aMazedSunday, October 30, 2005 I had a great day. As I mentioned earlier today, I took my two sons to a farm where we attacked a corn maze and enjoyed a "hayless" ride. It was advertised as a "hay ride" - but there was no hay. How do you have a hay ride without hay? Hmmmm. Despite the technicality, which should have given me a chance at a full refund, we had a blast during the "hayless" ride. It was the Blogging Boss's day out with the boys. A guy day. What a blast! The corn maze presents you with an entrance and the possibility that you may find an exit. The last corn maze I walked through, the corn cops got down from their 20 foot chairs and helped escort us out. After 2 hours and a depleting water supply, we needed a rescue. That was not the case today. For those of you who think your bosses can't find their way out of a paper bag, I am glad to report that the Blogging Boss found the exit! Check out the evidence. My boys did not follow any of my instructions or heed my warnings. Unlike us bosses, they followed their gut instinct and had no misguiding corporate intuition. I followed them and in ten minute with plenty of water to spare, the exit sign was within sight! But being a boss, I held the exit sign and took the glory!  I hope your boss doesn't really do that. I asked my oldest son to take my picture - so it was completely staged. What a great day, the day before Monday. We all know what Mondays are like. Sometime I have a week full of Mondays. At least it is not going to rain tomorrow. And today? It was 75 degrees, sunny and absolutely awesome. Corn! Yeah!  My boys are glad they only have the Blogging Boss for a Dad and not a boss. posted at 10/30/2005 07:32:00 PM | 5 comments links to this post |
Thank God It's Sunday On Friday I blogged what a blur the weekend is. You have all of these expectations about what you are going to do and then... It is Sunday. Thank God Its Sunday. I have a lot to be thankful for. I love our church and I am getting ready to take the kids. Later today I am going to do some thinking. (my wife is probably getting worried) I am going to decide what I am going to do during the week that I have wanted to do for a long time. You know, we all have a list a mile long of those things we never have "time" to do. Most of them are things we really like doing. I'm tired of saying "I don't have enough time to do..." So I am going to pick one and commit to doing it this week. Why don't you take one thing off of your list and commit to doing it? Next Friday I will blog about it. Wherever you live, whether warm or cold, rainy or snowy, sunny or cloudy - enjoy today. Don't live in the past and don't fret about the future. I think I'll take the boys to a corn maze this afternoon. posted at 10/30/2005 09:39:00 AM | 0 comments links to this post |
Exempt From RealitySaturday, October 29, 2005 If you have not seen the boss card in my previous post, link over to it. It made my day yersterday. A manager who works for me asked me if I had seen the card and when I said no, he ran to his office and shot it over to me. I was almost on the floor, laughing so hard. One of the things this Hallmark e-card touches on is one of the perils of being an exempt employee. Are you an exempt or nonexempt employee? Do you know? If not, you should. A nonexempt employee is entitled to the benefits and protections of the FLSA or "Fair Labor Standards Act." If you are salaried, you are typically exempt from FLSA and your employer is not required to meet minimum wages or pay overtime. If you are exempt you must have a salary above a certain level. Where this gets tricky is when you are "expected" to work more than 40 hours a week as an exempt, salaried employee. It is generally accepted that a salaried person that is full time should work a minimum of 40 hours. Many companies have a corporate culture where there is an unspoken rule that you work 50 or 55 hours a week. Employees often think if they do not work more than 40 hours a week that they will not get promoted or will suffer during their performance evaluations. Your HR department should define how many hours you are expected to work. Understand the facts. Don't get sucked into the culture that may create a false perception. If you are salaried, it is generally accepted that you may work more than 40 hours a week sometimes depending on projects or business goals. If you work for a company that requires what I call spikes in work effort it is okay. I see nothing wrong with putting in extra effort to help make a deadline or help the business earn more money. If you are working 80 hour weeks, week after week as an exempt employee, something is wrong. Your ultimate destination is "burn-out." There are times as a manager I have to tell people to go home. Some employees are so driven, they do not know how to balance their workload. Years ago, I worked for a company and routinely put in 14-16 hour days for almost 18 months. I was exempt and salaried. I was not getting paid overtime. I was lured by management that a significant bonus was waiting at the end of the project. At the end of this 18 month harangue, I receive an engraved rock with the project name and my name on it and a $500 gift certificate for local restaurants and hotels. As I opened this up with my wife by my side I looked at her and said something I will not repeat here. I was livid. I was stupid. I let myself be taken advantage of. I learned a lesson. Never again. After the project ended, my boss's boss took me to lunch and told me what a great job I had done with the project and now that it was over, the sales force was ready for more and..." I stopped him cold. "Mark" (not his real name) - I said, "If you expect me to keep going at this pace, please tell me now. Because if you do, I will hand you my resignation right now." Mark looked worried. "I am not prepared to ever repeat what I did for you or this company over the past 18 months ever again in my career. So if this is what is required, I will tell you straight up that I am not going to be a part of it." Mark immediately tried to back away from what it was he was really going to say and quickly started to placate to me. I really liked Mark, he was a heck of a nice guy. I knew he was under pressure, but I was no longer willing to share in his pain. The conversation turned to another topic and Mark left the company soon after that conversation. I stayed with the company for seven more years and enjoyed the mentoring of my new boss, who has taught me most of what I know about management. Be good to your company, but be good to yourself. You are worth far less to your company if you are working yourself to death. Balance... posted at 10/29/2005 12:52:00 PM | 4 comments links to this post |
Its Friday, Its FridayThursday, October 27, 2005Before I go off on Friday, turn up your volume and click on this link: IS THIS YOUR BOSS? Yep, this is middle management.... May actually be your boss. Thank you Hallmark for presenting the first e-card that wasn't really stupid.  Fridays are good days. Even if you love your job, Fridays are good days. There is always sense that Monday is a long way off and that you can do a hundred or so things around the house, play with the kids, watch football, etc. On Monday you realize that you did not get a darn thing done. It went faster than Friday came and it is five more days until you repeat the whole bloody cycle again. Why do I like Fridays? Have a great weekend! Eric posted at 10/27/2005 09:55:00 PM | 2 comments links to this post |
New Look and A Pay RaiseWednesday, October 26, 2005Yes, you are still linked to the same blog as yesterday. I changed the name from Blogging Boss to "The Blogging Boss." Why not? You need to define your identity clearly and I felt I did not want to be known as just another blogging boss, but "The Blogging Boss." Besides the name change, there is a menu bar at the bottom of the blog. You can email me directly now. Have a question? Have a problem at work? Need a second opinion? Send me an email. I will also be adding photos to the blog. The link is not activated yet, but I'll let you know when it is. One of my readers sent me an email and asked me if I was married. I told my wife, Jill (Author - The Write Way Home Blog) that someone asked if I was married. I got such a kick out of it. Funny how subtle people can be. She asked me why I was telling her this. I thought it was funny. Since I have been blogging about interviews, a friend of ours told us that her husband was interviewing for a job. Cool! He estimates that he is making considerably less at his current employer, but is hesitant to ask for more money if the NewCo makes him an offer. Well, here it is:  If I was interviewing, I would ask for a minimum of $82,000.00. Nothing less. However, the Blogging Boss knows that I should be making a bit more than the median, since I have good experience. So that bumps it up to $85,000.00. I could ask for more, but then I am heading up above the 75th percentile and will reduce my chances of even getting the job. The key is find out what you are worth in your region of your country and find out what the median (sometimes called midpoint) is. If your resume tells a great story and you feel like they really want to hire you, ask for what you should be paid. Most employers will not move much beyond midpoint unless they really like the candidate and feel s/he is a great fit for the company. My friend, whom will remain anonymous as always, you need to ask for $85,000.00. Even if they ask you in the first interview "how much you are looking for", be brave and simply state the number. No nervous tremor in your voice; no over confident demands. Good luck! Have a great one. posted at 10/26/2005 09:13:00 PM | 6 comments links to this post |
How Badly Do You Want That Job?Monday, October 24, 2005Ever since I posted about a militaristic form of interviewing, I have received feedback that suggests that this is not as unusual as the Blogging Boss thought. One reader even suggests that it might be on the increase. Except for certain rare situations, a hiring manager using intimidation and even being somewhat hostile is ridiculous. The exception is probably reserved for the military. If you are interviewing for the majority of jobs available today your interviewing experience should be a fair, decent experience. Most people get fairly nervous for the event. Some really qualified candidates suffer from what I call “interview anxiety.” They may be the perfect candidate, but interview terribly. They cannot focus and every question becomes harder than the next. I compare it to “test anxiety.” If they did not become so paralyzed under the pressure of an interview, they could answer every question perfectly. I have hired people who suffered from this type of anxiety and they have been wonderful employees. My angst surrounding this artificially induced hostile interview is simple. It greatly diminishes the validity of the first encounter with the candidate. An interview should be a two way communication. The hiring manager is not the only one who is interviewing. When you interview for a job, you should be also proactively interviewing. The hiring manager wants to know if you are the right one for the job and you should be trying to determine if this is the right job for you. If you do not interview while being interviewed you are missing out on the opportunity to walk away from a potentially toxic situation. Sometimes people are so glad they got the offer; they never considered all of the red flags that went up while they were interviewing. Six months later they are miserable and looking for another job. If the hiring manager is intimidating you during the interview ( so called hiring stractegy), how can you possibly understand what this person is really like? The two way interview is now a battle of the minds. I never recommend that you do anything unprofessional in an interview. If you are subjected to an interview like I have described, you will fell like walking. Don’t do it. Do your best and learn from it. Always hold the higher ground. If you made it through and got the job, think twice before accepting it. Any stories where the result of a "hostile interview" turned out to be your dream job? I would love to hear about it. The Blogging Boss Eric Boehme posted at 10/24/2005 10:52:00 AM | 5 comments links to this post |
Why should I Interview You?Thursday, October 20, 2005I have to blog this quickly. This is really rich. I was doing a mock interview with a friend of a friend of mine, let’s call him Steve. He wants to get as much feedback as possible before he goes out and faces the myriad of interview experiences that await him. As we talked about the mock interview he said, "You know a buddy of mine just had an interview that was hostile." “What?" I said incredulously. "My buddy told me that the hiring manager was hostile through the entire interview. He started out by slamming his resume." This hiring manager proceeded to tell Steve's friend that his resume was 2 pages (barely) and that Lee Iacocca (saved Chrysler) and Sam Walton (Mr. Wal-mart) both had one page resumes and look at all they had accomplished. Why should he read his resume? He then went on to say that his resume had so much content that he felt like he knew this candidate very well and why should he even continue interviewing. Wow! My jaw dropped to the floor. First of all, why did either Lee or Sam even need a resume? Steve asked me what he should do if he had the same experience and was this a "style" of interviewing. No. I told Steve this was a sign of incompetence. This hiring manager should not even be allowed to interact with people. I told Steve if this had happened to me, the temptation to walk out of the interview would have been something hard to fight off. Why would I even want to work for someone like this? Good grief. I told Steve I want to blog the whole story. He is going to hook me up with his friend. I’m looking forward to the weekend, how about you? The Blogging Boss, Eric Boehme posted at 10/20/2005 03:50:00 PM | 13 comments links to this post |
Don't Take ItWednesday, October 19, 2005I hear story after story of an abusive work environment. Specifically, the abuse is coming from a manager. This looks many different ways. The abuse can be very subtle or it can be strong enough to file a formal complaint with HR. The more obvious abusive situation is when the manager reprimands an employee in front of other co-workers. Correction must always take place in an office; never on stage for all to witness. If your boss ever makes a fool out of you or belittles you in front of a group of co-workers DO NOT accept that as typical behavior from management. Don't take it. Confront your boss appropriately and if it does not stop, start going up the chain. The less obvious and more insidious situation is when the manager makes small derogatory comments from time to time that you may not even notice. We all tune out so much of what we hear because we suffer from information overload. You need to listen to how your boss talks to you. Listen to the tone, the words, his/her demeanor, facial expressions. You may find that your boss is slightly condescending, or pushy, etc. Over time, this will wear you down and affect your performance and attitude. Don't let it get to that point. If you have a story to share, I would love to read it. Have a great Wednesday. posted at 10/19/2005 10:21:00 AM | 5 comments links to this post |
Not Paid Enough - Next StepSunday, October 16, 2005A reader told us her horrifying situation: "The company I work for has been on a wage freeze for 5 years. That's 5 years we have all gone without raises!! I know I'm not getting paid what I deserve!" Yes, you are not. If you factor in inflation primarily driven by energy costs and cost of living, you are losing money exponentially right now. So if you are like this reader, and you have determined that you are not paid enough, what do you do? Remember I said it was easy. Lets take an example where Joe earns $75,000 a year. He is a software developer. He looks at several sources for salary comparisons, using Robert Half's report primarily as an example. Most software developers in his region of the country are earning $85,000 with the 7-10 years experience Joe has. Joe must take this data in to his boss and say the following if it is true, "I love working here, but my salary is under what the average is. Let me show you how I determined this number." If Joe is highly valued, he will get an incremental increase of at least 50% of the difference. Why? Because the company realizes they are underpaying Joe and they need to make an adjustment. If Joe is not highly valued, he may get 10% or nothing at all. The key here is how much are you worth? If you are worth $45,000 annually and you are being paid $25,000, you ask one question. Am I a good employee? If the answer is yes, you simply ask for a salary adjustment or you find another company. If you are truly worth $45,000 and your market is in demand, you may get an offer for much more than $45,000. If the market is luke warm, then you may get something of an average. In this example, it would still be a $10,000 increase. Bottom line, do not sell yourself short. If you figured out that you are worth more than what you are being paid, simply present the facts to you boss. These are just facts. If you are valued as an employee, you will get the increase. If you do not get a raise, blow the dust off your resume (time to leave). If you are not a valued employee, blow the dust off your resume because you may be on the way out. Write down the difference in a percentage ratio. If you are anywhere from 5% - 20%, you must get your HR department and/or your boss together and educate them. Remember facts only. If you are under 5%, you probably should wait. If after a year your boss does not give you the 5%, negotiate or leave. Many of you will have to seriously consider leaving your company. The question becomes how much you are worth and quality of life. Commit to yourself to act on any inequality. More on this topic coming soon! posted at 10/16/2005 02:02:00 AM | 5 comments links to this post |
Have You Been Attacked By Email?Saturday, October 15, 2005Ever get that email that just made you feel 6 inches tall and embarrassed the heck out of you in front of 50 people that were copied? Was it your boss that sent it? What a loser. Email has become a popular way for weasels to hide behind their keyboard, launch an attack against you and feel a certain kind of sick satisfaction from it. Here is an a analogy. Would this email attacker do this in a meeting with 20 people in the room? Would he stand up and look at you, then proceed to spew out venom in front of the other 20 co-workers? Heck no. (Well at least not most of them) As a boss and an employee I have no time for emails that assault me or any employee. The older you get the less you are willing to tolerate such nonsense. If an employee attacks another employee and I am copied on it, they get a personal visit from me. If my boss sends one of these written torpedoes, s/he gets a visit. Who cares where it came from or who it is going to? It is a form of corporate terrorism. I have zero tolerance for it, period. So next time you see one coming at you or at your co-worker. Go find the culprit and confront them about it. Dealing with confrontation should always be in person. More on that in another post. Be good to yourself and don't be the victim of an email attack. posted at 10/15/2005 08:54:00 AM | 13 comments links to this post |
Are You Being Paid Enough?Friday, October 14, 2005What was your immediate reaction when you read the title? Duh! Of course I'm not, who is? My boss is too cheap My company is too cheap Yes, I am Write down your immediate reaction. If you feel like you are compensated fairly, you are done. The Blogging Boss said you did your homework and sold yourself correctly. If you feel that you are not paid what you deserve, then make a promise to yourself right now to fix this problem. You must commit to making a change or it won't happen. If you commit, set up your strategy and execute, you will make more money. It is not as hard as you think. First assignment: Write down the annual dollar amount that you feel you should be paid for what you do. Second Assignment: Start Googling for what other people are making that do the same thing you do. There are many sources out there that can give you an idea as far as how much other are making. Call a placement agency and ask for salary comparisons. Keep in mind, the annual salary may vary depending on where you live. Cost of living plays a big part in this comparison. Tomorrow I will give you your next assignment. If you didn't find any data on how much others are making, post or send me your email in the box and tell me about your situation. posted at 10/14/2005 11:04:00 AM | 4 comments links to this post |
My Boss Will Not Answer Any of My EmailsTuesday, October 11, 2005One of the myriad of tasks a true blogger must do everyday is check how people find their blog. I use simple software that tells me what I really want to know. How many unique visitors did I have today, what is my moving average, and how did my visitors find me are important data for me as a blogger. If I want to grow and catapult up above millions of blogs, I have to watch these statistics daily. One of the things I can see is what search criteria people use to find me. For example: Someone typed into "Ask Jeeves" the following (today): "Should a CEO fire a manger for there behavior?" My blog about Jack Welch comes up #22. Another web surfer types in MSN: "when boss doesn't probably address you" I come up in the MSN results #3 based on my blog about bosses not able or willing to listen to you. Someone today typed into MSN: "my boss will not answer any of my emails" My heart sinks; I feel this person's pain. Their boss who controls their corporate destiny, their salary, and their job satisfaction will not respond to email. Sheeesh. What is that? As bosses, we can be delayed in our response if we received several hundred emails in a day. I try to respond within 4 hours, 12 hours or at the stressful end of the spectrum 48 hours. However, I answer them. I tell my staff if they do not get a response, then put an hour on my calendar or drop by and talk to me. I have an open door policy as a manager, unless my door is closed when I am giving someone else 100% of my attention. This employee is doing one thing wrong. This must be addressed. If your boss does not respond via email, then s/he should arrange a personal meeting. You cannot go on being ignored by a boss that is probably under siege by "corporate self importance syndrome" or CSIS. S/he is just too busy to attend to your needs. I can speak from experience. I was one of those bosses at one point in my career. I let all of the corporate political dynamics usurp my precious one on one time with my staff. They suffered and I suffered. If you are not getting any communication via email from your boss, you can already assume his/her priorities are not appropriately set. This happens to all bosses from time to time. If it becomes a chronic problem, then you need to insist upon this rare form of corporate communication - a one on one with your boss. Face to face. Never accept inferior communication from your manager. You will lose big time. Your boss just might get by without a scratch. Next Monday is "National Boss Day." I know it is on your calendar and you are planning the celebration now. :) Actually, in 15 years, I have never heard of it. Rest assured the Blogging Boss will have his own celebration. A nice Merlot, good cheese, a fire and my love, my wife at my side. Here is the history: "National Boss Day was started in 1958 when Patricia Bays Haroski, then an employee at State Farm Insurance Company in Deerfield, Ill., registered the holiday with the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. She designated October 16 as the special day because it was her father's birthday. Ms. Haroski's purpose was to designate a day to show appreciation for her boss and other bosses. She also hoped to improve the relationship between employees and supervisors. She believed young employees often do not realize the challenges bosses face in running a business." Source - http://www.calendar-updates.com/Holidays/US/boss.htm Have a great day! Eric The Blogging Boss posted at 10/11/2005 10:34:00 PM | 10 comments links to this post |
My Boss Has No SpineMonday, October 10, 2005 You can discern whether your boss is spineless very easily. They stand for nothing and embrace everything. "I am sorry that I have to ask all of you to do this, but you know... (stutter) I have my marching orders from management and we all have to agree with management." Bull. If a good boss does not agree with an executive decision, s/he has several choices. 1) Go to his/her boss and express true feelings about a decision, unemotionally, but factually. 2) Refuses to embrace the ludicrous decision. Tells staff that s/he disagrees with the marching orders, but does not suggest anarchy (even if that is the way s/he really feels). Respecting authority means doing ethical things that we may not agree with. Reinforces respect for authority. Is honest with his/her employees and tells them that it is a decision coming from a higher authority. 3) Never abandons his/her principles and explains how this decision does not agree with his/her core values. Suggests that people appropriately voice their concern. (Key here is appropriate) As a manager, you must never assume the role of a "potted plant" as one of my favorite attorneys stated back in the late 80s. You can tell when your boss has just turned into a gelatinous material. You hate it. S/he cannot possibly do anything but the chant the executive corporate mantra. It is a death march sending you into obscurity or mediocrity. Don't take it. Deal with it head on (appropriately). If you get no results and stupid decisions are part of the corporate culture, GET OUT! Working for a spineless boss is as bad as working for a micromanager. The spineless boss has no original thought process and the micromanager spews his/her insecurities all over you until you cannot breathe. Even if your experience is in a market that is tight and difficult, do not GIVE UP. There is another job somewhere for you. A competent boss, who has a strong spine, awaits you. You are never in a situation that cannot be changed. The only roadblock is your mind. Cheers! posted at 10/10/2005 11:51:00 PM | 0 comments links to this post |
I Say Thank You When I Sign Your PaycheckSaturday, October 08, 2005This is the Blogging Boss's quote for this week, maybe even the month. A reader's boss actually said that to him. All he said to his boss was "It is nice to hear thank you every once in awhile." Like so many bosses, you hear from them when you screw up and you hear nothing from them when you did something good. Managers are not taught to give positive feedback. Even if they do attend a management class on how to motivate your employees, they are checking email on their laptops when the instructor talks about encouragement. We all like to be encouraged, even the reader's idiotic boss. It is part of who we are as human beings. Blogging Boss says this boss didn't get enough hugs when he was a child and probably tortured his younger brother. Now he is a boss and sits on his throne and pontificates about what "weenies" his employees are. They think they need encouragement. You know a pat on the back. Imagine that? You know as a boss, it really doesn't hurt to do it. To say "Good job." To say "Way to go." "I appreciate what you do." Actually it feels good to encourage someone else. This reader described his relationship with his boss as a "tolerate/hate relationship." That hits the nail on the head. You tolerate this kind of boss, learn to really dislike him and then end up looking for another job. If your boss is like this guy, blow the dust of your resume and do yourself a BIG favor. p.s. Thank you to the 1000th visitor to my new blog. I appreciate you stopping by. Come again posted at 10/08/2005 01:27:00 PM | 5 comments links to this post |
Share Your Worst or Best Boss Story - A Great OneWednesday, October 05, 2005I had to post this boss story. This is positively one of the most idiotic statements a boss can make. Read this reader's experience: "At my last professional level position (from which I was finally fired) I attempted to address the excessively long hours with my boss. We had been working 60 to 70 hours a week for over 6 months. When I told him that these hours were taking a serious toll on my family he told me matter of fact "That's why just about everyone in this business is divorced. You have to make a decision about what is more important to you." Like I actually had to think about it. That's when I decided that I didn't care about the company anymore. I was fired about 6 months later." Keep the stories coming! I know there are some really good ones out there. Eric The Blogging Boss posted at 10/05/2005 10:48:00 PM | 3 comments links to this post |
Share Your Worst or Best Boss StoryTuesday, October 04, 2005We all have had good and bad bosses. Hopefully less bad than good. I have been very fortunate. Even so, I have some bad stories as well. But I want to hear from you. Tell us about one of the worst or one of the best experiences you have had with a boss. Don't mention names or companies, even if they are no longer working for your company. posted at 10/04/2005 07:49:00 PM | 10 comments links to this post |
A Boss Who Gives Lip ServiceMonday, October 03, 2005One of the first signs that you may have a manager (boss) that may not be in the right position is the inability or unwillingness to listen. Your boss may not be able to listen because he was never taught as a child to listen when other people talk. Your boss may be unwilling to listen and that is worse. As a manager you must listen as much as you possibly can to those who call you “boss.” If a boss is unwilling to listen they devalue their employees. How? Here is the message an employee gets when a boss does not listen. 1. My boss doesn’t care about what I have to say. 2. My boss doesn’t care about what I think. 3. My boss doesn’t care about how I contribute. 4. My boss doesn’t care about my performance. 5. My boss doesn’t care about me as a person. The last one is the core issue. If your boss acts as if s/he is listening to you as you talk about issues that need to be addressed and then takes no action, you received “lip service.” “Lip Service” is the number one tactic used by a boss who really doesn’t care about you as an employee. If s/he doesn’t care about you personally as an employee, then all of the 5 bullet points above apply. Where does that leave you? Alone and “bossless.” You have no advocate, no servant and no leader. A reader posted these questions to my last post: “How do you deal with a boss who plays lip service to your concerns and then does not address them? 2. how do you deal with that boss when the concerns you brought up turn into problems and issues with your department? “ You can read what I said, but basically here are the main points: 1. If your boss has a pattern of not addressing your concerns, then you have the right to go to his/her boss and share the same concerns. The reason you have addressed your concerns with your boss's boss is because you are not getting answers. 2. Make sure your concerns are well stated and try not to point fingers, but just state facts. Never get emotional. 3. Your boss may try to retaliate. If s/he does, call for a meeting between you, your boss and his/her boss and discuss. Same way, state facts, no emotions. 4. If that goes no where, file a complaint in HR and be ready to look for another job. 5. There is only so much you can do. A boss who doesn't listen and doesn't care isn't worth working for. 6. Read your employee manual carefully and start learning what your rights are as an employee. The law is on the side of the employee if your complaint is completely legitimate and you handle it properly. 7. Many employees do not know labor law. Many lose their jobs illegally without even knowing it. The reader thanked me for the advice and brought up one important thing that I should have mentioned in my response. This is key! Here is what the reader posted back to my response: Thank you for your insights. And I am currently reading up on the HR policy now. One problem I have is that my boss's boss is the one who truly fosters the current climate...so I think that while I will go forward and do things as you have suggested. I am going to be prepared to have to go to HR. Luckily for me I do have emails and memos that back up all of my concerns Thank you for your advice :) This poster has EMAILS and MEMOS to back up all of the concerns. Documentation speaks for itself. Save ALL emails you get from your boss. I do. Managers have a way of having selective memory when it comes time to talk about the past. The poster also recognizes that the boss’s boss is probably part of the problem. There is a parallel between dysfunctional families and an organizational chart. Dysfunctional managers tend to hire other dysfunctional managers. In one of my previous post I talk about micromanagers hiring micromanagers. Unfortunately, a good HR department is often your only defense. Don’t let your boss give you “lip service.” You deserve to be heard. Eric The Blogging Boss posted at 10/03/2005 10:55:00 AM | 2 comments links to this post |
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