Jr, I'll catch up with you on that, but I've never actually encountered any sexual or religious harassment 9-5 M-F. I have more of a problem during that time with people interrupting my reverie-filled mental life with intrusive packets of work, without any prior indication on my part that I was particularly open to receiving any. Just kidding.

Here is something we can all use, though. In our paper WE HAVE a Joy Richwell column every week, HAHAHA and YOU don't. She is a local speaker and career coach and I usually don't like what she says. OK, today's column is It's difficult to fit in when you really don't Really catchy title, so I made an exception and tried to concentrate.

Basically, she says employers and job applicants should pay as much attention to matching the workplace culture as they do in matching skill sets to job requirements. Each should evaluate this somehow (not clear yet but she does give tip to read "Working ith Emotional Intelligence" by William Goleman).

She states the obvious, that it is difficult to feel effective when you don't feel accepted, have frustrations and wasted energy spent getting along with others vs. getting the job done. She says unless you blend your style with theirs, you are in for a rough tide. Here is the main interesting thing. She says The boss doesn't fire you, your colleagues do.

I quote: "If how you look, talk, interact or relate with the boss or co-workers consisitently deviates fromthe prevailing norem, you're likely to get cut out of the herd. It doesn't matter if that's right or wrong, 'behaving differently' costs. If you dress up in a dress down environment, or vice versa, you'll stir up talk by barely trying. One-up a co-worker in front of the boss, and you're bound to get a nasty reaction. Come in late when everyone comes in early, and you'll be marginalized. Figure out the culture by observing it. I you're not sure what it is, or want to confirm your understanding of it, ask employees who seem connected, not those who look as outside the loop as you feel."

But here is the more Christian(?) part of it: "High-performing teams realize that the key to their professional success turns on everyone having the opportunity to achieve the group's goals. To buy in, you have to know what they are, why they exist and the part you play in getting there. Tradeoffs occur when one person is willing ot help another. Trust evolves as individuals have consistently positive experiences with each other. You can't ask new players to prove themselves as valuable contributors if you're not willing to show them how your game is played."

The she concludes that successive downsizings can leave even the survivors feeling victimized. They try to protect themselves by withdrawing from their colleagues. She says "Help break that cycle. Reach out to each other adn create community in the workplace. It sure beats whatever is in second place."