the 18-month coffee debate, and other stories of office coffee wars by Alison Green on May 17, 2018 A few weeks ago, I asked for your stories about office coffee wars (or tea/milk/etc. wars). Here are 10 of my favorites. 1. “We share our space with other organizations and there used to be one of those touch-screen made-to-order coffee/espresso things on each floor. Then one of the lease holders signed a non-compete contract […] Read the full article →
my noisy coworker won’t mute himself on conference calls, checking references after someone’s hired, and more by Alison Green on May 17, 2018 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My noisy coworker won’t mute himself on conference calls I have an etiquette question today that is driving me nuts. I work on a team where most of us are remote. We have a lot of daily check-in calls on Webex or Skype where the entire […] Read the full article →
my boss has delusions of grandeur about our website — do I have to burst his bubble? by Alison Green on May 16, 2018 A reader writes: I work as a personal assistant to a retired broadcast journalist who made the transition from analog to digital but hasn’t been able to make the leap to the internet. Much of my time is spent teaching/explaining basic tech things such as how to bookmark internet pages or why Facebook pages are […] Read the full article →
when the job you’re interviewing for keeps changing by Alison Green on May 16, 2018 A reader writes: I am currently interviewing for a job and I think I may get the offer. I just finished up my third and final interview and expect to be notified soon. However, I am struggling because the position has been described differently by different interviewers and does not seem to match the job […] Read the full article →
how can I stop panicking every day that I might get fired? by Alison Green on May 16, 2018 A reader writes: I was fired by my first job out of college and only salaried job. I knew I wasn’t doing my best work, was a general 20something mess, and was becoming very disillusioned and unhappy at the company. I don’t know how much was legitimately shady stuff they did or how much was […] Read the full article →
coworker interrupts conversations, accepting a beverage at a meeting if no one else does, and more by Alison Green on May 16, 2018 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My coworker interrupts everyone’s conversations I have a coworker “Josh,” who has a habit of interjecting himself into conversations. Frequently. And, of course, he sits right next to me in our open-office floor plan. It’s frustrating enough when he joins personal conversations so that he […] Read the full article →
my daughter refuses to tell interviewers why she left her last job by Alison Green on May 15, 2018 A reader writes: My daughter got fired from her first full-time job for chronic tardiness. Due to a combination of youth, inexperience, and (in my opinion) stupidity, she somehow missed the signs that she was in danger of losing her job until they called her in one day and told her to hit the road. […] Read the full article →
my boss got fired and won’t leave me alone by Alison Green on May 15, 2018 A reader writes: I have been at my job for about six months, and started during a time of major transition. I started just weeks before our new executive director started. The new director assessed the financials of our nonprofit social service organization and realized what a bad position we were in, and decided to […] Read the full article →
I’m about to go on medical leave, but I’m also hoping to take my long-delayed honeymoon by Alison Green on May 15, 2018 A reader writes: My husband and I eloped in December, and our dream honeymoon location is one where the weather at that time of year isn’t ideal, so we decided to push it back until August, our other anniversary. My coworkers even had a post-wedding show for me in which they had a money tree […] Read the full article →
my boss gave all the women flowers for Mother’s Day, I was demoted because of a horrific act by my employee, and more by Alison Green on May 15, 2018 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss gave all the women at work flowers for Mother’s Day I was hoping you could give your opinion on a situation that recently arose at work. I work part-time in a retail setting. My manager, we’ll call him Fergus, can be seen as […] Read the full article →