Ow, my breathing!

Office printers 'are health risk' - "Almost one-third were found to emit ultra-tiny particles of toner-like material, so small that they can infiltrate the lungs and cause a range of health problems from respiratory irritation to more chronic illnesses." [BBC via Gizmodo]

Now it's all coming together: four straight years of 15+ hours per week spent working in a small and poorly ventilated room full of laser printers that chugged away non-stop the whole time, and the periodic 7-to-10 week cases of bronchitis that just wouldn't go away and which disappeared completely when I left university. It certainly makes a fella' think.

Best job title ever

Nougat Making Specialist

Couch Entitlement - "Although men in many rich countries do not work less than women, they do enjoy about 20 to 30 minutes more leisure per day (over an hour more in Italy) because they spend less time on sleep and other biological necessities. Men spend almost all of this additional leisure time watching television" [Slate]

My vote for word of the century:

"Presenteeism"

WordSpy: "The feeling that one must show up for work even if one is too sick, stressed, or distracted to be productive; the feeling that one needs to work extra hours even if one has no extra work to do."

Random Googled glossary: "Describes an employee who is at work but not fully functioning while there."

Urban Dictionary: "[The phenomenon] of showing to work when you are sick. Opposite of absenteeism."

Dictionary.com/Webster's: "[T]he practice of always being present at the workplace, often working longer hours even when there is nothing to do."

WebMD: "[W]hen sick employees show up for work."

MedicineNet.com: "The problem of workers being on the job but, because of medical conditions, not fully functioning. The health problems that result in presenteeism include such chronic or episodic ailments as seasonal include: depression, back pain, arthritis, heart disease, high blood pressure, and gastrointestinal disorders. An example of presenteeism might ibe an employee who suffers from depression and so is less able to work effectively. And another example might be the employee with a migraine headache who may have difficulty looking at a computer screen."

Now for a not-SideJob to track...

SideJobTrack calls itself a "web-based job tracking, invoicing, reporting & project management software for the part-time independent contractor." [via WebWorkerDaily]

Stay in school, kids

It's hard to remain optimistic about one's own job prospects when Softchoice wants Facilities Assistants (whose duties include: "restock toilet paper, hand towels and soap", "Clean fridges every two weeks", "Wipe glass surfaces with Windex") to have a "College or University Degree", the "ability to multi-task", and "Working knowledge of MS Word, Excel, Outlook".

Perhaps at Canada's 8th best workplace (2006), BA-wielding janitors are expected to simultaneously email revised spreadsheets tracking office-wide TP use statistics to their supervisors while re-filling the liquid soap dispensers.

Province brands city a high-risk employer - "Toronto has been declared a 'high-risk' employer by Ontario's Ministry of Labour because of its poor health and safety record, the city's employee and labour relations committee has heard. The designation means the city is subject to more intensive and more frequent safety inspections, and pays higher premiums to the WSIB." [The Star]

NDP leader wants $10 wage vote - "'New Democrats will not sleep, we will not slumber, we will not rest until Ontario has a $10-an-hour minimum wage and every working person in this province gets a fair day's pay for a hard day's work,' Hampton said yesterday in his keynote address at the provincial NDP convention in Toronto." [Toronto Star]

Review minimum wage, Tory urges - "He proposed a commission that would consult broadly with business and social justice groups annually and decide whether the minimum wage, which rises 25 cents to $8 an hour next week, should be changed to reflect economic conditions." [Toronto Star]