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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 three questions from readers. 1. Should I ask my staff to use sick time for doctors appointments? As a relatively new manager, Im wondering about how to navigate sick time. Background: Were 100% remote. I have weekly standing meetings with employees; apart from that, I dont require details on what theyre doing throughout the day. When I know someone is at a doctors appointment for a few hours, is it appropriate to ask them to use sick time? They didnt originally document it as such, and Im sure they made up their work in other ways, but Im struggling to find the balance between flexibility in the current situation and enforcing workplace rules. Green responds: Are they getting all their work done? Are they working flex hours, so it doesnt matter if theyre away from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. because they work a few extra hours later in the day or at night? Is your sense that theyre on top of their work and overall working the total number of hours youd expect in a given week? Do they put in extra time when the work requires it? If those things are true, you shouldnt ask them to use sick time for a few hours at the doctor. Its counterproductive to nickel and dime people like that, and it will make them much less inclined to put in extra time when the work would benefit from it. (On the other hand, if those things arent true, that changes the equation.) In general, you should err on the side of being generous with people, especially around things like sick leave, which you want to be there when theyre actually ill. 2. Can I ask co-workers to go to vegetarian-friendly restaurants on business trips? I am vegetarian. Normally, this is not a huge issue if others want to go to a restaurant that doesnt have good options, I can eat separately and everything works out. This doesnt really work on business trips, though, particularly if my colleagues and I are sharing a car. If were all going to a restaurant, then I have to go to that restaurant too, and I have to eat something while Im there so I dont starve. This is sometimes a significant issue, since a good number of fast-food restaurants dont offer solid vegetarian options. Is there a good way to steer groups away from restaurants where I cant eat, without making me the rude person? Green responds: Itll help if you research the area ahead of time and come prepared with specific alternatives to suggest. A lot of times, people suggest fast-food on the road because its easy and familiar, but if youve already done the legwork to find other places, often theyll be perfectly amenable to that. Then you can just be matter-of-fact about it: Im vegetarian and they dont have anything I can make a meal of there would you be up for going to X or Y instead? (Keep in mind, though, that if theyre suggesting fast-food because its fast and cheap, itll help to look for alternatives that mirror that as much as you can.) 3. What do I do when I inadvertently pass on bad info from a co-worker? When I’m working on a project, I usually have multiple streams of information coming in that I have to manage for specifications, schedules, capabilities, etc. Every once in a while, I get some info given to me either directly or secondhand that is wrong. It hasnt been a very critical piece of information yet. Usually its smaller things, like Sure, well move that piece of furniture over by two inches or Well have downtime tomorrow. But when it comes time to act on that information, the furniture has not been moved by two inches and there is no downtime. If it impacted only me, I wouldnt mind because, again, it’s usually not critical. But an issue arises when I pass this information along. I usually say, They said X or So-and-so told me Y but when the thing isnt done or isnt true, I end up hearing, You said X and Y, but those arent true! Whats the best way to handle these situations? And when it’s a more critical piece of information that I cant fact-check (because the person Im getting the info from is the sole supplier of said info, like shipping dates), what can I say besides, Thats the information I got from Person Z who apparently straight-up lied to my face about that? Green responds: Youre framing this as lying when its far more likely that the person just got it wrong. Thinking of it as lying puts a strange spin on it you should think of it in terms of mistakes, not malice. And mistakes happen! People think theyll have downtime and then it turns out they dont. People say theyll move a piece of furniture and then something else comes up and they forget to do it. Obviously thats not ideal, but people are human and this stuff happens. If youre getting blamed for that, the right response is, Jane told me theyd be able to do X; let me check back with her and see what happened / get an updated timeline. Also, for what its worth, it sounds like people are making things a lot more personal in your office than they should be! Youre talking about people lying to my face, and other people are telling you You said X but its not true this is all strangely adversarial and not how this kind of thing normally works. Typically youd assume basic good intent and expect others to assume it of you, too. Want to submit a question of your own? Send it to alison@askamanager.org. By Alison Green This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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Russian oil exports to India are set to rise in September, traders said, as producers cut prices to sell more crude because they cannot process as much in refineries that were damaged by Ukrainian drone attacks on energy infrastructure. India has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil supplies that were displaced by Western sanctions after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022. This has allowed Indian refiners to benefit from cheaper crude. But the purchases have drawn condemnation from the government of U.S. President Donald Trump, which increased U.S. tariffs on Indian imports to 50% on Wednesday. New Delhi says it is relying on talks to try to resolve Trump’s additional tariffs, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also embarked on a tour to develop diplomatic ties elsewhere, including meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. U.S. officials have accused India of profiteering from discounted Russian oil, while Indian officials have accused the West of double standards because the European Union and the U.S. still buy Russian goods worth billions of dollars. The Indian oil ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Without India, Russia would struggle to maintain exports at existing levels, and that would cut the oil export revenues that finance the Kremlin’s budget and Russia’s continued war in Ukraine. Three trading sources involved in oil sales to India said Indian refiners would increase Russian oil purchases in September by 10% to 20% from August levels, or by 150,000 to 300,000 barrels per day. The sources, who cited preliminary purchases data, could not be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. The two biggest buyers of Russian oil for India, Reliance and Nayara Energy, which is majority Russian-owned, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia has more oil to export next month because planned and unplanned refinery outages have cut its capacity to process crude into fuels. Ukraine has attacked 10 Russian refineries in recent days, taking offline as much as 17% of the country’s refining capacity. In the first 20 days of August, India imported 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude, unchanged from July but slightly below the average of 1.6 million bpd in January to June, according to data from Vortexa analysts. The volumes are equal to around 1.5% of global supply, making India the largest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, which covers some 40% of India’s oil needs. China and Turkey are also big buyers of Russian oil. India set to carry on buying? India’s increased buying of Russian oil over recent years has been to the detriment of more expensive supplies from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC’s share edged up in 2024 after an eight-year drop. Russian exporters sold Urals crude loading in September at discounts of $2 to $3 per barrel to benchmark dated Brent, the three traders said. The levels are cheaper than discounts of $1.50 per barrel in August, which were the narrowest since 2022, the traders said. “Unless India issues a clear policy directive or trade economics shift significantly, Russian crude will likely remain a core part of its supply mix,” said Sumit Ritolia from Kpler. Brokerage CLSA in a note also predicted only “a limited chance of India stopping Russian imports” unless a global ban is imposed. It also said that if Indian imports of Russian crude were halted, the knock-on impact could be to reduce global supplies by around one million bpd and lead to a short-term spike in global prices to nearly $100 a barrel. Traders said the full impact of sanctions and tariffs may only be visible in cargoes arriving to India in October, which will begin to trade in the next few days. In addition to the U.S. tariffs, the European Union has also tightened its price cap designed to limit Russia’s oil revenues, which will complicate sales later this year. The EU has set the cap at $47.60 per barrel from September 215% below the Russian crude market pricerestricting access to Western services for cargoes sold above the cap. Reporters in Moscow, London, and New Delhi; Additional reporting by Seher Dareen, Reuters
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E-Commerce
They look, move, and even smell like the kind of furry Everglades marsh rabbit a Burmese python would love to eat. But these bunnies are robots meant to lure the giant invasive snakes out of their hiding spots.It’s the latest effort by the South Florida Water Management District to eliminate as many pythons as possible from the Everglades, where they are decimating native species with their voracious appetites. In Everglades National Park, officials say the snakes have eliminated 95% of small mammals as well as thousands of birds.“Removing them is fairly simple. It’s detection. We’re having a really hard time finding them,” said Mike Kirkland, lead invasive animal biologist for the water district. “They’re so well camouflaged in the field.”The water district and University of Florida researchers deployed 120 robot rabbits this summer as an experiment. Previously, there was an effort to use live rabbits as snake lures but that became too expensive and time-consuming, Kirkland said.The robots are simple toy rabbits, but retrofitted to emit heat, a smell, and to make natural movements to appear like any other regular rabbit. “They look like a real rabbit,” Kirkland said. They are solar powered and can be switched on and off remotely. They are placed in small pens monitored by a video camera that sends out a signal when a python is nearby.“Then I can deploy one of our many contractors to go out and remove the python,” Kirkland said.The total cost per robot rabbit is about $4,000, financed by the water district, he added.Pythons are not native to Florida, but have become established in the swampy, subtropical Everglades by escaping from homes or by people releasing them when they become overgrown pets. A female python can lay between 50 and 100 eggs at a time with a gestation period of 60 to 90 days, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.It’s not easy to find definite estimates of the number of pythons in Florida. The U.S. Geological Survey recently reported a ballpark number of “tens of thousands,” while other official estimates run as high as 300,000 snakes. They have few natural enemies, although there are occasional confrontations with alligators, and other predators, such as bobcats and coyotes, will eat their eggs.Since 2000, more than 23,000 of the snakes have been removed from the wild, the wildlife commission says. The robot rabbits are the latest attempt to tackle snakes that average between 10 and 16 feet (3 to 5 meters) in length when fully grown.“Every invasive python that is removed makes a difference for Florida’s environment and its native wildlife,” said Ron Bergeron, a member of the water district governing board.Pythons can be humanely killed year-round on private lands and on lands managed by the wildlife commission across the state.Each year the commission holds a Florida Python Challenge that carries cash prizes for most pythons caught, the longest snake and so forth. This year, 934 people from 30 states took part in the effort in July, capturing 294 pythons with a top prize of $10,000 to a participant who bagged 60 of the reptiles.It’s too early to determine how successful the robot rabbit project will be, but officials say initial results are a cause for optimism.“This part of the project is in its infancy,” Kirkland said. “We are confident, though, that this will work once we are given enough time to work out some of these details.” Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Curt Anderson and Cody Jackson, Associated Press
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