Happy Independence Day!

Today is Independence Day or as it’s best known – 4th of July.  And while we are BBQing, beaching, boating, exploding things and pondering how our forefathers threw off the oppressive yoke of the British Empire, I’m thinking of a different kind of independence.

One that allows me to work how and when I want to (including on Independence Day)!

Recently a few of my posts may have seemed like rants and raves against your personal behavior, Dear Worker.  And they were…but for good reason.  There is no reason for Corporation America to change its ways.  They have never in the past changed because it was good for employees.  They change if there is pain….like the strikes of the early 1900′s, a recession, a boycott, a federal regulation or a federal indictment.  That’s the history of Corporate America.  But there is one more way…make them feel the pain of hiring good people.  Instead of doing more, giving more time, sacrificing your health for their profits…start saying “hells to the no.”

I believe the revolution to change the world of work cannot be legislated…it needs to be felt….painfully, by those at the top.  And that pain comes from those of us at the bottom, in the middle and close to the top.  Once there is pain.  There will be change.  So stop feeling the pain and start doling it out…and maybe in a few years we can celebrate a different kind of Independence Day.

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Also take a moment today to thank those that make the festivities we are enjoying possible and those that keep us safe today.  I do each 4th of July and those I thank are both surprised and happy to be acknowledged.  So thank you to:

Boston Police
Massachusetts State Police
Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation & Recreation
The National Guard
Boston EMS
David Mugar & july4th.org committee
CBS & WBZ-TV peeps – I know you’re working hard today, thanks!
The Boston Pops orchestra
The Coast Guard

And my cousin Johnnie and all those with him over in Iraq & Afghanistan