I’m being moved from a windowed office to an open cube and I hate it. I can’t concentrate with all the noise and activity, and my productivity is going to suffer. This is not the environment I signed up for when I accepted the job. Can I make a claim that my work conditions have changed and negotiate unemployment benefits?
Sure, you can make that claim, in much the same way that court dockets are overcrowded with people making all sorts of fanciful claims! I’d love to see the expression on the face of the claims administrator hearing your rationale for collecting unemployment checks. Well, here’s a reality check: Roll with it. The workplace has already moved to more open-space plans, and this is no longer merely progressive but simply catching up with the times. It not only saves money but helps build community, energy and collaboration. So if solitude is critical for your concentration and happiness, consider working from home — because you are going to have fewer options when you look for another office job.
I’ve been on many job interviews in which the interviewer asks the question, “What is your greatest weakness?” I never know what to say. Any advice?
I suggest you say to the interviewer, “The 1980s are calling — and they want their personnel manual back!” I mean, really, only amateur managers and rigid personnel types ask that question! I’d try and laugh it off with some safe vice like “chocolate” or “linzer tarts.” If the interviewer won’t let you off the hook, then babble on about how learning and development never ends, and talk about some skill you’d like to acquire or enhance — the lack of which won’t disqualify you from consideration for the job. And if you’re really bold, when they ask you if you have any questions at the end of the interview you should ask them what their greatest weakness is! OK, maybe not — since we already know one of their biggest weaknesses. Keep it light and smart. Good luck.