how to appear smart in meetings by Alison Green on December 8, 2016 The following is an excerpt from Sarah Cooper’s new book, 100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings, which I read and thought was so hilarious that I sought permission to share some of it here. Seriously, it is really funny, and it would be an excellent gift for your office holiday gift swap. Order your […] Read the full article →
going into business with my boyfriend’s family, taking an interviewer on a tour of my current company, and more by Alison Green on December 8, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Going into business with my boyfriend’s family I have been with my boyfriend for six years now, and lived with him for five. I’m extremely close with his family, especially because my own family lives across the country, to the point that I’ve been invited […] Read the full article →
update: an employee’s boyfriend privately asked me to give her time off … and then things got even weirder by Alison Green on December 7, 2016 Remember the boyfriend who contacted his girlfriend’s manager to privately ask her to give the girlfriend time off? Here’s the update from the manager: I was so grateful to have my question answered, and enjoyed the commenters so much. I did take your advice to have a conversation with her pretty quickly after she got […] Read the full article →
how to handle pressure to donate money at work by Alison Green on December 7, 2016 A reader writes: What is your recommendation when you’re being pressured at work to contribute to a charity drive that you either don’t support or can’t afford? What if your manager is the one doing the pressuring? I received about five emails in the last two days on the subject, reporting on who has already […] Read the full article →
my boss crashed an employee’s wedding and now everyone hates him by Alison Green on December 7, 2016 A reader writes: I’m an executive assistant. My boss made an unpopular personnel decision, and I’m the one who is bearing the brunt of it because everyone is upset with my him. He went to a coworker’s wedding because he had a question about something and she was the only one who could answer it. […] Read the full article →
can we be told not to flush the toilets at work, will I be taken seriously without a LinkedIn account, and more by Alison Green on December 7, 2016 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Can we be told not to flush the toilets at work? The company I work for has a plumber coming to our facility on Thursday, and he will need to turn the water off completely to do the job. No one knows how long it […] Read the full article →
update: my coworker wants us to call her boyfriend her “master” by Alison Green on December 6, 2016 Remember the letter-writer whose coworker wanted everyone to call her boyfriend her “master”? Of course you do — how could you not! Here’s the update. First I wanted to thank both you and the commenters for your feedback–it really made me (and my coworker, Sally’s direct manager), feel somewhat less bonkers. (To be clear, the […] Read the full article →
my coworker acts like the food police by Alison Green on December 6, 2016 A reader writes: I’d like to ask some advice about what to do regarding a coworker who I think is TOTALLY crossing personal boundaries. I work in an office that’s made up primarily of women, but the issue is with this one man who will not keep his thoughts about everyone else’s food choices to […] Read the full article →
my coworker is cc’ing his mother on work correspondence by Alison Green on December 6, 2016 A reader writes: During a recent disagreement between my coworker and me, my coworker cc’d his mother on some emails going back and forth between me, him, and our board of directors. In my last email to all of them, I asked why his mother was being cc’ed, and asked whether she was a consultant […] Read the full article →
one of the most important benefits not to overlook next year by Alison Green on December 6, 2016 And now a break to talk about a sponsor… If you’re like a lot of people, you get a life insurance benefit through your employer. If you’re like a lot of people, you haven’t thought about it much beyond that. But often, the amount of life insurance that your employer provides wouldn’t be enough to […] Read the full article →