The Workplace Stack Exchange
The Workplace Stack Exchange

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1500 questions
94
votes
10 answers

What to do when a sick employee doesn't respond to communications, and has important data?

There is an employee I have been working with that told me she is sick a week ago. Yesterday, I tried to contact her through the usual channels and she did not respond. Yesterday she told me that she will call me back through SMS, she did not. She…
Joe Doe
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94
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6 answers

Spying on potential employer's LinkedIn

I know LinkedIn notifies the user when someone visits their profile. I have an interview scheduled in a week with 4 different people from a company. I would like to see what is on their LinkedIn and see if I can learn more about these 4 people…
Crazy Cucumber
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94
votes
8 answers

It's not my job to answer the phone

I happen to sit near the secretary who handles the company phone. The secretary doesn't always come to work at my office as she alternates working between multiple offices. Hence, whenever she's not around and the phone rings, I usually answer it…
Rufus
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93
votes
6 answers

Would I be wrong to leave the start-up I’m working for with one month’s notice?

I work for a 25-person startup company. Even though we are a startup we have good funding from a big investor. My role here is CTO (not co-founder) taking care of 5-6 people (used to be 10+). My boss seems to like me a lot (and few other people)…
user54817
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93
votes
10 answers

My manager said I spend too much time on Stack Exchange. How can I prove its value?

I was recently speaking with my manager, who stated that while my work is satisfactory, they've been noticing I'm spending a lot of time of Stack Exchange. I find Stack Exchange to be very informative and helpful in my work. Particularly considering…
user49741
93
votes
15 answers

Software development: Is it appropriate to tell my boss and coworkers that it is difficult for me to discuss specs verbally?

I don't know if it's because of an undiagnosed learning disability or what, but discussing specs verbally is essentially impossible for me. While I'm still processing what someone has said, they've finished discussing three other things. I very…
Andrew
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93
votes
9 answers

Should I report this workplace thievery?

For the last 6 months, some of my coworkers and I have noticed our tools have been missing out of our locked lockers. These are expensive construction tools that are our livelihood. I hid a motion activated camera in one of my tool lockers, facing…
Don L.
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93
votes
11 answers

How do I tell recruiters I don't want to go forward until they answer my question, but without being rude?

I have now gone through this process ~2.5 times: A recruiter from a company contacts me. I ask what projects they have that I could work on, and if those projects use the technology stack I'm interested in working with, since that is the deciding…
lala
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93
votes
12 answers

As a stutterer I have been asked to move into Management

I have had a stutter for my whole life and after a few minutes most people can easily recognise it. I have always worked in Infrastructure doing mostly Engineering/Security and Development. I have been told by my senior management that they want to…
lara400
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93
votes
9 answers

Being asked to sign a "termination certificate" 6 months after resigning

The company is registered in Delaware, US. But I worked for the branch in Europe. I just got an email that I have to sign a "Termination Certificate" 6 months after quitting. It states: I also agree that for twelve (12) months from this date, I…
Trest
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93
votes
11 answers

Right way to say that I disagree with a design but will implement it despite my objections

I am asked to implement a design which I am strongly against. How do I say professionally "to me this is not the best design but I will implement it because you insist"? I suspect that the lead developer does not want (or cannot) share the real…
eee
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93
votes
21 answers

As an interviewer, how to conduct interviews with candidates you already know will be rejected?

I’m a senior technical team leader at my company. Because of my role and experience, I regularly have to conduct interviews with candidates. I’m facing more and more frequently this situation: I interview people I already know will be…
Alex Q
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93
votes
11 answers

How to handle (one's own) old self-harm scars (on the arm), in a work environment?

My girlfriend is graduating from college right now and starting her professional career in a medium sized, rather traditional company in Germany (~12k employees worldwide). While being a teenager she self-harmed and has easily visible scars on her…
froehr
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93
votes
12 answers

Using a colleague's laptop without asking for permission

In one of my previous jobs, I had the following situation, and I'm not sure what would have been the right way to react. Once, during a team meeting, I was showing something work related on my laptop (I think, slides for a presentation) to my…
lawful_neutral
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93
votes
11 answers

How acceptable is it to openly compare team member performances

I had this manager that frequently brought up how team members performed compared to each other during one-on-ones or performance reviews. E.g. "A could do this task in half an hour you took three hours on" or "I can not give you a better…
Layman
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