It’s 4 solutions to 4 questions. Right here we go…
1. My boss retains asking for rides house
I work in my firm’s advertising division. There are solely 5 of us, together with our boss (an govt president on the firm). He is aware of that out of all of us, I stay the closest to him. His truck is within the store and he has requested me two days in a row “what are you doing after work/might you’re taking me house?” He additionally requested a pair weeks in the past when his truck was within the store once more. I’ve mentioned no every time. Am I incorrect in saying no?
Some issues to notice: 1) I’m a 29-year-old lady and he’s a 50-something man. I’m not apprehensive that he’s creepy or would attempt one thing, but it surely simply feels uncomfortable to me. 2) I’ve a one-year-old I’ve to select up after work. I should not have time to take my boss house earlier than getting my son and going house. It might add 20-Half-hour to my night, which eats away into time house with my son and husband. I’m not at his disposal after working hours. 3) I’m not his assistant, so I don’t really feel like I owe him this favor.
I don’t need to seem to be I’m not being a group participant by doing this. However like I mentioned, it eats away at my night and fairly frankly, I simply don’t WANT to. His spouse might simply come get him. He makes sufficient cash that he can afford a rental automobile. He has been bumming rides these final couple days and each different time his car has been within the store. He makes it everybody else’s downside. One time he requested me to drive him to the store “simply to see” if his truck was prepared (it wasn’t, btw). I simply see it as a “nor my downside” state of affairs. Am I incorrect for that?
Nope, you’re not incorrect for declining to provide your boss rides, and it’s good that you simply don’t really feel pressured into saying sure.
He’s asking for a private favor, not assigning you a piece activity — which implies that you’re free to say no. When you weren’t free to say no, then he could be inappropriately utilizing his place to get private favors — and that will be incorrect.
You’d even be on strong floor in saying no even should you didn’t have a child to select up. However because you do, “I can’t be late to select up my child” is an easy strategy to decline with out awkwardness. So is, “Sorry, I’ve received to get straight house” and “Sorry, I’ve received plans” (even when these plans are to easily drive house alone).
Additionally, it’s one factor for somebody to ask this as soon as as a favor in uncommon circumstances. It’s under no circumstances cool for him to be asking repeatedly. He’s a grown man who wants to determine his personal transportation. (He additionally wants to determine that he can simply name the store to search out out if his truck is prepared; he doesn’t must drive there in another person’s automobile “simply to see.”)
Associated:
my employee pressures coworkers for rides everywhere
2. My boss gained’t let me have any private objects on my desk — however different individuals can
Is it regular for some individuals in a piece setting to not be allowed any private objects in any respect? I’ve been informed by my boss that something that’s not issued by the corporate must go house. Interval. Others (together with individuals proper subsequent to me) have water bottles, household pictures, and so forth., however these are wonderful and so they have by no means been informed something. I’ve even been informed I need to take house my pens and solely use those supplied by the corporate (I’m a lefty and have hyper cell palms/wrists, so this isn’t an choice for me in any approach). Is it time for a brand new job or to get authorized counsel?
Effectively, there’s the authorized reply after which there’s the extra sensible reply. Legally, sure, your boss can let you know that you may’t have any private objects in your desk even when the rule is just for you — so long as it’s not primarily based in your intercourse, race, faith, nationwide origin, incapacity, or different protected attribute. (And if it have been, your boss wouldn’t must say that explicitly. When you have been, let’s say, the one particular person of race X and the rule solely utilized to you and if there had been different types of harassment/discrimination/hostility towards you, a lawyer might argue that it was a part of a sample of race-based discrimination.) Normally, employers steer managers away from having guidelines that solely apply to 1 particular person as a result of they don’t need to open themselves as much as that type of authorized legal responsibility, except the supervisor can cite a transparent want for the rule (like in case your desk was at all times a trash heap and repeated conversations hadn’t labored, your supervisor would possibly be capable of defend the rule on that grounds).
The extra sensible reply, although, is: What’s occurring together with your boss? Does your boss deal with you in a different way in different methods too? Seem to dislike you? Not worth your work? What’s behind this completely different rule for you versus everybody else? That is such a bizarre one-person coverage — notably the pens, except the pens you introduced in from house had, like, bare women on them — that I’ve received to assume it displays larger points.
As for what to do: HR if it’s an enormous firm and particularly if transferring is a chance (as a result of even when HR strikes down this rule, it’s not in your pursuits to work for somebody who dislikes you). Lawyer should you assume it is a sample of hostility primarily based on a protected attribute. New job both approach, most likely.
3. As an interviewer, (how a lot) ought to I costume up?
I’m working my first ever interviews subsequent week, and I’m not sure about what I ought to put on!
Our workplace is a mix of informal to enterprise informal, and I’m one of the informally dressed within the workplace (for instance I wore shorts, hoodie, and a baseball cap to work at the moment). That is all good with everybody so far as I do know, and I’m not a large fan of dressing formally— the one time I’ve actually ever worn a go well with has been at weddings.
However I don’t really feel like I ought to costume that casually after I’m working an interview— it’s true to the workplace “costume code” however I really feel like if any of the interviewees flip up dressed extra formally, which they most likely will, their interviewer being dressed tremendous casually would make them really feel uncomfortable and overdressed!
How a lot ought to I costume up? Would denims and a button-up shirt be okay? Or trousers and a t-shirt? Or ought to I am going for denims and a t-shirt because it’s extra correct to what I put on day by day? I’m a man dwelling in London and dealing in a artistic business, in case it’s related.
Ideally you’d share your costume code with the candidates beforehand, saying one thing like, “Our costume code is informal — individuals put on the whole lot from shorts and hoodies to khakis and button-downs, so there’s no must put on a go well with.”
But when for some cause that’s not doable, costume the way you usually costume, simply not probably the most informal excessive of it (so not shorts and a hoodie). You need candidates to see what the tradition is definitely like (however you additionally don’t need them to really feel massively overdressed, which is why you’re avoiding the shorts/hoodie finish of your private spectrum).
4. My supervisor got here to my home unannounced
My supervisor confirmed up at my home unannounced to ship treats for our digital Christmas social gathering. We work remotely and she or he requested for my handle the prior yr to ship a contest prize I gained from a digital occasion. Whereas I admire the gesture, I by no means anticipated her to make use of my handle this manner. I don’t think about colleagues my pals and like to maintain work and private life separate. Sharing this with family members raised issues. They felt it was inappropriate for her to carry onto my handle, particularly for a private go to.
Your supervisor shouldn’t have proven up at your home unannounced and uninvited — and that goes triple if she rang the bell and hoped to see you in particular person.
For what it’s value, this varies closely by area. Individuals who stay in nations with robust knowledge privateness legal guidelines are usually rather more shocked by the “she used your handle in a approach you hadn’t meant” facet of this type of factor than most Individuals are. And Individuals who stay in small cities the place everybody is aware of the place everybody lives see it as a lot much less of an issue than those that don’t. There are also American firms the place she wouldn’t have even wanted to have requested you to your handle the earlier yr as a result of she might have gotten it straight out of your worker file, and utilizing it to drop off work items would have been thought-about beautiful and considerate. There are others the place that will be thought-about an invasion of privateness. So there’s an enormous regional and cultural element to this.
All that mentioned, except it’s a part of a sample of oversteps by your boss, I might let it go.