Laurie ruettimann's Page

In my former life as a Human Resources Manager, I worked for a large insurance company. I was the regional HR Manager for the mergers & acquisitions division. After 9/11, the layoffs began. The acquired companies were divested; everyone who was assimilated into our company (& our culture) was given a severance package or sent [...]

I love the 90s and I love this video of the single worst boss in America. Check out that tie & the hair. For another view, here’s a video that shows us exactly what was happening through the eyes of his ‘producer’ (who looks like Chris Elliott). I also love this video from Countdown, last night. Finally, here’s the [...]

Quick post. Here’s a lovely article on a nineteen-year-old flight attendant for a partner of Northwest Airlines who didn’t want to fly a specific route at work — so he allegedly started a fire inside a paper towel compartment in the rear bathroom of the plane. Flight attendant accused of setting fire on airplane - Yahoo! [...]

This for my HR Scrabulous buddies out there — most of whom I’ve met through this blog. LTS&R ain’t gonna get you very far. As a side note, my pformer employer blocked Facebook almost immediately after I left the organization. Coincidence? Happenstance? Divine intervention from Baby Jesus? I’m curious about the level of access to Web 2.0 in [...]

I worked as a recruiter back in the 90s. I was in my office, minding my own business, when I heard a knock at my door. I looked up and saw an administrative assistant in tears. She accidentally stabbed herself in the thigh with a pencil while trying to open a box. For reals. She was in pain and asked, [...]

Dear Laurie, As a prefatory note, you don’t look very punk rocker-ish which, for my money, is a much more satisfactory state of affairs. I’m writing to solicit your opinion on the use of the Briggs-Myer and FIRO-B in a OD-team building day and half session for my employer which is a state special district. We’re a [...]

Per Cute Overload’s suggestion, I made a demotivator poster for my office at Team Building Is For Suckers, Inc. Our new brand slogan? “Building teams through the power of NOM.”

I rarely write about math or compensation because neither are my strong suit; however, I’m here to testify to the dangers of tapping into your 401(k), your pension plan, and other retirement investments. A former employer of mine allowed employees to borrow money from their 401(k)s and repay the loans through payroll deductions; however, my employer [...]

Deb Owen, one of the first people who actually read my blog when I started writing about Human Resources, is quoted on The Shine network on Yahoo. Check it out, yo: Words of wisdom for entrepreneurs from the pros on Shine: For those contemplating taking what Thoreau called ‘the leap in the dark to our success’, it’s [...]

Scott Adams is trying to come up with the ultimate Catbert t-shirt design. Go vote here (correct link!).