.
• Occupational Level:  Satisfaction increases as occupational level increases. White-collar workers are more satisfied than blue-collar workers, and managers are more satisfied than nonmanagers.
• Race:  At all occupational levels, members of minority groups are twice as likely as members of the majority group to express dissatisfaction with their jobs.
• Gender:  While some studies have found women to be more dissatisifed than men, others have found the opposite to be true, or that men and women have similar levels of satisfaction.  When women experience lower satisfaction, it’s often because they feel exploited by their jobs, are emplowed in lower-level jobs, or are being paid less than men even when performing comparable work.
• Life Satisfaction: People who are more satisfied with life in general also tend to be more satisfied with their work.

Stay tuned for more from the field of I/O!

Be Productive About Personal Calls at Work

For those of us with jobs that require our presence M-F, 9-5, calling customer service for personal issues is often a real pain in the neck. It would be one thing if you could solve your problem during a 15 minute break from your usual workload. But customer service phone calls seem to be taking longer and longer, with endless time spent on hold – and those infuriating automated responders who delight in saying: “I’m sorry? I didn’t get that.”

Fortunately, there’s a website making its way around the Internet called GetHuman.com. GetHuman provides the names and toll-free numbers for hundreds of regularly used customer service organizations in a host of categories like automotive, credit, banking, government, insurance, telecommunications, and shipping – and gives you precise instructions for how to bypass the automated prompt and connect immediately to a live human.  The site also offers these general tips in the event that your company of choice isn’t listed:

1. Interrupt. Press 0 (or 0# or #0 or 0* or *0) repeatedly, sometimes quickly. Unfortunately the same keystroke does not always work for each company. Many IVRs will connect to a human after a few "invalid entries", although some IVRs will hang up.
2. Talk. Say "get human" (or "agent" or "representative") or raise your voice, or just mumble. The IVR might connect you to a human after one of these key or unknown phrases.
3. Just hold, pretending you have only an old rotary phone.
4. Connect to account collections or sales or account cancellation; they always seem to answer quickly. First ask them for their name and rep number (so they know you are writing it down, and thus so they are more likely to help you.) Then ask them to transfer you to the department you need. Sometimes they will put you ahead of the queue, although sometimes they will send you to the end (and thus in those cases this tip is useless).
5. Toll call. For credit cards, if the expected wait time is too long, hang up and try to call back on their non-toll-free number, as they often have shorter queues.
6. Selecting the option for Spanish will sometimes get you a bilingual human more quickly than if you just waited for an English-only operator.

Thank you, GetHuman.  Now if we must risk spending our time at work making personal phone calls, we can at least know we’re being productive about it.

Arm Yourself Against Workplace Affairs

Anita Bruzzese over at 45 Things has an interesting post on workplace romance. While Anita does mention that 58 percent of us working folk have dated someone you work with and that she herself married someone she met on the job, it’s cool that she doesn’t spend the rest of the post chastising those who are currently in a relationship with a colleague. Instead, she does something that’s much more useful.  With help from mediator Barbara Reeves Neal, Anita provides some great tips for how those of us who are already married or seriously involved can keep workplace relationships strictly professional. Among them:

• No after hour meetings if they can be avoided. “Remind yourself of the family you have at home,” Neal says.
• No hotel room meetings. This can be slightly problematic when all the men – or all the women – want to meet in someone’s room and the one person of the opposite sex feels uncomfortable with it. Still, everyone should be understanding and hold all meetings in the hotel lobby or other meeting room. When traveling on business, stay away from dimly lit restaurants or bars.
• Remember that the “good feelings” you have working with that person are because you’re working towards a common goal. Don’t infuse the relationship with personal emotional attachment.

I have occasionally worried about what would happen if I were to unexpectedly meet someone through my work with whom I couldn’t resist starting an affair.  Hopefully by keeping this advice in the back of my mind, I’ll be able to deal with the situation effectively if it ever does come up.