Have you ever had a gut feeling something was about to happen at your job… that involved you? Hopefully it’s bad indigestion or just you being paranoid. But you should still pay attention to your gut. If Ann Curry’s dramatic departure from the Today show taught us anything, it’s to always be on our guard and pay attention to the writing on the wall.

According to reports, the former morning show anchor may have known her days were numbered prior to her involuntary exit. An abrupt shake-up like that should make everyone take a hard look at their own position. Maybe you can’t help the inevitable, but you sure can begin crafting a plan B if things go south.

Here are nine unspoken signs your time at work might come to an end.

(Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Matt Lauer finally decided to go on the record about the troubles at the Today show. Speaking with Howard Kurtz over at The Daily Beast, he admits that some of the negative talk about the show and the network over the unceremonious dismissal of Ann Curry was “self-inflicted.”

“I don’t think the show and the network handled the transition well. You don’t have to be Einstein to know that,” he said. “It clearly did not help us. We were seen as a family, and we didn’t handle a family matter well.” Talking about the tone of Today as it steadily fell in the ratings behind GMA, he adds, “The show got a little dour and depressing and dark.”

So it’s not the harshest criticism in the world. But it places the blame at the feet of the higher ups. He’s coming out and saying, “They messed up.”

Matt Lauer is a celebrity name, making, some say, $25 million per year. So he’s got privileges that a lot of workers don’t. The show has been in trouble in the ratings, and both he and the show have been bad-mouthed all over the press for a while now. So he, the show, and the network have to do something to turn things around. According to The New York Times, the show made about half a billion (with a “b”) dollars in revenue in 2011, an amount that decreased by $50 million in 2012. So they want Lauer to say whatever it takes to make that cash. Granting interviews and speaking plainly is just one of a few things that could help reverse their fortunes.

Generally, however, companies don’t want employees publicly criticizing them. Lots of people who don’t have the chance for a sit-down with a reporter would love to go on Facebook or Twitter to talk about how bad things are at work. But then you might run afoul of a manager who sees your comments. The courts have even stepped in on the issue, ruling that some social media postings can be used against a person legally.

The key to speaking out about issues that you see at your company is doing it in the appropriate way and in the appropriate venue. If you think that a new policy is unfair, using angry and foul language on social media isn’t going to help. And, to paraphrase what Tom Hanks’ character said in Saving Private Ryan, complain up. It makes no sense to voice your displeasure to someone who can’t do anything about it. In fact, talk to the wrong person, and it could be used against you.

But if you start by speaking with the person who’s in charge of enforcing that rule, finding out the motivation for it, and offering up a suggestion for an alternative, you could actually make a little headway. Perhaps that person will change their approach, or pass it up even higher along the food chain to someone who can implement something new. Particularly if what you’ve got a problem with is something that others feel strongly about as well. There’s power in numbers.

Not every company is reasonable. And some people simply don’t want to hear it. But take the temperature where you work and determine if there’s a way to voice your opinion without ruffling so many feathers that you find yourself out of a job.

(Daily Finance) — Most Americans might not plot to kill their supervisors like the employees do in the new Jennifer Aniston movie Horrible Bosses(opening Friday), but nearly half have reason to scream bloody murder, a new survey says.  A whopping 46% of workers have toiled under an”unreasonable boss”according to an OfficeTeam staffing poll. Of the 441 respondents, 35% said they stayed at first to deal with the issue, while 11% quit immediately.  Apparently the majority of American workers are fearful of confronting their bosses — or getting fired. Despite the negative situation, 59% continued in their position under the same supervisor.

(Fast Company) — Ah, the holiday office party. A time for employees to wind down, loosen their ties, drink some bubbly, and enjoy a night of much-earned revelry with co-workers. That is, until they wake up hungover and half-naked on top of the copy machine, covered in Post-it notes and crumpled Four Loko cans, and realize their reputation is ruined.  According to a study by HR solutions firm Adecco, this kind of unsavory behavior at office parties is far more common than you might expect. Published this week, the survey of more than a thousand American adults found that about 40% of workers say they’ve either embarrassed themselves or know someone who has at a work holiday party. And a shocking 23%–1 in 4!–have been reprimanded for their actions.

Read More…

(Washington Informer) — Imagine that you’re standing in a roomful of people. And you’re completely alone. Throughout your adult life, you’ve been in rooms just like that, solitary in a crowd of people you know. It’s a familiar feeling, one you’ve had before, and you’d leave but the doorway keeps moving when you try.  If you’re an African American in business, that’s no conundrum. You know the room well, even though the entry password often changes mid-game. But according to authors Randal Pinkett and Jeffrey Robinson, you can empower yourself to achieve success in any (board)room, and you can pave the way for others while doing it. In their new book “Black Faces in White Places (with Philana Patterson), they explain.

Read More…