TRACEY’S PRACTICAL EMPLOYMENT TIP
OF THE MONTH*

June 2008 : THE DANGERS OF ACCEPTING PROJECT WORK

If your boss comes into your office and asks you to give up your regular position for a “special project” that the company really needs your services for, you should strongly consider turning it down. Just recently, and during many past consultations, I have listened to clients talk about how they were pulled from their regular positions to work on a special project only to find that when the project ended a year or two later there was no longer a position for them in the company. They accepted the project because, among other reasons, they thought it would advance their careers, they were afraid to say no, their boss asked for a favor, and they were flattered by the offer.

If you are confronted with this type of situation please get all the information you can about the project. Ask who you will be reporting to, what the purpose of the project is vis-à-vis the company’s goals, how long the project is expected to last and why you were chosen. Also inquire as to what will happen to your position while you are on the project and what will happen to your position within the company upon the project’s completion (i.e., will the project lead to a new role for you within the company or will you simply go back to your old job).

As part of deciding whether to accept the assignment, inquire as to whether the company will, in writing, guarantee you a position with the company or a reasonable severance package should there be no position for you at the completion of the project. If the company will not guarantee your future or protect your downside, then you have learned a valuable piece of information about the risk you will undertake in agreeing to the assignment.

Next Month’s Tip: THE COMPANY COMPUTER IS NOT YOURS

Monthly Tip Archive

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* Disclaimer: The contents of this page are for informational purposes only and nothing herein is intended to constitute legal advice nor should anything contained herein be taken or relied on as such. Each individual executive and employee has a unique set of facts and circumstances that the general discussion set forth above may be wholly inapplicable to. Only through consultation with a lawyer from our firm in which all of the facts and circumstances of an individual’s unique situation are explored and considered can a true legal assessment of your rights and remedies be ascertained. Any use of this information is taken solely at your own risk.