What does a bad day look like?
What does a bad day look like? This series takes a look at the mildly frustrating to the seriously unfortunate.
Tune in every Tuesday for a new edition, or scroll down to browse previous topics.
How could you have gotten it so wrong?
January 27, 2026
If you’ve ever misinterpreted or mishandled a work assignment, you may well wonder, Did I get it wrong or were the directions ambiguous?
Here are some helpful suggestions from the LinkedIn community for resolutions:
- Seek clarification
- Document requests
- Use feedback
- Set boundaries
- Collaborate closely
- Be proactive
- Other ways to resolve the situation
Taking one for the team
January 20, 2026
When you’re being honest with yourself and looking at your face in the proverbial mirror, have you ever felt like it was you who had to take one for the team? Or do you feel that it’s always your fault and it’s you who continuously loses face and takes the blame, no matter what?
Face it—the blame game never works
What do we mean by the “blame game”? Read TapRooT® Instructor Tim Diggs’ terrific article, “‘No Blame’ Culture and Teams” in which Tim says, “We can find it in companies and in investigations. When something goes wrong, it is quick and easy to assign the blame. The problem with that is, we do not fix anything.
“Mistakes are opportunities for improvement. Opportunities to coach, learn, grow, do better. People will make mistakes. Human beings can fail an infinite number of ways. We have to learn from these mistakes to prevent them from happening again and improve the operation. I wonder if our football team would have been more successful if we had investigated the problem, identified, and addressed the causes of the failure, as opposed to merely disciplining the team to handle to issue.
“What does a blame-oriented environment get you? Finger-pointing, lies and no fixes. Culture drives behavior so if the culture is that people are the problem, the behavior will be:
- I did not do it.
- No one saw me do it!
- You can’t prove I did it!
- If we could just get people to be careful and try harder, these problems would go away.”
Tim tells us, “That is why you should use the TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis System. Removing the blame focus and utilizing the human factors guidance in the system will lead you to understand the incident completely, identify the gaps in your system that allowed the mistakes to happen, what caused those gaps to exist, and what to do to fix them. If you are tired of having the same issues over and over again, you want to make the operation better, then you should attend the TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis course.”
A heart-stopping night
January 13, 2016
“Jacob, your dad needs help.”
I opened my eyes to the sight of my stepmom nervously standing at my bedroom doorway. I fumbled my way out of bed and navigated my way through the hallway in the dead of the night.
And there my dad was, lying on the floor while clutching his chest. He could barely speak, but the pained expression of his face communicated everything we needed to know.
We rushed him to the hospital. I tried my best to stay calm, but my mind was racing. He’s 60 years old; can he walk away unscathed from a heart attack?
Turns out my concerns were for nothing.
My dad wasn’t having a heart attack — he was having a kidney stone.
While that night was far from pleasant, I’m obviously relieved that my dad is okay. He just needs to drink more water!
This week’s edition was written by Jacob.
Snowboarding injuries
January 6, 2026
Did you know the risk of head injury while snowboarding is double the risk for skiers, and much higher in severity? See the safety guidelines for snowboarders below from the National Institute of Health.
| Safety guidelines for snowboarders |
|---|
| -Get formal training in proper snowboarding techniques -Pick the right time and place to learn (good weather, uncrowded slope, soft groomed snow) -Wear protective gear (helmet, goggles, wrist guards)Wear insulated, waterproof, and layered clothing -Protect exposed skin with sunscreen with high sun protection factor (SPF) -Snowboard with a buddy trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation -Snowboard on patrolled areas, not on ungroomed trails or in wooded areas -Preprogram your wireless telephone with the ski patrol phone number -Be aware of your location at all times to guide rescue efforts if needed -Don’t use drugs or alcohol when snowboarding |
Small spill, big deal
December 30, 2025
Watch where you store water bottles in your vehicle. A guy in Florida, Michael McCormick, learned this lesson the hard way when he tapped the brakes and an airborne water bottle landed in the floorboard of his beloved all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5. Water seeped from the plastic missile into his ankles and the wiring.
Yahoo Finance describes the incident, “Minutes later, warning lights lit up the dashboard. By the time he made it home, his turn signals had failed and the car wouldn’t shut off. At the dealership, the service team delivered the bad news: moisture had damaged the wiring harnesses beneath the seat and floorboard. Sand on the driver’s side may have played a role, too. The fix was replacing the entire floor and driver’s seat wiring system at $11,882.08 — none of which was covered under warranty or insurance.”
Gap landslide
December 16, 2025
Severe rainfall occurred in the fall in Tennessee’s Newfound Gap, near Alum Cave Trailhead, causing subsequent and intermittent closures of US 441. US 441 connects Tennessee with North Carolina for visitors to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the nation’s most-visited national park. Now, snow and ice are compounding the problems of safe traveling along steep grades and narrow curves.
Watch the video:
Sweating at the gym!
December 9, 2025
Yesterday was leg-day at the gym. I rested my drawstring bag on the StairMaster, hopped on top, and climbed for about 15 minutes.
When I finished, there was a problem: my bag seemingly vanished. It wasn’t anywhere near the machine, and I was 100% sure that I had placed it right next to me.
My wallet and my car keys were in this bag, so I was really hoping no one snatched it.
I hurried to the front desk and asked if anyone had turned in a bag. My bag wasn’t there, but I was relieved to see my car was still in the parking lot.
I retraced my steps to no luck. A staff member offered to tilt the StairMaster up so I can look underneath, but that proved to be fruitless, too.
“I can open the machine up to see if it got sucked inside,” he suggested.
“If there’s a chance that’ll get my keys back, I think it’s worth a try!” I said.
After a few minutes of unscrewing, my bag popped right out of the machine — caked in a thick layer of dust, hair, and grime!
This week’s edition was written by Jacob.
Don’t go near the sea turtles
December 2, 2025
Apparently, a man in Hawaii wanted a video with a green sea turtle pretty badly . . . enough to grab the sea turtle and stand it up against him after requesting a woman to film him holding the member of the protected species. Public outrage at the shared video immediately began trending.
Hawaiian law for the honu (green sea turtle) dictates that one must stay 10 feet away. Harassment of the protected species is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and at least a $250.00 fine. Conservation officials with Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) have already begun their investigation and continually warn the public with signage and other means. There’s a hotline specifically for mistreatment or emergencies of marine life.
Shortchanged, short-staffed
November 25, 2025
The worst job I ever had was sitting the front desk at a hotel during third shift.
I had worked as a front desk receptionist at my dormitory for two years, so I figured this position could keep me busy during the summer.
During the interview, the hotel manager Jay seemed impressed with my experience. He said he couldn’t offer me the pay rate offered on the job posting, though, because I didn’t have any hotel experience.
I didn’t really care about the money, so I shrugged my shoulders and accepted the $2 reduction in the hourly wage.
I should have realized then he was a complete crook.
A coworker who managed the desk at second shift, Lindsey, made it clear that she didn’t really like Jay because of his dishonesty.
That summer, the pool was completely unavailable due to recurring maintenance problems. Jay had recently fired our maintenance person.
Guests frequently complained about this to her, because the website boasted a large pool and said nothing about unavailability.
Lindsey brought this up to Jay, but he said it was going to be fixed soon, anyways. I don’t believe it was fixed by the time winter rolled around.
Brenda, who worked the desk during first shift, was also growing impatient with Jay.
After our cook quit, she was expected to fill this spot on top of her own responsibilities. So, whenever she wasn’t checking in guests, she needed to run to the kitchen to prepare the buffet.
When Brenda asked for compensation for juggling two jobs at once, Jay said he could only offer a measly additional dollar an hour.
All four desk receptionists, myself included, quit that August.
I imagine Jay was having at least a few bad days while he scrambled to completely replace his workforce. Hopefully, this taught him a lesson in shortchanging his staff and being underhanded with clients.
Workers don’t quit jobs just because they’re hard. Workers quit jobs that make it hard to maintain motivation.
Good people don’t like to know they’re nickel-and-diming their customers. And no one likes to feel like they’re unappreciated.
The values management practices has ripples on the culture of your company.
This week’s edition was written by Jacob.
A mini-moon?
November 18, 2025
Did you hear that Earth now has a mini-moon? Well, really, it’s an asteroid — called “temporary asteroid 2025 PN7.” The new fixture in the sky was discovered by a would-be astronomer in August and is reported to be a quasi-satellite which aligns by gravity with Earth along its way around the sun.
The asteroid will likely be in its current orbit for decades but poses no threat to Earth. The bad day part? You cannot see it with your naked eye. Boo! Hiss!
