December 2015

three more updates from letter-writers

Here are three updates from letter-writers who had their questions answered here this year. 1. My coworker insists that I’m mad at her In the end, I took Alison’s advice to avoid engaging in any sort of third party coworker mediation. I agreed that it would just stir up the drama and involve additional people in […]

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weekend free-for-all – December 5-6, 2015

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 no work and no school. If you have a work question, you can email it to me or post it in the work-related open thread on Fridays.) Book Recommendation of the Week: The […]

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update: my coworker is trying to track my hours and PTO

Remember the letter-writer whose coworker announced that she’d be tracking everyone’s hours and PTO usage, despite seemingly not having been asked to do this by their manager? Here’s the update. I did end up talking to my boss about the situation because I wanted him to hear from me before my coworker could get to him, […]

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update: my new coworker keeps joking about violence

Remember the letter-writer whose new coworker kept making graphically violent “jokes”? Here’s the update. Thanks to your advice, things for the most part worked out, but not in the most ideal way. I decided I still felt uncomfortable talking to my coworker directly, but also that I wanted to give it one more go with […]

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how to take a vacation when your work never stops

A reader writes: The holidays are here, and I’m meant to be taking a week off for vacation. The trip is booked, it’s been approved months ago by my boss, and I’ve scheduled my requested time with an eye to our work cycle and done my best to get everything done and covered before I’m […]

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open thread – December 4, 2015

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that you want to talk about. If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * If you submitted […]

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time off at the holidays: can my employer do that?

This is the time of year when my in-box gets flooded with questions about how companies can and can’t handle time off around the holidays. Here are answers to some of the questions I receive most commonly. 1. My company is closed around Christmas and making me use PTO or take the time unpaid. Can […]

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