I know this a career blog but one thing that you should always remember is that you don’t always have to be serious, so here goes…
I know that there have been other Friday the 13ths and there will be many more but what is interesting, or worth noting, about TODAY’S Friday the 13th is that back in 1869 a day, very much like today, was the day that would start superstitions around the world (and a slew of horrible movies creating it’s own bad genre)…
Our trusted, and always reliable, source Wikipedia tells us that, “According to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a ‘Friday the 13th’ superstition before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in an 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini (a.k.a the Italian Mozart):
[Rossini] was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; and if it be true that, like so many other Italians, he regarded Friday as an unlucky day, and thirteen as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that on Friday, the 13th of November, he died
First off it is worth noting that being a “folklorist” has career potential so you see…I knew I’d find a tie in to careers somehow but secondly…Friday November 13th is the first documented (oral traditions aside) instance of it all…spooky.
Now the superstitious part may be a modern invention or perhaps an economic stimulus? Look at th jobs that Friday the 13th has created:
- Folklorist! (clearly number one on my list…not sure about you)
- The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute
- Psychiatry/Therapy
- Countless other Medical Fields (the “fear of Friday the 13th” is known as Paraskevidekatriaphobia, a phobia that afflicts 17 to 21 million people in the United States! I am sure Drug Companies love this
- Insurance Agencies (both car and medical) — although there is no solid finding it is often purported that there are fewer drivers on a day like today but more accidents
Fast Company expert blogger Tom Stern, declares that we should, “take the power away from the abstract concept, and show people that their fears are groundless,” and with that in mind suggests how to do that in the workplace. Below are his suggestions:
- Arrange for your own extremely poor six-month review. Take charge, admit to your failings, cop to the fact that you’ve been dragging the net worth of the company down with your every breath since the day they hired you. Once you explain you are taking the curse off of Friday the 13th, you and your supervisor will surely share a good laugh, and you will undoubtedly be promoted for your chutzpah.
- If you are looking for a new job and waiting to hear back from your potential employer, call them up and dare them to hire you on Friday the 13th. Your proactive attitude will show you as a maverick. You’ll just have to get used to all of your co-workers wearing necklaces made of garlic in the break room.
- Declare Friday the 13th “Take Your CEO Home Day.” A variant of Take Your Daughter to Work Day, this is a day in which your company’s top dog is forced to spend a day at home with you and your family, getting a first-hand glimpse of things foreign to them, like spending time in the same room with people you’re related to, and taking three hours to decide on a video.
With those ideas in mind I’ll sign off now. Have a great day!