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What Horror Movies Can Teach You About Work

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I’ve watched a lot of horror movies over the years. And yes, most of them are pretty lousy. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from them. I actually think they provide a lot of helpful information about how to succeed in the workplace!

Here’s just a sampling of what I’ve learned:

  • Pay attention to your intuition – Do you feel like something is going amiss on a project that you’re working on? Or do you feel like you really shouldn’t go into the basement of that creepy, abandoned cabin in the woods? Well, you should trust those feelings! If your intuition is telling you that something isn’t quite right, don’t ignore it. Do some investigating and adjust your course of action, if necessary.
  • When something goes wrong, don’t panic – If a client suddenly changes a deadline, or if your plan to defeat a vengeful ghost goes awry, try to stay calm. Panicking often causes people to make bad decisions. When something goes wrong, it’s best if you can tackle the issue calmly and rationally.
  • Hone your problem-solving skills – Who survives and thrives in tense situations? It’s the people who are good at solving problems! In order to be successful, you need to be able to adapt rapidly to change, exercise good judgment, and solve problems creatively and competently.
  • Work as a team – If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from horror movies, it’s that you and your friends/coworkers should stick together. You’re much more skilled, competent, and effective when you combine your talents and work as a cohesive team. Successful teams are empowering and productive. They make any task seem like it can be easily managed.
  • Think critically – When you’re presented with a complex, ambiguous problem, think things through carefully. After all, you don’t want to be the kind of person who pokes at a strange alien creature without even putting on a protective suit! (Things never go well for those kinds of people.) Take the time to gather, interpret, and evaluate information, and use it to make effective decisions.

Good luck! And if you have any additional horror movie-related tips, please feel free to share them in the Comments section below!

 

Things That Movies Get Wrong About Work

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Movies are the best. They are fabulous and entertaining. And I think they’ve taught me a lot about work and how to be an effective employee!

But even though movies can sometimes offer some insight into the workings of an office, they often get so many things wrong. In my opinion, here are some of the biggest misconceptions:

  • We don’t all work in advertising. People in movies do work in a variety of fields. But an overwhelming number of them seem to be advertising executives. And they always need to make a BIG presentation to an important client by some impossible deadline. Drama!
  • We don’t all hate our desk jobs. In the movies, if people don’t work in advertising, they probably work in a cubicle at some crappy desk job, and they hate it. But hey – I’ve worked in a cubicle before, and I thought it was fine! And I bet there are lots of people who feel similarly satisfied with their desk jobs. Desk jobs often provide consistency and cubicles can be very cozy!
  • We don’t all have horrible bosses. Movie bosses are the worst! They’re petty, shallow, demanding, and cruel. Maybe some of you are currently working for a person like this. (If so, you have my sympathy!) But I bet there are plenty of people who feel just fine about their bosses. Personally, I like mine a lot.
  • We don’t all have an office romance. In the movies, a person is either dating his or her scummy coworker (when the perfect person is right around the corner), or dating some other scummy person (when the perfect person is actually his or her coworker). Either way, romance is in the air! Now I suppose that office romances do happen occasionally. But they definitely don’t happen with the amazing frequency that they do in the movies.
  • Sometimes, we actually have to do work. People in movies never seem to actually do work when they’re in the office. (The same phenomena can be seen in movies about college students – they never study or go to class.) In reality, work isn’t all about bantering with your coworkers. Sometimes, we do have to be productive!

So there you go – a brief list of things that movies get wrong about work. But I’m sure I’ve left a lot of important items off this list. So please feel free to provide your suggestions in the Comments section below!

 

What Movies Have Taught Me About Work

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Movies are great, aren’t they? They’re engaging and entertaining – and even educational! I think I’ve learned a lot from movies over the years. I’ve learned that aliens are often susceptible to the common cold, cars that fall off of cliffs always explode, and no matter how bad your relationship is, you can patch things up by running to the airport, catching up to your significant other just as he or she is about to board a plane, and declaring your love.

Movies have even taught me some helpful things about work and how to be an effective employee. Now I know there aren’t that many movies that focus specifically on the workplace. (Maybe because the office isn’t always the most exciting place to be? There aren’t any aliens there, generally.) But after giving it a little thought, I did come up with ten movies that seem to fit the bill.

So here’s my list of workplace movies (presented in the order that I thought of them), and the lessons that can be learned from each:

  1. Office Space (1999)
    When a hypnotherapy session goes wrong, an office worker gains the power to fight back against workplace bureaucracy, tiny cubicles, and perpetually jammed printers.
    Lesson: Speak your mind – your bosses will respect you for it! (And keep tabs on your stapler.)
  2. Nine to Five (1980)
    Three office workers become close friends and decide to work together to bring down their sleazy, sexist boss.
    Lesson: Your coworkers are awesome! You should be friends with them.
  3. The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
    Keanu Reeves is an attorney who defends horrible, guilty people in order to get ahead – only to find out that his boss is actually the devil. (I hate when that happens.)
    Lesson: Don’t compromise your principles for a promotion.
  4. Working Girl (1988)
    In order to escape the secretary pool, Melanie Griffith transforms herself (makeover time!), pretends to be her backstabbing boss, and puts together a lucrative business deal.
    Lesson: If you want to be taken seriously, you need to have serious hair.
  5. The Secret of My Success (1987)
    In order to escape the mailroom, Michael J. Fox pretends to be a hotshot, young executive.
    Lesson: When an opportunity arises, you should seize it.
  6. Norma Rae (1979)
    Sally Field fights the powers that be in order to form a union at the textile factory where she works.
    Lesson: Stand up for what you believe in.
  7. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
    Poor Anne Hathaway has to deal with a terrible boss when she takes a glamorous new job at a fashion magazine.
    Lesson: Even if your job is horrible, there can still be some perks – like free clothes and trips to Paris! No? Well, maybe you get free food once in a while?
  8. Desk Set (1957)
    Katharine Hepburn is a brilliant head librarian who feels threatened when a huge new computer is brought in to help modernize her department.
    Lesson: Don’t be afraid of technology. Computers are extremely helpful!
  9. The Apartment (1960)
    In order to win the favor of his scummy, corporate bosses, Jack Lemmon allows them to use his apartment as a place to rendezvous with their mistresses. As a result, he almost loses his chance at true love.
    Lesson: Don’t let people take advantage of your good nature.
  10. Trading Places (1983)
    As the result of a cruel bet, down-on-his-luck Eddie Murphy and rich, clueless Dan Aykroyd trade places, and it turns out they’re both pretty good commodity brokers.
    Lesson: Don’t be afraid to try new things. You never know what you might be good at!

I know there are many more movies that I’ve missed –classic films, guilty pleasures, trashy B-movies, etc. Please feel free to share your favorite work-themed movies in the Comments section below!

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