Mental Health Thread #5 - It's a New Year!

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Hope everybody's staying safe and warm with the weather doing what it's doing in so many parts of the country. We've got temps in the 50's and rain here. We haven't had any real winter weather to speak of, although in our case we often don't get snow until February or March so we're still apt to get dumped on at some point in the next couple of months.
 
Monday it was sunny and 60ish. I even wore just a sweater dress and no coat to run errands and hit up an art museum. It was glorious. Yesterday sucked rotten eggs. It snowed several inches with high winds and -20 windchill overnight. At least I got a day off work out of it. Today, schools were closed and I didn't have to go into work until noon. It is still only 9 degrees out and windy. Stupid polar vortex.
 
I don't want to be mean, and I feel the need to be slightly cryptic, but do those of you who post on other boards with me share my concern about the level of SPHR candidacy that is being presented in places?
 
Well, on one board we're on together, there is one person who keeps posting SPHR test questions for opinions if that is what you mean. Of course, lately on that board we're not having much "customer" traffic & it gives the forum some posts. :) (or are you talking about HR only boards?)
 
No, that's exactly who I mean. I'm concerned about the traffic there too but I'm even more concerned about someone who doesn't know the difference between a public employer and a publicly traded employer, but is taking the SPHR exam.
 
The person besides asking for opinions on SPHR trial test questions, asks quite a few other employment law/HR questions also.
 
cbg said:
I don't want to be mean, and I feel the need to be slightly cryptic, but do those of you who post on other boards with me share my concern about the level of SPHR candidacy that is being presented in places?
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You are not alone. At. All. It is downright scary that any adult would have some of those questions, let alone someone who supposedly does this for a living.
 
You would think this person would be on the forum answering employment law/HR questions instead of asking them.
 
I think all of us, even those of us who have lots of experience, can benefit from seeking the opinions of other practioners. I know that there are times when I appreciate being able to do a double check on my thinking or feel I am too close to a situation to see all the issues clearly and like running things by a nuetral set of eyes. But not daily. If I had to seek reassurance on a regular basis in order to perform the basic job tasks I think I might be inclined to seek another line of work. Perhaps something which does not require a lot of independent thought or analysis.

It does make me wonder just what is asked on those exams though. It does remind me of the criticisms of standardized testing in public schools; students may do great on the tests but walk away with little practical knowledge. I keep thinking about one family friend who helped with a concession stand over the summer. She had taken Calc III, but struggled to make change from $20.
 
At least most cash registers these days tell you how much change to give back where years ago the cashier had to do the calculation in his/her head.
 
See, that's the thing. I've taken the SPHR exam - and passed it on the first try. (I am not currently a holding SPHR - I let it lapse. Long story.) She claims to already have the PHR. The PHR is more useful for the day-to-day stuff and the SPHR more for long-term management and administration. But seriously, some of the stuff she asks sounds more like a beginner in her first job prepping for the PHR, not an experienced manager going for the four letter cert.
 
I'm honestly not sure how this person functions on the job on a daily basis. Unless the job is really just more of a paper-pusher and the scenarios presented almost daily are either hypothetical or someone else is actually charged with dealing with the situations. Anyone dealing with this stuff daily would have to have developed a better understanding of basic employment law and management practices, even if just by trial and effort or accident. Like how do you administer payroll for NE employees without knowing what and if comp time applies? Or even how to calculate OT?
 
And just in case she's reading over my shoulder under another name - I am more than happy to answer any of her questions. That's what the board is there for and that's why I volunteer. It just concerns me that there's so much basic stuff that appears to have escaped a candidate for senior certification.
 
Ditto. I have no problem answering the questions and sharing what tips I have picked up over the years. That is one of the best things about these boards. No matter what comes up, chances are, someone else has faced similar and possibly found a way to approach it that might work for others. Or even just commiserate over the hazards of the job. Sure I can complain to my bf about the joy that is OE, but I'm going to get a lot of blank stares. If I complain to you, I know you are right there with me and feel my pain.
 
The cash register tells you how much change, but recently at a KFC the cashier punched in $20 when I was still digging change out of my pocket. I had the correct change and handed it to her so I was now owed an even $5 or whatever. She was COMPLETELY lost by this concept and grabbed a calculator to figure out what to do. Eventually the manager had to come over and complete the transaction for her. Sad.
 
When my husband was teaching what essentially translated to American Government 101, his cirriculum called for the kids to turn in a research paper right about the same time as the midterm exams, and another about the same time as the final. He'd make his exams multiple choice and make up a master so that I could grade the exams while he graded the research papers. He'd provide extra credit questions such as "Who is the Vice President of the United States" or "Who is the Speaker of the House" and at least one of the four options he provided would be a fictional charactor or a non-political celebrity, thus giving them essentially a one in three chance to get it right even if they guessed.

It used to frighten me how many of the college kids got these questions wrong. It still does, but now that he's teaching a different course where the exams do not lend themselves to multiple choice questions, I can pretend I don't know about it.
 
Oh no you can't do that Rick!
I ordered my drink as lemonade with a little bit of unsweet tea and the cashier said "is that like 50/50?" I just said yeah sure.
 
ferretrick said:
The cash register tells you how much change, but recently at a KFC the cashier punched in $20 when I was still digging change out of my pocket. I had the correct change and handed it to her so I was now owed an even $5 or whatever. She was COMPLETELY lost by this concept and grabbed a calculator to figure out what to do. Eventually the manager had to come over and complete the transaction for her. Sad.
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You are not allowed to do that - you confuse the cashier that way! :)
 
New employee comes to work wearing blue jeans and says "I wasn't sure if it's okay to wear blue jeans."
 
Did the employee have a pair of dress/busi. casual slacks with them in case it wasn't? :)
 
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