I was recently laid off from my administrative assistant position after 15 years with the company. For 13 years my boss gave me excellent performance appraisals. Then my boss left, and my new boss suddenly deemed me a poor performer, and I lost my job. Is that fair?
First of all, I’m sorry you lost your job. And while it’s understandable you feel aggrieved, it isn’t necessarily about fairness or right and wrong. Every person in a management role has a right and an obligation to lead in the way they think is best. They need to define priorities and expectations, evaluate what constitutes good performance and determine what skills are necessary for the business to move forward. So it’s not uncommon for an employee who was considered a strong performer under one manager to find themselves being evaluated differently under new management. It doesn’t mean you’re a poor performer, however. It just means you have to find a situation that values and needs what you are good at. It also means you may need to re-evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses, and determine whether you need to adapt and acquire new skills.
It’s come to my attention that someone on my staff routinely brings in plastic bottles from home and fills them up with water from the office water-cooler and takes them back home. How should I handle this? Can that be considered theft?
Technically, I guess it is theft . . . but if it is true, then I’m more inclined to call it the “I never cease to be amazed by the human condition and propensity for stupidity.” However, before you go accusing someone of stealing water, make sure there isn’t some logical explanation for why they’re siphoning off a Poland Spring stash. Perhaps the employee is getting water for the company track team or spending lunch time providing water to the homeless. Or maybe the employee just has the capacity of a camel and then works for 24 hours straight without taking a break.