It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Employee accidentally ruined his boss’s personal laptop — who should pay?
I have a sticky situation at work. I manage an employee who is a manager – let’s call him Joe – and he has several employees who report to him.
Last week during a meeting, one of Joe’s direct reports, Mike, spilled his coffee on the boardroom table. Some of the coffee got to Joe’s laptop before he could pick it up.
It was Joe’s personal laptop, and he took it to the repair store where they told him it’s fried. He’s going to have to spend either $900 to get it fixed, or $1,400 to replace it altogether.
Joe came to me with this information because he is torn on what to do. Should he ask Mike to pony up half of the repair cost? Or just eat it? It’s especially awkward because Mike is his direct report and makes $20k less than Joe.
If this were a work laptop, there should be no question of Mike paying for any of the repair. It would be a cost of doing business that the company should cover.
Mike shouldn’t be financially penalized because Joe happened to have his personal laptop at work. People spill coffee at meetings. It happens. I can’t see asking an employee to pay hundreds of dollars for his manager’s computer repair because of an accident.
Frankly, it would be ideal if the company covered the repair cost since Joe presumably had the laptop there for work purposes. Any chance you can make that happen?
2. Political bumper stickers at work
I am very liberal, living and working in a very conservative state. While my coworkers are really good about not talking about politics at work, many of them have made some comments that make it clear that they are definitely conservative and assume it’s the default state for everyone around them.
I’ve been considering getting some feminist/liberal bumper stickers to the effect of “Nevertheless she persisted” or “Legal abortion saves lives,” etc. (So, no curse words and nothing that I would consider crude.) This car would be parked in the company lot, but generally never in a place where clients would see it.
Is it a bad idea to get these bumper stickers? Every time I’m about to hit the purchase button, I remember the guy with the truck sticker from 2013 and reconsider. I know it’s not quite in the same league, but the basic tenants are the same — my personal vehicle, parked on company property, will have a sticker on it that some coworkers may find offensive.
I think you’re fine, but you’ve got to consider what you know about the culture of your company and the place where you live. It’s possible that advertising your politics will A Thing in a way that you don’t want.
But it’s not the same as that letter you referenced from the guy with the offensive sticker on his lifted truck proclaiming “fat girls can’t jump” — that was deliberately rude and insulting, plus immature and gross. Politely expressing a viewpoint on a social issue isn’t the same thing.
3. Interviewing for a job where my boss used to work
This week, I have my first interview with a nonprofit, for a role I am really excited about. What makes this tricky is that my current boss previously worked there for 12 years and is very well known in the field. She has been gone for about four years, but still has very close friends in the organization and keeps a pulse on what’s going on there. I am a little nervous she might get wind of me interviewing. I considered preemptively telling her I was going for the role since we have a pretty close relationship, but decided against it this early in the process because I didn’t know how she would respond, or even if I would be asked to interview in the first place.
When the HR person called to schedule the phone interview, I did let him know about the situation and reiterated I would appreciate this interview remaining confidential. Was that the right move? I’m hoping I didn’t taint my standing in his eyes or make things weird/complicated. If I continue to move forward in the interview process, when would you recommend letting my current boss know I am interviewing with her former company? What I want to avoid is her finding out under the table, which I think would rub her the wrong way.
You handled it correctly. This is a thing that comes up sometimes, and typically the candidate will flag their boss’s connection to the organization and explain that their search needs to be kept confidential. A decent employer will respect that. (Caveat: Not every employer is decent and some will mess this up, so know there’s that risk.)
During your interview, it’s okay to say, “You’ve probably noticed I work for Jane Warbleworth, who I know is still close with people here. She doesn’t know I’m interviewing here, and I need to keep my job search confidential for now. If you’ll want to contact her as a reference at some point, can you check with me before doing that? I’d like to be able to tell her myself at that point rather than having her hear it from anyone here before I’ve talked with her.”
4. How can I switch to a new name at a job where everyone already knows me?
I’m about to finish grad school, and this semester I’ve been in an internship related to my degree. My supervisor has encouraged me to apply for a full-time position that will be opening next month, and I really want to go for it.
I started here as a volunteer over a year ago, and by now everyone has come to know me by my first name. Then, six months ago I realized that I actually hate my first name. I never related to it as the person I am, and it comes with pop culture references and negative assumptions that I’ve internalized. I now use my middle name in my personal life (It’s my grandmother’s maiden name and just feels more “me.”)
As I get ready to graduate and look for work, I was hoping to “rebrand” as it were and start applying for new jobs using my middle name. But, with the possibility of being able to stay on in my current workplace, I’m not sure how to approach this. People change their names for more serious reasons, and I guess I’m worried that my reasoning will be seen as frivolous. I also realize I might not get offered the position, and the point will be moot. But mostly I feel so awkward about not having said something sooner. How do I ask my potential future coworkers to use my middle name when they’ve known me so long by my first name?
You’re fine! This is a thing people do, and their coworkers adjust. You don’t need to have a “good enough” reason to do it, although the fact that it’s already your middle name may make people question it even less. You can just say, “I’m going by Jane now. It’s my middle name, and I’ve preferred it for a long time so I’m officially making the switch.”
Hell, if you want, you could tie it to getting the full-time job and say something like, “Since I’m going to be around for longer, this is probably a good time to switch to going by Jane. It’s my middle name and I’ve been planning to make the switch for a while. Since I’m coming on full-time, this seems like the right time to do it.”
5. Applicant changed his LinkedIn company and job title to the one he’s applying for
This is not a question so much as what not to do: an applicant for a position I am hiring for changed his LinkedIn profile to the name of the position and my company, including a start date in the month he applied. (Last month). There is only one position of this type in the company, so it can’t be another department.
If I had been considering him, this would certainly put me off! And if another company looks into his history, it would be weird then too. I can’t see how this could do anything but harm his chances. People are so strange.
What on earth! People are so strange.
employee accidentally ruined his boss’s laptop, political bumper stickers at work, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
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