Frequently Ignored Questions: Recent Episodes
Graham & Clay
What is the purpose of an email signoff if it already says who it's from?
Is being added to a slack channel actually a disguise for being invited to a digital 24/7 meeting?
2 genius tech coworkers tackle the tough questions about the modern workplace since early 2020.
Email out of office autoresponders, slack away messages, etc. you get it
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When exactly are "the holidays"? There is no clear answer, yet everyone refers to them with a mythical level of respect when it comes to people taking time off from work. Why is it that from the 3rd week of November until January 2nd, nobody can seem to commit to getting any amount of work done? What is this "Holiday math" that everyone does when adding up the days people are actually working?
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What is everyone's dream meeting outcome? Next steps! (But just don't assign them to me). What about when the next steps from Meeting A is to schedule next steps for Meeting B? Do you ever remain silent for 50 minutes in a meeting and chime in at the last minute just to "get credit"? This episode is for you!
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Is the Forbes 30 Under 30 rigged? Are the non-forbes 30 Under 30s the equivalent of TedX talks (aka the McDonalds of TED)? Are there always exactly 30 people worth talking about every single year in each category? Is it just a coincidence that the qualifying age (30) is exactly the same as the number of people worthy of discussion, or is God real?
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In this special edition "grabbag" episode we tackle questions such as:
- What does "Feel free to DM me with any questions" on Slack REALLY mean?
- Are handicap bathrooms exclusively for people with a handicap, akin to the parking spot, or simply accessible and prioritized for their use if there's a line?
- What is the metric system equivalent to a man being 6 feet tall? (It's 182.88cm but that's not a really catchy/round number, so we doubt it's actually a meaningful milestone in metric based societies)
- Why do Ticketmaster, Fandango and others charge an extra "convenience fee" for buying your ticket online, when you're looking in revenue for them in advance and saving them the labor units of a ticket clerk?
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- How long can the Ponzi scheme of sharing Netflix passwords last?
- How soon after a breakup do you change your Netflix password and boot your ex out forever?
- If someone gives you their password once, how long does that entitle you to their account for?
Few questions are answered, many more are posed.
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Do you have a lot of meetings each day? Do you want to sound smart without actually being smart or doing any work? This episode is for you!
We break down 8 of Sarah Cooper's favorite tricks to sound smart in meetings. Check out her calendar with 365 tricks to appear smart in meetings- makes for a great gift!
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To listen to this episode you must include at least 4 of the following: a capital letter, a lower case letter, a symbol, a number, and more than 8 characters.
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In this episode we discuss pressing questions such as:
- What do email marketers and heroin addicts have in common?
- How come you can't unsubscribe from snail mail?
- How do legitimate Viagra (or penis enlargement) marketers get through Gmail's spam filter?
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Are cover letters just the TLDR of resumes? How do you balance talking about yourself (i.e. bragging) with talking about the company? Why isn't there a "common app" for job applications? Do cover letters even get read or are they just a speed bump to applying designed to filter out those not willing to jump through the hoop?
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We tackle pressing questions such as:
- Is the winky face condescending? 😉
- Are emojis unprofessional in the workplace? 😘
- 💩
- Can a woman mansplain? 💁♀
This episode also features the podcast's first ever anonymous caller 🤫who tells their story of an emoji skin tone picker going awry!
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In another pandemic special, we cover Zoom once again, in particular:
- Should you show yourself on video?
- Is it an invasion of privacy to explicitly request someone on a call show their video?
- Why is the 5 seconds between when everyone says goodbye and when a Zoom call actually ends so awkward?
- Is not showing yourself on video with someone trying to sell to you a power move?
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What is the purpose of the cesspool that is called LinkedIn?
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We tackle the insane multitude of chat/messaging features within apps in the modern age. Comment in your podcasting app with what you think, we'll send you an email in response, and then you can text us, we'll reply via whatsapp, you can DM us on instagram, we'll get back to you via Linkedin message, and you can round this all out by Facebook messaging us.
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The modern challenges of communicating laughter digitally. We address such important questions as:
- What's the difference between: Lol, LOL, LOLOL, Hahahaha, LMAO, ROTFL, and "literally dead"?
- Is saying "lol'ing" is nonsensical or is it acceptable in the same way "ATM Machine" is (even though "ATM Machine" is not acceptable FYI)?
- Is dying of laughter a legitimate medical concern? (You actually don't have to listen to this to find out the answer. The answer is "no", or you can just google it)
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Critical questions raised such as:
- If your Zoom call ends after 40 minutes because you're too cheap to pay for a full account, but the call was sort of about to end anyway, do you dial back in?
- Does the size of someone's notebook in a meeting correlate with how high level their job position is?
- In a work meeting is the person taking notes the group secretary or the most powerful person in the room?
- On a Zoom Happy Hour, why when one person says they have to go does everyone start dropping like flies?
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Nothing to do with office culture, but there was really so much to say on this one we couldn't help but make an episode. Why do people have baby on board stickers? Are you less likely to hit a car that has that sticker? Is it fraudulent to put the sticker on before your baby is born? Who is enforcing this??
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Should you always take notes in a job interview? What happens when you stop writing/typing midway through what the other person is saying? Is it inappropriate to take your pants off?
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Is the 40 hour workweek dead? Are you above watching the clock at work or do you just pretend to be? When there is never an end to the work you could be doing, do you have any choice but to timebox? Is your life itself just a giant timebox?
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The much anticipated final installment (#2) of our limited series on workplace bathrooms.
Many serious and important questions addressed, including:
- Are modern workplace bathrooms designed for discomfort to minimize time on toilet (TOT)?
- Is it inappropriate to discuss work related matters in the bathroom?
- Eye contact at the sink? Urinal?
- Is it worth rotating your shoes in order avoid recognition from your stall mates?
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Why is going to the bathroom at work such a complicated affair? Long ignored questions include: Is soap required when you wash your hands if you just go #1? Can you use being in the bathroom as an excuse for being late to anything? Why do we get paid by our employers to go to the bathroom?
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Graham and Clay address the uniquely modern workplace problem where no one knows how to actually do anything and instead is forced to just ask someone else to do it
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We already know the answer to this one, but you might as well stick around and listen, since it's really about the journey isn't it?
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Graham and Clay break down what is it about "working from home" on a snowday, as a fully grown adult, that's so... special
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