December 2017

updates: the maternity clothes, the nude snapchats, and more

Here are updates from four people who had their letters answered here this year. 1. My boss doesn’t like my maternity clothes My situation ended up taking a very unexpected turn. I took your advice and went to HR. The first person I spoke with was absolutely horrified about the situation. She asked to see the […]

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update: my coworker won’t stop telling me that I smell

Remember the person whose coworker kept insisting that she smelled? I really wanted an update on this one, and here it is: So, this is actually hilarious. After posting to AAM, I decided to try one final de-smellification and see what happened. I found a relatively cheap unscented body wash, and, since the weather had […]

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my company throws terrible holiday parties

A reader writes: I have been at my job for about 10 years now. When I first started working here, we had a holiday potluck at an outdoor terrace on campus with just our department. It was kind of fun, but some people complained about “the sappy trees” and “dirty chairs” so the next year, […]

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what are my obligations to a client when a project drags on?

A reader writes: What are a consultant’s obligations to a client whose project timeline is just dragging on indefinitely? For background, the client expected work to be completed over a short amount of time (about 6 weeks) around September and October. I was paid a lump sum for the work as detailed in the original […]

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is my employee trying to sabotage me?

A reader writes: I’m the founder of and sole manager at a small retail business with four full-time and a few part-time employees. My first hire was Mary, and I think of her as my second-in-command. She hasn’t been the easiest employee to manage: she’s a little flighty and forgetful, and not always as professional […]

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should I tell my employer about my boundary-crossing coworker?

A reader writes: I have a coworker who continues to cross professional boundaries and I’m not sure when/if I should escalate this to my manager, his manager, or HR. I work at a regional office of a medium size company. I transferred from another site and have been working at this location for about six […]

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