HR World 10/13
Making a video complaining about your boss might not be the most obvious way to advance your career, but it appears to have worked for Marina ShifrinMaking a video complaining about your boss might not be the most obvious way to advance your career, but it appears to have worked for Marina Shifrin, who quit her job by uploading a YouTube clip of herself dancing around to the Kanye West song Gone – and has been offered a number of new positions for her trouble, including one on Queen Latifah’s US chat show.
The clip, which has had more than 15 million views, shows 25-year-old video producer Shifrin shaking her booty in the offices of Taiwanese company Next Media Animation, which makes cartoons linked to current events. Shifrin shows off her ‘interpretative’ moves in various locations, including a sound recording booth and the ladies’ loos, while subtitles read: “I’ve sacrificed my relationships, time and energy for this job and my boss only cares about quantity and how many views each video gets.”
However, in a shrewd PR move, Next Media Animation has responded with a tongue-in-cheek video of its own. It shows employees dancing to the same track while highlighting the perks of working for the company, such as the rooftop pool, and advertising Shifrin’s vacancy.
Smelly fruit? What a gas!
When staff at an office building in Sydney, Australia, noticed a strong smell of gas they did what anyone would do and called emergency services – only to discover that the pungent odour was caused not by a dangerous gas leak but by a shipment of exotic fruit.
The mistake took place when employees at Agriculture Malaysia, located in the building, opened 10 packs of fresh durians for testing, according to Malaysian news site The Star Online. The smell entered the ventilation system and caused widespread panic when it reached the floor above.
To avoid further problems, the durian tests have been moved to student accommodation hall Malaysia Hall Sydney, where residents have been enjoying the not-so-sweet smell of home.
Part-time pranksters terrorise employers
If you caught someone cleaning their feet in your dishwasher or putting out cigarettes in your sushi, chances are you wouldn’t be too impressed – and neither are the Japanese business owners whose employees are doing just that.
Part-time workers in shops and restaurants are indulging in pranks and then uploading the photos to Facebook and Twitter in a new social media craze dubbed ‘baito tero’ or ‘part-time job terrorism’, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The trend was sparked when a convenience store worker photographed himself lying inside an ice cream refrigerator and then posted the picture online. Employers have responded strongly, in some cases temporarily or even permanently closing outlets where offences have taken place.
The behaviour is unprecedented in a nation famed for its work ethic and while some commentators are blaming frustration caused by low wages, others are pointing the finger at the attention-seeking culture of social media.
Salary increases rise across the globe
For the first time in years, average salary increases across most world regions have gone up after being adjusted for inflation, according to Aon Hewitt’s 2013 Global Salary Increase Survey.
Asian employees have seen the biggest difference to their pay in real terms, with inflation-adjusted increases of 2.2 per cent, while workers in the Middle East, North America and Europe have enjoyed rises of 2.1 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 1 per cent respectively. Inflation-adjusted salaries have remained stable in Latin America (after falling in 2012) with only African workers seeing a decrease, of 0.5 per cent – despite the continent’s salary increases before adjustment for inflation remaining the highest in the world at 7.2 per cent.
According to the report, the positive figures for 2013 can be largely attributed to lower inflation rates in many world regions. However, projections for 2014 show that while inflation-adjusted salary increases will remain in the positive range everywhere but Africa, the rate of increase will only go up in Europe and North America.
About the author
