Tips For Dealing with a Bad Boss

Tips For Dealing with a Bad BossJill Jacinto, HuffPos Millennial Expert has some suggestions for handling outrageous anfhrer requests that cross the line from demanding to ridiculous. Its harder than it sounds googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) At my first editorial assistant job out of college, they hired an executive who didnt understand that my job was supporting the whole departmenthe was used to having a personal secretary and didnt realize that I was not therbeie to manage his calendar or handle his lunch order. But I couldnt just say sorry, youre out of luck. I had to deftly navigate the intersection of the professional and the politicaland you can do it tooSay Yes, then Ask QuestionsAccording to Robert Hosking, the Executive Director of OfficeTeam who spoke with Jacinto, its better to try to be helpful instead of pointing to your job description and shrugging. If its something way outside of your typical roster of tasks, its probabl y worth asking your boss after the task is done if you can clarify their expectations and priorities for your workflow.If youre at the bottom of the geschftszimmer hierarchy, its possible theyll just add gofer to the list, but at least youll have directed their attention back to the job you were hired to do. You can also go to HR and ask them to mediate a discussion, particularly if you feel youre being taken advantage of.Stay Away from NegativityRoy Cohen, author of The Wall Street Professionals Survival Guide, suggests an anti-Just Say No response. If you refuse to go above and beyond, someone else probably will, and youll start to get a reputation as a non-starter.If you decide you do need to turn down an ask, try responses that show youre capable of compromising and also fully loaded with to-dos, like Im just now feinschliff up a project on deadlineif this request needs to come first, I can set it aside, just let me know if I should rearrange. or Is it possible to tackle this fi rst thing in the morning? I can come in as early as you need me, but I have a prior commitment tonightPolitely Ask for ClarificationWith a boss who seems inclined to just keep piling on the demands, or worse, micromanaging how you fulfill them, sometimes its helpful to turn into the skid and ask for more clarification.Try questions like, And would you like me to do X? How should I approach Y? Can you take a look at this and tell me if Im on the right track? This serves a dual purposeit lets them weigh in at every step so you dont waste your time on something theyll ask you to re-do, and it makes you enough of a pain that they may micromanage less.When Requests Become UnreasonableWhenever Im trying to decide if a request is reasonable or not, I try to mentally review the give-and-take dynamics in the office as a whole. If Im in a company where the culture is to pitch in, I try to go with the flow a little more. If everyone else pretty much sticks to their lane and I suspect Im being tapped as the youngest, or as a woman, or as most likely to be accommodating against my own self-interest, I might try to propose a compromise rather than just saying yes.I spent some time at a very small nonprofit with a boss who was, to say it politely, very hands-on. Id been responsible for compiling a video slideshow for our annual benefit, which was only a few days away, and the video editor wed hired was late turning around a final cut. My boss insisted I make the trek to the editors apartment after work and deliver the DVD to her apartment, which meant staying late at the office and walking over to get it in the pouring rain, then taking an express bus uptown and arriving home close to 11.I was wet, cold, and miserable by the time I had the DVD in my hand. To make matters worse, my boss wasnt picking up the phone to confirm I should drop it off that night, so I finally gave up and went home.My boss was leaving me furious messages by the time I got back to my apartmentdespite the fact that shed been unreachable. She told me I should have gone to another coworkers apartment to view itshe didnt even trust me to watch a 15 minute video I quit about a month later. If it have been a larger office, or I had been older than 22, I would have tried some of the other strategies before I gave upbut sometimes unrelenting inappropriate requests are a sign that youre working in the wrong office.

Would You Turn To Crowdfunding To Help Pay For Parental Leave

Would You Turn To Crowdfunding To Help Pay For Parental Leave Parental leave in the United States is broke, and thousands of new parents arent waiting for government to fix it. Instead, theyre seeking crowdfunding help to subsidize unpaid parental leave.An ABC News videofrom last month sought to humanize the trend, interviewing a couple of couples who relied on the generosity of friends and family to provide the financial support the new mothers needed to take unpaid time away from work and spend time with their newborns. If hitting up yur friends and family to fund your maternity (or paternity) leave strikes you as odd, then you might take a moment to consider the world were living in.The United States is the only developed nation in the world without a federal policy that provides paid leave for new moms after the birth of a child. Fewer than 15 percent of private sector employees have access to paid leave, and nearly one-quarter of new moms return to work within two weeks of givin g birth. In that context, you can begin to see why parents-to-be are turning to platforms like GoFundMe, Plumfund and the cash fund options on the Babylist registry.And thats before you even get into the personal stories. Take Ross Richendrfer. His wife was just six weeks into a new gig as a construction administrator when complications caused her to deliver their baby boy nine weeks early. While her employer was supportive, she didnt qualify for paid leave. They couldnt afford a long stretch without her income, but leise Ross wasnt sold on going the crowdfunding route.We had a health crisis we had a baby. These were very intimate details of our lives that we were sort of putting out there for family, friends, for public consumption. I was really hesitant about that, Richendrfer told ABC News. As I kept thinking about it, it occurred to me that my pride, our privacy dont outweigh Taylor and Aiden getting the chance that they need to spend time together at this most crucial part of o ur lives.Hits you right in the feels, doesnt it?A Growing Trend? A number of similar stories surfaced around this time last year, when BuzzFeed to Scary Mommy to the Washington Post all reported about mothers-to-be turning to friends, family and strangers for financial security after giving birth.WaPos coverage at the time reported GoFundMe search of maternity leave turns up about 1,500 results. TODAY reported there are about 6,000 campaigns with maternity leave or child care. Natalie Gordon, Babylist CEO, told ABC that families on her site are asking for between $500 and $10,000, with the majority requesting a few thousand dollars.Still trying to wrap your head around just why, exactly, one might pitch in a few bucks toward a crowdfunded maternity leave? There are a few ways to look at this trend that could help.On the one hand, you could make the comparison to families who use crowdfunding sites to help cover bills for hospital stays or unexpected events. On the other hand, you co uld think of it as mora of an experiential gift, like picking up the tab for an excursion on a friends honeymoon.Women are having to get more creative about how to fund this really special time in their life, Plumfund founder Sara Margulis said in the ABC News feature. When you think about it as a special time, it really becomes and experience and something that friends and family can give.Special time indeed.Will the U.S. LeadOnLeave or will parents PleadOnLeave? Access to paid leave has well documented health, developmental and financial benefits to mothers, babies and families. From higher rates of vaccination to increased breastfeeding to improved maternal mental health, the evidence is clear paid leave has essential benefits for children and parents in the early weeks and months of life, Pediatric Policy Council Chairman Dr. Paul Chung said earlier this when his organization endorsed the FAMILY Act, a bill that would provide paid family leave for all American workers.Weve reach ed the point in this piece where we remind you (again) that the United States is the only developed nation in the world without a federal paid leave policy covering new moms. Crowdsourcing leave, while understandable, is not a sustainable solution to a aufgabe in need of systemic change. President Donald Trump has promised (on more than one occasion) to work with both parties to make child care accessible and ensure new parents have paid family leave. His daughter, Ivanka Trump, has said any effort to re-write the tax code will address paid family leave.Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) have reintroduced Family and Medical Insurance Leave Act, more commonly known as the FAMILY Act.The proposal calls for a gender-neutral program providing 60 days the equivalent of standard 12 work weeks of paid family leave to every American worker, regardless of the size of their company. It went first before Congress in 2013 and again in 2015, when it was read twice in the Senate and referred to Committee on Finance, while in the House it reached the Subcommittee on Social Security, according to FORTUNE.Could third time be the charm for the FAMILY Act? Will Trump deliver on his campaign promise of paid leave? Or will crowdfunded maternity leave be all the baby registry rage in 2017 and beyond?--This article originally appeared on Care.com.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer