Questions tagged [work-environment]
Questions relating to the various physical and psychological factors in the workplace.
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How can you handle an office romance that has ended?
In the workplace, office romance is discouraged. However, it is one of the prime places in adulthood that relationships begin. What is the appropriate action to take when a serious or long-term ...
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64
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5
answers
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Returning to the workplace after sexual harassment and arrest of harasser
I put up with harassment/sexual harassment & threats of violence from my General Duty Manager at work - I finally went to the Police after 5 months as I could not take it any more and they are now ...
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25
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9
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How to handle employer expecting someone to do work against their conscience?
A friend of mine who recently graduated from college came across a situation at work that has put her into a moral conundrum. Her employer/the owner of the small company (5-7 in house employees, plus ...
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How do I approach my boss about a side project?
Recently (~1.5 mos.) started a position at a tech startup, in a tech support position.
Some friends and I are thinking about forming a company to see if a project that we've been working on is viable ...
anon
28
votes
2
answers
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Workplace temperature and noise get too high
Does anyone know of some well written papers or research documents documenting that people working in doors on computers all day (programming as in my case), work better in quite cool environments. I ...
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Should I ask for work from my team leader when the project is almost complete? [duplicate]
I have been working on a project for 4 months and the project is almost complete. Now I have no work from my team leader and I am spending this time to learn something new in my technology. But I am ...
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How to find warning signs about a company's business practices during a job interview?
When going to interviews, I often want to take a peek at how the company works on the inside, but they may not show you everything or want to "keep up appearances" to make them more inviting. ...
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12
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How do I ask for internal network access in my office?
I do a lot of work in an open room where we have a strict no-Internet-access network. The room has a large table with several computers where my coworkers hop from computer to computer doing different ...
- 224
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Refusing to do something that makes you uncomfortable
I work for a small company where one of the primary investors and managing partners happens to be a national celebrity (who will go unnamed). This person also plays the role of spokesperson and ...
- 20.6k
25
votes
4
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Dealing with unpleasant food odors
Several coworkers and I share a rather small working area (not absurdly tiny, but small enough to cause this problem). Most of us usually eat lunch in the cafeteria area, and sometimes at our desks. ...
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36
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6
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Should I help co-workers with their projects?
A new employee joined our company 2 months ago. He was a newbie (well, I am not a pro either, but I definitely know more than he does) so he often asked me for help. And today when I arrived at work I ...
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What is the protocol when you are talking with your boss and his phone rings?
I've encounter several times when I am talking to my boss that his phone rings. He picks up the phone and starts talking. The talking could last for 5 minutes or 15 minutes, depending on the content ...
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28
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3
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How to deal with the new boss's power-tripping sidekick [closed]
I'm a software developer in a small company. Recently the company hired a new department head after the previous one resigned. Thereafter the new department head hired his friend/colleague from his ...
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1
answer
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Is someone who wears a wedding ring perceived as a more responsible individual [closed]
I'm curious as to the perceptions of wearing a wedding ring in an interview and/or office setting. While it is personal information that is not relevant to job performance, does wearing a wedding ...
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Employers installing keyloggers on work PC [closed]
I am in Canada. Is it legal for your employer to install a keylogger or other monitoring software on your workplace PC without informing you of this fact? Do I have any right regarding this?
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Numbered rooms in the workplace
What are the disadvantages (if any) to having numbered rooms in an office?
Numbering rooms is obviously helpful as a way to navigate to a room and to unambiguously talk about a precise room.
Are ...
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4
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How can I restore a work relationship?
When I joined the company my co-worker was very nice; he taught me a lot of things, always paid attention to my questions and he really tried to help the most he could.
However, as time passed and I ...
user1544
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3
answers
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How can I get to know the name of people in a meeting?
Sometimes my boss brings me to a meeting with other people who I don't know. When we arrived, the meeting just get started without introducing each other. My boss doesn't seem to bother about this ...
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16
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2
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Appropriate, manager-friendly way to handle ADA-accommodations in a competitive industry
I work in the software industry, which can be pretty competitive. I am an excellent programmer but programming positions almost always involve some sort of overtime situation. I've had some that are ...
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4
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In a new job should I be quiet initially or engaging
I have a personality that many folks say they find engaging and a big asset to me.
In a new job should I be out-going and gregarious and try to engage and talk to as many people as possible, or ...
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3
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answer
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I get lots of hand cramps from both mouse and keyboard use, how can I minimize that? [closed]
I am a programmer and sometimes I get Repetitive Stress from using the keyboard and mouse a lot.
I find that my hand gets 'crampy' after a while and I have to keep switching hands for the mouse.
Is ...
- 11.3k
8
votes
6
answers
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Should I try and remain seated as much as possible while at a desk job?
I have been observing my supervisor and found that he doesn't move around much. In contrast, I move around the office quite often. I go to the restroom, go to the pantry to refill my tea about 5-6 ...
- 1,800
34
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18
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Mental Issues from Lack of Movement - how to Address?
I'm a year into my first career step, working as a software -developer/-architect/-programmer/etc for a company of less than 20 people.
During the past year, I've developed anxiety, depression, rage ...
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1
answer
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Agreeing to mandatory arbitration as condition of employment -- what rights are given up?
A relative of mine is working for a New York firm that has recently had to pay after being sued for workplace harassment & retaliation. Now, they are requiring that all employees sign an ...
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Recovering from bad career decisions
In my field I hold professional credentials that only a handful of others in the world hold. Those credentials are in high demand.
In the late 1990s, I joined a large company and stayed with them ...
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15
votes
2
answers
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How should I respond when a coworker says something offensive or inappropriate?
I've been in workplaces where it wasn't uncommon for others to express derogatory remarks about large groups of people, for example an ethnic group. Sometimes this includes groups I identify with, ...
- 1,006
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5
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How should I greet co-workers?
I know this may be a very newbie question, but I really want to know.
When you come in for a new day of work and see coworkers, is it common to shake hands, or simply say "hi" or "morning" ? Or Do ...
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11
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2
answers
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What can I do to learn undocumented knowledge quickly?
I've recently been successful in an internal training programme in my workplace, where if after three years I can pass some exams and get signed off, I will be promoted three grades above my current ...
user1221
4
votes
1
answer
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Dealing with a bipolar boss [closed]
My boss is really a brilliant guy, gutsy, full of ideas and very driven. Lately he has been exhibiting a very irrational behavior, squandering deals, blaming everybody, and we are beginning to lose ...
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How to improve non-verbal communication in the workplace
I want to greatly improve my non-verbal communication in my workplace.
From Wikipedia: "Speech contains nonverbal elements known as paralanguage, including voice quality, rate, pitch, volume, and ...
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Balance between quiet workplace and necessary discussion
We are having some strain in the team due to the level of noise in the office.
Background: We share a single office with a team of six software developers. We generally have a good team atmosphere, ...
- 11.8k
12
votes
2
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Is it legal to discriminate against smokers in one's company in Canada or USA?
Being a non-smoker myself, I often find working with smokers to be irritating for various reasons. Are there any laws prohibiting the employers from discriminating against smoker employees in their ...
- 1,755
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votes
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Colleague cursing while another is on the phone
How would I break the ice to a colleague that needs to be reminded to not curse while another colleague near them is on the phone? I'm sure it came out naturally, which I don't mind, but I'd like to ...
- 209
8
votes
2
answers
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Automatically measure effectiveness of communication in a virtual office?
I've seen articles on passively measuring and optimizing professional communication that appear to lead me to believe that such systems are both of value, and that people are okay with them being in ...
- 1,006
27
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6
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Security clearance jobs: will security make it hard to get work done?
In many government or defense contractor jobs, some level of security clearance is required because the work is supposed to be "secret". In other words, employees aren't allowed to talk about what ...
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How do I adjust my workplace to reduce eye strain?
My vision is worse than average for software developers. In addition to accuity (not the subject of this question), one problem I have is light-sensitivity. I find that staring at a computer monitor ...
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Are there any strategies you can use to remain focused when working in an open plan environment?
I work in an open plan office that houses about 50 to 60 people. It is mostly engineers at their desks working away, so it is a typical office environment. As you can imagine, sometimes, the noise and ...
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How can I improve communication at a virtual office?
I just started working at a virtual office. I am finding that communication is harder as people have different schedules but you're not sure when they're around, if they're online, if they're ...
- 11.3k
16
votes
7
answers
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Value of working onsite versus remotely in a programming internship
I received an offer for a summer internship that's on the other side of the country from my university. I have the option of working remotely, and since I'm having trouble finding someone to sublet ...
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How to introduce gamification to your workplace
From Wikipedia:
Gamification is the use of game design techniques, game thinking and game mechanics to enhance non-game contexts. Typically gamification applies to non-game applications and ...
- 1,755
20
votes
2
answers
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Productivity level and access to "distracting websites" at work
There have been many mentions about employees wasting a lot of their time at work visiting Facebook, YouTube and other "distracting websites", thus making their productivity suffer. Some companies ...
- 1,755
11
votes
2
answers
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What should a freelancer do to prepare himself/herself for the transition to working as an employee?
Freelancers are used to their own schedule/deadlines/whatnot. If a freelancer has to take employment (for whatever reason), they will have to start working in the more rigid workplace.
What should a ...
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Should I encourage my coworkers to share their salaries with each other?
Objectively speaking, the only party that would not benefit from everyone knowing what everybody else earns (specially people in similar positions) is the employer.
Yet, there's a stigma about it.
...
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14
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4
answers
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How can I ask for more positive reinforcement?
I found out that what fuels me to do well at work is positive reinforcement from bosses, colleagues, and customers.
My current job at a start-up is very demanding. My boss doesn't have time to give ...
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