Comment by CCTO on Is it ok to use an employers laptop and software licencing...
I've upvoted; I think it most likely is this clear cut, and I think it's vanishingly unlikely that any of the "maybe it's ok if..." scenarios would be borne out in reality.
View ArticleComment by CCTO on Headset during a video interview?
Headsets are the gold standard for audio quality, and doing an interview with new-to-you equipment is asking for trouble.
View ArticleComment by CCTO on Should I use my supervisor's formal title in a US (Los...
Mr./Mrs./Miss are very rare in North American workplaces; the exception would be where one party has a title such as Dr or Prof, which is relevant to the workplace. In municipal government, I would...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on Are there any countries where a company can lawfully claim...
"Owning you", as if your employer's interest in your other activities is equivalent to Chattel Slavery, is either hyperbolic or shows a real perspective issue, and "is there any country" is no more...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on How to deal with colleagues saying they don't need help in...
I think this is a great answer; I'd add that that the person may be doing this because there are individuals in the initial meeting that, for whatever reason, they don't want involved. Maybe they'd...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on How should a new employee handle discovering data...
The phrase "On accident V discovered" bears a bit of examination. This looks a lot like V was snooping on data that their boss had collected. Is this in the normal scope of V's processes, to review...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on How should a new employee handle discovering data...
It's an excellent idea for V to propose a "second set of eyes" process, and while V is still kind of new may be a good time to float it, blue-sky like. As Anketam says, if the company doesn't see the...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on How to handle vile and racist and graphic comments and...
This is a very good idea. You can have a non-anonymous internal channel, but given that the anonymous channel has been badly abused (very likely by a small number of people, possibly just one) you...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on Someone else used my office while I am WFH - what should I...
The OP says "it was explicitly determined that my office would NOT be a shared space". This is the crux of it and overrides any generic consideration of whose office it is, etc. But the question is:...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on Would it be inappropriate to leave anonymous letters of...
Brilliant summary. If the OP is in a leadership position, they need to be forthright and open. If they're not, they shouldn't pretend to be. They are not in a position to monitor and judge others'...
View ArticleComment by CCTO on What's the proper etiquette when joining an audio...
-1. The question relates to a pre-defined situation: joining after a conversation has begun. "Ya shoulda fallen in" is not a helpful answer to someone asking for help getting out of a hole.
View ArticleComment by CCTO on Is it acceptable to make a recurring daily calendar...
I routinely block off time not just for lunch but to avoid meetings before 9:00 and after 5:00, and to protect time to work on things (thing's I've promised to do, as a result of meetings). It's a...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Is using an informal version of my name in professional...
I would recommend the opposite of some of the advice above. All your correspondence, your resume, your job application, everything, should be in the name you want to go by. Buzz Aldrin, J R Ewing,...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for I snapped at a co-worker, apologized, but now HR wants me...
This one has gotten a lot of great answers but there are some points that I think are worth adding, yet.1) That they want you to sit with the person means they see it as an inter-personal conflict....
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for How to stop a coworker from constantly nagging about...
Agree to join the swear jar on the condition that for every day you don't swear at all, you get to take a handful out of it. And quit swearing.
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for How can I convince my colleague to call the help desk...
This is about Rick. Sit down in person with Joel, in a private space, and get him to share, objectively, his experiences with Rick. Rick may be cordial and open with you and his teammates, but...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for I don't want to pay for a work social event, how should I...
Any point in time at which you learn some new material fact about the event, is a new point at which it's legit to decline. So if they announced the event six months ago, but told you only a few days...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Applicant refuses to give employment-history or CV
There are lots of ways to craft a CV to show what your experience is, without divulging secondary details. You can say "wrote a donations-management system for a major regional religious congregation"...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for I know (all) the members of the interview panel. Does that...
If your familiarity with these people is strictly, or mostly, professional, as in they are former colleagues or supervisors, then I would say you need to do nothing. It would be up to them to declare...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Is it wise to opt out of training I'm not obliged to take?
Discuss this with your manager, or with some other person in a suitable decision-making position. If you and your colleagues are doubting the value of the material that you already took, someone in...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Is it discriminatory to put "bonus" video game skills in a...
Suppose the hiring manager was a woman and she announced that she thought the ideal candidate for the IT role was someone who had worked needlepoint as a hobby. Oh, and scrapbooked. It would fit the...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Workplace wants me to leave my car at an airport for a week
If you didn’t have a car, or if you had family that would need the car for the time period, what mode of transport to the airport would your employer approve of, and reimburse? There has to be an...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Should I ask my company to pay my internet bill if...
Yes, absolutely, you should make it clear that you'd be happy to work from home but do not currently have the setup to make it possible. If you were a high-level salaried manager, they might reasonably...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Company HR asking questions on my hiring process, should I...
It's perhaps more likely that HR may be trying to find out if your hiring manager did something wrong. Did they get prior budgetary approval before extending your offer? Did they hire you into the...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Can a customer ask for a different sales rep?
My guess is your sales rep's boss is pressuring them to bring in new business and that's where they're spending their time, at the expense of their current customers. Or maybe the vendor is in...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Interview for a different position turned me off to the...
If I've got this right, the recruiters that you're considering talking to are the original people who impressed you at the company's booth. I'd recommend pushing past the disappointing behavioral...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Is it a standard practice for a manager to know their...
Yes, in North American workplaces, your direct boss usually knows your salary, whether they are Manager or Director or any other title, and usually are wholly or partly responsible for the budget from...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for How to handle hourly employee taking unauthorized overtime?
It is extremely common to have a firm policy that overtime is to be worked only on prior approval (or in the case of well-documented emergencies, if this is a factor) and that unapproved overtime won't...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for How do I handle feedback on behavior that my boss is...
I think the answer from Owen Reynolds is onto something, and has been unfairly downvoted: emotions aren't all equal in the workplace. Many workplaces tolerate or encourage a kind of get-it-done anger,...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Former coworker I gave a reference for sabotaged the...
I think you should contact your company's HR department and talk this over with them. You may find out that they have a corporate policy of discouraging peer references; some companies even discourage...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Muslim colleague is uncomfortable with 1:1 meeting and...
Re: "At the same time she decided to join a team from a different culture so it should be expected that she eventually adjusts to some of the local culture, and her team, rather than the opposite."This...
View ArticleAnswer by CCTO for Being asked to change my last name (in HR system) to work...
Sadly, IT systems that can't handle apostrophes are real. Since the character is used for both contractions and for quoting, it's easy for real-world software to mis-handle it. Worse, if accepted as...
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