It’s 4 solutions to 4 questions. Right here we go…
1. Our communal music is just too repetitive
I work in a artistic division at a reasonably conservative firm and am within the workplace 4 days every week. My coworkers and I share an enclosed house with particular person cubicles. A lot of my job entails writing. Although I can typically write with out “locking in,” “getting within the zone,” and many others., generally I do actually need to focus with minimal distraction.
Not too long ago, a coworker introduced in a small bluetooth speaker, and now we have taken turns enjoying music to enliven the house a bit. My supervisor is totally on board. To make it simpler and spend much less time twiddling with bluetooth, we’re utilizing a shared machine to hook up with Spotify. My coworkers – understandably – usually are not taking an excessive amount of time to seek out and choose music to play. They arrive in, press play on the machine, and let the playlist roll.
I like listening to music. I don’t love listening to the identical playlist over, and over, and over once more. Nevertheless it apparently solely bothers me to listen to the identical songs day out and in. I’ll attempt to placed on different music, which helps for a bit, however finally we discover our means again to the “default” playlist, which I assume relies off what you might have performed beforehand on the platform (It’s solely about 150-200 songs). When this occurs, I can barely concentrate on what I’m doing. I’ll pull out my very own ear buds, however they have an inclination to combine with the music on the speaker and make the issue worse.
I actually don’t wish to be the individual that wants to show off the music. This looks like one thing my coworkers actually take pleasure in, primarily based on how typically they’re discovering their means again to activate the speaker after it’s been off for the day or after a gathering. Nevertheless it’s starting to make me hate sure songs that I had no feeling about beforehand, not to mention the impact on my productiveness. I assume the answer is simply to stand up and alter the music when it begins bothering me — however I fear I’ll come off as overly involved about enjoying DJ when actually, I simply don’t wish to take heed to “Bittersweet Symphony” for the fifth time this week!
If it actually turns into an issue, I do know that I might be capable of simply say I want some quiet for a bit and switch it off. However do you might have any recommendations for deal with that with out being the workplace spoilsport?
I feel you’re overthinking it! Simply say, “Y’all, I like having the music on however I can’t take a lot repetition, so I’m going to take cost of switching up the playlists except another person desires to” after which try this. It shouldn’t be a giant deal. If something, individuals will in all probability recognize it.
Alternately, spend a while this weekend making a ridiculously big 30-hour playlist after which by no means give it some thought once more.
Nevertheless it’s additionally okay to say that having music on on a regular basis isn’t working for you! Having to write down whereas topic to another person’s musical selections can be tough for lots of writers.
2. Coworker is profiting from our WFH flexibility
I lead a extremely engaged group of exempt staff that work remotely ~90% of the time. Our division may be very supportive of labor/life stability and doesn’t penalize for issues like physician’s appointments or getting children off the bus. So long as conferences are lined and work will get completed, it’s all good. Now we have just a few required in-office days every month which happen on an everyday, predicable cadence.
One group member bends this flexibility greater than anyone else. Though their work output is sweet, there have been a number of cases of this particular person sending the group a listing of sporadic upcoming occasions that they might not be accessible through the day as a result of their little one’s daytime extracurricular actions. This as soon as resulted in a last-minute scramble to maneuver an necessary assembly that had been scheduled weeks in the past. One other time, they requested our supervisor to be exempt from all in-office days for a few months to accommodate a unique voluntary, child-related exercise (supervisor stated no). This worker lately known as into one other necessary assembly however couldn’t be heard over the background noise. They have been out of the home on an errand that would have occurred at one other time.
I reported this to our supervisor (who agrees with me) however can’t assist questioning if I’m being unfair. If this particular person was working round one thing extra obligatory and immovable, like healthcare wants, I wouldn’t assume twice. I don’t care if individuals work from a public place like a espresso store or library so long as they are often totally engaged in conferences. I don’t have children myself however have by no means encountered anyone else who has required this degree of daytime flexibility for non-essential actions. No person else on the large-ish group does this.
I perceive that if this particular person had simply quietly blocked their calendar with out offering any particulars, I might in all probability not be writing to you … however right here we’re. Is there any option to equitably standardize what acceptable flexibility appears to be like like, or ought to I simply erase the small print from my mind and fake they’re shuttling the youngsters forwards and backwards from physician’s appointments?
Extracurriculars are completely different from medical appointments. It’s affordable to say that whereas your group tries to permit staff flexibility with life stuff that comes up through the day, together with kid-related wants, individuals are anticipated to prioritize necessary conferences, take part in in-office days, and take work calls from a quiet place the place they’ll focus and with out disruptive background noise, in all however essentially the most uncommon/unavoidable of circumstances. And it’s affordable to outline “uncommon/unavoidable” as medical issues or uncommon private emergencies.
Since your supervisor appears to agree with that, she must make clear these expectations along with your coworker, who appears to be translating some flexibility into complete flexibility.
3. HR has applied a screening take a look at for candidates that no one can cross
A number of months in the past, our HR division applied a screening take a look at for all candidates that they have to cross earlier than being employed. This can be a timed take a look at, and the questions and acceptance standards are the identical for all jobs. Not one of the hiring managers had seen the take a look at or knew something concerning the questions when it was applied.
Solely about 5% of screened candidates have handed the take a look at. As you may think, that is inflicting points with hiring managers as they’re unable to fill open positions with candidates they’ve already evaluated and recognized nearly as good hires.
There was such disruption that HR determined to have all present staff take the take a look at and use the typical rating to think about adjusting the acceptance standards (particular person scores are supposed to stay nameless). This was the primary time any of us had seen the take a look at questions, and now it’s clear why candidates usually are not passing. Most, if not all, of the questions don’t pertain to the roles we’re hiring for. There are math phrase issues, phrase analogy issues, inductive reasoning sample issues used to display engineers, logic puzzles, and many others., all with a giant timer counting down the accessible time on the high of the display.
I see a LOT of points with this. The aptitudes and talents being examined usually are not related for all positions, and a few usually are not related for any positions at our firm. (No person right here must know the precise definition of “obfuscate” as a part of their job.) It’s biased towards candidates who’re functionally fluent in English however use it as their second language. It’s biased towards candidates who would carry out their jobs nicely however don’t carry out nicely on timed assessments. It might not be unlawful, however I can’t see how it’s helpful.
I raised these considerations with HR, and likewise instructed them that if this take a look at had been required after I utilized to my place a number of years in the past, I possible would have withdrawn my software. I might have seen it as an enormous purple flag that my efficiency wouldn’t be evaluated objectively primarily based on the job necessities however on random standards as an alternative. I think many candidates are both not finishing the take a look at or selecting solutions at random as a result of they’ve comparable considerations.
Am I off-base that this can be a unhealthy apply? Is there anything I can do as a hiring supervisor to persuade HR to alter this apply?
You aren’t off-base; that is ridiculous. It’s a elementary precept of hiring successfully that you simply display primarily based on the must-have’s and nice-to-have’s for the position you’re hiring for, not on elements that don’t have anything to do with somebody’s skill to carry out the job. Coincidentally, that additionally occurs to be a elementary precept of making certain you might have a various workforce with numerous views.
HR shouldn’t have this sort of energy. You and different hiring managers ought to push again laborious, declaring that HR’s job is to assist managers in hiring individuals who will carry out their jobs nicely, to not throw up roadblocks to discovering and hiring these individuals. Insist on listening to a justification for the take a look at and why it ought to trump your personal evaluation of what you want in candidates, insist on seeing knowledge about outcomes, and escalate it as excessive as you might want to.
4. Grownup photographs at work
Is displaying a coworker a nude pic of a celeb thought-about sexual harassment?
In the event that they don’t wish to see it, sure. If there are individuals close by who don’t wish to see it or hear about it, sure.