December 2014

update: I accepted a job without finding out the salary

Remember the letter-writer who accepted a job without first asking what the salary was (#1 at the link)? Here’s the update. They eventually told me a salary, in terms that sounded non-negotiable. However, it was well below the bottom of the range I’d agreed to. At the same time, I was interviewing for a different position […]

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4 signs you just don’t like your boss

You might think you don’t need to be told when you don’t like your boss, but sometimes managers become such an ingrained part of our work lives that you might not even realize when a personal dislike is impacting the relationship – and along with it, your happiness at your job. Here are four typical […]

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all the party planning in my office always falls to women

A reader writes: I’ve noticed in my office that nearly all of the holiday planning responsibilities fall to women. This is in a traditionally male-dominated industry where there has been progress in hiring/promoting women, but we’re still generally underrepresented. However, in the party planning efforts, usually all, or all-but-one of the representatives are women. This […]

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Sunday open thread – December 14, 2014

It’s the weekend free-for-all. This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. (This one is truly non-work only; if you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.) Have at it.

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another four reader updates

Four more updates from readers whose questions were answered here this year — 1. My colleague works around the clock and I’m concerned it will impact management’s idea of realistic workload (#2 at the link) Things ended up working themselves out, though not in the best way. Unfortunately, all the overtime caught up to my […]

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update: my office is fighting about overhead lighting

Remember the letter-writer whose office was warring about overhead lighting, and half the office wanted to work in darkness? Here’s the update. We got a new manager and we moved to a different floor, two unforeseen variables that changed the whole atmosphere. A couple posters brought up a few things I wanted to address: AAM, […]

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update: managing people with higher risk tolerance than I have

Remember the letter-writer who managed a sea kayak guide who kept conducting kayaking trips in situations where safety guidelines dictated he should have changed plans (#3 at the link)? Here’s the update. I wrote to you last spring in search of advice on how to manage an employee who had a higher risk tolerance that I did. One thing that […]

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