Q: As a manager, I oversee four satellite offices. My employees have flexible schedules and little supervision. One woman is very difficult. She made it clear in an e-mail to me that if she does not receive more hours, she will look for another job. Because of her e-mail, I posted an online ad looking for a replacement. She saw the ad and e-mailed my boss. She complained that I went behind her back to advertise and belligerently demanded that I remove the ad and said she only was venting in her e-mail to me. I don't like being "muscled" into doing something. I should be able to post for any job I want to fill, and I don't want to remove the ad. I used to manage a deli with 14 employees, and I advertised all the time. It made the employees work harder knowing they could be replaced. There is a shortage of workers in our area, so I have not had a response to the ad yet. What is the proper way to handle this?

A: First tell your boss about how difficult this particular employee has been. Meet with your boss and the employee to reprimand her and place a written warning in her personnel file. She needs to understand proper workplace behavior. Explain that an employee doesn't vent angrily or issue ultimatums to a boss without expecting some consequences; that a manager has the right to advertise for any job she manages without notifying her employees; and that belligerently going over her manager's head and complaining to her manager's boss is grounds for firing. If you don't want to fire her immediately for insubordination, place her on probation for the next three months, as if she were starting over as a new employee. If she behaves appropriately, keep her. If she continues complaining and quits, your company will be ahead because you won't have to pay her unemployment compensation. (If you fire her for insubordination, you can fight paying unemployment compensation.) Don't let your worker shortage move you to hire someone you know will not be a good employee. A negative employee can cause more damage than you will be able to repair to your work force. To add to your managerial experience, read Jon Gordon's "The No Complaining Rule." The author's message is that positive companies are developed through adopting key principles for creating positive environments.

No Shame in Leaving Job for Ethical Reasons

Q: I have eight years of call center experience with a major pharmacy. I was recruited away and hired by an up-and-coming specialty pharmacy. During the training, they stressed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and protecting the privacy of patients. When we began to take phone calls, I saw that HIPAA was not being observed, and I was told to do things that violate federal law. The pharmacist told me that she wasn't even sure that HIPAA applied to anything that we did, but everyone who entered the building was forced to sign a HIPAA release form. I also realized that many terrible mistakes were being made because reasonable care was not taken when refilling prescriptions or entering patients' information into the system. I quit because of these problems and more, but what should I tell prospective employers when I interview?

A: Don't be ashamed of leaving a job for moral reasons. When asked why you left, explain that you were asked to engage in unethical behavior. This will send a message to prospective employers that if they partake in such behavior, you will not be a good fit, which will save you from taking another bad 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 [email protected], or visit her Web site at www.LindseyNovak.com. 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.