manager won’t return reference calls, dinged for not being social, and more

by Alison Green on May 27, 2013

It’s mini answer Monday — seven short answers to seven short questions. Here we go…

1. How can I nicely tell an employee that she needs to be at work more, despite family illness?

I have a valued employee who has had two sick parents over the last year. One had cancer and we allowed the employee extensive time off (30 days in 5 months) to attend chemo and be with her mother in her last weeks. She also has a stepparent who has been very sick over the last year. She has started calling in on a regular basis again to attend tests and go to the hospital.

While I understand the need to spend time with family, I also have to run a business. We have 12 paid days off a year and we approve additional unpaid leave on a case-by-case basis. We have always been flexible, but it has never been this extreme. How to I address the fact that she is neglecting her job without being a jerk?

Say something like, “I know you’ve had a tough year, and I understand why you’ve had to miss a lot of work. However, I can’t approve much more unpaid leave for you this year, since we really need you here. I can let you take a few more unpaid days this year if you end up needing them, but we’re not in a position to approve much more than that, since we need your work covered. I know you’re in a tough spot, though. Is there anything else we can do to make this easier on you?” (For instance, if it’s feasible to give her flexible hours — so she can leave early one afternoon but make it up the next day, for instance — that’s something you might be able to offer that won’t impact her total hours worked in a week but might help her juggle this.)

2. Former manager won’t respond to reference checkers

I am struggling to secure a new position, even after sailing through multiple rounds of interviews, because my previous boss refuses to return the phone calls of potential employers. I do not use her as a reference for this reason, but all employers want to speak with her. She was very nasty to me when I told her I was leaving and now seems to be intentionally sabotaging my future employment. What should I do?

You can’t make her return phone calls — and you probably don’t want her to, since she doesn’t sound likely to give you a glowing reference. But you can warn interviewers about the situation — “My last manager took it very hard when I left, and one way that’s manifested is that she doesn’t seem to be returning reference-checkers’ phone calls.” If you happen to have copies of your performance evaluations from that job (and if they’re excellent), you could offer those up to see if that helps.

3. Casually mentioning other interviews to an employer

I’m asking this on behalf of my friend, who asked for advice about something that happened to her. She had a job interview scheduled for Tuesday of next week and one scheduled for Wednesday of the same week. The woman from the Tuesday interview asked her if she could come in on Wednesday at the same time of her other interview, so my friend told her that she had a job interview that day and that she wasn’t available, but that Thursday and Friday were fine for her. The woman hasn’t replied to her for about a day since then. I told her it’s probably because she’s checking her schedule, but now my friend is freaking out and she thinks that because she told her that she had a job interview on Wednesday, the person from the Tuesday interview doesn’t think she’s as serious as she should be about interviewing for her company. Do you think that could be?

Also, her mom suggested that maybe instead of saying that she had an interview, she should have said that she had a family obligation or some other appointment. I said that saying that you had an interview make her look even more “hire worthy.”

Employers expect that you’ll be interviewing with other places; it’s normal. However, it’s true that “I can’t meet then because I have an interview” is a little more information than they need. It’s sort of akin to if you’d been on a couple of dates with someone, asked them out for Saturday, and heard, “I have a date then, but how about Sunday?” Even if you had been assuming you weren’t exclusive, it still sounds a little weird. In both cases, for whatever reason, the convention is to be discreet.

Your friend could have simply said, “I’m not available Wednesday, but I’m free later in the week.” No details about why are necessary.

4. Can I ever live down mistakes I made at work years ago?

I have been at my current job for seven years now. About six years ago, I almost lost my job because I was making too many mistakes. I made them because I was too busy and didn’t have the time to give full effort to my work. Quite frankly, I was overworked. My boss would get furious with me and wouldn’t speak to me for weeks. I think the only reason I did not get fired was because I am such a hard worker. I put out huge amounts of work. Hiring someone and training them was just too daunting an undertaking.

But I feel like this “mistake period” has ruined my reputation because I still work with all those same people and they remember. This past “mistake cloud” still hangs over my head. And now every time I make even the smallest mistake, my past is relived in my boss’s eyes. I also know that my boss tells every new person that comes to work here about my past. I know she shouldn’t do it, but she does.

How should I handle this past period in my career? I want to do something to stop the power it continues to inflict upon me. Should I bring it up and talk about it openly whereby dissipating its power? Or just continue as I have been hoping everyone eventually forgets as I prove myself with my current performance?

It’s time to go somewhere else. You have a reputation here that’s always going to be attached to you in your boss’s eyes. After seven years, it’s reasonable to be moving on anywhere, so go somewhere where you won’t have this albatross around your neck. (And if that alone isn’t enough reason to leave, your terrible boss is a second reason — not speaking to you for weeks and telling people about your mistakes six years ago is ridiculous behavior.) Go somewhere where you won’t be saddled with this.

5. Dinged for not being social enough with upper management

I’ve been working at one of large accounting/consulting firms for a little over a year now and on my recent performance review I was dinged for not being social enough with the upper management team. This was defined as not taking an active role in organizing social events for the department, which I might add are sparsely attended by upper management in the first place. As a result of this, the upper management team feels like they don’t know me and therefore my overall rating should be a level lower than presented. My performance in terms of actual work and relationships with clients was deemed to be of strong quality.

Am I naive to think this type of feedback is silly? All of this seems a bit political. I must also add that those who are organizing these types of events are viewed in better light by management regardless of performance. I know this because some have failed to obtain industry certifications only to have it laughed off while others are questioned as to why they could not make the commitment required to pass.

Yes, it’s silly, but what they’re telling you is that this is part of what’s valued there. And it’s actually true that after a certain point in your career, you do need some visibility with upper management in order to be recognized and get better opportunities; that’s just part of how this stuff works at most places. But it’s not reasonable to tell you that you have to do this by organizing social events; there should be plenty of other ways to achieve it (and I wonder if your boss is just bad at communicating the many other ways to achieve this). In any case, take this as information about what it takes to succeed in your current company, and decide if it’s something you’re interested in pursuing or not.

6. Telling a recruiter I’m more interested in the job I applied for than the second one proposed

I applied on a company’s website for an open position that, as described, is tailor made for my experience and qualifications. Less than 12 hours later, I got a call from one of the company’s recruiters, who wanted to talk to me about an opening. We talked for a bit and it didn’t sound exactly like the job I applied for, but I thought to myself that maybe I’d just missed a few things in the description.

Turns out it’s not the same job I applied for. This job is, to be honest, something I’m not really interested in because it involves field work and more people to people contact than I prefer. Not to mention that I don’t meet some of the requirements in the posting.

The recruiter said she’d send my resume to the hiring manager, who may or may not want to see me. Is there any way I can tell the recruiter that I’m really more interested in the other position?

The other position may not exist. It’s really common for recruiting companies to advertise for positions that aren’t actually available, in order to build a database of candidates. You can certainly tell the recruiter that you’re not really interested in this position and you’d like to be considered for the other, but be prepared to find out that the other one isn’t available.

7. Mentioning a beer brewing hobby on your resume

I’m writing a resume to apply for operations at a nuclear power plant. Obviously a pretty technical position. Would beer brewing be an appropriate hobby to post? I see it as a technical hobby, but I worry because beer can have a negative stereotype.

Sure, I don’t see any harm in that. Sure, you might run into someone who has an issue with beer, but you’re just as likely to run into someone who randomly has an issue with your school or some other element of your resume.

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{ 45 comments }

{ 45 comments… read them below }

  1. V*

    #2… Is it possible that your previous employer has a policy against providing references to former employees?

    It seems like EVERY company has this policy, but they all want references (what hypocrisy)!

  2. Ruffingit*

    #4 – Wow. That is so bizarre. I have to wonder what that conversation looks like with new hires. Manager tells them “Oh and by the way, Crapemployee made a whole bunch of mistakes six years ago in their work. Just thought you should know about their shady past here…”

    As a new employee, I’d be thinking “WTF?? It’s been six years, why bring it up now?” and “If they’re really so bad, why are they still here?” and “You’re an insane manager…”

    I imagine that new people who get hired there probably feel badly for the OP rather than thinking she is somehow a poor employee. Regardless though, AAM is absolutely right. Leave. It’s long past time.

    1. JM in England*

      Have had firsthand experience of this, both of working in environments that never let you forget your mistakes and of them being told to new hires……………so I know exactly where you’re coming from Ruffingit!

      1. JM in England*

        So it seems there is some truth about that saying about once your card’s marked………..

    2. tcookson*

      We have a person at my university department who supervises one other person, the front desk receptionist. For some reason she’s always been really strongly driven to have everyone see everything her way, so each time she has a new receptionist, she spends A LOT of time trying to set their opinions of everybody else (telling the new hire everyone’s past mistakes, what their weaknesses are, generally trying to bind the new person to her by making them her confidant against everyone else).

      The last receptionist we had was really bothered by these daily gossip sessions, and felt like she was being told too much negative about everyone, and just wanted to form her own opinions. The current receptionist, I wouldn’t trust for anything, because she seems to just EAT UP all this negative info (like it’s a power trip for her).

  3. Jessa*

    #3, Agreeing with Alison here, not to mention it sounds almost like “see I have this other interview grab me whilst you can,” or something braggish. And it feels to me like it would play out the same way telling a current employer about an offer to get a countre-offer. I just don’t see how they’d take it well. I mean if I were interviewing, of course people would have other interviews, but putting it in my face would make me think the applicant either thought the other interview was more important, or they were trying to manipulate me .

    1. Relocator*

      Re #3, I did something like this the other day.

      I’m trying to relocate to the other coast (but with an offer in hand), and I scheduled a trip back for interviews and put that in my cover letter. (something like: “I will be in the area X through Y, but if selected for further consideration I will be happy to travel to Other Coast at your convenience.”) Well I’ve gotten 4 interviews in during the date range I set it up. When scheduling one of the interviews, I had to block out a day that I already had two interviews scheduled for, and the hiring manager for the position asked “Why are you in town those dates?” I said I was in to see family and interview, but I displayed enthusiasm about the position and that I was looking forward to meeting with them.

      I didn’t really offer it, but was honest when asked why I’d be in town. I don’t think in my circumstance it seemed indiscreet or did any damage (but now I’m a teeny bit second guessing…?) because I am facing a bit of a location bias, and I assume it at least shows that I’m serious about relocating to the area.

      And as someone on the opposite coast I simply must be efficient in my interview planning. That’s just how it is. (Current employer can buy that I need to take a vacation, but there’s only so many times you can fly from coast-to-coast during the work week without arousing job-hunting suspicion…!)

    2. Cat*

      I agree that it’s better not to mention it, but I also think that – unless someone brings it up in a grandiose or bragging manner – it is probably worth giving them the benefit of the doubt unless there are other red flags. I suspect some candidates blurt this out because they are nervous about not giving the employer their preferred choice of interview time and want to make it clear that they’re not blowing them off for something fun.

    3. Esra*

      but putting it in my face would make me think the applicant either thought the other interview was more important, or they were trying to manipulate me .

      No judgment, but doesn’t this seem strange? Every interview I’ve ever been too they’ve always talked about interviewing other applicants and it never really phased me.

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      If the company is big enough to be covered by it (50+ employees), but I’m betting it might not be, based on the informality re: approving unpaid leave days.

    2. fposte*

      Care of stepparents isn’t always eligible for FMLA coverage, either. (The stepparent has to have served in loco parentis to the employee as a child.)

  5. Sancho*

    For Question 1 – please offer a solution to the problem rather than just telling the employee that she has been taking too much time off. Otherwise, you are just going to make her feel even worse about the situation (she is probably already hating the fact she has to take so much time off).

    Maybe look at a flexible work schedule like AAM suggested, or a work from home setup. Maybe she can go part time for a while. Ask her if she has a solution and really try and help her. If not, then you have someone who is going through an awful time personally AND is also going to be worried about being fired.

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      If it’s doable, yes. But there are also situations where the employer can’t be flexible, or can’t be as flexible as the employee would need. It sounds like the OP has tried to be accommodating but is feeling like she may not be able to do much more, and that’s reasonable too.

    2. fposte*

      Yes, the “please offer a solution” sounds to me like the OP is obliged to have one. Unfortunately, there may not be a good solution here, and it’s not the OP’s fault if she can’t provide one.

      1. Sancho*

        Well, of course she needs to provide a solution. She is the manager. What the solution is, whether that is by offering flexible working conditions or telling her that if she misses more work she will be fired, is entirely up to her.

  6. Ruffingit*

    Part of the problem with #1 is that the employee was allowed to do this before and therefore may now think it’s OK to do it again since she’s in the same situation – that is, a sick parental figure.

    This is why it’s important to be clear about the fact that when accommodations are made, they do not automatically apply to every future situation. I am not blaming the employer or the employee here necessarily, just commenting that clear communication that the accommodations are not to be assumed to be “the norm” going forward is a good thing.

  7. PEBCAK*

    5) While being social with upper management may sound frivolous, making sure that upper management knows you and your accomplishments is not. If planning these types of events gets you in front of them long enough to sell yourself, then no, it’s not silly at all (though possibly poorly communicated, if your manager is emphasizing the wrong things).

    1. #5 OP*

      I honestly do think it was communicated poorly and my “manager” – I use that term loosely because in this organization we don’t really have managers just coaches- is emphasizing the wrong things.

      I have worked in other organizations where I did socialize both outside and inside of work with upper management. At my last organization I did it by playing softball with the CEO. It’s not something I view as frivolous. The problem with the current organization is that the upper management sparsely attends any social event in the first place. I know, I’ve been to every event except one. I’ve also never seen my “manager” at any of these events so I think it’s quite hypocritical of her to provide that type of feedback.

      At this point, I’m taking a serious look at the exit sign.

      1. Ruffingit*

        It’s bizarre that they would ding you for not being social enough with upper management simply because you don’t plan enough social gatherings that upper management rarely attends anyway. Just seems strange because if what they’re saying is that face time/schmoozing with upper management is important, that is not going to be accomplished by planning events that upper management doesn’t attend (or rarely does).

        Definitely look for the exit door and use it ASAP! I am all for getting to know those in upper management, but this particularly mandate at your workplace doesn’t even make sense.

        1. Jessa*

          I wonder if that’s not the issue. I wonder if there have been broad (or not so broad) hints during the year that it was the OPs turn to plan a “thing,” or that it was expected that they would volunteer to plan a “thing.” As in everyone takes turns planning “things,” and the fact that the OP didn’t notice this, despite it not being said outright “Everyone should plan a “thing,” it’s part of the expected job.” That maybe they think the OP doesn’t fit in the culture.

          It may be that it’s not they don’t know the OP well but that they don’t know how the OP plans “things,” well. Or who they choose to invite or how they choose to organise an event with “important people,” at it.

          As in organising the “thing,” is cant for “let’s see how the OP interacts at the planning level with people above them.”

          It’s a terrible way to transmit this information, because something on an annual review should 99% of the time NOT be a surprise to anyone, but I can see what their issue might be. They’re not looking to see how OP acts as a guest, but as a HOST.

          1. Ruffingit*

            I can see that being the issue. Still, it was communicated horribly and the way it was stated makes it sound totally ridiculous.

            This is one of the reasons why when new people started at places I worked, I would clue them in to the unwritten rules so they didn’t fall into these kinds of traps.

  8. Amber*

    #7: I work HR for an IT company and we had an applicant list beer brewing as a hobby when he applied for a position. It turns out we had a regular happy hour happening at the local brewery so it made us more interested in talking with him. He was slightly light on experience but we gave him a shot and ended up hiring him.

  9. Not so NewReader*

    Just a general comment about taking care of someone who is ill– My late husband had 68 doctors appointments and tests in a three month period. There is no way I could have held a job and made it to all the tests and doctors. And there is no way my husband could have gotten there under his own steam. So my household had no income for a while.
    This isn’t really a comment directed at OP. It’s more like an observation. The medical system we have is very labor intensive especially in cases of major illness. I was in the car driving somewhere- EVERY DAY.
    Do the best you can as a manager, OP. And understand that the problem is society’s problem. I was spoken to for putting too much time in with my last parent. I almost quit the job. You might be able to have a very nice, calm conversation OP, and still end up with an employee who quits on you. Remember *in her mind* you are asking her to chose between her job and her parent. This can be a struggle that is beyond words. Personally, I would ask her to consider writing a list of resources that she has to draw on. This can be friends, family, church folks and support groups. I would tell her to keep the list beside the phone or in her planner.
    Is there any way she could work part time for a while?
    OP#4. I guess you are seeing the answer is no, you cannot ever live down your mistakes when you started. And that is because of your boss, it is not because that is how companies operate. Good bosses understand that mistakes happen. Good bosses value an employee that owns up to the mistake and fixes it.
    I know it will take time to find another job. In that time, please look at your setting with eyes wide open: If the boss is doing this to you, then what else is he doing to other people? Look around with fresh eyes. It’s probably not just you who is being treated like garbage. And frankly, if I were a new hire at your company and heard this bad talk about you my very first thought would be “Oh, when will it be my turn to suffer the same treatment?”
    I am wondering from your letter- do you have lots of new hires? hmm.

    OP #5. Luckily, your company is very clear about what they want from you. I don’t think this is going to be a huge thing. I think if you make a few steps forward on this, you will get results. For me, my approach that works is to realize I am talking to a fellow human being. Figure out something that interests them and open a conversation. Do they have a picture of a dog/kids/vacation home on their desk? Ask them about it. You might hear something that is actually interesting to listen to.
    Yes, this could feel like brown nosing. That is why I tell myself “this is a fellow human being, take an interest in something that interests them.”
    I think they just want to get to know you better- and that is NO insult. That is a good thing. Their mechanism for getting to know people is these events that they sparsely attend. Right, that does not make a lot of sense. Roll with it. See where it goes.

    OP#7. I had a family member that was very well read on nuclear physics. I am not. So this is a shot in the dark. Can you show cross over principles somehow? If you are not clear about the tie-in, they won’t be either. For example: I think both fields require a knowledge of heating and cooling cycles and how that impacts the product. I am not very technical, so I cannot drum up another example.

    1. Marmite*

      It may be possible for OP1 to work something out, depending on how flexible they can be. I was carer for a seriously ill partner and my manager was very supportive and able to allow me to go part-time for 6 months (they had to hire someone else to job-share with me, but that worked out really well for everyone so it ended up a win all round). We were also lucky in that my partner was being treated at a large hospital with great resources so we were able to arrange appointments at traditionally out of office hours (one dept we had to visit 4x/wk allowed appointments up to 10pm). Plus there was wi-fi and quiet places for me to work during the times when he was having surgeries or whatever that I couldn’t accompany him into.

      It wasn’t ideal and if we could have afforded it I would have taken 6 months off (also an option offered by my manager), but it worked pretty well for me, my partner, and my employer. As well as the vital income there was also the bonus for me that I still had something to focus on other than partner’s illness too, which at times was incredibly helpful.

      1. Jamie*

        We were also lucky in that my partner was being treated at a large hospital with great resources so we were able to arrange appointments at traditionally out of office hours (one dept we had to visit 4x/wk allowed appointments up to 10pm).

        This is amazing. When my mom was going through chemo I was a SAHM so I was able to accommodate regular office hours, but the chemo/infusion center which will be doing my iron infusions is 8:00-4:30 M-F. It’s frustrating that more places don’t have those kind of extended hours as it would alleviate a lot of stress.

    2. Pandora Amora*

      Rather tha having a laundry list of replies, could you break them up into separate comments next time? As it is it’s impossible to start a threaded conversation to reply to one of your comments.

      1. Y*

        “impossible”, how? You could just indicate which part you are repliying to, or quote the text you want to reply to.

  10. nyxalinth*

    #6 is what really grinds my gears about recruiters and agencies. But I’ve talked about that here many times.

    1. SookieStackhouse*

      #6 OP here. Looking back at my letter, I don’t think I did a very good job making it clear that by “company’s recruiters”, I meant recruiters (I guess that’d be the word?) who are a part of the company. That’s who I spoke to, though.

      Still, I think the answer Alison gave would make sense either way. Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to speak with this recruiter tomorrow and inquire about the other job and, cross your fingers, get an interview!

  11. K.A.T.*

    #2 I had a very similar situation about 6 months ago. I offered an alternate reference of a coworker from a different department who was at the VP level who I knew would speak well of me, and they accepted that. Not every job might accept this, because they want a manager, but it can be worth a try.

  12. Rana*

    #7 – an honest question: do people really expect to see hobbies on resumes? It seems to me – in my inexperience with resumes – that the space would be better used for something more job-related. Or am I thinking about this wrong?

    1. Karthik*

      It depends. If your hobbies would help you “fit in” with the company you’re applying to, then yes. Take #7 — the (few) nuclear engineers I know for the most part enjoy craft beer, drive stick, and spend their weekends rock climbing and camping on the edge of cliffs.

      Listing a brewing hobby when applying to a university’s dorm patrol where your job is to write kids up for drinking may not help you, though.

    2. OneoftheMichelles*

      Depends on the hobby…the info you have available for your resume (like someone new to working might not have much experiential data)…if the hobby relates to the job……and a few months back one person mentioned a really prestigious/unusual hobby regularly on his resumes and it worked well as an ice-breaker in interviews.

      *Sometimes a hobby is also volunteering!
      sci/fi conventions are a hobby of mine. I wound up managing Registration for a convention over 3 yrs, as it grew to hold 1000 entrants. I created training materials/reference tools, arranged and ran training meetings, scheduled and oversaw a dozen volunteers at the conventions, etc…. I firmly turned aside one of the boss’ relatives when they tried to pick a fight with a frazzled vendor in the Middle of the Main Entrance to the convention (yay for me!)– I AM SO TOTALLY PUTTING THIS ON MY RESUME as VOLUNTEER work experience.
      (Although, I can’t tactfully include the overzealous relative story…..sigh)

    3. fposte*

      You certainly don’t put it on if it’ll tip your resume from one page to two, and I wouldn’t do it on a lean resume unless it was something that was both awesome and accomplished enough that it essentially counts as work experience. But if you’ve already expanded to two pages and your hobbies are something more specific and character-conveying than “reading and long walks on the beach,” sure, why not?

    4. Rana*

      Okay, thanks, everyone. I guess I was thinking about it in an unhelpful way. I still think of a resume as something akin to an Official Work Document and not as something that combines that with self-marketing.

      (Not that I think I’ll be putting my hobbies on one any time soon; I have so many, it would just reinforce people’s impression of me as scatterbrained.)

    5. Lynn*

      I know the conventional advice is not to. But I’ve had a lot of good ice-breaking conversations with recruiters and interviewers about mine (marathon finisher and black belt in tae kwon do). I think it also helps with fit–fair warning, I have a life outside of work, so if you want someone chained to a desk 80 hours a week, I’m not it. Overall, for the three lines it takes up, I think it helps my candicacy more than three more accomplishments.

  13. QualityControlFreak*

    Re: #1 – I am lucky enough to work for an organization that is very accommodating in terms of time off for this kind of situation. But it is challenging at times in terms of getting the work of the organization done. In these days of lean staff, we don’t have much redundancy of functions, so when one of us is gone for large periods of time, it can have quite an impact on the others in the work group. Most of us understand this and our group is fairly self-regulating. But there is this: in cases where it’s unreasonable to ask the other members of a work group to continue to absorb the duties of the missing member, it’s reasonable for a manager to try to come up with some solution. Working part-time, job sharing, flexible hours, etc. can be part of that solution. I wish you luck, OP #1. You started out by describing this person as a valued employee, you are taking her family medical issues seriously, and you are looking for ways to make this work for both of you. I really think you will.

  14. Manda*

    #1 – Have you thought about hiring someone part-time/temp/casual to help out for a while? Do any of your other staff work overtime to help cover the workload? If not, would you be willing to let them work overtime if they want some extra hours? I have no idea whether or not any of this is feasible for you, but it might be worth considering.

  15. anon*

    Late to this, but I’d leave off the beer brewing, #7. Nuclear operators have strict limits on alchohol consumption prior to coming on shift. I’m not saying that craft brewer = problem drinker, but why take the chance that they’d reject you?

      1. Jamie*

        I would assume problem drinkers could find a more efficient way of getting beer. Every beer brewing hobbyist I know it’s about the science and the art.

  16. Lara-OP#3*

    Hi Allison, thank you for taking my question. It certainly is good advise for next time but my friend still hasn’t heard back form the lady who wanted to reschedule Tuesday’s interview. Now she’s beginning to doubt the way she handled it thinking that since she told the lady she was busy (had an interview) Wednesday and was available Thursday and Friday and the lady hasn’t got back to her about another date, the interview isn’t rescheduled but Tuesday stands. I told her Tuesday is off because she (interviewer) wasn’t available (hence her wanting to reschedule it to Wednesday) and if she assumes Tuesday is still on because my friend couldn’t meet with her on Wednesday then she’s bananas given that she contacted her about rescheduling in the first place. Let me know what you think.

  17. Anonymous*

    I have a manager who sent me to see a “client” who I was told was no longer a client. As a licensed person, I cannot legally see that person or talk with them without permission from the POA. I was told by the resident coordinator that the family had a new home health provider and all others had been cancelled. Entering the property would have been tresspassing. Instead of my manager acknowledging this, she said: “As how you talked with them could have made a difference.” She was sending me on a recruiting mission and won’t admit it and could have gotten me and my license in alot of trouble. Now she is not talking to me or returning my phone calls. Need advice.

  18. Katy*

    Sounds like a passive aggressive issue on her part. Those are the hardest to work with. Sounds like she made the mistake of sending you and should have gone herself since she is a manager.
    If a Resident Coordinator gives you the impression you are no longer part of the POA/family request to see their “client”, then yes, you do not enter premises. That would be tresspassing. You did your employer a favor by not doing so. Your manager should be greatful and learn not to place her company in harms way of a law suit. She should now realize you have the insight to protect your license as well as the reputation of the company you work for. She needs to see the bigger picture and not her personal goals. Ask any attorney, you did her a great service.

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