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Work advice needed- was I wrong to ask this?
I was recently promoted to a management position within the company. One of the tasks that I am supposed to be working on is updating all company procedure & employee manuals.
So as I'm reviewing the employee manual I came across a section that states "if an employee elects to be on their spouses insurance instead of our company plan they are entitled to 1/2 the annual premium of our plan payable as a lump sum payment." I didn't recall seeing this before. All of 2012 I was on DH's company plan and we just switched to my company's with this position promotion. So I thought hey, since I was on DH's plan last year that statement might apply to me and I should ask someone. I answer to the Board of Directors so I sent an email to one of the board members with a copy of the statement I was referring. I put in the email the dates that I was on DH's plan and then put "can you review this and let me know if you think I am entitled to this?"
The board president comes into my office today and tells me no that I am not entitled to it and that he & the other board member I emailed are very upset & offended with me asking for this money. I guess I am just confused on what was so wrong with asking? And now I feel like I am walking on eggshells around them.
Re: Work advice needed- was I wrong to ask this?
I don't know if it was "wrong", but it does make you look very short sighted and like you are sort of self-focused, in my opinion. If I were on the board, I would be thinking "wow, I assigned this person to be updating procedures for the WHOLE COMPANY and all she focuses on is one little policy that might get her some extra money?" Plus, it seems like a petty concern to trouble the Board of Directors with--wouldn't you have asked HR first?
If it were me, I would have waited until I had a list of questions about possible policy changes/updates and then framed everything in the context of "Hey, I found some things that I'm not sure still apply anymore. Can we talk about if these policies have changed/should change?" Then if it came out that the policy did still apply, you could ask who it applied to (so you could be clear as you update the employee manual) and THEN if you were eligible you could have approached HR about getting the payment. Not the Board of Directors.
Definetly in the wrong. That is a question for HR not tue board members. Keep in mine board members don't care about you or anyone else try care about the bottom line.
Take your issue to HR
Why would you ask now? 2012 is over and most benefits that have a pay out expire by calendar year.
You showed them you aren't focused on the job they gave you. You are only focused on you and squeezing money out of them. Make sure your r?sum? is updated. Lesson learned.
I would have fired your ass for asking, you focking b*tch!
Yikes. If I were you I would personally apologize to both the president of the board and the board member you emailed. Just say something like, "I apologize for asking the question the way I did, I feel embarrassed that it came across the wrong way. It was just a policy I wasn't aware of before. Perhaps we should eliminate it/change it/reword it/make it more obvious (whatever you think the board would be in favor of) to reduce further complications in the future."
Definitely apologize so they are aware that you know it was a slip up on your part and you're not focusing solely on how to better your personal/financial situation in your new position.
Good luck!
Wow. I am shocked by all of the answers you got. Although I might have worded it differently, I would have done essentially what you did. If the Board of Directors is your "boss(es)," that's who I would have asked, too. We live in a weird world that we can't ask questions that we want answers to.
As an aside, I think it's funny that asking about money at a job is taboo. Why else do we get jobs...? You aren't supposed to ask in an interview, everyone is saying you were in the wrong for being "short-sighted," but hey, if I could potentially get hundreds of dollars back, I would have asked, too!
Like I said, I don't think it was necessarily wrong to ask, but the way it was done makes the OP look greedy and only focused on herself, not the important job she was assigned to do.