It’s four answers to four questions. Here we go…
1. We’re supposed to do enneagrams at a company retreat
I work at an organization with 100+ employees. We gather periodically for company-wide retreats. We have done this in the past with various professional learning opportunities. This time we were asked to fill out an enneagram survey that would be facilitated in conversation about “what truly drives you and how to apply that to your job.” I find it to be mumbo jumbo and about as scientific as astrology. I took the quiz and found myself increasingly uncomfortable with the questions and rigor of the survey.
How can I share this with management? How can they create alternative options for those of us who do not want to participate in such a session? Am I totally off-base here in my discomfort with this in the work setting?
You’re not off-base; it’s pseudoscience. Some people don’t really care about that; they figure it’s the equivalent of a Buzzfeed quiz and they have fun with it without putting a ton of weight on the results or they find it an interesting tool for self-reflection. But it’s legitimate to dislike it and to be annoyed if your workplace is spending time on it and putting real weight on the results. Moreover, materials about the enneagram can have a religious slant (sometimes a Christian one, while other branches of Christianity strongly object to it — either way, a problem at work).
At a minimum, you should point out the religious angle and ask if people can opt out.
2. My employee’s posts on LinkedIn make me worried that he might be violating our company AI policy
I have a question about my responsibility as a manager when one of my direct reports may or may not be violating our company AI policy. Like a number of other companies, we have an internal instance of Microsoft Copilot enabled that keeps data internal, and are permitted to use it (but no external tools).
Recently, I saw a LinkedIn post from one of my direct reports (he added me as a connection when he started the job), talking about a number of generative AI tools he has been using. I know he has a lot of hobby code projects that are completely independent of his job (he posts about them on LinkedIn often), and of course he is allowed to use whatever tools he pleases for those. What gives me pause is that this post talks specifically about generative AI tools for data analysis, which is a core function of his job.
It’s impossible to tell from the post whether he is talking about a personal project or his work, but it could be about either — it was a description of how he likes to use certain tools. If he’s using it for work, it’s a violation of our AI policy, and he does work with patient data (deidentified, so no PHI, but still concerning). I don’t want to overstep and grill him over his LinkedIn activity if it’s just for a personal project, but the possibility that he may be using it for work is concerning.
As his manager, I feel like I have to do something, but what is the correct course of action? Do I start by asking him? Do I start by reaching out to our go-to person for the AI policy (who I do have a strong working relationship with) to ask for guidance?
In case it makes a difference, he also drops the ball quite frequently on some bureaucratic things. For example, he failed to reset his password when it was expiring because he thought that the email telling him to do so (from an internal IT email address) was spam. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t realize that we have an AI policy, even though it is available on our intranet and must have been communicated when he started the job.
Just ask him! You didn’t go snooping and come across his mention of AI in a shady way; he connected to you on LinkedIn and posted it about there. You can just mention what you saw and ask about it: “I saw your post on LinkedIn talking about generative AI tools you’ve using. It’s pretty interesting! I did want to ask if you’re using any of them in your work here, and make sure you know the details of our policy on AI.”
3. Intern can’t shake hands with men
We had a grad practicum student in our office this summer, and she is Muslim (and wears a hijab) and tries not to touch men. This is easy to manage in our office, but during partnership events she found herself shaking some men’s hands even though it made her uncomfortable.
How I could have made these events smoother for her and our partners? Are there lines I could use while introducing her that indicate she prefers not to shake someone’s hand, or lines she could use herself? In the future, I would brief our partners quietly about it, but that’s not always possible. Our sector is very empathetic so no one will mind, but being junior and a minority led her to feel pretty awkward during these interactions regardless of whether she shook a man’s hand or politely declined to.
A lot of people who don’t shake hands for religious or other reasons develop a physical signal that deters the handshake while still conveying warmth (which, after all, is the point of the handshake, so a warm substitute really helps). A lot of religious people with this restriction will put their right hand over their heart and bow their head a little. If someone seems confused by that, they can say, “I don’t shake, but it’s lovely to meet you” (or “to see you” if they’ve met before).
If she’s going to do that, it will be easier if she does it with everyone, not just men. In a workplace setting, you really want to treat men and women the same, which means that if you have a restriction for one sex (whether it’s not shaking their hand or not being alone with them), it’s better to apply it to everyone.
4. What’s a professional way to say “it’s been one thing after another”?
It’s been a challenging few months, and I’m significantly behind at work. Things are starting to get better and I’m catching back up, but I have no idea what to say to people (if anything) about the communication delays and other dropped balls. My supervisor is in the loop, so this is more about communicating with coworkers and stakeholders.
In short, during a three- or four-month period, my tires were slashed three times (likely a hate crime but that’s not 100% clear), I bought a house for the first time (it ended up requiring some surprise repairs), I moved, and my pet died. Throughout these events, I seem to have consistently underestimated the level of physical and emotional exhaustion that would result, and the toll it would take overall. I took a lot of PTO, some planned and some not, and even while at work I was often distracted and not doing my best.
According to my supervisor, “this is the ebb and flow of life” but even if that’s true it seems rude to say that to people who have been inconvenienced by my “ebbing.” Citing “personal issues” seems too vague and open to interpretation, but I might be overthinking it.
Is there something quick and respectful I can say that doesn’t get into all the details but does somehow convey that I was Going Through Things But Now I’m Getting Back on Track? I feel “stuck” catching up on certain areas because I can’t figure out the first sentence for my extremely late email responses.
“I’m so sorry for the delay on this — I’ve been out quite a bit dealing with a situation that should be under control now. Let me get you the answers you were waiting on.” (Adjust last sentence to fit whatever the context is.)
Or: “I’m so sorry for the delay on this — I’ve needed to be out quite a bit so I’ve been in triage mode, and I apologize for not updating you.”
That’s it, truly! These options cover a whole variety of possibilities, shares the part that’s relevant, and is the right lead-in to whatever comes next (whether that’s getting the person info they’d asked for, figuring out next steps for a project, or so forth).
Related:
how do I hold it together at work during a personal crisis?
The post enneagrams at a company retreat, intern can’t shake hands with men, and more appeared first on Ask a Manager.
Source: www.askamanager.org
The post enneagrams at a company retreat, intern can’t shake hands with men, and more appeared first on Jobpal.lk - Find Jobs in Sri Lanka. Post Jobs for Free..
from Jobpal.lk – Find Jobs in Sri Lanka. Post Jobs for Free. https://ift.tt/a6V4wOh
0 Comments