1. Proselytizing religious training at work
I work at an education institution where over half of our student body follow a religion that is otherwise a minority in our region. Our students have been advocating for training for staff to combat and help recognize prejudice against this religion, and this finally happened a few weeks ago. However, I had major issues with the training, which was delivered by someone selected by a panel of students. The information they shared had a heavy tone of proselytizing (talking about why this religion is actually more moral/ethical than other belief systems, and thus people who follow it are likewise more moral/behave better than other people). They suggested that it’s discriminatory to be a secular workplace and to not allow devout students/staff to openly practice and talk about their beliefs.
Obviously, there are elements of this that are true: you can’t ban wearing religious garb or taking time off for religious holidays in the name of a secular workplace, but I found it very uncomfortable and inappropriate to suggest that wanting a workplace to be largely free of religion is discriminatory. I’m struggling with how to express my discomfort with this, as I get the sense a lot of my colleagues think it’s our duty, as staff who are not part of this religion, to take whatever training we’ve been given at face value, and given there are already difficult power dynamics in play when most of the staff don’t share the beliefs of these students. I also know that this training isn’t going to materially impact our actual policies, so maybe it isn’t worth saying anything at all. Is there any way to raise my discomfort, and is it worth trying?
If there were things in the training that were factually inaccurate about employers’ legal obligations, you should definitely raise that; your institution presumably doesn’t want trainings where objectively incorrect info is being given out.
But I can’t quite tell if that was the case. Whether or not it’s true that employers have to allow staff to openly practice and discuss their religious beliefs depends on the specifics of what “openly practice and discuss” means. Does that mean unwelcome proselytizing to colleagues (which is something that employers cannot allow)? Allowing a bible study group to operate while people are supposed to be working? (They can legally prohibit that.) Giving people time to pray if they’re supposed to pray at a certain time of day? (Must be allowed.) Or just openly talking about their beliefs and practices? (Must be allowed in most cases.) So it depends on exactly what was said at the training.
The proselytizing was inappropriate regardless, but whether to raise that probably depends on how flagrant it was (as well as, realistically, how much capital it will take to push back).
2. Keeping personal “for my use only” soap in the office bathroom
Very low stakes question: I work in a massive building with over 1,000 staff members. A bottle of fancy perfumed soap has just appeared in the toilets with a note taped to it saying, “Property of Rose, do not use.” It appears people are respecting this, but is this a tiny bit cheeky? It clearly wouldn’t be practical for everyone to bring in their own hand soap. I’m not mad at the person or anything, we all got a chuckle out of it, just intrigued what AAM would make of it.
It’s possible there’s an explanation that would make you more sympathetic, like that Rose’s skin doesn’t play well with the soap the company provides and this is one of the few products that prevents her from itching/breaking out in hives/growing two noses/etc. Or sure, she might just want to use her own fancy soap without sharing. I would say the first is not cheeky at all, and the second is a little … well, unrealistic, since I can almost guarantee that her note won’t be universally respected. (Because of that, if she feels strongly about no one else using it, she’s probably better off carting it back and forth with her each time.) If it is a medical need, she might have more success explaining that in the note.
3. How do I get a job with a hugely varied job history and a new MBA?
I just graduated with my MBA from a good school. It’s taken a very long time to get (graduated high school in 2012 and only got a bachelor’s in 2022), and the entire time I was studying, I would have one or more jobs. These were in incredibly disparate fields, from real estate to environmental science, but always low-level and usually part-time. I have worked on assembly lines, at retail tech stores, fast food, you name it. I’ve been director of a small cybersecurity company, canvassed a whole state for the census bureau … I’ve even been a wizard! (That one involved teaching chess after school to elementary schoolers in a robe and hat — very fun.)
I currently work at an entertainment venue part-time, making $18 an hour for about 20 hours a week. I walk dogs, which can add between $100-300 per week, though that’s less stable. On top of that, I own and operate a fan news website that, while successful, is an all-volunteer not-for-profit, so nobody on my team (including myself) makes any money off of it. I also am working with an indie game studio on marketing their first game (also no money there yet) and am building my own studio with an artist to produce and sell 3D printable miniatures.
Needless to say, I know how to work. However, given that so many of these jobs are “gigs” and never led to any kind of career advancement, I’m worried that as I look for a real job that can provide for myself, my resume will just be instantly rejected. I see my wide variety of experience as a strength, as it allows me to come up with innovative ideas that others wouldn’t. But the way the job market is, with crazy high unemployment for recent grads, I worry that I’ve screwed myself by not sticking to a particular field and will be perpetually stuck at the bottom of whatever organization happens to need grunt work and pays a tiny bit more than my last job.
Since you just got it, the MBA should act as a reset of sorts and open up a range of jobs that require an MBA and weren’t available to you previously. But that window is fairly short-lived; you need to act on it now, before the reset gets reset again (which it could if you don’t use it in the next couple of years). I would (a) streamline your resume significantly so that you’re only highlighting the jobs that most strengthen you for the specific roles you’re applying for (that doesn’t mean it’s not all useful in some way, but you want to tell a cohesive story to hiring managers and in your case less will probably be more in that regard) and (b) lean heavily on your MBA program’s connections to jobs (which frankly are half the benefit of getting an MBA and you should take full advantage of them as a new graduate of the program; it won’t be as easy to later on).
4. Asking for naps as an accommodation
I was recently diagnosed with narcolepsy and, while medication can help, it is not always totally effective. As such, I may need to request a 20-30 minute block in my schedule to take a power nap. This is a common accommodation for narcolepsy, and I am in a field where this would not cause an undue burden. However, I am struggling to figure out how to phrase “I need to take a daily nap” in a professional manner. Do you have any advice on phrasing?
Project Sleep has a really good toolkit on asking for accommodations for narcolepsy, and they offer this sample language: “Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological condition of the sleep/wake cycle. Due to my narcolepsy, my brain enters a fogginess once or twice a day, and to relieve this, I take one or two naps daily as part of my treatment. These naps last 10-20 minutes each, reducing my symptoms and improving my cognitive functioning. I seek a quiet, secluded room within the work building to be able to close the door for privacy and rest in a reclined or laying position, once or twice daily as necessary.” (Note that you’d be saying this in the context of an official request for accommodations under the ADA; they have a sample one in the linked toolkit.) They also suggest including a letter from your doctor reiterating the need for the accommodation.
5. Should I warn new grads not to complain on LinkedIn?
I work in a very competitive industry, and it can often be extremely difficult to break in. As such, I have a lot of LinkedIn connections who are recent college grads applying for jobs. I do a lot of informational interviews and offer advice where I can.
Lately, a lot of those hopefuls have been writing very long LinkedIn posts about how this industry is impossible to get into, they’ve applied to X number of jobs with no response, and after interviews are denied positions. While it’s no secret that there is a barrier for people trying to get entry-level positions (that’s not even touching the topic of diversity), it feels strange to vent your frustrations — even going as far to name companies — on a public forum where your potential future employers might be looking. Is this something I should bring up to hopefuls when I’m doing informational interviews or being asked for advice, or is this just a new aspect of job-searching?
I don’t think you need to bring it up proactively to someone who’s shown no signs of complaining publicly on LinkedIn; most people won’t do that, and it’s likely to come across as an odd thing to warn them about. But if you’re talking to someone who’s done it? It would absolutely be a kindness to explain that they risk turning off employers who see it, and that while venting frustration is perfectly understandable, it’s something they should save for less public venues.