It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go…
1. Penalizing employees who don’t participate in wellness programs
My company plans to penalize employees who do not take care of themselves by denying them the privilege of purchasing low-cost insurance. I understand the need to control costs and that the cost of insurance is significant, but my employer is asking employees to do things that, while in the employee’s best interest, are fairly intrusive (tracking your weight, coaching if you have an addiction, taking a lifestyle questionnaire, getting regular checkups along with all other sex or age appropriate tests).
Of course this is the employer’s right, but I’m wondering if this is a trend that is likely to become commonplace. In five years, can everyone expect to have their employers this involved in what, up until recently, were very private issues?
Probably. Your employer is likely presenting it as a “discount” for employees who do participate in various “wellness” programs, rather than as a penalty for those who don’t, but yeah, it’s a growing trend as employers look for ways to control their health care costs. Of course, you might have the option of dropping your employer’s plan (and thus their subsidy, and thus their privacy invasions) and instead buying your own coverage from the insurance exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act.
2. I was hurt when the person I’m covering for maternity leave attended our Christmas lunch
I’m filling a maternity leave role with the agreement in place that I will be hired full-time. Over the holiday season, our unit had a Christmas lunch and when we showed up at the venue, the person I’m replacing (who is still on her maternity leave) was there waiting to join us for lunch. I think it’s quite nice of my employer to include her, but I felt a little taken aback as I was not expecting her to be there. I have never worked at a company where they invited people who were on leave for any reason to events like this. Maybe that’s because this is the first office that I’ve worked in where within a month of starting I haven’t felt “accepted” within my unit’s circle. I’ve had very positive feedback from my manager on my work performance, but I feel very lonely at work. Perhaps this is why it felt insensitive to me, as I don’t feel accepted, yet any time “Betty” shows up it’s a big deal.
Again, I think it was nice but I can’t help feel this was a little insensitive towards me. I would be interested to read your reply.
It’s not unusual to invite former employees or employees who are on leave to office social events; it’s actually a really nice gesture! I’m sure that no one meant it to make you uncomfortable; after all, she isn’t your competition or someone who got you fired or anything like that. People might have even thought you’d enjoy the opportunity to talk.
I think the bigger issue is that you’re feeling lonely at work — but I wouldn’t take offense at their invitation to someone who’s still officially part of their team or see it as a reflection on you in any way.
3. Late pay for independent contractors
My husband recently accepted an independent contractor position. He only works for this company, as there is plenty of work to keep him busy. We live in Illinois, but the company is based in Iowa.
When he started, they told him the pay week ended Saturday night at midnight and started again on Sunday, with the cutting of checks on Monday. So, as long as all completed orders were submitted by Saturday night they would make that week’s pay. My husband has never missed that deadline. He was also told that printed checks would be mailed on Monday (with the exception of holidays) and most often be in our mailboxes on Wednesdays. This has only happened once in the last 2-1/2 months. Over Christmas and New Year’s, we anticipated a delay and didn’t speak up. However, on Monday he was told that checks weren’t printed for mail on Tuesday because the office gal was out. Assuming she would bust her behind Tuesday to print and mail checks, we didn’t get too excited. However, it is now Friday and the mailman has come and gone, leaving no check. My husband called the office gal and she indicated that his may have been forgotten and not mailed with the others (who we have now confirmed with have received their checks) and it should be there tomorrow, she hopes.
If he was told that his check would be cut on a certain day every week, does he have any actions he can take against the company, considering he is independent?
Not unless he has a contract that requires payment within a certain time frame and establishes penalties for late payment.
Employees have a lot more protections than independent contractors, including state-level laws that require that paychecks be issued by certain dates. For independent contractors, it’s just governed by whatever it says in their contract (which may or may not even be in existence).
4. Cover letter when applying for a job for the second time
I’m a relatively new grad, having finished my graduate degree about a year ago. Around that time, I made my first application to a job in my field. The interview went well, the managers were enthusiastic about the possibility of me joining the team… but ultimately an internal applicant got the job.
I bought your book (it’s great!) and maintained a connection with one of the managers. Lo and behold, the job was posted again! I followed your advice in the book about reaching out to my contact to see if they had suggestions as to how I could make my application stronger. My contact has given me lots of valuable info going forward, but I can’t find anything on your website or your book about writing a new cover letter in this instance. Should I mention my previous application? How do I make this cover letter seem fresh?
Yes, mention that you applied previously and that you continue to be strongly interested. I’d say something like, “I applied and interviewed for this position last February, and I’d love to be considered for it again. Our conversations last year only solidified my interest in the role, because…”
5. How long does it take for questions to be answered here?
I’ve always wondered how long it takes you to answer a question on your blog. It seems like some of the questions people submit a highly time-sensitive. Do you answer those questions right away? Just wondering.
It varies wildly. Sometimes a letter might get answered the next day, sometimes it’s more than a month later … and sometimes it’s never, unfortunately, because I’m answering 6-7 questions a day here but receiving 40+ daily. I used to try to ensure that everyone got an answer, even if it was just a few private lines, but that stopped being possible at some point, and I’ve had to make peace with that. Anyway, I do keep a backlog of questions that I’m excited to answer at some point; some of them are embarrassingly old, unfortunately.
But there’s an auto-reply that goes to everyone explaining that I can’t answer everyone, so hopefully people know not to wait on a response if something is time-sensitive.
maternity leave and hurt feelings, penalizing employees who won’t participate in wellness programs, and more was originally published by Alison Green on Ask a Manager.