January 2019

my coworker won’t stop talking about how rich she is

It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” post. A reader writes: My coworkers and I work in close quarters in a laboratory all day. We all get along well, and since we don’t have “offices” and often work together on things, we are a pretty close team. We recently got a new member, Jill, who is […]

Read the full article →

can I warn people about my horrible boss?

A reader writes: The year before I started law school, I worked for a lawyer who was a solo practitioner. I was a legal assistant (she referred to me as an “administrative assistant” on payroll, but as a “paralegal” when billing clients for my time). Highlights: she threw binders at me and the other assistant […]

Read the full article →

I don’t want to become the office secretary

A reader writes: I work at a large educational institution, and have a job that directly serves and faces students. I love my job! When I started, we had a part-time front office person who basically managed the office: ordered all the supplies, handled walk-in traffic, etc. We had an additional agreement with most of […]

Read the full article →

the weird world of writing an advice column

Over at Buzzfeed today, I joined Daniel Ortberg of Dear Prudence, Jolie Kerr of Ask a Clean Person, Jennifer Peepas of Captain Awkward, Nicole Cliffe of Care and Feeding, and Harris O’Malley of Dr. Nerdlove in a roundtable about writing advice columns. We talked about weird letters, whether we give advice to family/friends, how to get […]

Read the full article →

my coworker won’t answer my emails

A reader writes: I have a coworker who very rarely responds to my emails. Maybe 25% of the emails I send her get any response or acknowledgement she read them. I work in manufacturing as an engineer, and she runs inventory, so our paths don’t often cross but I still need her input on certain […]

Read the full article →

do I wear too much black at work?

A reader writes: My current office’s dress code is business casual, and I wear black, knee-length dresses almost every day. I typically wear a neutral, light colored cardigan with the dress, and I always have a navy or black blazer on hand in case I need to step up the look unexpectedly. I don’t wear […]

Read the full article →