Moonlighting? Consider Umpiring
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Kathleen McGinn Spring and Barbara Fox were prepared for the July 3, 2002 edition of
U.S. 1 Newspaper. All rights reserved.
A Little Knowledge Is Good for Stress
Knowledge reduces stress. This according to Mary
Ann Kokinda, a clinical social worker, who advises workers that
a little research may cut way down on job-related stress.
Kokinda, who is in private practice in Whitehouse Station (908-534-0199),
leads a workshop for social workers seeking to teach clients how to
cope with stress on Thursday, July 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
on the Livingston campus of Rutgers University as part of that university’s
continuing education program. Cost: $80. Call 732-445-3178.
There are all kinds of knowledge, and in any form knowledge tends
to be a stress reducer — especially self-knowledge. Kokinda went
to business school after graduating from high school, because she
could not afford to attend a four-year college. Working as a secretary
at Johnson & Johnson, she had the self-awareness to realize that she
was not living up to her potential.
“Not living up to your potential, that is a big cause of unhappiness
at work,” she says. Many may mask this unhappiness in complaints
about the boss, the structure of the company, or the workload, but,
says Kokinda, if you are not feeling challenged, consider that you
may not be using all of your skills. Maybe it’s time to move up to
the next level.
That is what Kokinda did. She continued her education, receiving a
bachelor’s in psychology from Rutgers in 1988 and an MSW in 1992.
She then went on to complete the 1,920 hours of practice — at
Hunterdon Medical Center — necessary for certification as a clinical
social worker before she was able to start her own practice. It was
a long road, she says, but well worth the effort.
While knowing herself, and obtaining the knowledge that allowed her
to live up to her potential at work, was a long process for Kokinda,
even a little knowledge can make a big difference on the job.
“Ask for a copy of your job description,” Kokinda suggests
as the answer to a lot of stress. A top worker complaint — and
cause of everything from on-the-job tantrums to migraines, and worse
— is simply an unworkable workload. In many cases, she says, it
turns out that the secretary or vice president or attorney is spending
time — maybe lots of time — on tasks that are not really his.
Just asking to see that job description can clear things up, and open
the way for a discussion of who should be filling out those expense
reports that are making late nights a routine.
If there is no job description, suggests Kokinda, write one. Go over
it with your supervisor, and if he or she agrees it looks about right,
do not accept any tasks not included in the description.
While this sounds easy, Kokinda acknowledges that it can be anything
but. Here are her suggestions for getting to the point where a straightforward
approach like this is possible:
Take a look at yourself. Self-esteem, says Kokinda, oftenlies just below the surface of work problems. If you do not believethat you deserve interesting work, a reasonable work schedule, orthe respect of your superiors and co-workers, chances are you arenot going to get any of the above. “It’s a process,” saysKokinda. Getting to a position of strength that allows you to standup for yourself can take time, but is well worth the effort.Act right away. It’s easier to please. It’s easier togo along, to keep the boat from rocking. When there are problems atwork, most people, says Kokinda, “just hope they will go away.”While that is a hopeful position, it rarely works. “All the whilethe boat is rocking,” she says. Add one or two more unreasonabledemands, rude remarks, or stacks of paper in the in-box, and the boatwill capsize.Better says Kokinda, is to speak up right away, before a pattern ofunmeetable deadlines, cubicle mates partying while you try to work,or cuts in support staff have you ready to jump overboard. Lettingbad work situations go has roughly the same effect as ignoring a child’sbad behavior 10 or 12 times. By the time the 13th infraction occurs,there is a tendency to fly at him like a demon possessed, accomplishingnothing.Avoid spraying blame around. A supervisor or underlingpinned to the wall, is a supervisor or underling in no mood to makechanges that will make you happy.Don’t blame, just express your problem, being sure to start as manysentences as possible with “I.” It is not that he is a badmanager or a bad assistant, it is that you need guidance on how toprioritize or, for some odd reason, are finding it difficult to concentratewhen he screams over the phone at his many girlfriends.After you identify a problem, your final task is to pick a goodtime for a heart-to-heart. “Timing is important,” she says.”Don’t run up to someone first thing in the morning.” Waitfor that caffeine to kick in and then present your case. The knowledgeyou take away from the conversation may make all the difference, and,says Kokinda, at the very least, it will make you feel better.Top Of PageMoonlighting? Consider UmpiringWhen bonus checks dwindle, moonlighting comes to mind.But where to find a job that will pay money and also be a change ofpace. Here’s one — be an umpire.If you played a sport in high school or college, you could contactthe recreation league for that sport to sign up for umpiring duties.You may need to take a course or pass a test, says Cris Maloney,who has taken just such a course of action and who now offers justsuch a course.Take field hockey, for instance, as Maloney did. Even if field hockeywas not your sport, you can train to be an umpire. “If you’reat least 18 years of age, can be fair and impartial, enjoy exercisingoutdoors, and your schedule is such that you can work some afternoonsafter school hours, you could earn hundreds of dollars working onlyan hour or two a day,” says Maloney. Some amount of experiencewith field hockey, soccer, or other team sports is helpful but notrequired.Maloney runs a four-night course from Monday to Thursday, July 15to 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., followed by practice umpiring sessions ata field hockey camp at the College of New Jersey. The $41 course feeincludes classroom instruction, practice umpiring sessions, trainingmaterials, and rulebook. High school age field hockey team captainsmay audit the course for $20.50 and are encouraged to attend. Forinformation call Maloney at 609-730-1095 or E-mail CJM@schoolSTAFF.comProspective umpires would make up the cost of the course at theirfirst game. In the first year an umpire typically earns $41 per gamewhen working a game with someone else, but if you are working aloneyou earn $61.50. First year “cadets” umpire games below thelevel of varsity. “After you take the course and begin umpiring,you are rated by experienced umpires,” says Maloney. Varsity gamespay about $55 a game.Maloney was a track and field star at Moorestown High and was attractedto field hockey as a team sport at Westchester University (Class of1978). Only in United States and Canada do women outnumber men inthis sport, he points out. “Women have played field hockey for180 years, men for 5,000 years. And it absolutely can be a coed sport.People of all ages and sizes can participate safely together.”He points out that, unlike soccer, field hockey develops eye-handcoordination.Enamored with this new sport, Maloney played men’s club hockey onthe East Coast and practiced with the women on the Westchester team,coached by a former Olympic coach. He played on the Olympic levelat the USOC Olympic Festival in 1982 and coached in later years. Acertified instructor, he has been coach, sectional umpire, regionaldirector and coach for the United States Field Hockey Association’sFutures program, and is the founder of the Garden State Games FieldHockey Event.Maloney moved to Princeton so his wife could teach at Princeton DaySchool and he worked on the Dow Jones campus with Dow Jones Interactive.Now he is a real estate agent with the Princeton REal Estate Group.”The best part about umpiring is that when you have done the jobwell, you have made the game fair for all combatants,” says Maloney.”I particularly like umpiring young people because you get anopportunity to modify their behavior. But when you walk off the field,people say, `That was a good game,’ and no one says, `Wow, that wasa good umpire.’”— Barbara FoxTop Of PageMoney for ArtsA Philadelphia-based arts organization, Dance Advance,offering a funding tip to arts organizations, points out that federalsupport for arts and culture can be found “lurking in unlikelyplaces.” Though an arts organization would normally apply to theNational Endowment for the Arts, these departments might also be tapped:the departments of Housing and Urban Development, the Forest Service,the Department of Energy, and the Department of Transportation. Informationis available at 206.161.133.195:591/federal-opportunities02/b-federal.htmlAdditional funding opportunities are available at the website of thisorganization (www.danceadvance.org), a program of the Pew CharitableTrusts and Drexel University (215-732-9060).Previous StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
