What to get to cheer up a friend?

December 19, 2005 8:02 PM

Cheer-up-a-friend-fliter: My friend was just let go from her job because hiring someone new would be cheaper on her employer's budget.

What would be a great book to give to her that says, "F*ck work!" ? Anything uplifting whether it is a feel good book or gift would be helpful.

I just feel so awful that they did this to her just before X-Mas!

posted by echolex to work & money (16 comments total)

They always do it right before Christmas. It makes sense for bonuses, benefits, and a raft of other mostly financial reasons, not to mention the fact that returning employees have a long vacation to think about rather than her abscence.

I'd say to avoid the work issue altogether and be a friend that DOESN'T remind her of the whole situation. It's much more useful and pleasant to have. :) Just take her out for a nice night or something to get her mind *off* things.
posted by kcm at 8:04 PM on December 19, 2005

I failed to mention that I live in Michigan and she lives in New York so doing something together is not an option right now.
posted by echolex at 8:08 PM on December 19, 2005

There's acomic book by James Kochalka called "Quit Your Job." No entirely apropos, but very sweet with a talking kitty and lots of anti-employment sentiment.
posted by Sara Anne at 8:36 PM on December 19, 2005

Maybe?
posted by bigmusic at 8:37 PM on December 19, 2005

how 'bout a nice gift basket of tasty foods (a la Harry & David, but of course there are a lot of options)? Wine, chocolates, fruit, etc. are always nice, but would perhaps be an especially nice treat right now as she might be reluctant to splurge for herself on such treats till she gets a new job. (Ditto stuff like certificates for a spa day, manicure/pedicure, etc.)
posted by scody at 8:43 PM on December 19, 2005

apologies for the overuse of "nice" in the preceding sentence.
posted by scody at 8:44 PM on December 19, 2005

Perhaps Sabotage in the American Workplace or Abolition of Work?
posted by jtron at 8:58 PM on December 19, 2005

Bad Jobs: My Last Shift at Albert Wong's Pagoda and Other Ugly Tales of the Workplace

Seriously, there is no way she could read this and not feel a whole lot better about getting out of her previous employment.
posted by Kickstart70 at 9:28 PM on December 19, 2005

That really sucks - was it a "good" "career" job or something more generic?

Perhaps a Calvin & Hobbes anthology - the childhood delight of Calvin and the not-quite-(fullblown)-cynical (but astute) musings of Hobbs can cheer me up at times when I'm thinking that the world is particularly unfair to me.

If it was a career-type job that screwed your friend with a snapped-off broomhandle, I'm not sure. I'd go for something a little more dirty or black-humour.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 12:31 AM on December 20, 2005

Hmm. This is not the best thing to happen, but with any problem you can decide to look at the down side and sulk, or you could look at the bright side - she can now find a better job, and what better time than christmas. There are plenty of jobs available now, allowing her to gain experience in other areas.

She needs to work out what she has to offer other businesses and then go and sell herself to them!

Whether or not she wants to find another job now, that is her choice. If she wants to leave it til after christmas I would recommend doing the preparations now, as this will make it easier for her to get a job after christmas.

Once she has prepared her CV for finding new jobs, she could say send it off to a large number of companies. Then she can rest at peace over christmas, knowing that after the break she should recieve some calls back from those businesses she has submitted cv's to.

All the best!
posted by h4inf at 1:26 AM on December 20, 2005

Thank you everyone for your suggestions!

To PurplePorpoise - it was her career job.
posted by echolex at 4:21 AM on December 20, 2005

Hello Laziness!: Why Hard Work Doesn't Play is supposed to be quite good. Google can point you towards many articles on the controversy it generated.
posted by caek at 5:41 AM on December 20, 2005

Er, isn't that kind of thing illegal? Perhaps the best thing you can do for your friend is to encourage her to look into the legality of her employer's action and find out if she has any recourse. I may be wrong here, but it never hurts to know what your rights are.
posted by orange swan at 7:47 AM on December 20, 2005

I am sure if an employer did that in the UK they would be up in front of an inustrial tribunal before you could say 'unfair dismissal'.

That aside.. what about 'Who Moved My Cheese?' ?
posted by Frasermoo at 8:39 AM on December 20, 2005

Not work specific, but 14,000 Things to Be Happy About is a fun book to give someone.
posted by thebabelfish at 1:44 PM on December 21, 2005

It conveys the message in a certain way -- not quite aggressively a "fuck work" book, but definitely a "where do you want to go, explore non-mainstream alternatives" kind of book: Po Bronson's What Should I Do With My Life?.
posted by WCityMike at 9:24 PM on December 22, 2005