Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with employee

Best site for conducting employee background checks?

jcfudgely — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:40:00 -0800

I'm involved in a fairly new business which is small but growing pretty fast. We figure it'd be a good idea to start doing background checks (primarily concerned with criminal/sex-crime record) on new hires, but I'm not sure what's the best way to go about it. When I research online there're dozens of options which I've listed below. Intellius / Talentwise and US Search seem to be the best known and reputable ones, but also the most expensive. If I go with one of the more no-name sites, such as criminal-records.org, am I taking a risk that their database is incomplete/outdated, or even that using them doesn't comply with employment law (DPPA, FCRA)? https://www.intelius.com
http://www.ussearch.com
http://www.instantcriminalchecks.com/
http://www.criminal-records.org
http://www.criminalregistry.org
http://www.netdetective.com
http://www.cisnationwide.com
http://www.instantbackgroundreport.com

thanks!

What exactly is the "Employee Awareness Association"?

JoeZydeco — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:29:24 -0800

This group has apparently been invited to speak at our office for a free "lunch and learn" seminar. On the surface it looks all legit and something our company's HR department set up to promote health and whatnot. But my spidey-sense is tingling the more I look at the flyers and try to find out stuff on the web. Best I can tell now is that this is some kind of fluffy good-health seminar backed by a heavier sales pitch at the backend. Any thoughts? What I've found is below the fold... So the flyers and a simple Google search show that The Employee Awareness Association is behind this seminar. The owner of the domain is Wendy Gail Rose, and that seems to mesh since the "positive thoughts!" stuff on her page matches the tagline on the website. I can't find out much more about Wendy Gail Rose except she's in LA and I'm out here in the midwest, and she's probably not flying out to my little office to do a 60-minute health talk.

Digging a little farther shows that the EAA / Wendy is looking for people to set up talks and marking it as a "work from home sales job". (This listing is from Michigan, I am not in this area FYI). More spidey sense.

Has anyone else out there encountered this group? I'm guess it's not a Scientology-class organization but they're obviously selling something, and with a possibly light Christian angle. I have no qualms about these people being invited into the office and obviously I'm not going, but if they're up to something more scammy I'd like to be able to inform my coworkers and maybe even my HR folk. Any ideas?

Resources for giving constructive criticism to employees?

needlegrrl — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:32:50 -0800

I work with someone (technically an assistant, but in reality does work for multiple people in the office, with most of their consistent work coming from me), and need to have a conversation regarding accuracy, timeliness, etc with them. Any suggestions or links to resources for the best way to approach this so they don't get defensive? We've had a conversation before, several months ago, about accuracy, and it has improved since then, but it's still not where it needs to be. Some tasks are forgotten completely, some are simply not done to the level I need them to be done to.

We've also discussed timeliness, and an effort was made for a while, but they are still not on time consistently. (Lately, they've been emailing day of that they won't be in for various reasons. We need someone who will be here consistently.) They were hired before I was, and were not given much guidance at that time. They have not been recording time on their time sheet accurately, (not recording breaks/brief lunches appropriately, and saying they were working on projects at that time). I've discussed with my boss, and boss has agreed this is a problem, and asked me to discuss.

I feel like we need to set new expectations for the position, and frame it as a "moving forward, this is what we need" rather than a "here is the laundry list of what you've been doing wrong".

This is basically the last step before hours are reduced/ended. What's the best way to go about it?

I've looked up PIPs - our office really isn't that formal. If we do let them go, we will likely not replace them - I can do most of the work myself at this point, although it will create more of a time crunch/certain things will need to be rescheduled.

Microsoft employee (fte) question

pakora1 — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:22:13 -0800

Curious if anyone is/was from Microsoft, I had an employee based question. How long does an employee review stay on file? My cousin worked there for over 7 years and the last review he got was pretty stellar, in 2011 August. After the layoffs in 2012 he is thinking of going back and wants to use that review as a leverage. Do you think his review would be on file now?

The new employee is sketchy, and only I know it.

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:14:14 -0800

I just started a new job as a researcher. They hired a few people around the same time as me and we all have start dates around now-ish. I've been there a week. There is a new guy starting in my department in a more senior position than me, but not supervising me, on Monday. I just got his name today and looked him up, and... there are some things about him that a little bit of digging uncovered that are sketchy. (It's definitely him, please give me the benefit of the doubt here.) His job is not likely to be impacted by these revelations about his recent past, but if it were to get out that his history includes these things, it could endanger my company's reputation if a competitor or journalist found out. Nothing he did is illegal. What is my ethical duty here? I'm brand new to the company. It could be that someone knows these things about him and doesn't care. But unless he divulged these things about his past, it's unlikely that anyone currently at my workplace has the skill to find the information where it is "hidden."

How to discreetly monitor an employee's computer/Internet usage?

radioamy — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:50:02 -0800

I am looking for recommendations for software to track/monitor/record someone's computer/Internet usage. Windows XP, one user account. My mom is a freelance bookkeeper and has a part-time hourly assistant, "Jane." Recently my mom noticed that Jane's productivity had been a bit low, and discovered by looking at the Chrome browser history that Jane has been spending a significant amount of time surfing the web. She is planning on talking to Jane about this next time she comes in, but this question is not about managing employees.

What I want to know is how my mom can monitor Jane's Internet browsing (and possibly overall computer usage, lest she switch to playing Solitare all day) from this point on. Presumably now that my mom is on to her, if Jane were to continue this behavior she would figure out how to clear the browser history and cover her tracks. I'm looking for some kind of discreet program that would allow my mom to occasionally check to make sure that Jane has actually working on what she is supposed to. This is complicated by the fact that Jane uses my mom's computer and doesn't have a separate user account, so any "parental watch" software that requires separate users wouldn't work. Ideally it would be discreet enough that it wouldn't be obvious to Jane that it's on the computer unless she really searched for it.

Less expensive is better.

How much is equity typically worth for early employees of startups?

tmcw — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:07:29 -0800

There's plenty of thinking around how equity is split in startup companies, as well as projections of how much it's worth when employees cash in. Are there any real-world numbers, like there are for salaries? For instance, what would the 15th hire at twitter have as far as a percentage split and worth? The 20th hire at GitHub? The 10th at Square? Or an early employee at a non-succeeding company like Livingsocial? Or what about an employee that signs on right now with Google - wouldn't their stock options be exhausted to the point of not even being relevant to pay?

You Don't Fire Me, I Contract!

julthumbscrew — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:23:02 -0800

Have you convinced your corporate overlords to let you transition from a full-time employee to an independent contractor? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, TELL ME HOW YOU DID IT. Backstory: I've been with the same company (a law firm) for a decade. I was promoted several years ago. While I'm not a superstar, I'm good at what I do (IT applications packaging/upper-tier software support), and I'm fairly well-liked and well-respected. During my time at the firm, I've seen several coworkers transition from full-time employees to independent contractors. I would now like to do this (in order to go back to school). However, everyone who HAD done this has since moved on, and I have no idea what magical incantation they recited to The Powers That Be in order to make it happen.

From what I can tell, I should present my boss with a plan outlining how the JulThumbscrew-As-Contractor Paradigm will be totally awesome for the firm. However, I cannot think of ANY advantages this plan will have for the firm other than the following:

- They won't have to provide me with benefits.
- They'll wind up spending less for me in general, as I'll be working fewer hours.
- By making me a contractor, they'll enable me to effectively train a new member of the department and inbue them with my decade's worth of law firm wisdom ("Don't piss off the fee earners. The Keurig is over here").

Those three sentences are NOT a very compelling argument. But what WOULD be?

Note: I am fully aware of all of the pitfalls which can befall contractors - that's why it's taken me close to a decade to decide to pursue this. I'll be able to get insurance, I'll be putting 40% of my pay away for taxes, etc. So no need for horror stories of that type. That said, thanks for your help, HiveMind!

How can I renegotiate my salary in light of this job posting?

haplesschild — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:48:05 -0800

How can I renegotiate my salary in light of this job posting? Asking for a friend:

"I've worked for 4+ years for an inside sales company. This year my performance review was fine, but the raise was minimal to "help keep costs in check" and I was told I would have to now pay for healthcare costs....so it was more like an anti-raise.

Another person in my work group, who does the same job as me, was recently fired. Today they posted for his position on some job sites. Not only am I, 4 years later, at the lowest pay they mention in the job posting, they also talk about bonuses and incentives I do not get. So they have money to spend on an employee, just not me!

I feel lied to in regards to my low raises and irritated they will be hiring a new person who makes more than I do, but I generally enjoy the rest of my job and as the sole breadwinner for my family, I can't just quit.

Do I bring this up with them? Do I apply for this job?"

Thank you!

Suspending employee access to email account

ascetic — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 09:25:35 -0800

What are the laws and or regulations about "possession" of employee/company email after an employee is terminated? Long story short, I run a successful music blog and one of our top writers / journalists evidently took a job at another magazine and is trying to take other writers with him.

Because of these actions, I'd hate to think of what he could or would do with access to the hundreds of industry contacts he has stored in his email.

So because he is no longer working with/for us, am I legally allowed to suspend access to his email account, effectively barring him from accessing these contacts?

Is employee conduct or disciplinary standings protected information in B.C.?

pahalial — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:28:54 -0800

[YANML] Are private sector managers in British Columbia restricted in what they can discuss amongst themselves with regards to employee's conduct or disciplinary actions taken as a result? I understand that PIPA protects employee confidentiality around "personal information", which very clearly covers things such as health information and financials. However I'm much less clear on whether anything limits the disclosure/discussion of employee conduct, especially within a given organization. PIPA would seem by my reading to exclude it as being part of the unprotected "work product information." However, it could be argued that information about disciplinary action is personal in nature.

I was not able to find anything addressing this in the Canadian Labour Standards regulation. Can anyone point me to applicable law/regulation/rulings around this, or publicly documented (specific) best practice?

clueless supervisor

singinginmychains — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:21:03 -0800

As a supervisor, what can I do to help my assistant feel more needed or is it a lost cause? Lots of snowflakiness inside. A little over a year ago, I moved into a higher position at the institution I was already working at. The tasks of the job were very different and I was given the task of supervising one part-time employee. My predecessor in this position was less technologically inclined and took longer to complete certain projects, and so this part-time employee was taken on during her tenure to assist with various office tasks.

I'm sure you can see where this is going: I complete tasks at a much faster pace, and so I am not passing things off to the assistant. I have worked to create new projects for her and to increase her workload. The truth of the matter is that in most, if not all, respects, her position is obsolete despite the tasks I have added. Most of the tasks given to her since I have been here have been at the expense of my own position.

In the past year, I have tried to convey this to my supervisor as well as to the HR office about three times. Each time, the stance has been that the position should be maintained (people are rarely "let go" here, as that is always seen as a last resort -- thankfully). However, the financial state of this institution is not very good. We are facing salary cuts and increases to our health insurance premiums (which are to occur simultaneously).

On the one hand, perhaps it is time to eliminate the position. It is possible that she could move into another office to work, but I am not sure of the likelihood of this. On the other hand, she is a person who relies heavily on the tuition benefit this job affords her (half off tuition for her children, one of which is currently a college freshman).

This is my first time in the role of supervisor, and I am really struggling with what to do. Any advice, MeFites?

I'd really like to like this job

Harry Potter and the Puppet of Sock — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 15:25:49 -0800

I have a job that I like (or at least I like sometimes) with a boss who alternately micromanages and is totally hands-off. Morale at the store is really low, particularly lately, as we've had several big tasks to juggle. I need advice on how to deal with it. Snowflake details inside. The job is one I like; it's a bookselling gig, and I love books and talking to people about them. It's dealing with the boss(es), who are also the store's owner(s), that's hard.

So there's one boss, mostly, and she's the store owner, but her partner is in the store a lot and so we sort of report to both of them. Her teenage son also works at the store; he has made several *major* mistakes recently (including deleting a ton of special orders and leaving the doors open overnight); this is part of my frustration with working there, since I don't feel like any of the rest of us would ever get away with that kind of shit. There is one manager and a couple of shift managers; I'm technically a shift manager sometimes, I think, but there is no formal managerial positions or much of a hierarchy.

The boss/owner suffers from chronic physical illness(es) which have been keeping her away from the store more and more. Communication with her has to be done via phone and email when she's sick. We get task lists occasionally by email, and tone is sort of hard to decypher there but she frequently sounds sort of pissed off at us. Requests (such as for better chairs, since we sit on stools that make all of our backs hurt) go over badly; the better stools request got a response (sent to all the employees) that was a 800+ word tirade about all the stuff we've been doing wrong. I at once point attempted to make a suggestion about stuff to add to a section I know she knows nothing about and got an email back berating me for wasting time on a section where nothing sells (which was upsetting on two levels: the being berated one, and the one where she thinks we should ignore sections where nothing sells, since if they're doing that poorly we probably need to fix something).

We never get positive feedback on what we're doing.

The most recent crisis has been a rearranging of about 1/4 or 1/5 of the store. We were sent instructions on how to do this and have been following them as closely as possible (her emails are often hard to decipher, partially because translating words to physical space is hard and partially because she's long-winded and unclear). This morning we were warned by her partner that she'd been in this morning and was rearranging stuff and was really upset at our failure to follow instructions (we'd been following them, painstakingly, to the letter). Her emails to us didn't have a pissed off tone as expected, but the warning really colored the day, and all of us were pretty miserable. (We have the store open while we're doing this, so we're constantly interrupted from our tasks to man the registers and help customers. No extra employees have been brought in for extra hours while this is going on.)

I know this is a really long list of complaints, so let me just state: I love books, I love getting advanced readers, I love talking to people about books. The bookstore is beautiful; there are a lot of book-related stuff that the boss(es) are great at; it's the managerial stuff that totally sucks.

So I need advice, basically. I'm considering talking to the boss, or writing her (I'd rather write her, since I can control my tone and emotion better that way). I'm looking for other jobs and can probably find something tolerable if I definitely need it (IE if I get fired). How do I do this? What do I say? Should I say anything at all? I'm so stressed out and emotionally messed up that I'm having a hard time thinking about this in a way that's useful.

Is my employer compensating coworkers and myself fairly? Need opinions.

Snorlax — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:34:00 -0800

Is my employer compensating coworkers and myself fairly? Need opinions. I work full-time for a lawn care/grounds maintenance company with, at the moment, four coworkers and my employer. At the moment our days go something like this:

7:15 - meet at shop
7:30 - trucks leave shop
7:45/8:00 - arrive at first job site

30 minute unpaid lunch break and one or two paid 15 minute breaks.

4:30- leave last job site
4:45 - arrive at shop, put away and wash equipment
5:00 - Leave shop, go home.

Employees clock in when they arrive at their first job site, and clock out when they leave their last job site. So 8:00 - 4:30, minus the lunch break, is an 8 hour day.

Now, I realize there are several things wrong with this. First of all, employees are not compensated for driving to the job site. I can see where this would make sense in some jobs, but in my company the employees are driving the company trucks and transporting the equipment to the job site, usually without the employer. Simply driving the company trucks and transporting the equipment should entitle the employee to clock in, no?

Secondly, my boss understands that we take time at the end of the day to unload and wash the equipment. In respect, he explained to me that he adds an hour onto our time at the end of the week to compensate for this.

Despite an hour probably not being proportionate to the amount of time we likely spend unloading and washing the equipment, this just feels wrong. Adding hours at the end of the week seems like it would escape any possible overtime (>8 hours) that we might have been entitled to had the time been added on properly to that day.

Recently one of our new employees quit over this. He basically told my boss that he was cheating us out of money, and that none of the
other coworkers had the balls to say anything about it.

Tomorrow morning we are having a meeting about this, and I want to get an idea of what is reasonable to expect, and how to go about telling my boss? Should I be asking to be entitled for driving to and from job sites? Is this very common among other companies? Obviously I already have a good idea if I am asking the question, I would just like some second opinions on this.

This is my first full-time job. Although I don't feel I am being taken advantage of, I would like the time I spend, away from home at work, reflected in the hours I worked.

tech start up concerns

slipperywhenwet — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 19:57:15 -0800

What should I look for in an employment contract for new startup? I'm in Toronto. I've been working for a small tech startup since fall last year. The company's bread and butter is software, but I've been heading up a new hardware project. I believe the plan is to eventually spin this hardware project off as a separate division.

We just finished applying for the communitech Hyperdrive accelerator program and we've already file a couple of provisional patents on the work I've been doing the past 6 months, but at the moment this project is not in any way a separate business and hasn't brought any money in.

We're getting to the point where I'm going to assign the IP formally to the parent company and I've mentioned in a friendly way that I'm only comfortable signing over IP once I also have an employment contract in front of me to sign.

For the most part I'm happy with a boiler plate employment contract, although there are a couple of small tweaks I'd like to suggest. One thing that will be an issue is my stake in the company -- I'm basically getting paid peanuts right now, with the understanding that I'll get a stake in the company. Most of the material I've been able to find on employee stock options is very U.S. / silicon valley oriented and I'm not sure how well it translates to Ontario/Canada. There seem to be some fairly esoteric tax implications that are regularly discussed in the US context. I haven't yet found anything that covers a Canadian/Ontario context.

What other things are worth thinking about?
Recommendations for good resources, particularly in the Ontario/Canada context?

Old computer for a new employee?

OrangeDrink — Fri, 25 May 2012 07:49:02 -0800

Help me set up my old computer for a new employee, and make this easier the next time. Hi,

This is probably more obvious than I think it is, but I can't find anything.

I just bought 6 new computers for the office, and one is going to me (hooray!). My old computer will go to an intern. I could wipe everything, reinstall windows, reinstall Microsoft Office, but I'm worried Windows will think that's a new user and we'll lose the license for Microsoft Office. Is there something I could do with Users, or is my best bet just deleting all the personal info I have on Firefox and Chrome?

Bonus question! With these new computers, would creating a Recovery Point save me this trouble in the future, including keeping Microsoft Office with the current license?

Oh, running Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows 7. Some computers are Home, some Professional, and some Ultimate. I'm trying to do this legitimately.

Thanks everyone. My google-fu is failing me.

I have a staff member who is driving me up the wall. Please help me to understand what exactly it is that she is doing - and how to deal with it.

Anonymous — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:58:22 -0800

I have a staff member who is driving me up the wall. Please help me to understand what exactly it is that she is doing - and how to deal with it. Much more under the cut. I was hired to lead a department almost a year ago. I came from outside the company, 5/6 of my current staff were there before me (I hired one about six months ago). One of the staff members, "Libby", was an internal candidate for my position.

In the time between when the last department head left and I arrived, Libby ran things. She did a pretty good job, I guess. Nothing burned down, business ran as usual, she made some great improvements to one aspect of our work. When I took over there was a period of my "getting to know the company and clientele". Libby was very helpful as she has been working here for 13 years.

At some point though, her "offering helpful institutional knowledge" started to veer over into "I know what I would do in your position, this is what you should do." I think that she's still smarting that I got the lead and that she did not - but she really does know a lot about the business. But her "suggestions" are becoming unwelcome, and tinged with "you're doing it wrong".

One example:

I found out a few weeks ago that two of my staff members are celebrating anniversaries this month (multiple of five years each). Great! I called a celebration. We are going out to lunch this weekend. I asked the other staff what they might like for gifts, got some good feedback. Today I received an email from Libby, saying "I think that Christie has an anniversary too...she has been here 15 years." I wrote back, saying that "I had checked the city records and that she has been here for 17 years." Libby wrote back, saying "Well, perhaps you should say something about Christie's anniversary too." And I thought, What??? We're celebrating two multiple-of-five year anniversaries, which I thought was pretty cool. Is she suggesting we celebrate everyone's anniversary? I don't understand her reasoning behind sending me this email, other than to tell me that I am Not Doing It Right and that SHE would have done it differently.

Another example:

There was a project that started before I arrived. The last little strings of it are being tied up. She came into my office the other day to ask when the strings would be tied up. I said that, if the last bits weren't finished by Friday, I would be calling Mr. So-and-so to see what his project status was. She nodded and smiled and said "Maybe you should call him today to remind him instead of waiting to see if he remembers." Then she walked out. Again, I'm not Doing It Right, SHE would have done it differently (and thinks that I should).

Mefites, I have been trying. I really have. I cannot figure out what it is that she is doing that drives me up the wall. I can't even decide if it's something she is really doing or if it's all in my head. Since I can't define what it is that she's doing, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to deal with it.

Some of the things I've tried:

1. Re-stating my position: "Thanks for your input, but I am going to call Mr. So-and-so on Friday as planned." This does not seem to work because she keeps on coming back.

2. Nod and smile: "Yes, well...I think that calling him on Friday would be best."

3. Engage her with a question: "Why do you think that calling him today would be better?" This has lead almost exclusively to "Well, it's just a thought!" which makes me think that there isn't any real reason behind the suggestion, she is merely suggesting an alternate plan...for the hell of it? I don't know!

For even MORE background: she is a beloved member of the company, she's clever and personable and generally does a great job. She is a great "front of the house" person. When I glanced at her previous performance reviews, she's gotten outstanding marks. I can't disagree: she's really good at what she does. Communication style with me notwithstanding, she is doing a bang-up job.

I want to talk to her about the anniversary situation, but - like I said - I don't know if there's anything to talk about. Is she just being helpful and the WAY she's doing it is driving me bonkers? Is it ME that has the problem here? Is she trying to make me feel like I'm not doing things right (because she's doing a great job of it)? Is she being vindictive? How do I deal with her?

Initial wins at a new job

pakora1 — Mon, 14 May 2012 13:59:41 -0800

First day/week and month on a new job I am in the market for a new career position. I recently read an interesting article on what a product manager does on the first day/week/month on the job. That has triggered this question below which can be for any profession (not just product management). Two part question here-

1. What do you do on the first few days/weeks/a month on a new job. What are the essentials? How do you get politically savvy on the job. How do you figure out and what do you figure out you absolutely need to do on the new job? The ask is more around political skills/making an impression/establishing your brand and knowing the right people as well as getting on the right side of the boss and figuring out what key deliverables are to get an initial win.

2. Where do you go for profession help. for e.g. your boss asks you to get a process document and you have never done that beore, which sites do you run to to get the "in" on how to do that. Do you have mentors who help?

Thanks for your input and for sharing as I dont want to be a bull in a china shop but want to tread carefully so I dont waste time on things are not going to be impactful in the long run but get some quick initial wins in.

Dumb questions are driving me crazy.

nataliedanger — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 11:36:32 -0800

Help me learn how to help people come to their own conclusions and learn from their previous experiences in a friendly manner. (Warning: super long explanation inside) I work in a customer relations department. Part of my job includes being a resource to other employees; answering questions and helping them determine what their next course of action should be. Unfortunately, 99% of these questions are completely unnecessary. They're usually situations where

a) we can't do anything about it and my coworker "knows there's nothing we can do but it doesn't hurt to ask" (yes, yes it does - you're wasting everyone's time.)

b) they have the solution/answer available to them as part of their resources, and are choosing not to look it up.

c) they should know the answer, it's black and white, and they asked me five minutes ago. In our company, there are a few ALWAYS and NEVER situations; and they are non-negotiable. For instance; we can't change the payment on an existing order. It's simply not possible. They know this, but they ask anyway.

These questions take up a huge part of my day and are extremely frustrating. If someone contacts me unnecessarily, I am supposed to submit all sorts of details about it so that they can be "coached" on the situation. This takes up a ton of time, as well, and it is clearly not having any effect.

The problem is, there are probably 15 people who make up 90% of these contacts. There really isn't an incentive for them to improve, except that it will save them a call to me.

I lack people skills. I don't know how to instruct them on how to do things differently in the future without sounding rude, condescending, or sarcastic, so I usually don't say anything. An example of a typical conversation:

Coworker: "I know that we can't do _________ when ________, right?
Me: That is correct.
Coworker: Okay, well this customer is really upset about it, so is there any way we can do ________ anyway?
Me: No. (what I want to say is "You just answered your own question, didn't you?" but I really want to keep my job)
Coworker: Okay cause I was really hoping there was some kind of exception we could make.
Me: There isn't.

I'd really like to discourage the whole second part of the conversation, if possible (and going forward, the first part as well). How can I explain in a kind, polite way that my answer is not based on feelings or my own judgement; it is based on policies I have no control over (they know this). Therefore, no mater what you tell me about the scenario, my answer will not change. Period.

Another problem I face is when someone contacts me for a perfectly legitimate reason, and it spirals into nonsense. For example:
Coworker: "do we have any more information about ________?
Me: Not yet, sorry. Tell the customer we'll get in touch with them as soon as we know more.
Coworker: Oh, what, so I just have to tell them they have to wait longer now? They're already upset!
What I wish I could say: Yes, that is exactly what you have to tell them. That's your damn job. For the love of God, figure out how to do it and STOP ASKING ME STUPID QUESTIONS.

My thinking is that maybe, MAYBE, I can condition these people to use their brains since their managers certainly are not helping them figure out how to do so. I like my job and it pays well, but this part of it drives me insane. The most frustrating part is that it could be avoided.

TL;DR: Is there some kind of jerry-rigged socratic method I can use to help people help themselves when they consistently ask pointless questions with obvious solutions, thus wasting your time and making your job far more difficult?

(I know it sounds like I'm overreacting, but I swear that six hours of my day are spent dealing with this. I can't afford to quit my job, but I'm starting to feel like I might do so in an irrational attempt to resolve this.)

How do I gracefully curb my employee's know-it-all tendencies?

Anonymous — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 06:28:50 -0800

How do I gracefully curb my employee's know-it-all tendencies? The person I manage is very new to the profession but thinks she knows it all. this affects the work when she does not listen to me because she thinks she knows better. She often corrects me and others on minor points and makes assertions on things which are not clear cut or outright wrong. She does this at meetings in front of my manager and externals.

Her natural strength is details, but her downfall is understanding the bigger picture. This unfortunately impacts her work, which requires her to examine details but then requires her to make sense of all of these details to create systems. Her work habits are inconsistent and scattershot. Because she misses overarching causes, it diminishes the effectiveness of her detail work. She lacks the ability to approach her work in an organised way because she gets distracted by details and when I ask for progress updates I get very long woolly explanations that don't answer my questions. And while we don't have clients in my profession it is very important to build relationships with colleagues outside our team to secure their buy-in. We have to fight a perception that our profession is a bunch of pedants who make things harder for the business. This behaviour has lost us at least one user whom she corrected and nitpicked with.

I'm fairly new to this area of my profession but have ten years experience. I've not managed people before but have informally been a "camp mother" type for younger/newer employees who turned to me for guidance because I am old etc. I have not had to deal this situation before, usually I would have won her respect by this stage. My employee does not recognise my experience and does not listen to me. It seems she feels superior to me because she has some knowledge of one work area I am totally ignorant about. My manager who has expertise in this area says she's not very good at this work but I have no authority to comment (yet - I'm working on getting training but it's actually not one of my priorities or in my JD).

I know that some of this behaviour is insecurity. There is some weird class issue thing going on, she makes a lot of effort to impress on everyone how middle class and (very British) she is. She has regional accent which is stigmatised in the UK which she tries to cover up with RP. I sometimes think this extreme self-confidence is a snow job. She gets terribly upset when I confront her about her assertions when they are clearly wrong, she digs her heels in even deeper and insists she is right. Then things are awkward for the rest of the day. She becomes even more annoying after these interactions, relentlessly picking up on minor problems with my work ("these words should be hyphenated, you missed a full stop here") as if they are major faults. I do not react to this behaviour.

I have talked to her about not listening to me, immediately after the incident. I told her what she did, and why it annoyed me and what affect it had on the work. I went away thinking I had made myself clear. Months later she jokingly talked about how I was highly offended because she had done such and such, (small potatoes) rather than taken on board the fact I was upset that she doesn't listen.

I've had feedback from colleagues that my employee is pedantic. I've had two staff members informally tell me they were insulted or offended by something she has said or done. The person who managed her before me hates her (though he is a little immature). My manager doesn't rate her. Her work is at most adequate, but I want to take into account that she is young and new to the profession and I think this behaviour, though a little extreme, is typical for anyone who is bright, hungry and new to working life. her contract ends in a year. Some days I feel that she'll never turn this around enough to make me want to renew it. The thing is I want to give her a chance to improve, I don't think it's fair to give up on her.

I think I have to raise this with her directly. I'm worried for her, and I think she has potential if she drops this behaviour. How do I address this so the message actually goes in and without making her so defensive she won't accept the message. I think this is a hindrance to her progress, but I think she is so young (she is 28 but a very young 28, this is her first real job) and new that she could still turn this around with a bit of guidance.

I have tried positive role modelling. I have tried not losing my cool over the little stuff and pulling her up on the big things immediately. I'm sure this must happen to a lot of managers to some degree. How do I curb her more extreme behaviour and find a positive channel for it?

Two Careers & Retirement

CollectiveMind — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 06:49:56 -0800

Three questions: (1) How many current civil service employees are also reserve/national guard members, (2) How many current civil service employees were also active duty military service members, and (3) How many of both groups retired from the military? I've been to DOD, the Census, OPM ... I'm not having much luck.

My coworker used drugs with a student. What should I do about it?

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:56:56 -0800

Should I confront, report, or ask a fellow employee at an educational institution about his alleged relationship/illegal activities with a student? I am an employee at a community college. I have an acquaintance here, who I work with regularly though he is in a different department. Let's call him Frank. He is in his late 20s or early 30s.

Frank and I have played on an intramural sports team through the college together, and have made plans for social activities in the near future.

However, I just learned some disturbing information about Frank.

I work with another staff member who is also a student. She recounted what is essentially a rumor (she heard from a friend, who heard directly from the person involved) about Frank.

The original source, let's call her Leah, is an 18-year-old student. According to her, Frank invited her over to his home to engage in recreational drug use. Supposedly, they smoked "chronic" together. I am unclear on whether the definition in this case is "extremely good marijuana" or "marijuana laced with cocaine" (I know it can mean both). In any case, apparently they were both extremely affected by this drug, and Frank allowed Leah to drive herself home, which was the detail that enraged my coworker the most, for some reason.

I have checked our college policies and there is nothing to prohibit a staff member from having romantic relations with a student. However, my personal opinion is that this is rarely a good idea. There is also nothing about drug use off campus - our drug policy only prohibits the use of drugs (including alcohol and cigarettes) on campus, as well as the selling and distribution of these drugs, again, on campus. There is also nothing, legally, to keep two people of these ages apart, and generally I try to keep an open mind about age differences, but 18 is very young. In conclusion, there are several components to this rumor, and all of them together are pretty disturbing, but none of them are in direct violation of any college policy, or any law APART from the illegality of these substances.

Given that I don't know Frank very well, though we engage in casual conversation almost every day, I am trying to decide whether I should (1) cancel our future plans, (2) ask him directly about the incident (this seems like an awful idea to me!) and/or (3) report the rumor to his supervisor or to the president. I could obviously do this anonymously if I felt the need.

I am very tempted to do (1), simply because I no longer feel comfortable around Frank, so I do not want him in my home or as my friend if there is any truth in the rumor. And yes, I do know to take information filtered through the student grapevine with a grain of salt. But given that the rumor is not improbable, and has a definite point of origin, what course of action (on my part) would be best for the college, our students, and Frank (who on the whole has never struck me as a bad person, though maybe one with low self-esteem and perhaps limited intelligence)?

I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Being pressured by my company to sign legal documents

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:10:22 -0800

Being pressured by my company to sign legal documents. This seems very not okay. I'm an American, working on a 1.5 year project in Canada for my international company. To satisfy Canadian tax requirements, my company paid a bunch of money to the Canadian govt, above and beyond our normal salaries + US tax. I can't tell exactly, but this amount is between $10-20k. When we employees do our US taxes, we can claim a credit on all foreign-paid taxes and recover that amount. Our company then expects us to pay that tax credit money back to them, but... they never got employees to formally agree to that ahead of time.

Now that tax time is approaching, they're trying to get all employees to sign an agreement saying they'll pay the amount back. They're framing the agreement as a simple acknowledgement of the tax process, but from a legal standpoint (I think?) this signed agreement would give them the teeth to sue us if they don't get their money. It also makes employees financially liable for any costs associated with delays in tax processing. (So if you sign this document, you better fall right in line or it could cost you a bundle.)

Also, the company is requiring US employees to use their designated tax preparation firm (they'll pay for this) -- presumably, to ensure that they get their money back. The tax prep firm has its own legal agreement for us, which contains a clause whereby employees to agree to share our entire tax return with our company or any 3rd party -- an invasive overreach into our privacy. Our company is saying that only special cases, which they may or may not approve, can use their own tax preparation services. And in these cases, our company will require access to instruct our tax accountants on how to prepare our taxes.

Most employees have signed these agreements. I can only assume they either didn't read the fine print or they don't value their personal privacy.

I haven't signed anything, but I'm getting a lot of pressure from management to sign. E-mails, ambush conference calls, managers showing up at my desk... all insisting that I sign these agreements. Human Resources here appears to exist to protect the company from its employees, so no help there -- in fact, that's the source of most of the pressure. (I asked whether there was a staff lawyer that employees could use to represent our interests. No reply.) As the pressure escalates, I fully expect that they will delay my annual bonus (around $10k) and/or raises, possibly threaten to fire me, until I sign both agreements.

So a few questions, understanding that you are not my lawyer:
1. Is it legal for the company to pressure employees to sign legal agreements? Specifically, is it legal to withhold financial compensation or threaten termination unless we sign an agreement?
2. Would such an agreement signed under pressure be binding? Would this situation constitute "duress"?
3. Can companies require employees to use particular tax preparation services? Can they demand access to other tax preparation services?
4. Is this a scenario where I should immediately lawyer up and it's obvious to everybody but me?

How can I decline a raise request, yet still maintain employee morale?

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:39:33 -0800

Small business owners: Is it possible to turn down a request for a raise from employees, yet maintain workplace morale? On the flip side, have you been turned down for a raise, but stayed in your position? I run a small business (5 full-time employees) in a niche media/arts industry, and in the past two weeks, two separate employees have come to me (one on the verge of tears) requesting a raise that I simply can't afford, and I'm at a loss on how to properly respond and proceed.

I understand that salaries are a very difficult subject to discuss and are dependent on a myriad of factors including geographic location, job description, relative value to the business, etc, however I was wondering if anyone else has been in a similar position (on either side of the fence) and was able to handle it gracefully.

Both employees are in their mid to late 20's, and have been with the business for over a year and are absolutely great at what they do. They are definitely hard workers, and have brought a lot value to the business through their own networks and relationships. I have provided them both with detailed job descriptions that give objective criteria on what defines the standard of their work, and have conducted reviews at set 4-6 month intervals and adjusted salaries upwards on those occasions, in some cases over 10%. I have put a great amount of time and effort into training them, and into giving them their independence to have ownership over their areas of the company, and very much want to hold onto them and make them feel valued.

That said, we are a very small business, and pretty transparent. Everyone knows how much the business is billing and spending for the most part, and while we are definitely growing and profiting, I have been putting that money back into the business to grow it.

I drew on my own experience of being an employee and set up what I feel to be a very positive office environment. I'm often the first to arrive and the last to leave. I'm not strict with hours, and very respectful of personal time requests. I offer time in lieu, ample vacation and sick days. I try to offer generous perks and take my staff out for lunch or other activities as much as possible. The training they receive will enable them to move onto much higher positions as they continue their career, and I am under no illusions that they will eventually move on. The worst thing that I probably have done as an owner is try *too* hard to be a nice boss. I also know from my experience as an employee that it can be very easy to think that your boss is just being greedy and how that can turn you really sour, when the reality is that I don't take home a great deal much more than them, and that with taxes and our other expenses, I am honestly paying them as much as I can without stressing our cash-flow to ensure they have steady income. At the same time, I am older than them, have owned the business for much longer than they have been working in it, and am therefore able live a different lifestyle which is by no means extravagant, but definitely bears some signs of financial success, which I am already pretty self-conscious about.

I told both individuals that I would be taking time to figure out how to best respond to this, as we're a small team, and emotions can run very high and affect us as a group.

I've been considering things like cutting my own pay and giving it to them, or offering other incentives such as bonuses or commissions, but I'm wary of being on a slippery slope. Futhermore, I've looked at job ads for similar positions in similar areas of the industry, as well as talked to close friends, and feel that I can objectively state that the salaries are fair and in some cases higher than the market value.

If I had the money, I would give them a raise, but it's simply not there. For some reason I think they just wouldn't believe me if I said that. I tried looking at the root of the issue and seeing if there could be anything else that is really bothering them, and I'm honestly am not sure. Some part of me feels that there is a level of naivety in them in terms of the reality of what wages are like in a niche industry, or that they might be trying to live lifestyles that they simply cannot afford, but bringing things like that up will definitely not be constructive in terms of trying to resolve this conflict, and it might also not be true. At the end of the day, each approach that I have come up with comes off as being too defensive.

There is obviously a lot more nuance and detail that is in this situation, but for the sake of the question, I just wanted to throw open the question broadly and hear about other's experience being on the other side of this type negotiation. Even if you are not an employer, but an employee who has have a raise request turned down, has this ever been turned around into an amicable solution? Help!

Do I have to give the money back?

p. kitty — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:19:17 -0800

Can my employer force me to pay back tuition reimbursement if I leave before the required time is up? My company reimburses employees for tuition and educational expenses. When I was given the initial information about the tuition reimbursement, I was told via email that if I didn't stay for nine months after accepting the reimbursement that I would need to return the money to the company. I never signed anything or even verbally acknowledged that I agreed to this condition.

I'm not trying to be a weasel, but a situation in my workplace has become intolerable and I'm looking to see what my options are for leaving. I plan to talk to an employment lawyer to verify what my obligations are before I leave, but I wanted to see if anyone here could provide some more information so that I know if this is something worth pursuing.

I live in Illinois and am an at-will employee. Thank you for any information you can provide!