Trying times like these bring out the best and worst in people. I'm lucky enough to work for a company that, in this last week, has played a humanitarian role, acting as a rallying point for donations (Firefighter and Red Cross donations), a center for news and discussion (News and groups), and a means of communicating with loved ones when telephones have gone out (Yahoo! Mail and Messenger).

Working 'for the people' means that the entire company has a feeling of compassion about the news and the country, and it shows through all levels inside and out. What's been so appalling to me is that so many of my friends working for other companies have not been so lucky. On Tuesday and through the rest of the week, so many people felt helpless, needing to gain control in some aspect of their lives, that they used their role as manager to 'tighten the ship,' berating or otherwise slighting employees who let last week's events affect their work through reading more news, or staying home Tuesday.

Many managers and bosses just don't know how to cope, and this is the response. I've heard from friends who have been issued ultimatums last week to not read news sites at all while at work, to discontinue telecommuting practices altogether, to not discuss the WTC tragedy in the workplace, or otherwise let it affect either the organization's bottom line or the illusion that a corporate entity stands apart from the people who are its foundation.

A prime example comes from Palm Beach Florida, where on Friday NCCI Holdings told its employees that "displays of nationalism had no place in the office", ordering employees to take down flags and other national symbols, allegedly sending one woman home for refusing to remove a small flag from her desk.

I'd like to read your thoughts and experiences here, be you an employee or employer. It just stuns me that some of us have become so anesthetized to drama that we can't see the difference between talking about last night's West Wing episode at the water cooler and keeping tabs on events that have affected the stability and freedoms in this country...