weekend free-for-all – May 9-10, 2020 by Alison Green on May 9, 2020 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: Pretty Things, by Janelle Brown. I’m now working my way through all her books. This one is about an influencer and a thief, their history […] Read the full article →
updates: the coworker pajama party, lying about layoffs, and more by Alison Green on May 8, 2020 It’s a special “where are you now?” season at Ask a Manager, when I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Here are three updates from past letter-writers. 1. How do I shut down coworkers who demand an explanation for my occasional wheelchair? I think by now people have […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on May 8, 2020 It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time. 1. I’ve never asked you for advice, but I was unemployed for 17 long months after my position (which I loved beyond measure) was eliminated at a company I had worked for 25 years. I spent some of that time […] Read the full article →
open thread – May 8-9, 2020 by Alison Green on May 8, 2020 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 […] Read the full article →
HR won’t let me see job descriptions for my staff, standing my ground on social distancing, and more by Alison Green on May 8, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions, plus a sixth thing. Here we go… 1. HR won’t let me see job descriptions for the people I manage I am a new manager and am about to get a current employee reassigned to work under me. I just had a conversation with our CEO and learned that […] Read the full article →
update: my coworker responds to everything I ask him to do with profanity and “your mom” jokes by Alison Green on May 7, 2020 It’s a special “where are you now?” season at Ask a Manager, when I’m running updates from people who had their letters here answered in the past. Remember the letter from the person whose coworker responded to everything she asked him to do with profanity, name-calling, flat refusals, and and “your mom” jokes? She updated earlier […] Read the full article →
here’s a real-life email from an employer that’s managing its re-opening well by Alison Green on May 7, 2020 As some companies start to figure out what bringing people back to work will look like, here’s a real-life example of an organization that’s doing it well. This is an email sent out this week by Stan Soderstrom, the executive director of Kiwanis International and the Kiwanis Children’s Fund, an international nonprofit focused on helping […] Read the full article →
update: I’m dreading a corporate meeting because of my weight gain by Alison Green on May 7, 2020 Remember the letter-writer in January who was dreading a corporate meeting because she’d gained weight? Here’s the update. I was so truly in awe with the advice, analysis, thoughts and compassion that came back in response to my letter. It was posted during the trip in question, and because of the hours involved with the […] Read the full article →
my boss is working from home with kids — and his schedule is wreaking havoc on my work by Alison Green on May 7, 2020 A reader writes: My office has been working from home for about a month. We are fortunate to be among the few for whom this doesn’t really change our business, other than that we can’t be in the office. My problem is that my boss has become very difficult to communicate with and work with. […] Read the full article →
how do I motivate myself to work from home? by Alison Green on May 7, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: Since starting to work from home full-time, I’m finding it extremely hard in the mornings to just start working. I struggled with this in the office, but the physicality of being in the office and the presence of other coworkers usually kicked my butt into […] Read the full article →