board volunteer makes everyone’s jobs harder, can I expect a raise when I’m on a PIP, and more

by Alison Green on March 18, 2025

It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…

1. Our board volunteer makes everyone’s jobs harder

I was recently made the chair of the board for a local community service group. The board receives money each year to buy supplies for community service events, but being on the board is a volunteer position (no one is getting paid). Basically, anyone who wants to be on the board can be because we really need the extra help. Historically, people have only been asked to step down if there is an ethical concern. The parent organization that provides funds does not provide rules or guidance on staffing, only on how we spend the money.

We have one board member who is making everyone else’s jobs harder through no fault of his own. John has been the secretary for a very long time, and he’s in charge of scheduling meetings and taking notes (he doesn’t contribute to event planning or anything else).

John is a very kind, elderly gentleman who struggles with technology. He will take a week or more to schedule a meeting when I could schedule it myself in five minutes. This is an issue when an urgent problem or opportunity pops up that requires a board vote. We’ve been trying to use OneNote to track meeting minutes and event information, but John isn’t comfortable using it (he will only work in Word or on paper). He’s hard of hearing, so he can’t hear what anyone says in the meetings. We end up pausing every few minutes to tell him exactly what to write down (costing us ~20% of our meeting time). At this point, everyone is doing more work just so John can keep his position.

I’m not sure how to deal with this. On one hand, he is objectively hurting our outcomes and making more work for an already stretched-thin team. On the other hand, our organization frowns upon turning down volunteers and John loves being on the board because he’s “lonely and gets to talk to people at the meetings.”

Should I act like this is a paid position (set a performance improvement plan and ask him to step down if he ultimately can’t meet expectations)? I wouldn’t be able to replace him; I’d be eliminating the position entirely. I also worry that excluding him would be akin to discrimination based on age or disability (which is important to me even if this group isn’t bound by employment laws). I also wouldn’t have anyone to replace him with, so we’d just be getting rid of the position entirely.

Or should I try to find a different role/task he can reasonably complete without impacting the rest of us? That feels wrong too, like I’d be infantilizing him by keeping him busy but not letting him do anything meaningful. Is there a third option here?

A performance improvement plan would be overkill in a volunteer position like this.

But you definitely can’t spend a fifth of your meeting time coaching John on what to write in the notes. And if you’re already hurting for volunteers, you really shouldn’t risk making people not want to go to your meetings.

Can John stay on the board without being the secretary? Can he just be a board member who provides input into the direction of the organization without having a specific task list that affects other people?

If not, then at a minimum, it sounds like you need to just tell him that the board is moving to OneNote and no longer needs him to take notes. If he pushes back, be matter-of-fact about why: “We’re spending a lot of time in every meeting discussing what should be written down, and OneNote will take care of it all without discussion, which we need because people are stretched for time. So it’s going to be OneNote from here on out.” Or, “We’re going to try out OneNote for the next two meetings and see if it works.”

You could be pretty blunt about the meeting scheduling: “We’ve been waiting a week or more to get meetings scheduled, and we need that to happen faster. It’s something I can do myself very quickly, the same day it comes up, so my plan is to take over scheduling them unless you are up for getting it done the same day it’s requested?”

The other option is to just lay out what needs to change and let him decide if he’s up for it or not: “We need the secretary to do XYZ, which is different in ABC ways from what’s happening now. Do you want to stay in the role knowing the requirements will be changing in that way, or do you want to take a more of a general board member role where you’re not responsible for XYZ anymore?” If he says he wants to remain in the role but you still don’t see the changes you asked for, at that point you’d revert to the steps above.

2. Is it unrealistic to expect a raise while you’re on a PIP?

I recently had my annual review with my boss, and I was marked as “below expectations.” I expected it as I had been put on a performance improvement plan (PIP) due to “communication issues.” Quick backstory on the PIP is that I am the kind of person who if you assign me something, I will get it done, then update you, whereas my boss is more of the “update me as you go along” kind of person. Different communication styles, I get it, and I’m more introverted and task-focused, which caused me to often forget about communication updates to the stakeholders, which can definitely be improved upon. While I felt the PIP was unreasonable as I was still producing results, it was not totally out of line. I fully expect to pass this PIP, and my boss also communicated that during our review.

Back to the review: my boss told me that I would not be getting a raise, as it is company policy that anyone on PIP will not get a raise. Fair enough, again not a good policy, but sure, I get it. However, I argued that in the past year, my roles and responsibilities had increased drastically, including taking on what is traditionally in my industry a complete other person’s job scope. It is a small-ish company, so I understood it as a logical extension of my work. (The PIP was not a result of me being unable to handle the additional responsibilities.) That was in March of last year. Since then, the company has grown in leaps and bounds and hired much more back end staff. I felt that if I was to continue doing both teapot sets of work, I would need to be paid more. His counter was that anyone on a PIP would not be entitled to a raise.

Is it unfair to expect a raise to reflect my new expanded job scope, even though I am on a PIP? I argued with him for about 10 minutes over this, and his counter was still that last statement above. I felt like I was talking in circles.

Yeah, you’re not going to get a raise while you’re on a PIP, at least not more than a cost-of-living increase at most. Raises are recognition that you’re now contributing at a higher level than when your salary was last set, and if you’re performing below expectations for the job (and by definition with a PIP, the issues are serious enough that you could be let go), very few employers are going to increase your salary in the middle of that (again, excluding COLAs).

The problem is that a year ago your company added significantly to your work without compensating you for it. Maybe that was more reasonable than it sounds on the surface — you can have a job composed of two separate areas of work and still have them be one reasonable full-time job at the original salary. Or maybe it’s unreasonable; your company wouldn’t be the first to pile extra responsibilities on someone without paying them at market rate (or what they would have to pay someone for the same job if they hired for it externally). But you’re not likely to be successful in arguing that while you’re on a PIP.

3. Public-facing employees are upset that other employees do work outside our office

I work for a large educational institution. During Covid, we all worked remotely without issue. Even after returning to the office, there was some flexibility; as long as our work was getting done and our supervisors approved, we could work remotely as needed.

Recently, with a change in leadership, an email was sent stating that everyone must be present in person unless they have explicit approval from their boss. This has created a toxic work environment. Most of our clerical staff have always been required to work in person because they are public-facing or their roles demand it. However, many of us have jobs that require us to be in the field, visiting other sites and meeting with stakeholders. The issue is that the clerical staff is now monitoring when people come and go, leading to resentment, tattling, and unnecessary tension. HR has been unhelpful in clarifying that different roles have different expectations, and the clerical staff feels it’s unfair that not everyone has to be in the office all day. To make matters worse, some employees are now misusing their access to our management system to check who has recorded an absence or who they believe is simply not in the office. They fail to recognize that this is an invasion of privacy — people’s absences and their reasons should not be office gossip.

How can we address this growing hostility and get leadership to acknowledge the differences in job responsibilities while also ensuring privacy is respected?

Wait, the clerical staff is upset not that other people at working from home but that other people are out of the office to visit other sites and meet with stakeholders? That is … a weird new twist on this.

That said, there’s not a lot that you as non-management can do about it. You can point out the tensions to your boss (and maybe HR if they’re competent). You can make a point of being more specific than just saying you or someone else will be out of the office and instead say “I’m meeting with a client” or “Jane is doing a site visit” or so forth. You can counter the comments when you hear them (“part of her job is going to clients’ sites”). You can also just ignore it; internally roll your eyes and figure it’s not your problem to handle as long as it’s not directly interfering with your ability to get your job done. The last one is likely your best option; you might get the most relief from realizing you can’t fix it and don’t need to fix it.

But behind that, what you’re describing is a significant culture problem, and one that requires intervention from management to resolve it. If they don’t care to do that for whatever reason, that’s on them.

That said, if there are specific violations of privacy that you can cite (like someone’s medical information being accessed/shared), you should definitely escalate that.

If I’ve misunderstood and the resentment is actually about people who have their managers’ permission to work from home — not just working from non-home locations — the advice above still applies.

Related:
should I get rid of remote work because our in-office staff thinks it’s unfair?

4. My coworkers tune out so much background noise that it worries me

We have a hybrid office. Some people work with headphones on, others don’t, but many lose all awareness of everything else while working. I know that it’s common in offices for us to be completely focused on our work, but surely we should remain aware of where we are?

We’ve had people be surprised at things happening right next to them. We’ve even had them unaware that we’re talking about them while saying their name out loud. The worst example came when I went out of the room to move things upstairs, always a 10-20 minute process each week. A manager then asked me if I could move things upstairs, having not noticed that I had left the room, done the task, and come back as usual. This manager’s desk was right next to the door!

I’m worried that this lack of situational awareness will lead to more trouble than mild surprise. What if there was an emergency? We haven’t had a fire drill for a long time, I don’t know how quickly they’d react. What about verbal warnings; would they hear the security guards warning them to evacuate? What can I do? What should I do?

You don’t need to do anything! It’s very normal for people to adjust to office noise by learning to block it out so they can concentrate; that’s how they’re still able to do work that requires focus. In all but the most extreme cases, their brains will still recognize and respond to fire alarms, shouts to evacuate, and other noises outside the drone of more routine background noise.

5. I got my years of employment wrong in an interview

I just had an interview that I thought went fairly well. However, immediately upon leaving, I realized I said I held a position eight years when it was really six; it was an honest mistake, my bad-at-math brain just visualized “2014-2020” in my head and did the math wrong. But I’m worried that they will think I intentionally lied. Should I include a clarification in my thank-you email?

Sure. It’s unlikely to be a big deal, but on the off chance they did notice it and wondered about it, it would be fine to include a very brief mention in your thank-you note — something like, “Also, right after I left our meeting I realized I said I was at Oatmeal Village for eight years; in fact, it was six, and I didn’t want to leave that uncorrected.”

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{ 26 comments }

{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }

  1. RTO nightmare*

    Wow, the WFH backlash has gotten ridiculous. Not only are we now required to be in the office, but we’re expected to pay attention to everything around us all the time and never leave for anything, work related or not.

    Reply ↓
    1. Myrin*

      “We” aren’t required and expected to do anything – one person asked a question to a workplace advice website, wondering (unnecessarily, I’d say) about something. I doubt this (whatever “this” may be – OP’s seeming slight anxiety around emergencies?) is at all widespread.

      Reply ↓
    2. Daria grace*

      That people have a basic sense of things going on around them that are relevant to their work and that they don’t needlessly put themselves in a position where they wouldn’t hear emergency alarms or people telling them something important is not an unreasonable expectation

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  2. Danish*

    My interpretation of #3 was that the in office clerical staff suspect that when the other employees are on site visits they’re ACTUALLY working from home, and so are investigating every absence trying to find proof of that. Toxic situation is right!

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    2. Ellie*

      Yes. I wonder if a shared calendar would help? With time blocked off for site visits and client appointments (it doesn’t have to have the clients name or anything identifying, just time blocked off in people’s calendars). It might be that a lot of this is just a fundamental misunderstanding of each other’s roles, or annoyance at not being able to get hold of someone.

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  3. Chickadee*

    LW4 I use headphones and tend to hyperfocus on my work, so don’t always notice right away when people are talking to me, but would 100% notice a fire alarm going off and react promptly. (Fire alarm = evacuate is nearly muscle memory at this point from all the school drills.)

    Your coworkers aren’t responding to the things you mentioned (people talking nearby, you leaving the room) because those are safe, routine events that fade in to background and aren’t memorable even if they notice them. Emergencies tend to be loud and attention grabbing, which will break through most hyperfocus bubbles. If all else fails, a simple tap on the shoulder will get someone’s attention if they aren’t responding to verbal cues.

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    1. Ellie*

      Myself and a group of about 4 or 5 people at work did once miss a drill, because we were discussing a technical problem in detail around a whiteboard. Someone eventually found us, and asked why we didn’t evacuate. Our excuse was that there was no siren, and their answer was that ‘there wouldn’t always be a siren’. Um, ok, but if you’re walking around telling people to evacuate, you’re going to need to be loud enough to get people’s attention.

      I’m still not sure what they expected us to do, exactly. Be less focussed? We literally didn’t notice that we were the only ones left in the office.

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        1. Myrin*

          In fact, I don’t know what a fire drill without a siren is! Like, what does that mean? Someone running around yelling “FIRE!” (which is what it sounds like from Ellie’s description)?

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  4. MBK*

    People who tune out background noise tend to tune out the normal background noise they’re accustomed to and that they consider the regular hum of the office. A fire alarm or someone yelling for help (or in warning) will definitely get noticed.

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    1. The Prettiest Curse*

      In some office buildings, the lighting will change in a noticeable way when the fire alarm goes off (this is the case in mine) – I think most people will notice that or the alarm.

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  5. Cmdrshprd*

    OP2 I usually feel like it is disingenuous when people say I am doing two jobs, teapot designer and teapot builder. Unless you are putting in 80 hrs a week, 40 as designer and 40 as builder you are not. If you are still working 40 hrs you are doing 2 half time roles into one position, 20 and 20 or some combo.

    Some people might be working more say 50 or 60, but that is still not doing two jobs, it is 1.25 to 1.5 but not two.

    But also communication and getting on with your boss is a key part of doing your job well and deserving of a merit raise.

    Like if I went into my bosses office every time I dropped off a project and cursed out my boss I would not be a good employee, even if the tasks were done to perfection.

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    1. Mid*

      Most people don’t actually work 40 hours at work. They’re clocked in and present for 40 hours, but not every single moment is actually filled with work. So, no, someone doesn’t need to be working 80 hours to be doing two jobs.

      And cursing out your boss is very different than having different communication styles.

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      1. Ellie*

        Some managers do make it difficult to communicate effectively. It could be a clash of styles, or just an awkward personality.

        However, in OP’s situation, I’d be concentrating on either finding another job, passing my PIP, or both. A raise seems like the least of the issues.

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    2. LW2*

      Greetings commander,

      I can see why you would think that. Think of it as, I am a teapot designer and builder already (2 separate but directly aligned job scopes) and adding teapot shopkeeper to my list of responsibilities. Sure, I won’t be working 80 hours a week, but that’s because I can design or build teapots while as a shopkeeper.

      The shopkeeper is also taking responsibility that the company doesn’t lose anything on the shop floor, keeping the place clean, but is usually not occupied 100% of the time. However, the responsibilities are still distinctly different roles which you would hire a separate person for. I have had to complete professional certifications for this new role in my own time. I am not asking to be compensated for an entirely different role like another person, I was asking to be compensated for my time, like 1.25 or 1.5.

      I normally pull 9-10 hour days on weekdays, not including networking events and functions at night, or weekend projects that need to be done in person. Also, if the above timings are insufficient, I finish up admin stuff in the office on weekends or at night.

      I fully acknowledge that I can improve on my communication with my boss, and thankfully am not at the stage where I feel like cursing out my boss every time I meet him. And yes, I know I am not deserving of a merit raise if I fail to meet expectations, but this was no raise at all, not even a COLA.

      Reply ↓
  6. Dido*

    LW2, I don’t think arguing with your boss for 10 minutes that you deserve a merit raise while you’re on a PIP for underperformance is going to ingratiate yourself with him. You seem pretty blasé about the PIP, but you should act like you’re on thin ice and adjust your attitude if you want to keep your job…

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    1. LW2*

      Hello there,
      I think “arguing” may have been a wrong word choice, but I appreciate the comment. No heated words, just me trying to get him to see my point, and him trying to tell me that there were no raises on a PIP.

      I also pointed out that I fully expect to pass this PIP and my boss had also communicated that. If he had not brought up the fact that I was meeting the PIP expectations and that he expected me to pass it, I would not have brought up the raise.

      I am actually at a place in time where I don’t care if I keep my job or not, it has been a rather toxic environment and I am already looking to quit, with or without another offer. But I appreciate the sentiment and the concern behind your comment.

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      1. Not Australian*

        “I don’t care if I keep my job or not… ”

        I suspect this is blatantly obvious to your boss, too.

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  7. Greyhound*

    I’m a person who just could not focus without headphones – not only that but I had to have the music quite loud to drown out not just the background office noises but the background brain noise as well (I’ve since been diagnosed with mild ADHD so that might account for the noisy brain). Somehow it created a quiet peaceful spot in the middle where I could focus and get things done. I never missed a fire alarm or any markedly unusual office activity, but I would have gone slowly insane without them.

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  8. Waving not Drowning*

    OP4 – I’m one of those people who get into the zone and block out more routine noise. I used to get in trouble for it at school, in that we’d be doing silent reading, and I wouldn’t hear the teacher tell us it was over, and to do other work. It was very handy when I worked in the head office of an auto mechanic business with a very noisy workshop below me, I just tuned it out. Ditto with working on deadlines in a busy office, I switch off to the normal background noise – however, one time we had a new person in the office who turned up music quite loud because she found it was too quiet and we were working too hard, and that was impossible to tune out however hard I tried! Luckily she didn’t try that again!

    I do, however, hear the fire/emergency alarm going off, and also more importantly, invitations to get coffee and or cake.

    I did have an issue once with a quiet office, I had a staff member that I was giving urgent medical attention to, but needed assistance, person in the office next to me was wearing noise cancelling headphones and couldn’t hear me yelling (couldn’t leave the person needing first aid, and also didn’t want to panic them by yelling TOO much). Person did hear me after I yelled their name a couple of times. My backup plan was grabbing a coffee mug from a desk within arms reach and throwing it at their door. Luckily for the coffee mug, it wasn’t needed. I think in most cases, people block out noise, but do hear emergencies.

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  9. gyrfalcon17*

    LW1, why would you have to eliminate the Secretary position, once you (if you) get the current volunteer to step down from it?

    You said you wouldn’t have anyone to replace him with, but that seems more like a reason to recruit another volunteer for the position, rather than to eliminate it entirely.

    For the long-term health of the board, it seems to me to be reasonable to keep the work spread out so as not to overload any one person more than necessary — even if you or others can cover the Secretary responsibilities piece-meal in the short-term.

    Reply ↓
  10. Mark*

    #3. My team have a shared location where we share our in office presence with each other. I have trained all the staff to use OOO (out of office) for anything that is not WFH or client visits. This way the team can access who is in or out and be aware of client visits without invading the privacy of the team. I have a mixture of staff who need to be in the lab to do their work and others who are more flexible. So far no resentment around this and no invasion of privacy.

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  11. gyrfalcon17*

    LW3, in addition to what Alison said, the fact that some people are abusing their access to your management system to lookup and then broadcast people’s in/out office status, is shocking to me.

    Well, not shocking to me that people would do that, but working with data and positions of trust, number one on the list of no-no’s is misusing one’s access in those ways. (No wait, I guess that’s number two — number one would be tampering with the data.)

    I’m not sure of your position within the organization or your standing to raise this access abuse issue, but I hope that it can be brought to the attention of someone with authority to stamp on it, hard.

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    1. Metal Gru*

      I had the same thought. Abusing access is one of the few things that go straight to a disciplinary process rather than an informal chat.

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  12. Meaningful hats*

    OP #4- I’m hard of hearing and have to wear hearing aids. I also work in a shared cube in a small office filled with a lot of chatty co-workers. Sometimes the only way to concentrate on my work is to turn off my hearing aids. As a result, there are times when I can’t hear people addressing me unless they’re literally standing beside my chair and talking at a high volume. My co-workers are all aware of the situation and know that if they need my immediate attention they should send me a Teams message. Don’t worry, I can still hear a fire alarm or shouting without my hearing aids and would know if there was a true emergency!

    Reply ↓

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