November 2019

two of my employees won’t speak to each other

A reader writes: I’m managing a department of eight people and two of them won’t speak to each other. I’m new to my position and it took me a couple of months to figure out that they weren’t talking. They literally won’t speak to each other. If we have a meeting, they won’t participate if […]

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terrible bosses: the racist boss, the evangelist boss, and more

I’ve teamed up with The Cut on a week-long series on bad bosses — what makes some bosses truly terrible and how you should deal with them. Every day this week, I’m offering thoughts on people’s accounts of their own bad bosses. Yesterday’s were about a boss who made racist comments and a boss who […]

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asking for a raise is easier than you think

With lots of employers doing performance reviews and year-end raises this month, now is a good time to ask for a raise. But will you? I’ve been shocked – horrified, really – by how many people tell me they never ask for raises. Some people rely on their company’s system of merit raises (or worse, […]

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my awful coworker is also my roommate

A reader writes: Six months ago, I started a new job at a big tech company and needed to move for work. I made the decision to move in with a coworker, Sansa, who happened to have a room open up at her place shortly after I was hired. Sansa and I work in different […]

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weekend free-for-all – November 16-17, 2019

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: The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta. Millions of people vanish all at once, in what may or may not be the Rapture, and those left behind […]

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open thread – November 15-16, 2019

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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