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I work as a software developer in Germany and switched jobs six months ago. My new company is a small private company of 15 employees, with their own office building. I've worked there for half a year now and the boss told me that they are very satisfied with my work and me as a person. He told me, that I fit well into the company and everything is fine. We keep an open communication culture.

However, I still don't have free access to the office. All other employees, even two colleagues who were hired just two months ago, have their own digital access card. Each time I want to access the building, I have to ring and wait at the door and my colleagues have to open the door for me. I feel very uncomfortable about this, since they get interrupted from work every time. My boss knows that I have no keys, in fact he opened the door a few times himself.

Should I ask my boss why I still have no access, and when I will receive an access card? I'm not sure if this is considered rude or unprofessional, since my contract does not mention anything about access to the building.

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    Welcome to the site @Anon. I've rewritten your question to make it flow a bit better and have replaced the "keys" with an "access card" which is what I presume you're talking about. Employees commonly get access cards but very few get physical keys to the building so that was a bit confusing. If it's not an access card but something else please edit that in.
    – Lilienthal ♦
    Commented Sep 22, 2017 at 21:12
  • @Lilienthal at my last job, we all had physical keys - first man to the door had to unlock the front door and it would remain unlocked until the last man out at the end of the day... It took my a few months to get my key - luckily there was a coffee shop underneath our office so I'd just sit and drink coffee if the door was locked.
    – HorusKol
    Commented Sep 23, 2017 at 2:29
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    I would have asked about five and a half months ago.
    – Simon B
    Commented Sep 23, 2017 at 21:14

2 Answers 2

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There's nothing rude about asking if it hasn't been discussed before.

Hey boss, I was wondering if I could get a set of keys to prevent me having to hang around outside the door? It's going to start getting cold soon!

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    yeah the boss probably thought you forgot your passkey
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Commented Sep 22, 2017 at 15:07
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    More than likely, the boss isn't the one responsible for handing out keys, so he doesn't see it as his obligation to make sure you get your's. "Hey boss, do you know who I can talk to about getting an office key?"
    – AffableAmbler
    Commented Sep 22, 2017 at 19:21
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    You might want to word it as "When should I expect to have an access card? Is there someone else I should be asking?" Set everybody's expectations appropriately. If the expected day arrives with no card, ask again.
    – Mike Harris
    Commented Sep 23, 2017 at 20:01
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    @AffableAmbler It may not be the boss' job to hand out the actual key, but it is their responsibility to make sure that their reports have what they need to be able to do their job. If you can't access the building, you can't get to your desk to do your job. It might very well be that the boss' response is "you should go talk to X, they will give you a key" but one should never be afraid to ask their boss for something they need in order to be able to work.
    – Cronax
    Commented Sep 26, 2017 at 15:23
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    @Cronax, I'm not saying op should be afraid to ask his boss. He should ask him. The only point I was trying to make is that the boss most likely isn't intentionally preventing him from getting a key.
    – AffableAmbler
    Commented Sep 27, 2017 at 23:37
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Yes you should ask, since that would be a good point of discussion between you and your boss as other facilities/jobs would already give you access once you have been hired.

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