Discussion on:

Six lines your boss should never cross

Just watch "The Office" and don't do any of the things Ricky Gervais does!

What do you do if your boss does cross that line?

Complain? How?
FIght Fire With Fire?
Resign?

"Fight fire with fire" ... just ... NO!

If you're at a small company, where your direct boss is the only boss, then you should be looking for a new job (if you haven't already started).

If your boss reports to someone else, though, then you have a chain of command that you can follow. Your employee handbook should have the company policies regarding making complaints or filing grievances. If there's no written policy, then you take it to the next manager/supervisor up the line.

Just be sure that your complaint isn't, "I don't like the way he's treating me". Instead, make sure it's in the format, "On day X, my supervisor did this, which violates Section Y of the HR Policy Handbook; my co-workers John & Jane were also there at the time."

First, start a log. A notebook or a file (on a non work computer) with the date/time of the incident, what happened and any other witnesses. Yes, you are on the ground floor of a lawsuit. If you need it you have it, if you don't you wasted $2.00 at Office Depot/Max.

Next, open your HR guide and see what you should do. Do you contact his/her supervisor? The HR staff? The answer is there. If your complaint makes things worse? Go to the next step. Are you keeping a log? That the email to your bosses boss resulted in you being called a fat ass in front of the whole floor goes in your log.

All 6 have happened in my workplace at one time or another.

I myself am guilty of number 2. I outwardly and loudly shouted at our janitor for pulling out all the plugs and LAN connections of our server when he came in to clean on a Saturday.
On hindsight, I realized why I did that on Monday after I found out so that the other people in the office could hear that the reason why the network was down was because it was his fault and not the IT department's.

...to your server room or LAN closet? Sounds like there are other problems that need addressed, and perhaps disciplinary action taken. One would think that access to servers and networking would not be granted to janitors. Where I work, other than IT, the only people with access are the Fire Department. The building maintenance people don't even have access to the server room, if they need access IT must let them in. All LAN equipment is in locked cabinet.

Janitors have to have access if they are to do their jobs. Security let him in so they could vacuum and polish. They were not supposed to pull out the plugs with the servers running. Good thing we are NOT a 24 / 7 operation but the servers are kept on for email, and other batch jobs that are done when nobody accessing the database.

in this building and not one time have I had the janitors in our server space.

If the space is properly designed and built and if IT is doing their jobs there is no need for a janitor to clean a server room.

Twice a year IT physically clean the servers (which is not really needed since it is a closed room with it's own HVAC system). Maintenance is allowed in 4 times a year to change HVAC filters and they are accompanied every time by IT.

Our server space is a locked room, and server racks are locked as well with power and networking hard wired to the racks and dedicated HVAC and Backup HVAC systems.

Our remote office is in a 100+ year old building 2 hours away and there is no server room, not even a closet. Just a half rack bolted to the floor in one corner of the secretaries space. There is also no IT on site. No one on site has access to the servers! IT must go down there every 2 months and shut down the servers and clean layers of dust out of the equipment. It is far from an ideal solution.

I know not every setup can be ideal. But if you are in IT and you EVER allow physical access to equipment when IT is not present you simply are not doing your job.

Blaming the janitors is pointless. They should not have had access. IT management failed.

The janitor has server room access? Then it IS the IT department's fault.

Do they own the building? If they are a tenant–particularly in a shared building–it may not be possible for them to deny access to building maintenance or management. I've seen leases require facility management and maintenance be given 24-7 unescorted access to all rooms in the building and been told that clause is non-negotiable. Thae rationale is that the facility manager will need this access in case of emergency, without having to wait for your on-call personnel to respond.

Yes, you'd rather not have that, but If the building meets your needs otherwise...

We have one of our remote sites and the maintenance people have master keys to get into our maintenance closet. Due to the infrastructure, we had to put our comm equipment there, there was no other choice. Take it or leave-it. But we were allowed to put a locked strengthened fireproof steel cabinet to store all our comm gear for that site. You would need some heavy equipment to get to the comm gear.

There can still be other options such as change where the cables are located.

There is the right way and the lazy way to do things. Too many times it is decided that spending a few hundred on a cabinet or rack and re-routing power and networking is not required. I think it is really sad how many times that is true.

Even the Demarc for our buildings is a locked room. Once in the room phone lines are in locked cabinets with security screws. Network gear is located 10' off the floor in a locked shelf. Some of our tenants just bolt their equipment to the board, but most secure it in locked cabinets., which is the right way to do it.

... and we have that requirement as well. I have the Grand Master Key and access to all spaces in these buildings (three), I am also at the top of the call list. There is a big difference between access by building management and access for a janitor! There is a level of responsibility that comes with access to such spaces.

Regardless, even if this is the case. All the equipment should be secured in locked racks or cabinets! They MAY require access to the room, they DON'T require access to the equipment. The easiest way to hack ANY system is to have physical access.

Sorry, that excuse doesn't fly with me. If I were to audit a company and the servers / network equipment weren't properly secured they would fail the audit!

I do contract work for many small companies, and for everyone of them the server is secured in a locking rack or cabinet that is bolted to the floor or wall. If you are running a business this day in age your data is everything! You can't afford to allow it to be compromised, stolen, or unplugged.

We have an Edward Jones office in our building. I have had to re-key their space twice. Their on-site equipment is secured in a locked room (Dead Bolt and passage lock). In that room is a half rack bolted to the floor, which is closed and locked. Even their on-site personnel don't have a key to the rack.

If access to server rooms cannot be denied, access to the equipment should be. Janitorial access to server rooms should be limited to business hours, and those people should be accompanied. If access to the server rooms cannot be limited to corporate personnel, servers should have dedicated power and be secured in locked cabinets.

There will always be those businesses, though, that don't see the need for the expense of dedicated power or server security...until they have something happen and lose many multiples of that expense from being off line.

It's amazing what can and does go wrong even when you're watching things closely.

At one big Tier-III data center, the operations team allowed the contractor to do an air filter change on the VESDA (smoke detection system), For some reason the system went into full alarm (dust) and initiated an EPO for 1/3 the data center, which included the entire SAN for the global enterprise (oops).

The other funny 'oops' was when the employee break room was just outside the data center. An employee burned his microwave popcorn which caused a FM-200 discharge (oops).

What I am talking about is that true north, that moral compas we all have, although some folks find it hard to listen to it. If it feels bad, and you have asked yourself some honest questions and it still feels it goes against your grain, it probably did cross a line.

Few examples - a manager who ignores an open door policy and it turns our that there is repercussion for something you have told them in confidence.

A boss or manager who gossips and you find them out.

A boss who asks for feedback on company culture at a staff conference, and tells you to shut up when you do raise some concerns.

A boss who under the guise of organising farewell drinks for an employee who has resigned, arranges for an encounter session with other company employees to brainstorm what needs to be fixed.

A boss who only favors a chosen few and does not treat folks with equality.

I've seen quite a few of these behaviors, they are not rare. I always listen to my gut, learned that the hard way. If you hear a little voice inside saying That is Wrong - try to address it with fairness and objectivity, then make a choice. Life is too short to sacrifice your integrity. Listen to your true north.

I've had all of them and more, done to me, in more than one workplace, although all in the same tight knit industry. I wasn't the only victim, and it still goes on today, but I'm out of it now.

the above things are true to every word.But people take work environment as a friendly place not having professional attitude most of the time.

A definite statement that a workplace romance is NEVER a good idea? I beg to differ. I met my wife at one job, she left the job to go elsewhere and later got me a job at the new place, we married (our HR team had a field day grilling us before that one! Felt like we needed company approval ) and were happily married for 10 years (in a relationship for 13).

I've seen workplace romances work for other people too.

A bad idea? Usually, I'll admit. Know what you're getting into and the possible consequences when it all goes wrong. Tension and stress can certainly be common outcomes in workplace romance gone bad. But NEVER a good idea? Sorry, Toni - can't agree with you today. Personal experience says otherwise.

Of course, I could be the exception that proves the rule

In 1975 on the job.....
I quote...
"Sorry, Toni - can't agree with you today. Personal experience says otherwise."
These youngsters think they know it all..!!

Currently, my wife and I work at the same company. Of course, I work in the IT dept she works in a different one but we do interact daily, just not enough to create any friction or interfere with each other's duties etc...we also make it a point to leave our personal issues at home so we don't fall into the trap of discussing our problems at work, tempted as we may be; our goal has always not to make a splash. Of course, we were already married when she was hired so we didn't meet here but I still think it falls under the "workplace romance."

I met my lovely lady (and all my colleagues and her friends agree on that adjective) when on a training course. 33 years later, we had survived 32 years of marriage. It would have been longer but the most wonderful woman on the planet died last month.
Many of my colleagues met their partners at work. Some of those marriages have survived four decades and are still strong and beautiful in retirement.
Workplace romances are *wonderful*
Mine was the best thing that ever happened to me.
And I miss her dreadfully.

Much of the behaviour mentioned in the article is covered by the word "bullying". It happens where I work, to me. It is why I am taking Voluntary Redundancy It's either VR or deck one of my immediate bosses. I prefer a quiet life.
I love the job but the burocracy and the bullying have driven me into retirement.

that you had each other for 33 years, and sad to hear of your loss.

keep your chin up

Just wanted to say that I am sorry for your loss. I personally know what a difference a woman can make in a man's life.

I know lots of married folks would probably say something like this, but I am the one for whom it is *truth*: my lovely lady was the most marvelous, wonderful, magical, intelligent, beautiful and wise lady who ever walked this good Earth. She was gentle, kind, generous, thoughtful and *never* mean.
She was the loveliest woman I have ever met.
And I love her with everything I am.
Thank you all for your sympathies.

Maybe "a workplace dating circuit is never a good idea"?
I do understand the problem with seeking romance (and especially with less lofty desires) at work ... but I also know that meeting the love of one's life is Force Majeure - like an act of God it sweeps lesser rules off the board.

Two of my longest and most stable relationships involved a co-worker, and I've known countless couples (happy couples, I might add) who met each other at their place of work. The bold truth, which Ms. Bowers seems to be oblivious to, is that we spend more time at work than anywhere else. Why shouldn't we keep our eyes (and hearts) open to possibilities there? Now, if your talking STRICTLY about romance with a boss or other upper management... then maybe I can see why that's not the best choice for your career. But to use concrete blanket statements like "workplace romance is NEVER a good idea", is ignorant and irresponsible.

all six are broken
1. pay what pay?
2. this is so all can hear and learn from each other
3. stay up on 3 hrs sleep jump out of a perfectly good plane
4. see number 2
5. see number 2 - to tired for office romance
6. told we are all green


complaints are filed after 25 mile hike - 100 pushups

Yeah...skipped that Airborne deal... Preferred to stay on the ground and shoot RF into the sky

Oh...and complaints were filed During 25-mile hikes and 100 Pushups ...100 Pushups? That's nothing... (When I was in shape lol...maxed out PT Tests EVERYTIME...by the end, at least)

I had to resign. My Manager's Manager didn't want to know, and HR were useless. So leaving was the only option. I feel much better now!

This list is a bit pointless because it must be obvious to anyone that they are all completely unreasonable and the last two are definitely against the law of the land. Even with one and four they have borderline legal implications.

I was expecting something a bit more ambitious/contentious in this list.

Ambition will have to wait until these issues are actually resolved.

I can not tell you how often I see a person fresh up with their MBM step right into a top slot and have no clue. When I mean no clue, I am speaking that these people do not have the sense of mind to seek out how things are functioning before they decide to start changing things. I cannot express my dismay enough at how often these "green" individuals state what should not be done while at the same time not communicate how they would prefer it done differently. When things start to break down due to lack of planning, poor forethought, and zero communication, You get what is described above in copious amounts.

Number 2, "reprimands you in front of other employees", can be an effective although unconventional method of team building. My last boss did this. All the programmers were in one room and we each got a thorough going over every now and then in front of everybody else. It helped us work together as a team by uniting us in our hatred of him.

He likely learned his chops in the military....

Who's doing this at Apple these days?

.

... it might be an anomaly but where I work the personnel department took my complaint against my managers seriously, arranged a tribunal and *supported* me. I "won" the argument. Everyone was helpful and polite and seemed to believe I was in the right and the original assessments were completely wrong.
I was surprised. Being cynical and having suffered the "HR" syndrome, I expected everyone to be on the side of the rules and the policy. They were not, they were on the side of Truth, Justice and Me.
Sometimes, rarely, the Angels win.

You must either be a gorgeous female, an intimidating, but handsome male...or just a damned good speaker...:-)

Just saying...HR situations I've seen or heard of didn't end well for the employee...especially the male employees