Writing for my work self

I am proud to be among the contributing writers for the Women of HR blog. It’s a wonderful site run by some smart, funny women I first met two or three years ago on Twitter. (There are a ton of fabulous HR professionals on Twitter.) They’ve run two of my pieces so far and I expect another one to go up in about three weeks.

It’s been a change for me to write about Human Resources, because I usually write to escape Human Resources as a self-definition. I’ve heard that in Jane Austen’s time it was considered terribly rude to ask what one did for a living and that’s one of the few things I wish had survived from those days.

I’m not ashamed of the work I do, don’t get me wrong – HR is important and most of the time, I think I do it well – but inside of me is a teenager who insisted her high school keyboarding class was a complete waste of time because it wasn’t like she was going to work in an office. As if! I write to keep that girl quiet; to help her feel proud of herself once in a while.

Thanks to the Women of HR I’ve had a chance to write creatively about my profession. I enjoy it. Here are the two pieces I have up so far, if you’re interested:

The Female Version of John Wayne – On businesswomen who thrived before EEO laws were in place/enforced.

On Labor and Chocolate – How the story of Cadbury chocolate reminded me of the importance of the labor movement.

If you go, stick around! Don’t just read my stuff. Everything on the site is well-written and worth your time.