PinoyDad.com

Medyo hindi madali ang buhay ngayon. The U.S. recession undoubtedly affects everyone. Many family breadwinners may have found themselves trying to weather the existing financial storm. Many may be joining the job market fresh from school. Many may have unfortunately been the victims of job cuts and are now looking for new work. In either case, there may be two steps to take before landing a job — getting your resume out there and, if found interesting by a prospective employer, preparing for an interview. (more…)

There’s a bill filed at the House of Representatives. The bill (which refers to a proposed law, not a paper akin to a statement of account) proposes an extension of the legally-mandated maternity leave. House Bill 3973 is a bill seeking to increase “maternity leave benefits from 60 days to 120 days or four months.” (more…)

I guess all of us experienced, at times, an emptiness which threatens to destroy our neat concept of ourselves and the world. This emptiness is not defined simply by the absence of purpose or the lack of interest in anything (or the apparent interest in everything), although this appears to be a manifestation of such mind-numbing state. We stop caring about anything and focus on that ever-increasing lump of inexplicable emotions weighing down our chests. What’s frustrating about it is not just the huge amount of energy needed to get out of this vicious cycle, but the inability to put a finger on what exactly it is. (more…)

(This letter is written by a law school classmate, a lady lawyer. This is reprinted here, with prior permission, since it contains kernels of thought that made me pause and think about my own life. The first half of the letter, which is as long as the unedited half posted here, had been deleted.) (more…)

I wrote something about the fast lane, which is basically about slaving at work and the rat race. I never heard of the concept known as downshifting, until I read Lalaine’s article on the subject matter. I agree with her that downshifting primarily requires emotional and financial readiness. Nevertheless, the ultimate consideration is one’s contentment. Are we happy and contented with what we have now? When we achieve something, it’s almost certain that we will want more. Moving forward, it seems, is already programmed in our genes. Stopping and actually stepping back, on the other hand, is a decision that is extremely difficult to make. Here are some portions of Lalaine’s article: (more…)

(Here’s something that made me smile. This email made the rounds some time ago and, as usual, the author is not indicated in the email…will be more than glad to acknowledge authorship if someone steps up.) (more…)

(Original post: 25 January 2006) Last week, I reported back for work after a paternity-vacation leave of almost a month. Paternity leave is only for 7 working days and the extended vacation was necessary to address my work burnout. Although the time off did not allow me to completely rest (our “little monster” had cholic episodes at night), it allowed me to reflect on things. (more…)

Office politics is a fact of institutional or corporate life. As long as organizations exist, office politics will always be there. On a neutral note, office politics is simply the relationship and interaction between and among co-workers (and, to a certain extent, with the bosses). The relationship should ideally be of mutual respect, and the interaction should be one of healthy competition. Unfortunately, office politics – just like general politics in our country – is viewed as something extremely negative. It’s present in any corporate structure and gets worse in bigger corporations.In other words, you can’t run away from office politics. Here are some points to remember in order to survive the office jungle: (more…)

The likelihood of a relationship developing in the office is very much within the realm of possibility. A relationship, of course, could sprout anywhere, but the office environment makes it more conducive for a romance to blossom — the parties involved may be spending more time together at work than at home. Come to think of it: you work between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the office, plus overtime. Assuming you don’t go out on gimik, the other half of your time is spent at home, less the time you spend sleeping. (more…)

What’s the difference between “Good morning, sir“ and “Sir, morning na”? Well, the latter may mean lots of things, one of which is sexual harassment. I know there are hotter issues of these days, but in the meantime, let’s shift and set our hands on sexual harassment (pun intended). Republic Act 7877, also known as the “Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995″, covers only the superiors in a work, education or training-related environment. (more…)