GO WITH THE FLOW: ACCEPT TV SHOW TALK.

Byline: Ken Lloyd On the Job

Q Many of the employees in my department watch one television program in particular, and they constantly quote lines from it. I don't watch the show, and their constant references to it are very annoying. What do you think? G.R.

A As much as you would like to reprogram what your fellow employees are watching and saying, your choices are limited.

One is to accept your co-workers as they are and stop focusing on this issue. They are going to mouth these lines no matter what you say or do, since they enjoy the show and feel better by reliving the televised moments. It is not as if they are a clique trying to exclude you, since you could presumably tune in and join the dialogue at any time.

A related option is to focus more attention on the job that has to be done. Television lines do not typically lend themselves to most formal work assignments.

You could also seek out other employees in the company whose interests are closer to yours, even if it is just to take a break from your colleagues. Although an obvious option is to watch the show, you have probably done so already and found the commercials to be more appealing than the story.

The bottom line is that the show's lines have become part of the culture of your company. Although cultures do not go into syndication, they can last a long time.

Q I just quit working for a company that has a terrible reputation, and people told me that having it on my resume will hurt my chances of getting a job. I only worked there for less than a year. Should I leave it off my resume? R.W.

A Just because a company has a questionable reputation does not mean that every employee who works or worked there is tainted. However, if you are interested in possibly wrecking your reputation, leave it off your resume.

When you are applying for a job, you do not have to sell your previous employer to a potential employer. All you have to sell is yourself. If you do not disclose the truth, you destroy the credibility of your product. You can figure that a potential employer will take references on you and find an unexplained gap or some covering in your background. When this occurs, your rejection letter and fate with the company are sealed.

If it is such a terrible place, then your departure could even work in your favor. By omitting this company from your resume, you will be forced to lie to a potential employer. Even if the employer somehow misses this and hires you, the truth can still come out. And when it does, most companies take the position that any false information provided during the pre-employment process is grounds for immediate termination.

Q Our company gives incentives and awards to employees in other departments, but ours is overlooked. We talked to our manager about this, and he said there is nothing he can do because our work is not set up this way. What should we do? C.A.

A Your manager may indeed lack power to do anything about these incentives for you and your fellow employees, or he may lack the initiative or skills to do so.

There are ways for companies to provide employees in any job with opportunities to earn incentives and awards. Whether on an individual, group, departmental, or companywide basis, each employee can participate in some sort of reward program.

Depending on your responsibilities, there can be an array of incentives associated with quality, service, productivity, attendance, work beyond the call of duty, and any other number of positive behaviors. You should do some homework and put together some suggestions as to the best way to set up such a program in your department.

Your next step is to meet with your manager again and show him your ideas. Be sure to ask for his input, and then indicate that you would like him to take the proposal to senior management. If he still says there is nothing he can do, believe him. Take the proposal to management yourself.

As a side note, some companies provide cash bonuses to their employees based on the usefulness of their suggestions. There are several reasons for you to suggest such a system in your proposal.