Question: “I’m not sure how to handle a new employee whose religious beliefs prevent her from acknowledging Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, or birthdays. In our small business, the owners have always encouraged us to celebrate these holidays. This employee won’t attend our office Christmas party, but she accepts the Christmas card that contains her annual bonus. She doesn’t recognize Easter or Valentine’s, but she eats the candy that the owners give us. She leaves the room when we celebrate birthdays, then later goes back to get a piece of cake. This behavior upsets her coworkers, who are starting to act very resentful towards her. They feel that she’s being hypocritical and that if she’s not going to celebrate, she should refuse the gifts and treats. The employee says that when she was hired, she told the owners she would not be able to participate in holiday celebrations. But now the rest of us feel really down, because we are having to change for her.” — Nan
When actress Lindsay Lohan opted to wear a short, snug-fitting white dress to her court appearance, public relations pro Meryl Weinsaft Cooper wrote on her blog, “The dress spoke volumes, though clearly not about what she had hoped it would.” What can we learn from Lohan’s wardrobe dysfunction? Plenty.
Never pretend to know or do something that you don’t know, “because you’ll probably get caught and it’ll be difficult, if not impossible, to repair your credibility,” says business networking expert Liz Lynch.
What are you afraid of? Speaking your ideas? Having a difficult conversation? Those cruel dressing-room mirrors during swimsuit season? Well, don’t let the fear of crowds or mirrors stop you. Pushing through the fear is a necessary rite of passage.
“The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.” — Helen Keller
The best executive assistants are indispensable. But, initially, many have trouble developing the trust and understanding needed for a strong assistant-boss relationship. Trudy Vitti knows how difficult the initial steps of a new assistant-boss relationship can be …
Carve out 15 to 30 minutes at lunch for something you enjoy, such as walking, reading or doing needlework. You’ll return to work with more energy.
Katherine wrote last week asking if she should ‘connect’ with her boss on LinkedIn. Forum readers chimed in saying, as a professional network, LinkedIn is an appropriate place to ‘connect’ with your boss and possibly enhance communication. But one reader, Anita, cautions that it is a “round about” method to connect and not a substitute for more direct methods. While many readers enjoy connecting with their bosses on LinkedIn, Chandra warns “if he isn’t a good boss and might say bad things about you … don’t connect. It could actually hurt your professional life.”
“Enchant” customers by using Facebook to post pictures of products, employees, customers and more, advises social media expert Guy Kawasaki. A few tips:
Instead of jumping up every time you have work to deliver, stow it in an expandable file with slots organized by department. Then, take one stroll through the office to deliver everything.
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