Business etiquette
Q I'm in the midst of writing an engagement announcement for my daughter and her fiancé that will run in our local newspaper. I'm wondering how to word the information that my daughter will graduate in May 2007 with a medical degree, Should I write "Doctor of Medicine," "doctor of medicine," or "receiving (earning) a doctoral degree in medicine"?
I.J., Minneapolis
A The appropriate way to reference the degree is "Doctor of Medicine" with a capital "D" and "M". The announcement could read: "Mr. and Mrs. John Smith of Somewhere, Indiana, announce the engagement of their daughter, Miss Sarah Smith, to John Roberts, son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Roberts of Anywhere, Ohio. Miss Smith will graduate from Example University in May, 2007 with a Doctor of Medicine degree."
Q A colleague and I each work 24 hours a week for the same company. She works from Monday through Wednesday, and I work from Wednesday through Friday. Here's my problem: Our office gets 10 paid holidays per year, most of them falling on a Monday. Because my colleague works on Mondays, she gets these paid days off while I don't.
For a while this was OK with me, since she has seniority and I didn't want to seem greedy. Recently, however, we've had a new addition to our family and expenses have ballooned. Given this new situation, I thought it would be fair for the following to occur with all 10 holidays: She gets the time off (unless the holiday falls on a Thursday or Friday, in which case I do), and we each get paid for four hours of work. Would this be a reasonable request to make of my boss?
A. G., Wellesley
A Your solution is clever, for it would increase your pay -- thus helping your financial situation.
It may not fly with the other worker, though, because it would reduce the amount of pay she receives. Currently, she receives compensation for eight hours of the paid holiday. You're suggesting that she forgo four of those paid hours so they can be paid to you instead.
Don't be surprised if she balks at this idea. I do think, however, that you have a reasonable beef over the fact that your colleague is getting the majority of the paid days off. I suggest that you first discuss the issue with your colleague, and let her know you want to bring it up with your manager.
If you and she can develop a fair scenario that you both can embrace, your chances of getting your manager to accommodate you are much better than if you try to institute a change without getting your colleague's buy-in.
