274
votes
How do I convince my employer to take my mention of resignation seriously?
Have you ever read "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"? Quit crying wolf. Stop worrying about what happens after your exit -- that's not your problem. Get focused on the exit.
- 42.2k
266
votes
I just found out that my recent promotion comes with an unexpected 24/7/365 on-call status
"today I learned it comes with 24/7/365 on-call to monitor mission
critical systems. The first time I fail to fix it within 20 minutes, I
will be fired"
Then you have really nothing to lose. That'...
- 115k
242
votes
How to deal with a subordinate constantly being in semi-professional chats
I would focus on her productivity, not her individual actions.
If her productivity is reasonable, then let it go. It's her process of getting more done at other times.
If her productivity is low, ...
- 4,449
221
votes
How can I get my engineers to accept being on call?
Recently our CTO mandated...
CTO is pretty set on the mandate.
The CTO's whims do not supersede the contract between your employee and the company. I'm surprised I need to explain this to someone who ...
- 17.2k
217
votes
How do I stop getting all of this work placed on me?
When your manager asks you to perform a task and you don't have time to do both that task and everything else you've committed to, tell him that. You can inform him of your workload and still be ...
- 5,219
200
votes
In a company crossing multiple timezones, is it rude to send a co-worker a work email in the middle of the night?
You might want to assure your co-worker that an immediate response is not expected to emails. Email facilitates "asynchronous" communication, letting people read and respond to them at their ...
- 47.2k
193
votes
Accepted
Having lunch at home
Let's look at this from a different angle. The laws of the land would classify this time away from your desk as not only lunch, but a lunch BREAK. And a break, by definition, means a separation of ...
- 42.2k
178
votes
I just found out that my recent promotion comes with an unexpected 24/7/365 on-call status
What the hell do I do now? I feel like I just got bait and switched
and I want to go back to my old position.
If that's the case, you should ask for a one-on-one meeting with your manager and ...
- 380k
162
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to work more than full-time for an employer?
You can make an impact programming and learning outside of your paid work.
There are many open source projects out there that are looking for talented individuals to help out.
Find something that ...
- 22k
159
votes
Is it a good idea to push new employees to prove themselves in their first 90 days?
If you want to burn out a potential good employee then go ahead and be "ambitious". Don't be surprised if they resign or are ineffective due to burnout.
- 78.2k
157
votes
I agreed to cancel a long-planned vacation (with travel costs) due to project deadlines, but now the timeline has all changed again
Should I do anything further (if so how) in terms of bringing this up
to management, project manager, etc?
They've already paid you in terms of your "expenses" and given you extra time off, so I'...
- 8,042
155
votes
Accepted
What do I do if a co-worker is leaving early frequently while the boss is out?
If I understand your question properly, this comes down to a matter of Fairness and Responsibility.
Fairness
"Everyone should work the same hours otherwise it isn't fair."
By saying this, you are ...
- 6,206
144
votes
Accepted
Meeting people (a friend) during remote work day
What is everyone's thoughts on this? I'm going to reschedule the
friend anyway, but for future reference especially with remote work,
what should I do in these cases? Should I talk to my boss about
...
- 380k
126
votes
How do I explain that I am in the office to work, not to have fun?
You can just tell your coworkers what you said here.
Of course, most people don't like feeling like as people they don't matter, so there's significant risk associated with this that cannot really be ...
- 111k
123
votes
Accepted
Will declining my company's many social events negatively influence my career?
When they said they valued get-togethers and game nights I expected the occasional friday afternoon gathering or a game night every now and then.
Did you actually tell them this?
If you decline, ...
- 21.1k
121
votes
How to deal with a boss that doesn't like you to take time off?
You are entitled to take your holidays, so the issue is with coming to an acceptable timeframe for your holidays.
If the manager will not give you time off, try asking him to provide you with dates ...
- 21.6k
119
votes
Accepted
How to balance quality and speed at work?
My project is related to previous projects (that are resolved), that have many bugs and I fix them along with my project.
Stop paying their debt. When you encounter a bug, write it up. If it doesn't ...
- 1,319
117
votes
Why do the huge tech companies not have bedrooms?
Laws
Buildings where people sleep have different laws than buildings where people work. Buildings where many people sleep, while these people don't live there (most of these are called hotels), again ...
- 14.5k
110
votes
How do I convince my employer to take my mention of resignation seriously?
Find another job and give them two weeks notice. NOTHING ELSE will get their attention. A similar situation happened with an employer of mine. This fellow warned them two years prior to giving ...
- 159k
106
votes
I just found out that my recent promotion comes with an unexpected 24/7/365 on-call status
This is one of those times when Gordon England's classic question would have been really useful.
When they sprang the 24/7/365/"20 minutes"/"no backup personnel" story on you, you could have had a ...
- 8,181
105
votes
Stressed at work with no obvious source
How do I determine whether the stress is caused by my job, or
something else particular to me?
I am not a doctor, but based on what little I can glean from this post, your work is not causing you ...
- 84.8k
105
votes
How can I argue against the idea of working overtime to fix bugs (constantly)?
I think there are already answers covering many aspects, but if you're looking for a good response to this emotional manipulation, you could maybe say something like that:
If I am not rested, I ...
- 839
104
votes
Excessive Demands Prior to Start Date
What you've described is a relatively common experience in startups, especially the ones with less rigid work/life balance expectations.
That doesn't mean the work doesn't respect those limits, it may,...
- 32.7k
103
votes
Is it unprofessional to bring your spouse/kids to work to visit?
Personally I find the whole notion of bringing the family in to the office for a visit deeply weird. I mean having them drop by for a specific purpose (such as meeting for lunch, or dropping something ...
- 107k
103
votes
My employer is demanding that I change my lifestyle
You should make the effort.
Where you live and eat is unimportant, but how you present yourself is critical. And this is what people are looking at the most.
In my locale I know people with no vehicle,...
- 218k
100
votes
Is it professional to tell my boss that major illness in my family was the reason for my lack of productivity?
My wife has a mass in her lung. It's likely cancer.
First of all, I'm sorry about your mom. You're going to continue to be a mess.
You need to tell your boss. It's not a matter of whether it's ...
- 43.3k
97
votes
How can I get my engineers to accept being on call?
If he genuinely asked and was informed "no on call" you can't force him to give up his personal time. Otherwise what you are doing is changing his job description without his consent.
Even ...
- 19.2k
94
votes
Is it unprofessional to bring your spouse/kids to work to visit?
I see no problem if your wife and kids comes in once in a while and you show them around.
You need to be certain that it does not disrupt your work and and your colleagues' work.
You can tell your ...
- 1,585
92
votes
How to refuse to work when on vacation while keeping relationships as best as possible?
I send an email to all my colleagues a few days before going on vacation (also setup an auto responder, and a similar worded one for external contacts (clients)).
It says something similar to:
I will ...
- 13.5k
91
votes
Accepted
In my department everyone CC's everyone else with the reason for their absence. How to avoid this?
I'd just not give a reason. If anyone asks, look at them like they said something weird, because they did.
- 3,710
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