Don’t Work Too Hard, Now!
The following was sent to me in an email, but they claim that it was taken from the New York Times. If its true, its quite interesting:
Bosses of a publishing firm are trying to work out why no one noticed that one of their employees had been sitting dead at his desk for five days before anyone asked if he was feeling okay. George Turklebaum, 51, who had been employed as a proof-reader at a New York firm for 30 years, had a heart attack in the open-plan office he shared with 23 other workers.He quietly passed away on Monday, but nobody noticed until Saturday morning when an office cleaner asked why he was working the weekend.
His boss, Elliot Wachiaski, said: “George was always the first guy in each morning and the last to leave at night, so no one found it unusual that he was in the same position all that time and didn’t say anything. He was always absorbed in his work and kept much to himself.”.
A post mortem examination revealed that he had been dead for five days after suffering a coronary. George was proofreading manuscripts of medical textbooks when he died.
You may want to give your co-workers a nudge occasionally. The moral of the story: Don’t work too hard. Nobody notices anyway.
Those sound like true words to me! 
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That sounded a little preposterous to me, so I researched it…
Snopes says it’s not true:
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/gruesome/fivedays.htm
True or not….his co-workers obviously did not interact with him or they would have noticed that he was dead and unresponsive. Come on!
Agree with your advice at the end though. Most of us give our blood, sweat and even tears for our jobs, in exchange for a cheque (that I dare say for many people is not even able to cover expenses, let alone allow savings to be made.) The day you die, they will simply say what a dedicated worker you were (if you lucky), and they simply find some other sucker to replace you….and for a smaller salary as well.
Actually, those who read here may think I’m some underpaid pessimist (you may be right), but honestly, I feel you should do your job to the best of your ability, and that is how I operate. However, when the time comes to leave the workplace, go home and relax and unwind….do whatever it takes to get you refreshed to take on another day at the grind! (Or they may just find you head down at the desk, dead from five days ago and nobody gave a shit to notice!)
When I was a tech recruiter, one of the girls I worked with told me a similar story, (didn’t see it on Snopes, but it’s similar…) Her first placement died while on the job, and the company called her and demmanded a replacement! 30-day guarantee, and all. True or not, the story pretty much summs up my opinion/experience of the recruiting business.
I finally saw the pics at 5:30 this morning and I totally enjoyed them! My new favorite thing to do is visit your site while I have my morning cocoa.
I don’t remember how I came across them, but I am glad I did.
Thank You