Five answers to five questions.
1. I Don’t Want to Work From My Coworker’s House
I work for a major city government. I work remotely but do go into the office a few times a year for a few days, or even up to a week at a time, depending on what’s needed. I recently made a lateral change to a different team, which has around 10 people. We report to the same person, but there is an unofficial team lead who helps keep us all on track.
There’s a man on my new team, Fergus, who is also remote due to mobility issues. During team meetings, I found out some of my office mates and supervisor work at Fergus’s house a few days a month because he’s lonely — he lives alone. In our last training, Fergus said he was excited I have office days coming up in a few weeks because he wants me to do the training at his house.
I do not want to do this. I understand he’s lonely, but I’m very uncomfortable with the idea of going to some guy’s house to work when I can do the same work from basically anywhere else. I also wonder how many household tasks my coworkers do for Fergus during the days they’re at his house. I don’t want to seem unhelpful, but I’m also not interested in doing any housework for a guy I barely know. He’s already been somewhat condescending during training since I’m much younger than him, so I could totally see him asking for non-work related help.
I asked the lead about it, and he said it’s not a mandatory thing, but several other coworkers do it and Fergus keeps bringing it up saying how excited he is about it. Since I’m new, I don’t want to look like I’m not a team player, but I’m really not comfortable with this. My supervisor hasn’t said anything about it, but he just went to Fergus’s house to work last week.
Since I’m going in for a week next month, I want to make it clear to my supervisor I will not be going to sit with Fergus for training — without just saying, “This is stupid and I’m not doing it.” Any tips to shut this down without sounding like I’m not willing to help out a teammate?
The next time Fergus brings it up, just say, “I appreciate the offer, but I’d prefer to work from the office so that’s where I’ll be!” If he pushes it after that, say, “I wouldn’t be comfortable with that, but thanks for offering. I’m going to be in the office those days.” Or, “I use my in-office days to be able to see a lot of different colleagues.”
If Fergus isn’t a complete boor, that will be the end of it. But if he continues to press it, talk to your manager and say, “I’m not comfortable working from a coworker’s home, and I’m concerned that Fergus is continuing to push this after I’ve said no several times.”
Leave the housework out of it, though. He hasn’t said anything about wanting that, and your case for not wanting to go there is perfectly solid without it.
2. New Boss Has Too-Long Fingernails
We are in the middle of transitioning executives. On our new executive’s most recent visit, I noticed that, while he is otherwise well groomed, he has very long fingernails. This freaks me out personally, but more than that I’m worried that others will notice it. He’ll be interacting with donors, alumni, and other high-profile individuals, and I’m worried they will also notice this. Anything I can do to subtly suggest he considers a trim? I’m his executive assistant and our time together is just getting started — I don’t want to offend him but feel this is important.
Nope. You don’t have the standing to counsel him on his personal grooming. If the people who hired him or who manage him think it’s an issue, they can raise it, but it would be an overstep for you to. Once you’ve known each other better and have more of a rapport established, it’s possible you’ll have the kind of relationship where you could give a quick grooming suggestion — but even then, that would be more for “that tie really clashes with that jacket” and less about something that’s apparently a deliberate grooming choice for him.
It’s also worth noting that those of us who are put off by long fingernails on men often don’t have the same reaction to nails of similar length on women. That won’t necessarily make it any less of an issue for a donor who might have the same visceral reaction, but it’s worth factoring into your own thinking.
3. Can I Stop People From Sending Me Useless Edits?
I work at the staff level in a giant organization. Most of my tasks involve writing things — some for internal use, some public. In practice, this means I can end up having upwards of 25 people reviewing and editing my work. That’s not something that’s going to change. Those teams do need to look over things for accuracy, and their management will need to approve.
I’m pretty good at accepting constructive feedback and edits because other people know things I don’t and have good ideas. The challenge is that up to 90% of the edits I get back are matters of personal writing style and don’t add value. An example I got today was changing “the animals are fed…” to “animals are fed…” A lot are like this, and it falls to me to review and manage all the edits, which takes a significant amount of time.
Unfortunately, it’s a bunch of different people, so I can’t just have a conversation with the worst offenders. My own management agrees that the edits are useless and agrees with my approach of accepting them because they’re not worth fighting over. But these also come from people at my same level. I know they’re trying to be helpful, but it’s getting on my last nerve.
I’ve tried heading this off by asking colleagues to focus on “substantive” things they’d like to change — are there factual errors? Will the intended audience understand the message? — and to stop changing things just to match how they’d write it when my version was just as good. It hasn’t worked. I’m at a loss for how to be clearer about what kinds of feedback I’m looking for without alienating my colleagues. Is there any way to at least reduce the useless edits I have to deal with?
You can try heading it off from the start by saying, “At this stage, I am only looking for feedback on factual errors (or whatever else you want from them). Some parts may be revised, so please do not submit copyediting or stylistic changes at this stage.”
Even then, some people will still offer input outside the scope you’ve defined — that’s just how this goes. But when you’ve clearly laid out what you’re asking for, it’s easier to ignore edits that fall outside of it. You absolutely can ignore edits that are outside the requested scope from most peers (assuming someone doesn’t have a role that gives them standing to overrule you). Part of this is about getting comfortable doing that and not feeling you need to explain or justify every decision to the people whose suggestions you’re not using. Take what’s useful, leave the rest, and move on.
4. I Think I Might Be Illegally Classified as a Contractor
Some years ago, I started working for a nonprofit organization that’s a subsidiary of a larger organization, which is responsible for funding us and providing supplies. It’s part-time work, which I find convenient as it allows me time to focus on my studies. I recently heard that if my hours and wages are determined by my boss, I should be considered an employee and receive a W-2. I also have to request time off if I want it. Since I began, I’ve been receiving a 1099 form every year and have been treated as an independent contractor for tax purposes — which apparently means my taxes are higher because I’m considered self-employed.
There was also an incident that gave me pause. I made a minor mistake, and my boss apparently spent two hours fixing it (which I find unlikely given the nature of it). When I came in for my next shift, I was told I owed them two free hours of work.
I actually like my boss despite these issues, and I don’t want to report them to the IRS and hit them with massive fines. But I also don’t think I can let this go, especially the tax issue. It’s my first job and I don’t have any idea how to handle the situation. I’m about to receive a certification in a different industry and planning to resign soon, but part of me does want to return as a volunteer with very limited duties because I genuinely support their mission. What should I do?
Your boss setting your hours and wages doesn’t automatically make you an employee or prevent you from legally being an independent contractor. The IRS uses a multi-part test looking at three factors:
- Behavioral — Does the company control or have the right to control what you do and how you do your job?
- Financial — Are the business aspects of the job (how you’re paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, who provides tools and supplies) controlled by the company?
- Type of relationship — Are there written contracts or employee-type benefits (insurance, vacation pay, etc.), and is the work a key aspect of the business?
The IRS notes: “There is no ‘magic’ or set number of factors that ‘makes’ the worker an employee or an independent contractor, and no one factor stands alone in making this determination. The keys are to look at the entire relationship, consider the degree or extent of the right to direct and control, and finally, to document each of the factors used in coming up with the determination.”
That said, based on what you’ve described, there’s a pretty good chance you should be classified as an employee, not a contractor. You could start by saying — ideally to HR rather than your boss — something like, “I’m concerned that I’m not correctly classified as an independent contractor and that IRS rules require me to be paid as an employee. Could you take a look at this?” If that doesn’t resolve it, the next step is to fill out a Form SS-8 and let the IRS make the determination. Given that you’re planning to resign soon anyway, it’s worth pursuing this before you leave so the matter is resolved on the record.
