Plus: The Latest in Phone Spying, the Ugly Truth about Jobs and Green Productivity Boosts.

Outrageous “How I Quit My Job” Stories
Whether prompted by lousy co-workers, condescending bosses or a barely-there paycheck, some workers take their resignations to a whole new (and creative) level, as evidenced by people like disgruntled and gutsy JetBlue airline attendant Steven Slater, who stunned the public earlier this month when he walked off his job by literally sliding off a plane while on duty.

Media site Gawker.com offers a round-up of other not-so-subtle quitting stories. Among the list of I-can’t-take-it-anymore entries:

• A movie theater employee scheduled to work both the concession stand and the ticket line during Thanksgiving, without any help, simply walked off the job — after spreading the food all over the counter and floor.
• An employee who was constantly belittled by the boss decided to quit, but only handed over the resignation letter after the boss held a detailed meeting about a lengthy project being assigned to the employee.
• A former TV station programmer who was working in a hostile atmosphere describes how he was forced to work July 4th weekend, which was apparently the last straw. The employee used his time alone at the station to air only commercials during a normally busy TV segment.
• A doctor who was scamming his patients through insurance fraud and drinking on the job was also horrible to his employees, according to a former worker. That same employee called the police, who then contacted the FBI, and the MD was out of practice forever.
• An employee was abruptly fired due to jealousy after receiving an award that her boss didn’t get. After the newly axed employee requested two weeks of severance pay, she was denied and told to “deal with it.” Her payback? Her loyal colleagues quit one-by-one, every day, until there was no one left, and told the boss to “deal with it.”

While quitting may be a powerful relief, it usually doesn’t rise to the level of drama:

Of course, staging a big scene may not be the most tactful way to leave a job. Finance site GetRichSlowly.com recommends choosing “graceful ways” of quitting, such as leaving in good standing and telling your supervisor about the decision first.

Study: Attractive Women Unsuitable For Certain Jobs
Speaking of jobs, some women may not get an opportunity to have certain careers — based solely on their looks, Reuters reported earlier this month.

According to a study by the University of Colorado Denver Business School, women are commonly passed over for jobs that are considered masculine or, ironically, where appearance is not imperative to the position.

The study had participants view a list of job positions and photos of potential job applicants, both male and female. The group then matched the picture with the job, according to who they deemed suitable for certain positions.

Overall, attractive women were dismissed for male-associated professions, like manager of research and development, director of finance, construction supervisor and mechanical engineer, and were instead paired with stereotypical female jobs, such as secretarial positions.

The study found that attractive males had the biggest career advantage, faced no discrimination “…and were always at an advantage,” according to a release on the findings.

What can we learn from this? “Given the importance of hiring and the consequences of making a wrong choice, the authors said, managers need to rely more on information from the individual rather than on stereotypes about physical appearance.”

Green Buildings Linked to Higher Productivity
Green office buildings boost employee health, help productivity and improve worker attendance according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University.

The researchers found that workers were positively affected when they were moved to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings, citing reduced stress, sickness and depression levels.

The researchers tracked groups of employees that moved from conventional office buildings into green buildings and found that they suffered less from everyday maladies, such as asthma and allergies.

“The idea in the future is that when people build environmental buildings, [that] research shows many benefits that are related to health and productivity,” Matt Syal, a project researcher, told TheStatenews.com.

A Spying Device For Phone Records
Here’s a spy gadget to make 007 jealous: a device that recovers old and deleted cell phone files.

You might think that retrieving lost cell phone data would be tricky once the memory is wiped clean, but with the help of iPhone Spy Stick, users can salvage texts, contacts, pictures and other deleted information that was once considered irretrievable.

Developed by BrickHouse Security, the gadget resembles a standard USB stick (other than the obvious “iPhone Spy Stick,” label) and pulls up phone contacts, call history and calendar information. It also downloads “dynamic text,” such as frequently used words like people’s names and locations. This may come in handy for restoring your own files or for simply snooping around, but at a price tag of $199, prospective spies might benefit from brushing up on more traditional sleuthing methods. Currently, the device is compatible with iPhones running on IOS 3.2.1 and earlier.

Gizmodo calls it “an unsettling product,” considering its stalker-like capabilities. With devices like these, you may want to reconsider leaving your phone lying around.

Have a great weekend.