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.

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.

Accused Boss of Creating a Hostile Environment

June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 Bill Gorden

Question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about what to do after a negative investigation:

I worked for a Gov Agency for 26 years and worked my way up to County Director over the largest County in the state. We have approx. over 2000 cases to check at the end of the month to ensure timeliness on our cases. My team checks behind the supervisors to ensure they had not missed a case. On 4-30-19 I asked my Supervisor III where she was on checking end on the month report and I was told she hasn’t started checking hers. read more

What To Do About Employee With Roller Coaster Behavior?

June 21, 2019July 19, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

Question: I have a staff member (Lets call her Darla) who seems to be on a roller coaster of emotions. Lately it seems like she’s had an attitude when coming in to work. Specifically, I posted a reminder announcement on our bulletin board about making sure to do these set tasks for your shift. She took it personally and made this “ugh are you kidding me?” remark. Other staff members have been forgetting to carry out these tasks as well so i wasn’t singling out Darla. Some staff have been forgetting and I felt it’s not fair not to address it when others are doing the job just fine.

How Should I Handle Having Romantic Feelings For My Supervisor?

June 21, 2019July 19, 2019 Tina Lewis Rowe

Question: I’m 29 years old, in a long term relationship. My supervisor is a few years older than me, also in a relationship. We’ve worked together for quite a while now. Over time, after working directly with him on my shift, and slowly getting to know him, I’ve found myself caring about him more than I would normally care. Also, I found myself slowly attracted to him because we share many similar interests and get along well. I noticed my feelings for him after realizing I blush around him and get shy.

I’m In Construction With All Spanish-Speaking Coworkers

June 19, 2019June 19, 2019 Bill Gorden

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about communicating with Spanish-speaking coworkers:

I work for a construction company and all of my coworkers are Spanish I find it difficult to do my job efficiently because they pass down orders and give directions in Spanish.. is there something that I can do about this.

Signed–Not Bilingual read more

Accused, Suspended, and Framed?

June 17, 2019July 2, 2019 Bill Gorden

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about an accusation and suspension:

My sister is being framed for something she hasn’t done at work. They’ve accused her of sharing personal data with an ex employee of the ex employees file. The ‘evidence’ they have is CCTV showing my sister behind the counter and the ex employee on the other side with a piece of paperwork between them unclear on CCTV. My sister believes that the paperwork was the ex employees CV/interview paperwork from a job interview she had that day and nothing to do with her personal file.

She Found My Pay Stub and Now Is Unhappy

June 14, 2019June 14, 2019 Bill Gorden

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about comparing her pay to mine:

My Co worker found my pay stub in my trash in MY office and made a copy and took it home to compare what she was making. Afterwards, she confronted our boss complaining about special treatment because on that one check it was more than what her average pay is. Is this legal in Indiana?

Signed-Stub read more

Cheerleader in My Team

May 22, 2019May 22, 2019 Bill Gorden

A feel good moment to let others know some workplaces are good places to work.

I collaborate a lot with my teammates on various projects and am part of the culture committee that has a big hand in putting together events for our employees. And of course I love my job and put my heart into everything I do and all the communication I have with my customer. It’s a true relationship between the company, my customer and their buyer that I work with. read more

Fired for a Racist Remark

May 7, 2019May 7, 2019 Bill Gorden

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about a racist remark:

I was accused of making a racist remark to someone at work. When this person was called in to discuss it, he kept saying that I made a racist remark since he was Hispanic. When he was told my last name, he immediately changed his story and said that I was just disrespecting him. I was told this by HR as they were terminating me. I was never told when this occurred, where this occurred or who made the complaint against. They just terminated me without ever letting me speak to anyone about this. While both my supervisor and my boss assured me that they did not believe I had made a racist remark, I was concerned that there were other people at work who might believe I had done so. What should I do? Thank you very much.