Ask a Manager

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

1. My project leader falls asleep in our meetings

My project leader falls asleep in our meetings. He’ll nod off for a minute, then wake up, then nod off again, etc. on and off. This has happened pretty regularly in staff meetings, but I’ve now noticed it in our project meetings, which have been for a couple hours each day lately. Our project team is just 3 people, so it’s very strange – one minute we’ll all be talking, and then my team member and I will only be talking, and we’ll notice our project leader has dozed off again.

It’s crossed my mind that he may have a health condition, but I genuinely don’t think so since he shares about other health issues openly (none of which is narcolepsy).

People definitely notice him sleeping because about 25 people attend our staff meetings, but it seems like something people just deal with. I should mention I work for a local government, and I’m thinking this might have something to do with it. My friends who work in the private sector say this definitely wouldn’t fly.

I should also mention I’m 6 months into my entry-level position, and my project leader is in a supervisor role with 15+ years of experience. I don’t feel comfortable confronting him about this, but I do want him to be awake during our meetings. Any suggestions?

I wouldn’t assume it’s not a medical condition just because he shares medical stuff openly; he may not even know about this condition, or might have some things that he doesn’t share. In fact, I’d be more likely to assume this is medical than not — although either way, it doesn’t really impact how you should handle it.

Is there someone in a position of authority who you or someone else on your team trust and and have good rapport with? If so, I’d go to that person and say that you’re concerned about this and aren’t sure how to handle it delicately. That person should know the politics of your office and the dynamics with this project leader enough to be able to figure out where to go from there.

Read an update to this letter here.

2. Being left out of the office’s Super Bowl pool

Every year around this time, someone in my company will start the office betting pool for the Super Bowl. The host only invites some people to participate but not all, mainly I’d guess because we have 130 employees but only 100 squares in the betting pool. Even it is illegal, owners of the company also participate. It is considered the biggest illegal event to happen publicly in company. I know there is no way to ask the host to invite everyone, but while 77% of the coworkers laugh and have fun about it, another 23% are totally left out. Is there anyway to change it? Of course, one way to end this is to report to the authorities for illegal gambling, which I am surprised no one has done so far.

If you want to participate and/or want to see others given a chance to participate, why not just bring it up to the organizers by saying something like, “Hey, it sucks to see three-quarters of the company having fun with this while the rest of us can’t. Next year, can we set it up so that anyone who wants to participate can?”

Obviously, I’m saying say this as someone who doesn’t see a problem with this kind of informal betting pool (or any betting pool, actually, other than those run by the government, since that’s a business I don’t think they should be in). If you had a moral objection to it, that would be different — but it sounds like you don’t and instead want to be part of it. So raise the issue, and see what happens. And hey, if they don’t expand it, the rest of you can always do your own if you want to.

3. Avoiding working full-time hours at part-time pay

My wife is currently interviewing for an exempt, management position in the healthcare field. She will be treating patients as a speech therapist, while managing a team as well. Her pay would be salary based on a 30-hour week. So let’s say her rate is $30 an hour x 30 hours; that would be $900 a week or $46,800 yearly. What happens when she works more than 30 hours in a week? (She will at times.) How does this work with the whole exempt/nonexempt status? I don’t think the company is acting in bad faith, the work week should be close to the 30-hour mark, but I know that she will end up working more. That is her nature and the nature of the business.

If she’s exempt, there’s no legal entitlement to overtime. However, if she’s being paid a wage that’s pegged to the role being part-time, she doesn’t obviously doesn’t want to end up working full-time hours at part-time pay. I’d advise her to address this up-front now before it becomes an issue, saying something like: “While the role is part-time, do you expect there to be weeks when I end up working more than 30 hours? If so, is there a mechanism for revisiting the role’s salary, since the pay anticipates part-time hours?”

4. Fraternity membership on a resume.

I’m hoping you can settle a dispute between my boyfriend and myself about his resume! (Did you ever think you would settle so many domestic disputes when you started this blog?)

He is putting together his resume and I gave it a look over and recommended he remove from his education section that he remove that he was a member of his fraternity. My argument is that he runs the risk of someone seeing his resume he REALLY doesn’t like fraternities. That it was 10 years ago that he left college, so his professional accomplishments should speak for his strength as a candidate. And that generally speaking ever a fraternity doesn’t belong on a resume (except I guess recent grads who held leadership positions, but that doesn’t apply in either vein here).

He is adamant that it should remain. He says he doesn’t want to work for anyone who would REALLY hate fraternities. That it is correctly included in the education section, so that it’s okay there. And that there is always the possibility it’s a benefit if such a person sees it.

I wasn’t a member of a Greek organization so I might not have a full perspective. Do you think there is a harm in putting it on there? Or does it not really matter?

If he were only a few years out of school, I’d say it was fine to include it, since fraternity connections can really work in your favor (even though I personally find it odd).

But 10 years out? It’s really not relevant at this point, and even though he might run into the occasional hiring manager who responds favorably to it, I think enough of the others are going to wonder why the hell it’s on there 10 years after he graduated that I’d leave it off. (And to be clear, that’s not about hating fraternities; it’s about it being an odd amount of weight to give something 10 years later, just like it would be weird if his resume included his Society for Creative Anachronism membership from college too.)

5. My employer won’t let me leave my bible on the break room table

Is it legal for my boss to tell me I can’t leave my bible on the break room table? It doesn’t fit in my locker, and it hardly even looks like a bible unless you open it and read it for yourself. I work in retail, if that changes things.

I actually don’t know for sure; you’d need to talk to a lawyer to be positive. In general, if your employer bans all other personal reading material from being left in the break room, they can probably ban your bible from being left there too. (The key is that they need to treat all of the personal reading material the same; they can’t single out religious material to treat it differently … unless you’re using it to proselytize to coworkers, in which case they probably could ban it, in order to protect those coworkers from religious harassment.)

However, if you have a bona fide religious need to keep a bible with you at work, and there’s no other place to store it, then it’s possible you’d be entitled to that accommodation. (I don’t know of any such religious need, but I suppose it’s possible it exists.) In any case, though, you’d need to talk to a lawyer to look at the details of the situation and tell you for sure.

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

1. I smelled alcohol on a coworker but am afraid I’ll get him fired

I smelled alcohol on a coworker. I was asked if I did and I felt like my answer would be the deciding factor that could get the coworker fired. I felt conflicted. I didn’t want to lie, but I am an honest person. The HR asking me the question said I could lose my job if I withheld this information. Is that true?

Yes, that’s true. Your employers can absolutely require you to participate honestly in workplace investigations. (Although in this case, I don’t know how they’d know that you were lying.) And in general in these situations it’s usually good to say what you know to be true. It’s hard to get serious workplace problems addressed if people won’t speak honestly in reasonable investigations or have their own agendas (and that can really torpedo attempts to address everything from harassment to safety violations).

2. Avoiding cuts to vacation time at my next job

I work as support staff at a small firm. We have vacation days (use it or lose it) and sick time (can carry over from year to year). Our paid time off policy was recently changed so that the maximum number of vacation days we get in a year has been lowered. We used to max out at 20 days (at 15 years), but now it’s 15 days (at five years). Period. Ever.

While this doesn’t affect me at the moment, I know eventually I’m going to want more time off. I know I need to brush up my resume and start looking around in order to build up seniority somewhere else. So what’s the least greedy way of saying, “I really liked my job, but then they decided to cut our vacation time. What kind of paid time off do you offer?”

Do you just want to know about vacation, or do you want to ensure they won’t change it on you after the fact? For the first, it’s a totally normal question to ask (no need to even explain what happened at the other job), but you should wait until you have an offer and then review all their benefits info. For the second, I’d wait until you have an offer and raise it then by saying something like, “One of the reasons I started looking for a new job is that my current company made across-the-board cuts to our vacation time. It’s important to me that that doesn’t happen again. Would you be willing to include a guaranteed X days off in our agreement?”

3. The manager who asked me to stay in touch is now gone

About six months ago, I applied to a company I was interested in, and the hiring manager had a phone interview with me. She said she didn’t feel my skills were strong enough for that position, but she’d like to keep me in mind for another position that would be coming up in the future. She requested that we connect on LinkedIn to stay in touch.

This morning, I saw a notice on my LinkedIn feed that this manager had left that company. Since my contact person there is now gone, I’m wondering if I should re-submit my resume to the company (or even apply for a specific position if there are appropriate openings). Should I even mention my connection with this former manager? Or, should I maybe take this as a potential red flag about that workplace?

I don’t see anything about it that’s a red flag. People leave jobs all the time; it’s pretty normal. I’d just watch their jobs openings and if you find one that your’e a strong fit for, apply and in your cover letter mention that you’d talked with Jane Plufferton X months ago and she’d encouraged you to apply in the future.

4. My employer is forcing me to bowl

My boss is a mortgage broker. He owns a small private business, and after our commercial shoot, meeting and bowling afterwards is mandatory. I have no problem showing up for everything, but instead of actually bowling, I just want to sit there and watch/mingle. I told them this and the office manager said to just put on the bowling shoes and throw a ball once in a while, but I have a phobia about wearing other peoples’ shoes, have never bowled, etc. They can’t force me or require me to actually bowl, can they?

Legally? Yep, unless you request an accommodation for a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. But it would be ridiculous for them to do that. I’d show up and just go with a cheerful, “No, thank you, I prefer watching!” if pressured. And if they really push, I’d say your feet don’t take well to bowling shoes but that you’re glad to be there with everyone or some other enthusiastic-sounding comment.

5. “Didn’t meet qualifications” despite being qualified

My husband submitted a resume for a job that he was very confident he was qualified for. However, they responded saying that he didn’t meet the minimum qualifications. We really found this to be odd, because, like I said, he pretty much fit the description. Is it okay to respond with a “thank your for your time and consideration” and request where he lacks in their needs so that he can, perhaps, strengthen those qualifications?

It’s not unreasonable to ask (as long as he doesn’t sound like he’s challenging their decision), although he might not hear anything back; a lot of employers are more willing to give feedback to people who get to the interview stage. However, you might be reading too much into it. Often “didn’t meet the minimum qualifications” is a sloppy way of saying “other candidates were stronger, so you just didn’t make this first cut.” Other times, the qualifications changed or included things that weren’t made clear in the job opening.

And keep in mind, you can be highly qualified for a job and still not get interviewed, because other people are even stronger … although I realize that in this case it’s probably the specific wording of the rejection that’s throwing you. As a general rule, though, I wouldn’t read much into the wording of rejection notices, ever; they’re often form letters, and often weirdly worded.

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

1. Standing on the street with a sign saying that you’re for hire

I wondered if you’d have any comments on this story about a new grad who stood on the winter streets with a sign that said, “U of T Grad for hire; Take my resume & get a free Xmas gift; Marketing / Ad-Job; [email address]” The gift was candy canes.

She was apparently successful.

Not a gimmick everyone can pull off, but I guess it can work once in a blue moon.

It works very rarely, you kind of debase yourself in the process, and if it works, you’ve just ended up with a boss who responds to flash and gimmicks rather than merit and talent, which is going to make for an unhappy work life. I’ve never understood why someone would go this route rather than selling themselves through the far more effective means of a compelling cover letter and strong resume, which in addition to working has the advantage of screening for better managers than ones who hire for “gumption” and candy canes.

2. My new coworkers are mispronouncing my name

I’ve recently started a new job at a great company. Just one problem–not everyone knows how to say my name! I have an unusual name, and a lot of the time, people will read it and make their best attempt. Unfortunately, I don’t find out about their creative pronunciation until a few weeks later. For example, I’ll hear them say my name incorrectly during a conference call, or realize they’re pronouncing my name incorrectly when mentioning me to others.

How do I correct people I’ve been working with for a few months and tell them that’s not my name, without making them feel dumb, or looking dumb for not correcting them sooner?

I’d just correct them on the spot when you hear it (“Oh, it’s actually Imogen”), and just be matter-of-fact about it. The more matter-of-fact you sound, the less awkward it will be for them. I wouldn’t do this on a conference call (unless you’re the next speaker, in which case you can do a quick correction), but otherwise just correct it and move on. Don’t get caught up in worrying about making them feel dumb or not correcting them sooner; as long as you do it the first time you hear it, people will just note the correction and it won’t be a big deal.

The other thing you can do since you have an unusual name is to use a service like Audio Name and put a line in your email signature saying “hear my name,” linking to an audio recording of you pronouncing your name. Hell, if you have a small company or a small team, you could even send that link out to everyone with a humorous message about you’ve noticed people aren’t sure how to say your name.

3. My employer left me stranded on the side of the road when my car broke down on a work trip

My employer requires use of personal vehicles for this job. I travel all over the state in my vehicle and can log over 500 miles per week on behalf of the company. I was recently stranded on the side of the road far from the office and also my home due to an unexpected issue with my car. This is the only time in two years of employment this has happened, as I take care to maintain my vehicle.

Is my employer liable to help me in any way, such as sending someone from the office to pick me up, offering to pay for a taxi so I can get home or to the office, or paying my tow charge? In the very least, are they responsible for my safety in this situation? As you might have guessed already, zero assistance was offered by the two gentlemen who run the small business and were sitting in the office at the time while I was sitting stranded on the side of the road, in winter, in New England.

I can’t think of any law that would require it, unfortunately. California requires employers to reimburse employees for all expenses or losses incurred in the direct discharge of the employee’s work, which might cover something like this if you work in California, but it sounds like you don’t. A small number of other states might have something similar. But otherwise, I can’t think of a law that would cover this. (Can anyone else?) Regardless, though, the big take-away here is that you work for people who are both jerks and bad managers.

4. Employer wants proof I graduated from high school, and I don’t have it

I have lost my diploma over the years. My high school has closed. The school my transcripts went to has closed. I graduated in 1986. I have college credits. Is this enough? My future employer wants a school that is credited to the board of education. I went to a Catholic school.

It should be enough. You graduated from high school nearly 30 years ago. It’s ridiculous for them to ask for this. I would just say: “The high school closed years ago and I’m not able to obtain the documentation you’re requesting. How should we proceed?”

These people have lost their minds for requiring this, by the way.

5. How can I stay on top of all the news in my field?

I am a leader of a nonprofit organization in an emerging space that is gaining increasing attention every day (early childhood). You would think this is good news, but I am recently feeling so bogged down by everything that I intend to read (new research, new nonprofits, op eds, etc.) that is coming out rapid fire about this area of work, I can’t figure out how to manage the reading list. I can’t read everything, there’s just no way and I’m losing track of what’s important. It’s such high volume that someone sent me a critical New Yorker piece last week that I think I would have missed completely (phew on that one!). I feel that I have a responsibility to be knowledgeable about our sector and to be able to speak intelligently about current developments in real time, but it often feels like I’m behind the 8 ball. What tactics and/or tech do you recommend to effectively filter so that the important stuff rises to the top?

Can you assign someone to be your filter — charge them with reading the most important sources in your field and sending you a daily or weekly digest of the most important pieces? You might also look (or, better, assign someone else to look) to see if there’s a blogger or other news source in your field that’s doing this type of digest already.

Aside from that, though, I have no good answers — I struggle with this one too — so I’m hoping that readers will weigh in with other suggestions.