DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m an entrepreneur, and I often hire freelance or contract workers to help support my business.
Related Articles
Harriette Cole: It’s overwhelming to be the successful sibling
Harriette Cole: I was rattled to see my enemy in the group chat for our girls trip
Harriette Cole: Out of nowhere, my neighbor set the conversation on an unpleasant path
Harriette Cole: How can I teach this crooked mechanic a lesson?
Harriette Cole: Why can’t we have a nice anniversary like my friends did?
Recently, I had an employee who wasn’t satisfied with my performance as her boss. She took to social media and slandered me personally, using foul language, lying about work conditions and discussing her compensation.
She was saying that the work she was doing for me is worth far more than I paid her, totally forgetting the fact that she signed a contract and agreed to said compensation.
Based on her completely unprofessional behavior, I decided to withhold her last payments, as I feel she put my entire business and its reputation at stake with her public performance and poor decisions.
How do I get myself out of this situation?
— Irrational Employee
DEAR IRRATIONAL EMPLOYEE: If you owe this person money, you should pay her so that you have proof that you fulfilled your obligations. Denying her compensation will only fuel her fire.
Send her final paycheck in the mail. Then block her and move on.
DEAR HARRIETTE: I was recently offered a new job that I was excited about. It felt like a huge breakthrough for me — the kind of opportunity I had been working toward for years.
I went through multiple rounds of interviews, got the official offer, signed the paperwork and even started making plans to relocate. I told all of my friends and family, and we celebrated together. It felt like such a proud moment.
Then, out of nowhere, the company rescinded the offer.
They claimed it was due to “organizational changes,” but it felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me.
I had already quit my previous job and was prepared to start this next chapter. Now I’m left scrambling with no job, no backup plan and a lot of shame.
I can’t stop thinking about how excited I was when I shared the news, and now I feel embarrassed and like I’ve let everyone down.
How do I recover from something like this emotionally, professionally and socially? How do I shake the feeling that I got ahead of myself, even though I thought everything was official?
— Flat-Footed
DEAR FLAT-FOOTED: I wonder if you have any legal rights to push back against the new employer since both sides signed the paperwork? You may want to consult an attorney to determine if there’s any way you can recoup anything by pushing back on them.
Otherwise, this is a horrible situation, and you are left having to pick up the pieces. It will take time.
Related Articles
Dear Abby: My parents won’t let me move out until I repay them for college
Asking Eric: It’s going to get back to my husband that I’m not being nice
Harriette Cole: It’s overwhelming to be the successful sibling
Miss Manners: The women at work ignored me whenever I spoke. What should I have done?
Dear Abby: Her teen boyfriend confided to me that he drinks a lot
Start by acknowledging that you did nothing wrong. Whatever happened was outside of your power or awareness, but now you must move on.
Start looking for a job. Talk to your former employer and explain what happened; perhaps they will take you back. Look around at potential opportunities. What do you want to do for work? Think outside the box.
As you are considering all options, be willing to accept short-term work or temp work to help pay the bills in the interim. The rest will heal over time.
Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to [email protected] or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.