It’s three answers to three questions. Here we go…
1. Are my boots too loud for work?
I work in an open-floorplan office that has cement floors. My favorite shoes are boots, usually with a low heel. If you see me in the office, you can count on me wearing these boots. Because of the floor and possibly the layout of the office, I *think* my boots are loud as hell when I’m walking by peoples’ desks from the kitchen to my desk.
Is this something I should seriously consider as a distraction, or is this just one of those sounds that people have to learn to live with, like the creaky heater, the noisy fax machine, or the occasional elevator alarm? No one has said anything to me but people do look up when I walk by (which is probably true for people with quiet shoes too, but maybe my approach is still more distracting?)
Try wearing a quieter pair of shoes one day and see if people still look up when you pass their offices that day. If they don’t, then yeah, the boots are at least somewhat disruptive to people’s focus.
That doesn’t mean you need to stop wearing them entirely — the reality of working in an office with other people is that they’ll make noise. You don’t need to ensure that no sounds whatsoever emanate from you as you move about your office. But if your shoes are indeed unusually and spectacularly loud, your coworkers would probably appreciate it if they weren’t your sole choice of footwear.
2. My employee eavesdrops outside my office door
At first I thought I was too paranoid, but on three separate occasions, I’ve wrapped up a closed door conversation (I do HR and management) with C-suite individuals only to discover my direct report (an administrative assistant who processes financial paperwork) directly outside my door.
Our office set-up is odd; we’re essentially one huge office that was cut into thirds—one side is her office with a door, a hallway/narthex, and one side is my office with a door. There is a utility cabinet in the hallway, which she could be using, but she has never been in that cabinet when she’s been caught—she’s practically leaning against my door. How do I handle this? She’s been there 20+ years, and I’ve been there six months. My inclination is to have another employee catch her when I’m in a meeting, but I’m higher than all employees on the org chart, so I hesitate to get unaffected people involved and have the story spread. What should I do?
Do you have anyone in a senior role who you trust to be discreet? If so, it’s reasonable to discreetly tell them what you’re concerned about and ask if they can let you know what they observe (making it clear that it’s not something they should repeat to others). Alternately, during some of these meetings, can you just occasionally walk quietly to the door and open it yourself?
But you could also just ask your employee about it directly: “A few times recently when I’ve opened my door at the end of a meeting, I’ve found you right outside it. Are you waiting for me to be finished or …?” It’s doubtful she’s going to say “no, I’m eavesdropping,” but it might put her on notice that she needs to cut it out. And if if happens again, address it right in the moment: “I didn’t realize you were out here. Are you waiting for me for something?”
Depending on her answer, you might then have a longer conversation later, along these lines: “I often have confidential conversations in my office, so I’m concerned when I find you standing outside the closed door. If the door is closed, it’s for privacy, so I wouldn’t want you or anyone else lingering there.”
Also, how’s her work and her judgment beyond this? If she’s really deliberately spying, there might be other problems you’re going to uncover.
3. Can I ask my employee to connect me to her husband, who I want to network with?
I manage a small team at a nonprofit. I’m not totally unhappy in my position, but for a variety of reasons I’m very much ready for a change. A job opened up at a social justice organization I believe in, and I think I might be a good fit. I’m a bad and unpracticed networker, but I would like to try anything I can to gain a little leverage.
One of the people I supervise is married to someone who works at this organization. I don’t think there would be much contact with him in the position in question, but he represents a foot in the door for me, so to speak. What do you think about me reaching out to the person I supervise to ask her to put me in touch with him? I’m hesitating, in part because I don’t think it’s a great idea to get the word out among my team members and others at my organization that I’m looking at other jobs. The person I supervise is also friendly with my current supervisor, so there’s a chance the word will spread in that direction too. Anyway, any advice?
Don’t do it! You manage the person you’d be asking for this favor, which means that there’s inherent pressure for her to say yes; the power dynamics there aren’t good ones. Plus, letting someone on your team know that you’re looking before you’ve announced it publicly puts her in a bad position; now she has to wonder when your departure might be coming and what it might mean for her and the rest of your team. She’ll also be burdened with knowledge that you presumably don’t want her to share, without being able to truly agree to that first. And if it does get back to your manager, it won’t look great that you put one of your employees in that position.
are my boots too loud for work, employee eavesdrops outside my door, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
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