I’m on the road this week in *freezing* San Francisco and there isn’t much time for sleep, let alone thought, but I had to share this piece of brilliance – the Onion News Network’s “Study finds young people remain apathetic about office politics.” (And here I thought we’d explored all the substantive issues with “Politics in the office: Worse than office politics.”) Hilarious examples of this youth apathy? Our lack of concern for such pressing issues as the rules of the color copier, who we used to date, and parking spaces. Of course, the really interesting part of the spoof is the parody of the over-40 crowd: “Just 32% of employed men and women under the age of 25 said they were concerned about the size of coworkers’ expense accounts and who makes a new pot of coffee if they finish it, as opposed to 74% of employees over 40.” Fair to grown-ups? Not really. But an accurate representation of how those of us on the other end sometimes feel? Completely. As the piece’s Yer puts it, “I feel like the entire office political system is just corrupt, so why should I care?”

All right, guys, it’s time to sign off for 2007. I would lament not finding time to write more this week, but looks like you did just fine talking amongst yourselves! Just a few quick notes before we go…

If you haven’t seen the much yelled-about parents video (which came out of our “Parents gone wild” post) or the other recent ones, check them out here.

And for anyone who missed it, a request from friend of The Gig Christine Hassler, who’s looking for a few good stories: The co-authors of “Chicken Soup for the Twenty-Something Soul” are putting together a collection of inspiring, moving, and funny stories to warm the hearts and soothe the souls of twenty-somethings. And they want YOUR story! This is your shot to inspire others AND be published. (And, we pay!) Deadline to submit your Twenty-Something Story is January 1st. For more details, click here.

And that’s all she wrote. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and look forward to mixing it up some more in 2008!

So I see no one wants to take the plunge commenting on parents, so while you all ponder that, check out our latest bit of Gig-related video. This one’s on holiday parties, growing out of last week’s post on surviving these affairs.

And actually, since writing that piece, my neighbor has clued me in to another important aspect of navigating the holiday party scene: height. Apparently — and being a tallish person who lives in heels, I hadn’t given this much thought before — people who skew a bit shorter can have a hard time picking their way through the forest of colleagues. So if that’s you, anticipate it — if you can, wear heels, and if not, stake out a vantage point on higher ground. (Laugh if you want, but we talk real, practical issues here!)

As for video itself, it’s been a fun and functional addition to what we do here, and I’m glad to hear that some of you are liking it. I must confess that, being the reclusive writer-type at heart (no, really), it was already a little strange to have not just the formal, feature-length, agonized-over-for-weeks words out there, but also all the informal — sometimes flip, angry, unfair or downright dumb — words I’ve been inspired to blog floating around the universe, too. Add television and video to that, and one can begin to feel, as a Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism student put it to me recently, “more like a marketer than a writer.”

Of course, writing’s not worth much if no one ever reads it, so maybe this is the direction things have to go and we just have to get used to it. Thoughts? Will you be less likely to snuggle up to that New Yorker or Harper’s if the superstar septuagenarians aren’t keeping vlogs for your viewing pleasure? Or will you end up respecting the rest of us — those of us who do vlog and the like — a little less?

With December officially here, Monday marks the beginning of that most dangerous of times — holiday party season. For the geniuses among us, this will be the chance to show your best side — that witty, charming, well-dressed person you usually leave at home — and get a little work done at the same time. (What better place to do some low-key relationship-building than the company party?) But for everyone else, the holiday party can be a veritable minefield: What to wear, what if anything to drink, which folks to engage, which to avoid at all costs, and the list goes on. So we enlisted the help of a few experts to answer our questions and ensure that this year’s company party experience is your best — and, more importantly, not your last.

• Dress to impress (your boss, not that hot number at the club). The office party may be a party, but the key word for our purposes is “office.” Treat your holiday party like any other professional event, says Mary Crane, whom you may remember from 60 Minutes‘ Gen Y piece. The lobbyist turned assistant White House chef turned business coach — herself a Yer in spirit — cautions against outfits that are too revealing, obviously bedazzled, or play music. (That last one should be obvious, but Crane points to the gentlemen who insist on wearing those bow ties that play “Jingle Bells.” We’re laughing at you, guys.) If the party is directly after work, Crane recommends wearing the same clothes you wore to the office — lest one appear to be trying too hard — and says business casual is fine for off-site, weekend holiday events. And if formal attire is specified, gentlemen should go with a tux. As for ladies, they “may wear a formal-length or cocktail-length dress. They should, however, avoid any dress that will reveal more cleavage or leg than would normally be revealed at work (forget those thigh-high slits). And ladies, please do not pull ‘a Britney.’ At all times, wear appropriate undergarments.” Sage advice, to say the least.
• Drink like it’s dinner at Grandma’s, not happy hour. Get sloppy at the office party, and you’ll probably regret it on Monday, if not forever. And that’s the kind of infamy you don’t need. But we’ve had this talk before: “How much is too much at happy hour?”
• Do NOT show the love. A few drinks in, and everyone starts looking like your own personal Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. But resist the urge! As Stephanie Losee and Helaine Olen, the authors of Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding—and Managing—Romance on the Job, have a few thoughts on this one: Don’t use the holiday party to hit on a colleague, to make out with a colleague, or to go home with a colleague. The overarching theme is fairly simple: No romance at the office party. (Even those who’re already openly together should think twice about excess smishling; your coworkers don’t appreciate the gross-out.)
• Mix, mingle, and be interesting! The office party is a chance to talk to all the folks you don’t interact with every day, so take advantage of the opportunity. Crane encourages keeping the conversation light and social, and choosing topics you might conceivably discuss during office hours, such as holiday plans. And while the office party can be a good time to get to know a colleague you particularly respect, or to chat with your managers about what you’re working on, be sure to keep it casual. As the Office Mate authors put it, “Your boss is there to relax with colleagues, not fend off requests for raises or juicy assignments or—heaven forbid—advances from a subordinate who has decided the time is right to reveal a long-simmering crush.”
• Don’t close the place. Everyone agrees on this point. Nothing says lame like being the last one to leave.

And there you have it. We’ll hear more from Mary Crane in the coming weeks — about holiday gift-giving and cards — and in the meantime, check out her comments in yesterday’s New York Times story, “What Do I Do? Depends on What Week It Is.” It’s a fun Gen Y career story about oneweekjob.com specifically and Yers’ fickle career tendencies generally. Have a great weekend!

On the road again talking some Gen Y smack, but wanted to float a few things past you while I have a few minutes.

First, have been meaning to bring up the recent Ask Bing, “I’m worth more than $28K a year,” and get your thoughts. If you haven’t read it, a recent college grad in the throes of a challenging job search wrote in to lament his situation: “Everyone wants experience but no one is willing to give it to me. Not to be arrogant I just genuinely believe that I am worth more than $28,000 a year.” Of course, Bing gives him a talking to and ultimately advises finding a job “that, in a way, you might just do for free,” to make waiting for that big payoff easier.

And he’s right. No matter where you come from and what your expectations are, the realities of the job market don’t really allow for huge salaries and major titles right away. But this is a common area of contention, for both recruiters and recruits. (Bing echoes the refrain of many put-upon recruiters when he says, ” “I can’t tell you how many people I interview these days who, having just gotten out of school, want a vice president title and bag of cash just for showing up.”) While I tend to agree with Bing’s assessment, it’s clear from your own comments on posts like “Money v. meaningful work, the battle continues” that there’s a bit of disagreement on this point.

For me, though, taking the “passion” gig isn’t just about following your heart or any other such hippie-dippy swill; the fact is that if you take a job you love, you’re far more likely to rock it. And that experience will help you get that bigger, better-paying job faster than holding out for what you think you deserve (i.e., filling out endless applications only to have recruiters collapse with laughter at the sight of your salary requirements). My first job didn’t pay much more than that $28,000, but what I learned at that scrappy startup made me a lot more attractive to future employers, and before too long I was able to afford both a shoebox in New York City and dinner.

So when young people stress about their meager paychecks, I say think of that first job not as an insult, but as a chance to prove that you actually are worth more than $28,000; it’ll make your first employer value you — and encourage the second to pay you accordingly.

On another note, thanks to Gig reader Sarah W. for passing along Virginia Heffernan’s hi-larious New York Times story, “Sweeping the Clouds Away,” about the recent release of the earliest episodes of Sesame Street, volumes 1 and 2 of which apparently “may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.” If people think we Yers were coddled, heaven help us when today’s preschool child gets old enough for work.

Cookie Monster doesn’t even do his Alistair Cookie bit anymore, mostly because of the pipe. I’m not sure I want to live in a world without Alistair Cookie. But then, I have a friend who won’t even say the word “die” around his child, because he thinks that knowing things die will be too disturbing for her. (We still haven’t told him that, when her fish died, she said not to tell, because talking about dying was too sad for him.)

Anyone who’s read pre-Disney fairy tales knows that kids have been handling hardships much worse than dead fish for centuries. And that’s helped them to grow up — to take responsibility and fend for themselves. In that light, a little adversity mightn’t be such a bad thing for today’s sheltered youngsters. Which is not, obviously, to say that they — we — are all sheltered, or that they haven’t suffered in their own ways. It’s simply to point out that children born into privilege would probably turn out to be better people if they saw some of the other side growing up, be it with an afterschool job, a volunteering stint, or some of those old school episodes of Sesame Street.

And, lastly, check out our latest Gen Y web video if you haven’t already. Hope you like it, and in the meantime, pray for me; I’m in a hotel with no wireless, and it’s murder. (Cue the “spoiled brat” commentary from Yadgyu ;o).

If you’ve got a few slow minutes in your Monday, check out the video that just went up to build on our recent story on UPS (UPS) and Gen Y. (The writing of which, from a work-ethic perspective, seems to have had a good effect on me; I spent the whole weekend sewing drapes!) This is part of lots of new video from the folks at CNNMoney, so if you’ve got the time to browse, it’s worth it.

Full disclosure: I haven’t seen the one with me yet, as watching myself makes me gag, but I’m told by a few reliable sources that it’s not horrible. But I’ll trust you guys to weigh in, too. (Hah.) And for those among us who like to make fun, it’s a chance to see me sweat and deride the wreck that is my office. Happy short week…