self-harm scars at work, “years of experience” requirements in job ads, and more by Alison Green on December 11, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Will self-harm scars keep me from moving into a management role? I have some very noticeable self-harm scars on my left arm. They cover my whole forearm (all the way around – I’m pretty thorough) and it’s very obvious what they are to anyone who […] Read the full article →
update: how to respond to an angry, profanity-laced email from a coworker by Alison Green on December 10, 2015 Remember the letter-writer whose coworker sent her an angry-profanity laced email (including “I’m sending you my edits in text, now F— off for the weekend”)? Here the update. I’m happy to say that there were no further outbursts from that coworker, and our working relationship proceeded fairly smoothly from then on out. We had one […] Read the full article →
four more updates from letter-writers by Alison Green on December 10, 2015 Here are four updates from letter-writers who had their questions answered here this year. 1. My boss is furious after my coworker pranked her After the incident occured, the manager spoke to HR directly, but no actions were taken against my coworker. The manager cooled down and talked to my coworker as if it did […] Read the full article →
is your problem employee coachable? by Alison Green on December 10, 2015 When an employee is struggling to produce results, managers often aren’t sure whether they should invest time in coaching the person and trying to build their skills, or whether it’s simply not the right fit. On one hand, people can and do improve their work skills all the time; on the other hand, though, some […] Read the full article →
how to get info from job candidates who turn down our offers by Alison Green on December 10, 2015 A reader writes: I am not a jobseeker (yet), but am currently working as untrained HR personnel. There are some things my management wants to know about job candidates under two circumstances, but I’m not sure if they are okay questions to ask. I guess I just want to know what I’m doing is right […] Read the full article →
I caught a coworker searching for adult photos, how to tell my boss I’m a psychopath, and more by Alison Green on December 10, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. I caught my coworker looking for nude photos This morning I entered a meeting room and got a quick glance at my coworker’s work laptop. The web browser was on a Google page looking for nude photos of an adult film star. He quickly closed the […] Read the full article →
my coworker stopped talking to me after I asked her not to smoke near our door by Alison Green on December 9, 2015 A reader writes: A few weeks ago, I poked my head out the door looking for a coworker who happens to be a smoker. There was a trio standing right beside the door and it was the first crappy day of winter. Walking up, I had seen an arm raise and lower, classic smoking motion, […] Read the full article →
update: my coworkers are passing around a list of reasons they hate working with me by Alison Green on December 9, 2015 Remember the letter-writer whose coworkers were passing around a list of reasons they didn’t like working with her? Here’s the update. So I confided in a few coworkers (with whom I was on good terms) and discovered that the childish coworker treated a handful of other women from our department the same way. We all […] Read the full article →
how to get employees to take time off by Alison Green on December 9, 2015 Last week, a letter-writer asked how to take time off when there’s always work to do. This week, a manager asks a different version of that question: I have recently begun supervising a small team on a university administrative staff where employees are allowed to carry over a portion of their unused vacation time and […] Read the full article →
my employees keep going over my head to my boss … and she doesn’t direct them back to me by Alison Green on December 9, 2015 A reader writes: I supervise a small group of people, but my manager has all of the authority. I was told recently that the group doesn’t like me giving reminders or asking for updates (or, possibly, they don’t like *how* I do that). This isn’t the first mention of it, but apparently what I’ve tried […] Read the full article →