Ask a Manager

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

1. Our new hire is plotting a coup on her second day

I work in HR, and we had a new recruiter start yesterday. She seems to struggle with issues from her previous job with “corporate bullying” and may be unstable (lots of home problems, arrived extremely late on first day, complained about previous position extensively, etc.).

Today (her second day of employment) she pulled me aside and spoke disdainfully of my supervisor who heads the HR department, saying that I could have his job in two years and everyone in Recruiting hates him in an attempt to try to “recruit” me to sabotoge my boss. This is all too much drama for someone starting their second day, and this tells me that her fellow recruiters are badmouthing my boss and telling her how awful he is–I’m not sure if they are encouraging her loose cannon behavior or are working as a group on this plot. But hatching a plan to overthrow my boss is taking it too far, makes me very uncomfortable, and is a crazy distraction. How should I approach this bizarre situation? Should I warn my boss?

Yes, tell your boss. What you’re describing is insane behavior for someone’s second day, and your boss needs to know what’s going on. It’s possible that it reflects on the other recruiters, but it absolutely, 100% for sure reflects on this new hire, and your boss needs to know that there’s a loon on the loose in the office. Frankly, this combined with the being extremely late on her first day and the complaining really indicates she’s not the right hire — and the sooner your boss concludes that, the better for everyone.

And if the new hire brings anything like this up to you again, say this: “That hasn’t been my experience with (supervisor). I’d take some time to get to know the office and the staff before you conclude something like that.” Then refuse to discuss further.

Read an update to this letter here.

2. Should I suggest we get rid of our unlimited vacation policy?

This question is related in part to Netflix’s recent announcement of “unlimited time off” for new parents. When I started at my job, we were very young and small as a company (10 people), but we have experienced massive growth in the last year and our employee count is now exceeding 30.

Recently we had a review of company policy, and I have concerns specifically regarding our vacation guidelines. Yes, we are one of those companies with “unlimited vacation.” My direct manager has caused many problems for the company in the past, which I will not get into now, but a main concern of mine is his use of the unlimited vacation. He probably takes about one week off every month and a half. When he is gone, my workload essentially doubles.

And I do not believe that an unlimited vacation policy is beneficial at all, and there are many pieces of evidence to back up the idea that unlimited vacation is problematic. I am wondering if it would be too forward to email one of our cofounders an article detailing the issues with the policy, with the explanation that it might be helpful to consider as our employee count grows? We are a very feedback-based business and my gut says that it wouldn’t be out of line but I am not sure.

[I should note that I am a HUGE fan of generous vacation policies, especially for new parents. However, to me, a generous policy is “one year off for all new parents” – not “unlimited time off for all new parents in the first year.” On the surface, both of those sound similar (perhaps the second one even sounds better!) but they are actually fundamentally different policies.]

The issue isn’t the unlimited vacation policy; the issue is that your manager is abusing it and no one is addressing it.

You could address it from the angle of the policy in general if you truly believe it’s a bad policy for your company, totally aside from your manager, and it would be fine to include some articles talking about problems with it if you do that (although I wouldn’t just forward the articles; you’d want to provide context as well). But I think you’re more likely to get your actual problem solved if you instead talk about the impact that your manager’s vacationing is having on you. Ideally you’d start by speaking with him directly … but if that doesn’t get you anywhere or if he has a track record of not responding well to feedback, then you’d want to consider whether it’s worth going over his head (which, realistically, depends on the factors that I talk about here).

But I think the problem is your manager, not the policy … and that if you get rid of the policy, he’s still going to find ways to be a problem.

Read an update to this letter here.

3. Can I avoid a wrap-up conversation with my soon-to-be-former boss?

I recently accepted a new job. More pay, seems like a better environment (so far it seems really great), more successful company, etc. I have been very frustrated with my current job, but I rolled with the punches since I was still gaining experience in my field. So I left because I wanted to leave but I also left because I found a much better opportunity.

When I gave notice, my boss started shaking, which freaked me out a bit, but recovered and asked me where I was going. I had just signed the offer letter an hour before I met with her and I balked, saying I didn’t want to disclose that. She was fine, but I then had to go talk to the salesperson who was expecting me to go work on-site for a client in a few weeks. He was devastated, saying “no, no, no, this is really bad for us.” He also asked where I was going and I balked. He said “Congrats, I guess.” I left the office and went back home (I work from home). More evidence that our company might not be doing well.

This was a week ago. The president of the company keeps calling me, saying she wants to have a “wrap-up” talk and wants to know where I am going as well. She knew I would probably be looking since the work is somewhat sporadic and I am paid hourly to work from home, so it isn’t a huge surprise, but she still might not be happy. She works from home too so I rarely see her.

I’m not sure I want to have this conversation at all. For one, I’ll have to tell her my new job is confidential, plus she can be really condescending and patronizing. Hard to explain but she’ll talk about me more personally than I’d like. I also don’t trust the company 100 percent because they aren’t very forthcoming with employees, and she knows a ton of people in my industry and who knows what she’ll say to others. I don’t want anything getting in the way of my new job.

I’d rather just have her email me last steps and leave it at that. Should I do this? I don’t want to burn a bridge but I really don’t want to talk to her. My last day is a week from tomorrow.

No, you can’t refuse to have a wrap-up conversation; that’s a normal part of transitioning out of a job and being able to have that conversation is part of the purpose of giving a notice period. But you’re not required to tell her where you’re going if you don’t want to. Normally, it comes across as pretty strange if you flatly refuse to tell (more on that here), but if you definitely don’t want to (and it sounds like you might have good reason for that), you can simply say, “I’m not ready to announce it yet.”

4. Will this error reflect badly on me as a candidate?

I received one of those generic rejection emails today that does not have my name or the job ID, but the email is from an organization whose name has “Orlando” in it. I thought it was from a job I applied for in Orlando that I went through three phone interviews with recently and immediately thought that the email was an error from them. I emailed a staff person in HR to ask if the email is correct and the position has been filled. Five seconds later, I realized that it was from a organization that I applied to months ago and had put it off of my mind since I did not hear anything from them. HR replied back and said that the email is from another organization that has no affiliation with them. I immediately replied to her to apologize and to reiterate that I am highly interested in the position with them and that I appreciate for the interview opportunity that was given to me yesterday. Will this reflect badly about me as a candidate? The other organization is their competitor.

Well, it doesn’t look great — not because you’re applying to a competitor but just because it makes you look a little scattered / not attentive to detail. But it’s not necessarily the kiss of death, and certainly if you’re the top candidate, it’s unlikely that this would be a deal-breaker. On the other hand, if they’re on the fence about you, it’s possible that this could hurt.

Don’t beat yourself up about it though; you are human, and people make mistakes.

5. My company is withholding a week’s pay because I didn’t give enough notice

Can a company keep my first week’s paycheck (that is always held back) if i don’t give a two-week notice before I quit? I was told it was in their guidelines that they could. I work for a hospital facility in Illinois. I read there are no conditions under which an employer is allowed to withhold payment of wages, and employers who refuse to pay employees for their hours risk sanctions by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

Hell no, they cannot. You are required to be paid for all the time you worked, at the wage you agreed to. And Illinois law requires you to receive your pay no later than 13 days after the end of the pay period in which the money was earned (or once per month if you’re exempt). When you quit, you must receive your final check no later than your next scheduled payday. Your next step here is to file a wage claim with the Illinois Department of Labor.

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

1. Should I stop baking for my husband’s coworkers?

I read your post from 2012 about why it could be a bad thing to bake for coworkers. Here is my situation: I bake for my husband’s coworkers. I am a stay-at-home mom/housewife, and I always thought it was a nice gesture for him to take home-baked goods to his coworkers. However, my husband told me last time it was awkward. No one ate any and never said anything about it.

Did I offend them or make his life more difficult? He is an electrician and works with three other guys and his female secretary. I want to know what is appropriate. I definitely don’t want them to think he is a joke or I am a kiss-ass. Would it be appropriate to bake goods around the holidays only? Your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Aw, that’s very nice of you.

As with so many workplace things, how this will go over depends on the office and the dynamics of the people involved, but you should pay attention to the signals you get.

What that means in practice: In many offices, this would be lovely and appreciated (although even there, I’d only do it on occasion so that he doesn’t become known for his wife’s baked goods rather than for his work). But in other offices, it might be out of sync with the culture. It sounds like your husband is telling you that that might be the case with his office; for whatever reason, it’s not something that goes over well there. Who knows why — it could be that the four people there are all watching what they eat, or just didn’t love the last thing you baked, or are in and out all day and didn’t even notice it there, or are unhappy with your husband for work-related reasons and thus will not be tempted into eating your cake, or all sorts of other things.

It’s hard to know from the outside. But it was nice of you to bake for them, I don’t think it was a major misstep, and I wouldn’t worry about whether you did something wrong. I do think, though, that you probably shouldn’t continue it now that you have this feedback. Direct your baking energies toward people who you know appreciate it — neighbors, friends, family, etc. There shouldn’t be a shortage of people who want to eat delicious baked goods, even if your husband’s coworkers aren’t among them!

2. My job wants me to take a laptop on vacation

I work part-time (18-30 hours/week depending on demand) in a small office and take care of all paperwork – A/P, A/R, HR, customer service, payroll, business filings, etc . I have been here over 5 years and last year was first time I took a week off for vacation. I am taking a week off this year – it is unpaid as I do not receive sick or vacation benefits. I notified my boss about 6 months before the wee . They are now asking me to bring a laptop and be available to them while I am away. Frankly, I feel it is my time, which they aren’t paying me for, and I should be able to take a week away. They can absolutely function for a week without me; it just requires them to be in the office a little more than usual. How should I handle this request?

By saying no. Say this: “I’m taking a real vacation and won’t be reachable or able to do any work while I’m there. Let’s go over what you might need from me while I’m away, and we can get everything set up before I go — but I am going to be totally disconnected while I’m gone.”

If it gives you mental permission to say this, you can try blaming it on a promise to whoever you’re traveling with (“I promised my husband the week would be totally work-free”) or that there won’t be reliable internet or phone access where you’re going.

3. Why don’t some employers send rejections?

Why don’t some employers call back to let candidates know they have not been selected? I find that so disrespectful. I have had that happen to me at least 3 times in the past months. On my last one, I spoke with another candidate who I knew also applied and she said they offered her the position a week ago. Yet they did not contact me to let me know the position has been filled.

During the interview, I always ask, “Will someone let me know one way or the other?” and they always say yes. Then they never do. Why is that, and is there a way to prevent it?

Because they are rude and inconsiderate.

But there’s not really any way to prevent it. You’re better off just assuming you didn’t get the job, putting it out of your mind, moving on mentally, and letting it be a pleasant surprise if they do contact you.

In fact, I’d probably even stop asking whether they’ll let you know one way or another. The polite ones will, and the rude ones will often tell you that they will but not end up doing it. So it’s not a useful question and just messes with your head.

4. My employee says I’m not his boss

I am a professional photographer and I have a studio in London with three employees: one photographer, one assistant photographer, and one salesperson.

The salesman hasn’t got a fixed salary; he is on commission only and so he’s been doing a great job. Last month he took home £4.500 for himself. But I had to remind him that I’m the boss for something I’ve asked him many times to be done and he decided by himself not just do as I said. His reply was: “I would like to remind you that you are NOT my boss because I work here on commission only.”

As the owner of the business that pays him 25% of commission on his sales, if I am not the boss, who am I in my own business?

You’re his boss. You’re the person who hired him, the person who oversees his work, and the person who decides whether or not to continue to employ him. Working on commission only doesn’t mean not having a manager; it’s just a different way of getting paid.

It sounds like you need to sit down with him and clarify each of your expectations.

5. Should I ask for a raise?

I have been at my current job for a year and a half. They started me off at entry-level wages, which I was fine with because I was entry-level. But now I have much more experience under my belt and I have gradually taken on a more responsibilities than I started with.

My original job was a very simple job that was quite easy (read: boring). However, my workload has been added to – most notably back in May when one of the three employees in my department got promoted to a different position in the company and I ended up taking on many of her responsibilities, as I am now the most senior member of the department and the other person had only been here for three months and was still learning the job. My manager is (slowly) looking to hire another person in our department who would basically take over my original responsibilities which I’m currently still doing on top of everything else. So my workload will eventually go down, but I will still have more responsibilities than I did when I was originally hired.

There were two reasons that I didn’t ask about a raise in May when I took on all the responsibilities: First, in the meeting where our manager told us that Miss Piggy was being promoted out of our department, Kermit (who had only been at the company for 3 months at the time) asked if that meant that we would get a raise since we were taking on her responsibilities. After a rather awkward pause, my manager replied that we would wait and see how it went. Second, in conversations with one of my coworkers, who has been at the company for 15+ years, I found out that they usually had done raises in July, so I decided to wait until July to give it a few months, as my manager had suggested anyway.

At this point, I am working overtime almost everyday in order to keep up with my work – which is fine because the extra money is nice, but starting in September it will become more difficult, as on top of working full-time I’m also a full time student. As of this writing, it’s the end of July and no one has mentioned a raise (they didn’t do raises last year either). Should I ask for a raise now? Should I have asked for a raise in May?

Ask for a raise now. Put together a case that shows how much more work you’ve taken on since starting over a year ago, and how your contributions have increased significantly since your salary was last set.

Should you have asked in May? Nah, this timing is better. It’s usually easier to make a case for a raise when you can point to increased responsibilities that you have been doing (and excelling at), rather than things that you will be doing.