And now, a Very Special "Ask Uncle Trey Pound..."

Mom always told me my mouth would get me in trouble one day. I figured I'd wind up getting my ass handed to me in a drunken bar fight with a Marine, but it was Twitter.com that was my undoing. One night killing time at work, I logged onto Twitter.com for some snarky commentary with my fellow tweeters. I posted some (pretty rude) comments about a large client of my employer...which said client later noticed and brought to the attention of my boss--who had no choice but to fire me. Looking back, it's clear that it's a mess entirely of my own making. I screwed up, and I got fired. Having said that, I should also mention: it really sucks. It doesn't just suck because of the sudden unemployment, either. Now, whenever someone asks me why I left my job, I have to give them an answer that involves me looking stupid. No matter how cleverly I may try to phrase it, what most people hear is "I'm a moron with poor judgement who shot his mouth off." And by "most people," I mean "potential new employers." With the stink of this embarrassment following me like a bad fart, I had to go back out into the job market after losing a job I loved. I should mention, this is an indictment of neither Twitter.com nor my former employer. I still use Twitter.com (though I have upped my privacty settings), and I still have great friends at my former place of employment. Leave it to me to ruin my dream job by being too outgoing. A few positives have come out this, however. I've learned how supportive my friends can be--I've never gotten more emails containing links to job openings. More importantly, I've learned the age-old lesson to watch my mouth. We live in an age where everyone has the ability to (essentially) self-publish. And I made the rookie mistake of not considering who might stumble across my rude comments. But I would be Uncle Trey Pound if I didn't use my embarrassment to benefit others. So consider the consequences of your words in general, online specifically. As a woman much wiser than me once said, "Never underestimate the power of the internet." Yours, Uncle Trey Pound

Dear Uncle Trey Pound: Working Stiff

Dear Uncle Trey Pound:

I work for a small, privately-owned company. Our owner expects his employees to take on extra responsibility, yet doesn’t want to compensate us for our efforts. We’ve all griped about it, but no one is sure what do, as jobs in our industry are hard to come by these days. No one wants to bite the proverbial hand that feeds us, but it’s getting frustrating Uncle Trey Pound. We’ve been feeling taken for granted, but lately we’ve been feeling taken advantage of which is even worse. Before it seemed like he was just tight with a dime, now it’s more like he’s actively trying to use us.

Signed,

Working Stiff

Dear Stiff:

Yours is a fairly common complaint. Bosses tend to be good at delegating responsibility—that’s usually how they become bosses. But if you’re doing work for which you’re not being compensated, then it’s your responsibility to speak up. You don’t have to have to organize a union, or boycott the company, just sit your boss down and (calmly) share your concerns with him. It’s entirely possible that he’s unaware of the revolt brewing among his minions. If your suspicions are accurate, and he really is taking advantage of your work ethic, then you need to have your exit strategy in place. While there might not be a lot of jobs in your industry available right now, doesn’t sound like you’ll be missing out on too much. Good luck!