My boss is notoriously late to meetings and keeps people waiting for as long as an hour. We don’t even get a heads-up that he’s going to be late — we’re just expected to sit around in the conference room waiting. How do you handle such a situation?
Bosses have a lot of demands on their time, and it’s to be expected that they might run a few minutes late, or occasionally have to delay a meeting for as long as an hour, or cancel suddenly. That’s just the fluid nature of the workplace.
But a boss who is regularly an hour late and who expects the staff to just sit around and wait is suffering from a severe case of self-importance. His behavior is also irresponsible, rude and unproductive. (Other than that I have no opinion of his actions!)
The most senior person on the team — or the person with the closest relationship — needs to speak with the boss privately and explain that his habits aren’t serving to get the most and best out of the team. If his schedule is that unpredictable, then the staff should be directed to block out a certain amount of time for meetings — but to continue working as normal until the meeting begins.
If the boss doesn’t recognize that this is a problem and doesn’t want to adjust, then you either accept it or look for a new boss.
What tips do you have for discreetly looking for a job while employed so as not to put your current job in jeopardy?
The key word here is “discreetly.” People, if you don’t want word to get out, then don’t tell anyone — and that means not broadcasting your search on social media.
Here are a few other “don’ts”: Don’t use your company e-mail address to correspond with prospective employers; don’t conduct your job search or interviews on company time — or on the company dime. In the olden days, I knew someone who made copies of his resume on the company Xerox machine and a malfunction caused the resume imprint to be burnished into the roller bar — I kid you not.