Work Advice: The boss' jitter bugs this contractor; a job interview twist

Reader 1: I am a government contractor who sits about 10 feet from my government supervisor of two years. In the past several months, he has begun shaking his leg nonstop at his desk. This causes my computer monitors to shake, which gives me motion sickness. Because he is government, I do not feel I can approach him with this issue. One of his peers has addressed the leg shaking with him several times, but my supervisor jokingly blames it on restless leg syndrome. I think the issue has more to do with anxiety. My point is that the constant leg shaking makes me physically sick and affects my ability to do my work. What can I do?

A: Soft rubber or silicon mats under your desk and monitor stands might help. But why can't you say anything? Whether federal employee or contractor, you're entitled to a literally stable workspace that doesn't make you ill.

You could piggyback on his colleague's comments: "I overheard you and Stan talking about your leg shaking and wanted to let you know I've noticed it, too. My monitors pick up the vibrations and jiggle, so I feel ill when I try to read the screens. Could I try moving to a different desk?"

If he doesn't believe it's that bad, or if he promises to stop but keeps forgetting, a little jingly doodad on your desk could serve as a reminder (and would be subtler than heaving into your trash can). Ideally, he'll let you try moving farther from the epicenter. If he laughs you off, you may have to escalate your complaint or see about getting reassigned to another contract for health reasons.

Reader 2: During the second round of an interview, I was interviewed by a woman I thought was the company president. It turns out she had also interviewed for the job but decided she didn't want it. The employer paid her a consulting fee to ask me more industry-specific questions. Is this legal? Is it as weird as I think? I ended up getting the job.

A: Having a former competitor interview you was "unorthodox, but not illegal," says Gael Martinez, HR business partner at the Society for Human Resource Management. In fact, says Martinez, asking a subject-matter specialist for help makes sense if the company is hiring for a position outside its usual area of expertise.

If the interviewer deliberately misled you, that's weird but also probably not illegal. Perhaps the company worried that if she had told you who she was, you might have asked why she was turning down the job. But if it's just that being interviewed as runner-up by the company's first choice sticks in your craw, look at it this way: The company wanted to make sure it was hiring the best available candidate, and a knowledgeable peer confirmed that you were that person.

• Miller has written for and edited tax publications for 16 years, most recently for the accounting firm KPMG's Washington National Tax office. Ask her about your work dramas and traumas by emailing wpmagazine@washpost.com.