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Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues--everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team about body odor.
Here's a roundup of answers to three questions from readers.
1. My employee eavesdrops on me
At first I thought I was being paranoid, but on three separate occasions, I've wrapped up a closed door conversation others in our C-suite, only to discover my employee directly outside my door.
Our office set-up is odd; we're essentially one huge office that was cut into thirds--one side is her office with a door, a hallway/narthex, and one side is my office with a door. There is a utility cabinet in the hallway, which she could be using, but she has never been in that cabinet when she's been caught--she's practically leaning against my door. How do I handle this? My inclination is to have another employee catch her when I'm in a meeting, but I'm higher than all employees on the org chart, so I hesitate to get unaffected people involved and have the story spread. What should I do?
Green responds:
Do you have anyone in a senior role who you trust to be discreet? If so, it's reasonable to discreetly tell them what you're concerned about and ask if they can let you know what they observe (making it clear that it's not something they should repeat to others) so that you can confirm your suspicions. Or during some of these meetings, can you occasionally walk quietly to the door and open it yourself?
But you could also just ask your employee about it directly: "A few times recently when I've........