what shirt colors are okay for interviews, citing benefits I don’t use when negotiating salary, and more by Alison Green on December 9, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Do I really have to wear a white or baby blue shirt to interviews? I’m an recent graduate searching for a job and this question has arisen for me more than once, although I’m not sure if it’s a valid one or if I’m just […] Read the full article →
everything you need to know about holiday gift-giving at work by Alison Green on December 8, 2015 Confused about office holiday gift-giving expectations? Wondering about things like: Are you expected to get your boss a gift for the holidays? What if you’re being pressured to contribute to a group gift and you can’t afford it or don’t want to? Do you have to participate in the office Secret Santa? And what’s a good gift if […] Read the full article →
update: coworker has drama-filled calls with his girlfriend 10 times a day by Alison Green on December 8, 2015 Remember the letter-writer who shared an office with someone who took 10+ drama-filled phone calls from his girlfriend every day, sometimes as often as every 15 minutes? Here’s the update. It took a while for the whole situation to play out. Just after I wrote in, I wrote myself a script, based on the one […] Read the full article →
how to spot burn-out on your team — and what to do about it by Alison Green on December 8, 2015 If you see a good employee’s work starting to plummet, or someone suddenly getting frequently emotional, or someone having a noticeable drop in enthusiasm for their work, you might be looking at burn-out. Here are four key signs of burn-out to watch out for on your team, and what to do if you spot them. 1. […] Read the full article →
when an employee is consumed by news of mass tragedies by Alison Green on December 8, 2015 A reader writes: I supervise someone who subscribes to news alerts on his cell phone and via email, and he kind of obsesses about news when it’s something like the California shooting. While it’s a tragedy, especially considering it’s workplace violence that could affect any of us, I don’t think it’s worth dropping everything to […] Read the full article →
my friend is blackmailing her boss, employee is overlooking emails, and more by Alison Green on December 8, 2015 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My friend is blackmailing her boss I have a friend who works as a server for an upscale hotel in a large city. She recently told me about a “deal” she made with her supervisor that has resulted in her making a lot more money. […] Read the full article →
update: our museum volunteer is out of control, part 2 by Alison Green on December 7, 2015 Remember the letter-writer who managed a museum that was saddled with a rogue volunteer who no one could control (and who was protected by the board of directors)? She wrote in with an update about a year ago, and now here’s another update. In February, we decided to combine our two half-time positions into one full-time […] Read the full article →
how to write a self-assessment for your performance review by Alison Green on December 7, 2015 If your company is one of the many gearing up for year-end performance reviews this month, you may be asked to write a self-assessment as part of that process. Lots of people freeze up when asked to assess their own performance, worried that they’ll come across as braggarts if they rate themselves highly, or that […] Read the full article →
employee resigned but now wants to stay by Alison Green on December 7, 2015 A reader writes: We hired an employee, Jane, in August to take over a management position, and I was to partially oversee her, along with my boss, Lucinda. There were some issues on both sides (she had issues with Lucinda and vice versa), and about a month ago Jane told me she was considering giving […] Read the full article →
Legacybox: all your memories, digitized by Alison Green on December 7, 2015 And now a break to talk about a sponsor… Do you have a bunch of non-digitized photos and old VHS tapes laying around that you have vague ideas of converting to digital at some point, but have never bothered to actually do it? And meanwhile, your footage of your parents’ wedding or your sixth-grade talent […] Read the full article →