Meetings
Q: Documents to be read and commented on at our weekly team meeting are frequently distributed the evening before the meeting. As a consequence, only those who are constantly on-line see them and are fully prepared for the meeting. This is happening more and more often and not only for this meeting. I’m concerned that we are now judged on after-hours availability rather than technical merit. How can this be addressed?
A: You should discuss your concerns with the person organizing the team meeting and/or the other contributors. The more general trend you mention needs to be treated at a higher level by reminding your hierarchy about acceptable and recommended working habits.
Q: I hold a team meeting each Wednesday afternoon as a mid-week checkpoint. It allows the team to discuss any issues that have come up, in time to conclude them before the week-end. For personal reasons, two members of my team take Wednesday afternoons off. Is this indirect discrimination?
A: It could be indirect discrimination if you do not have a legitimate need to hold the meeting on Wednesday afternoons, or if there are other appropriate ways to meet your needs. You appear to have a legitimate need for the meeting (monitoring your team’s progress and being available for their questions) but do you really have to hold it on a Wednesday afternoon? Could you obtain the same result by holding the meeting earlier in the day or first thing on Thursday morning?