Yay, Morgan Stanley! The “global leader of executing transactions for institutional clients in cash equity related products” granted an employee extra time to watch Ben Shelton , a tennis player at Wimbledon.
This is a cute story that makes you feel good, but it raises the question of when to grant exceptions. Emma Shelton’s supervisor may have approved the request for additional time off because she hadn’t yet used up all of her vacation days. It would have been foolish for the supervisor to refuse, as the answer was going to be broadcast in the media. The supervisor made a wise choice.
What if she did not have any additional vacation days? When is it appropriate to grant an employee a rule exception? You have to make a difficult decision. If you grant an employee an exception because they are supporting a brother at a sporting event, does it matter if the event is Wimbledon, or even a local T-Ball tournament? You only make exceptions for professional sports, not high school.
It is easy to see how it can get very sticky very quickly.
Click here to continue reading: Use these 11 guidelines to decide when to bend the rules for employees
