Wednesday, April 2, 2025
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perks for distant workers solely, my mother says I shouldn’t depart a nasty Glassdoor evaluation, and extra — Ask a Supervisor


It’s 4 solutions to 4 questions. Right here we go…

1. Perks for distant workers solely

Our firm works principally remotely. Staff who stay domestically are available in the future per week. A number of departments’ workers are allowed to stay elsewhere within the nation (this rule doesn’t apply to all departments). A number of instances a yr, all workers are required to come back into the workplace for the total week. Staff who stay outdoors the realm receives a commission resort rooms close to the workplace, and expense all of their meals. Native workers, nonetheless, are required to pay for his or her lunch day by day, in addition to the extra prices of commuting for the extra days (parking is sort of costly the place we work). Is there a method to make our firm see how unfair that is? Or am I being unreasonable?

Yeah, you’re being unreasonable! Staff touring for work have their meals lined since consuming on enterprise journeys tends to be costlier (because you don’t have entry to your personal stocked kitchen). Meals and resort rooms aren’t perks if you’re touring for work (“perks” was the phrase in your electronic mail topic line to me); they’re enterprise bills.

Some additional days in your native workplace however nonetheless going dwelling every night time is a really totally different factor than being gone for per week on a enterprise journey.

I don’t suppose you’re more likely to get traction for those who counsel that the corporate pay for native individuals’s additional commuting prices or lunches that week. (In principle it could possibly be good for morale if your organization supplied lunch to everybody no less than a couple of times throughout these weeks, however it’s not outrageous that they’re not; that is only a distinction in being native vs. non-local.)

Associated:
our non-traveling workers are upset in regards to the journey “perks” that others get

2. Being the one lady at a retreat in an AirBnB

My supervisor, a VP, invited me to attend an upcoming director summit with 5 administrators. Whereas my function is extra administrative, he felt my presence could be useful. The summit is deliberate for the summer time at a rented AirBnb with leisure facilities like a swimming pool, recreation room, and many others. I would wish to take a five-hour street journey with one of many male administrators, and the group would conduct conferences round a big kitchen desk or in the lounge with a projected display.

I used to be initially uncomfortable with the setup and expressed my issues to my boss. He acknowledged them however emphasised that he nonetheless needed me to attend. After discussing it with household and colleagues, opinions had been cut up on whether or not this association — one lady amongst six males at a rental property for a piece occasion — was totally applicable or probably questionable. What do you suppose?

I don’t suppose it’s inappropriate, however it’s additionally not unreasonable for those who resolve that you just personally really feel uncomfortable with it and wish to ask for separate lodgings. (I’m assuming there’s an in a single day keep, given the five-hour drive.)

Associated:
I’d be the one lady at a team-building occasion at my boss’s distant lake home

3. My mother says I shouldn’t depart a nasty Glassdoor evaluation for my previous firm

I lately was terminated from a really poisonous work state of affairs, and have run out my choices to legally pursue them. (The contingency legal professionals mainly instructed me I had a case however they didn’t really feel it could be worthwhile sufficient to be price pursuing on my behalf, and I can’t afford to retain authorized illustration by myself.)

Rather than hitting them of their pockets, the place I do know they might listen, I used to be no less than hoping to submit an trustworthy evaluation of the job. If I had achieved my due diligence within the first place, I by no means would have utilized. I wish to add my voice to the refrain of others who’ve proclaimed this firm to be unhealthy to work for.

My situation comes as a result of my well-meaning mom is making an attempt to discourage me from posting something as a result of she is satisfied that they may determine that I posted it and are available after me legally. She identified that I wouldn’t have the cash to sue them, and I definitely wouldn’t have the cash to defend myself in the event that they attempt to sue me. She can be involved that it’s going to get linked again to me and forestall future employers from contemplating me. Whereas she is true that I can’t afford to be sued, I’m extra doubtful about her different fears. If a good employer is all for what I’ve to supply, why ought to a nasty relationship with a former place of employment be related? I’ve connections within the type of different workers who will and actively are giving me optimistic references for brand new alternatives.

How legitimate are my mom’s issues? Admittedly, she has been out of the workforce for a very long time, however I steadily take heed to her as a result of she operates from a spot of frequent sense. I’ve many individuals telling me to simply do it, and many individuals stating that they haven’t disputed the opposite adverse critiques so why would mine be the tipping level? I’m simply actually scared of constructing myself undesirable to a future employer. So, how far off-base is my mom on this one?

It’s extremely unlikely that the truth that you left a adverse evaluation will one way or the other get linked to you within the minds of potential employers. How would they know? The concept it could forestall future employers from contemplating you is a non-issue.

The place it may be a problem in case your previous employer figures it was you and it causes them to present you a extra adverse reference than they’d provide you with in any other case — however it doesn’t sound such as you had been anticipating a very good reference from them anyway, so I’m unsure that must be an actual fear. (For the file, although, it’s possible you’ll run into employers who need a reference from this firm even for those who’re providing up totally different ones, so that you shouldn’t depend on “nicely, I simply received’t give them as a reference” — however it feels like this reference wouldn’t be nice no matter whether or not you allow them a nasty evaluation or not.)

Furthermore, you despatched me the evaluation you’re contemplating posting and it’s not the form of factor that may clearly must be from one particular individual: you discuss usually phrases in regards to the firm tradition and administration, not about particular experiences distinctive to you. I don’t see how they’d tie it to you, until you repeatedly raised the identical points in very loud and particular phrases whilst you had been there and nobody else ever complained about these issues (which, out of your evaluation, positively sounds prefer it was not the case). There’s additionally nothing legally actionable right here; it’s authorized to share your opinions [and here’s Glassdoor’s own page on avoiding defamation, which explains what’s considered an opinion (i.e., not defamatory) versus “verifiable facts” (potentially defamatory if knowingly false)]. I imply, individuals can sue anybody for something, however it’s extremely unlikely that an organization would really feel moved to take any authorized motion on this.

Your mother is being overly cautious. That mentioned, Glassdoor has a nasty observe file on privateness so it’s all the time good to make use of a burner electronic mail for those who submit there.

4. Is it regular for managers to not understand how a lot their workers earn?

A number of years in the past I used to be a line supervisor and hiring supervisor for brand new workers becoming a member of my group, so I knew what the wage vary for the positions being stuffed was, had negotiating energy over mentioned vary, had the ultimate say on who we’d prolong a proposal to, and would talk to HR how a lot we’d offer to the candidate. I additionally used the information of my direct reviews’ compensation to combat for wage will increase to enhance worker retention and to ensure everybody was being paid pretty for his or her function, their contributions, and their job expertise.

I all the time thought this was pretty customary, however I’ve found that my final two line managers had no concept how a lot I or anybody else on my group had been being paid, nor did they care to ask as a result of the ultimate provide to workers had been determined by the CEO, as they’re those who’ve the ultimate say on issues like budgets for the corporate and the way a lot they spend on new expertise.

My final line supervisor tried arguing that my wage was non-public data and wasn’t related for him to do his job, however I argued again that, with out this data, he had no concept if we had been being paid pretty, and as the one that oversees our day-to-day work, he’s the very best individual to know our price and be sure that our compensation matches our contributions to the corporate. I finally left that job as a result of not solely did I discover out I used to be being underpaid for the business, my colleague and peer obtained a big elevate that wasn’t prolonged to me.

Is that this regular? Are line managers normally not instructed how a lot their direct reviews are being paid? Is that this not essential data they need to have to allow them to advocate for his or her group with senior management? That’s what I believed at first, however now I’m questioning if I used to be the outlier and line managers are normally not aware about this data attributable to information privateness causes.

No, managers usually understand how a lot individuals on their groups are being paid, for all the explanations you say. You additionally want to have the ability to spot inequities (Persephone is making greater than Cordelia, however Cordelia does a greater job) and retention dangers (we’re at present underpaying Cordelia for the market and threat shedding her over it) and really discuss to your workers about their salaries, which is a traditional factor individuals convey up with their managers. There are locations the place managers don’t have this data, however until they’re very low-level managers, it’s normally the signal of a tradition with weak administration (together with that managers there aren’t well-trained or supported, which may trickle all the way down to the individuals working below them in all kinds of how).

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