It’s 4 solutions to 4 questions. Right here we go…
1. Perks for distant staff solely
Our firm works largely remotely. Workers who dwell domestically are available sooner or later every week. A couple of departments’ staff are allowed to dwell elsewhere within the nation (this rule doesn’t apply to all departments). A number of occasions a 12 months, all employees are required to return into the workplace for the total week. Workers who dwell outdoors the world receives a commission lodge rooms close to the workplace, and expense all of their meals. Native staff, nevertheless, are required to pay for his or her lunch daily, in addition to the extra prices of commuting for the extra days (parking is kind of costly the place we work). Is there a solution to make our firm see how unfair that is? Or am I being unreasonable?
Yeah, you’re being unreasonable! Workers touring for work have their meals lined since consuming on enterprise journeys tends to be dearer (because you don’t have entry to your personal stocked kitchen). Meals and lodge rooms aren’t perks while you’re touring for work (“perks” was the phrase in your electronic mail topic line to me); they’re enterprise bills.
Some further days in your native workplace however nonetheless going house every evening is a really completely different factor than being gone for every week on a enterprise journey.
I don’t suppose you’re more likely to get traction in the event you recommend that the corporate pay for native individuals’s further commuting prices or lunches that week. (In principle it may very well be good for morale if your organization supplied lunch to everybody no less than a few times throughout these weeks, nevertheless it’s not outrageous that they’re not; that is only a distinction in being native vs. non-local.)
Associated:
our non-traveling staff are upset in regards to the journey “perks” that others get
2. Being the one girl at a retreat in an AirBnB
My supervisor, a VP, invited me to attend an upcoming director summit with 5 administrators. Whereas my function is extra administrative, he felt my presence can be beneficial. The summit is deliberate for the summer season at a rented AirBnb with leisure facilities like a swimming pool, recreation room, and many others. I would want to take a five-hour highway journey with one of many male administrators, and the group would conduct conferences round a big kitchen desk or in the lounge with a projected display screen.
I used to be initially uncomfortable with the setup and expressed my issues to my boss. He acknowledged them however emphasised that he nonetheless wished me to attend. After discussing it with household and colleagues, opinions had been break up on whether or not this association — one girl amongst six males at a rental property for a piece occasion — was completely acceptable or probably questionable. What do you suppose?
I don’t suppose it’s inappropriate, nevertheless it’s additionally not unreasonable in the event you determine that you just personally really feel uncomfortable with it and need to ask for separate lodgings. (I’m assuming there’s an in a single day keep, given the five-hour drive.)
Associated:
I’d be the one girl at a team-building occasion at my boss’s distant lake home
3. My mother says I shouldn’t go away a foul Glassdoor overview for my outdated firm
I just lately was terminated from a really poisonous work state of affairs, and have run out my choices to legally pursue them. (The contingency attorneys principally informed me I had a case however they didn’t really feel it could be worthwhile sufficient to be value pursuing on my behalf, and I can not afford to retain authorized illustration alone.)
Rather than hitting them of their pockets, the place I do know they might listen, I used to be no less than hoping to put up an sincere overview of the job. If I had performed my due diligence within the first place, I by no means would have utilized. I need to add my voice to the refrain of others who’ve proclaimed this firm to be unhealthy to work for.
My problem comes as a result of my well-meaning mom is attempting to discourage me from posting something as a result of she is satisfied that they’ll determine that I posted it and are available after me legally. She identified that I don’t have the cash to sue them, and I definitely don’t have the cash to defend myself in the event that they attempt to sue me. She can also be involved that it’s going to get linked again to me and forestall future employers from contemplating me. Whereas she is true that I can not afford to be sued, I’m extra doubtful about her different fears. If a good employer is occupied with what I’ve to supply, why ought to a foul relationship with a former place of employment be related? I’ve connections within the type of different staff who will and actively are giving me optimistic references for brand new alternatives.
How legitimate are my mom’s issues? Admittedly, she has been out of the workforce for a very long time, however I steadily hearken to her as a result of she operates from a spot of frequent sense. I’ve many individuals telling me to simply do it, and many individuals declaring that they haven’t disputed the opposite damaging critiques so why would mine be the tipping level? I’m simply actually scared of constructing myself undesirable to a future employer. So, how far off-base is my mom on this one?
It’s extremely unlikely that the truth that you left a damaging overview will in some way get linked to you within the minds of potential employers. How would they know? The concept that it could forestall future employers from contemplating you is a non-issue.
The place it may be a problem in case your outdated employer figures it was you and it causes them to provide you a extra damaging reference than they’d provide you with in any other case — nevertheless it doesn’t sound such as you had been anticipating a great reference from them anyway, so I’m unsure that must be an actual fear. (For the report, although, you might run into employers who desire a reference from this firm even in the event you’re providing up completely different ones, so that you shouldn’t depend on “properly, I simply gained’t give them as a reference” — nevertheless it appears like this reference wouldn’t be nice no matter whether or not you permit them a foul overview or not.)
Furthermore, you despatched me the overview you’re contemplating posting and it’s not the form of factor that might clearly need to be from one particular particular person: you speak normally phrases in regards to the firm tradition and administration, not about particular experiences distinctive to you. I don’t see how they’d tie it to you, until you repeatedly raised the identical points in very loud and particular phrases whilst you had been there and nobody else ever complained about these issues (which, out of your overview, positively sounds prefer it was not the case). There’s additionally nothing legally actionable right here; it’s authorized to share your opinions [and here’s Glassdoor’s own page on avoiding defamation, which explains what’s considered an opinion (i.e., not defamatory) versus “verifiable facts” (potentially defamatory if knowingly false)].. I imply, individuals can sue anybody for something, nevertheless it’s extremely unlikely that an organization would really feel moved to take any authorized motion on this.
Your mother is being overly cautious. That stated, Glassdoor has a foul monitor report on privateness so it’s all the time sensible to make use of a burner electronic mail in the event you put up there.
4. Is it regular for managers to not know the way a lot their staff earn?
A couple of years in the past I used to be a line supervisor and hiring supervisor for brand new staff becoming a member of my workforce, so I knew what the wage vary for the positions being crammed was, had negotiating energy over stated vary, had the ultimate say on who we’d lengthen a suggestion to, and would talk to HR how a lot we’d offer to the candidate. I additionally used the data of my direct stories’ compensation to combat for wage will increase to enhance worker retention and to ensure everybody was being paid pretty for his or her function, their contributions, and their job expertise.
I all the time thought this was pretty normal, however I’ve found that my final two line managers had no concept how a lot I or anybody else on my workforce had been being paid, nor did they care to ask as a result of the ultimate supply to staff had been determined by the CEO, as they’re those who’ve the ultimate say on issues like budgets for the corporate and the way a lot they spend on new expertise.
My final line supervisor tried arguing that my wage was personal data and wasn’t related for him to do his job, however I argued again that, with out this data, he had no concept if we had been being paid pretty, and as the one who oversees our day-to-day work, he’s one of the best particular person to know our value and be sure that our compensation matches our contributions to the corporate. I finally left that job as a result of not solely did I discover out I used to be being underpaid for the trade, my colleague and peer acquired a major increase that wasn’t prolonged to me.
Is that this regular? Are line managers often not informed how a lot their direct stories are being paid? Is that this not necessary data they need to have to allow them to advocate for his or her workforce with senior management? That’s what I believed at first, however now I’m questioning if I used to be the outlier and line managers are often not aware about this data on account of information privateness causes.
No, managers typically know the way a lot individuals on their groups are being paid, for all the explanations you say. You additionally want to have the ability to spot inequities (Persephone is making greater than Cordelia, however Cordelia does a greater job) and retention dangers (we’re at present underpaying Cordelia for the market and danger shedding her over it) and truly speak to your staff about their salaries, which is a traditional factor individuals carry up with their managers. There are locations the place managers don’t have this data, however until they’re very low-level managers, it’s often the signal of a tradition with weak administration (together with that managers there aren’t well-trained or supported, which might trickle right down to the individuals working below them in all kinds of how).
