Dear J.T. & Dale: My coworker has been working from home a lot. The company has given us that option as a result of the pandemic. They told us they don’t want to lose anyone. My boss is not happy…
Dear J.T. & Dale: My coworker has been working from home a lot. The company has given us that option as a result of the pandemic. They told us they don’t want to lose anyone. My boss is not happy about this, as she prefers those in her department be in the office. The other day, she made a comment that she is thinking about making staff cuts and that it seems like my coworker would probably welcome the layoff. I was shocked she said this in front of me.
J.T.: No. You would be betraying your boss’s trust. And your coworker will likely say something to the boss and that will put you in the middle. If your coworker can’t pick up on the fact that your boss isn’t happy, you can’t control that. If anything, you could go to your boss and say you were concerned about her comment because you know your coworker cares deeply for her job. That way you could suggest that maybe the two of them should have a conversation about it.
DALE: It seems as though you care about your coworker, and thus, I think you do have an obligation to get involved, a friend’s duty. Even so, J.T. makes a good point about violating your boss’s trust. However, that may just be what your boss had in mind — I’m thinking that she was hoping that you’d say something to your coworker. Is that weaselly management? Probably. But your manager is stuck between the corporate policy and her own methods.
Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a career coach and the founder of the leading career site www.workitdaily.com. Dale Dauten is founder of The Innovators’ Lab and author of a novel about HR, “The Weary Optimist.” Please visit them at jtanddale.com, where you can send questions via email, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.Subscribe for just 23¢ per week Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson.
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