Can-Do-Ology: Business meets Personal, falls in love, has several Stuff That Needs Doing offspring, and goes seeking suitable live-in help.
From the category archives:
Karen Burns, Working Girl directed her readers to a site packed with articles, job-seeking tools, and informational notes: Quintessential Careers.
Lots of great stuff there, including:
Bookmark it. It's worth your time to check out.
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My dad has been on disability for several years (one of many souvenirs of another driver’s November ‘85 decision to booze up and get behind the wheel). His experiences impressed upon me the stark reality that all of those “It would never happen to me” situations can happen, and just might.
Thus, disability insurance seems like a good idea, especially since we are working longer than ever before (on a daily basis, and on a years-til-retirement basis). There are simply more opportunities for “something” to occur, and poof!–the career you had is no longer a possibility.
The Wisdom Journal posted a great article on disability insurance that included some statistics that may surprise you: for instance, if you follow the conventional wisdom of putting away 10% of your income into savings (which very few of us actually do, by the way), one year of total disability will wipe out a decade of your savings’ principal. Simple math, startling results.
The article also offers some tips on selecting a policy if you decide to get disability insurance.
Of course, getting the insurance is a whole new challenge.
Of six mid- to late- twenty professionals that I know personally who attempted to get disability insurance, exactly none of them were deemed healthy enough to qualify for a policy that was even remotely affordable or logical.
Reasons the insurance carriers rejected their applications? (a) several suffered from headaches, (b) another had seen physicians for asthma, (c) another was being treated for carpal tunnel by a physical therapist, and (d) one had been on birth control pills for “too long.”
I find this, frankly, absurd. I understand insurance companies must protect themselves, but headaches? Asthma? Carpal tunnel? Birth control? These are extremely common medical conditions or treatments in today’s professional population–and it actually encourages professionals to avoid seeking treatment for their ailments until they get disability insurance. Delaying treatment can make the condition worse, thereby increasing the likelihood of disability claims. So the whole rigamarole is, as I said, absurd.
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This blog entry inspired by “High on Heels: How Shoes Affect the Juggle” (Wall Street Journal blog, May 21) and “For Women Litigators: A Courtroom Footwear Dilemma?” (Wall Street Journal Law Blog, May 22).
I love shoes, but I hate the pain that comes along with long days in high heels. I’m not talking about sexy, strappy stilettos–you’re supposed to be presenting arguments, not picking up dates.
Even if you’re used to wearing them, you will eventually wind up with hip, back, and foot pain, often chronic, from years of heel-wearing dictated by professional dress codes.
I think a commenter called Boston Lawyer hit the nail on the head:
Maybe I’m wrong about this, and I’d certainly prefer if I were, but women in certain professions in the public eye (appearing before judges and jurors, in my case), really have a legitimate reason to buy and wear uncomfortable heels (after a long jury trial once, I came home with double tendinitis in my feet from heels-wearing), skirt suits and stockings, makeup, jewelry, etc — all of the stuff that my male colleagues don’t have to spend time and money on. If I were to appear before an 80 year old male judge in something actually comfortable, the conventional wisdom is that I’d be doing my clients a disservice.
(Sidenote: Double tendinitis?! OUCH!)
I absolutely understand the professional dress code in law offices, and it doesn’t bother me (though I am in the camp of people that really does work just as efficiently in PJs as I do in a suit–it’s just the appearance that changes, not my work ethic, but I understand that it does affect work level for some people, and I can get behind the dresscode).
What I dislike is being near tears on a Thursday afternoon because my feet hurt so bad because of heels. I’m all in favor of jeans-casual Fridays simply to give women a chance to wear foot- (and back- and hip-) friendly shoes for 20% of the work week!
If I ran my own office, this would be one of its quirks: you can wear whatever shoes you want while you’re working, except for flip flops, because the sound they make drives me crazy. Footwear can click pleasantly, but should never “thwock, thwock, thwock.” It’s unnatural. Now when you go to court or to a client meeting, you’d be expected to be in situation-appropriate footwear. But in the office? Your feet are comfy and cared-for so that you’re focused on your work, not on the pain in your arches.
Takers?
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I’m Marissa, can-do-ologist, perpetual Curious George, and daily adventurer.
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