ought to managers keep out of personal Slack channels?
A reader writes:
I’m the pinnacle of HR for my small(ish) worldwide firm. I’m a mixed-race girl and a mother. We have now quite a lot of non-public Slack channels, together with channels for fogeys, ladies, individuals of coloration, and many others.
Our individuals of coloration channel is a comparatively new addition began by an worker who needed a secure area for people who determine as non-white. I used to be explicitly excluded from the channel as a result of I’m HR and the individuals in that channel needed it to be a secure area to speak in regards to the points they face. As a mixed-race individual, I felt the sting of exclusion, however as an individual in management completely perceive the need to have a spot the place individuals can vent and specific themselves with out worrying in regards to the ever-seeing eye of administration.
This makes me marvel, although, if I ought to recuse myself from the opposite non-public channels that I’m a part of (dad and mom and girls) for worry of my presence making these channels appear “unsafe.” I’d be unhappy to lose that a part of my work neighborhood however I need my workers to not fear about management watching their each phrase. Alternatively, ought to I make it possible for I’m in these channels with a view to maintain a watchful eye? I don’t know the precise reply.
I reply this query — and three others — over at Inc. in the present day, the place I’m revisiting letters which have been buried within the archives right here from years in the past (and generally updating/increasing my solutions to them). You can learn it right here.
Different questions I’m answering there in the present day embrace:
- Colleague retains asking if I’m “comfy” with work I’ve agreed to tackle
- I can’t perceive my coworker’s unhealthy writing
- Giving suggestions to a job-hopper
