A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about communication across time zones:

My coworker moved voluntarily to Hawaii which our leadership approved. Hawaii is in a time zone 6 hours behind where I live on the east coast of the United States. Her relocation was not related to a spouse having a job change but simply to escape the cold weather. We work on a very demanding project with two team–the business team based on the east coast and the IT development team from India. Because India is 10 hours ahead of eastern standard time, many of our meetings begin at 7 AM. My Hawaiian coworker doesn’t join these calls. She doesn’t have a very good understanding of the project because she doesn’t collaborate with the entire team. 

I work at Allstate. We have a lot of different forms of recognition built in already. You can send these points to your teammates when they help you out, do something good or create a change that benefits the whole office. Typically they are work related, something along the lines of “thank you for helping me with a difficult policy” or “thanks for always being there to answer my questions”. Recently I had received recognition and expected it to be along those same lines. I was surprised to see instead that it said “Thank you for always being open to others ideas and listening instead of assuming. You’re an excellent person and it makes you super easy to work with”. I really felt that was heart-felt and more of a compliment on my personality than just a typical “thanks for your help” email. It really made me feel like a solid piece of the team.

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about closing a restaurant:

When you know your business is closing, should you let your customers know about the closing or any details? If you are not the owner of the business is it your right to tell them or do you honor the wishes of your boss in the final days?

I started out my shift by cashiering just like any other normal day at Heinen’s. This was my third job that I have had. I was a cashier and bagger. Moreover, the job was simple to understand. I was quickly approached by two men who were going to the airport to fly back to Oregon when they checked out. I knew this by starting a friendly conversation with them as I do so with every other customer. Their total came to $10.04. One of the men asked, “Do you have an extra four cents someone put beside that I could use?” He asked this so he didn’t have to carry ninety-six cents through the airport, which would be a hassle for anyone. Quickly, I dug out four cents of my own wallet because I always carry change on me. I put the four cents in the drawer and handed his receipt. He was extremely grateful that he didn’t know what to say at first. He then asked, “What’s your name?” I replied.  Afterwards he said, “When I get home I am going to send in a review of what you did here Evan.” Overall, all it took was four cents to make this guy very happy and grateful. This act of kindness made me feel really good about myself. This made me want to make someone else’s day. I hope this encourages many more to do acts of kindness to spread happiness because it truly can turn someone’s entire day around.

A question to Ask the Workplace Doctors about complaints about creating a mess within one’s work area:

“The entire lab has come to me to complain about you.” This was what my supervisor told me. I completely accept that I am absent-minded and may forget to keep things in their proper place. Truthfully (10 times in 10 months). But so does all my colleagues. It’s a laboratory! Sometimes people are in a hurry to finish their experiments, and it’s already really late and things are forgotten to be replaced. I have even seen the lab technicians (who apparently have gotten together to speak about me) have done things absent-mindedly.