It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Working at a Christmas party with nothing to wear
I recently started my first job two months ago at a recruitment company that has a lot of international clients and I am the only native English speaker in the company. Despite the fact I am young and straight out of university, they seem to make rather a big deal of me and like using me as an example of their international aspect. So for this year’s Christmas party, which will include clients and coworkers, I have been asked along with several other employees (male and female, all who have been in the company for a while) to act as welcome hosts, in my case probably because of my English skills. We have been given half a day off to prepare, get to know the venue, etc.
Seeing as this is a themed, semi-formal event and I am making the transition from dirt-poor student, I have no suitable attire. As I will be representing the company and more or less working that evening, how cheeky/acceptable is it to ask to claim my evening attire as business expenses?
This would be a no-go at a lot of companies but some would consider it, given that they’ve asked you to play a work role there. Since you don’t know which category your company falls in, the best approach is to tell them the problem and see if they make the suggestion themselves. Talk to your boss (or whoever asked you to be a host, especially if that person is senior to your boss) and say something like, “I’d be glad to do the host duties, but I’m in a bind — I don’t have appropriate clothes to wear and can’t afford to buy them yet. I’m assuming that’s not an expense the company could help with, so would it be best for me to sit this one out?”
That said, before you do this, make sure you’ve thought about other solutions. Can you find something affordable at a consignment shop or borrow something from a similarly-sized friend? The person you talk to might suggest those options, and you don’t want to seem like you haven’t considered them yet (because of resourcefulness, blah blah).
2. My coworker blocked his schedule for two weeks prior to the holidays
I work in the HQ of a giant corporation. I recently went to set up a meeting with a handful of colleagues and noticed that one coworker’s calendar shows him as “tentatively busy” all day, every day, for the two weeks prior to the week of Christmas. He and I are friendly, so I asked him if he’s going on a long vacation. No, he said, he’ll be in the office, he’s just trying to avoid meetings at that time — “nobody’s going to want to talk about work stuff then.” He’s not wrong; our office was a ghost town the week before Christmas last year. This coworker doesn’t have a role that requires a heavy meeting load, and I can see that some days/times are already confirmed busy, so he’s not just blanket declining everything.
Still, I can’t decide whether his move is passive-aggressive, aggressive-aggressive, or completely brilliant. What do you think?
It’s a bit obnoxious. If he right that nobody will want to talk about work stuff then, then he’s not going to get any meeting requests anyway. If he does receive them, then people do indeed have work stuff they need to talk to him about. It’s not really okay to come to work those weeks and get paid while saying, essentially, “Sorry, I’m not up for fully doing my job on those days.”
3. My employee doesn’t tip
When approving my direct report’s expenses for recent work travel, I saw that they didn’t tip on any of the rideshare (think Uber, Lyft) rides they took. I usually tip 15-20% for these on personal or company travel and, while I have friends who don’t tip on rideshare, I thought tipping was fairly common for any taxi or rideshare rides.
Am I overtipping, or is 15-20% normal for taxi/rideshare? And can I/should I bring this up and suggest — or ask — that they tip when traveling for our company?
Yep, 15-20% is a normal taxi or rideshare tip, and you can indeed nudge your employee to tip. Try being matter-of-fact about it and saying: “I didn’t know if you knew the company will cover tips for taxis and rideshares, but we will. Typically people tip 15-20% for those rides.”
4. Should I let my former company know I’m pregnant?
I’m pregnant and due in January. Everything is going well with my employer: we have a tentative plan in place for my leave, our benefits are great, they’re giving me flexibility for appointments and telework, and I’m entirely confident they’ll be supportive if something changes. Basically everything I could ask for.
I started here just over two years ago. Before that, I spent almost five years at a different organization, split between two of their teams. Should I reach out to my old bosses at that organization about my pregnancy?
I think some of my old colleagues will genuinely be happy to hear my news. I also don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings if they find out another way and wonder why I didn’t reach out. On the other hand, it’s been over two years since I left the organization, and I don’t know if it will seem weirdly attached to send them an email birth announcement and a picture or two of the baby. Possibly also relevant: I didn’t do that when I got married shortly after starting my current job, although everyone at my old job knew that I was engaged. What say you?
Either way is fine, but it’s not at all weird if you don’t let them know. Under these circumstances — two years since you left the job and you’re not in regular touch with them — most people wouldn’t go out of their way to send the news (either ahead of the birth or with announcements afterwards). But you certainly can if you want to!
5. Should I try to pitch myself when the hiring manager updates me on the hiring timeline?
I’ve been going through a rather lengthy hiring process for a position and company that I’m really excited about. The hiring manager has been incredibly proactive and transparent, sending regular emails to me about when they expect to make a decision. I’ve responded to these emails promptly each time, thanking him for his consideration and his transparency.
Am I missing opportunities to sell myself more in these emails? I feel like talking myself up more would be pushy and frankly annoying for the hiring manager, but friends and family are disagreeing with me. What is your opinion on this? Should these be little cover letters each time?
Oh god no, don’t do that. It would indeed be pushy and annoying. You want the hiring manager to see you as a prospective colleague, not as an annoying salesperson who takes any possible opening to pitch yourself. It’s great that he’s keeping you in the loop; don’t make him reluctant to send you more updates.
working at a Christmas party with nothing to wear, my employee doesn’t tip, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
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