At Work by Lindsey Novak

Q: I am a public safety director, and our small department requires shifts 24/7. We have seven dispatchers and work 12-hour shifts.

The problem is the way our boss runs the division. One dispatcher retired and needed to be replaced, but before finding another dispatcher, my boss allowed two dispatchers to take their three-week vacations. We were short three dispatchers, and I worked so much overtime I didn't take one weekend off for a month.

I then saw a stranger sitting in the dispatch center. Our boss introduced her to me as a new dispatcher. The training period is three months. The chief trainer was on a three-week vacation, so I was told to train her. I've trained employees before, but the chief trainer locked up all the training materials and is the only one with the key. The new employee quit after two weeks, and it took a month to find another new hire. Unfortunately, the boss allowed three other dispatchers to take vacations, and one of the employees who returned from vacation needed to be hospitalized and then placed on a permanent day shift, which the boss did for her. Now another worker, who previously has caused trouble in the department, is jealous of the one on a day shift and has called in sick just to make a point. I would like her to be fired and replaced, but the boss will not do so.

I am so miserable I'd like to quit without having a job. Our boss doesn't care about people's lives, commitments or children's schedules.

A: Most company departments are run according to department needs, not personal commitments, though some companies as a rule offer flexible schedules and some benefits to parents. The problem sounds more extensive; your boss doesn't pay attention to department needs.

All of your boss's management decisions defy common sense.

Each dispatcher should have been required to take his or her vacation at a different time throughout the year. No crossover should have been allowed, and all should have been asked to wait until a dispatcher was hired and up to speed on the job to replace the one who retired. The difficult employee calling in sick to prove a point needs to be reprimanded, and an employee's leaving with the one key needed for unlocking training materials is absurd.

It sounds as if you would do a far better job than your boss does. You may feel empowered by writing a memo to human resources regarding your boss's job performance; the boss's mishandling of vacation scheduling, hiring and training employees, and the general management of the staff is enough to prove the boss incompetent. Then discreetly conduct a job search, and wait to see whether anything changes.

Laid-off Employee Doubts Past Performance

Q: I was laid off recently and told my job would be outsourced. Do layoffs happen because of work performance as well as financial reasons? We have had several layoffs so far this year.

A: That thought crosses the mind of everyone who is laid off from a small company. The truth is you will never know, and you will drive yourself crazy thinking about it. When a company explains that a layoff is for a financial reason, it allows you to file for unemployment. Don't let being fired damage your confidence. You will need a positive attitude when you interview, no matter how long it takes you to find a job.

Please send your questions to: Lindsey Novak, c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. E-mail her at LindseyNovak@yahoo.com, or visit her Web site at www.LindseyNovak.com. She answers all e-mails. To find out more about Lindsey Novak and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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