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Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

handbook.zaarly.com

81–90 of 92 posts

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#81
post #80

I think this misses the point of an employee handbook completely. Its meant for when things go wrong... employees are not looking at any company handbook on a day to day basis to figure out how the company runs and how they should act. They only crack it open when shit hits the fan and they need to know what to do... - Think one of your co-workers is not performing up to par - might want to consult the employee handb…

I don't ever want to consult an employee handbook. I especially don't want someone to tell me to RTFEH. At Pivotal we have an e-mail alias for making any kind of request that will get routed to the right person and dealt with/responded to quickly. No guesswork required, no flipping through an employee handbook. There's also a person everyone gets assigned that they can go to at any time with questions about how to en…

There should always be a person available, not (just) an employee handbook.

Obviously, but that person isn't omnipotent. Perhaps that person has never taken maternity leave and doesn't know the routines. Having things written down somewhere makes it easier to find and eliminates any guesswork.

The other advantage of a handbook is anonymity. Perhaps you want to look up the routines for maternity leave without announcing that you are/plan to be pregnant.

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#82

I think this misses the point of an employee handbook completely. Its meant for when things go wrong... employees are not looking at any company handbook on a day to day basis to figure out how the company runs and how they should act. They only crack it open when shit hits the fan and they need to know what to do... - Think one of your co-workers is not performing up to par - might want to consult the employee handb…

Well, it's not a company handbook, it's a company advertisement for recruiting. That's pretty obvious when you read it.

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#83
post #3

> Disagreements that have not been addressed IRL will be promptly dismissed as misunderstandings until an actual conversation has taken place. That's an impressively mature stance on employee conflict. > Or maybe better, an extension of your parent's house. That's a very simple and reasonable explanation for workplace use. It sounds like you treat your employees like adults. I find that commendable in the current bus…

Really? What does 'IRL' mean? Because I find a slight friction between the statements 'you can work from anywhere, whatever hours you like' and 'disagreements are not considered real unless you've been in the same room'. Oh so I can work from home but you'll ignore anything I say if you don't like it, because I wasn't in the room with you. Got it. Sure you'll pay for my plane tickets, I don't want a plane ticket, I w…

Judging from the rest of their handbook, it sounds like "IRL" means video or voice chat as well.

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#84
post #81
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't ever want to consult an employee handbook. I especially don't want someone to tell me to RTFEH. At Pivotal we have an e-mail alias for making any kind of request that will get routed to the right person and dealt with/responded to quickly. No guesswork required, no flipping through an employee handbook. There's also a person everyone gets assigned that they can go to at any time with questions about how to en…

There should always be a person available, not (just) an employee handbook. Obviously, but that person isn't omnipotent. Perhaps that person has never taken maternity leave and doesn't know the routines. Having things written down somewhere makes it easier to find and eliminates any guesswork. The other advantage of a handbook is anonymity. Perhaps you want to look up the routines for maternity leave without announci…

[deleted]

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#85
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

an Employee Handbook has legal status -- I'd be wary of this generalization. It is more the opposite. If that makes sense.

The original statement is generally correct. Employee handbooks don't have contractual status (i.e. they can be amended at the company's discretion) but do have legal status insofar as employee's will be expected and, in most cases be contractually bound, to abide by the terms of the handbook.

It can bind employers, too. In most states, the answer to "what happens with unclaimed vacation pay if I quit?" is "go see what it says in the employee handbook."

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#86
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clicking on the link, I believe they mean "use Craigslist to apply for a job elsewhere". It's hard to believe anyone would bag on Craigslist itself as a model of efficiency; If you were to chart number of uniques per day against number of employees, I doubt anyone is within an order of magnitude (or two, or three) of Craigslist.

Wikipedia.

Oh, good call. Thanks.

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#88
post #64
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been under two unlimited policies and have taken reasonable time off in both. I take off exactly how much I want to take off, and its not really a concern that I'm under/over-utilizing my time off. I don't ask for anything unreasonable and in exchange I've had no problems taking as much time off as I want.

What do you consider reasonable, though? In the US, many consider 10 work days reasonable, but elsewhere, anything less than 6 weeks is barbaric.

My definition of reasonable is not about length, its about things like not asking for time off in the middle of an important deadline. Stuff like that.

Re: Rules for Work: The Zaarly Employee Handbook

#89
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our unlimited vacation time comes with a (not enforced, but strongly recommended) mandatory minimum per quarter. Thus, we don't have everyone taking four weeks off in December, but I help remind the developers to take time to recharge. So far, just me going "you haven't taken a vacation in a while" is enough of a nudge to remind people to go.

What is the difference between minimum and maximum? What is the required number of pieces of flair?

Must wear lots of flair, especially when the VCs tour the office, looking important and trying to sound smart (but failing).
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