tiny answer Tuesday — 7 short answers to 7 short questions

by Alison Green on September 11, 2012

It’s tiny answer Tuesday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. What to say when you receive a job offer

When I was told I would receive a prospective employer’s hiring decision on a particular date, I realized I was totally unprepared to reply, whether it was an offer or news that they decided to go with another candidate. I wrote out two short scripts to help me articulate a thoughtful reply in either case, but I still felt uncertain about both of my immediate reactions. My question is, what is the ideal immediate response to an offer? What’s the best way to balance excitement and appreciation with a request for time to consider the offer or a request to negotiate the salary/benefits? And how and when do you open the conversation for negotiating?

And if I’ve tried negotiating and the employer responds with the same salary and benefits as the initial offer, which does not meed my needs/expectations, do I thank them and move on, or is it acceptable to ask again if they would meet in the middle of their offer and my salary requirements?

Immediate response to an offer, asking for more time: “Thank you so much. I’m very excited about the work and think it could be a great fit. I’d like to take a few days to think it over. Could I give you my answer on Friday?”

Response indicating you want more money: “Thank you so much. I’m very excited about the work and think it could be a great fit. I was hoping, however, for a salary closer to $X.” Follow this with silence and wait for a response. (You can use this in the initial conversation, or after you’ve thought things over.)

If the employer indicates that the offer isn’t negotiable and you aren’t willing to take that salary, you can certainly try again before you walk away, like this: “I understand your position. I think it would be a great fit and I’d love to work something out. What if we met in the middle, at $X?”

2. Turning down a job you were personally referred to

My friend had two interviews for internships on Friday, one through a referral and one she found by herself. She was offered both positions, but can’t afford the time commitment for both (they’re unpaid). She thinks the one she found herself is a better opportunity, but is worried about making her friend look bad for referring her to the other one if she doesn’t take the offer. What should she do? Is this less of a big deal with internships than with “real” jobs? I don’t know what to tell her, and thought you would.

Being referred to a job doesn’t mean that you can’t turn it down. It’s still just as important that it be a good fit on both sides, and if it’s not, it’s in everyone’s best interests for you to turn it down. This is true with internships as well as regular jobs. (Of course, you should go back and thank the person who referred her and explain it didn’t end up being quite the right fit because of ABC, but that she really appreciates the help, etc.)

3. Is this recruiter sketchy?

Is it normal for a recruiter, who claims to have found your resume on a job board, to give you a different phone number to respond to when calling to confirm an interview? A Google search of the first number leads to a consumer-advocacy site that raises questions about the legitimacy of the job, and a similar search of the second number yields only paid reverse-number-lookup services. Is there a polite way to cancel an interview because you found red flags (like unrealistic starting salaries and little-to-no job description) while trying to research the company while preparing for that interview?

Different phone numbers aren’t alarming; people variously call from their office line, cell phone, and even home phone if they do some work from home. The real concern is the info you found online.

And you can turn down an interview at any time; if you decide to turn this one down, simply email the recruiter and say that you appreciate her interest but you’ve decided not to pursue the position.

4. Being forced to use vacation days during snowstorms

I work for a private school in an area of the country that tends to get a couple of good snowstorms per year. The administration just sent a notice that, effective immediately, if the school closes more than twice due to inclement weather, additional days will be deducted from employee’s vacation time. Can they force employees to take vacation time due to circumstances out of the employee’s control? I would understand if they said, for example, “There will be no students today due to weather. Employees are able to come in as usual or take a day of vacation” but to force me to stay home and then penalize me for it seems pretty harsh. Thoughts?

Yes, this is both legal and common. Because no federal law requires employers to provide vacation days, employers are free to structure their vacation policies however they want, including requiring you to take your paid time off on certain days (such as snow days).

5. Assistants’ salaries

In general, is an assistant’s salary a percentage of their supervisor’s? Is there a formula I might apply? (I’m asking because I am being considered for a position in the public sector, and I know what the supervisor makes; I’m trying to gauge a salary range if the question happens to come up.)

No, salaries are not typically set as a percentage of someone else’s salary. They’re set based on market rate and the value the role adds. (And if you’re applying for a government job, it’s set based on the GS schedules.)

6. Dealing with a lukewarm reference

I’m a recent college graduate who’s searching for a job in a really competitive field. However, I’m really worried about a reference from one of my two internships. My internship adviser did agree to write a letter of recommendation for a program I was accepted to and agreed to act as a reference in my job search. But I know for a fact that I didn’t do well on some important tasks and I didn’t call (just emailed because of phone anxiety) when I was going to be late or out sick, things I wouldn’t dare do now that I’m older. I would use a different reference, but I don’t have one. I’m just scared I’ll never get a job if my reference is lukewarm, considering the ridiculous amount of competition for the position I want. Is there a way for me to ask about her my performance if I’m incredibly intimidated by her? If I do ask her about my reference and she’s lukewarm about it, what can I do? I only worked with one person at my second reference and my last bit of experience was fairly hands-off, so I didn’t get to know anyone.

Sure, call her and ask her. Say something like this: “I’ve realized that there are things I should have done differently when I was working for you. I was inexperienced and learning as we went, and I know it must have showed. It’s made me realize that I should ask you about your willingness to be a reference for me — will you be able to give me a pretty positive reference, or would I be better off not steering them your way? I’ll understand either way, and I’ll really appreciate your candor.”

But make sure you’re taking a lesson away from this for the future: If you didn’t do a great job there, it makes sense that she wouldn’t give you a great reference. Going forward, keep in mind that references aren’t just a box to check off on the road to a new job; they’re genuine commentary on how you’ve performed, so it’s really important that you excel in any job. It does matter later!

7. I don’t want to be Facebook friends with my former co-worker — but I want him to be a reference

I recently received a Facebook request from a former colleague. I had a very postive working relationship with this individual and I’m currently using him as a reference on some applications I’ve recently submitted. However, I did not have positive working relationships with many of the other individuals at that office and I was very glad when my contract concluded and I could move on from that place. It was also not a secret that I was unhappy with the office and with certain individuals in the office. I would be happy to add this colleague and I do want to stay in touch with him in the future, but I do not want to be connected by even one degree of separation with many of the other individuals from that office that he is friends with.

My instinct is to send him a polite note saying that I want to stay in touch but that I would prefer not to add him as a friend given the people that he is connect to through Facebook. Would this be inappropriate? However, I have an important application that I should hopefully be hearing back about this week and I was counting on him as a reference if I were to get to the interview stage. Should I wait out the week and see if I get an interview and if I do, do I have to then add him as friend in order to be able to count on his continued support?

Skip the note. Just ignore the request. Plenty of people aren’t on Facebook enough to deal with friend requests speedily, if ever. And they’re easy to overlook or forget to deal with. Forget to deal with it and then put it out of your mind.

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{ 58 comments }

{ 58 comments… read them below }

  1. Eric*

    Re #6, I know this isn’t what they were asking about, but is it really a big deal to e-mail instead of call if you are out sick. Maybe it depends on the industry/environment, but in the offices I have worked in, e-mail would be just fine, especially considering that nobody would be in the office yet when I realize I won’t be coming in.

    1. KayDay*

      Ditto with my office. If I’m calling out and it’s before the normal start time my boss could either be (a) in the office early (b) commuting (c) at home. Also, I work in a small office, so I typically let my co-workers know that I’ll be out–I can send one email instead of making 3 phone calls.

    2. Anonymous*

      One place I worked insisted that you phone (not email or text) your supervisor as soon as possible when you weren’t going to be in. If that meant leaving a voicemail at work it was okay, but they’d prefer to actually speak to you if possible, and vm-leavers were encouraged to call back when the office was open.

      1. Jamie*

        I’ve worked in places like that too, and it’s ridiculous.

        It’s not in my skill set to know whether someone is really sick or not by their voice. I’m not just a audio diagnostician.

        I’m in the camp of send an email when you realize you’ve been up all night and coming in isn’t happening and then try to get some sleep.

        1. A Bug!*

          My boss is in the same camp, and I agree too. It’s partly because e-mails will get to him more quickly on his smartphone, but I think it’s largely because he doesn’t want to deal with non-work human interaction.

          I don’t blame him; I’ve been the point of contact for employee call-outs before and it really doesn’t take much to get pretty deep into TMI territory. E-mail call-outs seem to be less prone to this because it leaves a paper trail.

          1. Anonymous*

            Yeah, I’ve gotten TMI or just way too long-winded calls when people call in — “omg, I’ve been stuck in traffic at this place for this long even though I left my house at this time, it’s crawling, it’s so bad,” and so on. Just tell me you’re in traffic and will be in a little late! I don’t need more than that! And this is usually a partner who does it so it’s not like they feel they need to explain they really left on time and didn’t oversleep or something.

      2. Yuu*

        That’s what I was thinking too. I suffer from phone anxiety as well and hate calling anyone other than my mom!

        OP#6, I think it is only inappropriate to email if your supervisor expressly said to you that she preferred phone calls. Otherwise, you might be being too hard on yourself.

      3. Cassie*

        Our office has a policy like this – you’re supposed to call your supervisor (not payroll, not HR, but your direct supervisor). However, some people get around it because they’re friends with the manager and they call her instead of their direct supervisor. So it’s kind of messed up.

        For my position, I don’t have to adhere to the dept policies that stringently (since I’m hired by my boss and not the dept) – my boss comes in later than I do, so the few times I do call in sick, I’d send an email instead of calling. I guess I could call his cellphone, but I’m definitely not going to be calling him at 6-ish (when I wake up and realize there’s no way I can get out of bed) nor do I want to try to catch him later.

    3. Piper*

      This. No one in my office even wants a phone call. They just want a text or an e-mail. And this has been the norm in every office I’ve ever worked in.

      1. Ask a Manager* Post author

        Me too. I don’t want to get your sick calls and I don’t want to have to make them! Plus, sometimes someone is going to email at 5 a.m. to say they’ve been up sick all night and aren’t coming in — they should be able to go to sleep and not have to get up at 9 to call in.

  2. reyzvolution*

    When I was working for a Japanese boss, he specifically requested us to call if we’re late or taking the day off due to sickness. He said to us “It’s much faster to just call in, so why text or email? Unless you’re hiding something, are you?”

    Luckily now, I can just text my boss with no question asked.

  3. Hari*

    Re: #7

    I would add him just to be safe. It’s true some people aren’t on facebook all that often but as connected as we are all getting now, especially if you are in your mid-late 20s-early 30s I would figure that you did see it and did ignore it. I wouldn’t risk having him feel slighted or used over this, especially since their are various ways to get around having people you don’t want see your facebook not see it.

    1. Set your facebook to private so people can’t search for you. You can also control what info people can use to search for you. However you may want people to be able to find you in the future so, I would…
    2. See what undesirable acquaintances he’s friends with on his friend’s lisy and add them to your “block list”. They will not be able to see any post you make to him, he makes to you, or that you two are even friends or even your profile for that matter.
    3. If you are worried about what he will see, or if you think he might show them things from your facebook, give him only certain permissions. You can make individual or group albums, photos, posts, comments, and statues private. You can also make lists and allow certain people to see certain things. For example, I have a “best friends list” that sees everything, a “work list” that I restrict certain vacation photo albums or statuses from, a “family list” a whole bunch of restrictions there, and a minor acquaintance/past friend list who I only restrict things I feel are not their business or too personal (doesn’t happen often cause I don’t post a lot of personal things on the internet).
    4. Restrict facebook messages to friends only.

    You should really research privacy settings cause these are just the things I can think of off the fly, there are a ton more options. I wouldn’t risk offending your reference especially if you actually want to keep in contact and have a good relationship, facebook is the best way.

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      I don’t think people are obligated to connect with others on Facebook if they don’t want to, especially in professional relationships. The guy honestly probably doesn’t care, and if he does, there are plenty of reasons for why you might not have attended to the friend request yet. Seriously, people should not feel held hostage over this kind of thing.

      1. A Bug!*

        I agree. People are entitled to choose who gets to be on their friends list without it being analyzed. Not everybody has to treat their Facebook account the same way!

        1. Hari*

          Not everyone has to treat their facebook the same way, but culturally we give consensus to the “norms” of social media so there is that expectation that people will follow those norms.

          1. Ask a Manager* Post author

            I think, though, that the norms you’re describing here might be the norms in your particular circle but aren’t universal. I definitely don’t consider them norms!

            1. Hari*

              I think I just might be more tuned in since I am apart of the social media generation and since I work in advertising part of my job is keeping track of trends and the way people use facebook, twitter, etc. I realize though that especially with older generations, (no offense to anyone!!), they tend to regard social media differently and those norms don’t apply to them. I’m speaking off of just what I have researched and experienced personally only though. :)

      2. Hari*

        I don’t think they have an overwhelming obligation to add them either but why risk offending the other person when you want a favor from them when its so easy to control how much access you give them?

        This wouldn’t be an issue of course, in the next week or two, because like you said there could be reasons why someone isn’t on facebook. But if months went by and someone still had not yet added me, I would feel like I was being ignored on purpose. Especially if that person kept emailing me updates on their job search.

        1. KellyK*

          I think it’s worth pointing out that Facebook has a pretty lousy record with privacy. Settings get changed all the time without warning. I do make use of the privacy settings, but I accept that if I post something, there’s every chance that every single person I’ve friended will see it, or that it will “accidentally” become public.

          I do like the idea of specifically blocking people you don’t want to interact with, if you like the colleague and want to interact with him, but not your former coworkers.

          Depending on how many of those people there are and whether the OP actually *wants* to connect to the former coworker or just feels like he *should,* it may or may not be worth the effort, especially depending on whether he just doesn’t want to have contact with those former coworkers or doesn’t want them to know he’s on Facebook at all.

          If you really want to make sure you don’t offend the person, why not offer to connect on LinkedIn or somewhere else instead?

          1. Hari*

            Facebook does warn you though. They don’t send you emails (you have to enable this option) but they do give little pop-up notifications once a change has taken place. I’d say about 90% of these changes hasn’t effected what was private before but merely the interface of privacy settings and how they are categorized (which I do think can be confusing to a casual user as facebook is constantly changing its interface). I’ve had facebook before it was public (back when it was exclusive and you had to have a .edu address and be invited to have one) so I have followed all of these changes and the biggest was facebook actually going public and being indexed by google.

            I guess the bottom line is like you mentioned whether OP thinks its worth taking the precautions to safeguard his profile in order to add is former co-worker.

            However I think even offering the option of Linkedin risks offense (besides who says they aren’t already connected?). If OP’s co-worker thought they were friendly enough to be added on facebook, rejecting him would be like saying he doesn’t want to even be acquaintances. I know you all, might think I’m over thinking it but this is just becoming a social media norm. Not to be ageist or offend but someone 40+ could probably get away with it (as they tend not to understand or use facebook the same way) but people in the 18-35 range and especially in those in technology or media focused industries who are digitally savvy would be held to those norms.

            1. Chria*

              I think your sample size of people in the 18-35 range must be flawed. I used to agonize over facebook friends and how to keep connected with people I like without being forced to share my life with friends of friends of people I attended summer camp with. Now I just delete everyone I haven’t talked to in more than a year. I’m in university so often people want to add me on facebook so we can communicate on class projects. I delete them at the end of the semester, and if we end up in another class together and need to communicate again they just send me a new friend request. No questions, no weird looks or awkward conversations. There are no “norms” when it comes to facebook — just delete the request and get on with your life. You won’t be contacting him on Facebook for the reference request so just chill out :)

              1. Hari*

                If you haven’t seen that person in years or don’t keep up contact then its different, and also kind of irrelevant to the topic as the OP was concerned about offending someone he would be having regular contact with and wanted to maintain a good relationship with. If you have nothing to do with a person anymore deleting, or ignoring their friend request would have zero repercussions.

                Like there are norms with regular social interactions there are social media norms too that have been forming since its beginning (how we have become more digital and less personable in our society should prove that alone). There are plenty of case studies and articles about it if you care to google.

                Also facebook message communication is just one way to keep in contact. One of my supervisors who added me on facebook (and is no longer with my form company either, so I didn’t have her email when I left) I asked her for a reference via facebook message :P

              1. Hari*

                What I said wasn’t ageist though, it was fact, most people over 40 do tend to understand social media differently. I said “not to be ageist” so people wouldn’t assume I meant that in a negative way, which I didn’t.

    2. Ivy*

      I agree with Harri. I know people around my age will notice when someone doesn’t add them back. Sometimes you can get away with a “Oh! I didn’t realize you added me! I’ll have to check next time I’m on facebook,” but that excuse will only take you so far. It’s pretty much expected that you will add the other person back if you know them (heck I have people on there I haven’t talked to for years and yet I’m not going to add someone I’m in regular contact with? It can come off as strange).

      I have many coworkers on my facebook that I have blocked from seeing certain things i.e. tagged pictures. OP is not really worried about connecting with this coworker, but rather connecting with others he may know. OP should just make sure her privacy settings are so only her friends can see her pics/posts (and not friends of friends which is the default fb setting) and she can block the people she doesn’t want adding her (although the easier thing would be to just decline friend invitations from these people). Fb gives you the option of changing privacy settings so you can choose how much someone sees without declining their friend invite. (As Harri said, why risk it when you don’t have to)

      Again… I really think this is an age thing. Younger people just use social media in a different way. Now something makes me think the coworker isn’t in this crowd, so I think OP would be fine not adding him. Though be prepared for the “hey I added you on fb” comment.

      Now people can definitely still choose who to add and not add on fb, but people my age take declining friend requests akin to refusing to go to coffee with one person while you go to coffee with everyone else. You can choose who you want to go to coffee with of course, but refusing one person can be insulting. The same thing is true with fb.

  4. EngineerGirl*

    #6 – e-mail lacks immediacy – it can get lost in the deluge. For sick days, it is better to phone and leave a message. And I hate to say it, but you need to get over the phone anxiety. Talking on the phone is a normal part of doing buisiness so you need to get used to it.

    #7 Ask him to connect with you on LinkedIn instead. That’s more appropriate anyway, as it is a work friend.

    1. AnotherEngineerGirl*

      #6 – I used to call in for sick days, but I found it made some people uncomfortable to receive that call – they didn’t know what to say or how to respond to a genuine sick call. I moved to email since then. I do send them as early as possible though, soon body has a chance to ‘wonder’ where I am.

      Maybe this is a industry thing – in my world people are on their email all the time and I know they will receive the message. In fact i am no longer interrupting anyone’s morning routine or commute with a phone call, and they actually appreciate that.

      Either way probably not a huge deal as long ad you give notice.

      2. Anonymous*

        Yes, at my first job, I always called in by phone, because I knew for sure the other person received the message, obviously, and I know some people don’t always read all their emails every single morning.

        That said, in my current job I’m the person people tell if they’re going to be out, and I really prefer email. People actually tend to give me less TMI, and it’s less awkward. How do you immediately respond when someone says “My dog just died so I’ll be in late” or “I’ve stayed up all night vomiting” besides “I’m sorry, womp womp”? And I think it’s less stressful for them too. If I’m genuinely feeling super sick with the flu or dealing with something personal, I don’t wanna be talking on the phone.

        1. starts & ends with A*

          #6 – Assuming you’re working in an environment where people read their email, there’s no problem emailing for a sick day. Then you can also send an email to your project team as opposed to calling your boss or a secretary and having them relay the message.

  5. AG*

    #4 – If you worked at a public school, this would probably be covered under your collective bargaining agreement.

    1. Zee*

      Probably yes.

      While it’s apparently legal, I think this is just wrong on the administration’s part to punish the teachers for an “act of God.”

      If they want to really pinpoint who’s fault it is, question every teacher who wore their pajamas inside out the night before and punish those accordingly with taking away vacation days!

      1. MaryTerry*

        I don’t pretend to have the answer, but additional paid days aren’t “free” – the school days may have to be made up to get funding from the state government. Someone has to pay for the “extra” days – is it okay to punish the taxpayers for an act of God instead of the teachers? I don’t think unlimited days off is fair either. The school district has to be fiscally responsible, and in a bad winter some districts may have massive snow days (hurricane days?) to make up. Two paid “snow days” seems reasonable, especially if that’s how many flex days are built into the schedule.

        1. The IT Manager*

          Where my parents live, one public school parish just had 2 weeks off becuase of Hurricane Isaac and they will have to make most of it up. So if the school employees are getting paid vacation that whole time time, does the parish pay them extra for the make up days?

          Now it sucks to have to take vacation for time spent cooped at at home because of a hurricane or snow, but I agree with MaryTerry in that there’s no easy answer. And after the first week, most people had power and were not actually suffering because of the hurricane.

          1. A Teacher*

            We are salaried so we get a set amount of money each year, just like any other salaried employee. I don’t get paid extra because we have to make up a snow day I get the same amount of pay on every pay check. I’m paid for 186 days (about 10 months) but my pay is split up into a 12 month pay period, once every two weeks. I don’t have to use my sick days or two personal days–just as our superintendent and principals don’t either. Most of the time we make up missed school days–unless the state declares them act of God which is very rare.

    2. Judy*

      My understanding in our (public) schools is the teachers are paid for x days a year, where x is a couple days more than the state required instruction days. The calendar is padded with extra optional days off in the last half of the year, that can be cancelled if there are too many school cancellations.

      1. Your Mileage May Vary*

        That’s my understanding of the public school pay-system too, from my friends who are teachers. You get paid over 12 months.

        What’s short-sighted about OP’s school is that for those make-up days, you’d have to pay to heat/cool the building, gas for the buses to run, food in the cafeteria, etc. What’s a little teacher pay on top of that?

  6. Tiff*

    #5 – If the position is in the public sector you should be able to search online for the pay grades and salary ranges. I work in public sector (not fed) and the information was pretty easy to find online. They should have it buried somewhere on their website.

  8. B*

    #7 – You can absolutely ignore him. I do not add anyone on my Facebook page that is in any shape or form work related. Instead they go on to my LinkedIn. Yes, you could add him and do all of the privacy settings but remember privacy settings change sometimes without you knowing it.

    1. JT*

      Some people become friends with co-workers, before or after the work relationship ends. Even have been known to marry them. Just sayin’.

      1. Piper*

        Agreed. I have a ton of old coworkers who I’m actually friends with and are also my friends on Facebook. And I’m one of the ones who met my now-husband at work (we married long after we were no longer coworkers, but still…).

    2. Hari*

      Actually they don’t change without you knowing it, they give you warning, most people just don’t pay attention to the little notifications that pop-up on the side :P

      1. Your Mileage May Vary*

        The notifications might be useful if you check FB regularly. However, I don’t want them to change the privacy settings and I find out two weeks later when I get on FB again that my co-workers have had an opportunity to see my entire timeline and all of the stuff I had so carefully culled them from seeing.

        They notifications may work for you but my mileage may vary :)

        1. Tax Nerd*

          I’m with B. I’m not Facebook friends with anyone I’ve ever worked with. Sure, I liked them, and I’m naturally curious about what they’re up to, but if we didn’t socialize outside of work and after one or both of us left the company, I consider them a work-friend, and not a “real life”-friend.

          And I remember Facebook deciding for me (and everyone else) that I must want every photo that I’d ever been tagged in to be public, and announcing it after they’d changed it. I had to go and change the privacy settings after the fact, but anyone who was on there before could have seen photos of me, where I’d been tagged by someone else. I’d mostly bullied my friends into not tagging me or not posting photos of me I didn’t like, but there were still some that I’d have preferred to be kept non-public.

  9. Meg*

    #7: It’s fine to ignore him without a note. I rarely add coworkers to my facebook, though I do have 3 current coworkers and 5 former. However, I consider these people my close friends now, or rather, we’re still friendly and hang out outside of work, and one of the five is my former district manager and when I post about my job hunting success (like my current proceedings with a particular high-paying, excellent benefits career opportunity), he always offers words of encouragement (he hired me at my current position, and understands why I’m leaving [it’s also why he left]).

    So the point is that I use facebook for friends and family, not just coworkers. Sometimes they overlap, sometimes they don’t.

    +1 on add him to LinkedIn instead.

  10. ExceptionToTheRule*

    re: emailing in sick. I think it completely depends on your industry and office policy. Our policy (because you have to be replaced) is that you must speak to someone. We don’t work chained to our email and we work extremely odd hours, so it could be a couple of hours after arriving that the shift supervisor checks their email or gets to the department and notices you aren’t physically present and then it’s too late to call someone in to cover you.

  11. Juni*

    Re: #7, I would send him back a quite note saying, “Yes, I’d love to stay in touch! I really enjoyed working with you. But I try hard to keep my work contacts on LinkedIn and my outside-of-work contacts and family on facebook. Would you like to connect through LinkedIn?

    1. The IT Manager*

      General Schedule (the US (federal government) civil service pay scale)

      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Schedule_(US_civil_service_pay_scale)

  13. Emily*

    Re: #3 – my mom and stepdad (who work for the same employer) have been forced to take a mandatory vacation every week for the last three years, coupled with a 20% pay cut for the 1 in 5 days they aren’t working. They didn’t have contracts, so their choices when the new policy went into play were: stay here 4 days a week at 80% pay, or find a new job, because this is the new terms of your job: take them or leave it. (The best part is that the company by all measures is doing just fine; the company owner hates Obama and has stated that he won’t “be able” to bring everyone back to a 40-hour workweek until a Republican takes the White House, regardless of what the books appear to show.)

    2. Sparky629*

      I’m just going to state my personal opinion.

      the company owner hates Obama and has stated that he won’t “be able” to bring everyone back to a 40-hour workweek until a Republican takes the White House, regardless of what the books appear to show.)

      That owner is just a jerk and is stupid. I’m sorry that your parents have to put up with that nonsense. So basically, he’s punishing his workers for something totally out of their control?
      I think he’s setting himself up for failure but you know…whatever.

      He won’t operate at full capacity therefore not receiving the maximum amount of profit that is possible for the business all over some dislike of the current president? That just seems like it’s setting him up for a vicious cycle in which his business may end up in the toilet.

      But then again, he sounds like the type whose business will close and he will be angry at the government for making it impossible for small business owners to prosper.

  15. Elizabeth West*

    #3–Grr, this happened to me. I responded to a blind ad that looked pretty legit and was sent a link to a paid credit service. Also, the recruiting company name in the email didn’t exist. No more blind ads.

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