June 2018

weekend free-for-all – June 23-24, 2018

This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. (This one is truly no work and no school.) Book recommendation of the week: Tell the Machine Goodnight, by Katie Williams. It plays out around a piece of new technology that tests your DNA and tells you […]

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I want my coworkers to stop venting to me

A reader writes: I work at a large university. Professors here wield a lot of influence in academic and administrative decisions. Although I don’t always agree, I accept this is the way things get approved and done. I have two coworkers who must get permission for much of their work from professors. I hear about […]

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open thread – June 22-23, 2018

It’s the Friday open thread! The comment section on this post is open for discussion with other readers on anything work-related that you want to talk about. If you want an answer from me, emailing me is still your best bet*, but this is a chance to talk to other readers. * If you submitted […]

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can I go barefoot at work?

A reader writes: I work in a legal office. I am the assistant but I sit in an open area outside my boss’s office. I wear business casual clothing and shoes. However, my feet get uncomfortable in the shoes. I often take my shoes off and go barefoot. They’re under the desk for the most part, […]

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how do you deal with freelancer terror?

I meant to make this an “ask the readers” question as per my new Thursday tradition, but I started writing just a short response to it and then it got longer and longer. So it’s not quite that anymore, but hopefully readers will weigh in as well. I’m an avid reader of your blog, even though I […]

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