It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Firing someone during a pandemic
I have an employee who was placed on a PIP starting in mid-October 2019 for, among other things, being argumentative with feedback and missing deadlines. A decision was made to terminate her from the company, with a date set in mid to late March, around the normal PIP-endpoint for my organization of 5-6 months.
When late March arrived, however, we were at the very start of a very uncertain pandemic. As such, I advocated to HR that I was not comfortable moving ahead on the termination. HR agreed and implemented a company-wide freeze on terminations through the summer.
Said employee has been on a PIP ever since, and the unprofessional, argumentative feedback responses and late assignments have continued. At this point, the PIP is nearly a year old. I can’t take her off of it (her performance is still unacceptable for her role), and it feels wrong to drag it out so long, but I am reminded of your column from last April, imploring managers not to fire anyone during a pandemic if you can help it, and to wait until you can do so ethically.
Is there any update or nuance to your advice on firing during a pandemic, given the length we are all looking at? Does your advice change if the performance challenges predated the pandemic, and have only continued as it progressed? Or is it morally suspect to let anyone go while we are in the midst of this, regardless of where they were before March? And if so, what do I do with this almost-year-long PIP?
I’m glad for the opportunity to clarify that advice since others have asked about it too. My advice there wasn’t intended as “you can never fire someone in a pandemic.” Rather, it was that you shouldn’t be cavalier about it (as that letter-writer’s HR department was being), and you should try to avoid it when you can (which won’t be always). You should also take circumstances into account as much as you can (like if someone always did good work but has been struggling with stress since the lockdown) and give more chances than in more normal circumstances.
But in your case, I would seriously consider letting this employee go, perhaps with one final warning that that will be the next step if you don’t see immediate changes. This isn’t someone who’s trying hard but just not cutting it; this is someone who’s been warned about behavior that’s within her control (like argumentativeness) but is still continuing it. It’s not cavalier to let someone go after a full year of warnings about problem behavior (that’s what the PIP is).
2. We have to say what we’re spending our bonus money on
I work for a small (>20 person team) start-up with a culture similar to what you would expect of a young, starry-eyed company. Most folks on our team are new to the workforce and the two founders are young, energetic, and excited about the company’s future. Having said that, after being there a year I am noticing some frustrating expectations coming out of our leaders, specifically surrounding work-life balance: calling employees to work 50-hour weeks despite low pay and lack of incentive (they expect everyone on the team to be as passionate and dedicated to our mission as the founders,) praising team members for working on their days off, using all hands meetings for required mental health check-ins, etc. etc.
This past week during our all-hands the founders announced that since we’ve had our most profitable month they want to award everyone a $200 bonus. This is generous — I’ve mentioned our pay is low — and I’m aware of how tight our budget is in general. What surprised (and concerned) me is that we were given this bonus with the instruction that we have to use the money for “something that makes us happy” and to share our purchases on one of the company’s Slack channels. This seems quite invasive, especially since we are in the midst of a pandemic and our team has already taken pay cuts so our company could pull through the difficult months. Isn’t it bizarre (and possibly illegal?) to require your employees to share what they spend their bonus money on?
It’s not illegal. It sounds like they intend this as a camaraderie-builder and morale-booster and aren’t considering that it’s really no one’s business what you spend your money on. I’d argue that the way they framed it, it’s less bonus and more akin to “here’s $200, go do something nice for someone and report back what you spent it on,” although in this case the someone is yourself. It’s boundary-violating and has a whiff of “we’re like family here” but I don’t think it’s the most egregious thing ever.
If you don’t want to play along, it should be fine to say if asked, “I’m private about money so would rather not share” or “Eh, I don’t like to talk about personal spending decisions.” But that may make you look chilly and out of sync with their culture, and you’re likely better off just saying, “I’m saving it, and that makes me happy.”
3. My employee is pregnant — what next?
I have a staff member who started working for me during quarantine. We are still working remote, and will be for some time. She is doing great, though is still finding her way connecting with the team, who haven’t spent a lot of time “together” on Zoom, which makes it a bit tougher to get to know folks.
She recently shared with me that she is expecting a baby, and she said that she was worried that I or others on the team would be upset about her having a baby so soon after starting. I told her congratulations and that I’m excited for her and there is no reason to be concerned. I connected her with resources about maternity leave for our work place and let her know I’d follow her lead with when she wanted to tell the rest of the team.
I’m a pretty new manager and I’ve never supervised someone who’s had a baby before. Should I talk to her about this more to help reduce her worry or should I let her drive that conversation? As we get closer to her due date, I’ll work with her to plan who will cover for her while she is out, of course, but I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable. I know the entire team will be excited for her. Several of them had kids before I became the manager, so it’s not like they are unfamiliar with this in the workplace.
I tend to try to solve anxious feels with food or a gift. Would it be appropriate to give her a gift, like something you might give someone at a baby shower? Maybe I’m over-thinking this but I just want her to know that she is doing great and this won’t be an issue.
You already said all the right things. For now, leave it there and follow her lead — otherwise you risk making it weird and putting more focus on it than she wants.
At some point it would be nice for the company to give her a congratulatory gift if that’s something your company does for people’s life milestones … but you personally sending her food or a gift right after finding out would feel like a little much, I think. (Although you certainly can do it on your own once she goes on leave or has the baby if you’d like to. Just make sure, if you do that, that other people get similarly acknowledged for their own milestones.)
4. How to check on collaborators when the world is (possibly literally) on fire
What’s the best phrasing to check in with someone who may be dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks, fires, floods, and other increasingly frequent natural and man-made disasters? In my case, I hadn’t heard from a collaborator in over a week. Her city had been recently hit by a hurricane, and I didn’t know if her organization or home had been affected, but she is in a leadership position on my project, so I needed her feedback before I could move forward. I sent a brief message checking if she’d seen my previous email, but I feel like this is going to keep happening. Can you give us some scripts for checking in with collaborators (both those in superior and subordinate roles) whose worlds may literally be on fire?
A good basic formula is to acknowledge the situation, express empathy, explain what you need, and make it clear that you understand if events are getting in the way. For example: “Hi Jane, I hope you’re doing okay! I’ve been following the hurricane that hit your area and I hope you and your family are safe. I wanted to check with you about (project details). If you have your hands full with what’s happening in your area right now and need to push this back, I of course understand!”
If you actually can’t push back the thing very easily, adapt that wording at the end — you need to acknowledge that they might not be able to do it right now regardless, but you can tweak the wording to whatever fits. For example, maybe it’s “I’d been planning on finalizing this by Friday since we want to distribute it at the board meeting the following week, but if that just can’t happen right now, let me know and we’ll figure it out.” Depending on circumstances, you might need to add, “If I don’t hear from you in the next few days, I’ll figure you’ve got your hands full and will work on alternate plans.”
5. My boss won’t confirm I don’t work for her anymore
I need a letter from my former boss stating that I no longer work there. I am applying for financial aid at a hospital and have asked my former boss to send a statement and she won’t do it without knowing who it’s going to. I’ve asked her if she could address it “to whom it may concern” and she won’t. Am I obligated to tell her my personal financial business? Is she justified in withholding this?
You shouldn’t have to tell her who the letter will be going to. But crappy as she’s being, I don’t know of any law that would obligate her to write the letter. If she’s holding firm, your best bet may be to just tell her (unfair as that may be). But you don’t need to give her details — I’d try just saying “It needs to go to Jane Warbleworth, Washington Hospital, at this email address.”
If she won’t budge (which would be incredibly jerky), try explaining the situation to the hospital and see if there’s another way to meet their documentation requirements. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this stress in the middle of what’s probably already a stressful experience.
firing someone during a pandemic, we have to say what we spent our bonus on, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.
from Ask a Manager https://ift.tt/3huaXWs
0 Comments