Ask the Workplace Doctors

Before You Submit Your Question…….

March 1, 2019March 26, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

Ask the Workplace Doctors is a FREE resource to help you find solutions to workplace communication problems.

1. You may find the answer to your question in our archive of over 3,000 questions and responses in the categories on the right.

2. You will receive an email response. When your question is posted, it will be shown as anonymous.

3. Our expertise is workplace communication, not legal or medical. Under the “Useful Links” tab at the top, we list sites to which you might submit legal and medical questions.

Apology???

August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 Bill Gorden

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about dealing with a coworker that acts like she knows everything and can do everyone’s job better than them.

I sent an email to my co-workers asking for guidance on an email that I had to send out. Mostly for them to proofread it and to edit it if need be. The co-worker in question sent back a harsh email telling me that my email was incorrect. Instead of giving me advice on what it should say she just told me that it was incorrect and if I sent it out the employees would never trust our department again.

What About a Fragrance-Free Workplace?

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

I’ve read several posts regarding perfumes and fragrances in the workplace. As far as I can tell, adopting a (reasonably) fragrance free environment is at the company’s discretion.

Coworker In Affair With My Husband and Making My Work Difficult.

August 18, 2019August 18, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

Question: I work with a woman who I have discovered is having an affair with my husband and assisted him in moving out of my house. I have filed divorce papers and he is hiding and living with her. She is making my work life horrible as well. We sit on the same team and she undermines and questions all my actions. What can I do?

Initiative Makes a Specific Feel Good

August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 Bill Gorden

A specific incident at work that made me feel good at work was when I started a new job at the start of summer. It was my second day of working there. I was in the kitchen and it was very slow. Other employees were standing around talking to one another with nothing to do. I chose to start cleaning all the tables, sinks, and even the fryer! I was doing so as all the other employees were still standing around talking. My boss came in the back and saw that I was the only one working in the kitchen. He told the other employees to observe what I was doing. My boss said to me that day that I was manager material and it made me feel great that someone knew I was working harder than everyone else.

My Boss Thinks I Snitched On Him.

July 25, 2019July 26, 2019 Bill Gorden

My boss used to be great with me, but recently he has seemed to feel differently about me, as though he doesn’t trust me. He will talk to other employees about work, but not include me in any of it. I asked one of my colleagues about this change in attitude and she told me that he thinks I am snitching on him. She told me not to tell anyone that she gave me that information.

I tried to talk to him, to find out more about it, but he wouldn’t even talk to me or listen to me. .

What Can I Do About Excessive Fragrances at Work?

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

Question: I work in a pharmaceutical company that produces medications. I have an overly sensitive system in regards to smells and scents. I have severe allergies to many things and require an EpiPen to be carried at all times.

Is My Co-Worker Trying To Show Me Up?

July 23, 2019July 23, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

Question: I was taking a vacation day and my boss wanted to make sure that the daily tasks I do were covered, so I showed my co-worker. She said it would be easy, but she wondered why she couldn’t do the project on her own computer. I told her, because the project is assigned to me and my computer.

Didn’t Abide by Severance Agreement

July 22, 2019July 25, 2019 Bill Gorden

I was “Laid Off” 3-4 months back and given severance. Included in the agreement were conditions that I wouldn’t sue and the organization would provide “Neutral ” references. Upon hiring a reference checking Agency, I found one manager giving a positive reference and another one giving an extremely negative one. How should I proceed and how much will this cost?

Signed–Severance Neutral

She Makes Me Ill!

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 Bill Gorden

Dear Sir, I need some information about what to do. Where I work there are a few other people. The owner’s common law wife is one of them. She is making things very difficult for me. I have worked here for the last 14 months. She purposely goes out of her way to victimize me, but in a very crafty way that no one else can tell that she is. It has started to make me feel ill. I have been a loyal, hardworking, reliable employee. What can I do?

Signed, Reliable and Ill

Boss’s Daughter Seems To Think She Is The Boss

July 19, 2019July 19, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

I was wondering what to do about my boss’s daughter. I have been here two years and was hired 2 months prior to her but she gets all the recognition for everything. My boss (her father) talks to customers and friends about how she handles his biggest account in the business and she is only 20 years old. However, she needs everyone’s help since she doesn’t know how to do it herself without messing up.