284
votes
Accepted
Should I talk to my team lead about unintentional sexism within the team?
I was wondering if this is a safe topic of conversation in a one to
one meeting with my team lead.
This behavior is an acceptable topic, jumping to conclusion as to the cause isn't. I would come ...
- 33.9k
282
votes
Accepted
Asking for help in IT in a senior position while keeping credibility
Asking for help when you don't know something isn't weak - no one person can know all the details of each technology they will encounter. And assuming that it's not happening with every aspect of the ...
- 95k
277
votes
How can I interact professionally with female colleagues whose appearance I find distracting?
I know how you feel; I came from a rural and traditional background as well and went through this several years ago. Here are a few things I wish someone had told me:
These women are not dressing ...
- 1,809
277
votes
Staying late for appearance?
The short answer: "Because I do not supervise them."
If they don't report to you, you don't control their work or assignments, and shouldn't have to stay late due to whatever is going on, whether ...
- 61.3k
277
votes
Accepted
Should I reveal productivity tricks to peers, or keep them to myself in order to be more productive than the others?
If you reveal it publicly (that is, everyone knows you have trained your peers) not only will you be more productive, but your whole team will be, and management will know why. By advancing the ...
- 139k
268
votes
Accepted
How to handle a senior developer diva who seems unaware that his skills are obsolete?
The founder responded that they are overreacting, and that he has an absolute trust in the skills of the new lead, based on his CV and the interview, which is exactly why he assigned to this person ...
- 42.6k
257
votes
Accepted
How to politely write 'I work best when working alone' in a CV
Generally you want to avoid expressing out and out preferences for this sort of thing in a CV but instead make obvious that the company will get the best results by giving you what you want, you're on ...
- 95k
240
votes
Accepted
How to deal with a "team leader" who hates it that developers contribute to Stack Overflow during work downtime
He doesn't want us to contribute for Stack Overflow in the leisure time, rather he's
poking us to provide support for mediocre developers who struggle to
complete their task on time.
Yesterday he got ...
- 347k
239
votes
Team being on standby on weekends?
Your CEO noticed on Monday that something went wrong. So apparently he or she thought it was fine for themselves not to be on standby.
Fact is: Being on standby is something that people will want ...
- 151k
232
votes
How can I get employees to respect the leave policy?
There already is a policy in place that says staff should inform at least 24 hours in advance - which no one seems to care about, clearly.
Because it is completely out of touch with reality. You ...
- 109k
231
votes
Can layoffs have a positive effect for a business due to the remaining employees thinking "If I don't work harder, I may be the next"?
the remaining ones will work hard in fear that if I don't work harder I may be the next
Much more likely that the remaining ones will think "better jump, before I get pushed".
And, the best of them ...
228
votes
Staying late for appearance?
Am I doing anything wrong?
Yes. You are working 66-hour weeks and taking part in a culture that promotes even longer hours. You are considering going even further into dogmatic presenteeism in which ...
- 7,764
226
votes
Accepted
Team members spending too much time on Stack Overflow
I suggest you focus on the real problem which is that work is not being completed in a timely manner and there is a loss of quality.
If you feel they have too much free time to spend here, then ...
- 141k
206
votes
Non-technical project manager, how to repair poor relationship with subordinates?
With all due respect, I don't believe that the entirety of the problem sits with the staff.
You wrote:
The employees are young and impressionable.
and
"Most of them are not college graduates ...
- 156k
197
votes
Accepted
How to deal with an intern's lack of basic skills?
First step is to apologize to the intern.
It's likely both of you are frustrated with how the time has been going. If the intern has had a year of college, it means they are basically a high school ...
- 110k
190
votes
Accepted
Approach sick days in feedback meeting
He follows all the company policies for sick days, so from the HR
perspective there is no problem.
Then there's no problem that needs resolving.
Should I approach his sick days in the feedback ...
- 39.2k
166
votes
Accepted
How do I tell my PM the priorities must change now?
Here's the secret: Stop working above your role.
You're a developer. The assignment of resources and negotiations outside your department is NOT your role. It is your manager's, and he is ...
- 61.3k
166
votes
How to justify getting additional team member when the current team is doing well?
Question: How to properly justify a team increase given that we don't have an output issue? (we are delivering in an acceptable manner already)
Stop working overtime and see if your team can still ...
- 65.1k
160
votes
Accepted
How do I give feedback when I know more about the topic than the presenter?
As a speaker, I never want to be nitpicked or corrected. I can sometimes handle it when it's important and relevant for this audience. Usually, it isn't. Usually, I've decided to simplify things ...
- 139k
160
votes
Accepted
Should I inform my future product owner that there is a good chance that a team member will leave the company soon?
Would you want a co-worker to alert management if they suspected you were leaving?
The problem here is that you could really damage someone's career by precipitating his termination before he finds ...
- 20.9k
156
votes
Fair treatment for employees always late due to public transport
I myself rely on public transport to get to work. I've taken several steps to mitigate the issues, hopefully they will help.
Talked to my boss about the situation and worked with him to find a ...
- 1,695
156
votes
Accepted
How should I tell a colleague I don't think he's qualified for a lead role?
How can I tell him that based on skills I don't see him as an
appropriate candidate for the position in question without ruining our
team spirit?
You don't. You wish him good luck and that's it. It'...
- 1,474
152
votes
Muslim colleague is uncomfortable with 1:1 meeting and work culture — to what degree should I accommodate?
To what extent should I accomodate her requests?
To the extent that you accommodate any request that you could extend to all your other team members as well.
If it is no problem to offer a solution ...
- 109k
147
votes
Accepted
How do I tell my colleagues that the codebase they've built is a total mess and their practices are ancient?
tl;dr
This is not a technical problem it's a people problem. Treat it as such.
I ain't changin' anything!
You are off to a really bad start and it has nothing to do with the code.
It sounds like your ...
- 110k
147
votes
Accepted
How acceptable is it to openly compare team member performances
It's not.
If I'm evaluating your performance then Bob and Alice have no bearing on the review. Now truthfully I'm human and I may think of comparisons to each other (and to other people I've worked ...
- 8,269
146
votes
Accepted
I've been asked to resign and leave, what to do and how do I tell my team?
Based on your comment, you are located in the United States.
If I were you, I would not resign. I would continue doing my job and give the best performance I could (Edit: Exactly for getting ...
- 8,723
145
votes
Accepted
When is it acceptable to share personal information I have about a coworker who disappeared?
You should not share this with people because A) you can't be sure it's her and B) you can't be sure if she wants you to share this with the company.
What you can do, is contact her over this service ...
- 35.4k
144
votes
Team members' and manager's behaviour is indifferent after I announce my intention to leave in 8 months
It is just corporate life, not you
A colleague of mine returned from a 4-week vacation yesterday. In that time, our boss left for a new company. Maybe 3 minutes was spent catching the colleague up on ...
- 46.8k
134
votes
Accepted
Is a public "shoutouts" channel a good or bad idea?
I used to work for a very large US based company that used to pride itself in having a very large number of Engineers. It would constantly boast about the large numbers and how technically excellent ...
- 1,133
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible