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Privacy

Here are the questions filed under this category. To read Ken's advice on any item, click on the link "Read Ken's Answer."


My manager told me that the company is monitoring employee internet use, and that I am spending too much time surfing the net. I get my job done, and I resent this intrusion into my privacy. Besides, doesn’t management have anything better to do?
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Most managers here keep their doors open unless they need privacy for meetings or phone calls. I recently hired a manager who has her door closed almost all the time. The employees who report to her are concerned, and so am I. I have discussed this with her, and she says she does not work well with outside noises and is more productive with the door closed. How can I deal with this?
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We work in an open office area and generally conduct our work within earshot of each other. After a recent meeting with a customer, the representative who works at the desk next to mine told me that my customer relations skills need work. Then she mentioned at least ten things that I did incorrectly. I told her I didn't agree with anything she said, and now she doesn't talk to me. How do I straighten this out?
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My manager just told me that I have been spending too much time on golf sites on the Internet. I admit that I occasionally check out a couple of these sites, but I am more concerned that the company found out about this. Don't employees have some privacy?
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The woman in the cubicle next to mine is eavesdropping on my conversations and phone calls, and I do not like this. I told her that she should pay more attention to her own business, but she is still listening in. How can I deal with her?
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When we travel to trade shows for our company, we are expected to share accommodations with other employees of the company. Sometimes these accommodations are coed. Is this proper etiquette for our company to expect the employees to share and what should the guidelines be?
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I feel foolish writing this to you, but our boss has bad breath, to the point that it is very hard to even have a short conversation with him. We want to say something, but we are reluctant because he may react all wrong. Is there a way to tell him without causing a problem?
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One of my co-workers has a way of prying private or personal information out of me, but he never tells me anything. After we talk, I always feel bad, and I know that I have said too much. I don’t want to wreck communication with him, especially since our jobs require contact with each other, but I want him to stop trying to draw this information out of me. What can I say?
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Can my boss come up to me and tell me that she has received complaints about me, and when I ask who from, she says she can't tell me. I only want to know who from so I can change this behaviour.
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