I am the office supervisor in a medical practice. I was recently
made aware that Gina, one of my female employees, is having an
affair with Dr. Smith, who is married. He and several other
physicians own the practice.
Q:
I am the office supervisor in a medical practice. I was recently made aware that Gina, one of my female employees, is having an affair with Dr. Smith, who is married. He and several other physicians own the practice.
I’m not sure how to handle this situation. Should I say anything about it?
A:
It’s almost impossible to effectively supervise someone who is sleeping with your boss. However, discussing the affair could be hazardous to your career, so you must carefully weigh the risks and benefits of speaking up.
If Gina does good work and presents no performance problems, ignoring the romance might be your wisest course. But if she takes advantage of her special circumstances, you are facing a difficult situation.
Admonishing Gina is probably futile, since she will just complain to her favorite doctor. And confronting Dr. Smith is risky, since he may feel that you’re meddling and decide to retaliate.
A better option might be to seek advice from another physician in the practice. Just remember that you’re the office supervisor, not the morality monitor. Keep the conversation focused on business issues.
For example: “Gina has started coming in late almost every day. Because of her close relationship with Dr. Smith, correcting her performance has become very difficult. How do you think I should handle this?”
Even if you receive no immediate suggestions, your dilemma might inspire a frank doctor-to-doctor discussion about the hazards of workplace liaisons. These ill-advised romantic entanglements always create a host of problems.
Q:
Because I used to work in human resources, coworkers often come to me to vent. Now my manager says someone has complained about the amount of time that people spend chatting in my office.
He said that he doesn’t blame me for this and that it isn’t hurting my work. However, he has asked me to start telling people “my boss wants us to stop chatting.”
I don’t feel that it’s my place to deliver this message, especially since my job performance isn’t suffering. Shouldn’t the other managers tell their employees to talk less?
A:
Perhaps those managers should address the issue, but apparently they aren’t doing so. However, your own boss has made a reasonable request that you need to honor.
Although he’s presenting the issue gently, your manager may actually be concerned about your productivity. And even if your work is unaffected, these prolonged conversations could be distracting to others in the vicinity.
You may not be initiating these chats, but since people keep “coming to vent,” you are somehow rewarding this behavior. Simply listening to their complaints is a form of encouragement.
To curtail the discussions, you don’t have to be rude. Simply say “You know I love to talk, but our boss has asked us to spend less time chatting, so I have to get back to work.” Then arrange to continue the conversation during breaks or lunch.
