WEBVTT - Will I Ever Find a Job I Like? 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:05.880 My colleagues. We'll stop commenting on everything I get my 0:00:05.880 --> 0:00:08.840 assistant eyes at people and meeting. Why does my coworker 0:00:08.920 --> 0:00:11.240 keep taking credit for all my idea? Have any wisdom 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.319 for me? Hi, I'm Alison Green. Welcome to the Aska 0:00:14.400 --> 0:00:18.040 Manager Podcast, where I answer questions from listeners about life 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:20.840 at work, everything from what to say if you're allergic 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:23.119 to your coworkers perfume to what to do if you 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:28.280 drink too much at the company party. Let's get started, Hi, 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.120 and welcome to the show. Today. We have a bunch 0:00:31.200 --> 0:00:33.919 of interesting questions to tackle, including someone who has an 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.280 ethical dilemma, someone who isn't sure how to answer a 0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:40.760 question that she keeps getting at new jobs, someone who's 0:00:40.800 --> 0:00:45.040 pregnant and has coworkers who are being strange, and more. 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:48.599 This first question is from someone who is wondering if 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:52.519 she'll ever have any job that she likes. Hi, Allison, 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:55.400 I wrote a rambling letter to your blog a while ago, 0:00:55.440 --> 0:00:57.640 and when I was incredibly stressed out and floundering at 0:00:57.680 --> 0:00:59.880 my new job. I managed to work myself out of 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:02.160 that immediate deep hole. But I'm still struggling with being 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:04.960 happy at work while I feel like the malfunctions I'm 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.240 dealing with in my current job are reason enough to leave. 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:09.679 There's a part of me that wonders, will I ever 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:12.839 like any job I hold. I spent my twenties either 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:16.000 hating my office like jobs or pursuing a more creative career, 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:18.360 only to realize I didn't like it and I wasn't 0:01:18.400 --> 0:01:20.640 really that good at it. I told myself that I 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:22.959 should stick with what I'm good at, which are more 0:01:22.959 --> 0:01:26.760 technical minded roles, but um with project management and process 0:01:26.800 --> 0:01:29.520 improvements sprinkled in there, and that I need to find 0:01:29.560 --> 0:01:32.279 out how to balance the good and bad with work. 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:35.400 At thirty, I started a decent job and quickly got 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.280 a promotion, but the company laid off workers earlier this 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.360 year due to losing a major client, so I decided 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:43.240 to look elsewhere. Not to mention that the culture there 0:01:43.280 --> 0:01:46.039 was pretty negative all the time. I thought the job 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:49.280 I started in April would be better, but my manager 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:51.760 is terrible and the leadership of my team and department 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.559 is very poor. Not to mention I'm drowning in work 0:01:54.560 --> 0:01:56.960 and can't stop stressing about it all the time. I 0:01:57.000 --> 0:01:58.920 have a tendency to care too much about work and 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:01.920 second guest myself. It's also really difficult for me to 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:04.200 just ignore things that can be improved at work, which 0:02:04.240 --> 0:02:07.120 I think drains me. I'm having trouble looking for a 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:09.320 new job again because I'm terrified I'm putting all this 0:02:09.440 --> 0:02:12.200 effort in just to hate my job again. I started 0:02:12.200 --> 0:02:14.320 working with a career coach to help me figure out 0:02:14.360 --> 0:02:17.040 what it is I want to do with my career. 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:19.840 But I'm still concerned that I'm just not going to 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.200 like any job that I go to. So my question is, 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:25.280 how can I like my job when there's always going 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.360 to be things I don't like about it? How can 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:29.240 I leave work at work and not stress about it 0:02:29.280 --> 0:02:33.080 all the time? Well? I think there are a few 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:36.840 different possibilities here. One is that you are in the 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:39.120 wrong field. You know, you picked work that you're good at, 0:02:39.639 --> 0:02:41.839 but that doesn't mean that you like that work. And 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.520 it's okay to not want to spend forty hours a 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.200 week or more doing something just because you happen to 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:49.240 be good at it. I mean, I might spend some 0:02:49.320 --> 0:02:51.840 time thinking about the parts of your jobs that you 0:02:51.960 --> 0:02:54.760 have actually enjoyed, not just we're good at, but really 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:57.880 felt good about doing, and it might not be an 0:02:57.880 --> 0:03:01.600 obvious field like project management, may be something small like, oh, 0:03:01.680 --> 0:03:04.320 I've really enjoyed talking new clients through our services and 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:07.200 how we'll work together, or oh, I love the days 0:03:07.200 --> 0:03:09.359 when I get to work totally alone with data and 0:03:09.400 --> 0:03:11.839 don't have to talk to anyone, or who knows what. 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.400 But if there's anything at all in the jobs that 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:16.520 you've had in the last decade that you did enjoy 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:20.600 or at least didn't dislike, think about those things and 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.040 see if it leads you anywhere. Because it's possible that 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:27.280 you were overly practical when you chose this field, and 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:29.920 that you've got a course correct by really leaning into 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.840 the stuff that you like. And you mentioned you're talking 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.560 to a career counselor, and I'm sure they're going into 0:03:35.560 --> 0:03:39.360 that stuff with you. The second possibility is that your 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:43.320 field is fine, but you're picking the wrong jobs. And 0:03:43.400 --> 0:03:46.480 this one might be something that the career counselor doesn't 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.520 get into so much. But I think it's really worth 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:52.880 thinking about because it's really really common. How much due 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:55.840 diligence are you doing when you accept a job? Are 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:58.400 you just kind of accepting any job that gets offered 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:01.240 to you, which a lot of people do, or are 0:04:01.320 --> 0:04:04.520 you really interviewing employers as much as they interview you, 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:06.840 you know, doing research on what it's like to work there, 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:11.720 and picking really, really carefully. Most people do it the 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:15.480 first way, not the second way, And honestly, sometimes people 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:17.720 don't have the luxury of doing it the second way. 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.240 I mean, sometimes you just need a job, period, and 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.039 you don't have the option of being picky. But when 0:04:23.040 --> 0:04:25.760 you're not selective about what jobs you take, you're much 0:04:25.800 --> 0:04:28.520 more likely to end up in a situation where you 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.279 don't like your job, where the boss is horrible, or 0:04:31.320 --> 0:04:34.800 the culture sucks, or the workload is overwhelming or so forth. 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:38.719 So before you conclude that you hate your field or 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:40.320 that you just will never like a job at all, 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.240 i'd really reflect on how much vetting you've done of 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:48.440 your jobs before you've taken them. If the answer is 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:51.960 very little, then I think it would be premature to 0:04:52.080 --> 0:04:54.120 assume that the problem is the field or that the 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:56.480 problem is you. In that case, the thing I would 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.840 try next is to start being much more deliberate and 0:05:00.000 --> 0:05:03.559 careful about vetting the next job, which also includes vetting 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.159 the boss, because there's often red flags in the interview 0:05:07.160 --> 0:05:09.680 process that people either don't notice or don't pay enough 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:13.640 attention to and often it's because you just get focused 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:15.839 on getting a job offer and you lose sight of 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.960 the fact that interviewing should be a two way street 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:22.120 where you're assessing the company right back. So that means 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.159 really paying attention to cuse that you get about culture 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:28.800 and about management style, and it also means going outside 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.920 of the formal interview process to get information about how 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.120 things really work there, the stuff you might not be 0:05:34.160 --> 0:05:37.080 able to find out in an interview. Linked In can 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:39.880 be really helpful in this because you can see if 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.480 anyone in your network is connected to anyone who works 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.120 there or used to work there and might be able 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.640 to give you the inside scoop. It doesn't even have 0:05:47.680 --> 0:05:50.400 to be people's first degree connections. It could be second 0:05:50.520 --> 0:05:53.400 or third degree connections, like if your old co worker 0:05:53.480 --> 0:05:56.239 is connected to someone who's connected to someone who's connected 0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.760 to the company you're working for, there's a good source 0:05:58.760 --> 0:06:02.080 of info. And especially if they don't work there anymore, 0:06:02.120 --> 0:06:06.720 people are often more willing to give you real candid information. 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.320 I actually think that is one of the best uses 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:12.320 of LinkedIn. UM. I mean LinkedIn is is also very 0:06:12.320 --> 0:06:15.400 helpful as sort of an automatically updated rolodex for everyone 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:18.080 you've ever worked with. And I think this is the 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:21.560 other way that it's super helpful. Obviously, some people also 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.440 find LinkedIn very helpful for recruiting and finding jobs, but 0:06:24.480 --> 0:06:27.120 a lot of people don't, and for those people, this 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:30.080 is the value that Lincoln can bring to you. Okay, 0:06:30.080 --> 0:06:32.560 So Possibility one is that you're in the wrong field. 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.560 Possibility too is that your field is fine, but you 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:38.480 need to vet jobs more carefully before you take them. 0:06:38.680 --> 0:06:42.280 Possibility three is that, yes, it is something that you 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.240 are bringing to the situation. You said you have a 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.640 tendency to care about work too much and to have 0:06:48.880 --> 0:06:51.640 trouble ignoring things that work that could be improved, and 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:55.000 that that drains you. And you are right that there 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:56.839 will always be things that a job that you don't 0:06:56.880 --> 0:06:59.920 like and for people who tend to care to uma, 0:07:00.000 --> 0:07:03.479 which it can be hard sometimes to know where the 0:07:03.560 --> 0:07:06.960 line is between. Yeah, this is an ideal, but it's 0:07:06.960 --> 0:07:08.680 not a huge problem and I can live with it, 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:12.720 versus this is truly toxic and I should get out. 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.440 One way to help calibrate it is to look at 0:07:16.440 --> 0:07:19.240 what people around you think. If you have some coworkers 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:22.960 who seem generally reasonable and they have good judgment and 0:07:23.000 --> 0:07:27.720 are reasonably accomplished. What's their take. Are they like, run 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:29.800 for the hills while you have the chance, or are 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:31.880 they more like, Yeah, it's a little annoying, but not 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:34.800 a big deal. That doesn't mean that you always have 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.560 to feel like other people around you feel, And frankly, 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:41.080 a really dysfinctional workplace can warp your sense of what's normal, 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:44.160 So there can be danger in relying too much on 0:07:44.200 --> 0:07:47.000 the opinions of other people. But it is one data 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:50.400 point to look at. The other thing to look at 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:53.640 is what the impact is on you. If something at 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:57.040 work is bugging you, is it bugging you in principle 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.480 because you think something should be running better, or is 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:03.800 it having an actual direct impact on your ability to 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:06.600 do your job and on your quality of life. If 0:08:06.600 --> 0:08:09.400 it's just annoying you on principle because someone is wrong 0:08:09.520 --> 0:08:13.640 or because you would handle something differently, I mean, believe me, 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:15.640 I get that that stuff. I'm like the Queen of 0:08:15.640 --> 0:08:18.960 being annoyed on principle, but at the point where it's 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:22.280 affecting your mental quality of life even though the work 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:25.400 thing itself is not impacting your quality of life. That 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:27.679 stuff I would work and letting go. You know, they're 0:08:27.680 --> 0:08:30.880 presumably not paying you to care more about that stuff 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:34.559 than they do, and it's okay to decide I'm at 0:08:34.559 --> 0:08:36.680 work to do this very specific job that they're paying 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.440 me for, and I don't have to care about things 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.240 outside of that scope because someone else is handling that, 0:08:42.920 --> 0:08:46.200 even if they're handling it differently than I think they should, 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:51.280 And there can be real relief and even liberation in 0:08:51.640 --> 0:08:56.000 just deciding to care less. On the other hand, though, 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:58.880 if the things that you are bothered by are directly 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.520 affecting you, and you mentioned drowning and work, and that 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:05.520 would certainly qualify, that's different. Those are cases where I 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:08.720 think you should explore whether there are solutions that would 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:10.600 improve things for you, like in the case of an 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:13.720 overwhelming workload, talking to your boss about prioritizing what's on 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:16.880 your plate and potentially moving things off of it. If 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:18.800 that doesn't work, then you know that this is part 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:20.880 of the package of having this job, and you can 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:22.760 decide from there if it works for you or not. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.480 But I think getting real clarity on what doesn't doesn't 0:09:26.520 --> 0:09:30.800 affect you and very deliberately choosing not to focus on 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:34.000 the stuff that doesn't may help you get clearer about 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.200 what's really going on here. It's hard to say for 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.320 sure with the limited info that I have, but these 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:42.120 are the places that I would start digging into. Okay, 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:46.600 next letter, Hi Alison, I'm not sure how to answer 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:48.959 some questions from my colleagues after I started a new 0:09:49.040 --> 0:09:52.720 job Boston Times. I will have just started a week 0:09:52.840 --> 0:09:55.360 or two or even a month in and I'm always asked, 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:58.840 what do you think about this place? How do you 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:01.600 like it here? Or even more phlammic thing, do you 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:04.440 like your new job here? I know that my colleagues 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:06.560 are coming from a good place and I want to 0:10:06.559 --> 0:10:08.880 get along with them, but I don't want to sound 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:12.520 or say anything off putting or alienating. Do you have 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:15.360 any suggestions on how to answer this type of question? 0:10:16.240 --> 0:10:20.640 Thank you so much. In the vast majority of cases, 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.439 this question is really similar to how are you, and 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:27.640 that people are saying it to be warm and polite 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:30.920 and are expecting you to complete the exchange by saying 0:10:30.960 --> 0:10:34.160 something warm and polite in return. They're just looking for 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.560 you to say something like, oh, I'm getting settled in 0:10:36.640 --> 0:10:40.200 everyone seems great so far, or so far so good, 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:42.880 or you know, there's a lot to learn, but I'm 0:10:42.920 --> 0:10:46.800 really enjoying it. They are not usually looking for anything 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:50.040 beyond that, like a confession that you're overwhelmed or second 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:52.480 guessing your decision to take the job, or that you 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:55.559 have some real doubts about the boss. And if someone 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:58.080 is looking for that kind of answer and they're not 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:00.920 your boss, that is often going to be someone who 0:11:01.000 --> 0:11:04.079 is into drama, and you don't want to feed that. Now. 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.320 I said if they're not your boss, because this is 0:11:06.360 --> 0:11:08.560 different when your boss is the one doing the asking. 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:11.200 With your boss, there is more room to have a 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.880 real conversation, like if there's more training that you need, 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.120 or the job doesn't seem like what you signed up for, 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.400 or you need clarity about something. Those are things that 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:22.760 you can definitely discuss with your boss in response to 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:25.840 this question. But with everyone else, they're usually just trying 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:28.400 to be warm and welcoming and to connect with you 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.080 in some way, and so you just respond in kind 0:11:31.240 --> 0:11:33.920 with something like so far, so good, and then you 0:11:33.960 --> 0:11:36.520 can keep the conversation going if you want, by asking 0:11:36.559 --> 0:11:39.480 things like how long have you been here? And tell 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:41.600 me more about the work that you do and things 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:44.000 like that. Most people like to talk about themselves, and 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.640 you can build relationships through those conversations. We're gonna go 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:59.480 to a quick break here and come right back. Accepted 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:02.320 a job for a little over six months ago at 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:05.560 a rapidly growing startup company. At the time, my role 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:08.480 was intended to serve under a senior manager to help 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.960 with the high volume of work. At the time, the 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.080 pace seemed a little low, but I was desperate for 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:17.160 a new job and accepted without negotiating. However, not even 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.199 halfway through my time at this company, the senior manager 0:12:20.280 --> 0:12:23.199 left and I was given her entire workload. While I 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.440 was stressed for to say the least, I set up 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.400 to the plate and make sure everything continued to run smoothly. 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.240 I was thanked immensely for my hard work, but not 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:34.160 offered a raise or promotion. Here we are a few 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.160 months later. My company has hired a second person to 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:41.120 share responsibility with my assigned tasks, but I'm still swamped. 0:12:41.640 --> 0:12:44.280 I've been told numerous times that I will will receive 0:12:44.320 --> 0:12:48.080 a performance review once HR finalizes their new initiative for 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:52.280 raises and promotions, but I'm growing frustrated. What has really 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:55.959 triggered my dissatisfaction was recently finding out that co op 0:12:56.000 --> 0:12:59.120 students my company has hired this quarter are getting paid 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:02.120 more than me. I've gone ahead and address my workload 0:13:02.160 --> 0:13:04.959 as well as salary concerns with my manager, who cannot 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.000 make any promises about when and how this will be resolved. 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:12.640 Is there anything further I can do? Thanks? Maybe there 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:15.679 are definitely things you should try first. I want to 0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:19.160 say that in general, in most cases, you wouldn't normally 0:13:19.200 --> 0:13:21.319 ask for a raise until you've been there for a year, 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:24.440 even if you realize that you should have negotiated better 0:13:24.520 --> 0:13:27.280 when the offer was made. Once you agree to a salary, 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.280 the understanding is generally that you're agreeing to work at 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:32.719 that salary for a period of time, and usually it's 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:35.520 going to look off if you ask for the salary 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.280 to be revisited sooner than a year. But there are 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.440 some exceptions to that, and this is one of them, 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.680 because when your job changes significantly from the one that 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:47.920 you accepted, it's reasonable to revisit compensation at that point. 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.320 If you were really given your manager's entire workload, that 0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:53.720 is a huge change, and that is a reason to 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.440 revisit how much you're making now. You said that you 0:13:57.480 --> 0:13:59.160 have been told a bunch of times that you will 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:02.120 get a performance of you at some point once HR 0:14:02.240 --> 0:14:06.400 finalizes some processes. But the performance review isn't really the 0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:08.559 issue here. I mean, yes, let's get you a performance 0:14:08.600 --> 0:14:11.040 review if you want one, but the more important thing 0:14:11.120 --> 0:14:14.800 right now is the salary. And you're still being paid 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:18.160 for this previous, more junior version of the job rather 0:14:18.200 --> 0:14:21.480 than for the significantly increased amount of responsibility that you've 0:14:21.520 --> 0:14:24.400 taken on. You don't need a performance review for them 0:14:24.440 --> 0:14:26.760 to correct your salary. So I don't want you to 0:14:26.840 --> 0:14:29.480 play into that idea because that is making it more 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:32.720 complicated than it needs to be. So what I think 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:34.960 you should do is go to your boss and say, 0:14:35.240 --> 0:14:37.120 you know, I understand that HR is in the middle 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:39.920 of new processes for raises and promotions, but I want 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:42.760 to request that my salary be addressed now. I was 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:44.920 happy to help out when Jane left and to pick 0:14:45.000 --> 0:14:47.760 up her workload, but it's been several months since I've 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:49.560 been doing her work as well as my own and 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.840 shouldering significantly more responsibility than the job that I was 0:14:52.880 --> 0:14:55.240 brought on to do. And I'd like my salary to 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:58.760 reflect the way the job has changed. Can we adjust 0:14:58.800 --> 0:15:01.960 my salary now to reflect that the work I'm doing 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:04.280 now is different than what I was brought into do. 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:08.240 If your boss tells you that yes, it will happen 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:11.600 at some point, but doesn't say when, then you can 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:13.320 try to pin that down a little more. You can 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:16.120 say something like, I'd like to get a more solid 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:18.720 timeline in place for this, because it's been several months. 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:21.120 What do we need to do to get this addressed? 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:25.840 And frankly, you can also say, I am concerned that 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:28.280 the co op students we've hired are being paid more 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:31.360 than me given our relative contributions, and I'd like to 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:34.880 correct that. But if that doesn't produce any results, then 0:15:34.920 --> 0:15:37.920 at that point there isn't much more pushing you can do, 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:40.040 and so you would have to decide if you're willing 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.520 to stay in the job at this level of pay 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:45.560 or if you want to look elsewhere. And it's also 0:15:45.600 --> 0:15:47.600 possible if they do come through with a raise at 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:50.240 some point, you can push them to make it retroactive 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.080 so that it covers this period. Some companies will do that, 0:15:53.360 --> 0:15:57.440 some won't, but it's you can definitely ask one caveat 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:00.200 to all of this, though, and it's important you did 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:02.560 say that they hired someone else to help with the workload. 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:05.360 So if your workload is now just a bit higher 0:16:05.400 --> 0:16:08.600 than before, that isn't something that I would make this 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:12.640 strong of a pushover workloads change, and that is just 0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.680 how it goes. And in that case, you can't be 0:16:15.880 --> 0:16:18.920 quite this aggressive coming at it from a place of 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.800 of course they need to fix this, but if you've 0:16:21.840 --> 0:16:24.760 really taken over most of your old manager's job, then 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:28.040 go for it. And one other thing which won't help 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.320 you now but might help in the future. I totally 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:32.040 get that when you get offered a job and you're 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:35.800 feeling desperate, it's very tempting to just accept without trying 0:16:35.840 --> 0:16:39.400 to negotiate salary. But it almost always does make sense 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:41.440 to ask for more. I mean, there are some situations 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.680 where it doesn't like if they met or exceeded the 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.440 amount that you said you were looking for, or if 0:16:46.480 --> 0:16:50.240 the offer is already really generous for your field, or 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:52.760 if you know that salaries for this role are fixed 0:16:52.800 --> 0:16:56.720 and they don't negotiate, But in most cases it does 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:58.160 make sense to see if you can get a little 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.840 bit more because you can often get a lot more 0:17:00.840 --> 0:17:04.159 money just by asking for it at that point, and 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:06.600 it typically will never be as easy to get a 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:09.280 raise later on as it is to get a higher 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:13.400 salary during the offer negotiation process. So even when you're 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:18.439 feeling desperate, don't let that be a reason not to ask. Okay, 0:17:18.480 --> 0:17:22.760 next letter, I'm calling because I have a bit of 0:17:22.800 --> 0:17:25.480 an ethical flamma that I started having to say a 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:28.000 work recently, and I was wondering if you could help 0:17:28.040 --> 0:17:32.880 me out. I worked for a conglomerate of doctors, so 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:38.320 the hierarchy within the offices or office is very different 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:44.080 than a normal corporate work environment. But recently, my supervisor 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:48.720 has asked that me and my fellow co workers in 0:17:48.760 --> 0:17:52.600 the same position in our office and the other offices 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:58.960 that we work with, reports weekly about the doctors and 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.639 residents when they are coming into the office in the morning. 0:18:03.280 --> 0:18:08.920 So it's it's it's very confusing, um because the doctors 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:11.520 that we work with, some of them are specialists, and 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:13.640 it's not those ones that we have to report about, 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:15.680 but it's the doctors that we work with every day. 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:19.960 They are the doctors who would be our immediate supervisors 0:18:20.000 --> 0:18:23.240 and We were told when we were asked to do 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:25.760 this that they didn't want any of it in writing. 0:18:26.240 --> 0:18:30.040 So my supervisor came out to all of our locations, 0:18:30.200 --> 0:18:33.199 came out to us on location and told us and 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:36.159 said that it was just her and the CIO that 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:39.680 wanted uh disinformation, and that we were not to tell 0:18:39.720 --> 0:18:42.960 anybody about it. Not really to discuss it, but it 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:48.960 just it troubled me that they're asking for documentation about 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:55.160 our supervisors are like quasi supervisors arrival times, but they 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:59.840 also want no written record of this, and I just 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:02.480 feel like it's a very strange ethical Blaman, I was 0:19:02.520 --> 0:19:07.800 hoping you could help. Oh, this is interesting. So there 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:10.560 are very legitimate reasons that they could be asking you 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.480 to do this. They could have gotten reports from patients 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:16.040 or from other people that doctors aren't there when they're 0:19:16.080 --> 0:19:18.880 supposed to be. They could be in a position where 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:21.560 they're genuinely concerned that doctors aren't there when they need 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:23.520 to be, but they're not in sight to see it 0:19:23.560 --> 0:19:25.960 for themselves, and so they're asking the people who are 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:29.560 to let them know what's going on. This isn't the 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:32.600 best way for them to handle it, because of course 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:36.400 it's going to make you and your coworkers feel uncomfortable. Ideally, 0:19:36.440 --> 0:19:39.080 they would just talk to the doctors directly about what's 0:19:39.080 --> 0:19:42.560 going on. But maybe they've done that and it's still unresolved. 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:46.880 We don't know. In that case, Ideally they then talk 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:49.399 to you, but in a different way, instead of just 0:19:49.480 --> 0:19:52.440 asking you to keep a log without giving you any context. 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:55.560 They could say something like, we're trying to get a 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.000 handle on the flow of doctors in the office. Can 0:19:58.040 --> 0:19:59.959 you give us a sense of what hours you typically 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:03.080 see each person keeping Are people there in the morning, 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:05.800 when patients show up, and that kind of thing. But 0:20:05.920 --> 0:20:08.600 it's hard to know what's going on behind the scenes, 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:11.400 and it's possible that they do actually have some reason 0:20:11.480 --> 0:20:14.919 for handling it this way. It's also possible, of course, 0:20:15.280 --> 0:20:17.320 that they don't, and that this was their first step 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.359 before they did any of the other things I talked about, 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:21.719 in which case they aren't handling it well and they 0:20:21.720 --> 0:20:24.440 should have a conversation with the doctors who they're concerned about. 0:20:25.080 --> 0:20:28.600 But ultimately, that's their call and it's not one that 0:20:28.640 --> 0:20:32.000 you get to make. They do have the right to 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:34.120