how can I stay organized when I’m working from home? by Alison Green on October 8, 2020 It’s the Thursday “ask the readers” question. A reader writes: I’m an analyst, and we’re working at home during Covid. In the office, I used a lot of physical space to stay organized: white board wall, sticky notes, task lists, and I kept a lot of it in my head. Now that we’re at home […] Read the full article →
how much can I coast before grad school, requiring employees to pay for a phone, and more by Alison Green on October 8, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. How much can I coast at my job while I’m in limbo before grad school? I am in my mid-twenties and working in a fairly advanced role in my field, considering my few years of work experience; this is my second job out of college. […] Read the full article →
my dysfunctional office only hires young people because we’re “blank slates” by Alison Green on October 7, 2020 A reader writes: I work for a law firm that, due to Covid, has in recent months been downsized an incredible amount. The paralegal team which I am a part of went from ~10 people to basically 2.5. (Another paralegal and I handle all legal work, and there is a person who works in a […] Read the full article →
should I warn someone he might be fired? by Alison Green on October 7, 2020 A reader writes: I have a new employee who has performance issues — bad communication, loads of errors, very slow pace, among other things. I am working on improvements, both on his and my side. But if no improvement happens, this employee will be let go. I am wondering if I should tell him that. […] Read the full article →
employee keeps missing work because of possible Covid exposures in their social life by Alison Green on October 7, 2020 A reader writes: Is there ever a point where it becomes acceptable to comment on an employee’s personal life/choices during COVID times? To start, our policy is if you have symptoms or have had a possible exposure you have to notify the company and stay home until you have negative test results. While a handful […] Read the full article →
my boss accused me of game-playing, eccentric references, and more by Alison Green on October 7, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. My boss accused me of game-playing and hung up on me My boss, who is normally pretty chill, yelled at me on a phone call earlier this week and hung up on me (it was just the two of us). It was a tense conversation, […] Read the full article →
my boss told me that I smell by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: I recently started a position and my boss just called me in for a meeting that was really embarrassing: My boss told me that someone in the office had told them I had body odor. My boss told me that this wasn’t something they had noticed, so maybe it was just an […] Read the full article →
how do I draw the line on political conversations at work? by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: I’m the lead for a small team that has brief daily morning “standup meetings” – usually around 5-10 minutes of checking in and updating one another about what we’re working on that day. During the pandemic we’ve been mostly remote, so these take place via video chat and have, predictably, gotten a […] Read the full article →
my coworker told everyone we’re married … we’re not even dating by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 A reader writes: Last year, I left on a leave of absence for a few months to take care of my elderly parents. Then I returned to work. Apparently during that time, one of my coworkers began telling people we were married … not as in “work wife,” as in legally married, and everyone believed […] Read the full article →
“over the hill” office parties, my boss won’t announce I’m leaving, and more by Alison Green on October 6, 2020 It’s five answers to five questions. Here we go… 1. “Over the hill” office birthday parties My coworker turned 50 this week and they threw an “Over The Hill” birthday party. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen this. The party was complete with black crepe and balloons everywhere, a mini black coffin with black […] Read the full article →