It’s 4 solutions to 4 questions. Right here we go…
1. Perks for distant staff solely
Our firm works largely remotely. Workers who stay regionally are available sooner or later every week. A couple of departments’ staff are allowed to stay elsewhere within the nation (this rule doesn’t apply to all departments). A number of instances a 12 months, all workers are required to come back into the workplace for the complete week. Workers who stay outdoors the world receives a commission resort rooms close to the workplace, and expense all of their meals. Native staff, nevertheless, are required to pay for his or her lunch day by day, in addition to the extra prices of commuting for the extra days (parking is sort of costly the place we work). Is there a strategy 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 costlier (because you don’t have entry to your individual stocked kitchen). Meals and resort rooms aren’t perks if you’re touring for work (“perks” was the phrase in your e mail topic line to me); they’re enterprise bills.
Some further days in your native workplace however nonetheless going house every night time is a really totally different factor than being gone for every week on a enterprise journey.
I don’t assume you’re prone to get traction for those who recommend that the corporate pay for native individuals’s further commuting prices or lunches that week. (In idea it could possibly be good for morale if your organization supplied lunch to everybody a minimum of a few times throughout these weeks, however 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 lady 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 could be priceless. The summit is deliberate for the summer season at a rented AirBnb with leisure facilities like a swimming pool, recreation room, and so forth. I would wish to take a five-hour street 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 needed me to attend. After discussing it with household and colleagues, opinions have been cut up on whether or not this association — one lady amongst six males at a rental property for a piece occasion — was solely acceptable or doubtlessly questionable. What do you assume?
I don’t assume it’s inappropriate, however it’s additionally not unreasonable for those who resolve 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 lady at a team-building occasion at my boss’s distant lake home
3. My mother says I shouldn’t go away a foul Glassdoor evaluate for my previous firm
I not too long ago was terminated from a really poisonous work state of affairs, and have run out my choices to legally pursue them. (The contingency attorneys principally advised me I had a case however they didn’t really feel it might be worthwhile sufficient to be price pursuing on my behalf, and I can’t afford to retain authorized illustration alone.)
Instead of hitting them of their pockets, the place I do know they might concentrate, I used to be a minimum of hoping to publish an trustworthy evaluate 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 difficulty comes as a result of my well-meaning mom is making an attempt to discourage me from posting something as a result of she is satisfied that they may determine that I posted it and are available after me legally. She identified that I wouldn’t have the cash to sue them, and I definitely wouldn’t have the cash to defend myself in the event that they attempt to sue me. She can be involved that it’ll get linked again to me and stop future employers from contemplating me. Whereas she is correct that I can’t afford to be sued, I’m extra doubtful about her different fears. If a good employer is interested by 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 constructive 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 often hearken to her as a result of she operates from a spot of widespread sense. I’ve many individuals telling me to simply do it, and many individuals stating that they haven’t disputed the opposite adverse critiques so why would mine be the tipping level? I’m simply really scared of creating 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 adverse evaluate will in some way get linked to you within the minds of potential employers. How would they know? The concept that it might stop future employers from contemplating you is a non-issue.
The place it may be a problem in case your previous employer figures it was you and it causes them to provide you a extra adverse reference than they’d offer you in any other case — however it doesn’t sound such as you have been anticipating a very good reference from them anyway, so I’m undecided that must be an actual fear. (For the report, although, it’s possible you’ll run into employers who need a reference from this firm even for those who’re providing up totally different ones, so that you shouldn’t depend on “effectively, I simply received’t give them as a reference” — however it seems like this reference wouldn’t be nice no matter whether or not you permit them a foul evaluate or not.)
Furthermore, you despatched me the evaluate you’re contemplating posting and it’s not the form of factor that will clearly must be from one particular individual: you speak basically 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 have been there and nobody else ever complained about these issues (which, out of your evaluate, 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, however 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 mentioned, Glassdoor has a foul observe report on privateness so it’s at all times good to make use of a burner e mail for those who publish there.
4. Is it regular for managers to not understand how 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 group, so I knew what the wage vary for the positions being crammed was, had negotiating energy over mentioned vary, had the ultimate say on who we’d lengthen a proposal to, and would talk to HR how a lot we’d offer to the candidate. I additionally used the information of my direct studies’ compensation to battle 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 at all times thought this was pretty commonplace, however I’ve found that my final two line managers had no thought how a lot I or anybody else on my group have been being paid, nor did they care to ask as a result of the ultimate supply to staff have 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 non-public data and wasn’t related for him to do his job, however I argued again that, with out this data, he had no thought if we have been being paid pretty, and as the one who oversees our day-to-day work, he’s the perfect individual to know our price 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 obtained a major elevate that wasn’t prolonged to me.
Is that this regular? Are line managers often not advised how a lot their direct studies are being paid? Is that this not vital data they need to have to allow them to advocate for his or her group with senior management? That’s what I assumed at first, however now I’m questioning if I used to be the outlier and line managers are often not aware of this data attributable to knowledge privateness causes.
No, managers typically understand how 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 presently underpaying Cordelia for the market and danger dropping her over it) and really speak to your staff about their salaries, which is a traditional factor individuals deliver 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 underneath them in all kinds of the way).