Life! God bless the word processor (the generic term we use for Microsoft Word...or Word for short) Because the first word that you have read is the last word that hit my mind when I completed this article. The true marvel is that I simply move my cursor to the start of this article and type it in. I don't exactly know what that word will be as I am typing now but I am sure it will sum up the totality of what has just hit me.

I didn't intend to write this article as you are reading it. I originally started a diatribe on the NLRB's effort to make trashing your boss on Facebook a "protected" activity. Imagine this, a government agency (for lack of a better word) that regulates and rules on the acceptability of union growth in America is suing for the right to say that comments made in cyberspace is the equivalent of comments you would make around the water cooler. You have a right to complain about your work, on the premises,  as a potential act of union organization. So the NLRB is suing an ambulance firm for firing a worker who trashed his boss on Facebook. The Ambulance company also has a policy that prohibits this activity, as do a lot of companies. In fact more companies every day are passing such policies that outline what you, as an employee, may say on such things as Facebook, Twitter, Linked-in, and a host of other sites. I have buckets of comments regarding this soon to be explosion of controversy.

I also have a four year old who wants me to watch Toy Story 3 with him. It means, that as I type this, a 55lb, 48 inch octopus is sitting on my lap or pulling my arm forcing me to reach around his torso so I can try to type something meaningful.

Before you write me....yes he is that big and yes he is that tall....its genetic. Which brings me to the recent G.I.N.A. regulations just put out by the EEOC regarding companies use of genetic information in hiring and firing. Lots to say about that too. There is an entire world of things to be shared with you.

But the holidays are here and I am the CEO of the Worklife Survival Center. You will read this article, maybe remember it for a week, and perhaps trip over it in the archives of my writing on Jobcastradio.com. The memory created by my words will linger on at least until the next TSA agent reaches for "your junk".  I know that outside this house there is a world of people in pain, people without jobs, friends in need, and things to do. I know that companies, for all their desire to be good to people during the holidays, are going to lay-off a lot of employees in order to clean up the books for 2011. I know that companies starting November 23rd, Brown Tuesday, will start to ramp down on hiring and job hopefuls will have two months of very little hope for finding a job.

But I also know that sitting with my son, watching the magic of Buzz Lightyear, Woody and the gang, will create a very special memory. Not only will it create a memory for me, because he will only be this age once and there are only a few "first times" in his life, but it will also create a memory for him. He will remember sitting with Dad on the couch (most of it in my lap) eating popcorn, and believing that toys live. We will share in the excitement and the magic that we as adults can only find in the eyes of our children. I can make this memory with him, or he will have the memory of watching this movie alone. He will remember Dad typing on the computer after saying "No". These are things he does not understand. Nor should he...What's  to understand in the choice between Toy Story 3 and a laptop with Microsoft Word.

 I get to make a choice of the kinds of memories I will create this Thanksgiving. I can rant about the latest trend in our "Work" world, or I can tell you about a time when I chose "Life" as being more important. Each of you will have to make that choice this week and in the weeks to come. For me, the DVD is loaded and the coming attractions are done. Right now in my "Work-Life" world, the choice is overridingly easy. It's "Life".

 Copyright © 2010 Mike Baumgartner | HR | Consulting | Coach |  Human Resources | Search - CEO, Worklife Survival Center LLC