Sticky Solutions
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: I’m a manager at a major agricultural company. I was recently chosen to be a part of our company’s mentorship program. My mentor suggested that part of her career success has been to stay up to date on the latest nonfiction books. Since graduating from college and starting in my profession, I haven’t spent much time reading, but I’d like to take my mentor’s advice this summer. Can you recommend any nonfiction books that have been released in the past year that I could download to read during my break?
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Sticky Solutions
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: Our company moved to fully remote earlier this year. Most of my employees are happy about this arrangement, but many of them are starting to push back against the mandate of having webcams on. They’re complaining of Zoom fatigue and the feeling of being micro-managed. Can you share some advice on how organizations are adapting to the camera requirement for remote meetings?
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Sticky Solutions
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: My company is in its second year of working to become more diverse and inclusive. While most of my colleagues and I have completed unconscious bias training and are learning about gender and identity affirmation in the workplace, I still trip up on things like using binary pronouns for team members who prefer “they/them”. As a team leader, I feel that it’s especially important to model the kind of inclusive behavior that we want to see, but I’m writing to ask what recommendations you have for moving forward when my efforts to be inclusive fall short?
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Sticky Solutions
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: A couple of weeks ago, I felt — off. Not sick, exactly, but not like myself. I was unfocused and exhausted. I’d worked a series of six-day weeks, was drowning in emails, and couldn’t seem to muster up the motivation to tackle anything. I messaged my boss to say that I wasn’t feeling well and needed to take the day off. I packed some snacks and drove myself and my dog to the park where I spent the day reading, doing some yoga, and playing ball with the dog. The next day, I felt good enough to return to work, and my boss told me that someone had seen me in the park. I was mortified. I hadn’t lied, but I hadn’t been clear that I needed to take a break for my mental health and getting outside away from screens was what I needed most. Fortunately, my boss let it go, but I’m writing to ask what advice you have to request a day off in a way that won’t make my boss question my commitment?
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Sticky Solutions
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: I manage a team of 12 for an IT department of a biotech in San Diego, California. In 2020, we moved to a mostly remote work model. That was a welcome change for team members who were looking for flexibility. We shifted to a hybrid work model in early March of 2022, and I’m feeling that we need to revisit our team charter to reinforce a healthy culture even when our team members are in and out of the office. What guidelines should we consider for working together as a hybrid team?
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Sticky Solutions
Sticky solutions to your everyday business challenges
Question: After almost two years of fully remote work, my team started returning to work three days a week in February. Going back to the office came with pleasant benefits, like working with more ergonomic furniture and equipment. Unfortunately, it also came with some unpleasantries. I can deal with the fact that my plants died, but I’m having a hard time dealing with one of my colleagues who openly shares her political ideologies with me. I can’t ignore my teammate forever, but I’ve been in a bubble for so long that I don’t have the skills to discuss sensitive topics now that we’re back in the office. Help!
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