How do I tell my fabulous bosses (who let me bring my baby to work) I’m leaving?
November 13, 2008 – 1:06 pm
Dear Office-Politics,
Hello and thank you for this forum. My question has to do with three really fabulous bosses. I was hired this February doing office work for the municipal government of a small town (VERY small, under 1,200 people). They hired me without knowing I was pregnant. I had decided (after much ethical dilemma) not to mention my pregnancy in the interview process since it would be illegal for them to take my pregnancy into account in their decision of who to hire. I’m also aware that even though it is the law not to discriminate, other people become much more qualified when you are pregnant.
After I was hired, I told them about my pregnancy and they were disappointed that I did not tell them during the interview but mostly, they were OK with it. A month after they saw my performance, they all voted to let me have the baby in the office until she was not exclusively nursed or when she started crawling (if she wasn’t a disruption). Four months into the job, my pregnancy became complicated and I was hospitalized for a month and forced to have my baby 5 weeks early. They were 100% supportive. More…
Holiday Hiring Forecast: Weak
BY JOHN A. CHALLENGER
Bleak conditions for retailers as the holiday selling period approaches are expected to keep seasonal hiring well below last year’s level, according to the annual holiday hiring forecast by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Retailers are facing an uphill battle this year. Consumers are tapped and credit is increasingly harder to come by. Meanwhile, retailers’ shipping costs are ballooning thanks to gas prices, and the weak dollar is raising the price of imported goods. With profits already getting squeezed, most retailers are going to be reluctant to take on the additional cost of extra staffing.
While Challenger anticipates some holiday hiring this year, it is expected to fall well short of the 727,500 seasonal job gains averaged over the previous decade. In fact, if spring hiring is any indication, this could be the weakest holiday hiring season since 2001, when retail employment grew by only 585,300 jobs, as consumer and retailer confidence plummeted in the wake of September 11th.
Sweet Sammy — the ambitious backstabber
Dear Office-Politics,
I need your expertise in dealing with what I believe to be an overly ambitious backstabber. I am my boss’ longest employee, love my job, very loyal, dedicated, and love my co-workers. My boss and co-workers are like extended family to me. Almost 2 years ago, a woman (I’ll call her Sammy) joined our team without team members’ consent and she has been a problem for me ever since. The team members were not consulted on our opinions, Sammy was hired by my boss without us ever interviewing her.
Sammy acts very sweet in front of everybody, but most importantly to my boss, then she backstabs them. She is very ambitious and will destroy anything that stands in her way. That first thing in her way, is me. I am more of a body language and facial expression reader than pure listener, so when she is emotional or lies about anything, I know.
Jobs Will Be Job One For New President
BY JOHN A. CHALLENGER
OUTLOOK: POST-ELECTION JOB CREATION
Jobs are on the forefront of many Americans’ minds going into this election season, especially job seekers. Each candidate promises to enact policies that will help ignite a recovery and new job growth, but where that growth occurs will depend heavily on who wins in November.
A McCain win will likely mean job gains in oil and gas, aerospace/defense, nuclear engineering, insurance, automotive and financial services.
Meanwhile, an Obama win could help spur job growth in education, telecommunications, manufacturing, alternative energy industries and construction.
It is impossible to say which future president will succeed in delivering an economic recovery and job growth, primarily because so many other factors will play a role in determining the outcome of their policy initiatives. All we can forecast now is where the job growth should be, based on each candidate’s policy objectives and priorities. For example, Obama has stated his intention of funding more research associated with alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power. Meanwhile, McCain wants to lower our dependence on foreign oil by tapping our own resources and relying more on nuclear energy.
Dream job or deal with the devil?
Dear Office-Politics,
11 months ago I landed my dream job. I doubled my salary overnight, and gained a “Director” title as a 26 year old. Of course, nothing is too good to be true, and at the time I realized I may have made a deal with the devil. I decided I would counteract all challenges by putting in extra hours, being extremely compliant, taking on more than was asked of me, and absorbing everything I could to maximize this incredible opportunity.
After 6 months, my lone employee resigned, thus, I had to take over her job responsibilities as well. While I was adept at managing her process, I was not familiar with her procedures and the time allocation necessary to execute her more administrative/procedural job tasks. As a result, my primary role suffered as I tried to finesse her role.
I’m a cookie monster on my own birthday!?
Dear Office-Politics,
I work in an office where there is a double standard. I feel as if I am being “picked on” by the boss (who is old enough to be my mother). It has been going on for a long time; I won’t bore you with past details. My most recent frustration came when “Boss” blindsided me with a “Can I see you in my office?” email.
Back story – “Boss” was out of the office for 3 days, so our dept Lead was in charge. The “Lead” was stressed, screaming at her computer/e-mail, slamming things on her desk, etc. while in charge. When I asked the lead a question that I knew she would have an answer to, she replied with, “I don’t know,” and a bad attitude. Needless to say, I had to call someone who used to work with us to get the information. Lead’s behavior/attitude caused added stress unto me and others, so I copped an attitude back.
So, when I went into Boss’ office, I was told that my attitude was unacceptable and my behavior (i.e. slamming things on my desk, sighing, making minor comments, etc.) was a distraction to everyone in the dept and did not make for a good environment. The day after I was reprimanded, I heard the Lead scream at her computer, “Oh, great. Thanks _____, thanks for telling me that NOW that I’ve processed your damn order.” The Lead has continued to exert the same behavior/attitude that I was reprimanded for, yet she has not been reprimanded as it still continues to this day.
Oldest Americans Gain Jobs Even As Other Age Groups Suffer Losses
The slowing economy has dampened the demand for older workers, but not much. The number of workers 55 and older is still growing significantly while those younger than 45 struggle with widespread job loss.
An analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. found that employment among those 55 and older grew by 3.7 percent from 25,686,000 in July 2007 to 26,631,000 in July 2008. The number of employed 20- to 44-year-olds declined by an average of 1.3 percent during the same period.
The new report shatters the myth that older workers are particularly vulnerable in this economic downturn.
The fact is pared down companies may increasingly rely on seasoned veterans to get them through the downturn. They may cost more in salary and benefits, but their experience and knowledge make them highly valued.
Am I being demoted?
Dear Office-Politics,
I’ve been working in this new field that I really like for the past 6 months and according to my boss “performing very well”. However, one of my experienced teammates resigned and will be replaced by a very senior person who will take on a “supervisory role” – nice way to say I’ll be demoted.
When I confronted my manager with this, she said it was more a “coaching role” than an actual supervision and no additional layers will be added to the structure of the department (which I find hard to believe). My other teammate is also confirming my doubts.
Are you the best person to be the manager?
Dear Office Politics,
I have just been hired as marketing manager of a team of 8 in a finance-related company. This is my first team leader experience. I have 10-years very generic experience in marketing, in various industries but not that one.
One member of my team was hired only 2 months before me. She has as much working experience and equivalent diploma as I have, and she is also more skilled than me in finance. She has previous team managing experience and knows some marketing techniques I have not yet mastered. Basically, she could perfectly have been hired at my position.
Am I the (pregnant) fall guy?
Dear Office-Politics,
I took a job 3 years ago with a start-up tech company as a software engineer.
Dream job, but my boss turned out to be not so good at business and less good at managing people. The business is losing money like crazy, and worse, my relationship with my boss is souring. I have a coworker with whom I have never worked well despite my best efforts, and he’s threatened to quit if I’m not fired. The boss’ response? To ream me out for “not getting along with others”, despite a reluctance or inability to tell me exactly what the problem with my behavior is or what I have supposedly said or done to offend. As of today I have been told that I may not have any discussion with any co-worker in my department or any other. I must dress “business casual” whereas my co-workers (and boss) may continue to wear t-shirts and jeans or shorts.
Did I mention that the office to which we are moving does not have running water or flushing toilets? I’m beginning to think I’m just the fall guy for the company’s financial problems, especially when he can’t come up with specific examples of how I am lacking in my dealings with others. I am no longer being given tasks because I “can’t work with others”, and there is no work to be done that can be done by just me. It’s only a matter of time before I am fired for being dead weight.
Snake removal failed
I wrote to you last year, “Snake Handling Not in Job Description”. You tendered good advice. Since then, the agency has ruptured. Tragically, one Animal Control Officer committed suicide as a result of the toxic culture, gossip and loose lips at work. Last August, the Field Supervisor resigned. Six weeks ago, the Division Manager (my boss) resigned after having a mental and physical meltdown. I’m next. The “snake” is still there…
The Office Crab criticizes everyone
Dear Office-Politics,
I am writing on behalf of a group of diverse and hardworking coworkers among whom morale is at an all time low. Our often bumbling managers have a history of granting knee jerk behind the doors promotions, creating new positions without posting them and making surprise staffing changes. Some of us have had four different supervisors in five months. After a recent escalation of this behavior the office crab complained that these job changes were never posted. Alas, when a management job opened up, this time upper management briefly posted the job but quickly gave it to the complainer.
The office crab is a highly opinionated snob who glowers and sulks and spies, tells tales and criticizes everyone in writing to upper management. She glowers, e-mailing unsolicited and scathing critiques to peers about their conduct and work product. This individual who is highly disliked has a pattern of making herself superior by contrasting herself to the rest of us.
