The rules of Slack communication in the workplace

The rules of Slack communication in the workplaceThe rules of Slack communication in the workplaceTeam messaging apps have, for several years, brought ingestaltal text messaging into the workplace Slack messages, Facebook Messenger, and Gchat have all become replacements for email, allowing colleagues to communicate with their teams without having to speak out loud very often.Then why do we still misunderstand each other all the time?Thanks. Thank you. Thx. TY. TaWeve seen colleagues give each other the cold shoulder for days because of a too-formal punctuation mark in a Gchat message or an errant GIF in Slack. And never mind the difficulty in interpreting jokes.Welcome to the new era of emojis, no periods and thxinstead of thank you between your request for project deadlines.As a millennial who has worked on all of behauptung platforms, I have witnessed firsthand how tone can be misconstrued between millennials used to texting informally and older generations who have been trained t o always use proper punctuation in work emails.We overcompensate cheeriness at workWhen you cant see the person on the other side of your screen, its harder to interpret feelings, and there are usually no easy answers. One popular corrective many people use is to overcompensate with friendliness, piling on exclamation points and smiley faces.But even that gets complicated Was tacking on thatsmiley face emoji after a work request cheerful or passive aggressive? It can be both Allow me to be your millennial soothsayer on this translation journey down into what gestures can be misconstrued and how you can avoid them.Periods are aggressivePeriods carry a stern finality in instant messenger communications. If you want to communicate well across generations in the workplace, drop your periods. They are the equivalent of too-formal text messages from your parents that start with Dear son and end, Sincerely, Mama.In text message bubbles, you already know when the sentence has come to an end , so you dont need the full stop of a period. Adding a periodin behauptung cases can seem excessive, and even aggressive.In a 2016 study, researchers found that university students rated texts that ended with periods as less sincere than those that ended without one. Periods in text messages can even be interpreted as being a jerk.In Slack messages, I find periods can aggressively signal that the conversation is not just over, but OVER.As an example When your boss asks for one more task, you can reply fine, or fine. The former is a happy-go-lucky shrug of whatever. The latter indicates youre angry or annoyed.A quick guide to working with millennials the more formal the language they use, the more they are telegraphing keeping you at arms length. In emails, I still button myself up informal language, but in my professional Slacks and Gchats, the more informal I am, the more comfortable I am around you.When in doubt, use a thumbs upPictograms were the earliest form of human communicat ion for a reason. Emojis provide useful aids to make your language clearer - particularly emotions.As linguist Gretchen McCullough explained, emoji are more like gesture than language. When you crunch the numbers, the face, hand, and heart emoji are by far the most popular.Indicating neutral agreement can be fraught when punctuation and truncated syntax- k, kay, kk- is loaded and ambiguous online. I once had a fellow millennial colleagueask if my tersek meant that I was less than enthusiastic about completing a request. This was in a job wherethe majority of editorialdebatesand professionalcommunication happened overFacebook messenger, so tone was hard to read.After that, I tried sprinkling my instant messenger communications with more exclamation points, but its loudness felt performative and forced K Ok Okay Im so grateful to be alive to create this productSince then, I have become a defendant of using the thumbs-up emoji over using any version of okay when it comes to signaling agreement. I use the praise-hands emoji to indicate louder agreement. When I need to be clearly understood, I supplementmy meaning with unambiguous gestures.Dont use GIFs if youre a beginnerGIFs- short looping videos that are integrated into these instant messenger platforms- are an advanced tutorial that we would need a whole semester to cover.GIFs represent emotions even more strongly than emoji do. If youre a beginner, I would avoid using gifs. In GIFs, youre using other peoples emotions to indicate your own, and you dont want your colleagues to wonder what you mean by your Michael Jackson eating popcorn GIF.https//giphy.com/gifs/michael-jackson-watching-popcorn-ftXvsSyRzKXXGThese are just a few basic tips I have learned through trial and error. Instant messenger platforms have afforded us the nimblenessto communicate at a moments notice, but they have also opened Pandoras box of ambiguous nuance and words that have been changed by memes. Until were all projecting our communic ations into each others minds through the Cloud, well need to remainthoughtful about how we communicate that we are ok online. U mad?

37F Psychological Operations Specialist Job Profile

37F Psychological Operations Specialist Job Profile37F Psychological Operations Specialist Job ProfileYouve probably heard of the Armys Miltary Information Support Operations (MISO), more commonly known as PSYOPs. This team uses military intelligence to influence adversarial foreign governments or other groups that may conflict with the United States and its objectives. A Psychological Operations Specialist, which is military occupational specialty (MOS) 37F, analyzes and develops the information used to create a psychological effect on a particular population. Duties of MOS 37F These specialists collect and report on psychological information, frequently while in the field. They gather intelligence and conduct studies to determine psyops targets. And they prepare and retrieve information on psyops-related intelligence, products, and campaigns. Based on the information collected, these soldiers can determine the psychological vulnerabilities of potential psyops targets. They lear n what kinds of intelligence will be effective in persuading or influencing either an enemy (such as a warlord or dictator) or a population that may be affected by that enemy (such as the residents the warlord or dictator leads). These soldiers are trained to determine how to conduct a psyop campaign, and what mix of media to use. That determination is often made based on the available assets and the location of the operation. It wouldnt do much good, for instance, to suggest a psyop campaign using television ads in English in an area without regular access to electricity where the population speaks another language. Training to be a PSYOP Specialist A psychological operations specialist takes 10 weeks of Basic Combat Training and 14 weeks of Advanced Individual Training. Active-duty soldiers follow this training with three weeks of Airborne training and between four and six months of language training. For soldiers in the Army Reserves, the additional language and airborne trai ning are not required. How to Be Eligible for MOS 37F It is a difficult job to qualify for, requiring a 101 on the skilled technical (ST) area of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test. Youll also need to qualify for a secret security clearance from the Department of Defense since youll be handling highly sensitive information. It will entail a background, and criminal records check, and some past drug offenses may disqualify you from eligibility. If youve ever served in the Peace Corps, you are not eligible for this job. The U.S. government wants to maintain a clear distinction between military and spy operations and the humanitarian work the Peace Corps does. If foreign countries suspected that Peace Corps personnel could one day serve in military intelligence, that could endanger the personnel and hamper their operations. Other disqualifying factors include any record of conviction by court-martial and any record of conviction by civil court for anything other than minor traffic violations. Soldiers in MOS 37F should be able to speak English with little trace of an accent. In addition to the above, the physical conditioningrequirements for this MOS are quite stringent. The average PT goal for a class is 270 with a score of 70 in each fest in the 18- to 21-year-old category. Similar Civilian Occupations to MOS 37F There is no civilian occupation that is directly equivalent to MOS 37F. But the training and experience may prepare you for post-military careers in market research, marketing, promotions, Fand public relations.

Seven core beliefs of great bosses

Seven core beliefs of great bossesSeven core beliefs of great bossesGreat bosses change us for the better. They landsee more in us than we see in ourselves, and they help us learn to see it too. They dream big and show us all the great things we can accomplish.Great leadership can be a difficult thing to pin down and understand. You know a great leader when youre working for one, but even they can have a hard time explaining the specifics of what they do that makes their leadership so effective. Great leadership is dynamic it melds a variety of unique skills into an integrated whole.One thing is certain - a leaders actions are driven by his beliefs. Its through a leaders actions - and ultimately her beliefs - that the essence of great leadership becomes apparent.I am just a common man who is true to his beliefs. John WoodenGreat leaders inspire trust and admiration through their actions,bedrngnis just their words. Many leaderssaythat integrity is important to them, but only those leaders who trulybelieve itwalk their talk by demonstrating integrity every day. Harping on people all day long about the behavior you want to see has only a tiny fraction of the impact that you achieve by believing so deeply in the behavior that you demonstrate it yourself.Great bosses believe in their people, and this belief drives them to create an environment where people thrive. Lets explore some of the driving beliefs that set great bosses apart from the rest of the pack.Growth should be encouraged, not fearedAverage bosses fear their smartest, hardest-working employees, believing that these individuals will surpass them or make them look bad. They hesitate to share information or to enable authority. Exceptional bosses, on the other hand, love to see their employees grow. They are always grooming their replacements and doing whatever they can to create leaders. Research shows that the number-one thing job seekers look for in a position is growth opportunity and that 80% of a ll job growth occurs informally, such as in conversations with managers. Exceptional bosses want their best employees to maximize their potential, and they know that good feedback and guidance are invaluable.Employees are individuals, not clonesAverage bosses lump people together, trying to motivate, reward, and teach everyone in the same way. Exceptional bosses treat people as individuals, respecting the fact that everyone has their own motivation and style of learning. Something different makes each employee tick, and the best bosses will stop at nothing to figure out what that is.Employees are equals, not subordinatesOrdinary bosses treat their employees like children they believe that they need constant oversight. These bosses think that their role is to enforce rules, make sure things runtheirway, and watch over peoples shoulders for mistakes. Exceptional bosses see employees as peers who are perfectly capable of making decisions for themselves. Rather than constantly stepping in, exceptional bosses make it clear that they value and trust their employees work and only intervene when its absolutely necessary.Work can and should be enjoyableOrdinary bosses see work as something that everyone has to do, whether they want to or not. They believe that their role is to make sure that their employees dont slack off or grow lazy. They say things like, If it werent for me, nothing would ever get done around here. However, exceptional bosses love their jobs and believe that everyone else can too. They give people assignments that align with their strengths, passions, and talents. They celebrate accomplishments and douse people with positive feedback when they do good work.Diversity, not like-mindedness, bears fruitAverage bosses want their employees ideas to align with their own, and because of this, they try to hire like-minded individuals. They encourage their employees to think similarly and reward those who just put their heads down and work. Exceptional bosses actively seek out a diverse range of individuals and ideas. They expose themselves and their companies to new ways of thinking.Motivation comes from inspiration, not agonyOrdinary bosses think that strict rules and rule enforcement drive employees to work effectively. They believe that people need to fear layoffs, explosions of anger, and punishment in order to operate at 100%. People then find themselves in survival mode, where they dont care about the product, the company, or the customer experience they only care about keeping their jobs and appeasing their boss. Exceptional bosses motivate through inspiration - they know that people will respond to their infectious energy, vision, and passion, more than anything else.Change is an opportunity, not a curseOrdinary bosses operate by the motto, This is the way weve always done it. They believe that change is unnecessary and that it causes more harm than good. Exceptional bosses see change as an opportunity for improvement. They co nstantly adapt their approach and embrace change to stay ahead of the curve.Bringing it all togetherIf youre currently a boss, is this how your employees would describe your beliefs? If not, youre leaving money, effort, and productivity lying on the table. Youre also probably losing some good employees, if not to other jobs, then at least to disengagement and lack of interest.Travis Bradberry is the co-author ofEmotional Intelligence 2.0and the cofounder ofTalentSmart.This column first appeared on LinkedIn.

Attract Attention With This Office Assistant Resume Template for Word

Attract Attention With This Office Assistant Resume Template for absolutAttract Attention With This Office Assistant Resume Template for WordIntroductionIf you want to attract the attention of hiring managers and land an interview for your dream job, you have to write an outstanding resume. The job market can be competitive, but with a well Efficient and knowledgeable office assistant with a proven trackBachelor of Science in Business Administration 2008Boston University

Rumored News on Glassdoor Resume Discovered

Rumored News on Glassdoor Resume Distiteled Ok, I Think I Understand Glassdoor Resume, Now Tell Me About Glassdoor Resume Finding the almost all of templates and making a CV by using work application building service will certainly make things a great deal simpler. The absolute most efficient part is it possesses various specific templates that you will want to have the capacity to select for your job application. A perfect selection for people with significant amounts of experience who desire to get an excellent one-page application template. Furthermore, youll come across several sample resumes and suggestions to create the ideal Job application. If youre in a position to modify a template conveniently, you just might be able to help to earn a great one your self. Resume Themes There are over 20 design templates to choose from. Something as easy as locating the perfect person to control your resume cover letter may have a sizable effects. Whats more, you will also get a pr operly written cover letter in the exact template. If you should, you may also add an expert summary section above the job history section to drive home your private brand. 1 A resume summary may be short, snappy intro sentence that provides an overview of your very best get the job done. The One Thing to Do for Glassdoor Resume Resumes arent searchable or displayed on the site to anybody. Different resume formats will be able to help you highlight whats essential for the employer to see. If you would like to be given a work soon or are attempting to change your projects then you wish to take into consideration the resume. You will be happy you chose to return and make all the edits at the same time. There are a few things you have to understand on how best to compose a resume. The Basics of Glassdoor Resume Its possible to incorporate equally as much as you wish to find the work that you want. Will not write what youd like in work. So to find a wonderful work, you mus t do both. As you most likely know, locating a new work requires you to create a sales. There are a lot of job sites out there so that it is possible to pick from, along with job search tools called job finders. The list makes it possible to identify what sorts of job listings to target. While searching for a different job that you should bring in regards to a how to earn a perfect continue. A summer time job by way of your granddad is not really crucial to list. No generic resume will relay a top quality candidate. If youre searching for your next job, among the best practices is uploading your CV to a work website. A good candidate is one which meets the particular job requirements or shows strong potential to be successful at work. Many occasions the perfect job candidate is scanned out due to a poor resume. What to Expect From Glassdoor Resume? To conserve a whole lot of stress later on, make sure that you use every one of our resume contractor to create a report that might be easily utilised in a lot of job applications. If youre asking for work in a creative industry, dont hesitate to go all out creatively. Moreover, it hosts a network for employers hoping to locate new skill. Losing employment could be a traumatic encounter. Glassdoor Resume Features To begin with, you must guarantee a consistent design. Try and discover a balance between using enough specific keyword phrases to send prospective employers to your internet page, while not over utilizing buzzwords to spell out your skills if you are not truly experienced. Rather, it is a strategic tool for marketing your personal brand. Developing a work program with the aid of a template will allow you to become mindful of the work application areas you ought to fill up.

Office Coffee Its Image and Implications

Office Coffee Its Image and Implications Are heavy office coffee drinkers more likely to be Type-A, go-getter, impatient, heart attack-prone types? Do espresso drinkers really tend to be moodier? Is that latte in hand a calculated personal schirm?Like any other entrenched habit, coffee drinking may be expected to reveal something about personality, character, brain chemistry, culture, attitudes, unconscious forces, health, values or lifestyle.When it spills over, so to speak, into the office, the coffee habit becomes an office habit, with various implications, associated social/professional images and health correlations.These are the focus of what follows.Before that, it should be noted that the stronger the habit (if not the coffee), the likelier its impact on, at and from work. For example, consider caffeine-addicted staff in an office without coffee or at a job with long and late hours that only reinforce the habit.But beyond such obvious mutual i mpacts between workplace and coffee, it is worth asking what else we can infer about employees, employers, jobs and workplaces from the (un)importance of coffee to themincluding, as shall be explored below, the image coffee drinkers (want to) project..Coffee Motivations and CorrelationsStart with the basic motivation to drink coffee at work (and at home). Like coffee, the motivation is often very strong. No worker is going to spend, on average, $1,000 per year on coffee without some serious motivation to do so (the figure recently reported as the average drinkers expenditure in a 2011 survey, Employed Americans at Work, by Accountants Principals).Additional evidence of the allure and scope of workplace coffee is not hard to find According to another 2011 survey on U.S. workers and their coffee habits conducted by Alterra Coffee Roasters (and reported on in this article.)65 percent of workers drink coffee at work.The average worker consumes three cups of coffee per day.38 percent of workers say they wouldnt make it through a typical workday without coffee.30 percent report drinking coffee in the workplace because it helps them focus and increase productivity.More than one in five office workers admit the quality of their work would suffer if they didnt have coffee.Two in five office coffee drinkers say they have had interesting or helpful talks with colleagues or bosses while near the coffee maker.Surely, given that intense feelings about any one thing correlate with other things, e.g., correlations between loving being a recruiter and doing the job well, it is reasonable to imagine that a (dis)taste for coffee correlates with some work-related personal traits, states, feelings, approaches or performanceand perhaps in very subtle ways.The question is, Correlate with what?and, in particular, correlate with what workplace traits, attitudes, status or lifestyles?The Pop-Science Coffee-Personality ConnectionConsider the coffee personality. There are about as many c irculating classifications of coffee-drinker personalities and attitudes as there are coffees on a Starbucks menu. Unfortunately, fruchtwein are about as compelling as the vague, arbitrary, predictively useless and overlapping daily horoscopes written by an overworked young newspaper intern ordered to concoct them. In a questionable attempt to correlate coffee (non-)drinking with work style, ethic, traits and attitudes, some writing about this suggests rather implausibly rigid and/or sloppy categories.For example, in 2010, the Sydney Morning Herald cited the book The You Code, by Judi James and James Moore, for its coffee-drinker typology Espresso drinkers tend to be moody, hard-bitten and hard working. They are into leadership and htte nicht viel gefehlt goals. They dont suffer fools but are hard living and prone to night-time shenanigans. The saatkorn article, citing the same book, reports that black-coffee drinkers, on the other hand (or is it the same hand?) can be quiet and moo dy but prone to brief bursts of extroversion. (Italics mine.)That is an example of the kind of overlapping, counter-intuitive characterizations that make it hard to take them seriously, much as Myers-Briggs types and daily horoscopes are.Offsetting such overly broad and overlapping characterizations of coffee drinkers are the overly and implausibly narrow ones For example, and another citation of The You Code in the SMH article, A latte drinking boss will use a baby voice to tell you off. Really? No, or only rare exceptions?And does baby voice mean soft and sweet cooing or, instead, incomprehensible tantrum-triggered sputtering, screaming and drooling? (To be fair to the books authors, the muddle could be merely the result of second-hand summarizing by journalists.)Donald Trump said in a 2003 Esquire interview, Ive never had a glass of alcohol. I wont even drink a cup of coffee. So, since he neither drinks latte (or any coffee at all) nor gently fires apprentices, can we conclude th at all or most coffee-shunning bosses will rant, roar or bellow their displeasure? That would be a very risky conjecture, at bestmuch as many other coffee personality-speculations seem to be.Real Science, Personality and CoffeeEven sober, large-scale scientific studies seem flawed in the same way. One such study of 12,467 subjects, titled Traits of Persons Who Drink Decaffeinated Coffee (School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 2003) concluded, These data suggest that decaffeinated coffee use is related to illness in some persons but to a healthy lifestyle in others. Great. The weather forecast for tomorrow is rain, except where or when none. This bet-hedging is useful only in making it clear that one thing can correlate with opposite things, making prediction virtually impossible without more research on more variables.Another study, Factors Associated with Caffeine Consumption, conducted at Cardiff University in 2002, offered an even less inspiring inference ab out the psychology of caffeinated-coffee drinkers There is, however, very little evidence to suggest that psychological characteristics such as personality traits or psychosocial factors are important in influencing caffeine consumption.As for the impact of coffee and tea on job performance, one 2011 University of South Australia study, Relationships between Tea and Other Beverage Consumption to Work Performance and Mood, offered a bad-news conclusion for caffiends (caffeine addicts) tea and other caffeinated beverages were found to enhance the negative effects of evening recovery and morning mood on mindfulness during the day.Given the unreliability and uselessness of unsubstantiated pop-psychology coffee-drinker classifications, the inconclusiveness of large-scale scientific studies and the negative implications of other research, my guess is that my own commonsense speculating on coffee-drinker profiles and correlations may add something positive to the debate or at least not fur ther muddy it.Of course, my speculations and observations that follow are subject to the personal limitation that I dont drink coffee, because I discovered years ago that it immediately upsets my stomach (and also because to me it tastes awful without some serious, unhealthful sugaring up).Coffee and Type-A PersonalitiesConsider what is perhaps the most obvious conjecture that heavy coffee-drinking is somehow related to Type-A personalitiesvariously described as competitive, aggressive, clock-chasing, impatient, bad-tempered, ambitious, workaholic go-getters. In terms of popular stereotypes and iconic images of time-pressed young professionals juggling a coffee while racing back to the office or to a high-powered meeting, it would make sense that coffee is their high-octane gasoline.After all, if you are a Type-A rat-race workaholic constantly setting and battling deadlines and new challenges, working long hours and spending sleep-deprived nights, strong coffee (and lots of it) is l ikely to be the second most precious fluid in your lifeyour racing blood being the first, but only as one of Mother Natures default settings that you cant tinker with and sacrifice for work.In fact, one medical study indirectly suggests a connection between coffee and Type-A behaviorEleven morbid conditions with a prevalence of 1% or more, coffee consumption, heavy alcohol consumption, and Framingham Type-A behaviour pattern were associated with a higher risk of sleep problems. (Correlates of Sleep Problems among Men the Vietnam Era Twin Registry, J Sleep Res. 1997 6(1)50-6)But then theres The Donaldarguably an archetypal Type-A, but also a coffee abstainer. Perhaps the ultra Type-A personality is too busy to even stop to sip, much less smell the coffee (although in Trumps case, the aversion is, he has said, related to his distrust of stimulants).The Visual Impact of Coffee Images Projected and PerceivedOne possible link between coffee drinking and Type-A behavior I can imagine is w hat I will call the Yuppie Cuppa Coffee Syndrome a paradoxical professional fusion of work and play, self-discipline and self-indulgence, necessity and luxury, stress and relaxation, and professional elitism and working-stiff egalitarianism.Visualize an ordinary office coffee break or an Armani-clad broker or power-dressed Prada bag-lady on their way up in a business-tower elevator, each caressing a steaming high-end, $50-per-cup Kopi Luwak grandethe worlds most expensive coffee, reportedly made from Indonesian coffee beans eaten, semi-digested and excreted by the common palm civet, which looks like a wolverine runt.Whats the visual message?Blend of work and play Think of the office coffee break. Is it work or play, if the gang talks shop over their coffees? It communicates to the boss and colleagues a very positive dual-messagethat even while joking around and laughing on a coffee break, work is still a priority. Thats my guess as to how Type-A personalities allow themselves to hav e and be seen having a coffee break.(Note Providing employees that work-play break can be a smart move Investing in fresh, good-tasting coffee at the office obviously pays off for employers in the long runsaving employees cash while keeping them closer to tasks at hand. This small investment produces large returns, boosting employee productivity and satisfaction. (www.strategicdreaming.com/women-business-education/The_buzz_on_office_coffee)Spartan self-discipline, but with a prise of confident self-indulgence Clearly if someone is carrying, rather than drinking a coffee, (s)he doesnt have time to stop and sip, and is therefore probably a diligent, self-disciplined professional or somebodys client en route to a meeting. Either way, (s)he is very likely to be someone doing something very important or, better yet, is someone important.Thats an eye-catching blend of extreme psychological oppositesa self-disciplined and self-indulgent professionalthat suggests coffee is to be seen as wel l as smelled and tasted. The image blend suggests someone like a CEO, who is able, willing and required to work hard and sacrifice for high goals, but who is also free-spirited and independent enough to indulge little whims of the moment. How could you not admire someone like that?Grasp of necessity and taste for luxury Correlating with being a harried on-the-go Type-A, the image of coffee as a necessity to make it through the day wins respect and sympathy. On the other hand, and especially if a deluxe blend, the same cup of coffee suffuses itself and its bearer with an aura of luxury and elegance,in one more way garnering commiseration and respect for the caffeind, the respect being won in the form of envy and admiration for cultivated and expensive good taste.High stress levels, great stress management skills Equally visually iconic is the image of a stressed-out professional desperately in need of a cup of warm relief. As a symbol of relief and relaxation, the same cup of coffee subliminally reinforces the impression of the drinker as being responsible enough to accept career and associated job stress, yet smart enough to know how to manage itby wisely reaching for a coffee as and when needed. Thats bagging a win-win double (latte).Elitism and egalitarianism Nothing sounds more regular-guy or gal , ordinary Joe, and equalitarian than a regular cup of Joe, as a synonym for a cup of coffee (reportedly and eponymously derived from the name of the U.S. Secretary of the Navy in 1914, Josephus Daniels, who banned alcohol on Navy ships, forcing sailors to resort to Plan Bcoffeefor stimulation and relaxation).Likewise, the commonplace invitation to have a cup of coffeeoffered or acceptedadds a nice common touch, making one seem socially and emotionally accessible. On the other hand, making that coffee a pricey Starbucks brew stakes out and crosses class lines, into penetrated and exclusive elitist territory. Result you look like a regular, yet classy guy or gal. Ni ce maneuver.All Those Coffees and HealthIf the psychological, professional and social correlates of coffee drinking matter to you less than its health implications, consider the mixed medical reviews it gets.Many research investigations, epidemiological studies, and meta-analyses regarding coffee consumption revealed its inverse correlation with that of diabetes mellitus, various cancer lines, Parkinsonism, and Alzheimers disease On the other hand, their higher levels raise serum cholesterol, posing a possible threat to coronary health, for example, myocardial and cerebral infarction, insomnia, and cardiovascular complications. Caffeine also affects adenosine receptors and its withdrawal is accompanied with muscle fatigue and allied problems in those addicted to coffee. (Coffee and Its Consumption Benefits and Risks, National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, 2011,).Strangely, this mixed medical message seems to perfectly mirr or the mixed visual professional messages that coffee conveys. On top of being both good and bad for your health, it is socially and physiologically both stimulating and relaxing, a tool of work and play, a perceived necessity and luxury, an icon of stress and relaxation, a sign of self-discipline and self-indulgence, and a mark of high and ordinary status.It makes me wonder whether there is a comparable mixed professional message Im communicating in not drinking coffee at all. I can think of at least one.I probably look like I dont need it and cant afford it.Image COFFEE A SWIRL OF MEANING / Michael Moffa