ArcaMax

I congratulate you!

You've become an expert at how to avoid work at work. No matter how many assignments you have or how tight the deadlines are, you still manage to fritter away most of the workday.

Yes, you're a good little fritterer, but you're not perfect. Why? You fight the system between nine and five, goofing off when you should be ...Read more

There are a lot of names your co-workers could call you, but workaholic isn't one of them. That's not right.

Just because you do almost no work doesn't mean that you're not a workaholic. You're simply a workaholic when it comes to not working. Put another way, no amount of work is too much if it will make it possible for you to not do any ...Read more

Listen, I know you really like this column. I'm thrilled that reading my well-chosen, artisanal words every week is the high point of your drab existence.

What I don't understand is why you don't send a thank-you note.

Would it really kill you to take a few moments out of your depressing day to pop off a few paragraphs of appreciation on ...Read more

What's the worst part of starting a new job?

Your new, puny salary? Your new, miserable boss?

Not even close!

What's worse are your new co-workers lining up to ask you personal questions -- questions you would rather not answer, like "What is your name?" or "Are you pregnant or just fat?" or "Didn't I see you on 'Dr. Pimple Popper'?"

If you'...Read more

I don't mean to be negative, but don't you hate working with people who are negative?

And negative people are everywhere.

It's true! No matter whether you deal with co-workers, spouses or cocker spaniels, at some point, you will come face-to-face with a negative Norbert. About that, I am positive.

Aja Frost can help.

Frost is the author of "...Read more

Call me cynical, but I have questions about the career advice I get from job-hunting websites.

The job sites do a really good job when it comes to alerting you about all the problems in your job, but, in the end, they invariably suggest that the answer is to get a new job. And guess the best way to find a new, absolutely perfect dream job.

...Read more

Boo hoo. You didn't get promoted.

You deserved the promotion. You asked for the promotion. But guess who got the promotion? Someone who isn't you.

Everyone knows what to do after you get a promotion -- basically, nothing. You need time to settle into your new job. You need space to learn who your most motivated team members are and how you ...Read more

Good news!

You are only 11 steps away from getting promoted.

So says Libby Kane, the author of "Bosses Tell Us: 11 Things That Will Get You Promoted," a recent post on The Muse website.

Kane is quick to put the kibosh on typical, woo-woo, wishy-washy advice. "And we don't mean 'be more confident' or 'be more passionate,'" she writes. "We ...Read more

You deserve a big fat raise! Care to argue the point? Didn't think so. But did you ever consider that the reason you are so dramatically underpaid may not be the fault of a stingy boss not giving you more? The problem could be your wimpy self not having the gumption to ask for more.

Or so suggests Robin Ryan in her recent post "What Salary ...Read more

Let's face it: You love your job so much that the idea of taking a vacation is totally ridiculous.

Why would you exchange all that invigorating stress for lazing around a talcum-powder white beach with a cold margarita? You'd have to be crazy!

Well, you are crazy, and that explains why you will be taking a vacation, like it or not.

If you ...Read more

Ever get the feeling that you don't belong?

You come to work and do your job, but you can't escape the suspicion that everyone else is different from you.

In a word, you're a misfit.

Now, it could be that everyone else in your office is a misfit, and you're the only normal person. Or it could be that everyone else is normal, and the misfit ...Read more