It’s 5 solutions to 5 questions. Here we go…
1. My coworker’s Facebook is filled with gross imagery
I have simply began a new mid-level skilled job at a massive firm. One of my colleagues (“Michael”) appears to have taken a shine to me and to be trustworthy we take to each other in a work context. I’m not overly eager on socializing with colleagues outdoors the workplace a lot, but he is pleasant and we have a chat most mornings.
He has simply sought me out and despatched me a pal request on Facebook. I had a take a look at his (public) Facebook account and what I noticed was disturbing and weird. He is fully obsessed with vomiting. About three quarters of his posts are about vomiting, characteristic hand-drawn cartoons of individuals vomiting, or are photographs of celebrities the place he has drawn on vomit popping out of their mouth. The the rest of his posts are about demons, exorcism, and screaming clergymen. I at all times thought he had fairly a unusual humorousness, but I’m now fearful that I have befriended a potential serial killer who is obsessed with vomit. His profile image is a picture of himself but he has drawn vomit on utilizing Microsoft Paint. Do I ask him about it? Do I not point out it? Do I begin avoiding him or do I fake none of this has ever occurred?
Eeew! He’s almost definitely simply somebody with a very gross curiosity who lacks the sense to consider that earlier than sending coworkers Facebook requests … but why?!
You can (a) ignore the pal request, fake this by no means occurred, and proceed chatting with him at work in the event you nonetheless need to, (b) ignore the pal request and pull again on chatting with him at work, or (c) say to him, “What’s up with all the vomit on your Facebook page? That was really gross to come across without expecting it.” Any of these are affordable choices, and it simply relies on what you’d be most comfy with. (Personally I’d in all probability go with the final one as a result of it might at all times bug me in any other case … though clearly his reply to that is removed from assured to make you more comfy with him and the truth is has a excessive probability of doing the other.)
2. Our custodian says we have fleas but we do not
I handle a library, and we have a contract with a small native enterprise for custodial work. Our custodian, who works for 2 hours or so each morning earlier than anybody else is within the constructing, has advised me repeatedly this week that he is being bitten by fleas whereas in our library. The drawback is that nobody else — together with folks like myself who’re within the library for 40 hours a week — has reported any flea bites. We have an exterminator who recurrently visits and sprays for pests. We additionally test for pests and pest exercise in supplies returned by our patrons.
This state of affairs is additional sophisticated by the truth that our custodian isn’t superb at his job. He often doesn’t present up for work with out letting me know, and his cleansing leaves a lot to be desired. We have spoken with him about this stuff, and if we had an alternative choice for cleansing providers, we’d cancel our contract with him and go with another person. We have speculated that maybe this “flea problem” is an excuse for him to not be in our constructing so he can keep away from working.
Our custodian is the one one who thinks there are fleas within the constructing. He has talked about that he has a canine; how do I politely and professionally inform him that maybe the fleas are coming into the constructing with him?
Be simple! “We’ve investigated this and no one else has reported any flea bites or flea sightings. We have an exterminator who sprays regularly. We’ve not found any evidence of fleas in the building, so it’s likely that your flea bites are from another location.”
Also, although, if issues are on the level that you just suspect him of constructing up the flea drawback to keep away from working, it feels like it might actually be value on the lookout for different cleansing choices! If this man went out of enterprise tomorrow, you’d presumably discover another; no matter you’d do then, are you able to do it now?
3. My coworker used an offensive phrase
I began a new job at a very massive company a few weeks in the past, which I acquired by means of a very shut household pal. Everyone on the workforce has been completely pretty to work with up to now, together with a coworker I’ll name Sam.
I used to be chatting with Sam over the telephone the opposite day (we all telework), attempting to work out how you can register for an internet instrument that our workforce makes use of. The instrument is extraordinarily poorly designed and Sam stated it was “retarded.” This actually stunned and offended me, though I’m constructive it wasn’t stated maliciously. I figured perhaps it simply slipped out as one thing maybe he used to say (as a variety of us did again within the day), and was inclined to let it go, but then he stated it once more inside a span of two minutes in the identical context.
Our firm actually emphasizes range and acceptance and has a coverage the place you report any cases of this to a specific HR group. I actually don’t need him to have this on his official report, but I’m not okay with what he stated both.
What ought to I do? It’s value declaring that the corporate as a complete skews in the direction of the older aspect. I have two coworkers beneath the age of 40 and most others (together with Sam) are 50 or older, so I truthfully assume this is a case the place he hasn’t realized this isn’t an applicable phrase to make use of anymore (not that it ever actually was).
If he says it once more, say one thing within the second! For instance:
* “Whoa, that’s a slur now — you might not realize.”
* “I really hate that word and would appreciate you not using it.”
* “Hey, please use a different word.”
In concept you could possibly return and say one thing now with out ready to see if he says it once more, but as somebody who’s new to the job, it in all probability makes more sense to only communicate up within the second if it occurs once more. (My recommendation can be completely different if he’d used, say, a racial slur.)
4. How do I ask for my bonus?
I work for a small personal firm as the pinnacle of finance. When I used to be supplied the job, the CEO structured the provide to incorporate eligibility for a bonus within the first yr if I met key efficiency goals as outlined in my job description. I’ve simply accomplished one yr right here. When I began, there was a part-time HR individual, but their contract has ended and I have assumed fundamental HR duties. The CEO is doubtless the one different worker who was conscious of my bonus settlement, and he has lengthy since forgotten about it.
How do I elevate the topic with the CEO about this settlement? It is in my signed job provide, but can be topic to his analysis as as to whether KPOs have been met (a couple of that are a little little bit of a grey space since strategic enterprise choices have been made that made them inapplicable). To make issues more uncomfortable, firm money is tight and I’m one of many few who is aware of simply how tight it is (due to my function), so it feels awkward to ask for a bonus. However, if we nonetheless had an HR individual, I’d have been capable of take it up with them and take away a potential battle of curiosity in that approach. Any recommendation?
It’s in your signed settlement! You’re not doing something flawed by elevating that. Say it this fashion: “When I came onboard, we structured the offer to include a possible bonus based on my performance after a year. Since I’ve just hit the one-year mark, I wanted to talk with you about it.” If firm money is too tight to do it, let the CEO inform you that — don’t determine it for him.
5. Freelancer administration firm needs data that appears extreme
I’ve freelanced for a firm for a very long time. They introduced a change to payroll and partnered with a firm I’ll name ZYO that manages freelancers and stated nothing was altering. ZYO has wished a lot of information that felt intrusive — one in every of which was to “prove” we are freelancers, they wished us to ship paperwork of consumer contracts with the consumer identify and date on it. If we refused, so as to stay a freelancer they require us to pay for an LLC and get enterprise insurance coverage with a minimal of $1M legal responsibility protection OR we can grow to be workers of ZYO and receives a commission with W2 and “contract” with the unique firm.
Is this shady? Supposedly it’s to verify the OG firm follows legal guidelines with freelancers but one thing about this doesn’t sit proper.
This has gotten more frequent with freelancing now: the federal government has cracked down on the principles for who qualifies as an impartial contractor versus an worker (particularly in California, which handed its personal more restrictive regulation), and as a outcome some firms have elevated what documentation they require to allow them to “prove” you’re actually a freelancer if it’s ever questioned. One option to do that is to indicate that the freelancers have a number of shoppers, not simply them. (I’ve had more than one consumer ask for precisely this.) You can usually black out the delicate data although, like charges.
