Page 12 of Executives' Omega
I nodded.
“See you upstairs when you’re done.”
“Ok.”
She walked off and I turned back to the man behind the desk—who was busy grabbing assorted papers from a filing cabinet.
“Tax info,” he muttered. “Immigration… Direct deposit…” He glanced up at me. “Full benefits right? No existing plan with a partner?”
“Full benefits,” I confirmed.
He nodded and grabbed several more forms. Once he held an impressive stack of paperwork, he stood and motioned me to follow. He led me to an adjoining room with a table and chairs.
“I’m just next door if you have any questions,” he said. “But most people are more comfortable working here than in a chair in my office.”
“Ok,” I said as I took a seat at the table.
An hour and a half later I returned to his office, forms in hand.
“Questions?” he asked.
I shook my head. “All done.”
He looked at his watch. “That was fast.”
I rubbed the side of my head with my free hand. “I’ve gotten used to filling them out.”
One of his eyebrows rose, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he accepted the stack and rifled through. Then he nodded to himself, picked up a booklet, and handed it over. “This is the employee handbook. Take some time to review it over the next week or so, then bring me the form in the back indicating that you’ve read it.”
“You don’t want me to read it now?”
He shook his head. “You can if you want, but most people prefer to do something other than read that after all the paperwork. Read a bit here and there during any downtime, or let Darlene know if you plan to read it at home so we can give you proper compensation.”
I blinked. “You mean you’ll pay if I read this on my own time?”
He nodded. “I’ve been in other companies that would require you to read them off the clock, so I understand the surprise. But Mr. Wallace explained to me that they feel that off-hours are off-hours. One of the things he loves to say is that no employee is at their best if they never have downtime.”
I glanced at the booklet, wondering if I should take it home.
“Darlene will make sure you have time to read that while here,” he said as if reading my thoughts.
I looked at him and nodded. “Ok. Just bring the form back when I’m done?”
“Exactly. I’ll follow up if I don’t hear back from you on that by next week.”
“Ok.”
He smiled. “Any other questions for me?”
I thought for a minute. “My contract was for a six-month probationary period. I’m assuming a new contract after that?”
“Yes. There will be an evaluation, then you’ll be given a new contract.”
“Ok.”
I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds, then cleared my throat. “I’ll see you when I have that form for you.”
He nodded. “Ok.”
