531
votes
Can I work just what I'm paid for while leaving?
Work your contractually obligated two hours and leave. You aren’t a slave.
- 2,503
433
votes
How do I prevent colleagues from making fun of the length of my password?
You just ignore that sort of thing and eventually your colleague goes to bug someone else. Don't feed him and don't let it impact your morale; it's not important.
- 218k
373
votes
Called into a meeting and told we are being made redundant (laid off) and "not to share outside". Can I tell my partner?
You're not in the army, in prison or at school - you can tell whoever you like. What are they going to do if you do ?
- 2,157
366
votes
Called into a meeting and told we are being made redundant (laid off) and "not to share outside". Can I tell my partner?
In a situation where you're asked to do something uncanny, like be silent about getting laid off, it might be helpful to reflect on why they're asking you to do that. Instead of just obeying and then ...
- 22.4k
302
votes
Accepted
How do I prevent colleagues from making fun of the length of my password?
Professionally, I'm a sysadmin. The bane of my life is users who won't take security seriously, those who treat it as a joke, as your colleague does. Many years ago, I used to have an Oracle DBA who ...
- 1,831
284
votes
Accepted
How to turn down request from prospective employer for current employer's code?
Don't do it.
Not by giving access, not by screen sharing, not even by describing what is inside (like what security algorithms).
Your job as software developer is to create safe and secure ...
- 2,968
273
votes
What can we do to stop prior company from asking us questions?
The most effective way is to tell them you charge X per hour for answering questions, and they need to give you an address where to send invoices.
Having to explain your bill will stop most people ...
- 168k
269
votes
Accepted
Given an ultimatum, threatened with dismissal
When threatened with dismissal, the first step is to consult a lawyer. After you did this, follow the advice given. Most likely it will include talking to your seniors about the fact that they gave ...
- 137k
268
votes
My boss is taking a leave of absence and leaving the company to us
Whether or not the company shuts down is not your problem. It's not your company. Focus purely on what is best for you. If you're not getting basic rights and pay, then you should have been job ...
- 218k
251
votes
Trainee keeps missing deadlines for independent learning
You're approaching this with a waterfall mindset: First she learns everything she needs to know, and then applies it to your in-house stuff.
The thing is waterfall doesn't work. You don't know what ...
- 22.6k
248
votes
Is it unprofessional to simply announce your absence in case of a family death?
First things first, you have my condolences.
Appropriateness of actions always depends on context, and in this case, the context is the death of a family member. I would say, in general, you should ...
- 4,601
246
votes
Accepted
What can we do to stop prior company from asking us questions?
Is there anything I can do to simply tell them to bug off?
Just stop answering their questions.
Nothing says "bug off" quite like not giving answers to repeated questions.
You've trained them to ...
- 380k
237
votes
Retaining ambitious employee with rare skill set
the only real option might be to write her a good letter of reference and let her go.
This.
Then six months after Alice has left, get back in touch with her and see if she'll put in a good word for ...
- 107k
236
votes
Fired because your skills are too far above your coworkers
Well I hate to burst your bubble but if this is the third time this happened that almost rules out "it's not you, it's them". Your title says that you were fired for being "indispensable" but apart ...
- 59.3k
235
votes
Accepted
CEO tells employees what they should do next, bypassing company hierarchy
Can I or my supervisor do something to change this behavior?
The CEO can pretty much do whatever they want, the smaller the company the more arbitrary they can be.
My strategy to mitigate against ...
- 218k
232
votes
Accepted
How to avoid previous employer who is nagging me to do their job?
I tried ghosting them, told them I signed several contracts that
forbid me from assisting any other business, but in vain. They are
reluctantly sending me lists of tasks as if I'm still on their
...
- 380k
230
votes
Accepted
How to say No to idea given by team member, when I know from my experience that it is going to fail?
You do this by presenting the thought process that led you to this conclusion - not the conclusion alone.
This gives the team, or the individual, a chance to offer their perspective regarding your ...
- 4,357
224
votes
Accepted
Client wants me to do something explicitly illegal
First of all, thank you, personally (1), for stepping up and making the right decision. We need more engineers human beings like you.
I am completely on board with your assessment and current decision ...
- 70k
219
votes
How should I respond when I lied about my education and the company finds out through background check?
In some locations, it is a crime to provide certain types of false information to a potential employer. If this is the case where you are, or you are not sure, you should consider Eric Lippert's ...
- 59.4k
216
votes
Mass resignation (including boss), boss's boss asks for handover of work, boss asks not to. What to do?
You have not been paid for services provided. You are under no obligation to continue to provide services with no expectation of payment. You can still do as you wish, but if I'm not getting paid, I'm ...
- 1,071
213
votes
Unable to complete a task at work due to lack of relevant skill. How should I tell my employer?
First, change your attitude.
It is not that you cannot complete the task, it is that you lack the knowledge and expertise.
The difference? If you say "I can't do it" to your employer, you may as ...
- 159k
206
votes
Accepted
Is it okay for my family to intervene when my boss treats me unfairly in the first few days of work?
Is it okay for my family to intervene in my career, workplace or professional life?
No. Never.
As a working professional, you and you alone are responsible for managing your interactions with your ...
- 59.3k
201
votes
Accepted
My boss frequently calls me outside work hours. How should I deal with it?
The symptom here is that you get calls outside the working time. The issue however is that your boss isn't getting the level of updates he wants on what you've done/are going to be doing. So I won't ...
193
votes
Getting more value out of an introverted person
She will however not actively seek out discussions and talk to people about the issues they are facing
Who on earth would?
She strongly believes people need to come to her.
And she's right. No ...
- 59.3k
193
votes
Accepted
Employees unhappy with change of workplace to an inconvenient location
Is it true that I do not have much of a choice or did I overlook some
possibility?
Besides the basic stuff, such as carpooling, providing extra time off, or paying them additional money for their ...
- 84.8k
188
votes
Accepted
Dealing with the unexpected death of an employee
At my previous company, the well-liked co-founder and CEO died suddenly on a Sunday. On Monday morning there was a company-wide meeting to share the news (it wasn't already in the news like yours was)...
- 52.9k
174
votes
Gave a bad feedback to an employee on an appraisal and my manager has basically demoted me
What did I do wrong? Why am I being penalized for giving a bad appraisal?
The CEO told you what you did wrong:
He basically said during the last 2 months I should have complained to him about her so ...
- 24.8k
173
votes
Accepted
My employer (client) wants me to work in “ghost” mode
Get everything in writing
The client wants you to do a job that is substantially different than what's in your employment contract.
They want you to do it under unusual and technically-challenging ...
- 24.8k
173
votes
Trainee keeps missing deadlines for independent learning
I'll address the elephant in the room here:
You have a trainee. And you refuse to train her. Instead you sent her to please train herself and come back when done.
That's not going to work. If that ...
- 137k
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