weekend open thread – July 11-12, 2020 by Alison Green on July 11, 2020 This comment section is open for any non-work-related discussion you’d like to have with other readers, by popular demand. Here are the rules for the weekend posts. Book recommendation of the week: Friends and Strangers, by J. Courtney Sullivan, the story of the relationship between a woman struggling in a new town and the college student she hires […] Read the full article →
it’s your Friday good news by Alison Green on July 10, 2020 It’s your Friday good news, with more accounts of success even in this weird time. 1. I recently received a really good result using your advice and wanted to share it with you and other readers. I’ve been looking for a new position for quite some time and recently had a panel interview with another […] Read the full article →
open thread – July 10-11, 2020 by Alison Green on July 10, 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 →
boss is forcing me to work while I’m laid off, office says “I appreciate you” instead of “thank you,” and more by Alison Green on July 10, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss is forcing me to work full-time while I’m laid off Covid has hit the tiny company I work for hard. The owner, my boss, has made terrible decisions at every turn, but somehow we were able to keep going. When I arrived at […] Read the full article →
am I being unprofessional on video calls? by Alison Green on July 9, 2020 A reader writes: A little over a year ago, I started to work for a government agency in a very niche field. I started this job straight out of grad school, and there was certainly an adjustment period going from academia to an office job. Since starting, I feel like I have more than adjusted […] Read the full article →
updates: dealing with firing someone, the lost bonus, and more by Alison Green on July 9, 2020 Here are three updates from people who had their letters answered here in the past. 1. How do you deal with having to fire someone? Nearly a decade ago, you answered my letter about feeling guilty when I had to fire someone for the first time. When I wrote, I’d only been a manager for three […] Read the full article →
what are my obligations to my team when I’m also caring for a toddler full-time? by Alison Green on July 9, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I work from home full time (including pre-coronavirus) and am typically very busy and focused all day while I’m working. I have a one-year-old son who is normally in daycare full time, but of course, he is now home with me. My husband is also […] Read the full article →
was this networking or a date request, coworker is secretly traveling, and more by Alison Green on July 9, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. Was this networking or a date request? It’s too late to act on anything now, but I’m hoping that you can provide some clarity regarding a professional incident that I encountered about a year ago. I am a young twenty-something female engineer and was working […] Read the full article →
my employee announced her acceptance to grad school on Twitter without telling anyone in advance by Alison Green on July 8, 2020 A reader writes: I am a manager of an entry-level employee who share with another manager. Our shared employee, let’s call her “Jane,” is terrific — a hard worker, very smart, quick, and organized. Jane has been with us over two years and we would like to promote her, something she’s clearly earned, but our […] Read the full article →
is it OK to be Facebook friends with people I manage? by Alison Green on July 8, 2020 A reader writes: I’m the manager of a team where everyone gets along well and works effectively with one another. I’ve known most of the people on the team since before they worked for me, as professional contacts in other contexts. One of the people had friended me on Facebook before we worked together. Now […] Read the full article →