It’s 5 solutions to 5 questions. Here we go…
1. We’re required to start meetings by sharing positive things from our personal lives
My firm has simply been purchased by one other firm and we’re about to start the method of integrating the 2. I do suppose this is a actually good factor, aside from one factor.
Their meetings require everybody to start by stating one positive factor that’s occurred of their work life, and one of their personal life.
Apart from detesting the compelled positivity of this, I’m a very non-public particular person and don’t need to speak about my life outdoors of labor, particularly not for the categorical objective of facilitating meetings. I don’t notably need to listing positive things from work both, however I believe I most likely have much less of a leg to stand on there.
How do I deal with this? I don’t have the standing to get them to cease doing it (though I shall be elevating it with our senior administration that it’s doubtless to be a actual blocker to getting the 2 groups to combine properly), so I really want a approach to deal with this once I start having meetings with them. Help!
I’m a large believer in simply cheerfully and matter-of-factly turning this type of train into one thing completely different that you simply are comfy with. So for instance, when it’s your flip you could possibly cheerfully say, “Oh, I’m too private for that kind of personal sharing, but a positive thing that’s happened at work this week is…” (It’ll particularly assist for those who make positive your work instance is good — not only one bitter sentence that exudes “I am saying this part under duress too,” however fairly one thing you appear to enthusiastically provide.)
Also, because you’re a little uncomfortable with the work half too, strive mentioning one thing another person did that impressed you. If you see it as a possibility to amplify another person’s work, you may really feel more comfy with that.
Related:
I’m required to share with my boss a weekly finest and worst from my personal life
2. Is it fair to make employees pay for parking?
I work for a massive firm that is just about thought-about “the only game in town” in its residence metropolis — and frankly, the state. Everyone who lives right here, for essentially the most half, regards it for its strong pay, nice advantages, and many others. By and massive, it is a good place to work, and I’m usually joyful. But I’m beginning to surprise if the corporate is possibly benefiting from its workforce considerably.
One factor that has by no means sat properly with me is its coverage on parking. If you drive to and from work, employees are compelled to pay for parking that the corporate contracts out from town’s parking tons. Monthly parking charges are dependent in your job classification, however it usually quantities to round $75-85/worker. It’s not a enormous quantity, however it’s not insignificant, both.
To be fair, our employer does provide shuttle providers to those that stay considerably close by, and strolling, biking, carpooling, and metered parking are at all times choices, however is it proper for such a massive firm — or any firm, actually — to oblige their employees to pay for parking at work?
I wouldn’t say it’s unfair, actually; it’s fairly frequent.
If the corporate owned the lot and was turning a revenue by charging employees to park in it (a minimum of past what it prices to preserve the lot), that might be incorrect. But in your case, they’re appearing as a kind of a center man by leasing the area from town and then passing on these prices to employees who need handy parking. That’s a fairly typical approach to do it. And in fact, if charging for parking reduces the variety of automobiles on the roads by encouraging more folks to take public transportation or get to and from work by different strategies, that’s finally a good factor.
One caveat: I’m assuming that “parking fees are dependent on your job classification” signifies that lower-paid employees pay much less; if it’s the alternative and execs get sponsored parking, that’s value objecting to.
3. Can I choose out of labor journey whereas I’m breast-feeding?
I stay throughout the nation from my employer, certainly one of a handful of distant employees. There’s a work journey developing that I’m anticipated to attend, which would require me to be away from residence for 4 days. I’m a new mother to a four-month outdated, and this may be the primary time I’ve been away in a single day since she was born. I’m additionally solely breast-feeding.
There are a lot of the reason why I don’t need to make this journey whereas breast-feeding! Including: the ick issue of getting to pump in an airport, the truth that I’m doubtless to take care of some uncomfortable engorgement for the reason that pump isn’t 100% efficient, the awkwardness of excusing myself six instances per day to go pump, and the problem of milk storage whereas touring and at my vacation spot — to identify a few. I gained’t have the ability to pump sufficient upfront to feed my daughter, so I’ll additionally want to get my child used to components earlier than the journey, which isn’t one thing I’d deliberate to do at this stage, although I’m open to it. And this doesn’t even get into the truth that we’ll be staying at a camp with shared rooms and bunk beds — in different phrases, little if any privateness! Presumably this implies I’d be spending a number of hours a day pumping in a rest room, and then storing bottles of milk in a shared fridge? All of this sounds terrible.
My boss is form and considerate, however whereas they could be open to my request not to go, I don’t anticipate them to actually get why this may be so exhausting. (And I’m not eager on explaining the challenges of pumping to them.) I do know that individuals make this work, however truthfully, it simply sounds so uncomfortable in so some ways. Is it affordable to ask to be excused from work journey whereas breast-feeding? How may this request come throughout?
This is an all-staff occasion, however it’s not one which I’m concerned in planning, nor do I’ve any explicit tasks. So my absence wouldn’t create more work for anybody else.
It’s actually, actually regular to say you may’t journey whilst you’re breast-feeding. Some persons are comfy doing it; some folks aren’t. It’s positive to say journey can be troublesome for you whilst you’re breast-feeding (particularly at a tenting web site, good lord) and you don’t want to get into all of the the reason why. People choose out of journey whereas they’re nursing on a regular basis and you need to anticipate it not to be a large deal.
4. Can I give a reward to certainly one of my employees however not the others?
I’m on the management crew at a distant firm. The division I handle has a massive variety of folks, with a few direct stories. One report is one step under me, Roberta, and a few others are technically a few steps under me by title, however I’m their direct supervisor.
Roberta has a large personal milestone developing (shopping for her first residence) and I’d like to ship a reward. Since we’re distant, this may be mailed and not given in particular person, so nobody else would see this occur. However, I haven’t finished this for anybody else earlier than (nobody else has purchased a residence, however have had different milestones, corresponding to having their first child) and whereas I don’t have something in opposition to doing this for others, I don’t have any particular plans for at all times doing this.
Is this an okay factor to do? As one step under me, Roberta is actually a lifesaver for my day to day and I’ve labored along with her the longest, which is why it even got here to thoughts to do it.
If you’re going to do it, you need to do one thing equal for different employees’ large life occasions or it will appear to be favoritism and you threat stirring up resentment. You’re considering others gained’t know since everybody is distant, however all it would take is Roberta mentioning to a coworker how considerate it was of you, and you then’ll produce other individuals who report to you may be questioning what it signifies that you didn’t ship a reward for their marriage ceremony or the start of their child or their very own residence buy. When it comes to this type of life-event recognition, it’s too messy not to deal with everybody who stories to you an identical approach.
5. Improving our firm’s work/life stability
I’ve not too long ago been tasked with being a part of a committee addressing work/life stability points in a very intense subject for the corporate I work for. This firm actually has a hustle tradition, and the highest management are recognizing that we want to do actually help work life/stability for employees. It’s made more sophisticated by a couple of things, nevertheless. First, we work in psychological well being in 24-hour disaster therapy, so it’s a very emotionally draining subject that completely requires we have workers out there on the drop of a hat any second of the day. It’s not an exaggeration to say that individuals’s lives rely on this duty. In addition, like most social service things, the charges we are paid don’t help excessive pay or tons of advantages for our employees. I believe we do a fairly good job given the assets we have to work with, however it’s not going to be as simple as simply giving folks more PTO or flexing their hours or permitting them to work from residence. Those sorts of things aren’t an possibility in this type of work.
Any suggestions for supporting work/life stability in this type of subject, when the apparent things are made a lot more troublesome by the character of the work we do?
I’m joyful to throw this out to readers for recommendations, however the stuff that actually makes a distinction comes down to cash — as a result of it’s about more staffing, higher pay, and more day off. Those are things which have to come from the highest and aren’t inside your management as a committee (though you may make suggestions about them). You can do different things across the edges — have the corporate usher in meals, chill out the costume code (though in that subject it’s doubtless already fairly relaxed), look for insurance policies that make folks’s lives tougher and recommend methods to change them … however finally making a actually vital distinction shall be about cash (and I do know that’s powerful in well being care; this letter was enlightening).
