Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues—everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team about body odor.

Here’s a roundup of answers to four questions from readers.

1. Am I old-fashioned about employee lateness?

I feel it is non-negotiable that—except for cases of emergency, sick kids, or traffic jams—employees should be at work on time the vast majority of days. This means getting to work about 10 minutes early in time to hang up a coat, use the bathroom, etc., and be at one’s desk when the hour begins. I feel like most employees and many managers do not so much care about this or, if they do, they don’t say anything to late employees. I have worked with colleagues who regularly show up 10-20 minutes late and no one seems to care. I’m not talking about flex-time jobs. Are my standards old-fashioned?

Green responds:

Not just old-fashioned, but genuinely out-of-date!

In lots of jobs, it just doesn’t matter if you’re at your desk at 9:00 or 9:10 because it has zero impact on the results you get. There are other jobs where it does matter—for example, if an employee covers the phones or has client appointments starting right at 9 a.m.—but increasingly jobs that can move away from that (which, again, isn’t all of them) are doing so.

The only relevant question is: Does it affect the person’s work or someone else’s work? If yes, then it’s a reasonable expectation of the job and you need to address the lateness and the specific impact it’s having. But if the answer is no, then you’re adhering to an outdated idea of what excellent work should look like. And hassling an excellent performer over 10 minutes—or for using the bathroom or chatting with a colleague before they sit down—is a good way for managers to demonstrate that they don’t value the right things and send them in search of a manager who does.

2. Should I offer my employees resume advice?

We will be promoting someone on my team to a low-level management position to free up some of my time. Three current employees applied, submitting resumes (which we require even for internal applications).

All three resumes have some very obvious problems—irrelevant jobs given a ton of space, high school coursework given a lot of space six years after finishing college, a “highlights” section that redundantly lists information from further down the page, and other problems like these. In this case, it doesn’t matter much; we know all the candidates well and are aware of their accomplishments and qualifications, but I hate to see someone using a resume that makes them look like a weaker candidate than they are.

Would I be out of line to make a one-time offer to help improve their resumes? My thought was to wait until the hiring process is finished, then phrase it as, “Would you be interested in getting feedback on your resume? It wasn’t a factor in this case since we already knew you so well, but if you would like me to I will go through it as though you’d been an outside candidate and help you polish it up.”

I don’t want to be presumptuous or make them think they’re being encouraged to leave. But I want to be supportive and give them advice while I’m in a position to give it. I’ve got a close working relationship with all of them, and feedback on writing and presentations are already a major part of how we work together.

Green responds:

Yes, do it! Your wording is good. I’d just add, “I want to be clear that I hope you won’t go anywhere anytime soon, but realistically we all move on at some point, and I since I’ve got your resume in front of me now, I wanted to offer that kind of support.”

3. Are cotton clothes less professional?

I’m a mid-40s woman in the biotech industry. Many years ago, I made the decision to avoid buying synthetic fabrics due to the large environmental impact of synthetics and fast-fashion. I find myself buying a lot of items made from cotton since it’s a natural fiber.

One day I was talking with a European colleague about where we shop and she looked at me and said, “I have never worn a t-shirt in my life,” I think implying that my tops look like t-shirts because they are made of cotton. I noticed that she was wearing head-to-toe polyester. I feel like the clothing I choose looks cute and classic, not very trendy, but still flattering. Have my personal ethical choices forced me to wear clothing that looks too casual?

Green responds:

It’s true that some cotton tops can read as less professional and more t-shirt-ish. Not all of them. There are lots of professional-looking cotton tops (hello, cotton button-downs!). But our norms around professional dress do include an odd convention where the same top can look less professional in cotton than in synthetic fabrics. It depends on the top, and it depends on the specifics of the fabric—like whether it’s t-shirt fabric or something more structured or with a different drape. It also depends on the office; in many offices this would be a complete non-issue, while in others it might matter more.

And as for why this is even a thing, it’s one of those inexplicable conventions that has its roots in something other than logic. My guess is it’s probably very old and rooted in the fact that cotton used to cost less.

In any case, if your shirts aren’t cut like t-shirts and don’t drape like t-shirts, I think you’re fine.

4. How to check on collaborators during a natural disaster

What’s the best phrasing to check in with someone who may be dealing with fires, floods, or other increasingly frequent natural disasters? In my case, I hadn’t heard from a collaborator in over a week. Her city had been recently hit by a hurricane, and I didn’t know if her organization or home had been affected, but she is in a leadership position on my project, so I needed her feedback before I could move forward. I sent a brief message checking if she’d seen my previous email, but I feel like this is going to keep happening. Can you give us some scripts for checking in with collaborators whose worlds may literally be on fire?

Green responds:

A good basic formula is to acknowledge the situation, express empathy, explain what you need, and make it clear that you understand if events are getting in the way. For example: “Hi Jane, I hope you’re doing okay! I’ve been following the hurricane that hit your area and I hope you and your family are safe. I wanted to check with you about (project details). If you have your hands full with what’s happening in your area right now and need to push this back, I of course understand!”

If you actually can’t push back the thing very easily, adapt that wording at the end—you need to acknowledge that they might not be able to do it right now regardless, but you can tweak the wording to whatever fits. For example: “I’d been planning on finalizing this by Friday since we want to distribute it at the board meeting the following week, but if that just can’t happen right now, let me know and we’ll figure it out.” Depending on circumstances, you might need to add, “If I don’t hear from you in the next few days, I’ll figure you’ve got your hands full and will work on alternate plans.”

Want to submit a question of your own? Send it to alison@askamanager.org.

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