my work studio is being used as a nursing mothers’ room by Alison Green on March 2, 2016 A reader writes: Due to the set-up of my company’s new building, we don’t have an area for breastfeeding moms to pump. So management decided that the studio I use regularly for work-related recording sessions will double as a nursing mothers’ room. I am totally on board with this – nursing moms definitely need somewhere comfortable […] Read the full article →
when a positive reference suddenly turns negative by Alison Green on March 2, 2016 A reader writes: My sister was recently chosen for a permanent position at a large organization where she had previously worked as a temp. They performed over three weeks of scrupulous recruitment procedures, and she passed a background check with flying colors. She was asked for a list of her references, which of course included the […] Read the full article →
the reality check post: does your job suck or are you being too picky? by Alison Green on March 2, 2016 If you’re early in your career and still learning what is and isn’t normal, it can be really hard to judge whether your employer is great, fine, or shockingly awful. New grads, for example, often put up with boundary violations, illegal practices, and terrible bosses because they don’t have enough of a frame of reference […] Read the full article →
my office smells like a corpse, my fired coworker blames me, and more by Alison Green on March 2, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My office smells like a corpse My office is an older building and half of it is up on a small crawl space. Every winter around this time (late February to early March) is what we call the dead animal season. Something (rat, feral cat, […] Read the full article →
my dad says I shouldn’t have asked for time to think over a job offer by Alison Green on March 1, 2016 A reader writes: Recently I had a second interview with a company where I met with the other owner and learned a lot of new information, including salary and schedule. At the end of the interview, I was offered the position and I said I would like a day to think it over and talk […] Read the full article →
should you get rid of all the managers? by Alison Green on March 1, 2016 On days when being a manager or dealing with a manager is making you tear your hair out, you might wonder how things have been going at Zappos in the two years since the company famously announced its transition to “holacracy,” a system without managers or titles. But if you’re tempted to wonder if a […] Read the full article →
how can I make sure my team meets deadlines? by Alison Green on March 1, 2016 A reader writes: If you’re a (much younger millennial) project manager contractor managing non-contractor long-term (much older) folks, and they say they’ll get something done but the deadline’s in less than 48 hours and they have nothing sent to you yet (after an earlier reminder), how do you remind them and get things done without: […] Read the full article →
how to tell an employee to stop cc’ing my boss, exclamation points in cover letters, and more by Alison Green on March 1, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How to tell an employee to stop cc’ing my boss I’m a new manager and I have an employee who consistently copies other people on emails I’ve directed specifically to her. What is confusing about this is that sometimes the emails are related to situations […] Read the full article →