my boss mooches off me while I’m living paycheck to paycheck by Alison Green on April 8, 2020 A reader writes: I am part of a small team that works with the support staff at a hospital. My supervisor treats me like her personal assistant on most days, and like her servant on other days. On a nearly daily basis, I am putting off my own duties to help her with hers. It’s […] Read the full article →
you won’t need to explain your current work gap by Alison Green on April 8, 2020 I keep hearing from people asking about the best way to explain a layoff right now, or a work gap on their resume caused by the current outbreak. You will not need to explain it. Everyone will get it. Many of your interviewers will have been in the same situation themselves. If they weren’t, they’ll […] Read the full article →
my boss expects me to be available 24/7 since we’re stuck at home by Alison Green on April 8, 2020 A reader writes: I want to start by saying that I know I’m in a very privileged position right now: I have a stable job, which I’ve been doing remotely from the comfort of my apartment for the last two weeks. The issue I’m having is with setting boundaries. Since we started working remotely, my […] Read the full article →
our coworker came to work when his family had COVID-19 symptoms by Alison Green on April 8, 2020 A reader writes: I work in a small department of six that is family-like. One of our coworkers, “Claude,” is nice enough but he tends to do things that offend. He always grabs the first donut, or jumps to the front of the line during office potluck or pizzas. Afterwards, he disappears and doesn’t offer […] Read the full article →
we’re laid off but still getting work emails, coworker accused us of laughing at her, and more by Alison Green on April 8, 2020 It’s six answers to six questions. Here we go… 1. We’re laid off but being “strongly encouraged” to attend work webinars I’ve spent three years in sales for a major luxury brand. Stores are individually franchised. Our firm has 70 or so employees. As this COVID crisis emerged, our firm was quite slow to react. […] Read the full article →
your employer can take your temperature, and other changes by Alison Green on April 7, 2020 The EEOC has issued new guidance about coronavirus in the workplace — and has clarified that some practices that wouldn’t normally be allowed are permissible during the outbreak. Here’s what you need to know. • Your employer can ask if you’ve had symptoms associated with coronavirus (fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat), if […] Read the full article →
can you fire someone in the midst of a pandemic? by Alison Green on April 7, 2020 A reader writes: In the weeks before the outbreak hit, I was preparing to put someone on my team on a performance improvement plan. We’ve addressed my concerns about her work in performance reviews and will see some improvement, but it keeps slipping so the improvement plan will be the last step before letting this […] Read the full article →
why can’t you contact your spouse’s employer to advocate for them? by Alison Green on April 7, 2020 A reader writes: Why are you telling people that spouses as a rule cannot contact their partner’s boss and saying that is unprofessional? Is that in every situation? What if my spouse is on the autism spectrum or what if an employer is forcing sick workers to come in and illegally break stay-at-home orders given […] Read the full article →
is it weird to vape on a Zoom call, should you go to grad school to avoid a bad job market, and more by Alison Green on April 7, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Is it weird to vape on a Zoom call? I am one of the many students whose classes have all been moved online for the remainder of the semester, but I am in grad school, so many of my colleagues (including me) worked for a […] Read the full article →
is this company’s interview process unreasonable? by Alison Green on April 6, 2020 A reader writes: I have spent the past 10 years building up a small client base in my industry. I’m a terrible self promoter, so this is very small and I really need to ramp up or get a full-time job. I applied for a position pre-COVID-19 and did a phone screen. I was successfully […] Read the full article →